A night — and call — Richard Jefferson will never forget.
Richard Jefferson said it himself regarding jumping in and refereeing an NBA Summer League game between the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers : He did it because “not many people would dare to put themselves in this position” and it would help as a broadcaster.
So of course we shouldn’t have expected him to be perfect, to get every call right, and there was one that got overturned by a fellow official — an out-of-bounds whistle in which he gave possession to the Knicks when the other ref said it should go to the Blazers. He was overruled.
Check out the moment in which the crowd went nuts before it was overturned:
Richard Jefferson: ‘I do this because not many people would dare put themselves in this position’
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When you watch NBA Summer League, you’re typically watching recent draft picks and young role players developing their game.
So it may be surprising when you see a 42-year-old with 18 years of experience, and an NBA championship ring, running up and down the floor. But that’s exactly what fans will see when Richard Jefferson steps on the court in Las Vegas this evening at 11 p.m. ET.
According to NBA PR, the 2001 NBA Draft lottery pick will officiate the second quarer of tonight’s game between the Knicks and the Trail Blazers. Jefferson attended NBA Summer League Officiating Meetings in preperation for the assignment.
1) Tremendous amount of knowledge about our game that I’ve learned sitting in classes with the best refs in the world
2) I do this because not many people would dare put themselves in this position. The more info I have the more informed I am as a broadcaster.
I love it. More announcers should put their money where their mouth is, like Jefferson is about to do.
After his playing career, Jefferson transitioned to a role as a broadcaster. Announcers often criticize referees, but Jefferson will now bring valuable new experience to his calls.
The former Arizona standout will have seen the game as a player, as an announcer, and as a referee. That is going to make for extremely insightful intel whenever he is in the booth. Kudos to Jefferson, who made a Tik Tok about his decision.
The Tip-Off
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
I had some thoughts about Jaden Ivey, who is the most athletic player in the upcoming rookie class.
“According to Synergy, Ivey was one of 21 drafted players who completed at least 50 passes out of the pick and roll last season. Among those players, only Jaden Hardy (27.4 percent) and Bennedict Mathurin (33.7 percent) looked to pass rather than score less often than Ivey did (34.2 percent) last season … But what impressed me most about Ivey’s professional debut during NBA 2K23 Summer League was, in fact, his playmaking.”
Read more about Ivey’s performance for the Pistons thus far by clicking here.
Magic (-1.5, -114) vs. Thunder (-110), O/U 177.5, 9:00 PM ET
There are too many uncontrollable variables at play for me to confidently tell you how to bet on NBA Summer League. But if you were to watch one of the games tonight, you have to watch Oklahoma City vs. Orlando.
Those are the two top picks in the 2022 NBA Draft facing off against each other. The last time that happened, Banchero had an excellent first half. But I’m incredibly curious about what will happen tonight.
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Richard Jefferson believes that Kevin Durant should stay and make it work with the Brooklyn Nets going forward.
The Brooklyn Nets received some really tough news on Thursday when they were told by superstar Kevin Durant that he wants out with an official trade request. This comes after Durant signed a 4-year deal to stay with Brooklyn so it’s a tough blow for the franchise.
With that being said, the Nets do have him under contract for the next four years, at least. While Durant wants out, Brooklyn may want to try and play nice with him in order to get at least one year out of Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons in order to compete for a championship.
Nets legend Richard Jefferson compared Durant’s trade request to Kobe Bryant’s with the Los Angeles Lakers and he believes Durant should just stay in Brooklyn as Bryant did with the Lakers:
It reminds me of when Kobe Bryant asked for a trade…they was talking about, you know, he wanted to get traded and then there was a lot of conversation about Chicago. And then they were like, ‘Well, this is our asking price for Kobe Bryant in his prime’ and Chicago, they were going to take everything that they can and Kobe was like, ‘Nah, I’m good because if I go there, there’s not going to be anything to play with’. So it is a lot trickier. Kevin Durant, he could might be better off, I’m just saying, he’d be better off staying in Brooklyn if he’s gonna go to a team with no other superstar, no potential All-Star, no other talent. I think it’s a lot more complicated than I think people understand because Kevin Durant’s not just leaving Brooklyn for a change of scenery, he’s leaving Brooklyn because he wants to go compete for a championship so you can’t take all the pieces, add Kevin Durant and be like, here you go, so it’s gonna get complicated.
