IN MY HEART, I KNEW I ALWAYS WANTED TO PLAY AT HOME.
WARM UPS
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Everyone on the court and in the arena has a great look at DeAndre Jordan’s dunk, but we’ll argue that you’re looking at the best view right now.
WARM UPS Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flashes some of that sizzle that the Clippers will miss after trading him away for Paul George.
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WARM UPS
Even after more than 46K minutes played and coming off an injuryaffected season, LeBron James does not pause at hitting the deck to save a loose ball in year 17.
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“THE BEST-PLAYING EDITION OF THE FRANCHISE EVER” -THE SPORTING NEWS
Mild Language
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WARM UPS
Reaching for the ball from behind is generally a bad move on defense, but players like Orlando’s Markelle Fultz have quick enough hands to pick the pocket of an unsuspecting foe (here, Malcolm Brogdon).
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THE GAMEPLAN
2019-20 ANNUAL
FEATURES
58 Fit to a B
76 Year 0
Jimmy Butler’s style of embracing hard work makes him very on brand with the Miami Heat.
The Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving combo might have to wait a year, but things are already looking brighter in Brooklyn.
64 Two-Thirteen
84 Convergent Point
38 Zero Sum Game If the Rockets are going to capture that elusive championship, they will need Russell Westbrook to be a walking contradiction: change his game while being the same player he’s always been.
46 A.D. It’s taken him his entire career, but Mike Conley Jr. is finally ensconced on a team that has a real shot at winning it all.
90 The Highs and D-Lo
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have the 213— specifically Clippers Nation—thinking championship.
70 Walk the Walk All Davis, Awesome Defense, Anthony Delivers—it can stand for many things, but for the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis only means a championship.
52 OK to CP3 Again He’s been tabbed a franchise player, traded for cap space and then swapped again for one of the game’s best players—D’Angelo Russell has been through all the ups and downs in his short NBA career.
Chris Paul has found himself back where everything started, and he’s more than OK with that.
Kemba Walker has spent his entire basketball career happy to work hard and sacrifice in order to get his team to win—which makes him the perfect candidate to lead the Boston Celtics.
POSTER LBJ on one side; EDD on the other. 010
COVER PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS SCHWEGLER; NATHANIEL S. BUTLER (2); LAYNE MURDOCH; GARY DINEEN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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THE GAME PLAN 2019-20 ANNUAL DEPARTMENTS
2 Warm-ups 14 The Point 16 Starting 5
As one of the game’s best long-distance shooters, JJ Redick has received many passes from teammates. He looks back at his fondest.
18 First Five
Luka Doncic, Jamal Murray, Lonzo Ball, Lauri Markkanen and Derrick White are ready for their close-ups.
22 Head2Head
There’s no shortage of talented young guards in the League, but who’s got the edge between Devin Booker and Jamal Murray?
24 Catching Up With...
Hall of Famer Alex English speaks our language of basketball.
21 Celeb Row
The former Baller and now Unicorn Omar Miller knows his hoops.
28 Brack-It
The best team to never win the big one.
33 Know Your Newb
His flight was delayed, but Zion Williamson is itching to start his ascent.
34 24 Seconds
Kelly Oubre Jr. reveals how he went from a small wave to a tsunami.
99 HOOP Holiday Gift Guide ‘Tis the season to give (and get). Let us help with both.
96 Stepback
You know Vince Carter is the greatest dunker when one of his misses is an all-time banger.
110 Spin Moves
Playing in the “City That Never Sleeps,” Julius Randle has no shortage of options of things to do in his spare time.
112 In His Shoes
It would take a very big bag to get Allonzo Trier to part with his sneaker collection.
012
22
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THE POINT Volume 48 No. 1 Editor in Chief Ming Wong #2 Design Director Kengyong Shao #31 Associate Editors Phil D’Apolito #17, John Martin #16 Editor-at-Large Jeramie McPeek #4 Copy Editor Trevor Kearney #8 Senior Writers Michael Bradley #53, Darryl Howerton #21 Contributing Writers Jon Cooper #10, Christopher Cason #22, Bryan Crawford #26, Pete Croatto #20, Jammel Cutler #33, Jabari Davis #24, Jim Eichenhofer #12, Lois Elfman #40, Anthony Gilbert #1, Steve Hunt #29, Andy Jasner #27, Michael Kelly #5, Holly MacKenzie #32, Branden Peters #63 It just looked so off. Patrick Ewing in emerald green.1 Same goes for John Starks with mountains on the chest he used to beat;2 Charles Oakley lost some toughness when there’s a cartoonish dinosaur3 involved; and Anthony Mason’s rugged swagger virtually disappeared when shrouded in purple.4 The lifelong Knicks fan in me cried tears of orange and blue5 when I saw them put on different uniforms. But nothing took the air out as much as MJ as a Wizard.6 You may as well have him lace up a pair of adidas, chug Powerade and wear his hair in cornrows as a Monstar. That bit of shock was understandable. After all, players used to wear the same uniform for a duration longer than a presidential term.7 It used to be a star player would be identified with just one franchise for his career.8 Nowadays, a uniform change is as common as a swap of sneakers at halftime.9 Just a look at our cover and you’ll see that most of the accomplished players have donned two—and sometimes three—uniforms in their careers. Long before they made it official, you saw them on social media “trying on”10 other uniforms at the slightest hint of trade rumors or free agency whisperings. By the time a trade or signing is official and the player has his photo opp holding up his new uniform, you’ve already seen him in the home, away, alternate, throwback and city editions. Since 2000, only nine NBA players entered the Hall of Fame having just played for just one team: Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Joe Dumars, John Stockton, David Robinson, Arvydas Sabonis, Reggie Miller and Yao Ming. Retired HOF-bound players who have played for one team? Just four: Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. What about current one-uniform guys who are on track for the HOF? One—yup, just Steph Curry. After Curry, his teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are possibilities. Damian Lillard has a shot. Beyond that and you’re talking about guys who are 26 and younger.11 This is not to say that change is bad. Players have finite careers and they should take advantage of every opportunity to maximize their time in the NBA. If that means having your old jersey hit the clearance rack or listening to an old city an old city boo you upon your return, so be it. Sometimes change is good. Just ask Chucky Brown, Joe Smith, Jim Jackson and Tony Massenburg.12
Retired Numbers #6, #11, #13, #30, #99
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Ming Wong #2 BONUS POINTS 1. After 15 years with the team that drafted him, Ewing was traded to the SuperSonics as part of a four-team trade. 2. Starks was the underdog fan favorite at MSG before his final two years in the NBA with the Utah Jazz. 3. Oak was the heart of the Knicks for 10 seasons before getting shipped to Toronto. 4. Like Starks, Mason was reclaimed from the basketball scrap heap and went on to become a full-time starter in Charlotte. 5. That quartet defined a decade of the ‘90s “Go NY Go” basketball, a period that still resonates with many long-suffering Knicks fans of a certain age. 6. Nothing is stranger than Michael Jordan in blue and gold. 7. The length of which is the same as an NBA free agent contract. 8. To be fair, before true unrestricted free agency in 1988 with Tom Chambers, most players were bound to the team that drafted them. 9. Shouts to NBA sneaker kings PJ Tucker and Montrezl Harrell for doubling down on the heat at every game. 10. Some of those Photoshop jobs are top notch. 11. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker... 12. These four have played for 12 teams. Massenburg technically leads with 13 as he played for the Grizzlies in Vancouver and after their move to Memphis.
Vice President, NBA Photos Joe Amati Director, Photos Imaging David Bonilla Senior Photo Editor Brian Choi Senior Photo Coordinator Kevin Wright All NBA photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of NBA Entertainment. All WNBA photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of WNBA Enterprises. All NBDL photos appearing in this magazine, unless otherwise indicated, are copyright of NBDL Enterprises. HOOP is published annually, by PSP. © 2019 Professional Sports Publications. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission of publisher is prohibited. To subscribe to HOOP, call (800) 829-3347. PRINTED IN THE USA ROCKY WIDNER (2); NATHANIEL S. BUTLER; ROBERT MORA/GETTY IMAGES
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WHO WILL RISE And make this season impossible to forget
JUMPBALL
BY JON COOPER #10
STARTING 5
JJ REDICK
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS When you can shoot the basketball, you’ll always have a job in the NBA. It’s easy to understand, then, why job security has never been an issue for JJ Redick. Redick entered the 2019-20 season, his 14th in the League, eighth among active players in 3-point field goal percentage (.413), 11th in made 3-point field goals (1,704), and second in free-throw percentage (.891). The 6-4, 200-pound sharpshooter, who’ll make his home in New Orleans after signing a two-year deal with the Pelicans on July 15, seems to be getting better with age. Last season, at age 34, he had a career season for the 51-win Philadelphia 76ers. He set career highs for scoring (18.1 ppg, 25 20-plus-point games), three-pointers (240, a Sixers franchise record), rebounds (186), and blocked shots (17). He even recorded his first career double-double, going for 27 and 10 (his first career 10-rebound game) on March 19, in the Sixers’ 118-114 win at Charlotte. Redick finished fifth in the NBA in free throw percentage (.894) and in games with at least four made three-point field goals (33). The Pelicans will be the fifth NBA team for the former first-round pick (11th overall) of the Orlando Magic in the 2006 Draft out of Duke, where he was a two-time First-Team All-American and 2006 John Wooden Award winner. He should feel right at home in Nawlins, as he’s one of five former Blue Devils in the organization, joining Brandon Ingram (2015-16), Frank Jackson (2016-17), Jahlil Okafor (2014-15), and the first pick of the 2019 Draft, Zion Williamson (2018-19)—six if you count Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon (1994-99). As he’s done at his four previous stops (Orlando, Milwaukee, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia), Redick plans to present a perimeter threat that should help spread the floor and open the lane for Williamson and explosive guard Jrue Holiday, and make the Pelicans one of the NBA’s most interesting teams to watch this season. As he’s also done with his previous teams, Redick expects to win. He’s played on 10 50-game winners and rides a streak of six straight coming into ‘19-20. With him in the fold, the Magic put together a franchise-record four straight 50-win seasons (2007-08 through 2011-12), the Clippers had four straight (2013-14 through 201617) to wrap a franchise-record five straight 50-win campaigns, and the Sixers had back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time in 33 years. Redick’s teams also have never missed the playoffs and only three have finished with sub-.500 records—two of those teams were in 2012-13, with the latter, Milwaukee, still qualifying for postseason. Such success makes Redick a pretty good authority on the subject of winning and winners. Here’s the starting five and sixth man he chose.
016
POINT GUARD: CHRIS PAUL Teammates in Los Angeles, 2013-17 “CP, of course. He’s one of the greatest point guards of all-time—his vision, floor leadership, shooting ability, everything.”
SHOOTING GUARD: JIMMY BUTLER Teammates in Philadelphia, 2018-19 “He’s a great player. He’s a top-15 player in the NBA right now.”
LAYNE MURDOCH JR.; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN (3); JESSE D. GARRABRANT (3)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
SMALL FORWARD: BEN SIMMONS Teammates in Philadelphia, 2017-19 “I’m going to put a guy out of position and put Ben Simmons at small forward. He’s an unbelievable guy in transition. He’s an elite passer, elite ballhandler, elite playmaker and has the capability to be an elite defender.”
POWER FORWARD: BLAKE GRIFFIN Teammates in Los Angeles (Clippers), 2013-17 “Blake is one of the most versatile players in the NBA.”
CENTER: JOEL EMBIID Teammates in Philadelphia, 2017-19
SIXTH MAN: JAMAL CRAWFORD Teammates in Los Angeles (Clippers), 2013-17
“He’s just dominant. He’s elite offensively and defensively.”
“THE sixth man. He got buckets!”
017
JUMP BALL BY JON COOPER #10
4 DERRICK
WHITE
GUARD - SAN ANTONIO SPURS
FIRST FIVE
Derrick White gives it his all when he hits the floor, even if that means literally hitting the floor. In San Antonio’s Nov. 5 game in Atlanta, with his pregame status in doubt because of a glute injury, the 25-year-old1 White, drew two charges, keeping him among the leaders in that category.2 “I think I told somebody I probably wouldn’t take one today, but I couldn’t help myself,” he said afterward. “That’s who I am.” Who wouldn’t want a guy who sacrifices himself so willingly? Evidently, 28 other teams. In the 2017 NBA Draft, the Spurs used their first pick at No. 29 to select the Parker, Colo., native. In addition to the way White gives himself up, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is also impressed with how he handles the ball. “He’s a good passer, he’s got a nice even keel to his temperament. All those things are good qualities for a point guard,” said Popovich.3 White also has shown he’s got the qualities of a two-guard when it comes to scoring the ball4 and of a center when it comes to blocking shots. It’s all part of wanting to be a complete player.5 It’s what he did in college, first at Division II University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where he played three years6 before spending his senior season in the Pac-12 at the University of Colorado. 7 That commitment to doing everything at the highest level made him a perfect fit in San Antonio. Now he enjoys giving other teams fits, especially the Denver Nuggets, who missed their chance to draft him at No. 13.8 “It’s your hometown,” he says, with a laugh. “You’ve got your friends, you’ve got your family there watching. So it’s always cool to play in front of them.” The Nuggets may have gotten the last laugh in last year’s first round playoff series, topping the Spurs in a hardfought seven games, despite White playing some of his best basketball,9 but with White, down doesn’t mean out. He will simply absorb the contact and get right back up.
BONUS POINTS 1. Derrick is one of 11 players under 27 (they have nine under 25) on this year’s Spurs, the youngest team during the Gregg Popovich Era with an average age of 26.3. 2. White is in the top five in the NBA in charges drawn and is top 10 in charges drawn per game and charges drawn per 36 minutes. 3. Popovich liked White so much that he selected him to play with the USA Senior Men’s National Team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. In eight games, White averaged 5.9 points, 2.5 assists, 1.2 rebounds and 1.25 steals in 15.3 minutes. 4. White put together his first career back-to-back 20-pluspoint games on 10/28/19 against Portland (21), then three nights later against the Clippers (20). 5. On 3/6/18, in Atlanta, Derrick swatted six shots, making him only the second guard in NBA history to post a stat-line with 18 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 6 blocks. 6. He left as the Mountain Lions’ career leader in points and assists. 7. He earned All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Defensive Team honors and was one of only two players in the conference (Washington’s Markelle Fultz was the other) to rank in the top 10 in scoring, assists and blocked shots. 8. Denver took Donovan Mitchell 13th overall — a respectable selection, but Mitchell spent only 11 picks as a Nugget before being shipped to Utah with pick No. 24, power forward Tyler Lydon, and forward Trey Lyles. 9. Derrick started all seven games, going for 15.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 27.3 minutes per game — all career-highs. He scored in double figures five times, including a career-high 36 points in Game 3.
018 ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
JUMP BALL BY JIM EICHENHOFER #12 FIRST FIVE
2 LONZO
BALL
GUARD - NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
From the bombastic father, to the controversial sneaker brand, to the Facebook reality show, to the rap songs, to the millions of followers on social media, conversation about Lonzo Ball often revolves around everything except basketball. Virtually anything the 6-6 point guard does off the court is news, making it easy to forget that Ball’s primary focus is on developing into a top-tier NBA point guard. Ball spent the first 21 years of his life in a Southern California fishbowl,1 which helps to explain why he was OK with moving to a new location.2 “Like I tell everybody, I’m excited and it’s a new opportunity for me,” Ball says of playing in New Orleans. “A new time of my life, a fresh start. I get to come here with two guys I’m already accustomed to.3 I’m just happy to be here.” Ball’s new NBA home is a city of roughly 400,000 people, while Los Angeles has 4 million residents.4 There probably will always be some kind of spotlight centered on Ball, but in the Crescent City, he may finally be known more for buckets and dimes,5 instead of sneaker sales and viral videos. “It was tough being a young guy, especially in L.A., with all the people looking at you,” Ball says of the responsibility and pressure6 on him to succeed. “You find ways to block it out, and then it comes down to just playing basketball. Everything else is just extra.”
BONUS POINTS 1. Ball was born in Anaheim, played high school in Chino Hills, and spent a year at UCLA before getting drafted by the Lakers. 2. Ball and former Lakers teammates Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart—along with a boatload of future Los Angeles first-round draft picks—were officially traded in July, in exchange for six-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis. 3. “It helps a lot,” Ball says of being joined by Ingram and Hart in the Big Easy. “It helps just being comfortable coming to a new setting.” 4. L.A. is America’s second-biggest city (only New York’s population is greater). Depending on the method of measurement, New Orleans is the NBA’s smallest or second-smallest market after Memphis. 5. Through his first two NBA seasons, Ball averaged 10.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists. 6. Immediately after drafting Ball second overall in 2017, then-Lakers executive Magic Johnson famously said he expected to one day see Ball’s Lakers jersey retired in Staples Center.
020 LAYNE MURDOCH JR./NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
CELEB ROW
OMAR MILLER Having recently wrapped a five-year run on the HBO series Ballers, the sport one would most likely think of in connection to actor Omar Miller is football. At a towering 6-6, he embodied the role of Charles Greane, a family man who over the course of the series went from directionless recently retired player to the general manager of an NFL team. In real life, Miller played baseball, football, basketball and tennis and has a love of all sports. He even hosts the sportsoriented podcast O-ZONE, which airs on LeBron James’ Uninterrupted platform. Last fall, Miller joined a new team with the heartfelt comedy series, The Unicorn. A California native, Miller is excited to see what this NBA season will bring to the two Los Angeles franchises after some exciting changes in player personnel. You’re most closely identified with football, but what are your feelings about basketball? It’s amazing to watch pretty much overnight how Los Angeles became the basketball mecca of the world with now getting Anthony Davis, Boogie [DeMarcus] Cousins, Dwight Howard, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard all in the same city to go along with LeBron James. That’s insanity. What’s the energy like when the Lakers and Clippers play each other? It’s always lively. For the longest time, the Clippers were a punching bag for the Lakers, and then that rotated. Now, it’s in the process of potentially rotating back. Then, the Clippers made an enormous trade. Citywide rivalry is alive and well. After five seasons of Ballers and seeing the ins and outs of life for pro athletes, how much do you MONTY BRINTON/CBS
appreciate the idea of empowering athletes, the foundation of LeBron James’ Uninterrupted? Derek Jeter started with the Players’ Tribune, which is great. LeBron did Uninterrupted. You’re seeing all these different ways of guys empowering themselves and each other and recognizing that the unity and the messaging and the unity in the messaging is how they can actually advance and progress their perspectives. You’ve said that Ballers was the rare opportunity to act opposite other big guys. So, what’s it like to be face-toface with basketball players? I fit right in. What was the energy in Ballers where you were eye to eye with co-stars? Placement is actually a big deal for the blocking of scenes and how they get shot. What’s it like doing a scene with Dwayne Johnson? He’s probably the most generous superstar you’ll ever meet. He’s a real team player. He’s comfortable in himself. He’s not an insecure individual, so he never has to overextend his power even though he has formidable power in the entertainment industry. You’re not waiting for him to come out of the trailer or that kind of stuff. He’s a real professional. I appreciate that. You’re a California native. What were your teams growing up? My mother is from St. Louis, so growing up I loved the St. Louis Cardinals in baseball. In basketball, I used to love the Pistons and the Bulls. My age group was when Michael Jordan came up and really started to dominate the League, so I was all in. And then the Raiders in football. Currently, we’re going through a divorce. Once they hit state lines, that’s it for me. They’re a California institution. I disagree with their move out of state. [Ed note: In 2020, the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas] When you became an actor how did you both fight typecasting and embrace it? I went to the movies and I didn’t do television for the first 10 years of my career. With that, I found more opportunities to do different stuff. Even when I needed the money, I was so conscious of being typecast that I didn’t do certain roles. I started on the stage. I wanted to be able to play multiple roles like you do in theater. I met up with some fantastic film directors that offered me those opportunities. Charles Greane had a huge journey throughout Ballers. We saw him at the beginning of the series working at a car dealership. In this final season he’s the GM of
an NFL team. How have you tried to convey that pro sports afterlife that professional athletes face? When we first started we were shooting in Miami for a couple of years. I actually met up with these individuals because a lot of retired athletes live in Miami. Unfortunately, you see them at parties chasing the life and the light. I was able to speak to some of them who were able to contextualize what that change was from what life used to be to what it is now. I felt like the show really trusted me with something special with the idea of going from a guy that’s rooted on by a hundred thousand people live plus millions of people watching to then not having the camaraderie of his team and you go home to your wife and normalcy. To a lot of people that’s traumatic. One of the things I always liked about the show was it was never said he was working at a car dealership because he needed money. His wife wanted him to work because he needed something to do. He needed to get out of the house because she’s a doctor and she could see how it was bringing him down. Have you brought the team mentality of Ballers into your new series, The Unicorn? Not even just me. I’m working with Rob Corddry again (Corddry played money manager turned gaming impresario Joe Krutel on Ballers) and Rob is a fantastic actor. I work with Walton Goggins on the show. Walton and I were in Miracle at St. Anna in Italy with Spike Lee. The team mentality is already there. This is like playing with people that you already know their game and how capable they are, and it makes it a lot easier to trust them, which I really think helps our flow. What is inspiring and exciting about The Unicorn, which is about a man starting over after the death of his wife? The show is an honest look at starting over and dealing with loss and grief through humor, community and friendship. There are so many different ways of dealing with grief and trauma and moving on. In this situation, we’re dealing with it with comedy. Compound that with him having to get involved in the dating scene after not being in the dating scene for 20 years. You can only imagine how much it’s changed from, “Can I buy you a drink?” to swipe left, swipe right. What are you looking forward to this NBA season? I am looking forward to this Los Angeles intercity matchup. I want to see these teams with their full rosters and also not with their full complement of players because this is sports and everybody gets hurt and you have to adjust. Don’t sleep on the Clippers. They were already scrappy. They gave Golden State as much as they could handle and that was with Golden State’s full team and without this new addition of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. LOIS ELFMAN #40
021
JUMP BALL HEAD 2 HEAD
Devin Booker vs. Jamal Murray Which top young scoring guard is peaking?
After years of watching former teen pros Devin Booker and Jamal Murray, the two shooting guards will soon enter the phase of their careers where their teams no longer look at them as prospects, but depend on them as leaders. The 23-year-old Booker, entering his fifth season with the Phoenix Suns, is four months older than fourth-year Denver Nugget Murray, who turns 23 on February 23, one week after the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. Despite their youth, both players carry big scoring loads: Booker leading scorer on his Phoenix team at 27 points per game in 2018-19, while Murray carries similar clout on his squad, averaging 18 points on a more balanced Denver squad. As time goes by—and age gives way to perennial West All-Stars like 31-year-olds Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, 30-yearold James Harden, 29-year-olds Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson—there will come a time when Booker and Murray become the next perennials every All-Star. Until then, Booker and Murray are emerging stars, rising right before our very eyes. Enjoy their youth while you can, as Booker tries to make his former cellar-dweller team a playoff contender, and Murray hopes to take his loaded squad to 2020 NBA Championship.
