Latest news with #NaismithBasketballHallofFamer
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Teams that win the championships play great defence: Payton
Mumbai: For a seventh consecutive season, the NBA will see a different champion as the Indiana Pacers compete with Oklahoma City Thunder in the seven-game Finals series, starting on Friday. The Pacers have never won the marquee basketball title in their history, while the Thunder won the 1979 season, then as the Seattle SuperSonics. For Gary Payton, the two teams with the most attractive style of play have made it to the final. Payton, the 2006 NBA champion with Miami Heat and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer explained that both teams play a defensive style. 'I would rather see a lot of defence than offence,' Payton said. 'The two teams that have reached the final, (they are there) because they play defence, they make big stops. 'I think all the time in the playoffs, the teams that win the championships are the teams that play great defence. They both play defence, they both play great. They have five guys on the floor at all times that can go at each other. This is going to be a great series, I really think it is going to go to seven games. The Pacers got to the finals for the first time since they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, after beating the New York Knicks in the Western Conference Finals. Meanwhile, Thunder reached this far by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Eastern finals. They last reached the NBA final in 2012, when they lost to Miami. The staunch defence from both teams reminds Payton of the style that was dominant during his playing days. 'In my era, we were only averaging about 85 points a game, in the 1990s. That's what it was about. And if you can do that, you win games. If you are struggling with offence, but you hold them to 68 points, you are always in that match,' said Payton, who is in Mumbai to launch the NBA House. 'I don't want to go to a game and see a team score 130 points - one player has 50 points and another has 55. I want to see somebody stop somebody. I want to see someone take accountability and take someone, who is valuable to a team, out of the game.' Defensive discipline was a specialty for Payton, who was the first point guard (a typically attacking position) to be named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, when he won the accolade in 1996. Marcus Smart in 2022 has been the only other point guard to win the award so far. 'I didn't care about scoring, I cared about stopping the best opponent. If I stopped him, that means I stopped the (opposition) - because they cannot function without him,' Payton said when asked about what kind of legacy he hoped he left behind. 'I want to be remembered as the first two-way player to play at both ends of the floor. But really, my legacy started as just being a complete basketball player, both ends of the floor. If I'm struggling with my offence, I don't worry about it and just focus on the defence and stopping the other team. That's my legacy, I don't want anything else.'
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Shaquille O'Neal to become Sacramento State men's basketball general manager, per report
Shaquille O'Neal to become Sacramento State men's basketball general manager, per report Show Caption Hide Caption Shaq talks his fame over the years and how he would have benefited from social media Shaquille O'Neal spoke to USA TODAY Sports at the Final Four about his SHAQ-A-LICIOUS XL Gummies. Sports Seriously Shaquille O'Neal is adding to his post-NBA resume. According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, O'Neal — who is famously known as Shaq — is returning to the college ranks, as he has agreed to be the general manager for the Sacramento State men's basketball program. Per Charania, O'Neal will not be paid for his services to the four-time NBA Finals champion and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, as it is an unpaid, voluntary role. The decision for O'Neal to become the first general manager for first-year coach Mike Bibby also will allow him to be around his son, Shaqir O'Neal, who transferred to Sacramento State from Florida State last month. In a world where Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) has taken over college athletics, the three-time NBA Finals MVP and 15-time NBA All-Star joins Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young as prominent NBA figures to take on a general manager role at the college level. Both Curry and Young accepted assistant general manager roles at their alma maters, Davidson and Oklahoma, respectively. O'Neal, who also serves as an analyst on TNT's "Inside the NBA, was drafted No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft out of LSU, where he was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and the 1991 National Player of the Year. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Zawya
03-04-2025
- Sport
- Zawya
156 Players from Record 28 Countries to Compete in 2025 Basketball Africa League Season Tipping off April 5 in Morocco
