Tag: Nico Mannion

Report: Warriors’ Nico Mannion to compete for Team Italy in Olympic qualifying tournament

Golden State Warriors guard Nico Mannion will reportedly compete for Team Italy in their qualifying run to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Although their season was cut short before the playoffs in the Western Conference play-in games, multiple members of the Golden State Warriors will be on display in qualifying tournaments leading up to the 2021 summer Olympic games in Tokyo. 

Along with Andrew Wiggins, Mychal Mulder, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Alen Smailagic, 2020 second-round pick Nico Mannion will reportedly play in an Olympic qualifying tournament for his national team.

According to Sportando, Mannion will join Team Italy in a qualifying tournament that features the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Serbia and the Dominican Republic.

Via @Sportando on Twitter: 

Mannion is coming off his first campaign in the Bay Area after being drafted out of Arizona with the No. 48 pick in the 2020 draft. During his debut season with the Warriors, Mannion playing in 30 games, averaging 4.1 points on 34.2% shooting from the field with 2.3 assists and 1.5 rebounds per contest.

Mannion received one start for the Warriors against the Phoenix Suns, tallying nine points on 3-of-10 shooting from the floor with six assists, four rebounds and a steal in 31 minutes.

Italy’s qualifying tournament will take place in Belgrade, Serbia from June 29-July 4. The winner of the competition will punch a ticket to the Olympic games.

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Report: Nico Mannion to play for Italy in Olympic qualifying tournament

Warriors guard Nico Mannion will reportedly play for Italy in the Olympic qualifying tournament this month in Belgrade, Serbia.

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Golden State Warriors guard Nico Mannion will reportedly play for Italy in the Olympic qualifying tournament this month in Belgrade, Serbia, according to Sportando.

The Italy men’s basketball team will participate from June 29 to July 4, along with the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Senegal and Serbia. Each country will play three games before the top four teams advance to a tournament.

The winner will claim one of four remaining spots in the Tokyo Olympics.

Preliminary play in basketball in the Olympics, which will feature 12 teams spread across three groups, will begin July 25 and run through Aug. 2. The quarterfinals will start on Aug. 3 and consist of the top two teams in each group from the preliminary phase.

The semifinals will take place on Aug. 5 with the gold and bronze medal games on Aug. 7.

Mannion, who was born in Tuscany, became the fourth-youngest Italian (17) to play with the national team in 2018 at the European qualifiers in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He recorded nine points during his lone game in a loss to the Netherlands.

The 20-year-old just wrapped up his rookie season in the NBA with the Warriors, averaging 4.1 points, 2.3 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 30 games. His best game of the season came on March 25 when he recorded a career-high 19 points in a loss to the Sacramento Kings.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Nico Mannion helps Warriors set franchise single-game 3-point record

Mannion made just one basket on Saturday, but it helped the Warriors set a new franchise record.

On Saturday, Stephen Curry scored 49 points in 29 minutes of work to lead the Golden State Warriors to a dominating 136-97 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Curry finished the contest by shooting 11-of-21 from 3-point range through only three quarters of action. The performance was his fourth game of the season with 11 3-pointers, the most in a season in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Aided by Curry’s shooting display, the Warriors set the single-game franchise record with 27 made 3-pointers as a team, surpassing the previous mark of 24 on Oct. 29, 2018. The team set the mark following a 3-pointer by Nico Mannion with 5:46 left in the fourth quarter.

With the Warriors up by 39 points entering the fourth quarter, head coach Steve Kerr elected to sit Curry for the final 12 minutes of the contest. His 49 points scored through three quarters were the second-most of his 12-year career.

On the same night in which Bradley Beal scored 50 points, the performance by Curry helped keep him in the race for the NBA’s scoring title. He leads Beal in scoring by a narrow margin (31.9 points per game compared to 31.4 points per game).

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Watch: Nico Mannion ends third quarter vs. Hawks with steal and buzzer beater from beyond the arc

Before the end of the third quarter, Warriors rookie Nico Mannion stole the ball from Trae Young and drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

With Steph Curry sidelined with a tailbone contusion and Brad Wanamaker traded to the Charlotte Hornets, Nico Mannion will get an increased role in the Golden State Warriors backup guard position.

Since rejoining the Warriors from a stint in Orlando’s G League bubble, Mannion is averaging 7.9 points on 36.7% shooting from the floor with 3.1 assists and two rebounds per contest.

On Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks, Mannion capped off the third quarter with an impressive sequence. With seconds ticking away, the 2020 second-round pick swiped the ball from Trae Young and pulled up from beyond the arc for a buzzer-beating triple.

Via @NBCSWarriors on Twitter:

With Atlanta in control for most of the contest, Mannion’s jumper wasn’t enough to spark a late comeback attempt from the Warriors in the fourth quarter. Atlanta coasted to hand Golden State their fourth consecutive loss, 124-108.

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The Arizona product finished the contest as the only member of Golden State’s second unit, tallying 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field with five assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench.

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‘It was a cool moment’: Nico Mannion reacts to guarding LeBron James

Mannion had his first chance to play LeBron James and the Lakers on Monday, and it may be a meeting he will remember for a long time.

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On Monday, Golden State Warriors rookie Nico Mannion had his first opportunity to play against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, and the matchup was likely one the second-round pick will remember for a long time.

The meeting between the Warriors and Lakers was actually the third of the season, but Mannion did not play in either of the previous two contests. Mannion is beginning to see an uptick in playing time as of late with the Warriors switching up the rotation a bit and finally had the chance to see the Lakers on the court.

Mannion tied a career-high with 10 points in the 128-97 loss while he also had four assists and one rebound in 19 minutes of work. He is now a fixture in the second unit, along with rookie James Wiseman and Jordan Poole but the effort wasn’t enough as the Warriors trailed by as many as 36 points in the second half.

Still, the opportunity to guard James was a highlight for Mannion.

“(I just) try not to let the moment be too big,” Mannion said. “Defend (him) like you’re guarding anybody else, honestly. He is one of the best players ever but you can’t be a fan when you’re on the court. It was definitely a cool moment. Like I said, (he is) one of the best players ever. Being able to guard him on the floor is special for me.”

With it being his first time playing the Lakers, James gave Mannion a rather stiff welcome to the NBA.

During one sequence in the second quarter, with the Lakers set to take the ball up the court, James set a screen to free up Talen Horton-Tucker. Unfortunately, Mannion didn’t see him there and ran right into the shoulder of James.

Seemingly every rookie that enters the NBA has one of those moments where they were welcomed into the league by a star player. The plays are generally never positive and that would certainly be the case on Monday with the wall that Mannion ran into.

In any case, the collision will likely remind Mannion to always keep his head on a swivel…

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How Draymond Green still managed to mentor Nico Mannion in the G League bubble

Although Mannion was away from the Warriors, that didn’t stop Draymond Green from checking in with him in the G League bubble.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has often mentored and given advice to rookie James Wiseman this season. The role is one Green enjoys taking on, but his guidance isn’t just limited to Wiseman as another rookie on the team recently revealed.

Warriors second-round pick Nico Mannion, who just re-joined the team from the NBA G League, said on Wednesday that Green watched a few of his games with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the bubble. Green would often check in with Mannion and offer tips in certain game situations.

“Draymond texted me a couple of times and just gave me some feedback,” Mannion said. “He was watching some of the games and would send me clips here and there. (He would) ask me questions on what I saw and what he saw.”

Mannion, who was the 48th overall pick, appeared in nine games with Santa Cruz, averaging 19.3 points, 6.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 33.1 minutes per game. He missed two games due to an ankle injury but averaged 21.3 points over his last three games.

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The Warriors initially planned on having Mannion stay with Santa Cruz for the entirety of the 15-game season. However, with the G League season nearly over, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr opted to have Mannion join the team prior to the All-Star break.

The bubble gave Mannion an opportunity to log heavy minutes seemingly for the first time since playing at Arizona last season. He had played sparingly with Golden State before his assignment but returns to the team now with some experience against current and former NBA players.

Although Mannion was away from Golden State, having the chance to talk to Green meant a lot to him to know that one of the leaders on the team was keeping up with him.

“I think that is huge from a guy like that,” Mannion said. “The leader of the team is reaching out — it means a lot. It’s cool to see guys like that are up here that are still watching and having your back in a way. That was dope.”

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Warriors recall guards Jordan Poole and Nico Mannion from G League Santa Cruz

After impressing with Santa Cruz in the Orlando bubble, the Golden State Warriors have recalled guards Jordan Poole and Nico Mannion.

After dropping a blowout loss to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, the Golden State Warriors will be getting reinforcements in the backcourt.

