In the latest 2024 NBA mock draft from our Bryan Kalbrosky, he doesn’t have Bronny taken. But in the new, post-March Madness mock from Yahoo’s Krysten Peek, there Bronny James is … at pick No. 55. She doesn’t delve into why, but you don’t need that — you know that if the Lakers want to keep LeBron in L.A. for, perhaps, the rest of his career, this is a great way to do it.
Kobie Turner sang the National Anthem at the Lakers game on Tuesday night and both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were in attendance
The stars were out at the Los Angeles Lakers game on Tuesday night, with three members of the Rams represented at Crypto.com Arena. It was a particularly special night for Kobie Turner, who had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem before tip-off.
Turner predictably nailed his rendition of the anthem, and both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua were in attendance in Los Angeles. Nacua and Turner even took a few photos in custom Lakers jerseys before the game, rocking their Rams numbers in purple and gold.
Kupp got a custom jersey from the Lakers, too, with his No. 10 and name on the back.
But what you really came here for is Turner’s singing of the National Anthem, because it was truly impressive. Check out the video shared by the Rams below.
Kobie Turner will sing the National Anthem at the Lakers-Warriors game tonight and he’s sure to crush it
Los Angeles Rams fans know Kobie Turner as a standout defensive tackle who should’ve been recognized as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2023. However, he’s more than just an impressive pass rusher and run-stopper.
Off the field, Turner is a talented singer. He has a powerful voice, which he’s shown off several times in the past.
In January, he sang the National Anthem at the Los Angeles Kings game and on Tuesday night, he’ll belt out another rendition of the song. He’s signing the National Anthem before Tuesday night’s Lakers-Warriors game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, a big stage for the Rams defensive tackle.
Rams NT Kobie Turner is slated to sing the national anthem at tonight's Lakers-Warriors game at https://t.co/kDc0RdVy8a Arena.
He previously sang the national anthem before a Los Angeles Kings game at that arena back in January.
After the Lakers topped the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, LeBron James was asked about Bronny James potentially entering the transfer portal.
LeBron James didn’t give anything away about what’s next for his son, but he did say that Bronny James has “tough decisions” awaiting him.
“When he’s ready to make those decisions, he’ll let us all know,” LeBron James told reporters. “But, as his family, we’re going to support whatever he does.”
LeBron James says his son Bronny has some “tough decisions” coming up and the family will support him no matter what he decides. pic.twitter.com/q9uOw9LHOp
LeBron James knows that he isn’t going to play forever.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concernsthrough this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.
After two decades, LeBron James is nearing the end of his time in the NBA.
This is the best season we’ve seen yet from LeBron as a 3-point shooter, which has helped extend his career. Even if he loses some of his world-class athleticism, his elite playmaking would allow for him to play at a high level for as long as he wants.
But the sobering reality is that eventually, LeBron isn’t going to want to do this. He has played so many long seasons and playoff runs and that takes an absolutely massive toll on your body.
The four-time NBA Finals MVP acknowledged as much following a victory over the Nets on Sunday night. He was asked how much longer he plans to play in the league and this is what he said:
“Not very long,” James said. “Not very long. I’m on the other side, obviously, of the hill. So I’m not going to play another 21 years, that’s for damn sure. But not very long. I don’t know what or when that door will close as far as when I retire, but I don’t have much time left.”
Depending on the success of the Lakers over the coming few weeks, LeBron could have another postseason under his belt. He said that he wants to play in the Paris Olympics this summer, too.
This all adds up when you are 39 years old and have already played as many intensely competitive minutes as LeBron. The success that he is still enjoying despite that is unprecedented and presumably exhausting.
There are a lot of decisions that both LeBron and Bronny will have to make over the coming few weeks, months and years. Eventually, though, LeBron will have a well-earned retirement to enjoy and basketball will never be the same without him.
What I’m Watching
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight offers an incredibly exciting slate of basketball.
No one has become a household name during the NCAA tournament as quickly as North Carolina State big man DJ Burns.
While he isn’t projected to hear his name in the 2024 NBA Draft, some folks think that he may have a future in the NFL as an offensive lineman. Charles Curtis has more:
“Despite the fact that he’s been awesome for the Wolfpack, he may not be a future NBA draft pick (but maybe a UDFA?) despite measuring at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds. But given that size and athleticism … what about playing on the offensive line in the NFL?
We’ve seen some hoops stars in college — Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham come to mind — go to the NFL and flourish. Could that be a possibility?
First: he did play football before hoops, as you’ll see in the video below, and second, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager says he spoke to some scouts and GMs who sounded interested.”
Burns absolutely has the size to make it work protecting quarterbacks for a living.
But does he want to switch sports this late into his playing career? That is a decision he will have to make after the Final Four.
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas received some praise from Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James after Sunday’s loss to the Lakers.
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has made his mark in the NBA as one of the better scorers in the league and at this point, his scoring explosions are becoming less surprising. Thomas had another opportunity to show what he could do against one of the best players in NBA history and even got some quick praise in the process.
In Sunday’s 116-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Thomas put up 30 points and six assists in a contest that saw the Nets come back from a 26-point deficit to get to within eight points of the Lakers in large part because of Thomas’ microwave-like scoring ability and timely passing.
On the other side of Thomas was LeBron James, a player who many in the NBA community consider to be the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers. James put up 40 points of his own in his latest masterpiece as he shot 13-of-17 from the field, including 9-of-10 from three-point range.
