Tag: NBA News

Kevin Love reflects on mental health journey in extended interview

UCLA legend Kevin Love opened up to talk about his experiences in being his best self and being honest with himself.

Former UCLA Bruin Kevin Love has had a decorated career on the court. A five-time All-Star and an NBA champion, the 36-year-old Miami Heat forward is also making an impact off the court.

Love sat down with Graham Bensiger to talk about grappling with his mental health and his life-changing experience starting therapy.

“Now, I get to be unapologetically myself. I just am who I am. And I have these real flaws and these things about myself that I’m not necessarily proud of I deal with on a daily basis. That was the scariest thing that I likely did in my life,” Love started.

“I think that’s just allowed me to be so comfortable in my own skin. And I got to be myself, truly, for the first time in my entire life. You get to change the narrative in your brain about things that you’ve suffered from and thought and suffered about for so long.

“And I think that can be extremely rewarding and extremely profound as you move forward. I never thought I would be sitting here talking about this. It’s something that I’m extremely passionate about.”  

In addition to continuing his career in the NBA, Love is committed to spreading awareness about mental health through the Kevin Love Fund, an evidence-based organization he started in order to inspire holistic wellness.

NBA News: Mike Brey has found his next coaching job

Mike Brey is taking his talents to the NBA!

At one point we thought [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] was headed to South Florida to be their basketball coach.  Then we thought 2023-24 would be a year of television for Notre Dame’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach.  But reportedly it will be neither for Brey.

Instead, one of the more beloved coaching figures in recent college basketball history is taking his talents to the NBA.  According to Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune (and if anyone would know, it’d be him), Brey is set to join the Atlanta Hawks coaching staff where another former Duke assistant is currently the head coach, Quin Snyder.

Brey and Notre Dame went 483-280 from 2000-2023.  All the best in Atlanta, Mike.

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Watch: Minnesota Timberwolves guard, former Georgia star Anthony Edwards shows off cannon

Ant Man has a CANNON

Should Anthony ‘Ant Man’ Edwards have played football?

The NBA star makes a case while throwing a football at Georgia Tech earlier this week.

Edwards was Georgia’s first No. 1 overall pick in program history when the Minnesota Timberwolves took him in the 2020 NBA draft after one spectacular year in Athens.

Edwards earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors in the 2019-20 season at UGA, and went on to be named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first year in Minnesota.

How crazy would it have been to see Ant Man spinning a football in Sanford Stadium?

Former Georgia basketball star Kentavious Caldwell-Pope traded to Denver Nuggets

KCP to the Nuggets…

Former Georgia basketball star Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been sent to the Denver Nuggets from the Washington Wizards in a four-player trade.

Caldwell-Pope, who spent one season in Washington after winning a title with the L.A. Lakers, played and started in 77 games for the Wizzards. The nine-year veteran averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

The No. 8 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, Caldwell-Pope spent his first four seasons with the Detroit Pistons before moving on to L.A. for four more.

At Georgia, Caldwell-Pope (2011-2013) averaged 15.8 points per game, along with 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals.

Former UGA basketball star Nic Claxton drops career-high vs. Spurs

Former Georgia basketball star Nic Claxton is breaking out for the Brooklyn Nets. Details here.

Former Georgia basketball center Nic Claxton put up a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 17 minutes played as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 on Monday night.

Just last week, Claxton made his season debut after missing the Nets’ first 32 games due to knee tendinopathy, now, the Greenville, S.C., native is making a serious impact.

Claxton followed Monday night’s career-best performance with another big game in a win versus the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

In just 16 minutes played, the Nets’ 2019 second-round pick put up 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added eight rebounds.

Claxton’s efficiency of late is hard to ignore and it’s great to see the former Bulldog back in action after battling injuries the last two seasons.

In his time at Georgia (2017-2019), Claxton averaged 8.4 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game, while earning second team All-SEC honors in 2019, when he led the SEC in blocks (81) and blocks per game (2.5).

You can catch Claxton and the Nets next game at home on Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. versus the Boston Celtics.

 

 

NBA legend Dwayne Wade has high praise for former Georgia Bulldog ‘Ant-man’ Edwards

Anthony Edwards took Georgia basketball by storm when he signed with coach Tom Crean and the Bulldogs as the highest-rated prospect in UGA hoops history. He went on to win SEC Freshman of the Year and earned All-Freshman team honors in his only year …

Anthony Edwards took Georgia basketball by storm when he signed with coach Tom Crean and the Bulldogs as the highest-rated prospect in UGA hoops history.

He went on to win SEC Freshman of the Year and earned All-Freshman team honors in his only year in Athens before becoming the Georgia basketball’s first NBA No. 1 overall pick, cementing his name in UGA athletics history books.