01 Scoring: Booker is already one of the game’s most prolific scorers, age be damned, with his 26.6 points-per-game tally ranking seventh in the League in 2018-19, trailing only All-NBA players like Harden (36.0), Paul George (28.0), Giannis Antetokounmpo (27.7), Joel Embiid (27.5), Curry (27.3) and Kawhi Leonard (26.6). At 6-6, 206, he fits the prototype build of some of the most elite shooters in NBA history—think Ray Allen, Reggie Miller and Klay Thompson—while also possessing a scoring upside that those present and future Hall of Famers never had at his age. Booker’s shot chart dots all over the court, and while that may not make him the most efficient scorer in the NBA today, it does bode well for his complete assortment of shots. Booker’s bag of tricks is unparalleled in the 23-and-under community, with only Donovan Mitchell, D’Angelo Russell and Luka Doncic his closest scoring rivals. That said, Murray is a good, all-around scorer, but there is a difference between his status and Booker’s elite level. Murray is much closer in comparison to prospects like Mitchell and Russell, with a good overall game, which should fit well in Denver’s systemic balanced offensive attack. In 2018-19, Murray made 37 percent of his three-point attempts, 48 percent of his two-point attempts and 85 percent of his free throws (Booker, in comparison at higher volume, was 33 percent, 54 percent and 87 percent, respectively). Unlike Booker, Murray is more of a catch-and-shooter, as opposed to Booker who creates more shots for himself. Then again, if Booker played with the undisputed best passing center of all-time in Nikola Jokic, he soon might prefer life as a catch-and-shooter. Advantage: Booker
02 Floor Game: Even though Murray plays point guard, he is more of a combo guard, similar in makeup to one of Nuggets head coach Mike Malone’s earlier pupils, Stephen Curry, who teamed up when Malone was a Warriors assistant in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. As a result, Murray has made significant strides each season as he learns the Denver quarterback role, though he may never totally wrest that away from Jokic, who has the rare passing gifts similar to those of Magic or LeBron. Consequently, Murray can roam the court a la Curry, yet he still works on his passing skills, which come in handy when Jokic rests and either Murray or Monte Morris runs the Nuggets’ show. Booker, meanwhile, has been forced to be both the point and shooting guard on past Suns teams when past general managers neglected to bring starting point guards into camp. Quite frankly, Booker did a pretty good job at both, though the inevitable wear and tear always broke him down by season’s end (Booker missed 18 games last season; 28 games in 2017-18). So finally, at age 23, we may see Booker at his healthiest, playing perhaps all of his minutes as a true 2 guard, while newcomer Ricky Rubio runs the show in Phoenix in a way it has not been run since perhaps Goran Dragic was in town five years ago. Advantage: Booker 022
Devin Booker
Guard, 6-5, 206 pounds Phoenix Suns
BY DARRYL HOWERTON #21
03
Defense: Though both are liabilities on the defensive end, at least Murray appears to want to change that image. After having his pride challenged by San Antonio Spurs upstart Derrick White in a contested seven-game playoffs series, Murray amped up his defense—albeit inconsistent—at appropriate times to avert a near first-round upset. At other times, he had no answers for defensive challenges—no matter how much effort he gave—especially when Portland put him in tough post-up defense positions. Meanwhile, Booker, who is a much worse defender than Murray, may become hideable in the Phoenix scheme of things, with Rubio teaming with defense-capable wings Mikal Bridges and Kelly Oubre, who can own the lion’s share of the tougher guard assignments. Advantage: Murray
04 Leadership: It may be easy to put shine on Booker’s weaknesses, with his lack of D while also playing for the League’s worst franchise the past four seasons (Suns, 87-241; New York Knicks, 109-219). But in all fairness, one man can only do so much and Booker was covering two positions while Phoenix played sans point guards most of that time. That said, his leadership skills come up short in comparison to Murray, who has been a significant part of Denver’s continued evolution as a top contender, taking a 33-win team to 40 victories his rookie season, then improving upon that with 46- and 54-win seasons the past two years. Granted, Murray has better teammates than Booker, but because of this, he also picked up two valuable rounds of playoff knowledge last postseason—playing in two Game 7s, no less. Advantage: Murray
05 Intangibles: Unfortunately, the No. 1 offseason image we have of Booker’s summer is him telling NBA players not to doubleteam him during open-gym workouts, a notion veteran Joakim Noah quickly shut down, telling his team—and more so Booker—that the doubles are not stopping. That said, we cannot help notice that Booker continually works on his offensive skills, coming back better and better each season, including this one. For Murray, the memory we take of his offseason is the rare summer invitation he received from Kobe Bryant—along with Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving— to visit Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, for valuable tutelage. That kind of education is sure to pay off this 2019-20 season. Advantage: Booker
Jamal Murray
Guard, 6-4, 215 pounds Denver Nuggets
MICHAEL GONZALES (2); GARRETT ELLWOOD; BART YOUNG/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Booker
Murray
G
64
75
MPG
35.0
32.6
PPG
26.6
18.2
RPG
4.1
4.2
APG
6.8
4.8
SPG
0.9
0.9
BPG
0.2
0.4
RPM
+0.58
+1.18
PER
20.2
16.0
TSP
.584
.538
The Verdict Both the Suns and the Nuggets believe in their prized guards, with both receiving junior-max extensions this season (Booker, five years, $158 million) and next (Murray, five years, $170 million). We believe in both Booker and Murray too, though we have no idea who becomes the better player 10 years from now. But if we had to take one player right now for a 2020 playoff contender, it is a close call, but we feel pretty good about Booker.
Source: Basketball-Reference and ESPN Key: G games; MPG minutes per game; PPG points per game; RPG rebounds per game; APG assist per game; SPG steals per game; BPG blocks per game; RPM Real Plus-Minus; PER Player Efficiency Rating; TSP true shooting percentage.
023
JUMP BALL CATCHING UP WITH
ALEX ENGLISH
Denver Nuggets Hall of Famer Alex English, the NBA’s leading scorer of the 1980s, has kept busy postretirement. He’s working for the NBA in China, deeply involved in the hemp industry, and was recently appointed to the Women’s National Basketball Players Association’s new board of advocates. HOOP sat down with English to discuss his hopes for the WNBA as well as how his game would fit in today’s NBA, and that jersey—you know the one. What does the board want to address? Well, I think they certainly want to address the pay, and how they treat the women. I was reading an article about how the pay scale has increased since the WNBA has been around, and it’s 1.5 percent, if I’m not mistaken. You’ve got to promote the league, first of all. You’ve got to increase the attendance, increase the visibility, but you’ve got to put in the money. In order for the NBA to have gotten to where it is, David Stern was the mastermind—along with Charlie Grantham and our players association—in putting together licensing, putting together how to promote the league, marketing opportunities. The NBA wasn’t always what it is today. I think the product is a great product. I watch the WNBA and I am amazed at some of the skill. You take away the dunking and these women are just as good as the men. They get paid a lot more overseas. That’s 024
what supports their profession. Because what they get paid in the WNBA is peanuts. You look at the living arrangements and what they have to do. Diana Taurasi [said], “I have to go over there to support myself. If I could stay home and really be a part of working in the community and be a part of doing more with the WNBA and WNBPA, it would help promote the league.” We’ve got to put together a great collective bargaining agreement that supports these women and gives them the opportunity to really earn some money. You’ve got to put more money into building the league. I’m not talking about what the NBA gives their players; it’s not about comparing the two leagues, but you think about where they’ve come from over the last 15, 20 years, and they haven’t moved that much. Why do you think there has been a reluctance from mostly male basketball fans to embrace the WNBA and women’s basketball? It’s something that hasn’t been as big of a part of our society for as long. When the Olympics come around, and everybody is watching the men and the women play basketball, those are probably the bestrated events. And people are like, “Look at our women, they’re great.” And they are. But once that’s over you get a little disappointed because the support is not really there. I think that’s marketing. I think that’s advertising. And I think the model probably needs to be tweaked. This is not a position of the WNBPA, but I’ve always felt like it needs to be played when people are watching basketball. Why bastardize it and put it in the summertime? Women’s basketball is legit and it should be treated legitimately. Do you think your style of play would fit into today’s NBA? I was a mid-range player. I played a lot around the basket. I was able to develop a shooting style that was unique, and difficult to stop. I think my shooting range would have to change, because now they’re so hooked on shooting a three-point shot that they’ve taken some of the glamour and glory out of the midrange game. I think the beauty of the midrange game is missing. I love to see Kawhi Leonard play because he has kind of brought the glamour back to it. The Toronto Raptors would not have been in the playoffs if not for him and his mid-range game. He made a few threes, but his midrange game kept them in games. That one-two dribble pull-up, across the middle [move], was unstoppable. And that’s the part of the game that I miss. You were so calm on the court. What player shook you up the most? The one I feared the most—and I tried to get away from the most—was Lonnie Shelton, because he was 6’9”, 250 pounds, and quick as a cat. There were some defenders that I didn’t like playing against, because my game was get out, get ahead of the guy, and using off-balance stuff to get an advantage. The one guy
that was hard to do that with was Dennis Rodman, because he was relentless on defense. Where did that calm come from? I looked forward to every game I had to play, because to me, it was like going out to perform. It was entertainment, and I’m on stage. I had the best job in the world. I could go out and perform in front of 15,000 people, and do what I liked best. My confidence was that I worked on my game. My charity work gave me a part of the calm I had, because I was doing stuff for other people, because it wasn’t about just me. I knew that [I was] able to make people smile for other reasons than just basketball.
You’re also known for that sweet blue Nuggets away jersey. Where’s the most unusual place you’ve seen it? This guy I know sent me a picture from his hotel room in London. He was looking across at an apartment building and hanging up in that apartment building was my jersey. And he took a picture of it, enlarged it, and sent it to me. Why do you think people wanted it? Well, I think it was the color. It was the skyline. It was very unique. But I would also like to think that people knew the player that wore the jersey and felt, “This guy had a style. The way he played the game and what he did in the game I admire and like as well.” And it wasn’t just about the jersey itself, but it was about the person that was behind the number 2. PETE CROATTO #20 GARRETT ELLWOOD; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
JUMP BALL BY MICHAEL KELLY #5 FIRST FIVE
Jamal Murray has lifelong financial security after signing a five-year, $170 million contract extension over the summer, but that isn’t what drives1 the Denver Nuggets point guard. No matter how much money he has in the bank, Murray is motivated2 by one thing – winning. “I’m always trying to win,” he says. “I hate losing.” Murray is coming off of a breakout season with Denver, a year in which he helped lead the Nuggets to the playoffs for the first time in six years and within a game of reaching the Western Conference Finals. He averaged 18.2 points and 4.8 assists, both second on the team to All-Star Nikola Jokic, and his growth was one of the keys to Denver making a move in the very competitive Western Conference hierarchy. The next step for him is joining Jokic at All-Star Weekend and leading the Nuggets to the next level. With his immediate future secured, he can focus3 on that and, at age 22, being a team leader4 to help Denver surpass last season’s success. “My job is to go out there and lead the team on and off the court, talk to them, pull them aside, tell them what I’m seeing, just have a conversation,” he says. “It ain’t got to be me dictating what they’re going to do,5 see where their heads at.” BONUS POINTS 1. When Murray signed his max contract extension in the offseason, his mother made a spread of food to celebrate the occasion. 2. Murray was one of a select few players to be part of Kobe Bryant’s exclusive invite-only camp this summer. Bryant was a favorite player of Murray’s and his father when he was growing up in Canada and was drawn to Bryant’s passion. “It was his mentality, his drive to win, to never give up on plays, his confidence level—everything that goes into championships.” 3. Murray meditates before every game and has used Kung Fu in his training. 4. Murray was a coach at the first-ever Basketball Without Borders camp in Colombia this summer. “I was really impressed with the girls, they’re very talented, they’re very smart and put a lot effort out,” Murray said. “A couple of them came with no shoes. Just to see the joy on their faces, those little things you don’t think about every day.” 5. Murray mimes shooting arrows into the air to celebrate after making a 3-pointer, a ritual he started when he played one season with the Kentucky Wildcats. It earned him the nickname “The Blue Arrow.”
27 JAMAL
MURRAY
GUARD - DENVER NUGGETS
026 GARRETT ELLWOOD/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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JUMP BALL BRACK-IT
EIGHT THINGS. ONE UNDISPUTED CHAMP.
BEST TEAM TO N
One of the most fun (or distressing) conversations to have in basketball is the “what if?” We know that the NBA is full of highs and lows, but nothing hurts more than a team that seems destined for greatness, only to come up short. Fans know all about the heartbreak of unfulfilled expectations, so we started to wonder which NBA team can be considered the best to have never won it all. Some criteria: First, it has to be a team that at least made the Conference Finals. Second, it can’t be a team that lost in the Conference or NBA Finals, but then broke through the following year. Third, it can’t be any 80’s-era Lakers or Celtics teams that lost in the Finals. Now that we’ve laid the ground rules, let’s find out which team is truly the best to never win it all.
1994-95 ORLANDO MAGIC VS. 1995-96 SEATTLE SUPERSONICS Penny and Shaq. The Glove and The Reign Man. The NBA has always had some legendary one-two punches, but these two duos might arguably be one of the best the League has ever seen. It seemed almost ordained for the Orlando Magic to snatch the crown as kings of the Eastern Conference after Michael Jordan briefly retired (and even when he came back, as the Magic beat the Bulls in the playoffs). A young and ultra-athletic Shaquille O’Neal teamed up with a 6-7 point guard in Penny Hardaway who was supposed to be the second-coming of Magic Johnson struck fear in the hearts of teams in the East. Out West, GP and Shawn Kemp consistently rained lobs and hammer dunks over the heads of their opponents. Payton was also one of the most feared perimeter defenders in the game, and Kemp’s versatility to play on the low blocks or in the midrange made him tough to guard. Both teams were talented and legitimate title contenders, but in the matchup, Orlando’s depth, along with Penny and Shaq’s otherworldly talent, gives them a slight edge in this matchup. Winner: 1995 Orlando Magic
1999-00 PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. 2013-14 INDIANA PACERS If there was ever a team that was perfectly built to win a championship but never did, it would have to be these Portland Trail Blazers. This team was loaded from top to bottom with depth at every position (future All-NBA player Jermaine O’Neal was mired on the bench), a balanced offensive scoring attack and a physical presence on defense. They had youth (Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire) and experience (Scottie Pippen, Arvydas Sabonis). There are too many to name so just go online and peep that roster. Their only flaw? The Blazers didn’t have a single 20-point per game scorer, making them much easier to guard and gameplan for. The 2014 Indiana Pacers boasted the best defense in the League and bonafide superstar in Paul George. These Pacers were built to knock off King James and the Miami Heat, after coming up short in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before. Unfortunately, PG and the Pacers couldn’t get past the Heat, but in a matchup with the Blazers, their combination of depth, size, skill and defense on the perimeter and inside gives them an easy victory against Portland. Winner: 2013-14 Indiana Pacers
028 ROCKY WIDNER; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN; SAM FORENCICH; RON HOSKINS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
BY BRYAN CRAWFORD #26
EVER WIN IT ALL 1996-97 UTAH JAZZ VS. 2000-01 SACRAMENTO KINGS The two-man tandem of John Stockton and Karl Malone are as synonymous with the NBA as “Showtime” in LA or Michael Jordan taking off from the free-throw line. In 1997, Karl Malone was the MVP of the League and Stockton was the clockwork point guard; together they led the Jazz to a tie for the NBA’s best record. This Jazz squad had the perfect mix of veteran leadership and youth, and came within two wins of the franchise’s first NBA title. What the 2001 Sacramento Kings lacked in veteran leadership, they made up for in a collection of guys who were super talented, always played hard, and executed at times to perfection. Chris Webber was the star of the show and his point guard Mike Bibby was as solid as you could find at the position. But this team could never figure out a way to get over the hump and past the Los Angeles Lakers, and for as good as they were, they would’ve had a tough time containing the legendary Stockton-to-Malone pick-and-roll. Winner: 1996-97 Utah Jazz
2011-12 OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER VS. 2010-11 CHICAGO BULLS Of all the matchups, this might be one of the best. The 2011 Chicago Bulls did the impossible. Twice. First, they finished with the best record, in an NBA that saw LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Second, Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in League history (22 years and 5 months) after famously answering, “Why not me?” to the question of being the best player of the League at the team’s media day before the season. Rose’s individual talent, combined with the hardnosed play of his supporting cast and “The Bench Mob,” makes this team a tough matchup for anybody. The 2012 Thunder were no slouches either. This team boasted three guys who would each go on to win MVP in subsequent years. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden made nights tough for whomever they ran up against. Throw in a young Serge Ibaka, and it’s no wonder this team made it to the NBA Finals. Individually, OKC was certainly more offensively talented, but the Bulls were a much more cohesive unit and a superior defensive team. “Why not them?” Winner: 2010-11 Chicago Bulls
029 SAM FORENCICH; ROCKY WIDNER; LAYNE MURDOCH; JOE MURPHY/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
JUMP BALL BRACK-IT
1994-95 MAGIC VS 2013-14 PACERS Another good matchup inside and outside for these two teams as Shaq matches up against Roy Hibbert and Paul George draws the defensive assignment against Penny Hardaway. Shaq’s skill and mobility gives him an easy advantage against Hibbert, and Penny vs PG feels like a matchup of two guys who likely cancel each other out. That means this matchup comes down to the supporting cast which gives Orlando a slight edge. Dennis Scott, Nick Anderson, Horace Grant, and Brian Shaw feel like they could certainly outplay second-tier guys on the Pacers like Lance Stephenson, George Hill, David West, CJ Watson and Luis Scola. Winner: 1994-95 Magic
1996-97 JAZZ VS. 2010-11 BULLS MVP vs. MVP in this one. Malone’s Jazz squad going up against Derrick Rose’s Chicago Bulls is one basketball fans would be talking about for a long time. We know Stockton would’ve had a tough time keeping up with Rose, but in the pick-and-roll, the Mailman most likely feasts on Carlos Boozer. So where is the matchup advantage in this one? Once again, it comes down to defense. Joakim Noah outskills Greg Ostertag easily in the middle. And the Bulls second unit is far and away better than Utah’s reserves. This one is close, but Rose’s talent at his position was unmatched at the time, and the Bulls’ defense was one of the stiffest in the League, and one that shut down all comers. The Mailman and his crew don’t have enough to deliver in this one Winner: 2010-11 Bulls
1994-95 MAGIC VS. 2010-11 BULLS Rose and company’s amazing run, unfortunately comes to an end. The combination of Penny and Shaq would be way too much for these Bulls to overcome. Rose would certainly be good enough to get his numbers, but the Achilles’ heel of this Chicago squad was scoring. Rose had no one to help him carry the offensive load. Shaq would completely dominate inside against Noah or Boozer, and the Bulls’ lack of big man depth often left them vulnerable to foul trouble issues, which definitely would be the case having to guard Shaq.
BEST TEAM TO NEVER WIN IT ALL: 1994-95 ORLANDO MAGIC 030 FERNANDO MEDINA; NATHANIEL S. BUTLER; DICK RAPHAEL; ROCKY WIDNER; ANDY HAYT; JESSE D. GARRABRANT; RANDY BELICE/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
JUMP BALL BY CHRISTOPHER CASON #24 FIRST FIVE
24 LAURI
In an effort to fast-track a two-year rebuild, the Chicago Bulls have set their sights on the playoffs this season. To reach that goal, they will have to significantly improve on the defensive end,1 and Lauri Markkanen will have to take another step2 toward star status. While Markkanen is no stranger to putting in the work3 necessary to reach the next level in his development, coach Jim Boylen let it be known what he expects from the third-year, Finnish forward. “I want him to improve defensively and I want him to be a more consistent rebounder,” says Boylen. “When he rebounded at the defensive end of the floor and brought it—especially that month of February4—we were really good. We were hard to guard, and it really got him going.” If that production can be sustained, and his cohesion with Zach LaVine can reach elite status, not only will the Bulls have two representatives in next year’s All-Star Game, but they should easily hit the mark they’ve set this season. “Everything comes from winning,” Markkanen says. “I’m going into my third year and haven’t won a lot of games.5 We want to get to winning first and that starts with the whole team playing well.”
BONUS POINTS 1. The Bulls ranked 25th in defensive rating last season. 2. In an effort to improve defensively, he’s studied film of his mistakes and worked to improve his footwork and balance. 3. Lauri packed on 20 pounds of muscle for his second season and to this day still does most of his cooking along with his wife, Verna. 4. Lauri averaged 26 points, 12.2 rebounds on 48.6 percent shooting, 34.8 percent from 3-point range and 92.3 percent from the free-throw line in February, where the Bulls went 5-5. 5. The Bulls have won a total of 49 games in Lauri’s first two seasons.
MARKKANEN
FORWARD/CENTER - CHICAGO BULLS
032 RON TURENNE/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
KNOW YOUR NEWB
ZION WILLIAMSON NEW ORLEANS PELICANS You probably already know quite a bit about New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson. Although he’s just 19, he’s already been a household name for a few years – which tends to happen when you produce jaw-dropping dunks in high school and Drake decides to wear your Spartanburg (S.C.) Day School jersey in an Instagram post. However, did you know that Williamson didn’t recognize that an NBA career was realistic until 11th grade? Or that he has an oldschool, unique taste in music? Pelicans teammates and coaches often describe Williamson as being “beyond his years” maturity-wise, both on and off the court. It’s a trait that seems to carry over to his preference for many songs that were released well before he was born in 2000, as well as a few all-time NBA greats who dominated the sport in the ’80s and ’90s. What age were you when you realized you might have a chance to play in the NBA someday? Not until I was 16, junior year of high school. That late? That late. You had many highlights at Duke. Which one was your favorite? Against Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16, Trey [Jones] got an incredible steal off a pass, went down and threw me a lob that was way up there; I had to go and get it. I dunked it and looked at Trey, and he was slapping the floor and yelling, “Let’s go!” The score was tight, the crowd all stood up and I was like, “Yes, this is college basketball!” [smiles] In terms of your game, how do you think you might benefit most from the style of play in the NBA, which is different from college? Being in the open court a lot more, especially with the Pelicans. Coach (Alvin) Gentry does not like walking or jogging. We are going to play at a fast pace and play defense. What are some of the biggest early adjustments you’ve made going from college to the pro level? One of the biggest is on defense. You can play help defense, but you have to get to the spot earlier, because unlike college, you can’t just stand in the paint, because it will be a [defensive] three-second violation call. Communicating the right things is even more important. But even if you communicate the wrong thing, as long as you bust your butt to get to the right spot, it will be a better result. LAYNE MURDOCH JR./NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
When you first started playing basketball, who were some of your favorite players? Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. I asked my parents who I should watch and they told me those three. Watching them, they were three different personalities and three different styles of play, but they all had the exact same objective: to win championships. Have you thought about the dunk contest at all? Are you a better game dunker or contest dunker? I think I’m a better game dunker, because my intensity level is so much higher, than if I’m just messing around. If I do a dunk in a game, there is more power behind it. Your rookie teammates say you have surprising taste in music. What do you think they mean by that? I’m old school. I’m an old head. I like old-school Jay-Z, Tupac, Biggie. I even go old school with other
music, like The Stylistics, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, classic music. For me, it’s all about a smooth beat with no aggression. People who are singing about their life, their personal problems, or problems that are in the world, but making it into something joyful. I always point that out to [Pelicans rookies Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker] and they say they’ve never noticed [some messages in older songs]. I say, “You have to listen to the words.” It definitely comes from my mom. Back when people had CDs and played them in their cars, she had a blues CD in her tan Malibu, or we’d listen to “The Blueprint.” I knew the songs were good, but there was also meaning behind them. I was like, “I need to look up what that means. There’s a deeper meaning in this than what I thought.” I looked into Jay-Z more, “The Black Album,” “Reasonable Doubt,” “Kingdom Come.” He always has a deeper meaning than what I expect. JIM EICHENHOFER #12
033
JUMP BALL 24 SECONDS
with KELLY OUBRE JR. HOOP: You posted a caption on Instagram that said, “Remember the name. Put some respect on it.” OUBRE: Please do. We only have one nationally televised game this year, man—so we have to continue to grow as a unit so that we can get some respect put on our name. HOOP: Talk about the Valley Boyz clothing line and pop-up shop. OUBRE: The Valley Boyz pop-up wasn’t even close to what we’re doing in the future, but it was something for DA4 to raise some money for his hurricane relief fund. I actually went through a tragic hurricane in my life and understand how that can affect cities. HOOP: What was that feeling when you got there for the grand opening5 and you saw a long line of fans down the sidewalk, waiting to get in? OUBRE: Amazing. I pulled up to the venue and had to stick my head out the sunroof to see where the line stopped and I couldn’t see it. The people came. They showed love. The guys came out and we got to touch the fans. HOOP: Where’d your love of fashion come from? OUBRE: Well, I’m originally from New Orleans and I moved to Houston, so my fashion comes from my route in life. I’m a creative individual. I love creating. I love art, fashion, photography, music, things of that nature. HOOP: Describe your style. OUBRE: Out there. Very different. But it’s me. Swagger is just how you rock the clothes that you’re wearing. It’s not necessarily what you have on.
HOOP: The Suns got off to their best start1 in 10 years this season. Was it something specific? OUBRE: Guys are bonding and everybody’s a unit, so I think that camaraderie is what’s leading us to get better every day. HOOP: How important are relationships in basketball? OUBRE: Very important. The chemistry has to be on point. Off the court, we’re all likeminded individuals, so we respect each other to the fullest. HOOP: What are you bringing to this team? OUBRE: Energy, passion. I pride myself on defense. Defense first. But I want to be the best two-way player2 that I can be.
HOOP: Do you have a favorite accessory? OUBRE: My favorite accessory has to be wallet chains. Anything hanging off my pants. And rings. I haven’t worn them in a while, but I do like rings a lot. HOOP: You also wear nail polish on your fingers. OUBRE: Only during the offseason. People have question marks over their head when they see me with nail6 polish on, but I am me and I do things that make me happy. HOOP: Who on your team has the best fashion sense, aside from you? OUBRE: I would say DA. He’s 7-foot tall. He can wear a suit with the best of them and he can wear something very casual and chill. I call him the waviest 7-footer in the NBA.
HOOP: Why defense first? OUBRE: I cannot control if my jumpers fall in every game, but I can control the effort I have on defense.
HOOP: How about in the rest of the NBA? OUBRE: Jordan Clarkson always going to be up there, because that’s my homie. Book can really put some clothes on. Russ can throw on something different, but it makes him happy so he wears it proudly. Shai from OKC. Those are one-of-a-kind guys.7
HOOP: Talk about “Valley Boyz.” Where’d that nickname originally3 come from? OUBRE: It was on a road trip, me and DA [Deandre Ayton] just sitting next to each other, talking about our identity as a whole, as a city, as a team. We just wanted to let our youth speak. Valley Boyz are the New Age Suns.
HOOP: We saw you did a fashion show in Paris this past summer? OUBRE: It was for Pigalle, a Paris brand. They had a collab with Converse8 and I walked in their show. It was like an art exhibit colliding with basketball. I wore a shawl and was the center the show. It was beautiful.
HOOP: Why have Phoenix fans resonated with that so much? OUBRE: Because it’s been a long time coming to where they feel a part of what we have going on here. Everybody can get along with the Valley Boyz movement.
