Also included in that press release was the news that the Emirates logo will appear on all NBA referee jerseys, starting with the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game. All referees in the WNBA (beginning in 2025) and G League (starting in 2024-25) will also wear Emirates patches.
Emirates is currently a sponsor across various international sports properties, including referee jersey branding for the FA Cup, Cricket World Cup, and the Rugby World Cup.
Although the news was picked up by several outlets, fans may have missed this information if they were focused on the winners and losers of the trade deadline. After the league returned from the brief All-Star break, though, it did not take long for fans to notice the sponsorship:
“The move comes at a time when NBA viewership is up from last year on the major networks and at a time when the league’s referees are being shown on television far more than in the past.
Television cameras generally zoom in on lead officials as they finalize their rulings over an in-arena microphone following coach’s challenges, where referees review replays of debatable calls — a process that often takes minutes at a time. The number of reviews has increased in recent years, as league stakeholders voted in 2023 to allow clubs a third challenge if a coach requests and is successful with his first two tries.”
Now that the NBA patches are public, though, fans shared their thoughts:
Tyrese Haliburton had the perfect response after upsetting the Bucks during the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Watch out, world. Tyrese Haliburton is blossoming in real time.
The Indiana Pacers didn’t get the memo that they weren’t supposed to be heading to the NBA In-Season Tournament Finals. Led by budding star Tyrese Haliburton, they are defying expectations.
Charles Barkley was completely unhinged during the NBA on TNT crossover with ESPN.
Barkley is part of what makes the NBA on TNT crew so special. With Ernie Johnson leading the way, Kenny Smith adding in his two cents and Shaquille O’Neal and Chuck constantly cracking jokes about one other, it’s comedic gold.
It only got better — and totally off the rails — when TNT and ESPN decided to do a crossover event for the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. Chuck immediately came in from the top rope with a suplex on Stephen A. Smith, and things were off and running from there.
Nobody was safe, including former Golden State Warriors general manager, Bob Myers, who dropped by.
Charles Barkley: "I wanna give you credit for jumping off the titanic before it sunk."
Bob Myers: "I have friends over there."
Chuck Barkley: "Yeah, you're gonna see them soon."
Goooood morning, Winners! Happy Friday! I hope you’re having a fantastic day today.
To start us off, I have a question for you. What in the world happened to Zion Williamson?
Everyone is talking about how incredible LeBron James looked last night and, well, rightfully so. The dude is the first person in NBA history to put up at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in just 23 minutes. And he’s 39 years old. That’s a man on a mission right there.
Honestly, at the respective point in their careers, you’d think that those would be numbers we’d be talking about after a Zion Williamson performance. He’s only 23 years old, after all.
Instead, he’s only scoring 13 points and grabbing two rebounds in 44-point losses to 39-year-old LeBron James. That game was such a disappointment to watch from him.
I wasn’t the only one who seemed disappointed. The Inside the NBA crew also ripped him after the game. Charles Barkley said, “He’s got two guys on his team that are better players than him and they shouldn’t be … he should be the best player and he’s not even close.”
“I want to make some points about Zion. Does not run hard. It’s not a diss — it’s going to be a lesson from one great big man to another guy that could be a great big man. I had the same problem my first, second year…He doesn’t create easy points for himself…He doesn’t demand the ball…and he doesn’t have that look. In every sport I know a look. Tiger Woods had that look. Jack Nicholson had that look. He doesn’t have that look.”
That’s nothing but disappointment, folks. It’s hard to blame the crew there. Williamson has the potential to be a great player. We’ve all seen it. The Pelicans were No. 1 in the Western Conference behind Williamson’s play.
Remember what he was like when he came out of Duke? It was easy to think he was going to change the league with the way he played. He rebounded like crazy. He finished at the rim whenever he wanted to. He defended and played hard. We haven’t seen that Zion in the NBA yet.