But, of course, ‘Ant’ didn’t stop there. He went to the Minnesota Timberwolves as the No. 1 pick and has proved he belonged there.

So far, the rookie leads all first-year players averaging 14.6 points per game while averaging  3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest.

‘Ant’ has made such an impact already that NBA legend Dwayne Wade, widely considered one of the best two-guards in NBA history, had strong words for Edwards’ play.

“I definitely think he can be a better player than I was. He has all the tools.” – Dwayne Wade

Anytime a 13-time All Star, who is one of the best players ever at his position, calls you out and praises you for being better than him – things are looking great.

You can catch Edwards and the Timberwolves’ next game versus the Toronto Raptors on Fox Sports and NBA League pass on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards joins Lebron James, signs with Klutch Sports Group

Per Klutch Sports Group’s Twitter account, Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards has signed with the agency who also represents Lebron.

Former Georgia basketball star, 2019-20 SEC Freshman of the Year Anthony Edwards, has signed with Klutch Sports Group, according to their Twitter.

Klutch Sports Group is a sports agency founded by Rich Paul – known most famously as agent to NBA superstar Lebron James – and has been in the news most recently for the signing of Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young and now Edwards, the potential No. 1 pick of this year’s NBA Draft.

Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group also represents NBA players like Anthony Davis, John Wall, Ben Simmons and Draymond Green with Edwards now being the youngest athlete signed.

Edwards was a one-and-done at Georgia. In 2019, he was the nation’s leading freshman scorer at 19.1 ppg and was named second-team All-SEC by both the coaches and the AP.

DawgNation, mark your calendars for October 16, as Edwards looks to become the first Bulldog drafted No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft.

Texas ex LaMarcus Aldridge undergoes surgery, season over

When the 2019-20 NBA season resumes on July 31, the San Antonio Spurs will be without one of their top players.

When the 2019-20 NBA season resumes in late July, the San Antonio Spurs will be without one of their top players. Continue reading “Texas ex LaMarcus Aldridge undergoes surgery, season over”

Warriors season over as NBA’s Board of Governors approves 22-team return format

The Golden State Warriors 2019-20 season is over.

After a significant layoff due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA is set to resume the 2019-20 season. On a conference call on Thursday, the NBA’s Board of Governors approved Commissioner Adam Silver’s 22-team return format.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the vote to restart the season with 22 teams was approved 29-1.

Starting July 31, the league will send 22 teams to Orlando, Florida to play eight regular-season games to determine playoff seeding prior to heading into the postseason.

With a league-worst 15-50 record, the Golden State Warriors will be one of eight teams to not partake in the NBA’s return plan. Golden State’s 131-107 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers will go down as the final game of an unprecedented debut season in San Francisco’s Chase Center.

With Golden State’s season over, Bob Myers and Steve Kerr can turn their full attention to the NBA Draft. After ending the year with a bottom record, the Warriors are locked in for a top-five pick in the 2020 draft. According to Tankathon.com, the Warriors have a 14% chance to land the top pick and a 52.1% chance to stick in the top-four.

Golden State will now have an idea of where they’ll pick in the top-five with a new date for the Lottery set in place. With the Board of Governors vote, new dates have been settled for the NBA Draft Lottery and the Draft.

According to Wojnarowski, the Lottery will take place on Aug. 25 with the Draft following on Oct. 15. Free Agency is set to begin just days after the draft on Oct. 18.

While 22-teams battle it out in Orlando, Golden State will get a jumpstart on a unique edition of the offseason.

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Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards goes No. 1 in latest NBA mock draft

Georgia forward Anthony Edwards goes No. 1 in NBC’s latest NBA mock draft

Georgia’s Anthony Edwards was selected at No. 1 in NBC Sports‘ latest NBA mock draft.

On June 25, Edwards could be UGA’s first ever No. 1 selection in the NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-4 guard was a one-and-done at Georgia, displaying an incredible scoring ability and freakish athleticism.

The SEC Freshman of the Year scored a team-leading 19.1 points per game while adding 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

On Edwards, NBC Sports wrote:

Edwards is the best scorer in this 2020 NBA Mock Draft. At 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan and explosive athleticism, he’s proven himself to be a dangerous three-level bucket-getter that can get hot and do things like score 33 points in a half. Ask Michigan State. He also has the physical profile of a guard that can defend two or three different positions in the NBA. It’s all there.

Although Edwards is perhaps the most proficient scorer in this year’s draft class, there are still some questions regarding his jump-shot.

At UGA, Edwards shot 29% from the 3-pt line, however, the numbers may not reflect that the guard was forced to be a one-man show for the Bulldogs.

Whether Edwards goes first or not, Bulldog fans hope he lands with a certain team from Atlanta…..

The Hawks do currently hold one of 14 projected lottery picks, so there is a possibility Edwards may be back in the red and black this fall.