HOOP: What does music mean to you? You use a lot of lyrics in your social captions. OUBRE: Music is everything to me. It gets me through life, honestly. Music will either level me out or amp me up. It heals, it soothes, it’s a great outlet for emotion.
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BY JERAMIE MCPEEK #4
HOOP: Who do you listen to on game day trying to get amped up? OUBRE: Travis Scott. Rod Wave, he’s a new artist I’ve been listening to. I listen to all music though, not just hip-hop. I even listen to a little country here and there. It’s not terrible. [smiles]. HOOP: You recently released some tracks. OUBRE: I did. Very low key, though. Just SoundCloud tracks, man. One of them is called Emotions. It’s about New Orleans and moving around and just real deep things in my life. HOOP: How did Katrina impact your life? OUBRE: Tremendously. It’s a [sensitive] topic. It forced me to get out of my comfort zone and adapt to a whole other city. When we moved,9 I was either in a Motel 6 or living in a parking lot, just me and my dad. It didn’t start off that way, but it ended up just me and my dad somehow, and we had to make it work. I can never forget that time in my life,10 because it shaped who I am. HOOP: Do you have more music coming? OUBRE: I have a lot more music, man. But I’m a basketball player at the end of the day. I’m not a rapper [laughs]. I’m just living on my own wave. HOOP: Tsunami Papi would be a good rap name, though. OUBRE: Yes. But I would just be Tsunami. I wouldn’t be Tsunami Papi. You don’t want a grown man calling you Papi [laughs], you know what I’m saying? HOOP: Where’d Tsunami come from? OUBRE: I was Wave Papi at first, but I’m continuing to evolve and grow. Tsunami is just that tidal wave of energy that I like to bring. HOOP: You said at one point, “If I don’t ball, everything around me falls.” OUBRE: That’s the motto I live by. I’m the head of my household. I’m the honcho, the CEO [laughs]. I have to continue to just put that pressure on myself to be the best that I can be every day.
BONUS POINTS 1. The Suns were 6-3 and tied for third in the Western Conference standings at press time. 2. After being acquired by the Suns in a trade with the Wizards in December 2018, Oubre doubled his previous career scoring average, putting up 16.9 ppg for Phoenix last season, and led the NBA with 2.1 steals per game after the All-Star break. 3. Originally, Valley Boyz was a location tag that the Suns’ swingman created for one of his Instagram posts. 4. Suns center DeAndre Ayton pledged $100,000 to his native country after the Bahamas was hit by Hurricane Dorian. 5. Fans started lining up at 3:30 am for the pop-up shop in Central Phoenix, which opened at 3 pm that day. 6. Oubre admits that he started wearing nail polish because he used to bite his nails. 7. That’s Devin Booker, Russell Westbrook and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, in case you were wondering. 8. Oubre has a unique multi-year endorsement deal with the brand. 9. Kelly was 9 years old when he and his father hopped in the car and drove to Houston to escape the oncoming hurricane, which devasted the New Orleans community in 2005. 10. It was while living in Houston that Oubre met and learned from former NBA guard Dirk Minniefield, and later was trained by former NBA player and coach John Lucas.
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JUMP BALL BY STEVE HUNT #29 FIRST FIVE
77 LUKA
DONCIC
Luka Doncic’s impact was immediate last season, averaging 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.1 steals to earn 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year1 honors. Dallas traded Trae Young2 and a 2019 first-round pick to get Doncic, a deal Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle would execute all over again. “He has a savant-like ability to view the game and see things before they happen,” says Carlisle. “He has the opportunity when he steps on the floor to make four other guys significantly better. Players like this are very rare.”3 Doncic even converted opposing players who doubted his ability to successfully transition from Europe4 to the NBA, including Delon Wright, now a teammate. “I totally did a 180 on him because I’m always biased to the guys that come over from Europe, but he proved me wrong,” says Wright. “He’s on a great path and if he continues, he’s going to be one of the great players in this league.” But as impressive as Doncic was as a rookie, the 20-year-old5 Slovenian6 sensation knows the bar is raised for him to accomplish bigger things as an NBA sophomore. “[I can improve] everything,” he says. “Everything just must go higher.”
BONUS POINTS 1. Along with Jason Kidd, who shared the 1995 award with Grant Hill, Doncic is one of two Mavs to win NBA Rookie of the Year. 2. Young prevented Doncic from being a unanimous ROY with his two first-place votes. 3. Doncic is just the 12th player in NBA history to wear No. 77. 4. Doncic is the second European-born player to win NBA Rookie of the Year, joining Pau Gasol, the 2002 recipient with Memphis. 5. Doncic shares a birthday, February 28, with legendary auto racer Mario Andretti and Hall of Fame college coach Dean Smith. 6. Goran Dragic and former NBA center Radoslav Nesterovic also hail from his hometown of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
FORWARD/GUARD - DALLAS MAVERICKS
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If the Rockets are going to capture that elusive championship, they will need Russell Westbrook to be a walking contradiction: change his game while being the same player he’s always been. 038 BILL BAPTIST(2)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
By Jabari Davis #24
T
hey say every great story has three acts: the setup, the confrontation and the resolution. For Russell Westbrook, the 2008-09 through 2013-14 seasons were definitely the setup or opening act as he was able to dazzle fans and fellow competitors alike with an all-out physical and athletic assault on rims and defenses on a nightly basis. It wasn’t just that Westbrook was faster and seemingly stronger (pound for pound) than the contemporaries at his position, he was able to generate the type of unrelenting energy and approached the game with a certain level of reckless abandon from a physical perspective that actually made it difficult to judge him as a player at times or properly rate his overall impact in the early going.
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“The [Westbrook-Harden] narrative is something you [media] have to do. We’re just going to go out there and figure it out. It isn’t always going to be perfect. There’s going to be a lot of great times and a couple bad times, but that’s a part of basketball.”—Harden The 2014-15 through 2018-19 seasons were essentially a secondary coming out party for Westbrook. The two things most people will remember from this period are the end of an untenable basketball relationship with longtime teammate Kevin Durant and Westbrook's personal achievements, which included an MVP 2016-17 campaign that kicked off three consecutive seasons in which he averaged a triple-double, making him the first person to do that in the modern era of basketball. While Russ experienced great individual glory, it came with less team success as the Thunder were escorted out of the postseason in the first round each of the last three years. Now, we have what could be characterized as the “Redemption Song” portion of Westbrook’s career. At 31, he is still an effective, albeit not necessarily as efficient, player at a clear crossroads as we wait to see what the next chapter looks like. The physical toll from all that slashing and rim smashing has understandably placed some wear and tear on his body. Referring to Westbrook as perhaps one of the most athletic players in the history of his position is far from hyperbolic rhetoric, but the burning and inevitable question was always going to be: What does his game look like once his body simply no longer permits him to do some of the truly electrifying things he’s relied upon throughout the first chapters of his career? He’s adjusted his approach to a certain degree over the last few seasons— his usage rate decreased each of the past two years as he modified his approach to accommodate playing alongside Paul George, following his peak of 41.7 in 2016-17—but has still relied upon doing a lot of his damage with the ball in his hands. Heading into year 12, he is entering what will likely be the greatest adjustment period of his career in just about every way possible. He’s acclimating himself to a new city and market, which we tend to disregard altogether or at the very least do not fully recognize how much of a chore it can be for athletes with families, lives and routines established in their previous stomping grounds. While OKC certainly has its diehard fan base from a local standpoint, it remains just the 28th largest market in the NBA
(per sportsmediawatch.com). With the Thunder as the only pro team in town, OKC wraps itself within the charms and appeal of a small-town vibe whereas Houston (No. 7 on that list) is a vast and sprawling metropolis where Westbrook will be joining as many as a dozen other star athletes within the sports-saturated city (Rockets, Texans, Comets, Astros). Westbrook was clearly the biggest fish in the smaller OKC pond, a place where some might question whether an equal counterpart could be as celebrated. Now he's transferred his talents to a place absolutely longing for someone to present himself as Harden's equivalent, at least in terms of actual impact. In OKC, Westbrook dominated the organization like he does a box score. He is also now embroiled within an organization that has other parts that will command attention: A star player that openly opines for further recognition following impressive seasons in which he was genuinely granted the praise and the proper analysis his performance deserved (two second-place finishes sandwiching his 2017-18 Kia Regular Season MVP Award); a general manager that has presented spreadsheet reports arguing for the same cause or presenting empirical evidence about how the referees somehow cheated the team out of an opportunity to play in the Finals; and a very outspoken new team owner, Tilman Fertitta, who appears to pull no punches when it comes to publicly placing expectations upon the team, head coach and said general manager. Morey even went as far as to declare his team’s chances to win a title have risen as much as 30 percent following the Westbrook move. As expected, Morey has surrounded Houston’s newly established dynamic duo with a bevy of shooters and players with defensive reputations, but declarations of that nature as well as the strategically released sparring videos across social media admittedly create a feeling eerily similar to the somewhat risky (if even understandable) collections of talent in the past (see: 2012 Lakers, 2013 Nets). Everything sounds good in August and September, and even throughout the early season as everyone is “playing nice” for all the right reasons, but this team will ultimately be judged by whether it
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will finally be able to break through in a League and particularly a conference where the Golden State Warriors absolutely dominated for the better part of the last five years. Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley referred to Harden as the best offensive player he’s ever seen. The former Houston Rocket seems confident the largest adjustment must come from Westbrook in order to make this pairing work. He believes Westbrook will need to embrace moving to the shooting guard position in order to get the most out of each other—a fairly innocuous concept, but one much easier said than done. “I think that’s the only way this can work. Russell’s going to have to buy into being the two-guard and not try to be the point guard, because the ball is going to be in [Harden’s] hands a lot,” Barkley told ESPN following the acquisition. Basketball might be as position-less as it has ever been, but this shift is likely going to mean at least partially diametric changes in approach for each of these great guards to truly and fully benefit from being teammates again. Just because each of them has played off-ball in the past—albeit together and for one another during the early stages of their respective careers—does not guarantee either of them will be as comfortable doing it at this stage. Westbrook doesn’t necessarily space the floor, but can absolutely still be used in a flashing and cutting capacity in ways Harden’s former running mate Chris Paul simply couldn’t do due to size. He may not be the dominating freak of nature he was when he came into the League, but Westbrook remains incredibly dangerous in the open court as he is still deadly in terms of end-to-end speed. The two-man game between both Harden and Westbrook and Westbrook with a guy like Clint Capela may also prove to be very effective in the halfcourt set. Whether attacking off the drive, finding shooters spotting up around the arc, or utilizing the lob to a rolling big man in the way Harden does so effectively, Westbrook should still be able to find plenty of ways to leave his imprint on the offense. Houston (second overall with a 114.9
offensive rating in 2018-19) should be amongst the League’s offensive leaders once again this year. To his credit, head coach Mike D'Antoni was initially able to do that with both Harden and Paul by staggering their roles within the offense and playing time. It should, however, be noted that while Paul’s 2017-18 numbers were somewhat on-par with those we’ve become accustomed to seeing from the nine-time All-Star, he experienced significant drops in efficiency stats. CP3’s field goal percentage (41.9 percent, lowest of his career), 3-point percentage (35.8 percent, lowest since 2012-13), effective field goal percentage (50.8 percent, lowest since 2010-11) and several other statistical categories plummeted as Harden’s usage rate skyrocketed to 40.6 percent last season. For the record, Harden has led the League in usage percentage each of the past two seasons with last year’s output being the highest of his career. Put simply, Paul, the consummate point guard throughout his career, never looked comfortable last season and the focus upon making sure of the most optimum fit between the two appeared to dissipate altogether the longer they played together. But barring any ill fit between the two and any possible redundancies, bringing Westbrook and Harden together could potentially extend the relative primes of their careers if the Rockets manage their workloads and somehow balance out the usage rates. Morey acknowledged a plan to do just that during a recent interview with Rich Eisen: “We’re trying to win the title, so we’re going to focus on making sure our player is at their peak in the playoffs. To me it’s just common sense, we don’t need a term for it...we’re going to have a plan ahead, work with Russell, work with James Harden and work with our other key players because we are the most veteran team in the League.” Several things are also working in their favor for 2019-20: Both Westbrook and Harden legitimately appear to want to play with one another (there’s a history and the two of them are a lot closer in age and stages of their careers than the previous duo), and all parties involved are absolutely incentivized to do whatever it takes to make this work. 041
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MOST VALUABLE DUOS W
hen Westbrook came to Houston, he instantly became the best player that the Rockets have paired with Harden since he joined the team in 2012. Yes, there was Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, two very accomplished stars and likely future Hall of Famers, but neither player has won an MVP. The two were former teammates in OKC before each blew up individually. Now that they are reunited, the expectations for the former MVPs will be high. Over the last 39 years, generally considered the modern age of the NBA, there have been a few instances of former MVPs coming together on the same squad with mixed results. Obviously, many of the pairings came later in careers, but the ones where each player was in or at least close to his relative prime generally resulted in some success for their respective teams. Conventional wisdom would at the very least make even the staunchest supporter of the Rockets question whether the Westbrook and Harden experiment will make championship dreams come to fruition. The renewed excitement in Houston is completely understandable, but the hope is definitely reliant upon this coaching staff’s ability to not only hold this group together better than the 2018-19 team but also find a way to fully maximize the roster’s talent, apparent style redundancy aside. Here are the former MVPs (MVP years in parentheses) that have eventually played together (certain combinations have been omitted due to a player eventually winning the award after parting ways with the teammate: e.g., Kobe Bryant won his MVP award in 2008 after he no longer played with Shaquille O'Neal):
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR (1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1980) AND BOB MCADOO (1975) Before the arrival of Magic Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar—who had arrived to Los Angeles via a blockbuster deal from Milwaukee—was doing what he’s always done in the NBA: singlehandedly carrying a team on his back. In 1981, McAdoo was coming off a few injury-marred season following his 1974-75 MVP season where he beat out AbdulJabbar for the award with a 34.5 PPG, 14.1 RPG and 2.1 BPG season. At 30 and on the heels of some health woes, McAdoo was not the same player, but it was good fortune that the Lakers drafted a transcendent player in 1979 that helped McAdoo win his second title in 1980. That rookie also became the only first-year rookie to win Finals MVP, and he would go on to win a few League MVPs...
MAGIC JOHNSON (1987, 1989, 1990) AND ABDUL-JABBAR The gold standard of MVP pairings, the Lakers hit the double jackpot when they traded for Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 and then landed the No. 1 pick four years later and took Johnson, setting up a domination of the ’80s with the duo. The timing was right as Magic’s arrival coincided with the gradual decline of Kareem, extending the team’s window. Abdul-Jabbar’s presence helped Magic acclimate himself in the early going, while Magic’s rising star would help extend Kareem’s career, netting the Lakers five titles during their 10-year run together. MOSES MALONE (1979, 1982, 1983) AND JULIUS ERVING (1981) As good as Dr. J was when he arrived in the NBA in 1976, he was not enough to get Philadelphia over the top. Erving took Philly to three Finals appearances and won an MVP before Malone’s arrival in 1982-83. Moses was an instant impact; he was named the MVP that season and more importantly, delivered the third NBA title to the city. LARRY BIRD (1984, 1985, 1986) AND BILL WALTON (1978) Bird was in the midst of his finest run in the NBA; he had won back-to-back MVP trophies. His Celtics were mired in a tug of war with the Lakers for League supremacy and he was delivered reinforcements in the form of former MVP Walton. By 1985-86, Walton was years and a career-threatening injury removed from his peak brilliance, but he was still every bit the cerebral and teamfirst player, making him the perfect sixth man (he won Sixth Man of the Year that season) to help power Boston to its third title that decade. CHARLES BARKLEY (1993) AND HAKEEM OLAJUWON (1994) Olajuwon was plenty good enough as a solo act to net back-to-back titles for Clutch City in 1994 and 1995, but with Michael Jordan re-entering the fray, Houston needed to get Dream some additional help. The trade gutted Houston’s depth, but in return, Barkley became Olajuwon’s most accomplished teammate. Barkley was entering his decline and injuries led to many missed games, but he was still a doubledouble man (16.5 PPG and 12.2 RPG) in his four Rocket seasons. Unfortunately, the two ’90s MVPs was not enough to propel Houston to any championships.
042 RICH PILLING; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN (2); SCOTT CUNNINGHAM; BILL BAPTIST; RICK STEWART/GETTY SPORTS
TIM DUNCAN (2002, 2003) AND DAVID ROBINSON (1995) Robinson was an all-world center during the ’90s. He was a fixture on All-NBA teams and took home the MVP award in 1995, but was not enough to get the Spurs out of the West. A broken foot sidelined the Admiral for the 1996-97 season and sank the Spurs’ season as they finished 20-62. The silver (and black) lining to the lost season was the Spurs winning the NBA Lottery and the right to select consensus No. 1 pick Tim Duncan. Duncan’s impact was almost overnight; the Spurs won their first title in 1999 and Duncan captured back-to-back MVPs. By Robinson’s final season in 2002-03, he had fully relinquished all the heavy lifting to Duncan, and his protégé sent the Admiral off with one final championship. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL (2000) AND KARL MALONE (1997, 1999) The Lakers organization likes nothing more than pairing MVPs together. They had great success with Kareem and Magic in the ’80s and they were reverting to the same formula in 2003. The Lakers had just fallen short of a fourpeat the previous season and were looking to up the ante in a big way, bringing in two-time MVP Malone (they even added Gary Payton) to add talent and help stabilize the dynamic but shaky Shaq-Kobe partnership. The Mailman was 40 at the time, but he was durable and reliable as the nickname suggested, and had played in at least 80 games every season (49 during the lockout-shortened 50-game 199899 season). As fate would have it, Malone would experience his only season beset with injuries. He only suited up for 42 contests, wasn’t able to get the Lakers back on track and retired following his one lone season in L.A. STEVE NASH (2005, 2006) AND O’NEAL You’ll notice a trend that began when Miami traded for Shaq in 2005, which successfully led to Miami’s first championship a year later. By then, even though Shaq was in his 30s and no longer the indomitable force he once was, teams still viewed the Big [insert word that would be synonymous with the city or organization of his new team] as the missing puzzle piece to a title. The first stop would be Phoenix in 2007, an odd fit, considering PHX was not too far removed from the “Seven Seconds or Less” days. Shaq did earn his last All-Star appearance in 2008 as a Sun, but the Big Cactus never
KOBE BRYANT (2008) AND NASH When Nash came to the Lakers in 2012, expectations for the Lakers rivaled those of the current LeBron James-Anthony Davis marriage. The two were products of the vaunted 1996 NBA Draft and their three combined MVP trophies were supposed to stack the deck for the Lakers. At 38, Nash’s best years were behind him, and even though he had a fairly productive year, injuries limited him to just 50 games. Not helping matters was Bryant clashing with head coach Mike D’Antoni and Howard, resulting in two disappointing seasons at Staples Center.
LEBRON JAMES (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) AND O’NEAL Prior to “The Decision,” Cleveland tried every which way to pair LeBron with talent before his impending free agency. One of those attempts—and easily the biggest—was trading for O’Neal in 2010. The Cavs had hoped Shaq-Bron could be as fruitful as ShaqKobe and Shaq-Wade, but at 37, O’Neal was no longer dependable for big minutes nor consistent starts (he played just 53 games). The experiment didn’t work and LeBron left very publicly over the summer.
KEVIN GARNETT (2004) AND O’NEAL Sensing the end of the championship window to the Garnett-Paul Pierce-Ray AllenRajon Rondo quartet (they had won one title in 2008), Boston decided to bring in O’Neal in 2011 to help prop up the opening for one more run. At 38, the Diesel was running on fumes at that point and was never healthy, appearing in just 37 games before announcing his retirement at the end of that season. KEVIN DURANT (2014) AND STEPH CURRY (2015, 2016) The most recent of the double-MVPs, this pair had the most successful three-year run. After coming together in 2016, the two managed to take the Warriors to three straight Finals, winning two of them. The two meshed seamlessly, and joined by two other All-Star talents in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, they formed one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
bore fruit teaming with Nash in Phoenix.
043 RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY SPORTS ; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN (2); SAM FORNECICH; CHRIS COAVATTA; DAVID LIAM KYLE; NOAH GRAHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
“As soon as we got together it was quickly negative. So, to me, it was very, very interesting. I always look at it as a blessing, because if there’s constantly things being said about you, it’s a positive...it must mean myself or James must be doing something very great or unheard of to make you think we can’t play together. I think it’s great because we’re so comfortable with each other and the way we play the game.”—Westbrook When asked about the pairing with Westbrook at Houston’s 2019-20 Media Day, Harden said, “I knew we needed to get better. You look at the talent from the Warriors and Toronto, who were in the Finals, and even [with] the other teams that are at the top tier of this league, you need to get better. You need talent, you need vets that can’t just run around and shoot 3s and dunk, but ‘think’ the game of basketball and I think we have that this year.” Perhaps most significant given the past hierarchy discrepancy, if Harden genuinely feels as though he can not only rely upon Westbrook to produce on the court but also trust him enough as a leader to relent some of those responsibilities, it would certainly make for a more seamless adjustment period for both players. When asked about the almost immediate negative narrative surrounding his pairing with Westbrook, Harden was quick to dispute the validity of such discussions. “It was a narrative before me and Chris [Paul] got together, and we ended up being the No. 1 team in the regular season. The narrative is something you guys [media] have to do. We’re just going to go out there and figure it out. It isn’t always going to be perfect. There’s going to be a lot of great times and a couple bad times, but that’s a part of basketball. I think every team goes through that throughout the course of the year.” Many of the narratives tended to be preemptively driven by writers, social media and podcasters alike. Some of that could certainly be rooted in presumptive conjecture on all of our parts, but it isn’t entirely unfounded as a notion to consider given everything we’ve seen from each player. Westbrook, when asked about such narratives, was even more direct: “There were other duos around the League that got together. Kawhi [Leonard] and Paul [George], LeBron [James] and Anthony [Davis]... Kevin [Durant] and Kyrie [Irving], but as soon as we got together it [the narrative] was quickly negative,” said Westbrook. “So, to me, it was very, very interesting. I always look at it as a blessing, because if there’s
constantly things being said about you, it’s a positive...it must mean myself or James must be doing something very great or unheard of to make you think we can’t play together. I think it’s great because we’re so comfortable with each other and the way we play the game.” Whether or not you believe in this duo’s capability to coexist, this does not feel like merely lip service from these two at this point. If this team is able to collectively block out much of the external noise and find a way to rally around itself using the instant criticism as inspiration or even motivation, then perhaps the Las Vegas odds-makers—Bovada, in this case—know exactly what they are talking about with a prediction of 53.5 wins for the 2019-20 Houston Rockets. When asked about expectations for this team as currently constituted, Fertitta told ESPN’s First Take before the season: “With two out of the last three MVPs, my expectations are extremely high...We better be in the Western Conference Finals.” Fertitta continued, “This is the time for Russell and James to step up and make it happen in the playoffs. They have been unbelievable in the regular season, they’ve even had unbelievable series in the playoffs. But they both know this is their time and I truly believe they’re gonna rise to the occasion.” Barring any significant moves involving both Eric Gordon (owed as much as $68.7M over the next five seasons) and even Capela (owed $72.1M over the next four), this is a core group that appears to be set in stone, as much as such a thing is possible in today’s NBA. In the event it doesn’t go well or the fit simply isn’t what Houston expected, they may have truly painted themselves into a bit of a corner given the fact that Westbrook is owed more than $171 million over the next four seasons, where he will be entering his mid-30s. With Fretitta, whose Landry’s, Inc., happens to own and operate the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, perhaps the team’s motto should be “All In” for the foreseeable future. The Rockets might be holding pocket aces, but they’ll still need a good flop to win it all.
044 ISSAC BALDIZON; BILL BAPTIST/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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All Davis, Awesome Defense, Anthony Delivers—it can stand for many things, but for the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis only means a championship. By ANDY JASNER #27
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A
bout a nanosecond after six-time All-Star Anthony Davis joined the Los Angeles Lakers, the once-proud franchise became an instant title contender.
Again. No need for analytics to determine this statement. Davis is that talented. Davis is a rare player who can alter a game on any given night in a plethora of ways. He can score at will. He can defend. More than that, he will defend. He can shoot in the midrange. He can post up. He can even knock down 3-pointers from anywhere on the court. Get the point? Oh, and Davis can even handle the ball, having played point guard in high school before a growth spurt sprouted him to his current 6-10 size. The Lakers’ roster was flawed and battered last season. LeBron James was banged up down the stretch as the Lakers finished a disappointing 37-45 and 11 games out of the playoffs. The Lakers started 0-3, improved to 11-9, but never found any consistency after the first 20 games on their way to watching their crosstown rival Clippers earn a playoff spot with arguably less talent. Now, their arena-mates have a comparable onetwo punch in two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and two-way star Paul George.
