You just never know who is going to interact with whom at a sporting event.
During Wednesday night’s New York Knicks home game against the Chicago Bulls, Knicks forward OG Anunoby stumbled and almost crashed into actor Anne Hathaway, who was sitting by the court.
This was a chance encounter you couldn’t predict, but the moment thankfully ended in just spilled popcorn and a story for both to tell their family and friends.
Celebrities sitting courtside is nothing new in the NBA, but a moment like this is always going to feel surprising and new. We’re glad it was just a brief hello for the duo and not an actual collision.
Gregg Popovich is going through some things today.
The longtime Spurs head coach hasn’t been able to coach the team over the last few weeks because of a previously undisclosed medical condition.
On Wednesday, the Spurs put out a statement giving us more detail on what’s going on with Popovich. He apparently suffered a mild stroke earlier this month and is currently on the road to recovery, according to the team. He’s already begun the rehabilitation process. There’s no timetable on when he might return.
If you’re a fan of the NBA in any sense, Popovich probably means a lot to you. Not only has he been the league’s best head coach, but he’s also been a positive presence in our lives through the years.
With that in mind, it’s as good a time as ever to reflect on some of the best moments we’ve seen from Popovich through the last few years.
That time he pranked Shaq
Pop hasn’t always seemed like the most playful coach out there, but that’s always been in him. Exhibit A is the time he pranked Shaquille O’Neal by fouling him as soon as the game started after he complained about the Hack-a-Shaq strategy.
This guy, man.
His pre-Game 7 interview
One of the best things about Popovich throughout his career so far has been his brutal honesty. He’s never held his tongue.
When asked about the prospect of playing against the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the 2012-13 NBA Finals, he told us that it sucked.
And, yeah, it probably did!
When asked about the message he wanted to send to his team before playing in Game 7. Here’s what he had to say:
“I want them to have no fun whatsoever. This is all business. There’s no eighth game, is there? This is the last game. That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
He also called having to play the game “torture.” He added, “It’s hard to appreciate or enjoy torture.”
Never change, Pop.
That time he geeked out about planets
There are certainly times when we take basketball — and sports, overall — way too seriously. Pop was there to make sure that never happened.
Basketball doesn’t matter in the context of NASA discovering 1,200 habitable planets.
His interview with Craig Sager
This is just such an awesome moment. Craig Sager had been hospitalized and battling Leukemia for months.
When Sager was finally able to return to work and do sideline interviews again, Popovich made sure to let him know how much he missed him and how it was an honor to be able to work alongside him again — even if he hated that part of his job.
“I’ve got to honestly tell you, this is the first time I’ve enjoyed doing this ridiculous interview we’re required to do. And it’s because you’re here and you’re back with us,” he said.
A class act.
This awesome moment between Pop and Tim Duncan
Popovich has never hesitated to give Tim Duncan all the credit for his success as a coach. No matter how good he was at X’s and O’s or managing personalities or any of the other duties that come with coaching, Pop knew that having an all-time great by his side was what made the biggest difference.
So being able to get even a small glimpse into their relationship was always awesome. This moment after a tough loss says it all.
That’s awesome.
Becky Hammon’s Hall of Fame speech
This moment isn’t a Pop moment — it’s a Becky Hammon moment. But the fact that she was more than willing to take a chunk of the biggest moment of her basketball career — being enshrined into the Hall of Fame — to show Pop a little love shows you exactly the sort of person he is to the people he works with.
Get well soon, Pop. There are a lot of people out there rooting for you.
Golden State Warriors superstar guard Steph Curry played against his former teammate Klay Thompson for the first time on Tuesday night, which is still such a strange thing to type.
The revered “Splash Brothers” won four NBA titles together in Golden State and will go down in history as one of the great duos on the basketball court.
However, Tuesday night’s NBA Cup game found Curry and the Warriors playing against Thompson and his new team, the Dallas Mavericks.
Very early in the contest, Curry actually hit a nice 3-point shot right over Thompson, which you really must see to believe given how weird it is.
This is going to take some getting used to; that’s for sure.
Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Klay Thompson returned to Golden State for the first time since leaving the Warriors this offseason on Tuesday night.