There are certainly fundamental flaws in the Pelican’s roster and rotation that are in the way here. But the TNT guys are right. Sometimes, it just comes down to playing hard. And Williamson isn’t.
He’s going to have to take those criticisms on the chin. Hopefully, they’ll make him better.
It’s Shohei Time?
Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Folks, it may soon be time. After all of our waiting in silence (much to so many people’s chagrin!), it seems Shohei Ohtani may be ready to make a decision on his future.
This is exciting, man. It’s a once-in-a-generation player making a huge decision that’s going to have ripple effects throughout Major League Baseball. This decision could shift things drastically.
I can’t wait.
A quick backdrop: To catch you up, here are some quick primers for Ohtani’s free agency.
It was honestly extremely impressive. Maybe a little too impressive? The Patriots are tied for 2nd in the NFL draft order for now. But a few more games like this and New England might play itself out of a shot at a new quarterback.
Tread carefully, Bill Belichick.
Photo of the day: A star is born
Tyrese Haliburton has absolutely been the best player of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament so far. After dispatching the top two teams in the Eastern Conference in back-to-back games, I don’t think that’s up for debate.
He had his moment against the Bucks, putting up 27 points, 15 assists and 7 rebounds. All eyes were on Hali in the end. This was his moment.
. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
What was even better than that, though, was the Lillard time — er, uh, excuse me — Ty time celebration he did in the fourth quarter.
What a heartwarming moment for Tyrese Haliburton’s family.
Tyrese Haliburton’s meteoric rise into NBA superstardom is finally under a national spotlight. There’s no other conclusion as the Indiana Pacers talisman lights up the league’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. He has officially arrived on a rising Indy squad, and it’s high time everyone recognizes it.
Haliburton is only 23 years old. I have a feeling he’s about to serve up many moments like this for his folks for a very long time. He will probably even do it during Saturday’s IST Final.
It’s Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
As the Pacers got an NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, Haliburton made sure to let the opponent know whose time it was to shine.
Lillard didn’t take too kindly to Haliburton’s trolling.
Damian Lillard says he respected Tyrese Haliburton pulling out the "Dame Time" wrist tap but Lillard also notes to "be humble" when you're having your moment because you never know when it ends https://t.co/2SAxQNYmsPpic.twitter.com/Ts043w25Un
Gooooood morning, Winners! Happy Wednesday! Hope you’re having a fantastic week so far. Thanks so much for taking a second and reading today.
The NBA In-Season Tournament has been so fun. So, of course, the NBA’s officials had to ruin an instant classic between the Suns and the Lakers.
If you don’t know what happened, the Lakers were gifted a timeout that they shouldn’t have been able to call. My colleague, Charles Curtis, has more here.
A quick synopsis: Austin Reaves loses possession of the ball on the inbound pass. Grayson Allen picks the ball up and you think the Suns have a chance to tie the game.
This shouldn’t have happened, folks. The Lakers didn’t possess the ball. And, as Curtis writes, if you don’t possess the ball then you can’t call a timeout. It’s that simple.
Instead, LeBron James gets the timeout. The Lakers get the ball and LA puts the game away. Instead of going to overtime, it’s a loss for the Suns and quite the blemish on the In-Season Tournament.
I’m not particularly eager about criticizing officials. They have a hard job to do — officiating the best athletes in the world is not easy. But, man. This is embarrassing. That was an easy one. And missing that in the middle of arguably the best game of the In-Season Tournament so far? This is supposed to be a moment for the league to showcase its product. The officials are part of that. And, boy, that doesn’t look good.
Ultimately, it is what it is. The game went on and the Suns lost. The league is probably happy the Lakers made it through to the finals as one of its premier franchises with its biggest face being LeBron James.
But, man. Just know the last two-minute report today is going to be hilarious. We might even get another one of those apologies! That’ll make it all better, Suns fans.
Shohei Ohtani’s secret free agency is actually very cool
I must say, though, I’m not MLB nut, but it sure seems like we’re still talking about everything just fine.