Whatever the Nets decide to do, this is going to be yet another big issue that they will have to handle in the 2022-23 season. This is tough coming after a tumultuous 2021-22 season where everything that could have possibly gone wrong for the Nets did. For their sake, they need to hope Durant has a change of heart and stays for a bit.
The Lakers lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, 123-95, in a game that the Lakers trailed by as much as 32 points. Like, it was rough — really rough. The fans booed the Lakers off the court during a third-quarter timeout. The most ruthless line, though, probably came after DeAndre Jordan’s errant, three-quarter-court pass that landed in the seats.
ESPN analyst and former NBA player Richard Jefferson proceeded to roast the Lakers with some excellent banter as the blowout unfolded.
No matter what any former officials say, we all know LeBron James has a short leash when it comes to bad calls from referees during his games. He has his moments just like anyone else.
But there was one on Friday night during the Clippers game that, honestly, I’d never seen before.
James was upset about a coach’s challenge from the Clippers’ Ty Lue. There was a rebound scrum with about 24 seconds left on the game clock. The original ruling was Lakers’ ball after Robert Covington touched the ball and knocks it out of bounds on the baseline.
But Lue didn’t challenge whether or not Covington knocked it out of bounds. He challenged whether James was out of bounds by the time he threw the ball back in, which wasn’t actually a made call.
So, essentially, Lue challenged a no-call. Here’s a look at the play.
The officials ruled that James was actually out of bounds and it was Clipper ball after a nine-minute (!!!!!!) review. And this was a pretty crucial moment in the game that wound up propelling the Clippers to their win.
Obviously, James was heated. The Clippers just challenged a no-call. Can you actually do that? James had to ask his old teammate and ESPN broadcast man Richard Jefferson about it. That’s how mad he was.
“The thing that was called was Covington knocking the ball off his hand. You can’t go back…That’s not the play that was called. You can’t do that.”
Whew boy. Bron was going in on the officials on a nationally broadcasted platform. And, honestly, I can’t blame him. Because how can you challenge something that wasn’t called?
Fans felt him on this one…while also appreciating the fact that they just had this conversation on live television. It was pretty hilarious.
“Swagger” will highlight the early stages of Kevin Durant’s basketball career.
Nets star Kevin Durant will have the early stages of his basketball journey highlighted in the form of a new show called “Swagger.” The Durant-inspired film highlights the deleterious effects of social media, economic disparities, fulfilling expectations, racial tensions and jealousy within youth growing up in America.
As not only an executive producer of the show, but the focal point of the story itself, Durant aims to fix these existing problems within our communities. In an interview with former Net Richard Jefferson for Extra, the Texas product revealed why putting this whole thing together has truly been special.
“Being able to tell a story that we all know and having it come to life like that is special,” said Durant. “The criticism that comes with our game, we’re conditioned as young players to take that and to understand that. But, it’s on a broader scale now, you’re seeing it from everywhere. It’s a lot of pressure, but that’s what our sport is and that’s what competition is. The kids now are ready for it earlier than we were though.”
Most of the problems that slow down rising ballers from making it as a professional stem from mental pressure. Despite the youth making extremely noticeable progress coping with this stress, the film will still help influence those who have trouble dealing with it.
The former NBA champion joined the growing list of former players that have offered praise for Herro following an impressive playoff run.
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Former NBA champion Richard Jefferson spoke very highly of Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro recently and the current ESPN analyst believes Herro has a bright future in the league after his recent performance in the playoffs.
Herro, who earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors, averaged 16 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 21 postseason games with the Heat. He set a number of playoff records during his run, and earned widespread praise from several current and former players.
Jefferson joined the group of former players to praise Herro and said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, that he believes Herro is going to be a problem in the NBA for a long time. Jefferson also pointed out that the play of Herro even earned respect from his peers.
Tyler Herro is a basketball player’s player. Old [guys] look at Tyler Herro and you’re like, ‘There’s something about this kid that’s fun to watch.’ I know fans love him. But it’s not just when fans love you. It’s when basketball players are texting each other, are respecting you and they’re like, ‘Hell, some of the stuff this kid is doing is unique and special.’ I’m a big fan… He’s something special. He is going to be a problem for a long time.
Herro established himself as perhaps one of the best players from the 2019 NBA Draft class and he projects to only get better given his work ethic and drive to want to be better. Needless to say, the future in Miami certainly appears to be bright with Herro in the picture…
The art of spewing the hot take has unfortunately become a staple in NBA analysis these days. Whatever gets people to react is the “analysis” the audience gets. Just look at Paul Pierce’s personal crusade against LeBron James.
