Tag: nba twitter

Old video resurfaces on Twitter of Seattle native Paolo Banchero admitting he does not like the Thunder

“I grew up with the Sonics a little bit. I was like six (years old) when they left. So I never liked the Thunder.”

In an old video that recently resurfaced on Twitter and made shockwaves through the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets Twitterverse, Duke forward Paolo Banchero admitted his disdain for the Thunder as he grew up in Seattle, the home of the Seattle Supersonics.

“I grew up with the Sonics a little bit. I was like six (years old) when they left. So I never liked the Thunder,” said Banchero in the 10-second clip that went viral.

Now it’s not totally sure when Banchero said this, but considering it looks like it was recorded on Zoom, it’s fair to say that the latest possible time this could’ve happened was in 2020.

Considering he was viewed as a potential first overall pick and will likely go in the top three in the 2022 NBA draft, I seriously doubt Banchero would say something like this during his college season. So this marks out anything after November 2021 at the latest.

This means this video probably took place in 2020, when he was still in high school. Don’t really know how much stock you put into it — if any at all. It’s a cute little diss, but that’s all it is. The Thunder are probably not going to take Banchero anyway as it looks like their eyes are set on Chet Holmgren with the second overall pick.

Editor Note: The video is from an August 2020 interview with Zagsblog’s Jacob Polacheck, where Banchero spoke about which teams he would like to play for the most in the NBA. His answer included teams like the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers.

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Damian Lillard likes tweet that suggests the Trail Blazers should send No. 7 pick for Lu Dort

Damian Lillard likes a tweet that suggests the Portland Trail Blazers should send the No. 7 pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Lu Dort.

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard recently liked a tweet on Twitter that suggested his team should trade the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft for ready-now players like Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort.

The full details of the hypothetical trade by Twitter user Thunder Moneyball includes the Thunder shipping out the 12th overall pick and Dort in exchange for the seventh overall pick in a three-team trade with the Trail Blazers and Pistons.

Lillard, who is 31, is in a win-now mode of his career and cannot waste another season hoping young players eventually develop. If the Trail Blazers are serious about retooling with Lillard, then they should seriously consider trading for players who can contribute right now instead of drafting someone with the hopes of contributing down the road.

This isn’t the first time Dort has been linked to the Trail Blazers as Bleacher Report recently wrote an article that included a hypothetical trade that would pair both parties together as the Thunder acquire the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft. Lillard called Dort one of the best perimeter defenders in the league this past December, so his respect for him is pretty high.

Unless a contract extension is agreed upon, which doesn’t sound like it from Thunder general manager Sam Presti, the 23-year-old will enter a contract year for the 2022-23 season. If the Thunder are hesitant on extending Dort, then a trade is the only logical conclusion to the pairing unless the team is willing to lose him for nothing in the 2023 offseason.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Joel Embiid only making All-NBA Second Team

NBA Twitter gives their best reactions to Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid only being named to the All-NBA Second Team.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid had himself one amazing season in the 2021-22 season out on the floor. He led the league in scoring at 30.6 points while also pulling down 11.7 rebounds and dishing out 4.2 assists all while keeping the Sixers afloat when things went awry.

Embiid kept Philadelphia competitive as they were the No. 3 seed heading into the All-Star break despite the Ben Simmons saga that threatened to drag the Sixers underwater. Philadelphia was also dealing with injuries, COVID issues, and working young Tyrese Maxey in as a point guard and Embiid still made sure the Sixers were winning games.

He was the first big man to lead the league in scoring since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 and the first big man to average 30 points in a season since Moses Malone in 1982. For all of that, the big fella only finished as the runner-up in the MVP voting and he was also named to All-NBA Second Team despite his spectacular season.

NBA Twitter had their best reactions to the Embiid news.

NBA Twitter reacts to Josh Giddey being named on All-Rookie Second Team

The reception was not kind among those in Thunder Twitter, which includes Josh Giddey himself.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team on TNT Wednesday before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks. Giddey, who played just 54 games, had a phenomenal rookie season when healthy as he averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists.

Giddey missing one-third of the season was probably the biggest reason as to why he wasn’t named as a guard on the First Team. Let’s take a look at what NBA Twitter — even Giddey himself — had to say about Giddey making the second team despite winning Rookie of the Month in four of the five months during the regular season.

NBA Twitter reacts to the Thunder landing the 2nd pick in 2022 NBA draft lottery

NBA Twitter reacts to the Thunder landing the Xth and Xth picks in 2022 NBA draft lottery:

The Oklahoma City Thunder landed the 2nd overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft and own four top-34 picks that include three first-round picks and one second-round pick. The Thunder entered the 2022 NBA draft lottery with the fourth-best and 12th-best lottery odds. So the Thunder ending up with the 2nd and 12th picks caused an extremely happy reaction from the fanbase as the team jumped in the lottery standings from fourth to second.

