The Timberwolves superstar guard mentioned Steph Curry as one of the players he’s excited to play with in the Olympics with Team USA.
With the Golden State Warriors’ season over after a loss in the play-in tournament, Steph Curry will have a head start on preparing for his debut in the Olympic Games. The Warriors All-Star point guard was one of 12 players to be named to Team USA’s roster for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
Team USA’s roster will be headlined by LeBron James, Kevin Durant and multiple other All-Star caliber players from around the association. One member of Team USA recently mentioned Curry as a player he’s excited to suit up alongside in the Olympics.
Minnesota Timberwolves superstar wing Anthony Edwards referenced Curry, along with Durant and James, as players he’s excited to play with on Team USA.
Via Complex Sports:
It will be super fun, man. I will get to play alongside my favorite player of all time which is Kevin Durant. Also, I get to play alongside LeBron [James], Steph Curry, all the goats, man. It should be fun.
HoopsHype presents the most likely players to make their All-NBA debuts in the 2023-24 season, led by Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson.
Right now, there are 26 active NBA players who have been All-Stars in their careers but who have yet to make an All-NBA Team, which is arguably the league’s highest individual honor besides winning Most Valuable Player or Finals MVP.
That list features some huge names, including Zion Williamson, Anthony Edwards, Bam Adebayo, Brandon Ingram and Jalen Brunson.
Several of those players stand a good chance of making their All-NBA debuts in the 2023-24 season. Today, let’s explore the most likely candidates to achieve this milestone.
Good morning, Winners! Thanks so much for rocking with The Morning Win today. We appreciate you here.
I don’t even want to waste time with small talk. I know you saw that Anthony Edwards dunk on John Collins last night. And, if you didn’t, what in the world are you doing?!?
I’ve seen so many people calling this the Dunk of the Year. And, yeah, that’s appropriate, I guess. There hasn’t been — and will not be — a better dunk than this this season.
But calling this the Dunk of the Year undersells this, man. It feels disrespectful to me. It’s much, much bigger than that. This might be the best dunk I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely the best one I’ve seen in at least a decade, at the very least.
Yeah, we’ve seen other immaculate poster dunks from other dunkers recently. Ja Morant has quite a few. Zion Williamson’s got some here and there. Ant Man’s got some others out there, too.
But this one here from Ant? This is generational, man. We’re going to remember this one for a long, long time. This is the one that’s going to have kids dunking their friends into trash cans and calling out “ANT MAN” as they do it.
This is one of the best dunks I’ve ever seen. Shoutout to Edwards for giving us this treat. My condolences to John Collins for involuntarily being on the wrong side of history.
Palace intrigue in the MLBPA
Mandatory Credit: Greg Lovett-USA TODAY NETWORK
There might be some big changes coming to the Major League Baseball Players Association soon.
Players held a zoom call on Monday that ended with an informal vote to oust MLBPA deputy executive director Bruce Meyer with MLBPA — the No. 2 guy in the player’s association, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.
Players have long had complaints about the current union leadership and their ability to get things done. There’s also a belief that super agent Scott Boras has a strong influence on the union through Meyer — a claim he denied back in 2021.
This friction is coming at such a fascinating time when teams spent nearly $3 billion this offseason on player contracts. On the surface, that looks great! Especially following the newly minted CBA.
But when you really dig into it, Shohei Ohtani ($700 million) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million) are making over a third of that money with one team. Meanwhile, Passan writes, most teams are still spending less:
“Two historic financial behemoths, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, committed less than $50 million to free agents. Eight teams — the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians and Colorado Rockies — guaranteed less than $15 million.”
The top of the league is doing great. The middle? Not so much. That’s a problem.
It’s hard to blame the players for wanting change when these are the results. We’ll see if Meyer ends up being the fall guy for it.
Keenan Allen keeps it real
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Keenan Allen doesn’t play about his paper. He was asked why he left the Chargers this season after being traded and, essentially, that was his answer. Robert Zeglinski has more here:
“As Allen explained during his introductory Bears press conference, when the Chargers approached him about restructuring his contract, his answer to his former employer wasn’t emotional. The 31-year-old playmaker said he bluntly told them it wasn’t happening because he was coming off one of his best statistical seasons. That’s it.”
I’m not mad at this at all. When you’re performing at your best, you expect to be paid for it. You definitely don’t expect your job to ask you to put that money on layaway. That’s unfair.
Allen is getting what he deserves from the Bears. Is it a worse situation? Maybe. But Zeglinski asks a poignant question in his piece: “Why take a pay cut or move around money you’re owed in writing just to help your employer, especially after you performed well?”
My thoughts, exactly. Get your money, Keenan Allen. Good on you.
Quick hits: Caitlin Clark and the rise of sports betting… The latest NBA MVP ladder … and more
Anthony Edwards’ teammates couldn’t believe it either.
Anthony Edwards’ dunk over John Collins Monday is the NBA’s likely dunk of the year. The Ant-Man hit a button to transform into Giant-Man and absolutely destroyed the person in front of him. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll definitely want to check out every angle of this gravity-defying dunk.