Of course, he was given a hero’s welcome by the Golden State fans in attendance after he joined the team in 2021 and helped bring four NBA titles to the franchise as one of the “Splash Brothers” opposite Steph Curry.
Warriors fans all wore captain’s hats to honor his “Captain Klay” nickname and gave him a wonderful standing ovation before the game.
You could tell just how much the moment meant to Thompson, who will most likely have his jersey retired one day as one of the franchise’s all-time great players.
While he was to play against Golden State after the celebration, this was such a cool moment for Thompson and his former team.
Dwight Howard’s time on Dancing with the Stars ended on Tuesday night.
Former NBA star Dwight Howard’s Dancing with the Stars journey came to an end on Tuesday night.
Howard and his dance partner Daniella Karagach made it to the competition’s quarterfinals, one celebrating past dance routines in the show’s history for its 500th episode, but couldn’t advance to next week’s semifinal round.
Three other athletes, former NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola and recent Team USA Olympians Ilona Maher and Stephen Nedoroscik, all advanced to the show’s semifinals.
Howard, the former Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets standout, won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. He most recently played for the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards from 2022-2023.
These 2024 NBA Cup basketballs are pretty awesome.
The 2024 NBA Cup kicks off on Tuesday night, pitting all 30 of the league’s teams against each other for the in-season championship.
This year’s NBA Cup will be utilizing a customized basketball for those in competition, just in case you’re watching and you notice the design on the basketball looks different than it usually does.
The design on the basketball shows the tournament bracket and the trophy, which is a neat twist for this year’s competition.
Be sure to check out the latest run of the NBA Cup to see these customized basketballs in action. They’re pretty sharp if you ask us.
ESPN projects the Alabama freshman to be a first round pick.
While the 2024-25 college basketball season only just recently began for the Alabama Crimson Tide, it’s never too-early to start taking a look ahead to the 2025 NBA draft, which is set to take place this upcoming summer.
After not having a player selected in the 2024 NBA draft, Alabama is likely expected to have at-least one name come off the board in 2025, with ESPN projecting that to be in the first round in their latest mock draft in freshman forward Derrion Reid.
According to ESPN, their latest mock draft has Reid coming off the board at pick No. 21 overall in the first round to the Utah Jazz. Reid is the lone player from Alabama projected in the first round by ESPN’s mock draft, while Jarin Stevenson, a sophomore forward, is also sitting at No. 45 overall on their latest Big Board.
After coming to Tuscaloosa as a five-star prospect, Reid has started 2-of-3 games for Alabama so far this season as a freshman where he is currently averaging 7.7 PPG and 4 RPG. Reid is also shooting 50% from the field, as well as 50% from three-point range.
Nikola Jokic is unbelievably more dominant than ever.
I never saw Michael Jordan truly play in his prime. I’ve been watching some measure of NBA basketball for about 20 years, so I’ve been around for just about the entirety of LeBron James’ legendary career. I know the tremendous history presented by guys like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
So it’s critical I get this out in the open, even while I understand some folks might consider the sentiment blasphemous.
For me, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is one of the small handful of most outstanding basketball players that I’ve ever seen. He’s a singular all-time talent. Depending on the day and mood, you might convince me he’s the best I have ever laid two eyes on. Yes, he belongs in that Jordan and James conversation.
There is no other reasonable conclusion after watching Jokic enter Year 10 of his career this season — after already winning a regular-season MVP or NBA Finals MVP in each of the last four years — and somehow being more dominant than ever (seriously) on a Nuggets team some thought would be in frustrating transition.
Rewriting history
Nikola Jokić is 1st player in NBA history to have these stats after 10 games:
In fact, just 10 games into 2024-2025, Jokic is the clear frontrunner for a fourth regular-season MVP. With him averaging a near 30-point triple-double (c’mon) so far while shooting over 50 percent from 3 on high volume (C’MON!), the competition isn’t close. (He’s also tied for sixth in deflections and tied for 10th in steals.) As a result, instead of falling into a spiral of drama and malaise, the 7-3 Nuggets remain top-flight championship contenders.