Let’s take a look at how NBA Twitter reacted to the Thunder ending up with the 2nd and 12th picks of the 2022 NBA draft, which will be held on June 26.

NBA Twitter reacts to Jimmy Butler, Heat eliminating Sixers in Game 6

NBA Twitter gives their best reactions to Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat eliminating the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 of Round 2.

The Philadelphia 76ers are finished after they fell to former Sixers star Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat 99-90 in Game 6 on Thursday night. Philadelphia had an opportunity to bounce back and force a Game 7, but it just wasn’t there from the jump.

The Heat jumped out to the lead and while the Sixers gave themselves a chance at halftime, Miami seemed to take their heart in the third quarter. Butler was making shot after shot and they all seemed like daggers. Not just with his offense, but with his hustle plays. It was all Butler and the Heat on the road.

This was the first time the road team had won in this series as Miami got good production out of Max Strus as well to help Butler get the job done. Philadelphia star James Harden only had 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting and he took only two shots in the second half and Joel Embiid had 20 points on 7-for-24 shooting.

NBA Twitter had their best reactions as Butler and the Heat now head to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three seasons:

Sixers, NBA Twitter react to Joel Embiid losing MVP to Nikola Jokic

Philadelphia 76ers and NBA Twitter reacts to Joel Embiid losing out on the MVP award again to Nikola Jokic.

Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid had himself an incredible season becoming the first big man to lead the league in scoring since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 and he is the first big man to average 30 points in a season since Moses Malone in 1982.

The big fella averaged 30.6 points and he carried the Sixers through a ton of adversity. From the Ben Simmons saga to the big James Harden trade, Embiid made sure the Sixers were competitive and contending for a championship despite what was thrown at them.

However, it wasn’t enough to win the MVP award as for the second straight season, Embiid came up short in the race to Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. The Joker had himself another huge season averaging 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists, and led the Nuggets to a big season despite missing their second and third best players all season.

With that being said, Sixers and NBA Twitter believed Embiid was robbed as they had their best reactions to Jokic winning:

NBA Twitter reacts to Doc Rivers’ infatuation with DeAndre Jordan

NBA Twitter reacts to Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers’ love for DeAndre Jordan replacing Joel Embiid.

The Philadelphia 76ers took a rough loss to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday and the fans were not happy with coach Doc Rivers’ decision to start DeAndre Jordan in place of the injured Joel Embiid.

The Sixers struggled with Jordan on the floor as he was a minus-22 in only 17 minutes of playing time. The Heat were putting him in a blender in the pick-and-roll and Philadelphia really couldn’t come up with an answer with him on the floor.

Afterward, Rivers was adamant that the Sixers will start Jordan moving forward until Embiid is ready to return. Now, the Sixers do have better options there such as going small or dealing with Paul Reed and his foul trouble.

Either way, NBA Twitter had some really big reactions to Rivers’ infatuation with Jordan as the Sixers prepare for Game 2 back at FTX Arena on Wednesday.

NBA Twitter reacts to Sixers beating up on Raptors in Game 2 win

NBA Twitter gave their best reactions as the Philadelphia 76ers beat up on the Toronto Raptors in a Game 2 win.

The Philadelphia 76ers came away with a relatively easy 112-97 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of their first-round series on Monday night in a game they led by as many as 29 points. The Raptors tried getting physical with Joel Embiid and the Sixers early, but to no avail.

Embiid scored 19 points and shot 11-for-12 from the foul line in the first quarter on his way to 31 points and 11 rebounds for the game. Tyrese Maxey delivered another big performance with 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The Raptors tried crowding Maxey and getting physical with him, too, but that didn’t work either.

Tobias Harris added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and James Harden had 14, six rebounds and six assists. It was an overall impressive game against a Raptors team that has given the Sixers trouble historically.

NBA Twitter reacted to Philadelphia coming away with an easy win before the series shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Wednesday.

NBA Twitter reacts to young Sixers star Tyrese Maxey’s dominant Game 1 against Raptors

The Philadelphia 76ers dominated the visiting Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series behind a 38-point night from promising second-year guard Tyrese Maxey.

The Philadelphia 76ers dominated the visiting Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series behind a 38-point night from promising second-year guard Tyrese Maxey.

Philadelphia got a balanced effort from its starting 5, with 4 of the starters scoring at least 19 points.

Maxey’s 38 on 21 shots and 5 free throws led all scorers. He also dished a pair of assists and did not commit a turnover despite such high usage. The Sixers were +20 with him on the court.

Tobias Harris scored 26 points on 14 shots and 6 free throws, and registered 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Philly was +17 with him on the court.

James Harden scored 22 points on 17 shots and 7 free throws. He also registered 14 dimes and 5 rebounds in 40 minutes en route to a +14 night.

Joel Embiid scored 19 points on 15 shots and 11 free throws. He also pulled in 15 rebounds and did not commit a turnover. The Sixers were +16 with him on the court.

Here are NBA Twitter’s best reactions to Maxey’s showing.