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The Lakers’ current roster is improved from last season, at least in terms of fit. There are expectations of Kyle Kuzma to slide into the tertiary scorer role on the team. They brought in 3-and-D wing Danny Green to space and defend. The Lakers hope the second coming of Dwight Howard, this time as a secondary role player, will work out better. Avery Bradley will act as the first line of defense at point guard. Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee are championship-tested veterans who will provide valuable experience and mentoring to the squad. But the Lakers’ success will start with Davis. It will end with Davis. Whatever Davis produces in between will be the difference. Sure, King James is a crucial piece, yet he’s now 34 years old, in Year 17 with over 50,000 NBA minutes (regular season and playoffs) and it’s unclear how much of the load he can carry for the rest of his Hall of Fame career. Davis’ statistics through seven stellar seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans produced 23.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game. In the highly-difficult Western Conference, Davis didn’t have enough of a supporting cast to lead the franchise to a title. In Los Angeles, Davis will be the leader again. This time, his team appears to have enough pieces to make a deep run. “I love Anthony Davis and his entire game,” says Hall of Famer and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley. “He can do it all. He’s so talented on both ends of the court. I think we still have yet to see the best of AD and that has to be scary for the rest of the League. He wanted out of New Orleans and he got his wish. Now, he’ll be out to prove what he can do with the Lakers with more scrutiny on his game. I know he will have a great season, and staying healthy is obviously a key component. “I don’t have any doubt that he’ll be able to play alongside LeBron. The thing about LeBron is that he’s always been a willing passer. Anthony Davis can run the court as well as any forward or center in the entire league. LeBron will find him. The Lakers will go as far as AD will carry them. He can play big minutes and he’ll need to since the team will likely watch LeBron’s minutes in certain games. “AD is an All-Star. He’s an impact player and he’ll impact the game in so many ways every night. It’s going to be enjoyable to watch how this plays out.” Every time Lakers famous public address announcer Lawrence Tanter announces Davis in the starting lineup, the crowds at Staples Center will erupt. That you can expect. LeBron is still able to put up a triple-double on any given night, but without Davis, the Lakers would be going nowhere this season. Again, analytics aren’t needed to prove this point. The offense will run through Davis. With his skill set, it has to. “If we are not playing through Anthony Davis while he is on the floor, there’s no sense to have him on the floor,” says James. “He’s that great. It doesn’t mean every time down, we throw it to him. But we have the ability of doing it…He's been very efficient in his career, he commands doubleteams, and when you can attract two defenders on one guy, then you have
“He can do it all on the court. I haven't played with a guy this exciting since probably Kevin Garnett.”—RAJON RONDO
the numbers in your favor. It'll open things up for the other guys on the floor, including myself." In the NBA, it’s rare for superstars to focus on defense at the highest level every single night. The truly great players take pride in stopping the other team. Count Davis among this group. He knows he can score, but he knows he can affect things on the other side as well. When Davis led the University of Kentucky to a national championship in 2012, he didn’t need to score. The Wildcats won because of Davis’ rebounding and defense. Davis averaged about 14 points in his lone season at UK and netted just 6 points in the title game, but he did block 6 shots, made 3 steals and grab 16 boards in his college finale. He’ll take the same mindset into this season with the Lakers. And he’s thrilled and willing to
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“If we are not playing through Anthony Davis while he is on the floor, there’s no sense to have him on the floor. He’s that great.”—LEBRON JAMES
Go back through history and you’ll find plenty of terrific tandems in Los Angeles Lakers’ lore. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain. Pretty lofty dynamic duos for sure. While Anthony Davis and LeBron James are just now teaming up, it’s safe to place these two with the others in Lakers’ history. James has already won three NBA championships and his resume is cemented for the Hall of Fame. The addition of Davis not only turns the Lakers into a threat in the Western Conference, it makes them an instant title contender. AD means that much. Of course, AD and King James will have to prove their mettle this season and beyond. “I don’t think there’s any question that AD and LeBron could wind up being one of the best one-two punches in the League,” says former NBA head coach and broadcaster Doug Collins. “Adding a player of the caliber of
make the sacrifice. “It’s hard to score,” Davis says. “It’s hard to score against us in the paint. So my role doesn’t change. I just don’t have to get every blocked shot now and every rebound. We have guys that can do the same thing. “We try to tell anybody who is guarding the ball: Just be aggressive. Because we have guys behind you who are going to protect you. So that goes for me as well. If I’m guarding the ball, I know that I have guys behind me who can block shots and also alter the offensive player’s shot.” Before officially joining the Lakers, Davis even took his dogged determination on defense a step further. “I want to be Defensive Player of the Year,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “I think if I’m able to do that, I can help this team win. The offensive end will come around, but defensively, I want to hold myself, teammates, including LeBron, accountable in order for us to take on the challenge of being the best we can defensively. In doing so, we’ll have a good chance of winning every night. I want to make sure me and LeBron are on the All-Defensive Team. And for me personally, I just want to be the Defensive Player of the Year. If we’re able to hold teams under 100 [points], which is probably unrealistic but it should be our goal, I think we’ll have a shot at winning the title.” First-year Lakers head coach Frank Vogel always admired Davis from afar. He also understood the daunting challenge in trying to slow Davis down on either end of the court. It was near impossible. So now having Davis on his side is an ideal situation. “He's a monster,” Vogel says. “It’s going to be very difficult to slow him down with what we have around him. I’m very excited and Lakers fans should be, too.” Playing in New Orleans wasn’t too difficult. Davis was the unquestioned superstar. The entire offense ran through him. There was zero pressure in the relatively small market. The Pelicans weren’t featured on national television too much.
AD is like adding a superstar. That’s what the Lakers did. It will be fascinating to see the Lakers perform.” Stars can clash. Stars will clash. Kobe and Shaq certainly had their share of issues on and off the court. But they also won three championships together. At LeBron’s advanced basketball age of 34, he’s smart enough to realize how valuable it will be to play alongside AD. Look at last season’s 37-45 mark and King James must be reveling in having Davis in the purple and gold. “I think Anthony Davis is a star and adding him puts the Lakers in another stratosphere,” Hall of Famer Bill Walton says. “The Lakers can run their offense through AD in the paint or on the perimeter. With LeBron, AD will have so much more freedom on the court. The
Lakers have had so many incredible players in their history. AD will be motivated to put a championship banner in the rafters like all those other Laker greats were able to do.” That’s when LeBron and Davis will cement themselves among distinguished purple and gold duos in Lakers lore.
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Fast forward to now and Davis will be in the Hollywood spotlight. Teaming up with LeBron on a franchise with 16 titles will only mean the team is making room in its trophy case for 17. He’ll be battling top newcomer Leonard for the top spot in their own city. The Lakers will be featured on national television a lot. Davis will be watched closely every game. Any little thing will be dissected on social media vehicles such as Twitter and Instagram—remember the fervor over the time Davis showed up to Casa James for #TacoTuesday? That was preseason. And let’s not forget to mention that Rich Paul, AD’s agent, declared: “We are going into free agency. 2020: Anthony Davis will be in free agency.” Forget spotlight; Davis will have a laser beam following him all season. Expect Davis to thrive. Expect him to relish the opportunity to lead the Lakers back to the promised land of another championship and into Lakers’ lore with the likes of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Kareem AbdulJabbar, among others. “Anthony Davis is like a blast from the past, and what I mean by that is that he’s old school in so many ways,” says former NBA head coach Doug Collins. “He’s ready, willing and able to do anything the team needs to win. He’ll take on the responsibility of putting the franchise on his back. He’ll take the pressure. It doesn’t ever seem to faze him. If he’s not shooting well, he’ll keep rebounding and playing defense. Put the offense through him and the Lakers will right there in the mix. AD is also a student of the game and you can see that as games develop. “He’s got such a high basketball IQ. He’s everything you could want in a player.” Davis will ultimately be judged on how the Lakers fare in the postseason. With the Pelicans, Davis advanced to the postseason just twice—in 201415 and 2017-18. In 13 career playoff games, Davis averaged 30.5 points and 12.7 rebounds, so obviously he was up to the challenge. Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo, now a member of the Lakers, saw it up close as teammates in New Orleans in 2017-18. "Well I had a lot of success obviously with [AD, who is] a first-ballot Hall of Famer," Rondo told reporters. "A fun guy, a willing listener, and like I said, he can do it all on the court. I haven't played with a guy this exciting
since probably Kevin Garnett, [someone who] can do it all and do the intangibles and make a difference on both ends of the court." Added Barkley, “AD will be just fine in the playoffs. He’ll be a leader. He’ll put up numbers. Playing with LeBron and all of that experience in the postseason will be seamless because of the regular season. The spotlight will be bright when the playoffs come around. This is what AD wanted. It’s not like he’s never been to the playoffs before. The key now is continuing to advance. Winning 16 games in the playoffs on the way to a championship is so difficult mentally, physically and emotionally. It’s not easy. Great players can go their whole career and not win one. With LeBron, he’s got a great chance. They need to run the offense through AD. It will be a fun ride to witness.” Winning a title in the NBA takes multiple stars. It can rarely be done with only one standout. Even with more than one star, nothing is guaranteed. Championships don't always to come to fruition. There won’t always be a parade. When your franchise can add a player the caliber of Davis, your chances of winning that championship improve dramatically. Davis and LeBron. LeBron and Davis. As recently as three seasons ago, LeBron willed the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA title. He had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Three years later, LeBron is suddenly 34. This is Davis’ team. It’s that simple. “When the Lakers acquired Davis, it made them a force to deal with every game,” says former Orlando Magic VP Pat Williams. “Put a player of his stature with LeBron and they’re a contender. No question. When we built the Magic and had Shaq and Penny [Hardaway], we had two stars. We had really solid players around him. It starts at the top and Shaq and Penny could carry us any night. They were young budding stars. We ultimately didn’t get a ring, but we got close. “Anthony Davis puts the Lakers on a different level, on a different scale. He legitimizes what they’re trying to accomplish. Put him by LeBron’s side and it’s a wow factor. Will it lead to a parade in downtown L.A.? There are other teams that will have something to say about that. But they’re in a greater position than they were. Much greater. That’s all about adding AD.” With LeBron’s age, the Lakers almost certainly have a slight window to win another title. There’s no time to waste. Getting a record amount of regular season wins isn’t a necessity. Whether they win 52, 54, 56 or 60 games is rather meaningless. It’s how the Lakers perform in the playoffs that will matter most. How Davis performs will surely matter. If he plays like a Hall of Famer, the Lakers could return to their glory days. “I really believe,” Barkley says, “that the Lakers will go as far as AD takes them.”
050 CHRIS ELISE; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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T O O K C P 3 A G A I N Chris Paul has found himself back where everything started for him, and he’s more than OK with that. By Jim Eichenhofer #12
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I had the opportunity to start my career here in 2005, so I’m blessed and fortunate to be back. I’m always going to be forever grateful to Oklahoma City.
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s close-knit teammates and the two best players on their NBA club over a six-year span from 2005-11, Chris Paul and nowretired David West will always share a bond, partly because of basketball, but also due to the peculiar way their professional careers got off the ground. Paul’s rookie season—and West’s first as an every-game starter—unfolded in a city that had never hosted the NBA, amid an improvised and temporary setup necessitated by the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina. Officially, their team was known as the “New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets”—try fitting that onto a T-shirt—and the logistics in the latter of those two cities were similarly confusing. The Hornets ended up using a small local college’s gym on the outskirts of Oklahoma City as their “practice facility,” while their 41-night home schedule in 200506 consisted of games in four different arenas, across two different states. One thing that never wavered, however, was the immediate and overwhelming love shown by Oklahoma City residents to their unexpected guests, who ended up playing two seasons there. “The fans were unreal,” Paul says now. “Unbelievable.” As the city’s first-ever star professional athletes, Paul and West were adored by Oklahoma City to such an extent that when the two players later ended up facing the brand-new Thunder as opponents in 2008, they received raucous ovations during starting lineup introductions, partly as a thank you for helping establish OKC as a bona fide NBA city. As the years progressed and the Thunder became a perennial power, however, Paul and West started to notice a change: Cheers for them decreased, morphing into the somewhat hostile reception every NBA player generally anticipates on the road. Particularly for Paul, who in ’11
joined one of the Thunder’s biggest rivals, the LA Clippers. “Me and David West talked about it all the time that we loved it when we were here for those two years because of the fans,” Paul recalls, smiling. “There was nothing like that. When we came back here when we played for New Orleans, they cheered us for the first couple years, but then that started turning into boos. [After hearing the negative response] me and DWest used to be like, ‘Man, we helped bring a team here!’” A decade and a half later, things have come full circle for Paul, once again in completely unexpected fashion. After spending much of the decade trying to dethrone San Antonio and later Golden State in the Western Conference, while suiting up for the Clippers and Houston, Paul was traded in July to Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook, bringing him back to the city where his NBA career began with a Rookie of
the Year trophy in 2005-06. No one would’ve ever predicted it, but OKC is cheering for CP3 again.
Where it all began Chris Paul’s first year employed by an NBA organization was also mine. After working as a newspaper sportswriter in the Syracuse, N.Y., area— as well contributing to basketball magazines, including the one you’re reading—I decided in the early 2000s that I’d accept the first full-time writing job offer from an NBA team I received, regardless of where the franchise was located. As fate would have it, in the fall of ’05 that team was the Hornets and the destination was Oklahoma City. During the two years I lived and worked in that completely unfamiliar place, I often witnessed firsthand Paul’s overwhelming love for basketball. Although many NBA players say they have a passion for hoops, the 6-foot point guard did some things that took it to another level. He’s always been an NBA League Pass addict, but he also would sporadically come to OKC’s Ford Center (now Chesapeake Energy Arena) to watch us play pickup basketball, in games that featured a mixture of Hornets employees, friends and family members. Paul’s older brother, C.J., always played, as did Hornets head coach Byron Scott’s son, Thomas, along with future NBA player development guru/assistant coach Irving Roland. There were even times when C.J. and Chris’ father, Charles, would play, anchoring himself in the paint and relying on old-school, low-post moves. Chris sat on the sidelines and watched, sometimes tossing in good-natured and hilarious commentary with a grin from the first row (“OK Jim, I see the jumper’s on tonight! Keep shooting,” or “Come on Jim, guard somebody!”). For someone who never played organized
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basketball beyond high school, it was jarring at first to realize that the NBA’s top rookie in 2005-06 was watching, let alone critiquing the action, but it soon became normal. One night when the guys were expecting me to play, I decided last minute not to show up because I had caught a minor cold. When I saw C.J. Paul the next day, he asked me why I backed out. “I was kind of sick,” I responded. “Well, we only had nine guys,” C.J. said. “So since you didn’t come, Chris played.” I was taken aback, not only because the team’s franchise player had
POINT GOD STATUS
“filled in” for me—I always laugh when I think about that massive talent upgrade—but also because at the time, Chris had been sidelined for a few recent Hornets games by what I recall was some kind of foot or leg injury. I immediately asked C.J. the obvious question: Under the circumstances, why in the world would Chris risk playing? “Don’t worry, it was fine for him to play,” C.J. replied. “He just made sure he never jumped.”
Back to the future I tell that story to illustrate how much Chris Paul loves the game and how badly he always wants to be on a basketball court—even if it’s a pickup game featuring his brother, father and a bunch of wannabes. It also helps explain why Chris seemed so indignant this summer when he heard widespread rumors and news reports that presumed he wanted no part of playing for the 2019-20 Thunder, a team most perceived to be in rebuilding mode, a far cry from the 50-win-plus contending squads
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ubbed the Point God for most of his career, Paul has become the standard bearer for the position over the decade and a half his career has spanned. Even as others have reinvented the position with dazzling triple-doubles and sizzling 3-point marksmanship, Paul has them all beat in the one category that has always mattered for every point guard: wins. Traditionally, a point guard’s main duty is to shepherd the team on both ends of the floor. He is the first line of the defense on one end and the guy orchestrating the offense on the other. The only stat that mattered for the 1 was one: win shares, a statistic that is derived from a complicated formula taken from famed baseball sabermetrics expert Bill James that takes into account many factors on both ends of the court. Like any advanced stat, it’s not an end-all/be-all metric, but it does correlate to productivity. By win shares, Paul is very much deserving of the Point God title. Among active players, he is second behind LeBron James in career win shares. As of this writing, Paul was at 172.22 win shares. It’s an estimate, but one that values him at 172 wins for the teams he’s suited up for. Among the all-time list, Paul sits at No. 16. He’s averaged about 12 win shares per season over his career, so he could very well leapfrog a few names at the end of this season: Kobe Bryant, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal. When it’s all said and done, CP3 could crack the top 10. That would place him among the giants, literally. At just 6 feet tall, Paul would be among many of the greats, all of whom (with one exception we’ll get to later) stand over 6-6. The all-time win shares leader is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (273.41) and he’s followed by a bevy of big men like Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett and tall wing players like Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Oscar Robertson. Win shares is a cumulative stat, which means players with longevity like Kareem and the Mailman have benefited from long and healthy careers. But if you tweak the win shares formula for efficiency, you’ll see Paul’s impact. If you view win shares per 48 minutes, which breaks win shares into a player’s per-minute production, Paul skyrockets up the list at .2464, past LeBron and even Kareem. In fact, there are only three players who best him in WS/48: Jordan (.2505), Robinson (.2502) and Chamberlain (.2480), not bad company. As for the previously mentioned lone exception in the “big players rule the win shares” rule, that would be John Stockton. Besides being 6-1, he also occupies the title of being the purest point guard the NBA has seen. Stockton’s scant YouTube highlight mixes would consist of textbook bounce passes, two-handed chest passes and the occasional “fancy” one-handed whip pass, but what you don’t see are all the final scores where Stockton’s Jazz teams came out on top. Stockton’s win share tally is 207.70. Paul has a shot to surpass that mark, and if he does, he’ll truly have earned the title. 055
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A lot of people try to tell your truth, tell your story and say what you want. I’m excited about our team, the opportunity and about building.
Paul has piloted for nearly his entire pro career. Sure, most NBA players would prefer to compete for a team that is deemed to be in the hunt for an NBA title, but Paul appeared offended by the notion that he wouldn’t be happy to play competitive basketball anywhere, for any team, under any circumstances. And by the way, he also wasn’t about to concede to the popular idea that the Thunder couldn’t compete in the West. As long as they still had five players on the court, just like every other NBA team, they have a shot. “It’s funny, because a lot of people try to tell your truth, tell your story and say what you want,” Paul says, alluding to reporters he’d never spoken to instantly assuming in the offseason that he wanted to be shipped out by OKC to a projected title contender. “I’m excited about our team, the opportunity and about building.” Part of Paul’s enthusiasm for Oklahoma City’s prospects was due to the presence of rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a 21-year-old guard with a bright future, but also already showing excellence in his second NBA season. Like Paul, Gilgeous-Alexander was part of a high-profile NBA offseason trade that unexpectedly changed the course of his career. “Shai can play,” Paul says. “I was a fan of his while he was at the Clippers. I saw Shai at summer league after he had been traded and I told him I was excited for him [to have the opportunity to play for Oklahoma City]. Who knew that a week later we’d be teammates?” Asked what still drives him this deep into his career—by the way, he’d love to be participating in postseason basketball on May 6, when he turns 35 years old—Paul responds, “What fuels me is competition and always trying to get better, always trying to see how I can improve.”
Off the court, as you might imagine, it’s been a bit surreal for Paul to start anew in the same city he left a dozen seasons ago, when the Hornets returned to New Orleans for what became a banner 200708 campaign. That season Paul finished as MVP runner-up to Kobe Bryant, after leading NOLA to what remains the only division title in team history. “At a team function the other day, I saw a woman who said she was in middle school when the team was first here, and she had one of those [Oklahoma City] Hornets shirts,” Paul said on Thunder Media Day. “It’s crazy. It’s definitely different being back.” Now in Year 15 of his pro career, Paul laughs when he’s occasionally reminded how long ago it was that he first made his mark in the NBA and in OKC. “Even some of the [players] on my team didn’t know that I won Rookie of the Year here,” Paul says, smiling. “Dennis [Schroder] didn’t even know I lived here for my first two years. I don’t know if that’s dating me [as old] or what it is. “I had the opportunity to start my career here in 2005, so I’m blessed and fortunate to be back. I’m always going to be forever grateful to Oklahoma City.”
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By Holly MacKenzie #32
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Jimmy Butler’s style of — embracing hard work makes him very on brand with the Miami Heat.
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fter four cities in four years—Chicago, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and now, Miami—Jimmy Butler is feeling content. And why wouldn’t he? In addition to the Miami weather and lifestyle, his young Heat team came strong out the gates to start the 2019-20 season, thanks in large part to Butler’s team-best 19.3 point-per-game average leading a balanced offense with six players scoring in double figures. “I’m just happy,” Butler says before boarding the team plane during a recent West Coast road trip. “Like legit, I’m happy. Our group of guys, we’re happy. We’re glad to compete and if we haven’t already, we still have so many more people to shock and pretty soon it’s not going to be a surprise that we are where we’re at.”
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“I’m happy. Our group of guys, we’re happy. We’re glad to compete and if we haven’t already, we still have so many more people to shock and pretty soon it’s not going to be a surprise that we are where we’re at.” Four different teams in four years means more than just packing up, moving and relocating to a new city. There’s new basketball schemes to learn, a new coaching staff to get used to, and teammates to become familiar with. Still, Butler says the adjustment to living the Heat way has been smooth. “It’s been great for me, to tell you the truth,” he says. “I love being around new people, especially people that think a lot like I think, and go about everything every day like I go about it. I think that goes to show the culture here, the organization, and damn, sure the players [are a good fit for me]. I feel right at home. “As far as the packing [and moving logistics] go, I have people to do my packing for me. I have a great group of people that make sure all I have to worry about is playing basketball.” Though continuity is often prized in professional sports, Butler shrugs off the notion that previous time together trumps talented players working toward a common goal. Pointing to the success of USA Basketball despite not playing together during a regular 82-game NBA season, he said that finding a group of players who know how to play the right way is the most important thing when it comes to finding on-court success. “Basketball is basketball,” Butler says. “You put five players out there on the court, they’re going to find a way to figure it out. They’re going to communicate. You’re going to be around your teammates for so long that you’ll learn what they want to do on the court, [as well as] who they are as people.” Much has been made of the Miami Heat culture over the years. From Pat Riley’s presence and place atop the Heat hierarchy as team president dating back to 1995, to the beginning of the super team era with backto-back titles won by the LeBron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh trio, to Erik Spoelstra’s tenure over the past 11 years, it never takes long for
“Miami Heat culture” to be mentioned when discussing the history of the organization. Though Butler spent the first six seasons of his career with the Bulls after being drafted by Chicago 30th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, it was in his last season with the Bulls that his interest in the Heat was piqued. “I played with this guy named Dwyane Wade in Chicago and he would always tell me about the culture over there and what it was like,” says Butler. “How they won championships, yadda, yadda, yadda. At the time, I was relatively young. I just thought I was going to be with Chicago my whole career and then I started to realize it is a business, so that’s out of the picture, but I’m damn sure hoping to be in Miami for the rest of my career.” Butler has only been in Miami for a few months, but he’s already connecting to the culture that Wade first introduced him to three years ago. That culture is one of the reasons he ultimately wanted to become a member of the Heat organization. After spending much of the past three seasons in situations that ultimately didn’t end up being the right fit, the passionate way Butler speaks about things in Miami makes it clear that though his tenure with the team is just getting started, he’s feeling great about it. “When you think about an organization—how they play, how they go about everything every day, how you’ve got to speak your mind—that’s what we do here,” he says. “That’s me in a nutshell. When you talk about a perfect fit, it legit don’t get any better than this.” In recent years, the 30-year-old Butler has made headlines as much for his direct approach with teammates as for his fashion choices or curious Instagram captions. With a vibrant personality that can be described as both charismatic and headstrong, he has admirers and doubters in droves. “Some people don't like me because my shoes are red on any given
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BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Right before then-NBA Commissioner David Stern passed off the duties of announcing the rest of the 2011 NBA Draft picks on the stage to then-deputy commissioner Adam Silver, he had one last name to call out: “With the 30th pick of the 2011 draft, the Chicago Bulls select Jimmy Butler from Marquette University.” Being the last player getting your name called by the commissioner might mean 29 other teams have passed on you and most picks that late don’t make the walk onto the stage for the handshake and photo opp (Butler was not present at the Prudential Center in New Jersey that night), but it doesn’t necessarily spell doom. Butler has carved out a pretty nice career for being the last pick of the first round, but he’s hardly the first and not yet the best. Here are a few notable last picks of the first round (we’re only going back to 1980, the year the NBA began televising the draft).
TERRY PORTER
ARVYDAS SABONIS
TONY PARKER
JOSH HOWARD
DAVID LEE
You can’t really fault the teams that let Porter slip through in 1985. He did, after all, play in unknown University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a school that is still waiting for its second player to play in the NBA. That was the first year the NBA instituted the lottery and consensus No. 1 pick Patrick Ewing garnered all the attention, but when it was all said and done, it was Porter that might’ve deserved to be the second pick to follow Ewing. Porter was best known as the underrated point guard who shared a backcourt with Clyde Drexler for those very good Portland Trail Blazers teams in the ‘90s. He was a steady game manager who every year flirted with a 50/40/90 (field goal/3-point/ free throw percent) season and was a two-time All-Star (1991 and ’93). Among his draft class, Porter is second in career win shares with 110.4, trailing only Ewing’s 126.4.