Look at these numbers. Look at these NBA 2K-level numbers. Really, look at them.
It should be confounding. It shouldn’t make any sense whatsoever. Yet, with Jokic, it somehow all comes together in perfect harmony.
He is truly better than ever. That’s so ridiculous to think about, man.
Jokic’s potent new-look Nuggets offense
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Every nugget (no pun intended) about Jokic’s transcendent 10-game start boggles the mind.
On top of already orchestrating Denver’s offense like a conductor at the helm of a well-tuned machine the way he always does, Jokic is now pushing the pace for one of the fastest teams in the NBA. (Hello, Russell Westbrook Effect.) A year after playing a mostly effective but rigid style of offense with the 26th-ranked pace, Denver is seventh in the NBA in offensive pace at the time of this writing. According to Nuggets staff writer Matt Brooks, they are sixth in the NBA in transition possessions per game and lead the NBA in cuts. This happens while Denver remains an elite top-five half-court offense, per Cleaning the Glass.
Uh … what?
This chameleon-like mix accentuates Jokic’s best gifts: touch and anticipation. On top of already working for a quality shot at all costs in the half-court, Jokic now gets to ignite the sneaky Nuggets’ athletic group in transition for tons of easy baskets with his trademark dynamite passing. Life has never been easier for Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, and, of course, Westbrook.
Those summer concerns about poor spacing and 3-point shooting?
All gone by the wayside with a high-octane Jokic-led Denver offense that emphasizes punishing opposing defenses in every possible way while never giving them a break. At this rate, the NBA’s fourth-ranked scoring offense is downright impossible to gameplan for.
The Nuggets’ genuine team mentality
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The wild thing about these Nuggets is that everyone moves off-ball. Everyone runs. Everyone touches the ball. Everyone trusts each other. Essentially, everyone has bought into Jokic’s beautiful game.
The fact that Jamal Murray hasn’t yet been himself while Aaron Gordon recovers from a calf strain only magnifies the tremendous progress Jokic and the other Nuggets have already made.
Jokic himself seems to be reinvigorated by this unfiltered chaos and energy. He’s playing with a simultaneous edge and joy in the sheer drudgery of November games like we haven’t seen in a while. On top of being a do-it-all-superstar who does all the little and big things, you can tell there’s something a bit different about Jokic’s approach to this season when he’s being this vocal while coaching his teammates in the huddle.
Anyone that still says he doesn’t care about the game so much doesn’t know what they’re talking about:
This is what leadership in the huddle looks like. Jokic is extremely vocal with his coaches and teammates. A quiet player is a bad player
Just remember that the above happened in November.
Jokic’s Nuggets aren’t perfect quite yet
Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
While matters seem hunky dory so far, Jokic’s Nuggets still have things to work on.
The young wings have been good, but they have a way to go before they’re ready to contribute quality minutes in a tense playoff atmosphere. Even while brimming with electric playmaking talent, the defense remains a work in progress over finer details like cohesiveness and communication. Denver also definitely needs to find a way to temper Jokic’s minutes (38.1, the highest of his career to date) in a way that preserves him for the postseason while ensuring the Nuggets can still win some games in pursuit of one of the Western Conference’s top seeds. I don’t doubt Jokic could maintain his current monster level of play over an extended season. But Denver is not in the business of wearing him out before the crucible of the playoffs and a hopeful second title run.
His workload will have to come down eventually.
"I don't now how sustainable it is to play Nikola Jokic 40-44 minutes per night." – Malone, who was not wearing a hot dog costume while saying it.
However, these concerns look like they’ll be addressed, albeit gradually, over the next several months.
Because the Nuggets’ process as a marquee title contender looks impeccable right now. They’re doing all the right things against some of the NBA’s best teams and learning valuable lessons about themselves in the process. It’s still early, but they’re on track in every meaningful way.
You can see Denver starting to build toward something special.
A clear statement from the best player in the world
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
All this early-season success is thanks to Jokic, who has unbelievably taken his game to another level in his age-30 season. The gap has never been wider between him and the next-best player in the NBA. And he’s decided to bring everyone on his team along for the ride by leading by example. I suppose I shouldn’t say I’m shocked. When you’re watching one of the greatest athletes to ever palm a bouncy orange ball, all bets are off. Their peerlessness should probably be the expectation, not some dream ceiling you could never fathom.