After the win over the Nets, James was asked by Erik Slater of ClutchPoints about his thoughts on Thomas given that he’s averaging 33.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 52.5% from the field and 57.1% from deep in two games against Los Angeles this season and James had some praise for Thomas, albeit brief.
James said that Thomas “does that to everybody” in reference to his scoring outbursts. That marks another great player in the league who has seen what Thomas can do and as some people say, game recognizes game.
LeBron kept it short and sweet when I asked him about Cam Thomas having two big scoring nights against the Lakers this season:
After Sunday’s 116-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets forward Trendon Watford discussed bringing his spark off the bench.
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets have had a rough go of it this season and one of the reasons why is not having enough consistent production off the bench. One of the players that has brought that production and energy off the bench has been taking his game to the next level.
“Just trying to take advantage of the opportunity,” Nets forward Trendon Watford said after Sunday’s 116-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Watford put up 15 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s win as he was one of the few players on the Nets to score at an efficient clip.
“Just bring that spark,” Watford said. “I got in and I think we was down 15-0, 18-0, so I was trying to be aggressive. I strive to be who I am no matter who is out there. So, just trying to be who I am, no matter who’s out there.”
Due to injuries to Ben Simmons, Keita Bates-Diop, and Cam Johnson, Watford has found himself in an expanded role as he has played at least 19 minutes in the past four games. Over that span, he is averaging 14.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 64.7% from the field and 50.0% from three-point range.
Watford has been showing that he can be an important part of the Nets’ rotation to finish the season and could also be auditioning to come back to Brooklyn for a similar role next season. As long as Watford continues to bring his spark, he should be a Net beyond this season.
It wasn’t the most productive week for Notre Dame’s NBA representation, but [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] got it off to a decent start. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ March 26 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, he made only a single 3-pointer but tied his career high in assists with nine, which he set earlier this season.
Connaughton finished his week with four points, four assists and three rebounds March 30 against the Atlanta Hawks. For the week, he averaged 3.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds a game.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] scored five points, had three assists and picked up a steal to help the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Phoenix Suns on March 25. He had four points, five rebounds and three assists in a March 29 win over the New York Knicks. That helped a week in which he averaged 2.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game.
Here are some photos that were taken of Notre Dame’s two NBA players during the past week:
After Sunday’s 116-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas reacted to the Nets’ awful start to the game.
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets were riding high as they were on a three-game winning streak for the fourth time this season. However, as what happened in the previous three times that they won three games straight, they lost and this time, it was in a disappointing fashion.
“They made shots, we didn’t,” Nets guard Cam Thomas said after Sunday’s 116-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets began this game on the wrong foot as they started the second quarter shooting 0-for-11 from the field and trailing 17-0 before scoring their points with 5:39 left in the period.
“That’s all it is to it,” Thomas said. “I mean, we went like 0 for 10 at the start. They (the Lakers) didn’t really do nothing too crazy. I had wide open looks and I didn’t make them to start off. So, no, we just didn’t make the shots to start off, but it’s all right.”
The Nets trailed by as many as 26 points in this contest, but after chipping away at the deficit from the second quarter on, Brooklyn was able to get to within eight points before LeBron James caught fire from three-point range. Until that moment, the Nets had a shot at a comeback of epic proportions.
Unfortunately, Brooklyn was unable to overcome 40 points from James and 24 points from Anthony Davis in a game where the Lakers had just two points from their bench. As Thomas pointed out, a poor start is ultimately what doomed the Nets in the end despite them winning the game 93-85 after the second quarter.
Former Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie had some choice words for how the media covered his trade deadline exit earlier this season.
Spencer Dinwiddie is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers at the moment, but most people know him for his time with the Brooklyn Nets. Dinwiddie spent parts of seven seasons as a member of Brooklyn’s franchise and during that time, he made quite a mark on the fanbase and in the record books, but he feels a certain kind of way about how his most recent exit was covered.
Dinwiddie spoke to the media before Sunday’s matchup between his Lakers and the Nets and he had plenty of things to say about how he was covered following his trade at the deadline. Dinwiddie said that “everything” that was written about him following his departure from Brooklyn was wrong.
Given Dinwiddie’s performance for the Nets this season, he averaged 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 39.1% from the field and 32.0% from deep, some wondered if Dinwiddie had lost a step compared to his play the previous season.
Among other things, Dinwiddie mentioned that “people say what they say” pertaining to how others talk about him and his career. While not being particularly specific about anything or anyone that he disagreed with, Dinwiddie said “So, sometimes obviously, as a player, things get mischaracterized or your voice gets drowned out. That’s just kind of the situation I ended up in.”
There were also some, Zach Lowe of ESPN arguably the most well-known among the people, who wondered if Dinwiddie was quitting on the Nets because of how the team was trying to prioritize Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas within the offensive structure, something that Dinwiddie spoke about at various times during his time in Brooklyn this season.
In connection to these recent comments from Dinwiddie, he also spoke on how he feels that his time with the Nets this season has skewed the perception of him and what he can do at this point of his career.
Per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Dinwiddie said that the way things happened in Brooklyn essentially “kind of put me more so in this box than my game being in the box.” Dinwiddie’s comments prior to Sunday’s game seem to be a continuation of those thoughts.
Spencer Dinwiddie on what was misunderstood about his #Nets time: "Everything." He added "People say what they say…So sometimes obviously, as a player, things get mischaracterized or your voice gets drowned out. That's just kind of the situation I ended up in."