When Sabonis was the last pick in 1986, it was actually a move up for him. Previously he was tabbed in the fourth round of the previous draft. International scouting in the NBA was sparse during those times, but many knew of the Lithuanian center who was a star in the Soviet Premier League and the leader of a talented Soviet Union team that defeated the United States in the 1988 Olympic Games. Even though Portland selected him in 1986, it wouldn’t be until 10 years later that Sabonis would make his NBA debut. In his prime, Sabonis was regarded as one of the finest centers in the world. Much like Bill Walton, Sabonis was a gifted player who could probably lead a team in points with his soft touch and fluid footwork, but was a very team-oriented player who preferred to share the ball (he was an uncanny passer), rebound and play defense. By the time he suited up for the NBA, Sabonis was 31 with nagging injuries stemming from his high mileage, but still displayed many of the skills that led to his eventual Hall of Fame enshrinement.
After the Parker pick was announced, TNT analyst Charles Barkley summed it up succinctly: “I don’t know that much about him, but if they got him in the first round, he must be a good player.” The statement was met with laughter from Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino. Some teams had Parker on their radar, but between just being a teen and international product that wasn’t a big (at the time, international picks were mostly bigs and almost never point guards), Parker fell to the Spurs. Even Gregg Popovich was none too impressed initially, but Parker managed to win him over on his way to becoming one of the finest PGs of his generation and helping the team win four titles (Parker was named Finals MVP in 2007). Parker recently got his #9 retired by the franchise and the next stop will surely be the Hall of Fame.
The 2003 NBA Draft is remembered for the heavy hitters at the top—LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh— but it also featured plenty of quality after the top five. Guys like Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, David West, Boris Diaw, Kendrick Perkins and Leandro Barbosa all carved out respectable careers that made the draft special. Last among all of them in the first round was Howard. After serving as a high energy reserve as a rookie, Howard quickly moved up Dallas’ depth chart, eventually becoming the second option on the offense behind Dirk Nowitzki and even making an All-Star Game in 2007. He was a steady almost-20 PPG scorer for four seasons before an ACL tear in 2010 hampered the last four years of his career.
Whenever the NBA holds a draft at Madison Square Garden, you can expect two things: a raucous crowd and boos when the home team announces its pick. It’s almost a rite of passage for New York rooks—they need to earn the respect from New Yorkers. It was no different in 2005 when Lee’s name was announced (the Knicks had two picks that year and No. 8 pick Channing Frye received the same reception). After a quiet rookie run, Lee quickly turned the jeers into cheers as the team’s sixth man in his sophomore campiagn, coming off the bench to average a double-double (10.7 points and 10.4 rebounds). By his fifth year, Lee was a full-time starter, an All-Star and a 20-10 player. He became so beloved that when Lee was traded to Golden State in 2010, there were boos directed at the front office for the unpopular move. Lee would not experience the same individual success, but played a role on the 2015 world champion Warriors team before retiring after a productive 12-year career.
24th pick of the 1985 NBA Draft
24th pick of the 1986 NBA Draft
28th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft
29th pick of the 2003 NBA Draft
30th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft
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day,” he says with a laugh when asked how he blocks out the outside noise and opinions. Butler refers to the way the Heat handle issues that pop up over the course of any NBA season, opting to deal with them directly and not taking criticisms personally. He said it fits with his own personality. “That’s how we move here,” he says. “And that’s how I've moved for a very long time.” Regardless of the narratives that have followed him to Miami, Butler makes one thing clear: Whatever is or isn’t said or thought about his motivations, his focus is singular and his goals are simple. “I just want to win a championship,” he says. “I think that’s what everybody, well I can’t say everybody, but I think the majority of the people do it for, to win a championship. Whatever your team needs you to do, we’ve got a group of guys here that do that.” With veteran point guard Goran Dragic, rising big man Bam Adebayo, fellow first-year Heat teammate Meyers Leonard as well as rookie sensations Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro, just to name a handful of Heat players, Butler is enjoying the time with his new team. Being in a situation where everyone on the roster is on the same page isn’t something he’s taking for granted. A season ago, Butler was playing alongside Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. In spite of the talent, it was Butler who tied the game with 4.2 seconds remaining in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Toronto Raptors before Kawhi Leonard connected on a game-winning buzzer-beating jumper that needed four bounces to fall. The Sixers were a buzzerbeater away from going into overtime and potentially advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Butler has never been farther than the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his career. He hopes to rectify this in Miami. In a recent cover story for Miami’s Haute Living magazine, Butler expounded on that pull to win now. While he has always been exceptionally competitive, nine years into his NBA career, the personal accolades—four-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA All-Defensive Second team, two-time All-NBA Third team, Most Improved Player—are nice, but team hardware is what he’s seeking. “I have always been a fierce competitor, but I haven’t always been like this,” he told Haute Living. “Losing [hasn’t] always bothered me as much as it does now. I realized that I worked so hard to be one of the best at something, and when you put all of that time in, it hurts to [expletive]
“I just want to win a championship... Whatever your team needs you to do, we’ve got a group of guys here that do that.” lose. You did all that for no [expletive] reason—that’s the part that gets me. If I wanted to lose, I just wouldn’t do [anything]. I’d sit around and just go on vacation 24 hours a day.” With the Heat culture requiring the same commitment and rules for everyone, things become simplified. Show up daily, be ready to work. With Butler’s own goals simplified as well, he’s glad to have teammates sharing his vision. “Every day, no one is worried about anybody knowing your name, who is shooting the most shots,” he says. “Nobody is worried about who scores the most points. None of that matters. The culture they’ve built here, the culture we have here and will continue to carry on here is that of winning. Everything we say, everything we do it is a winning habit. If it’s not a winning habit, you don’t belong here.” Though he has played on other teams with arguably more talent in recent seasons, Butler’s focus is on the now. He's concerning himself with how he can help the Heat continue to surprise and sustain a strong start. Though the season is still young, he’s confident, of course. “It’s just like any other thing,” he says. “If you want to win, you’re going to figure it out very quickly.”
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TWO-064 ATIBA JEFFERSON (2)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
KAWHI LEONARD AND PAUL GEORGE HAVE THE 213— SPECIFICALLY CLIPPERS NATION— THINKING CHAMPIONSHIP.
--THIRTEEN By Darryl Howerton #21
A
fter Doc Rivers, the patriarch of the Rivers family, walked his daughter down the aisle and gave Callie Rivers away in marriage to Seth Curry, an offspring of the Curry lineage, the 58-year-old Los Angeles Clippers head coach slipped away from his Mindy Weiss wedding-planner beautified backyard to the indoor comforts of his Malibu home whilst the reception began just outside.
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At first, Rivers reflected on how much this whole day was going to cost him, and then proceeded to write his stand-up material on being the only father in America who had to pay for an NBA player’s wedding, which set up his punchline how the League now would probably investigate him for tampering, while Seth Curry, Stephen Curry, Austin Rivers, Evan Turner, partied nearby. Oh, that funny Doc! File this anecdote under “NBA Rich People’s Problems.” After chuckling at his own sense of humor, the NBA lifer then had a quick realization that two days after this glorious Saturday, September 14, 2019, wedding day, old man Rivers soon would be hosting his own first dinner with L.A.’s next power couple, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who were soon to be betrothed with his Clippers team—one that had overachieved into the playoffs—for the upcoming 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. The two superstar All-NBA forwards and coaching great were scheduled to break bread Monday and have a heart-to-heart-to-heart, discussing everything from the beginning of the upcoming NBA season to how they planned on capturing the 2020 NBA Playoffs in April, May and June. Ah, yes. As one couple leaves the nest, it is only fitting that another pair immediately arrives. Such is life for Malibu’s most wanted in Rivers’ corner of the world near the Pacific Ocean. One minute, Doc help transforms Lob City into a perennial playoff team; the next, his Clippers now are focused on—as Kawhi Leonard is fond of saying—“the Larry O.B. trophy,” as in the Larry O’Brien award that annually goes to the NBA champion every June. Yes, now that Rivers has married off his daughter and sent the newlyweds on their honeymoon one week before preseason begins, the 21-year NBA head coach this week
squeezes in a round of golf at nearby Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, while also taking part in an interview with Los Angeles Times columnist Arash Markazi. There, Rivers tells Markazi how the Clippers landed Leonard in free agency in July 2019, relaying a story of how a candid Kawhi told Doc in his Malibu home, “I want to play for you.” Rivers then relays how Leonard next turned to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and said, “Mr. Ballmer, I love the things you do and what you stand for, but your team is not good enough and if you do not change your team, I’m not coming.” The two-time NBA Finals MVP with a reputation to be stoic was more direct than they were expecting, and they privately admired him for it. To counter Leonard’s assessment, the Clippers brass just happened to have a list of potential trading partners, should they need to bring in reinforcements. Since Leonard just informed them this was necessary, the Clippers execs broke out the list with NBA stars on it. When Leonard saw Paul George’s name, he said, “I want to play with him.” Whether the bookend forwards had discussions prior to that, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, that fact is not confirmed. We can affirmatively say, however, that Clippers history was made that day, July 10, 2019, when the organization finalized the franchise-altering transaction by trading two starters (forward Danilo Gallinari and promising rookie guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), three Clippers first-round picks (2022, 2024 and 2026), two Miami Heat first-round picks (2021 and 2023 lottery-protected), in addition to two firstround swap options (2023 and 2025) to the Oklahoma City Thunder for George, a five-time All-NBA player and one of the few two-way stars.
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“We realized we really got a chance to do something special on the defensive end this season.” —Paul George
With the blockbuster deal consummated, the organization not only had a dynamic duo to succeed the Clippers’ Lob City Chris Paul/Blake Griffin era, but they now partnered with a superstar headliner who could compete for marquee space with the Lakers’ Space Jammers LeBron James/Anthony Davis in Los Angeles, the Warriors’ Splash Brothers Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson in California and the Rockets’ Thunderous Two James Harden/Russell Westbrook in further battles out West. As Rivers would tell Leonard and George when they met for dinner at Nobu in Malibu that Monday evening, “In the last two months, I have watched every game you two have played during your last two NBA seasons.” The head coach used that icebreaker as a starting point for the trio to begin writing the screenplay how the Clippers planned to win an NBA championship together. “We realized we really got a chance to do something special on the defensive end this season,” says George, referring to the addition of the two 2018-19 All-Defense forwards to a team coached by a man who once helmed one of the greatest defensive teams in NBA history, the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics. “Watching Pat Beverley get out there and picking somebody at 94 feet, that’s going to get me going,” says George, referencing the two-time AllDefense point guard. “That is going to get Kawhi going. It is just going to become contagious on a nightly basis.” The three future Hall of Famers talked basketball that night. They talked about building a sustainable franchise. They talked about winning for a long time. As Leonard later explained, from his own experiences on the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs of 2014 and Toronto Raptors of 2019, “For me, it is about everybody being of high character, sacrifice, wanting to win, determination and knowledge. “You know? All of that together—just being out there on the floor and going out there as one unit, all trying to accomplish that ultimate goal. I think that is what drives a championship team.” The three men talked about the immediate future, and how the clock is ticking for a 28-year-old Leonard and 29-year-old George, and how both have at least two years to get it done before they re-negotiate new supermax contract extensions in the summer of 2021. With Leonard and George signed through mid-max contracts through
L.A.P.D.
No, we’re not referring to the Los Angeles police department, but to the Clippers duo—Leonard And Paul Defense— that will be doing their share of serving (up breakaway dunks) and protecting (the rim). In Leonard and George, the Clippers boast what could be the two best two-way players in the game. Individually, each guy is what many teams are searching for on defense, long athletic wings that are interchangeable and versatile. You hear a lot about offenses stretching opposing defenses, but in Leonard and George, the Clippers will be stretching offenses with the amount of space the two can cover. Throw in Patrick Beverley and the Clippers essentially have a perimeter wall that will test the stretchiest of offenses. In the NFL, Leonard would be the shutdown cornerback, the guy you place on an island against the opposing team’s best receiver without any help and you’re assured a quiet day from one side of the field. As a two-time Defensive Player and five-time All-Defensive selection (First Team three times) of the Year, Leonard can be depended on to give his man an inefficient shooting night with his length, strength, big mitts, and often overlooked footwork and anticipation. George might not have the DPOY hardware of Leonard, but he’s every bit as accomplished, having been named to the All-Defensive First Team twice and Second Team two times. George’s defensive approach is more subtle; while he may get a lot of steals (he led the League last year with 170), George is more a disruptor on defense. The threat of him lurking on defense leads to tips and steals by teammates; he’s not a big shotblocker, but he has a knack for challenging shots without fouling, leading to many misses; and he’s always active on D, locking up his man while keeping one eye on passing lanes. If Leonard and Paul are LAPD, then Beverley is their K-9 unit that sniffs out weaknesses in opposing ballhandlers and applies pressure the whole 94 feet. Beverley has an All-Defensive First Team and a Second Team selection on his résumé. Not quite the all-around defender that Leonard and George are, Beverley makes up for it with his fearlessness and determination. If history is any indicator, a trio of First Team All-Defensive players almost always results in a championship. It’s happened five times in NBA history: 1970, New York (Dave DeBusschere, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier); 1976, Boston (Paul Silas, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens); 1977, Portland (Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, Lionel Hollins); 1983, Philadelphia (Mo Cheeks, Bobby Jones, Moses Malone); and 1996, Chicago (Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman), With the exception of Portland in 1978 (Walton, who finished as the MVP that season, broke his leg after 58 games, ending the Trail Blazers’ hopes of repeating as NBA champs), any defense that featured three All-Defensive First Teamers meant the “Larry O.B.” was a forgone conclusion. The Clippers certainly hope that stays the same. 067
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“For me, it is about everybody being of high character, sacrifice, wanting to win, determination and knowledge…All of that together—just being out there on the floor and going out there as one unit, all trying to accomplish that ultimate goal. I think that is what drives a championship team.”—Kawhi Leonard the 2020-21 season and Rivers signed to an unknown term even longer than that, this crew has at least two years to create a happily-ever-after scenario together. “During that time, we’ll figure out the bumps in the road on the way there,” says Leonard, the 2019 and 2014 NBA Finals MVP. “It’s all a journey, and we cannot get ahead of ourselves and skip steps. That’s what I think the process was on those Spurs and Raptors teams. But you also have to stay healthy as well, and you have to be present.” With that, Kawhi, Paul and Doc ended their convo and lounged amidst the A-list mist of Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Hudson, Paris Hilton and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, among others. The two L.A. area natives could not help but notice how surreal their new world had become. After all, Leonard grew up in Moreno Valley before eventually graduating from Riverside’s Martin Luther King High, while George was a product of Palmdale’s Knight High in the Antelope Valley. Unlike their Lakers counterparts LeBron James and Anthony Davis, neither Leonard nor George were celebrated as McDonald’s High School All-Americans, recruited by the elite colleges nor hyped as “once-a-generation” No. 1 NBA Draft picks. Granted, they were good prospects—George was the 10th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft; Leonard was the 15th in the 2011 NBA Draft—but general managers thought higher of a handful of players. And most of them now regret the decision in hindsight. Yet, here they sit today, running L.A. their own way, albeit after arriving through circuitous routes, from San Diego State to San Antonio to Toronto for Leonard or from Fresno State to Indiana to Oklahoma City for George. So as these Clippers partied with Hollywood, George cannot help but reminisce about his childhood upbringing, saying, “Every day I’m here is surreal. Every day I am waking up in the morning. Every day I’m taking a drive on the 405 is a surreal moment.” Welcome to the Surreal Life, the NBA way. Better get used to it because in L.A., whether you like it or not, every day can turn into a party, as the Clippers find out two days later when George organizes a team fishing expedition on the Pacific. There, 17 NBA giants—from veteran Clippers to probable G Leaguers—have set sails on some deep-sea fishing, having left a Marina Del Rey dock at Sport Fishing Report to catch some rockfish, salmon and grouper.
Century City
Entering this season, the Lakers and Clippers have shared a home floor at Staples Center for the past 20 years and the two have represented the same city for 35 seasons. In that timespan, the Lakers have dominated in wins (1,686 - 1,165) and championships (8-0), but the tide is ever so slowly turning. The Clippers have reached the playoffs seven times to the Lakers’ four over the past decade, and depending on your source, the boys in blue and red are the slight favorites to win it all in 2019-20. Staples Center will be a hot ticket this year no matter which hardwood floor is placed. In fact, the Clippers and Lakers will in all likelihood combine for over 100 victories in a single season, a feat that has only happened once. It was the 2012-13 season, when Lob City was still in its second year and the Lakers had the failed experiment of adding Dwight Howard and an aging Steve Nash in hopes of revitalizing a team that had won it all just three seasons before. The Clippers actually bested the Lakers in the standings, 56 to 45, and in doing so, they combined for 101 victories that season. Barring any unforeseen setbacks that tally will be eclipsed in 2019-20 and if all things go to plan, it will be shattered; even a 120 combined wins wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. When the Clippers and Lakers meet up at Staples, it’ll be a turf war. What about an All-L.A. West Finals? That civil war would be a first. Staples Center won’t be an easy visit for teams this year.
The laid-back Leonard looks like he belongs in this setting, with his Klaw-logo light blue hoodie raised overhead his trademark cornrows, as he relaxes on the boat ledge with his long legs stretched out in his long, colorful, tropical flower swim trunks capped by his New Balance endorsement slides. And of course George looks smooth as always, wearing his sponsor Nike’s light grey tech windrunner sweatsuit capped by white Nike PG 3s on his feet. George is, after all, the O.G. of this Ocean Pacific, known in basketball circles for throwing his own charitable Paul George Fishing Tournament in Castaic Lake every August. Judging from the Instagram photos that seemed to drive every Clippers’ feed this week, the outing was a successful venture for all.
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New Clippers forward Patrick Patterson relayed on his Instagram how the boat trip reminded him of his summer honeymoon in Bora Bora. Clippers sophomore guard Jerome Robinson posted a picture of the small rockfish he caught as teammates joked it was not big enough to make even one fish taco. New Clippers forward Maurice Harkless IG’d how he did not catch any fish, but did “catch a stomachache.” As three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams said, “Chemistry is a real thing. I thought the boat trip was important for us to be able to lean on each other as much as possible and start building that camaraderie and see what each guy brought to the table personality wise. “That way, once we get into the season and once we get into those four corners, we don’t get confused by what we need to communicate when our competitive spirits are high. We don’t want words to become misconstrued when we all have a common goal of winning basketball games. Outings like this help build that camaraderie and understanding.” As Williams speaks, the image of an earlier conversation with Rivers comes to mind, where the longtime NBA head coach is short to congratulate the organization for landing the two All-Star free agents this offseason. “You can win the summer,” notes Rivers, “but can you win the season?” Ah, yes. These Clippers indeed have bigger fish to fry. “I really feel like we have an opportunity to do something special here in Los Angeles,” says Williams, who was the leading scorer of L.A.’s 4834 playoff team. It was a “black-top team,” as Doc likes to call it, that took pride in playing tough-nosed basketball, with reserves playing as big a role on the team as the starters (both Williams and forward-center Montrezl Harrell finished first and third in 2018-19 NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting and were first and third on the team in postseason scoring). “I think it is important to maintain that mindset this season,” says Williams, who averaged 20 points during the regular season and 22 in the playoffs. “I don’t think we should just stop being ourselves because we have the
addition of those guys. I don’t know if there is a way to tell Pat Beverley to chill out.” Williams laughs. “So I don’t think that changes, especially for me. What Trez and I did last year was very special, but we look forward to building with this new group of guys and seeing what we can do.” George, who finished third as an NBA MVP finalist last season, concurs with Williams’ words, saying he and Leonard should fit right into the mix with their penchant for enjoying devastating defense as much as they like high-octane offense. “We aren’t changing nothing here,” says George, who averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists last season in OKC. “I’m going to be hyped and more physical. “I think for the first time people are going to be excited to watch the defensive side, as opposed to the offensive team. It is going to be fun. There is a lot of versatility here—we’ve got guys guarding multiple positions, guys guarding bigger, guys guarding smaller. There is just a lot that we can go with, and there are a lot of guys committed to playing.” That is why George wanted to come here from Oklahoma City once he knew of Leonard’s desire to become teammates with him. And that is why Leonard singled George on the Clippers’ list as the key to getting him to L.A. The three-time All-NBA forward saw the vision of a two-way championship team coming together as one. “It was a brotherhood here,” says Leonard, who averaged 27 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists last season in Toronto. “They all went out and did their job, and if somebody was doing great that night, they fed them. Coach Doc did a great job of getting the group ready and pushing them to the playoffs and reached expectations that none of us gave to the team. “When I was going through my process of grade-and-see, that is what I looked at and I thought I could join and help here.” In a way, the Clippers’ makeup reminds Leonard of the Raptors when he joined starters Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, along with super subs Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, who later became breakout stars in their own right. “They just needed that little push over the top, and I think me and Danny Green went over there, and we knew what a championship team needs, and we made sacrifices as players as well.” Leonard and George say they are prepared to do that in Los Angeles as well. But enough talk. These new Clippers are no longer in the honeymoon phase and they darn sure are not looking to to be sent “Gone Fishing” by TNT’s Kenny Smith anytime soon. There is work to be done, games to be run and a postseason to be won. For as much fun as one can have at wedding parties, nightclub parties and boat parties, these new Clippers know any star can throw a party in Los Angeles. It takes a champion for L.A. to throw you a parade. Indeed, the only destination on Leonard and George’s season itinerary is a trip to the championship, as the duo set Clippers sails bound for seas these clipper ships ain’t ever seen before. Anchors aweigh. 069
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WALK THE Kemba Walker has spent his entire basketball career happy to work hard and sacrifice in order to get his team to win—which makes him the perfect candidate to lead the Boston Celtics.
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T
hey are asking him to do a lot. Score. Distribute. Lead. Create a new culture for a franchise that has gone from championship contender to something of a mystery, thanks to those departures and last year’s disappointing premature playoff exit. But Kemba Walker is ready. Of course he is. After spending eight years in Charlotte, blooming and growing but definitely not winning, or not winning that much, Walker is ready for something extremely different. He will get it in Boston. Walker is charged with playing the lead role in what everyone is hoping will be—finally— the type of championship run the Celtics have been promising for a couple years now. But instead of delivering, the franchise has struggled. And now, with Kyrie Irving and Al Horford gone—to Atlantic Division rivals, no less— the C’s face the significant challenge of making sure Brooklyn and especially historic rival Philadelphia do not zoom past them in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. It’s a big job, that’s for sure. The Celtics have gone from a franchise with proven veteran talent surrounded by rising prospects and an abundance of draft assets to a franchise looking for an identity. Fans still expect Boston to vie for the title every year, but it’s unclear exactly how that contention will look this season, with Walker leading a team that now needs Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to be significant contributors, instead of complementary parts. “You know, we have a really good team, so there should be expectations, and I’m very excited about that,” Walker said at Celtics media day. “That’s something that I haven’t had much throughout my career, so I’m looking forward to trying my best to meet the challenge.” That’s the other unknown in all of this. Walker has been named an All-Star each of the last three seasons. He averaged a career-high 25.6 ppg last season. He has quietly become one of the NBA’s top guards, and now he will have a chance to prove whether he is capable of being a winner or just someone who can put up a bunch of points for a struggling team. NBA players have been facing this for decades. It’s one thing to shine when the pressure is off and quite another
WALK By Michael Bradley #53
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“You know, guys have to make sacrifices. You have to sometimes be uncomfortable, and you have to adjust sometimes to help your team win. You have to take on different roles that you might not like to.”—Kemba Walker
to deliver in games that always mean something. That shouldn’t be an issue for Walker, because he has handled his time in Charlotte with class and quiet professionalism. Despite his growing portfolio, he hasn’t been an agitator. And when his contract expired after last season, he didn’t stage a grandiose play to get out of town. In fact, the Hornets and their fans almost celebrated his departure, because they thought he deserved it. He had put on his Bobcats cap on draft night—that’s how long he’s been there—gave his best for eight seasons in Charlotte, and now he has a chance for more. The Celtics won’t just give him the lead spot. The team may be in a state of mild transition, but this isn’t a teardown. And Tatum, Brown, Marcus Smart and Gordon Hayward have not been waiting around for
someone to step into the star spot. Each feels he is capable of being the guy. Walker must prove he belongs in front. It’s a good bet he will. “He definitely does [have to earn the leader title],” says Smart. “And that’s one thing about Kemba, his whole life, just like every last one of us here, we always had to fight to get where we are and get where we’re going. “And when you have a competitor and a guy like that who’s willing to come here and know that and not just come in here thinking he deserves to [be the leader], because he was an All-Star and all that stuff, that just helps these younger guys and myself included, because we see that, and it makes us want to go out there, give everything we have.” Walker joined the Celtics during the summer in a sign-and-trade with Charlotte. The Celtics got the point guard and the requisite-duringthe-Danny-Ainge-era draft pick. The Hornets acquired Terry Rozier and a pick. And Walker signed a deal worth $141 over four years. He’s now the highest-paid player on the team, and with the money, his pedigree and Boston’s strange fall from Finals favorite to middle-ofthe-pack playoff team, Walker gets a bunch of pressure. The Sixers’ offseason moves have lifted them into the conference’s upper echelon, with Milwaukee. This means the Celtics find themselves with Indiana, Miami and (perhaps) Toronto in what appears early on to be a clear second-tier pack. If Walker can be the player he was in Charlotte—a high-scoring, playmaking point guard for teammates—Boston could challenge Philadelphia and the Bucks. But he must get used to coach Brad Stevens’ system and mesh with his new teammates. The second pursuit received some assistance during the late summer when Walker, Tatum, Brown and Smart all played on the U.S. national team that finished seventh at the World Cup in China. The result was disappointing, but it was invaluable for the new teammates to commune on and off the court. That experience can only benefit the Celtics in their transition.