- Fans Can Watch Every Game Live on the NBA App ( and the BAL's YouTube Channel ( Games Will Reach Fans in 214 Countries and Territories in 17 Languages - - BAL Will Honor NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo Throughout the Season - The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced that 156 players from a record 28 countries across five continents will compete in the league's milestone fifth season, which will tip off on Saturday, April 5 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco.* In the season opener, 2023 third-place finisher Stade Malien (Mali) will face 2024 third-place finisher Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria) at 4:00 p.m. GMT. In the second game, home team Fath Union Sport (FUS; Morocco) will take on first-time BAL participant Al Ittihad (Egypt) at 7:00 p.m. GMT. The complete season schedule is available at The 2025 BAL season will reach fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through free-to-air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN, FIBA's digital platform Courtside 1891, NBA TV, Ninety Media Services, SNRT, Tencent Sports, TV5 Monde and livestreaming on the NBA App ( and the BAL's YouTube Channel ( The BAL also today announced that the league will honor NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo throughout the season, including by featuring a 'DM55' patch on all player jerseys and select warm-up gear, as well as moments of silence ahead of each conference group phase. The late four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer served as the NBA's first global ambassador following his retirement in 2009. Single-game tickets for the games in Rabat are available online at and Fans who purchase tickets will also have free access to the BAL Fan Zone at the arena. During the 2025 BAL season, each four-team conference will play a 12-game group phase during which each team will face the other three teams in its conference twice. During group phase play, every team will play on every gameday. The Kalahari Conference group phase will take place from April 5 – Sunday, April 13 in Rabat. The Sahara Conference group phase will take place from Saturday, April 26 – Sunday, May 4 at the Dakar Arena in Senegal. The Nile Conference group phase will take place from Saturday, May 17 – Sunday, May 25 at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. Eight teams from across the three conferences will travel to Pretoria, South Africa for four seeding games followed by an eight-game, single-elimination playoffs and finals from Friday, June 6 – Saturday, June 14. View 2025 Basketball Africa League Rosters : Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL). Fans can follow the BAL (@ theBAL) on: Facebook: Instagram: Threads: X: YouTube: Register their interest in receiving more information at About the BAL: The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa that will tip off its fifth season in April 2025. Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized across the continent and marks the NBA's first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.
Zawya
16-02-2025
- Sport
- Zawya
National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa Creates Annual Dikembe Mutombo Humanitarian Award
New Award Will be Given Out Annually to Individuals and Organizations Making Exceptional Contributions to Humanitarian Efforts NBA Africa Will Donate 55 Basketball Courts to Communities on the Continent in Honor of Mutombo and His Iconic Jersey Number NBA Commissioner Adam Silver today announced the creation of the NBA Africa ( Dikembe Mutombo Humanitarian Award, a new annual honor that will recognize a person or an organization that works to advance health, education or economic opportunity across the continent of Africa. The award is named after the late four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who served as the NBA's first global ambassador following his retirement from the league in 2009. Silver also announced that NBA Africa will donate 55 courts to local communities on the continent in honor of Mutombo and his iconic jersey number, beginning in his native Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo where he first discovered his love for the game. The courts will feature a distinct design inspired by Mutombo and contribute to NBA Africa's commitment of building 1,000 courts on the continent over the next decade. The announcement was made at the 10 th annual NBA Africa All-Star Luncheon in San Francisco, Calif. as part of NBA All-Star 2025. The award will be presented annually beginning at next year's luncheon, with the recipient receiving a financial grant to further their humanitarian efforts and a donation from NBA Africa to a charity of their choice. 'Dikembe devoted his life to helping others and brought joy to so many people across Africa and around the world,' said Silver. 'This new award and the basketball courts built in his name will honor Dikembe's extraordinary legacy as a global humanitarian.' Selected fourth overall in the 1991 NBA Draft, Mutombo spent 18 years in the NBA during which time he was an eight-time NBA All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league in blocked shots three times and becoming the second-leading shot blocker in NBA history. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. Recognized for his philanthropic and humanitarian work, Mutombo was a recipient of many awards, including the Congressional Humanitarian Award (2013), John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Goodermote Humanitarian Award (2011), Laureus World Sports Award (2010), John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award (2010) and the U.S. President's Service Award (2000). A general hospital he built in Kinshasa and named in memory of his late mother, the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, opened its doors to the public in 2007. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).