On Monday, the Warriors decided to recall G League Santa Cruz guards Jordan Poole and Nico Mannion. Following an impressive run in the G League Orlando bubble, both Mannion and Poole will have the opportunity to energize Golden State’s depth chart behind Steph Curry.

Via @WarriorsPR on Twitter:

Prior to rejoining the Warriors, Mannion tallied a season-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field with four assists, two boards and a steal in 37 minutes for Santa Cruz. On his way to a new season-high, the 2020 second-round pick registered his best performance from long distance, drilling five triples.

Via @overtime on Twitter:

Adding to Santa Cruz’s dynamic backcourt, Poole has established himself as one of the top players in the G League Orlando bubble. The second-year guard trails only Kevin Porter Jr. with 22.4 points on 45.1% shooting from the field in 33.5 minutes per game.

Against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Poole exploded for a league-high 37 point performance on 12-of-21 shooting from the field with five boards and three assists.

Via @Ballislife on Twitter:

Poole and Mannion will give Steve Kerr another option behind Curry and Kelly Oubre Jr. outside of Brad Wanamaker, Damion Lee, Kent Bazemore and Mychal Mulder.

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Warriors recall Jordan Poole, Nico Mannion from NBA G League

The Warriors on Monday announced that they have recalled Jordan Poole and Nico Mannion from Santa Cruz in the NBA G League.

On Monday, the Golden State Warriors announced that they have recalled guard Jordan Poole and rookie Nico Mannion from the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA G League.

Poole appeared in 11 games with Santa Cruz, averaging 22.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 33.4 minutes per game on 45.1% shooting from the field. He ranked second among all G League players in scoring and helped Santa Cruz to a 9-3 record.

Mannion, who was the 48th overall pick, appeared in nine games with Santa Cruz, averaging 19.3 points, 6.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 33.1 minutes per game. He missed two games due to an ankle injury but averaged 21.3 points over his last three games since returning.

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Warriors head coach Steve Kerr initially said the plan was to keep both players with Santa Cruz for the entirety of the 15-game season. However, Kerr said injuries and other related roster issues could force the team to recall them earlier than expected.

Following the roster move, Poole and Mannion are both expected to be available to play on Wednesday for Golden State on the road versus the Portland Trail Blazers.

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G League: Nico Mannion’s 25 points leads Santa Cruz to another win in Orlando bubble

In another victory for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Nico Mannion recorded a new career-high with 25 points against the Long Island Nets on Saturday night.

In the G League’s Orlando bubble, 2019 first-round draft pick Jordan Poole has led the Santa Cruz Warriors to a scorching six-game winning streak. On Saturday, it was Nico Mannion’s turn. 

The 2020 second overall pick tallied a career-high 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field in 37 minutes. Along with his scoring effort, the Arizona product helped create for the SeaDubs with eight assists against the Nets. Mannion tacked on four steals and three rebounds in Santa Cruz’s 108-88 blowout victory. 

Via @GLeagueWarriors on Twitter: 

Behind Mannion, four other Warriors notched double figures in scoring, including Ryan Taylor off the bench. On his way to scoring 16 points, Taylor caught fire from deep, hitting five triples on eight attempts.

Despite averaging 22.4 points per game, Poole registered a quiet contest against the Nets. The Michigan product scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Poole added four boards and three assists in 29 minutes. 

Via @nbagleague on Twitter: 

Golden State’s other 2019 draft pick Alen Smailagic tallied six points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor with five rebounds, two assists and a block in 20 minutes for Santa Cruz.

The SeaDubs will back on the floor in Orlando on Sunday against the Austin Spurs. 

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Notable names to know during the G League bubble season

Top prospects like Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green are competing against NBA veterans like Jeremy Lin.

The 2021 NBA G League season, featuring big names like Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green, kicked off Wednesday afternoon.

Even before the pandemic, this season was going to look and feel different than any other because it was the debut of the G League Ignite squad. This is the inaugural campaign for the team, an alternative to the NCAA that offers a pathway to the NBA for top prospects.

But this season is also different than normal because, just like the NBA did to finish out the 2019-20 season, the league is playing in a bubble location at the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex in Florida.

The seventeen teams that opted into playing will have a condensed schedule of fifteen games between Feb. 10-March 6. Single-elimination playoffs begin on March 8 and the NBA G League Finals is on March 11.

Below are some of the most interesting players worth tracking as the games continue over the next few weeks.