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HEY MR. DJ
“Me, Jayson and Jaylen had the opportunity to play with him and kind of get to know him a little bit more than these other guys,” says Smart about the rest of the Celtics. “Kemba’s a great guy, and I like that he’s a little guy [he’s listed at 6-1]. Just like every other little guy, he’s feisty. He has a little tenacity to him, so you love being able to talk to a guy like that and get to play with a guy like that. I think these younger guys are really going to love Kemba a lot.” When the 2010-11 college basketball season started, no one could find Connecticut’s name among any of the preseason top 25 listings. Heck, some people didn’t think the Huskies could find a spot in the NCAA tournament’s field of 68 teams. UConn had finished the previous year 18-16 and had been consigned to the NIT. But the team started the year 17-2, and suddenly it wasn’t a case of if Connecticut would make the tournament but how high the team would be seeded. That was somewhat true when the regular season ended, but because they lost four of their last five, the Huskies weren’t regarded as much of a threat to show well in the Big East Tournament, much less make any national headlines. Then the magic started. UConn would have to win five games in five nights to take the title, and when Walker hit a stepback 18-footer at the buzzer to defeat Pittsburgh 76-74 in the quarters, it was clear something remarkable was beginning. “The day we beat Pittsburgh, Kemba makes this great move to shake the center down,” Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said to Boston.com about the player he called “a velvet sword.” “[The Pitt player] falls, and all of a sudden, it was just special. I could tell we were going to overcome almost anything. I said it that night, and little did I know, we won the next two games, and of course, we won six more in the national championship.” Connecticut took the Big East title and then ripped through the NCAA tourney, with Walker clearly in charge. He played all but eight of the possible 240 minutes during the six games, topped 30 points twice and willed UConn to the title. It definitely wasn’t always pretty. In fact, the title game against Butler was gruesome. But Walker led the way at all times. “He loved the game as much as anybody I’ve ever coached,” Calhoun said. “That’s a big deal. Not only do you have to love the game, but
Importing a talented point guard to jumpstart an already talented roster is nothing new for the Boston Celtics. Entering the 1983-84 season, much like the current iteration of the Celtics, the team’s roster was filled with talent, namely their outstanding “Big 3” frontcourt. You had Larry Bird, who in four short years established himself as one of the best players in the game; Robert Parish, the dependable almost-20 and 10 center; and Kevin McHale was the sixth man who came off the bench to torment second units on the low post. The team had won a championship as recently as 1981, but was coming off two straight disappointing finishes in the postseason, losing a tough East Finals to Philadelphia in 1982 and then being swept by Milwaukee in 1983 in the Semifinals. As good as the roster appeared, the team needed some changes. Point guard and future Hall of Famer Tiny Archibald had just retired and there was a huge void. As good as their frontcourt was, the Celtics needed someone who could get them the ball. In another stroke of genius, team president Red Auerbach addressed the need by trading for Dennis Johnson from the Phoenix Suns. Not only did Auerbach address the team’s biggest need by acquiring one of the best defensive guards in the League (Johnson was named to the AllDefensive team five times in his first seven seasons), he fleeced the Suns as it only cost him backup center Rick Robey. ''Johnson fills one of our most important needs,'' Auerbach said to the New York Times. ''We got a strong defensive guard who also averaged 14.2 points a game last season. We now have a big guard who can play the big guards like Magic Johnson.” Johnson was just what the Celtics needed. His tough-nosed defense was exactly what the Celtics needed to unlock the potential. With that much offensive firepower, Johnson didn’t need to supply much; his defense and steady ball control was enough to propel the Celtics to a title in 1984. His presence had a domino effect: Bird would be named MVP for the first time and Kevin McHale saw a boost in his production, earning his first spot on the All-Star team. The Celtics would go on to play in the Finals three more times with DJ, winning one more in 1986. The Celtics certainly hope Kemba Walker has the same effect.
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“When you have a competitor and a guy like that who’s willing to come here and know that and not just come in here thinking he deserves to [be the leader], because he was an All-Star and all that stuff, that just helps these younger guys and myself included, because we see that, and it makes us want to go out there, give everything we have.”— Marcus Smart you have to show it. He showed he loved the game with that beautiful smile, his enthusiasm, and all the different things that he did. His teammates loved him. He was that kind of kid. His coaches loved him. Not every great player has that. He had that.” There was nothing left for Walker to accomplish after that year, even though he could have stuck around UConn for another season. He declared for the NBA Draft and joined Charlotte as the ninth overall pick. It didn’t take long for Walker to become a key member of the Hornets. By his second year, he was a full-time starter, and he consistently averaged 34-35 minutes a game. Walker has demonstrated the ability to hit the long ball, and he is excellent off the dribble. During his time with the Hornets, they reached the playoffs twice but were dispatched in the first round on both occasions by the Heat. While Charlotte tried to build a contender—and after reaching 48 wins in 2015-16, there were those who believed it had happened— Walker didn’t balk or grouse publicly, but it was tough to blame him for wanting a different locale when his contract expired after last season. Now, he is in Boston, and the comparisons to Irving will be inevitable. If the Celtics don’t move forward, fans and media will criticize Ainge for not keeping his previous point guard Kyrie Irving, or at least putting up a stronger fight. So far, Walker seems quite anxious to work with his new teammates and to embrace Stevens—whose Butler team Walker helped dispatch in the 2011 NCAA Tournament— and his system, which has proven quite successful during his time at the helm. “I’ve always felt that as a point guard I should have a relationship with my head coach,” he said. “Yeah, me and Brad, we’ve been talking a lot. We will. We have some things to grow with one another.” Walker understands that it is impossible for a player to develop a sturdy relationship with a coach in a few weeks or even a few months. But his experience and willingness to learn should help. For his part, Stevens is confident the two will mesh. “It’s just, like, getting used to everybody around, how we operate and
the structure of schedule in practice, what we do in film,” Stevens said. “There’s all these little things that are a little bit different everywhere you go. But the basketball stuff he picks up really quick. He’s obviously really smart, but he’s also played forever, and he’s played for a bunch of different coaches. So, he’s ready to roll.” Getting comfortable with a coach is one thing, but being confident and connected with one’s teammates is even more important. And for the Celtics, whose top two players—besides Walker—have played three years fewer combined than Walker, it is vital that he is a strong leader but also someone capable of ceding the spotlight, the better to create a core capable of competing with the best in the East. Walker’s reputation should make that process start well. He is not seen as a prima donna, so his teammates don’t have to worry about a willingness on his part to take over right away and establish himself as the new star in town. He has spoken about feeling like he’s the “new kid in school” and how he is working to get comfortable. That will play well with teammates not interested in having a point guard who wants all the glory. His time on the national team taught him that those players who join rosters filled with other talented performers can’t expect to be featured all the time. He was the full-time star in Charlotte, but he understands the Celtics have several other big-time options. “As for what I’ve taken away [from being on the U.S. team], I think the sacrifices,” he said. “You just have to make sacrifices when you’re on a team like that with a whole bunch of players who are really good, and a lot of guys did. “I think that’s something that we’ll bring here. You know, guys have to make sacrifices. You have to sometimes be uncomfortable, and you have to adjust sometimes to help your team win. You have to take on different roles that you might not like to. That’s something we can bring here.” But there is a lot of work to be done. Especially by Walker.
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E V A H T H IG M O B M O C G G N I N I K V O R O I L E I Y R D Y A K E R T L N A A ert #1 E b R il R G U y A D n o S N I G V N I E By Anth K H T E T U TH B , R A E Y A T I . A N Y W L K TO O O R B N I R BRIGHTE B rooklyn will have to wait a year for the dynamic duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to get a return on their pending investment, due to the lengthy recovery timetable of Durant's achilles injury. However, what Durant and Irving experienced both on and off the court last season helped turn their bond into a brotherhood with the Brooklyn Nets. Both were about to embark on free agency, and as it turns out, there were some factors outside of basketball that helped to bring them more understanding about themselves and one another. “I’m not going to look at me switching teams as a new challenge. Every day I wake up I’ve got to fight against that standard I set for myself. I felt like it was time for a change, and I wanted to play for a new team. Simply put, I just did it,” said Durant. “I didn’t really think about what I was leaving behind or what they accomplished. I put that up on the shelf already. When it was time to make a decision about my future, it was solely about me.” For Irving, Brooklyn was an opportunity to play close to his New Jersey roots and be closer to his family, and his exuberance for the Nets was enough to convince Durant and DeAndre Jordan that the borough is the fresh start everyone needed.
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Irving and Durant seized an opportunity to control their narratives and destiny all in one move. Throughout the 2018-19 season, the storyline that Durant could not duck was his impending free agency. In spite of the two titles and the same number of Finals MVP trophies, it had long been rumored that Durant would sign with another team at the end of the campaign. That traveling headline, coupled with the already immense scrutiny that the Golden State Warriors have been under over the past three seasons, ate away at the one thing that Durant always found solace in: basketball. Every quote, every social media meandering was magnified and framed within his free agency. The public rift with teammate Draymond Green—who got into a verbal altercation with Durant and said that the Warriors didn’t need him—early in the season set the tone, and Durant trying to gut out a calf injury during the Finals ended his time in the Bay. There is much speculation about the whole season, but one thing can’t be denied: Durant wanted to go three-for-three in Oakland. After stowing away assets in the form of young players and draft picks after a rebuild, the Celtics splashed the pot with the 2017 trade for Irving. He was supposed to be the guy who turned Boston from a very good team into a title squad. As the championship-tested point guard, he was supposed to instantly become the leader and an unstoppable go-to scorer when they needed a bucket. Injuries prematurely ended his debut season, but the young core around him thrived in the postseason, leading to more pressure the following season. Irving played well individually, but his leadership was often called into question, as the team under-performed. Irving admitted that things fell apart away from the game with the loss of his grandfather, leading to a difficult final season in Boston. “After he passed, basketball was the last thing on my mind. A lot of basketball and the joy I had from it was sucked away from me,” Irving said of his grandfather’s passing. “There was a facial expression that I carried around with me throughout the year. Didn’t allow anyone to get close to me in that instance, and it really bothered me. I didn’t take the necessary steps to get counseling or get therapy or anything to deal with someone that close to me dying. I’ve never dealt with anything like that. So, for me, I responded in ways that are uncharacteristic." The desire to return home makes perfect sense for Irving if you look at his past. He was born in Australia (his dad Drederick played pro ball in the Australian National Basketball League), and he lived there until he was 2 years old. His family moved back to the States and he was raised in West Orange, New Jersey, just an hour outside of New York City. Durant grew up in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C. Brooklyn might be miles from home, but it does fulfill his curiosity in the world, something that started when he left Oklahoma City for the Bay Area in 2016. What better place than Brooklyn? It's a major sports, entertainment and information hub, and one of the biggest melting pots of culture in the country. (Fun fact: Brooklyn is part of New York City, but if it were independent, would be the fourth largest city in the U.S). The two All-Stars coming together will mean pressure, as will playing in a big media market that features two NBA teams, but the move to Brooklyn might be a respite for both players. Durant was under the national microscope since he joined the Warriors while Irving has played with 078 NATHANIEL S. BUTLER; BRIAN BABINEAU/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
LeBron James and been through the wringer for not being the missing piece in Boston. Nevertheless, players of their caliber are not only used to the high expectations, they thrive on them. Both have proven track records under duress—remember, it was Irving that hit the clutch Game 7 basket in the 2016 Finals, and for all of the Warriors’ star power over the past three years, it was Durant who was their best player and walked away with two Finals MVP trophies. The Nets hope that kind of proven track record will result in the first championship celebration in Brooklyn since the World Series-winning Dodgers in 1955.
Throughout the Nets' media day, there was a contrast between the new cornerstones of the franchise. Irving showed full transparency and depth. Meanwhile, Durant appeared to be a little more guarded and selective with his words. Nevertheless, the tandem not only clicked very well while posing for photos in their new uniforms, they consider each other friends and confidants. “It’s not like we sat down and I said, ‘Kyrie, you’re my friend.’ It just kind of happened. Anything is possible in life,” said Durant. “We both have
“It’s very rare that you get to this point and have a decision in front of us where we can control our destinies. We sat down and talked about it and what basketball meant to us as a whole, and I think this is the perfect spot for us. It was one of those things that just kind of happened organically.”—Durant mutual respect for somebody. I’ve been following him since high school. I’ve tried to follow him throughout his career. It’s very rare that you get to this point and have a decision in front of us where we can control our destinies. We sat down and talked about it and what basketball meant to us as a whole, and I think this is the perfect spot for us. It was one of those things that just kind of happened organically.” Even with a new uniform on his chest the specter of his time in Boston continues to linger on. “Throughout that year, just became rocky and a lot of the battles that I thought I could battle through from the team environment, I just wasn’t ready for. And I failed those guys in a sense that I didn’t give them everything that I could have,” Irving stated. “In terms of me being a leader in that environment and bringing everyone together, I failed. For me it’s like just a huge learning experience just to slow down and acknowledge that I’m human in all this.” 079
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(Durant) was not ready to play in that environment. We all know that, whether people want to admit it or not. He was out 31 days and you put him on the national stage, in the Finals, to end up selling a product that came before the person’s health. “Now, I’m here to protect that,” Irving continued. “I’m going to be the protector of that, all throughout the year and not allow anyone to infiltrate that circle, like, ‘Hey, K, do you. Get right. We’ll be fine.’ We have expectations for our team. I’m going to be over-patient with Kevin because I don’t want anything like that to happen to anyone again. I want him to be 101 percent healthy.” Durant will not play this season. Both he and the Nets' GM Sean Marks made it clear that he will not be suiting up anytime soon. No one made Durant play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals and essentially he did what was best for him and his team at the time, but he paid a huge price for it. Sometimes people need to either take a step back or away from something they know or love to sincerely appreciate it more when they return. Durant's fervor for the game has never waived, but the time away will only make him more hungry when he and Irving can finally share a court. “When I went down, I felt like everybody wanted to put their arms of protection around me, from people I didn’t know, to my best friend in Kyrie. I felt like everybody was real protective of me around this time, and I feel like it will continue to be that way, especially involving my health,” Durant expressed, “but I make my own decisions.” The two have gone through their own trials and tribulations that have led them to Brooklyn. Each have won titles, but even those have come with caveats—for Irving, it’s playing in the shadow of LeBron, and for Durant, it’s joining a stacked squad. “At this point in our lives, we’ve accomplished so much, and we’ve fought through about a 100 battles both,” Durant stated. “It’s hard to do that, but I think me and Kyrie especially have gone through so much in this league that we understand exactly what we need to do to maximize our talents every day and to be grateful for it off the floor.”
“I’m going to be over-patient with Kevin because I don’t want anything like that to happen to anyone again. I want him to be 101 percent healthy.”—Irving The Golden State Warriors from the outside appeared to have it all—AllStars, multiple MVPs, a team-first mindset and a progressive coaching staff and front office. The Warriors could do no wrong. In an effort to make Durant feel comfortable, they did everything to make the Bay Area feel like home. From supporting his philanthropic community efforts in Maryland, to having him break the ground at the new Chase Center, he was at the forefront of it all. What they couldn’t change was that the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were all organic, with each of those players being selected in the draft (2009, 2011, 2012). Durant signing there as a free agent was perceived as an abundance of riches as all parity was gone for the next three years and the move would be a talking point in sports and the subject of memes. When the Warriors needed Durant the most—in Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors with his team down 3-1 in the NBA Finals — his season ended with a ruptured tendon, ending his shot at the elusive threepeat. Through it all, Durant is at peace with his new surroundings and teammates. Irving in particular has stepped up to keep things inside the organization upbeat and positive, while making sure Durant is 100 percent healthy, and not rushed into a situation that hinders his well-being and performance. “I think you have to go inside the mind of a competitor and realize, a lot of people have responsibility for why that ended up happening the way it happened on a national stage,” Irving said. “We all know K 080
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GO BIG OR GO BROKELYN T
he Brooklyn Nets languished in NBA purgatory for years as a result of swinging for the fences in 2013 when they brought in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to fuel their championship dreams. The move didn’t work out and the price for it—namely four draft picks and a bloated salary cap—would decimate any chance of rebuilding after the experiment for two aging stars didn’t work out. Nets GM Sean Marks has earned high marks for digging the organization out of this hole, slowly making small unheralded moves to gain roster flexibility. With the cleanup complete, the Nets have once again rolled the dice, this time with two bonafide in-theirprime stars In Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Both players do come with
some risk—Durant is likely out for the season and Irving is looking to mend his reputation as a leader—but the reward is a possible championship. But look through the annals of NBA champions and you’ll notice something: Titles have been built through the draft. Throughout the 74 years of the League’s existence, there has rarely been a time where a championship team’s core—by core, we mean its top three players—has not featured homegrown talent. Pre-1988 (the year NBA instituted free agency), all championship teams were assembled through the draft as players had no leverage to leave the team that drafted them; the only way out was to be traded or released. The closest championship team prior to free agency that was built through trades was Philadelphia in 1982-83. Julius Erving was sold to the Sixers from the New York Nets when the ABA was absorbed into the NBA. Moses Malone came via a trade. You can quibble about who Philly’s third-best player was between Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney or Sixth Man of the Year Bobby Jones, but Cheeks and Toney were drafted by the team. After free agency was in play, you would think there’d be more titles built via free agents, but the trend remained the same. The two teams that dominated the ‘80s, the Lakers and the Celtics, were centered around transcendent draft picks Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The Bad Boys Pistons that closed out the decade were comprised of some
shrewd drafting (Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman). All the Chicago Bulls championships came on the back of some guy they drafted in 1984. The two title teams in Houston began with a Dream. All the title runs from the Spurs in the aughts and later featured 1997 No. 1 pick Tim Duncan. The five Laker trophies in the 2000s is a bit of a gray area. Shaq was a free agent signing and Kobe Bryant technically came via trade, but Lakers general manager Jerry West was so convinced of Bryant’s talent that, had the Lakers held the top pick, he would’ve taken him. As it was, West had a draft-night deal in place with Charlotte (who had taken Bryant with the 13th pick in 1996) to secure five more titles for the Lakers. The trades for Garnett and Ray Allen netted Boston’s most recent championship in 2008, but don’t forget the Finals MVP was their draft pick in 1998, Pierce. The Heatles' time in the sun was fueled by the free agent decisions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh, but 2003 draft pick Dwyane Wade played a fairly large role in that, not to mention Miami’s 2006 title. The golden dynasty of the Warriors was the epitome of organic, as it was built on some very fruitful drafts (2009: Stephen Curry; 2011: Klay Thompson; 2012: Draymond Green). LeBron made good on promises to Cleveland in 2016 after returning as a free agent, but he was technically drafted by Cleveland as the No. 1 pick in 2003, much like Kyrie Irving was the Cavs’ top pick in 2011. The most recent champs were crowned as a result of a big move to get Kawhi Leonard, a value trade years ago for Kyle Lowry and a deadline deal for Marc Gasol, but let’s not forget Pascal Siakam (27th pick in 2016) and Fred VanVleet (rookie free agent) have only worn the Raptors uniform in their NBA careers. The one blip that ran counter to the “drafts build championships” mantra is the 2004 Detroit Pistons. Already one of the more peculiar NBA champions—that Pistons team did not feature a surefire Hall of Fame player and is often labeled as a “star-less” champion (to be fair, there were plenty of stars on it, just not superstars)—the 2004 Pistons were all parts cobbled together from trades and free agency. Finals MVP Chauncey Billups was a reclamation project free agent signing. His backcourt mate Rip Hamilton came to Detroit via trade because Michael Jordan wanted to play with fellow North Carolina Tar Heel Jerry Stackhouse. Ben Wallace was acquired in a sign-and-trade to get something in return for Grant Hill when he bolted in 2000. Rasheed Wallace was a trade deadline pickup four months prior. Forward Tayshaun Prince was the Pistons’ 2002 first rounder, but he was just in his second year and had just started to blossom toward the end of the season. Mehmet Okur and Lindsey Hunter were Detroit draft picks, but neither were high on the depth chart. Even further down the rotation was No. 2 overall pick in 2003 Darko Milicic. Somehow the 2004 Pistons bucked the trend to win it all with outside help. Which brings us back to Brooklyn’s big offseason power play to net a title. Outside of Durant and Irving, the team’s top players came through either trade or free agency: Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince. The only Nets draft picks on the entire roster would be Jarrett Allen (No. 22 in 2017), Dzanan Musa and Rodions Kurucs (No. 29 and No. 40 in 2018) and Nicolas Claxton (No. 31 in 2019), and only Allen is part of the regular rotation. The odds are not in their favor, but the Nets have pushed all their chips into the pile. 081
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“At this point in our lives, we’ve accomplished so much, and we’ve fought through about a 100 battles both. It’s hard to do that, but I think me and Kyrie especially have gone through so much in this league that we understand exactly what we need to do to maximize our talents every day.”—Durant
Irving appreciates the fresh start, but it’s also full circle for him. Having grown up in New Jersey, he still remembers as a 10-year-old watching the Nets make back-to-back Finals runs, and he wants to bring glory back to the NBA team he grew up backing. "I want to show an appreciation for the journey that I've had watching the Nets over in Jersey, at Continental Airlines [Area] at that time. Being a kid, being at the Finals…it's just about the history, and then also the transition that was made, now being in Brooklyn, and also [me] being from Jersey. It was like OK, let me bring this New York/New Jersey style to the court," said Irving. While he has a deep appreciation for the Nets’ past, Irving wants to be parting of building the future and serving as a similar muse for the next generation. "I don't think we've seen a player from around [New York] be on the team as this example in the community as well as on the floor,” said Irving. “I grew up playing in some of these parks. I popped up at a Brooklyn park the other day, not realizing that I'm still not normal, so when I go outside, I see all these kids leaving a bunch of courts. I'm like 'I just came here to shoot with my dad, because that's where I grew up.’”
Barclays Center is just one subway stop from Manhattan, but a world apart from “the city,” as many from the outer boroughs refer to is as. Even in the HSS Training Center, the three-year-old state of the art facility where the Nets practice, the view outside the panoramic windows is the skyline of Manhattan. If you cross the Brooklyn Bridge and ascend any of those tall buildings to peer out on Brooklyn, you might not see as many iconic skyscrapers jutting out, and there won't be as many twinkling lights, but if you closer, you'll see that Brooklyn shines just as brightly. Thanks in part to its two new stars.
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Great nations are built by great people. The highly skilled members of the International Union of Operating Engineers build and maintain some of the most iconic structures in North America.
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It’s taken him his entire career, but Mike Conley Jr. is finally ensconced on a team that has a real shot at winning it all. By Pete Croatto #20
I
n one of the flashiest NBA offseasons in recent memory, you may have forgotten Mike Conley Jr. got traded to the Utah Jazz. That’s understandable. Conley wasn’t the most celebrated player at Ohio State taken in the 2007 draft (that would be No. 1 pick Greg Oden, whose career was derailed by injuries). For years, he wasn’t the most visible player on his own team (Conley was, at best, No. 3 behind Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, the founding fathers—and Grindfather, in Allen’s case—of Grit ’n Grind in Memphis). He’s never played in an All-Star Game (Conley is routinely on any lists debating best players to have never appeared in the League’s midseason extravaganza). Next to Conley’s $30 million annual salary, that amazing hair might be his most distinguishing feature.