Now, whatever reaction you had to watching it, just imagine if you had seen it in person — just a few feet away. That was the experience of Kyle Anderson, and his real-time reaction told the whole story of how incredible the dunk was.
That included a game-winning block in the final seconds of regulation to secure a win over Indiana. It was some of the most impressive vertical pop you’ll ever see on a basketball court:
He also revealed that it was the highlight of his professional career (via Dane Moore):
“That was my best play ever of my young NBA career. For sure. That’s my favorite play.”
Kudos to Edwards for such a remarkable achievement for Minnesota.
If he can keep up these incredible highlights and clutch moments while continuing to stuff the stat sheet, he will almost certainly become one of the faces of the league.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addresses Anthony Edwards’ bold comments.
In an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Anthony Edwards boldly proclaimed he was better than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic.
The remark was prompted when LeBron James discussed who the next face of the league could be once he retires. He listed that trio as potential candidates.
Gilgeous-Alexander was asked by ESPN’s Malika Andrews about Edwards’ remarks. He replied that’s the type of mentality NBA players must possess to achieve success in the league.
“I expect him to say that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I wouldn’t expect him to say one of us is better than him. The thing about NBA players — especially guys that are that talented — we all believe we’re the best. We believe what we bring to the table is special and unique and he has every right to think so.”
He also said he believes the same about himself. It’s easy to see why. The 25-year-old has been one of the best players in the league this season and has a real shot at MVP.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (43-19) have been one of the best teams in the league this season. A large reason for their ascension to contender status is Gilgeous-Alexander.
In 61 games, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 31.3 points on 54.6% shooting, 6.5 assists and 5.6 rebounds. He’s shot 37.7% from 3 on 3.3 attempts. He’s also averaged a league-leading 2.1 steals.
The Thunder have battled it out with the Minnesota Timberwolves for first place in the Western Conference standings. A little over a month remains the 2023-24 regular seasons and both teams are tied for best record.
Former UGA stars Anthony Edwards, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Nic Claxton continue to have big roles for their respective NBA clubs
Three Georgia Bulldogs continue to have prominent roles for their respective teams in the NBA: Anthony Edwards, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Nic Claxton.
Through 62 games, the Minnesota Timberwolves have the best record (43-19) in the Western Conference. Anthony Edwards, a former No. 1 pick, has helped the Timberwolves look like a championship contender, but Minnesota must play better in the postseason this year.
Edwards has played in 59 games this season. He is averaging 26.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. The former Georgia superstar is shooting career-highs from the field (46.5%) and from three-point range (37.8%). Edwards efficient scoring is a big reason why he was selected as an NBA All-Star.
Not far behind Edwards and the Timberwolves in the Western Conference standings is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the Denver Nuggets. Caldwell-Pope won his second career NBA championship last season and has the Nuggets off to a 42-19 start to the season. Denver will be a championship contender again as long as the Nuggets, who are the No. 3 seed in the west, stay healthy. Caldwell-Pope is scoring 10.0 points per game.
Brooklyn Nets forward/center Nic Claxton is having a solid year for the Nets. He is averaging 12.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Claxton has played in 48 games this season. Brooklyn is the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference and would miss the postseason if the season ended today.
Lance Stephenson has enjoyed a 10-year career in the NBA, and is currently tearing it up with the G League Iowa Wolves. During All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, he sat down with HoopsHype on behalf of Panini America to talk about his career, …
Lance Stephenson has enjoyed a 10-year career in the NBA, and is currently tearing it up with the G League Iowa Wolves. During All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, he sat down with HoopsHype on behalf of Panini America to talk about his career, trash-talking, China memes, his experience overseas, and more.
Anthony Edwards (32 points in 34 minutes, 50% FG) was dominant, and Minnesota’s defense smothered Jalen Green and the Rockets in Sunday’s blowout victory.
In Sunday’s opener of a four-game road trip, the Rockets didn’t have the firepower to keep up with Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in a 111-90 blowout loss (box score). As a team, Houston shot 31-of-88 from the field (35.2%) at Target Center and was outrebounded 58-41.
The Timberwolves (35-15) are tied for first place in the Western Conference, while Houston (23-26) falls a game behind Utah (25-26) for the No. 10 spot in the West standings — and with it, what will eventually be the final play-in tournament berth.
Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32 points, shooting 11-of-22 from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers (50%). Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert controlled the paint with a game-high 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Minnesota was a game-best plus-32 in his 31 minutes.
With 14 points off the bench, emerging rookie Cam Whitmore scored in double figures for the Rockets in a seventh straight game. He shot 4-of-13 from the field (30.8%) against Minnesota’s defense, though he made 3-of-8 from 3-point range (37.5%).
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 15 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 7-of-14 from the field (50%) while making his lone 3-pointer. Coming off a recent hot stretch, the script was flipped for Jalen Green. He scored just 8 points on 3-of-15 shooting (20%), including 0-of-5 from 3-point range. He had a team-high 7 assists.
Here’s our look at Sunday’s highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. As the road trip continues with its second stop, next up for Houston is Tuesday’s game at Indiana (27-23), where tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Central.