Ohtani hasn’t said a single word and we’re still grabbing on to every single morsel of information we can. I mean, look at all the rumors we’ve gathered up here! There’s still a lot of intrigue there.
Silence doesn’t take away the suspense. It only adds more. That’s what makes this so great.
Remember when LeBron James took a few weeks before telling us he was signing with the Lakers? Wasn’t that fun? Or what about the time Kevin Durant broke the news that he was going to the Warriors with a column? That was also still very fun.
The process doesn’t always have to be out in the open for us to talk about it. Sometimes, the background suspense can be just as good.
“While Plum is a two-time WNBA champion, she says transitioning from college to the pros was difficult. With her all-time NCAA scoring record (3,527) on pace to be broken by Clark this season, she’s warning her of what comes next.
Per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Plum expressed concern about who Caitlin Clark is as a person getting lost in the shuffle of earning the scoring title.”
Here’s what Plum had to say:
“I feel like people started caring less about the game and more about just the individual points,” Plum said. “You can play really well and score 15, 20 points and have a great game and people will be like, ‘Aw, it was only a 20-point game.’ It was tough for me because I felt like I lost a little bit of my identity and it ultimately led to a tough transition into the (WNBA) because the expectations were so high. So, if anything, I’d try to send her as much compassion and love as I can and I hope the people around her are checking in with her … because it’s going to be tough to feel like you’re just playing basketball.”
That’s spot on. It took a while for Plum to find her footing in the WNBA. Clark might see the same path ahead of her, too, as the physicality and defense kick up a notch at the next level.
Luckily for her, it seems, she’ll have folks like Plum supporting her along the way. At least when she’s not playing against her, anyway.
Quick hits: Is it time for Bill Belichick to go? … Taylor Swift in TIME! … and more
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New York Knicks to advance to the semifinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished the game with 35 points as well as 10 assists and eight rebounds during the win, was asked about the prize money that the advancing players will receive.
Antetokounmpo seemed surprised that there was money involved in any capacity and told TNT’s Jared Greenberg: “The rich get richer.”
Giannis, who just earned $100,000 for making it to the In-Season Tournament semifinals: "Are we getting money now? We got some money? The rich get richer." 😂pic.twitter.com/oNitKKHg14
The two-time MVP is currently signed to a five-year contract worth more than $228.2 million for an average annual value exceeding $45.6 million.
He will earn at least an additional $100,000 by making the semifinals of the NBA Cup but the former NBA Finals MVP could receive up to $500,000 if the Bucks win the In-Season Tournament.
Fun fact: Antetokounmpo, who will turn 30 years old while in Las Vegas, said that he only bets on “34 red” in roulette if he is gambling.
It actually wasn’t the worst advice from Josh Hart to Brook Lopez.
During the quarterfinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, Knicks wing Josh Hart had a funny message for Bucks big Brook Lopez.
Hart, who is 6-foot-4, approached the 7-foot-1 center to offer him some strategic advice. Hart said that when Lopez gets the ball near the basket, the Milwaukee big shouldn’t feel “scared” to pass it out to his teammate to avoid the mismatch.
According to Hart, despite the obvious height difference that favors the Milwaukee big by several inches, the mismatch favors the shorter player any time that he is guarding Lopez.
“I know when you got the ball in the post against me it’s a mismatch. Don’t be scared if you gotta pass it out!”
Hart was joking, but let’s look into this one! For what it is worth, using the matchup database via NBA.com, Hart has defended Lopez on 31.5 partial possessions since 2018-19.
The big man is shooting 3-of-7 (42.8 percent) on these opportunities and has scored eight points. Lopez has also recorded three assists and three turnovers on these matchups. Not bad!
While the advice from Hart about a mismatch is tongue-in-cheek, it is also actually not the most awful observation. Lopez is averaging just 0.1 passes per game after post-up possessions this season, via NBA.com.