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Time has shown Conley’s immense worth. At age 32, Conley is one of the NBA’s most shrewd and versatile point guards. He just had arguably his best statistical season: 21.1 points and 6.4 assists per game, after an injury-riddled 2017-18. The Memphis Grizzlies’ rebuilding efforts jettisoned longtime favorites like Z-Bo and Marc Gasol. Conley stayed for 12 seasons. What was his impact? There are no championship banners, but after the trade, the franchise announced plans to retire his number 11. Conley’s value is no secret in the NBA. The Jazz spent three years— including last season’s trade deadline—trying to land Conley, says Tony Jones, who covers the team for The Athletic. The Jazz unloaded four players, one of whom was 2019 first-round draft pick Darius Bazley, and a protected first-round pick in 2020. Draft picks are prized commodities in today’s NBA, doubly so for smaller market teams. Relinquishing those picks show how much the Jazz value Conley, Jones says. Dennis Lindsey, the Jazz’s former general manager and current executive vice president of basketball operations, usually holds onto those assets tight. Free agents Kemba Walker and Tobias Harris both expressed interest in playing for the Jazz; the team never seriously considered those younger options. Jones says acquiring Conley—who the Jazz feel can be their best offensive player—was the offseason goal. “They needed a starting point guard to go along with their other good players,” says a longtime NBA scout. “I think he’s a really good pick-up for them, He’s very clever with the ball. He gets to the midrange. He makes runners in the lane with either hand.” Plus, Conley is excellent shooter, including from 3-point range, Jones says. Then there are the intangibles. On a roster with limited playoff experience—only veteran forward Jeff Green has played in the Finals— Conley has gone to a Conference Finals and scrapped in seven-game series. And there’s not a whiff of ego. “He’s efficient,” Jones says. “He’s a guy that doesn’t have to dominate the basketball to be effective.” Adds the scout, “He’ll fit right in.” “I do everything between the lines,” Conley says. “I can make big plays, but a lot of times I can do all of the follow-up things that relate to winning: Guarding guys that are six inches taller than me, or getting the stop, getting the rebound, getting that transition, making a play, or the big shot, knocking down free throws, being reliable for the situation to finish it. That’s who I am. I’m not going to say that I’m going to come on and create a lot of dunks for myself or do anything crazy or spectacular, but I know how to win, and I do whatever it takes to get there, whether it’s score 30 or score 10.” That thoughtfulness goes beyond the court. After the trade, Conley tweeted out his appreciation for Memphis, the city where he became a man. “Memphis is home,” he wrote. “Always.” “That’s the side of things that most people tend to overlook when you’re thinking about changing teams or changing scenery,” Conley says. “You’re moving your family and you’re moving your wife and kids into a whole new place, a whole new community, and just trying to get everyone acclimated and comfortable as quick as possible so you can then worry about the game of basketball, you know, because all of the other stuff is important as well.” Given the Tetris-level roster and front-office moves in Memphis, there is
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an obvious professional benefit to the trade. “It’s a breath of fresh air for me,” Conley says, “like a new start.”
It’s a new start of sorts for the Jazz. Thanks to Klay Thompson’s torn ACL and Kevin Durant’s departure to Brooklyn, the Warriors are not the obvious favorites to win the West. It’s wide open. The Jazz, thanks to Conley and free-agent sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic, have high expectations. Jones says the last time the Jazz had this level of talent John Stockton and Karl Malone pick-and-rolled their way to the NBA Finals. Stockton and Malone last played together in 2003, LeBron James’s senior year of high school. The franchise's last Finals appearance was in 1998, when Seinfeld went off the air. “The community has embraced me, and the people and the fans have just been over the top,” Conley says. “So, it’s been cool.” Jones has sensed a different vibe in Salt Lake City. “Last year and the year before, the city knew, ‘OK, we can go out and win 50 games and if everything breaks our way—we stay healthy, every other team loses their best player, and everything goes our way, we make every single shot and they miss every single shot—we can go to the Western Conference Finals. And then we’ll lose to Golden State. I think it’s gone from that to, ‘Hey, this team might be able to contend [to]—if we stay healthy, if Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley mesh, if Rudy Gobert stays at this prime, and if the new guys come in and mesh—we can make a run at this thing.’ It’s a different feeling thinking that you can actually compete for a title, and I think that’s where the city is.”
In this new era of abruptly formed power duos—James Harden and Russell Westbrook; James and Anthony Davis; Kawhi Leonard and Paul George; Durant and Kyrie Irving (one day)—the Jazz have their own: Conley and a budding superstar in Mitchell. “He’s amazing, he’s very outgoing, he’s a natural leader, he just loves to be around the game and loves to be better,” Conley says of his backcourt mate. “He’s a great teammate. He’s somebody you just enjoy having conversations with. It’s not a surprise because I kind of felt that through the interactions that we had over the years. I’m just excited to finally have him as a teammate.” These are great qualities if you’re looking for someone to grab lunch with. Luckily for Jazz fans, Conley reels at the possibilities the duo offers. “That excites me: To be able to know that somebody gets a rebound and throws it to him and I know he’s going to definitely get it and make the plays,” Conley says .”And vice-versa: When I get the ball I can push it and make a play for him and Joe [Ingles] and Bogey [Bogdanovic] and everybody else. It’ll be fun to know that you have another guy that is playing at such a high level.” Having Mitchell and Conley, coupled with ace 3-point shooters in Ingles and Bogdanovic, poses a nightmare for opponents. “Now they can spread the court out,” says the scout. “Now you’ve got to guard not only the penetration ability of those two guards, but also you have to stay attached to those guys on the perimeter because they make threes at a high rate.” And with two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year Gobert swatting shots and inhaling rebounds, he says, the Stifle Tower now has two speedy outlets available in Mitchell and Conley to ignite the offense.
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The Jazz have always been an organization that builds through the draft, shrewdly selecting diamonds in the rough—John Stockton (No. 16 in 1984) and Karl Malone (No. 13 in 1985), Rudy Gobert (No. 27 in 2013), Donovan Mitchell (No. 13 in 2017) come to mind—while eschewing from the trade market, especially the high-profile deal. Given the franchise’s history, the offseason trade for Mike Conley certainly qualifies as a blockbuster. The Jazz parted with two productive rotation players in Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder, two prospects in Grayson Allen and 2019 first-round pick Darius Bazley, in addition to a protected 2020 first-rounder for Conley. It remains to be seen the level of impact this deal will net, but we will take a look at one of the Jazz’s biggest trades in the past. Forget "most regrettable trades in franchise history," this would be one of the most lopsided in NBA annals. After drafting Dominique Wilkins with the No. 3 overall pick a few months prior in the 1982 NBA Draft, the Jazz were hamstrung for cash and needed to create some quick financial flexibility. Atlanta was more than happy to provide the relief, extending a million dollars along with veterans John Drew and Freeman Williams, in exchange for the hometown (Wilkins played collegiately at Georgia) product, who at the time had reservations about playing power forward, which was what the Jazz had envisioned him playing. “Power forwards in them days was some big, physical and I’m not going to say what else, and I didn’t want no part of that,” said Wilkins to the Deseret News. Draft picks—even top three ones—are never a guarantee, but the Jazz did get the much-needed influx of cash and two veterans who they hoped would help. Drew was an effective reserve scorer while healthy (18.5 PPG as a member of the Jazz) but injuries ended his career after 144 games in Utah, and Williams suited up for only 18 contests before disappearing from the NBA. What the Jazz sent to Atlanta in return would go on to have a Hall of Fame career that would span 15 NBA seasons (nine as an All-Star), amass a 24.8 scoring average, and become one of the most popular players of his era with the nickname “Human Highlight Film,” spawned from his dunking prowess and his two Slam Dunk Contest titles. The Jazz would quickly recover from this trade debacle, drafting Stockton and Malone, to form the basis of an almost-two decade window of championship contention. Those Jazz teams were formidable, twice taking the vaunted Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls to six games in consecutive NBA Finals. One of Utah's biggest weaknesses throughout that run was its inability to fill the small forward position, the same spot Wilkins would spend his entire career playing. “Playing with Stockton and Malone, we probably could've won a few championships,” said Wilkins.
Conley feels that he can he provide more. “I think the next step for me in Utah is really bringing everything that I know—my knowledge of the game, the leadership aspect of it—to this team, especially to our young guys and Donovan and Rudy and the cornerstones of the organization. Trying to make them the best players that they can be, while continually, while I’m in my prime, to continue to play at a high level.” Though Conley has been adjusting to life in a new place— Who knew the desert was this hot in the summer?—his abilities make him feel right at home. “I think that my skillset allows me to play virtually anywhere,” he says. “Any kind of system, whether fast or slow or inside-out or pick-and-roll, whatever it may be. And the Jazz, I think, has a perfect system for myself, and for all of the guys we’ve brought here, to maximize the abilities of all of us. So, I’m really anxious to see how I improve, and how other guys improve.” And if the Jazz make the Finals, people will finally see how valuable Mike Conley Jr. is.
088 BILL BAPTIST; NATHANIEL S. BUTLER; ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN; DAVID SHERMAN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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THE H AND 090
D—L NOAH GRAHAM/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
HIGHS
LO
He’s been tabbed as franchise player, traded for cap space and then swapped again for one of the game’s best players-D'Angelo Russell has been through all the ups and downs in his fledgling NBA career.
By Branden Peters #63
“B
e Where Your Feet Are” is the mantra that D’Angelo Russell lives by. Throughout his short but eventful five-year NBA career, Russell has withstood the storm of trades, trade rumors, offcourt drama, and sometimes false and other times true media reports. From a surprising No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, to being unceremoniously dealt to Brooklyn after three seasons, to being traded away in exchange for Kevin Durant, the unexpected turns have been a constant for D-Lo, yet he’s stayed true to his core values through it all. “I understand that it can be taken as quickly as its given—anytime you gain a little ground, the devil is always working to take it away,” Russell says. “My family was big on that, so I always try to stay with that level, humble balance.” Russell says his “it is what it is” attitude comes from his dad, who he calls, “the realest.” According to D-Lo, the elder Russell is subscribed to Google alerts on his phone to cross-reference the “news” with his son whenever D-Lo’s name pops up. Often times it’s untrue and in those instances, he encourages his son to completely ignore it, because it’s not real. One alert the Russell family couldn’t ignore was the news of his trade to the Golden State Warriors. No one expected it, including Russel himself, especially after the stellar year he put together in his final season in Brooklyn. Russell was named an All-Star for the first time with a 21.1 PPG and 7 APG campaign as the team’s point guard, but more importantly, he navigated a
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“Imagine when you throw that old flavor back in there. Guys that are hurt back in the mix-it’s gonna be rockin'.’'
Nets squad that had no expectations of a playoff berth. It appeared as if he’d be the cornerstone of the up and coming franchise for years to come. But when the Nets had a chance to flip Russell for one of the top three players in the NBA, it’s hard to fault any organization for the move. Still, playing on three teams in five seasons is something that has put things in perspective for D-Lo. “I knew what my worth was, and I bet on myself that last season. So, it was like, If I’m Brooklyn or I’m in Milwaukee or Chicago, I don’t care, I’m gonna hoop. I’m gonna get what I’m worth,” he says. “When I say, ‘Be where my feet are,’ I mean control what you can control. There is a lot of adversity you’re gonna go through in the League as a player dealing with the business side, dealing with the pros and cons of deciding what team [to sign with] and a lot of other stuff. If you can’t control it, it ain’t no point of wasting your energy stressing over it.” The hope was to have Russell add more drip and drops to the Splash Brothers, but with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson out for most if not the entire season, the Warriors’ 2019-20 campaign has been the antithesis of their dynasty run. Russell is doing his part in showcasing the potential the
three could have in his return to the West Coast. Despite being sidelined for much of the first couple months of the season with a sprained ankle and later a thumb injury, when he has played, Russell has been as good as advertised, averaging 23.4 PPG. Dubs fans got a real taste of what the playmaking guard can do vs. Minnesota when he dropped 52 points in early November. After playing in a career-high 81 games last season, it has been difficult for Russell to spend more time in a suit than a uniform this season. “It’s hard not playing,” he says, “It’s really hard for a player to [go from] playing this whole training camp, preseason and the beginning of the season to just not playing. The time is different, you wake up different, your sleep habits are different—it’s an adjustment.” In the time that D-Lo was sidelined, he got to view the game from a different mental perspective, one that he been able to use to help his young inexperienced but talented teammates after he returned to action. “It’s hard when you’re a young guy and you’re watching young guys grow at that. You want to be out there and play and give them the knowledge of every little thing you see, but then you get the opportunity
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“When I say, ‘Be where my feet are,’ I mean control what you can control. There is a lot of adversity you’re gonna go through in the League as a player...…If you can’t control it, it ain’t no point of wasting your energy stressing over it.” to sit back and see what their tendencies are and see what their strengths and weaknesses are. When you get back out there, you can put them in position to do what they do best, because you’ve had the opportunity to sit back and see it [from a different perspective],” Russell says. When asked about what he sees from surprising Dubs rookies Eric Paschall and Ky Bowman, Russell gets visibly excited. On Paschall: “He’s a killer and he’s doesn’t even know it yet. He’s got a lot of people in his ear. He’s got greatness around him to pick their brains. He’s going out there hoopin’ with just straight raw talent so imagine when he starts putting that mental aspect to the game.” And on his backcourt mate Bowman: “Killer, killer! That’s my young prodigy right there! He’s getting the opportunity and making the best of it. He just brings a different dynamic to the game. He’s gonna pick up your best guard full court, he’s gonna compete and they are gonna have to guard his ass, too. He’s built for that.” The rookies aren’t the only visual difference for the Warriors. The Dubs' offense now looks very little like the assist heavy ball-movement style that allowed the team to dominate the League for the previous five seasons. However, with the addition of Russell and fellow new teammate Willie Cauley-Stein, the team has been able to add a pick-and-roll game to its arsenal, something that both players excel in. “It’s a free-flowing
GOING THE SAME WAY For the first four years of his NBA career, Russell was just a guy in Nike’s vast portfolio of NBA players who wore the brand. He was given some player-exclusives, but with the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the still-ascending Giannis Antetokounmpo occupying Nike’s stratosphere, Russell would have to bide his time for more exposure. So instead of waiting, he decided to take a page from another successful 6-4 combo guard. In 2012, Dwyane Wade was questioned by footwear industry folks and sneakerheads when he left Jordan Brand. The partnership between JB and Wade seemed like a perfect fit in 2009, as Wade was at his peak and there was the organic connection between Michael Jordan and Wade, who was born outside of Chicago. Instead of re-upping with Jordan, Wade took his talents to China, signing with Li-Ning, a powerhouse in Asia, but a relative unknown Stateside. The deal was unprecedented at the time as players
of Wade’s caliber would stay with an established shoe brand. The Li-Ning deal gave Wade more creative control of his signature product and his own spin-off brand, Way of Wade. Seven years later, Way of Wade is still going strong, but with Wade no longer playing, there was a void in WoW’s NBA exposure—until Wade handpicked Russell to be the new face of the brand. In an Instagram post, Wade wrote: “My decision 7 years ago was for moments like today. I’m excited to announce I’ve just signed my first signature athlete - D’Angelo Russell. @dloading is the perfect player and person to continue the work that I started with @wayofwade.”
Russell will be literally filling the shoes of a player he grew up admiring, but he’ll also look to emulate the three championships and Hall of Fame career that Wade carved out over his 16 seasons.
093 DAVID SHERMAN; ISSAC BALDIZON/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
“I knew what my worth was, and I bet on myself that last season...I’m gonna get what I’m worth.” offense. Steve’s [Kerr] had a lot of Hall of Famers around here to give their two cents and their knowledge on how to make the offense go,” Russell says. “It’s just simple, they put you in the best position to do what you do best.” Though the wins haven’t been plentiful for the Warriors, Russell is making the most of his time in the Bay, both on and off of the court. When he’s not posted at the crib, the admitted homebody enjoys spending time in the mountains, on the beach or chillin' in wine country. “I loved wine before I got here, but it took it to another level when I went to Napa and started learning about wine.” Russell has never needed liquid courage to maintain his confidence. After all, he played next to Kobe as a 19-year-old rookie. Whether winning or losing, he’s always had the same moxie, something he chalks up to the household he was raised in and Louisville, Kentucky, the city he reps proudly. “It’s cliché to say where you come from, but I grew up on the Muhammad Ali’s, the Rondo’s, the guys who do the trash-talking,” Russell says. “I realized they all had something in common and that’s confidence.
Whatever level they were on, they talked that talk and walked that walk at the same time. I always felt like I was one of the best players, I always felt like I was unguardable, I always had that confidence and coming from where I come from helped me keep it.” Even with a losing record and a new home that is worlds away from the old raucous Oracle Arena in Oakland, fans still fill the Chase Center night after night to see the Warriors play. Despite a litany of injuries, the young guys are keeping the excitement going by playing their hearts out. “Imagine when you throw that old flavor back in there. Guys that are hurt back in the mix—it’s gonna be rockin’,” says an enthusiastic Russell. Russell’s balance of confidence, humbleness and chill demeanor is infectious. In the midst of constant “trade bait” talk, his enthusiasm for what this Warriors team can—and in his eyes will— be gets Dub Nation excited about the possibilities. When asked what the NBA will do when they have to face a lineup that includes Steph, Klay, Draymond Green and D-Lo, he simply resounds, “They gon' have to see. I ain’t even gon’ speak on it,” before pondering further. “I just know what we all bring to the table,” he says. “Steve is a genius and the coaches he got around him are geniuses. These young guys elevating their game right now when guys are out, they are getting their opportunity and I think once you put that together, it's whatever you want it to be.” Only time will tell if Warriors fans get to witness another four-all-star lineup, but one thing is for sure, whether he’s in San Francisco or another city, Russell will always be wherever his feet are.
094 ADAM PANTOZZI; LAYNE MURDOCH JR./NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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STEP BACK
Cleveland vs. Toronto, December 7, 1999 at the Air Canada Centre
As majestic as this photo may appear to be—Vince Carter suspending the laws of gravity for a second as he’s catching a lob for a magnificent dunk—the result was a missed shot and Carter sprawled on the baseline. Many consider this the greatest missed shot in NBA history.
Countless fans have adorned their bedroom walls or desktop wallpapers with this photo, many of them without knowing that it was a botched play. Turning 43 in January, Carter’s career has spanned 22 years, a stretch older than many players in the League, but still well short of his reported peak vertical leap (43 inches). Carter’s most famous dunk didn’t even take place on an NBA court. During the 2000 Olympics, Carter hurdled over 7-3 French center Frederic Weis on his way to what is hands-down the greatest dunk of all time in international play. Charles Oakley kind of gets the blame for the miss. As a 6-9 bruiser known for rebounding and defense, he wasn’t exactly the best candidate to be throwing lobs. Oak had received a long outlet pass at the 3-point line with Carter running the lane and awkwardly threw the alley-oop that wound up going wide left of the rim. It was quite the feat that Carter even got his hand on the ball before he tried to salvage the play by flipping the ball toward the rim. Oakley has seen his fair share of high-flying former North Carolina Tar Heels. He played with Michael Jordan in Chicago for three seasons (1985-86 through 1987-88) before three seasons (1998-99 through 2000-01) in Toronto with Carter.
Oakley carved out a 19-year NBA career with five teams where he amassed 12,205 rebounds, good for No. 22 all time.
Dee Brown knows a thing or two about dunking. Brown capped off his victory in the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest with the “No-Look Dunk,” when he tucked his eyes behind his arm as he went up for the jam.
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Carter’s popularity was soaring at the time and would be reflected when the final tallies for the All-Star Game came; he led all players with 1.9 million votes. Entering the League with his bunnies reputation in 1998, there were immediate expectations for Carter to enter—and win—the Slam Dunk Contest, but because of the lockout-shortened season that saw the cancellation of All-Star 1999, fans would have to wait an extra year.
Carter did not disappoint in his delayed Slam Dunk debut that year. Often regarded as the greatest individual performance in the contest, many credit Carter for re-igniting the creativity and excitement for the Slam Dunk Contest after his brilliant showing where he scored a perfect 50 points on three dunks, and a 49 and 48 on two others.
Carter had worn PUMA throughout his rookie year, but he parted ways with the brand after the first year, making him a sneaker free agent for his entire sophomore campaign. He wore different brands that season, and it would be the only time in his pro career he laced up adidas.
Brevin Knight was the closest man to Carter when the ball was airborne, but wisely sidestepped out of the way.
Knight was a steady point guard throughout his 12 seasons in the League, where he averaged 7.3 points and 6.3 assists. His best season was in Charlotte in 2005-06 when he put up 12.6 PPG and 8.8 APG.
Currently an assistant coach in Phoenix, Mark Bryant played 15 seasons in the NBA, where he put on 10 different uniforms. He is one of the few members of the “Texas Triple,” the unofficial club for players who suited up for all three Texas NBA franchises.
Andrew DeClerq was a journeyman center for four NBA teams over 10 years and was the one who would corral the rebound after Carter’s shot attempt bounced off the rim. His last name is also the rare word that ends with a q.
Lamond Murray was in the midst of his finest pro season, one where he would finish with a 15.9 PPG average to go with 5.7 rebounds. Murray would become Carter’s teammate via a trade to the Raptors in 2002. FERNANDO MEDINA/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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HOOP HOLI DAY
GIFT GUIDE
Whether you’re gifting or receiving, we’ve got you covered. 099
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1. Chemex Ottomatic 2.0
Pour over coffee is—for some—the nirvana of coffee consumption as it produces a delicate cup that allows for the finer flavor nuances to come through. The ritual of manually blooming the coffee can be meditative for some, but for others it can be tedious. For those who prefer to catch up on their feeds while their pour over is being made, the Ottomatic 2.0 automates the process. The iconic Chemex carafe remains the centerpiece of the unit, but it’s paired with a water well and shower neck that intermittently pulses, “bathing” the grounds in water at the optimal temperature (197.6-204.8 degrees Fahrenheit) to produce perfect pour over results. The base of the unit also features a hot plate (you have the option to not use it) to keep your coffee warm.
$350
2. Beats Powerbeats Pro
If your busy and active life requires a soundtrack to fuel it, the Powerbeats Pro should be your wireless earbud of choice. The first thing you’ll notice once you open the clamshell charging case that houses the Powerbeats Pro is that your iPhone will immediately detect the ear buds’ presence, thanks to the H1 chip that enables fast and seamless pairing (sorry Android users, iOS feature only). From there, you connect and that is it, no pairing mode, no scanning for devices, no configuring anything. The next thing is how perfectly the over-the-ear hook design fits most ears (we passed it around and no one had any issue securing them on ear) and just as important, offers a very secure fit. Short of swimming—the Powerbeats Pro are sweat and water resistant, but not submersible—they can handle any strenuous activity, including basketball, without any risk of them popping off. Finally, is the sound quality: No, it does not compare to an over-the-ears headphone experience, but compared to ear buds (Apple’s AirPods, included), the Powerbeats Pro deliver a superb audio experience. Bass is heavy on them, but that is to be expected from the Beats range. Although they don’t tout any noise-cancelling capabilities, the tips of the ear buds go into your ear canal, and if paired with the right fitting tip (it comes with four different sizes), it does smother out some ambient sound.
$249.95
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4. LEGO NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander
The NBA has seen its share of amazing first steps and giant leaps, but none can hold a candle to Neil Armstrong’s. It’s been a half-century since man took a small step but mankind took a leap, and LEGO has commemorated the still-momentous accomplishment in the only way it knows how: faithfully recreating the achievement in brick form. Any fan of space travel will appreciate the small details of the moment, Armstrong’s historic footsteps included. The Lunar Lander can be detached to show its separate descent and ascent stages and comes with two astronaut minifigures—Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin, the two aboard the Lunar Module—and even the famous sign that is presumably still there for anyone to read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
$99.99
3. HyperX Cloud MIX
The Cloud MIX takes the best of a gaming headset (HyperX’s Cloud Alpha is a favorite among the NBA 2K League) and combines it with everyday Bluetooth cans. When wired, the Cloud MIX serves as a gaming headset certified with high-resolution audio and the boom mic is Discord and TeamSpeak approved for game coms. Long gaming sessions aren’t an issue with the soft memory foam ear cups, leatherette band and lightweight aluminum frame. When the game is over, the Cloud MIX can untether and the boom mic detaches to transform into wireless headphones with Bluetooth connectivity. A built-in mic ensures you can still take a call while on the go and the rose gold and white palette means you stay winning even when you’re not gaming.
$199.99
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8. Logitech Harmony Express
5. Bombas Performance Basketball Socks
There are two schools of thought when it comes to universal remote controls. The first is for the person who likes a dedicated button for everything and a display that confirms every micromanagement whim; the other prefers a less-is-more approach, opting for a minimum of buttons for functionality. If you’re in the latter camp, then you should consider the Harmony Express, Logitech’s voice-based universal remote. The company’s Harmony line has the market on universal remotes cornered, thanks to its wide breadth of device coverage in the home entertainment world, and the Harmony Express builds on that with Alexa support, giving you the button-free option of voicing your commands. Most basic functions are covered—”watch Netflix,” changing channels and navigating through your home theater setup—but deeper functions—searching within apps, being one real-day usage—is something that Logitech is still working on. If you’re already steeped in the Alexa environment in your smart home, you will appreciate her at your fingertips to control any Alexa-based devices, perfect for dimming the lights before movie nights begin.
3-Pack: $48
$249.99
Drop a dime with these socks—Bombas’ ethos is to donate a pair of socks to a homeless organization for every pair purchased—and you’ll be doing good while getting a pair of hosiery that performs on the court. The Honeycomb Arch Support System cradles your midfoot, while zoned cushioning has the hot spots of your foot. The socks are also moisturewicking and breathable.
6. iRobot Braava m6
If cleanliness is really next to godliness, then the Braava m6 is the robotic angel that gets you spiritually closer, at least to grit- and grime-free floors. The m6 can clean two ways: Attach a dry sweeping pad underneath it and it’ll pick up and trap dust, hair and other fine particles from the floor; attach either a disposable or washable wet pad and fill the removeable internal reservoir with cleaning fluid and the m6 will wet mop up your floor. The m6 can cover up to 1,000 square feet and will meticulously make its way around your home (each time it cleans it learns your home’s floor plan) spraying cleaner in front of it before making a few passes through it. A laser navigation sensor in the front ensures that it won’t spray on things you don’t want wet: rugs, furniture, a random sock or even the dog or cat. If you have iRobot’s i7 or s9+ robotic vacuums, the m6 could work in tandem with it (the robo-vac will venture out first to vacuum while the m6 follows up with a thorough mopping).