Welcome to the NBA season where a fiery Nikola Jokic decided to stop giving a solitary inch to everyone outside of his bubble.
We should be excited and terrified at the same time.
To help bring his Denver Nuggets to a sharp 7-3 record, Jokic is averaging an astonishing 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and one block per game while also enjoying an efficient true shooting percentage of 67.1. For perspective, he’s averaging a near-30-point triple-double and sits fourth in the league in scoring while leading the entire NBA in rebounds and assists. If that weren’t enough, the Serbian big man is fourth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (56.4) on a moderately high volume of four attempts per game. Phew.
For all intents and purposes, after a regular-season MVP or NBA Finals MVP in each of his last four seasons, Jokic has been transcendent through 10 games, even by his already high standards. He is the clear best player in the world — there is no “arguably” — and the gap between him and the No. 2 player (whoever that might be) seems wider than ever.
But if you ask Denver head coach Michael Malone, Jokic’s play so far this season apparently hasn’t been that impressive. After Jokic dropped 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 15 assists on the Dallas Mavericks in a thrilling Sunday night win, Malone said he hoped Jokic would “probably be fifth in MVP voting.”
Wait, what? Oh, Malone was joking, and it’s easy to see why:
Malone on Jokic’s 37-18-15; “what’s Jokic fifth in MVP voting now? So he’s gotta do more for us.” pic.twitter.com/4yh9mMc8RM
Malone will never confirm it himself, but there’s a decent chance he saw an absurd NBA MVP ladder that put the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis and the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum over Jokic in this year’s early MVP conversation last week. While those two stars have also been awesome, given how utterly incredible Jokic has been for a Nuggets team that has needed him to play this well just to have a chance to win, lists like that reek of “voter fatigue,” a.k.a. people being tired of Jokic winning the league’s most prestigious individual honor in the regular season. Again.
And it’s not hard to see why Malone likely thinks that that sentiment is ridiculous, as he watches his superstar player put his team on his back every single night:
AD leads the way in the first @KIA MVP Ladder of the season 👀
It’s still so early, and anything can happen in an arduous 82-game season. More importantly, Jokic is also past the point of caring about chasing regular-season MVPs. He and the Nuggets are trying to win championships first and foremost, meaning they will likely have him turn off the jets the closer we get to the postseason so he can conserve his energy for a hopeful (and long) NBA title run. Jokic’s Nuggets have bigger fish to fry these days.
But I’m gonna tell you this right now and remember it well. Davis is having a great season. So is Tatum. So is the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant. They are still nowhere near the same stratosphere as Jokic right now. It’s not even close. No one impacts or controls a game more, and he somehow took another massive step forward. And if the all-time center actually does average even, say, an impeccably efficient 25-point triple-double throughout the entire season for a contending Nuggets team, he will be taking home a fourth NBA MVP award.
Full stop. Voter fatigue about Jokic be damned.
The esteemed honor would lose a ton of credibility if anyone else got it in that scenario.
Former Duke basketball star Jared McCain dropped a career-high 27 points during the Philadelphia 76ers’ second win of the season on Sunday.
Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] took the spotlight on Sunday night as he balled out in a winning effort for the Philadelphia Sixers against the Charlotte Hornets.
The 16th overall pick from this summer’s NBA dropped 27 points, setting a career-high, as the Sixers defeated the Hornets in overtime, 107-105. McCain tallied 23 of his points after halftime, shooting 10/18 from the floor and making three of his eight 3-point attempts.
Despite only playing 31 minutes off the bench, McCain led a Philadelphia team that included nine-time All-Star Paul George in scoring.
McCain hasn’t been able to crack the team’s starting five during his rookie season, but he clearly plays a crucial role off the bench. McCain dropped 18 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, and his previous career high came on November 2 when he dropped 19 points against the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s averaging 10.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game in his debut NBA season.
The Sixers improved to 2-7 on the season with the victory with another game against the New York Knicks on Monday night.