Last season, his pass percentage on post-ups ranked as the second-lowest (minimum: 40 post-ups) in the league. So perhaps, no matter who is assigned to guard Lopez, he should consider Hart’s suggestion.
Good morning, Winners! Thanks so much for reading the Morning Win today! We appreciate you.
Adam Silver needs to call for an emergency press conference at some point today and just do the Gladiator thing the entire time. “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?” Because that man deserves to take a victory lap around the success of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
Adam Silver has done a lot of good things for the NBA. Players are raking in obscene amounts of cash now. The league is making more money than ever before. He’s also managed to ditch not just one, but two, problematic owners through his tenure as commissioner.
But, as far as basketball goes, the In-Season Tournament has got to be Silver’s crowning jewel as a commissioner. Whenever he chooses to step down, this tournament will be the thing he leaves behind.
There’s something about single-elimination sports tournaments that just works so well. Every single time. There are automatically stakes and drama, even without an extra $500,000 on the line.
Oh, and by the way, enough with saying the players won’t care about that. Look at how excited some of these dudes on the Pacers’ bench are knowing they’re about to advance. Tell me they don’t care about that money.
look at that bench. the Pacers have 10 players on the books who make less than $3 million in salary this season (3 two-way contracts). $500k per player to the winner of the tournament. get nuts. https://t.co/B4jPrZlPuR
The courts are wonky. The jerseys are goofy. But this basketball is good, man. It was great to watch Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers get excited about cooking against one of the best defenses in the league. It was fun to watch the Pelicans put together a complete win without an incredible game from Zion Williamson. That’s the stuff the fans need to see. It’s the most important function of this tournament.
Earlier in October when the season started, Adam Silver said he wanted to change the way the NBA is covered. There wasn’t enough talk about the game — at least not compared to all the fluff around it.
This tournament changes that. It brings the focus back to basketball again. Honestly, watching it has been extremely refreshing.
I don’t know how the rest of this thing is going to go throughout this week. But I’m confident enough in what we’ve seen already to say this: The NBA In-Season Tournament works.
When this is over, can we do this again in March? Please, NBA?
Jake Browning just earned himself a contract, didn’t he?
I had no idea who Jake Browning was before last night, but I absolutely know who he is now. And so does the NFL after his stunning performance against the Jaguars on Monday night.
Browning kept the Bengals’ playoff hopes alive in a 34-31 win over the Jags that came down to a last-second field goal. Browning was brilliant in this one, completing 32 of his 37 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown. He’s the first undrafted player to put up numbers like this at quarterback since 1967, per ESPN.
Per ESPN Stats & Info: Bengals QB Jake Browning is the first undrafted player since 1967 (Common Draft Era) to throw for 350 passing yards and complete 85% of his passes in a game.
Like I said, the NFL knows who he is now. It’s just one game, so he’ll have to keep this up. But I totally expect this dude to get the Matt Flynn treatment down the line.
Speaking of backup QBs, the Jaguars seem to have a situation on their hands now with Trevor Lawrence spraining his ankle. C.J. Beathard is the current backup and seemed decent. But will he be able to keep the Jaguars afloat at the top of the division? We’ll see.
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Apparently, the Jets want to name Zach Wilson the starting quarterback for the team. But, in a wild twist, he doesn’t appear to want the job? Even after Aaron Rodgers tried to convince him to take it, he said no.
But Wilson — outside of contractual obligations, of course — owes the Jets nothing. Never mind that at seemingly every turn, they’ve been determined to undermine the former No. 2 overall pick: why would Wilson want to play and risk his personal health for a team that’s demonstrated it probably doesn’t care all that much about him?”
It’s hard to blame Wilson here, honestly. He stinks. We know that. Wilson playing won’t make a difference. His future isn’t with this team and we learned that when Robert Saleh went in a different direction with Tim Boyle. From Wilson’s perspective, that’s the choice the organization made and it’ll have to live with it now.