Unfortunately for former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson, he seems to have picked the wrong person to include in his hot take.
On Wednesday night after the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Miami Heat, Jefferson fired off a tweet comparing Giannis Antetokounmpo to Scottie Pippen — and not in a positive way.
He said Antetokounmpo might be a “Pippen,” and needs to play with a “Jordan” player who can be the main star on the team.
First of all, that’s just ridiculous. It’s terrible analysis. On the surface, he’s saying that what will likely be a back-to-back NBA MVP and the current Defensive Player of the Year cannot be the best player on a championship team. That’s beyond silly.
But here’s the kicker. He’s saying that by comparing Antetokounmpo to a 6-time NBA champion, 7-time All-NBA player and a flat out Hall of Famer in Scottie Pippen. Like, fam. Do you know who Scottie Pippen is?
Anyway, this was bad. So bad, in fact, that Scottie Pippen himself had to come and get Richard Jefferson out of the paint.
He straight up ROASTED him. He indeed confirmed that he is not Giannis – and then asked who Jefferson was as a player.
I’m not Giannis—I don’t have back-to-back league MVPs (he will in a matter of days)—and he’s not me. The question is… who were you as a player? 😂 https://t.co/Ce6tGU98s3
In a podcast appearance on Road Trippin’, LaVar Ball explained the origins of Lonzo Ball’s unorthodox jump shot.
Among the many things Lonzo Ball is known for, his jumper is likely the most recognizable aspect of him and his game. Though he’s made changes to it this season that has led to huge dividends, it’s still a remarkably unique shot that immediately made him stand out.
Considering how much boasting LaVar Ball has done about his sons, it is surprising that he allowed his eldest son to progress as far as he did with a jumper that was so unorthodox. That was the very topic of conversation in LaVar’s recent appearance on the Road Trippin’ podcast with Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Cliffton.
Jefferson brought up Lonzo’s awkward jumper that eventually had to be changed and asked why LaVar allowed him to play with it for so long, which led to an interesting explanation.
“Lonzo started on the right side and then somehow he started doing the stepback and it went to the left and he was knocking that stepback down. So he’s doing this on the left side and he’s being productive. My thing is this. Do you want a guy who has perfect form and missing every shot or do you want a guy who is shooting raggedy as hell but makes shots. Here’s the thing I always told my boys: Perfect your shot. Your shot is the best shot however you perfect your shot. If you’re doing it with the repetitions and that thing is successful going in, leave it at that. Lonzo put it back on the other side and now he’s making some other shots. But as for the reason, if you have somebody believe in you and you shoot a certain way man and that ball going in, they’re not going to say nothing.”
LaVar does make a fair point in that not all jumpers must look the same. Simply watching a quarter or even a few minutes of an NBA basketball game will confirm that.
However, there is a large gap between relatively subtle differences in jumpers in the NBA and the jumper Lonzo entered with. Similarly, the jumper LaMelo is going to enter the league with will also need changes to it in order for him to become a consistent shooter from range.
The shots are almost certainly a byproduct of LaVar forcing his kids to shoot from long range at a young age before they were physically strong enough. Both had elongated motions that worked more as slingshot motions than jumpers.
Regardless, for all the positives Ball did for his sons in getting them to the league, it came at the price of both Lonzo and LaMelo needing to change a fundamental part of their game.
After dropping their first home game of the 2003 Finals, the New Jersey Nets had to step up again Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.
With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:
With the San Antonio Spurs up 2-1 in the 2003 NBA Finals, the New Jersey Nets couldn’t let Game 4 slip away. But a quiet third quarter on June 11 allowed the Spurs to take a 57-56 lead heading into the final quarter after New Jersey had built a 45-34 at the half.
Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson combined for 15 of the Nets’ final 21 points, which proved to be just enough for the Nets to come out on top, 77-76 (full box score). Martin also grabbed five boards in the fourth and got right in the face of Manu Ginobli to disrupt his last-ditch effort to send the game to overtime.
The Nets combined for 13 blocked shots in the win (Aaron Williams four, Dikembe Mumbo three, Martin three, Jefferson two, Jason Collines one).
Martin led the Nets with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Jefferson also had a double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds).
“This team definitely has perseverance,” Kerry Kittles said after the win. “We’ve shown that … We’ve been tested in the playoffs and every time this team is really resilient … and doing whatever it takes to win.”
Kidd scored 16 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed eight rebounds. Williams also pitched in eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