$499.99
7. PK 360 Grill + Smoker
The Portable Kitchen Grill’s credibility could suffice with just the endorsement of acclaimed brisket and barbecue expert Aaron Franklin of Austin’s Franklin Barbecue, but the story goes beyond that. The history of the grill began 69 years ago in Texas when the first thick cast-aluminum, capsule-shaped grill impressed folks with its ability to easily go from hot-and-fast grilling to low-and-slow barbecue. Operations moved to Arkansas, where it continued to churn out the cult-favorite cooker until 1984. It wasn’t heard from again until Paul James, an attorney and barbecue hobbyist, happened to find a PK at a garage sale, eventually inspiring him to revive the brand in 2014, and even launching a new product, the PK 360 Grill + Smoker, which takes the best features of the original PK Grill—thick single-piece cast aluminum, the clamshell design and simple four-point venting system—and improves upon it. An easier-to-use air vent tube system makes air adjustments easier: an integrated thermometer, a larger grilling surface (360 square inches) means more burgers, briskets and ribs; and the pedestal stand and side tables (teak ones pictured) make for more mobility and usability. While it may not be what you would call lightweight, the grill is removeable from its stand so it can go from the backyard to the tailgate. We can attest to the food it can churn out—we made some tomahawk steaks before shifting over to a 14-hour pork shoulder—and we reckon it’s a grill that is built to pass down to future generations.
$899.99
9. The North Face Stratoliner—L
As much as it’s true that a sense of adventure is all you need to pack when traveling, the reality is that you will have to pack a few things for the journey. If you require more than a carry-on can hold, then that’s when the Stratoliner’s voluminous 75-liter capacity will come in handy. The clamshell design outer layer might feel soft, but it is made of The North Face’s rugged Base Camp material, ensuring many trips around the globe. It features a tough metal luggage handle that smoothly extends out and rubber wheels for a smooth ride across airport floors and unpaved roads with equal aplomb. Rubberized bumpers along the bottom and other impact zones afford extra protection, there is an external front pocket to house shoes and dirty clothes, and it even comes with a nylon packing cube for shoes.
$329
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1. Holden M-51 3-Layer Fishtail Jacket
Like the perfect two-way player, the M-51 3-Layer Fishtail Jacket can run it both ways. Pair it with an insulating inner layer and you have a performance technical shell that will serve you well for any outdoor winter endeavor. The lightweight nylon 3-layer construction is made of Japanese fabric and is fully waterproof, yet breathable, with fully taped seams. The fishtail hem can be snapped up if you so choose (personally, we like the distinctive look it gives the jacket) and has a removeable powder skirt to keep out the snow during rides down the slope. The two-way adjustable hood is generous enough to account for a helmet, but the three integrated cordlocks give plenty of adjustment. Other features include wrist gaiters that serve as a transition from gloves to the jacket to block drafts up the arms; pit zippers for ventilation; and plenty of roomy pockets, including one for your phone with a media port for headphones (please see our recommended Beats by Dre Powerbeats Pro for a better wire-free solution). As an everyday jacket, the M-51 blends right into the daily landscape with its clean lines and dialed-down design that belies its functionality. Again, the fish tail gives it a modern look and—especially the black one we have pictured— means it can work in an urban setting, while being equally prepared when the weather gets bad.
$400
2. Global Cleaver
A classic chef’s knife will serve you fine for a majority of your kitchen needs, but there comes the time when you need something more substantial with some extra brawn. Whether it’s splitting poultry or fish, or breaking down a large roast— or even for less carnivorous tasks like chopping large vegetables—the Global 7.75-inch cleaver should meet your needs. The single-piece steel construction is ice-tempered and hardened to Rockwell C56-C58 (a scale of hardness in cutlery) to hold a sharp edge, and the signature dimple pattern on the handle ensures a slip-resistant grip.
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3. Nike Kyrie 6
Geared for the player it was created for, the Kyrie 6 features a curved outsole that wraps around the sides of the upper, enhancing his unpredictable ability to push off and attack from all angles. The midfoot strap locks the shoe into the foot and the multi-angled Air Zoom Turbo unit in the forefoot provides cushioning when pivoting across the floor. Personal touches include the healer’s hand in the heel counter and the all-seeing eye on the multipatterned outsole.
$130
4. Funko Pop! x NBA Figures
Funko has become what Pez was to the previous generation. The vinyl figures have replaced the candy dispenser as the collectible tchotchke of pop culture. Practically anything popular—or even niched, for that matter—has been turned into Funko form, four-inch figures that in spite of their uniform look and small scale display plenty of detail and charm. The Michael Jordan figure, in particular, shows him in vintage 1988 Slam Dunk Contest form—Air Jordan IIIs, aerial pose (though they missed it with the outstretched tongue).
$9.99
6. Herschel NBA Superfan Collection
The NBA x Herschel collaboration takes some of the 10-year-old company’s most popular bags and uses them as a canvas for fans to show their colors. All 30 NBA teams are available (although not for every style) in the collection, which features the Novel Duffle, the perfect weekend bag that features a shoe compartment, waterproof zippers, reinforced carrying handles and padded shoulder strap; the Nova Backpack Mid-Volume, a compact backpack that can accommodate up to a 13-inch laptop in its internal padded sleeve and has dual water bottle pockets; Seventeen Hip Pack, the ideal on-the-move carry-all to help free up your pockets from bulky cargo; and the Chapter Travel Kit, a roomy toiletry bag to house all your travel essentials. The Superfan Collection all feature screen-printed team logos and coordinating team colors.
Novel Duffle: $99.99 Nova Backpack Mid-Volume: $74.99 Seventeen Hip Pack: $34.99 Chapter Travel Kit: $39.99
5. Otterbox Venture 45 Cooler
Any serious outdoorsmen who want to keep their catch fresh and dedicated tailgaters who are adamant about keeping their drinks ice cold will appreciate the Venture series of coolers by Otterbox. The 45 is their midsize cooler with storage capacity of 45 quarts, which means 52 pounds of ice (or 25 12-ounce cans with twice as much ice). The Venture will keep ice for 14 days, which means you will likely have to make another supermarket run before the ice melts. Made in the USA, the Venture stays true to the company’s belief in life on the go and protecting what matters. The cooler is durable with tough but easy-to-use latches—unless you’re a bear as it is certified bear resistant—and thoughtful features like a bottle opener and dry storage tray. There are even optional accessories like a side table (pictured) with two cupholders and a cutting board, and a wheel attachment (not pictured) for easier transport.
Venture 45: $299 Side Table: $69.99
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7. Epson Home Cinema 3800
Television prices have dropped, but it’s still very cost-prohibitive to get the large screen (80 inches and up) experience that movie theaters boast into your own home. Epson’s Home Cinema 3800 delivers a big picture that, inch-for-inch, is a bargain compared to a traditional panel display. Capable of throwing up to a 125-inch picture, the 3800 will make any movie pop with its impressive output. The three-high-definition LCD chips produce a picture via pixel shifting, though not technically 4K, is pretty close and noticeably sharper and more detailed than full HD. The 3,000-lumen output of the 3800 is bright enough to wash out ambient light if you choose to make it your everyday display. The unit includes built-in 10-watt speakers, but we’d recommend pairing it with external speakers (may we suggest the Sonos Beam that is also featured?) for the true movie experience— popcorn not included.
$1,699.99
8. Lenovo Legion Y740
Gaming laptops are great for portability, but most of them have aesthetics that advertise “I’m a gamer!” with its typical aggressive design. While there’s anything wrong with in-your-face light features, colorful (usually red or green) graphics and heavy branding, and the Y740 has a subtle light effect on the “Y” in the Legion logo, a hint of light effects on the exhaust vents and of course, the customizable RGB keyboard, everything is subdued in the dark matte gray casing. Open the offset hinge and it reveals a bright 1920 x 1080 17.3-inch IPS display, which is pretty par for the course, but it is G-Sync-enabled with a 144Hz refresh rate, so any fast-action gaming will look better with no blurring or picture-tearing. The presence of G-Sync means graphics are powered by an Nvidia GPU, namely the RTX 2080 Max-Q (shorthand for their mobile version) with 8GB of video RAM, which allows you to play current titles at the highest settings. The Y740 also has a Mini DisplayPort, HDMI and USB-C/ Thunderbolt ports, allowing a multiscreen setup. Three USB ports and an ethernet port round out the connectivity. Under the hood is an Intel Core i7-8750H CPU (2.2GHz) and 16GB of RAM. Battery life is what is expected of a gaming PC that requires a lot of power to fuel the graphics chip during intense sessions. We got about two-anda-half hours before we needed to plug in, which is expected from a powerful gaming laptop. The Y770 measures 16.2 x 12 inches at almost an inch thick (0.91, to be exact) and weighs 6.4 pounds—not what one would deem light and compact, but again it’s a very capable desktop replacement that will probably stay plugged in most of the time. What we like the most from the Legion Y740 is its versatility. When the LAN party is over, turn off the RGB lighting (powered by Corsair iCUE) and the Y740 looks at home in the boardroom.
$1,449.99
10. Samsung Note10+
Large phones are not for everyone, but if you’re going to go with the big format, there is none better than Samsung’s long-running Note series. Once raising eyebrows with the creation of the phablet category, the Note has now seen nine iterations and has spawned imitators, but it remains the top of its class. The most striking feature is the bright 6.8-inch AMOLED display that fills the quad HD+ resolution screen (HDR10+ certified) with vivid colors and detail that, inch-for-inch, is the best phone cinema experience out there. That same expansive real estate makes the Note excel at productivity as well. Spreadsheets, documents and note-taking is manageable on the large display but the Note’s piece de resistance is the signature S Pen, a stylus that seems extraneous until you actually incorporate it into your phone interaction. New to the S Pen this year are Air Actions—imagine a little Harry Potter magic wand wizardry to do things like changing camera modes, zooming in/out and snapping photos—to add to the remote functionality of the stylus. A fun feature is AR Doodle, which uses the S Pen to draw over people in camera view, essentially allowing you to create your own Snapchat filters. As for the camera, the Note10+ sees some upgrade from the 9, namely the addition of an ultrawide lens that really fills out scenes. Night photos really shine through, as the Note10+ is able to capture detail in low light situations. Video creation saw some upgrades, namely Live Focus mode, where you can keep the camera’s focus on subjects while giving a bokeh effect to things in the background, and Super Steady reduces camera shake during movement. Those two features, coupled with an improved video-editing app, offer the makings of a worthy start for any aspiring filmmaker. Lastly, the Note10+ features a 3D scanning mode, enabling you to scan an object by capturing it 360 degrees with the camera, creating a fully rotatable image. Real-world usage? Not sure, but it’s there for anyone to reimagine the uses. As expected of a phone that champions productivity the Note10+ is kitted with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. A 512GB option is available, but we’d recommend picking up a microSD card to expand your storage needs since the Note10+ has a slot, a feature more phones should get behind. Gone is the audio jack, a legacy port that Samsung supported long after most phone makers ditched it. In its place, Samsung was able to cram more battery, improving upon its runtime from the Note9, and included a set of USB-C headphones as a consolatory gift.
$1,099
11. Beats Solo Pro
9. Blue Yeti X
If you’re looking to up your Twitch streaming game or finally decided it’s time to launch that obscure podcast, you should start with the Yeti X, a follow-up to the original Yeti, which was a favorite among streamers and podcasters. The Yeti X’s professional exterior—a solid metal body with a shiny mic grill that sits on a heavy pedestal and looks like it would belong in a recording studio—matches the pro-level software and features that it boasts. The heart of the Yeti X is the multifunctional knob—one press controls the volume and another long press lets you adjust monitoring levels of your own voice—and the ring of LED lights surrounding the knob serves as a meter. On the opposite side resides a button to change modes: cardioid (for streaming); bidirectional (when you have a guest on the podcast); omnidirectional (when you have several guests on the pod); and stereo (when you’re trying to give the listener a sense of the entire room). The improved software comes via the Logitech G Hub app (Logitech owns Blue Microphones) that gives you control to a host of audio settings like highs, mids and lows, as well as ways to filter out hissing, low-frequency sounds and background noises. The software also comes with presets that will give beginners an easy point of entry with preset settings to achieve a desired sound or effect.
$169
Aptly named, the Solo Pro is just that when you pop them on: The world becomes just you and whatever is piping through the headphones. The ANC (active noise cancelling) tech on the Solo Pro muffles out the world—nearby conversations, the television, even the sounds of the subway—and that’s even without any music on; turn on the music and you’ll feel even more isolated. We even liked it as a daily office headphone as Transparency mode (provided your volume isn’t too high) allows you to keep the music on while holding a conversation. Traditionally, Beats were bass heavy, but they’ve been retuned to be more balanced, resulting in a more even approach regardless of music genre. Like the Powerbeats Pro, pairing is a cinch thanks to the H1 chip. iOS users just need to flip them open and get an almost-instant connection; it’s not as quick for Android users, but every bit as simple. The Solo Pro can sustain comfort for long sessions; all the parts that make contact—the ear cups and the underside of band—are very plush and made of soft leather-like material. Controls are simple and intuitive and consist of a multifunctional button on the right earcup—press the center once to play/pause, double-press skips forward, triple-press goes back, hold the center to bring up your digital assistant and up/down to control volume—and there is a small button on the left earcup to toggle ANC modes. The Solo Pros have about a 40-50foot range via Bluetooth 5.0, are rated for 22 hours (40 if you disable the ANC) on a full charge and in a pinch, can get you three hours of runtime on 10 minutes of charge. Voice calls are surprisingly clear on both ends—the ANC isolates the voice on the other end and the mic carries your voice clearly without much background noise.
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4. Sonos Beam
Sonos has conquered home audio with its array of seamless speaker solutions for the music lover, but it’s been lacking in the home theater department. It does have the Playbar and Playbase on its roster, but they are a bit dated and the price point a little high for some. Enter the Beam, the adorable little brother in stature, but not in sound. At just under 26 inches in width, the Beam snuggles underneath even the smallest of televisions, but still punches above its weight class, filling most living room setups. It accomplishes this with TruePlay, the company’s proprietary software that calibrates the Beam to the room, taking full advantage of the three channels on the speaker to sound bigger. While the explosions may be jarring, the Beam features speech enhancement that keeps dialogue audible even during the loudest of action scenes. Both TruePlay (iOS only, unfortunately) and speech enhancement are configured in the Sonos app. No remote control is included, but that is by design. The app does let you delve into the settings and the Beam features voice control—it supports Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant—allowing you to adjust volume settings and even turn on/off the tethered television.
2. Air Jordan XXI “Bred”
Whether you think the much revered AJXXI’s most popular colorway are the “Concords,” “Space Jams,” or even “Cool Greys” is irrelevant—what you need to understand that a true Air Jordan shoe should be clad in just two colors: black and red. This is especially true when it comes to the XXI. It is after all the shoes MJ wore when he won his fourth championship, the one where he took the Bulls to an at-the-time record 72-10 campaign and exacted revenge on the entire League for counting him out after his hiatus from the game. They were the shoes laced on his feet throughout the 1996 playoffs when they made their debut on April 26, 1996, the kicks he averaged 30.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 4.1 APG while wearing and the sneakers that were immortalized in a photo where he was celebrating his title victory with his two sons, the XIs prominently sitting on some boxes next to him. Oh, and that moment was 23 years ago.
$220
$399
1. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
The world of tablets have become a bit of a gray area between your full-featured smartphone and a laptop computer. This is quite evident with the Galaxy Tab S6, a hefty in specs tablet that when fully accessorized, looks and acts like a portable computing device. The first thing that should be discussed with any tablet is the display, and the S6 features one of the best screens—phone or laptop withstanding—on the market. The 10.5-inch OLED HDR display outputs vivid colors with rich and deep blacks, making photos and particularly videos come to life. The 16:10 aspect ratio (along with the Dolby Atmos speaker array) helps with the cinephiles, but those looking for productivity might find the screen real estate a little cramped. Speaking of productivity, the S6 comes equipped with an S Pen that stores and charges via a magnetic dock in the back. The S Pen is great for note-taking and sketching and can be used as a “magic wand” and remote control to interact with the tablet. The optional keyboard (pictured) features a trackpad and magnetically clips onto the tablet, boosting its utility. It’s an upgrade from the on-screen keyboard, but it’s still quite compact and not backlit, so typing in dark places might pose a challenge to key peckers. Inside the S6 is a Snapdragon 855 processor and 6GB of RAM—while peppy enough for phone/tablet standards—is lacking compared to a laptop (although we had no issue multitasking with it). The front (8MP)/rear (dual 13MP and 8MP ultrawide) camera setup is good for videocalls and the occasional photograph. We mourn the death of the audio jack, especially on a tablet, but we did appreciate Samsung still including an expandable microSD slot to expand the storage of the S6 (which starts at 128GB).
Tab S6: $649.99 Book Cover Keyboard: $179.99
5. NBA Bleacher Creatures
A hybrid between a plush and an action figure, Bleacher Creatures are soft and cuddly, but at the same time, can stand on their feet (we really wished they could be wearing their own signature sneakers instead of generic black shoes) and are articulatable (but they do not maintain poses). They are in full uniform, with name and number in back, and have enough details—we will nitpick that James Harden’s beard could’ve been a tad bushier and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s hands a wee bigger—to make great stocking stuffers for young and older fans alike.
$19.99
3. DJI Osmo Mobile 3
Unless you want or desire the effect of having your video content resemble a Bourne movie, what you need is a gimbal, a device that you mount your phone on that has a tri-axis mechanism that moves with your hand or body to smooth out the jitters: the Osmo Mobile 3. The fold-out compact design (it weighs about 14 ounces) makes it very stow-and-go—flip the neck up and attach your phone via the spring-loaded clamp and you’re ready. The runtime is rated for 15 hours and an onboard USB port allows for charging of your phone (which would decrease the Osmo’s battery life). Operation is relatively single-handed—a nub allows for thumb control, like a joystick with two buttons off to the side—and there is a trigger button that is used to track, re-center and change modes. The DJ Mimo pass that links the Osmo to your phone has several features that are handy for video capture. ActiveTrack allows you to “box” an object on the screen you want to lock on to and track. Hyperlapse generates time lapse videos while in motion. Our favorite is Sport Mode, which is ActiveTrack on steroids. It does the same, but speeds up the gimbal for faster tracking. We were able to use that for basketball videos, but it does require you to manually follow the object in motion. Vloggers will appreciate the included mini tripod for the Osmo and the Mimo app allows for gesture controls, giving the user some remote control while filming.
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6. Demer Box
Many Bluetooth speakers on the market today can take a thunderstorm, but how many can withstand a hailstorm? With a pair of 11-watt speakers (each one protected by a rugged grill) housed inside a Pelican case (a company that makes indestructible travel cases and 07 housings), the Demer Box gives you speakers that you can literally kick around where ever you want portable sound. The fully waterproof speaker—it will float in water—has controls on the outside and can deliver big sound for about 40 hours on a single charge. Unlatch it, and it’ll reveal a panic room for your essentials (there is a USB port inside to charge your phone, although it will reduce the runtime of it) to stay dry in. If you have a second Demer Box, you can pair them together in Multi-Cast mode for an array of sound. We are not overplaying its ruggedness; it might very well be the last portable speaker you’ll ever buy.
$349
7. DeWalt Atomic 20V Max Drill/Driver
Compact power tools need not sacrifice power with the Atomic 20V Max Drill/Driver. DeWalt’s Atomic series focuses on being smaller footprint tools, enabling you to get into hard to reach spots while reducing fatigue. It has reduced an inch of length (it measures 6.3 inches from tip to tail) from the previous model, and weighs in at 2.4 pounds, making it relatively light compared to other drills. The driver features a brushless (which is more efficient, durable and generates less heat) two-speed motor powered by a 20V lithium-ion battery (DeWalt’s 20V Max line, which is compatible across its family of over 200 tools), which is plenty of power for the DIY set. The kit comes with a charger, two 1.3Ah slim batteries and a carrying bag.
$159
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8. Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2
As its name implies, the Galaxy Watch Active2 is the smart watch built for the wearer who treats life like a workout. The built-in sensors can track and help you meet your fitness goals for whatever activity, including cycling and swimming (the Active2 is submergible in water up to 5 meters). There is unfortunately no basketball-specific mode, but it does monitor running speed, distance and heart rate, which can help you quantify your hoop workouts. For recovery, the Active2 has a widget to keep tabs of your stress levels, one to encourage meditation and a sleep tracker (the Active2 even has an electrocardiogram, or EKG, built in, but it wasn’t yet FDAapproved at the time of testing). Proving that they do listen to user feedback, Samsung brought back the rotating bezel for navigation. Well, kind of: The outer edge of the Active2 is touch sensitive; turning it gives you haptic feedback that registers similar to an actual dial. With battery endurance that will keep up with your active lifestyle, the Active2 runs for an entire busy weekend before it requires a recharge (of course, using it as a music device and/or for GPS-intensive chores would reduce that runtime more). Aesthetically, the Active2’s bright AMOLED screen is beautiful as well as functional (the brightest of days didn’t wash out the display). For those who like to pull a look together, the Active2 has My Style, a function that allows you to take a photo of your shirt, sneaker or any part of your outfit and the watch will generate a geometric watch face background to properly “coordinate” (Boomerang reference for you young bucks).
$279.99
9. Ecobee SmartThermostat
Ecobee’s fifth-generation smart thermostat builds upon some of its strengths—namely integration with smart assistants and remote sensors to get a better overview of the wholehouse temperatures—while addressing some of its weaknesses (microphone and speaker) into what is the best iteration in the series. In terms of smart home integration, the Ecobee SmartThermostat supports for Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, IFTTT and SmartThings, making it appealing to users across the different platforms. With Alexa built-in and an improved microphone, Amazon’s landscape seems to have a leg up, as it essentially works like another Echo device. You can use it to interact with most things in your Echo smart home, including Alexa calling, messaging and Drop-in features. The thermostat comes included with one remote sensor, a small device that tracks temperature and movement in different areas of your home; the former feature communicates with the thermostat for a better “whole-home” readout and the latter will help it know when to throttle back the heating or cooling when the house is empty.
$249
10. BenQ EX3501R
Much like a well-rounded basketball player who can capture triple-doubles on a nightly basis, the EX3501R is your do-it-all monitor. The 35-inch display features an ultra-wide resolution (3,440x1,440 pixel) that gives plenty of real estate for multitaskers to juggle two applications side-by-side. During downtime, the EX3501R’s curved display (which immerses the viewer into the content), 100Hz refresh rate and compatibility with AMD FreeSync (which requires an AMD videocard to take advantage of the technology that reduces picture “tearing” by synching up the frame rate between the monitor and video output source) make it a very capable gaming monitor. The 21:9 aspect ratio of the monitor and HDR also means watching movies on it maintains the film’s cinema format. The monitor is kitted with two HDMI ports, DisplayPort, USB Type-C port (to plug in a modern laptop) and two USB 3.0 ports, and is housed in a thin bezel that gives the picture a nice floating effect.
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1. Nike NBA City Edition Jerseys
For the third year in a row, Nike is dropping the City Edition uniforms, an alternate look that draws inspiration from a city’s history, famous residents and other noteworthy things. Almost every NBA team has one, but here are a few of our favorites. Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks are actually dipping back to their 2017 City Edition uniforms with the Cream City motif. While the 2017 version was a more subtle take on the cream-colored bricks that can be found throughout Milwaukee, this year’s take brings back the cream colorway with “Cream City” across the chest. Los Angeles Lakers: As part of the Lore Series, the Lakers have always celebrated their many stars with City Edition jerseys. Following the footsteps of Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson, Shaq puts his size-23 imprint on this year’s kit. Much like his game, there are bold details that stand out—M.D.E. (Most Dominant Ever) on the piping, the franchise’s retired numbers along the sides of the jersey, and short and the vintage shadow-effect lettering. But there are some hidden details as well: Dr. Buss in “Hollywood” letters on the waistband, Shaq’s number and an ode to the three titles he brought the team. Orlando Magic: The Magic get a jolt of juice—specifically orange—as a nod to the region’s many citrus groves and the state’s nickname, the “Orange State.” In addition, the bright hue is a call-out to the city’s role in space travel, with the Kennedy Space Center in nearby Cape Canaveral. Brooklyn Nets: Building on last year’s jerseys that were inspired by one of Brooklyn’s famous sons, Biggie Smalls, with the “Brooklyn Camo” (we all know what it’s really called) on the sides and piping, the Nets have taken it another step with Christopher Wallace’s neighborhood across the chest in a graffiti-like font, baby baby. Philadelphia 76ers: Taking after the famous document that became the impetus of the country and was signed in Philadelphia, the 76ers took the parchment that the Declaration of Independence was written on as the base color of its uniform. The calligraphy font is an homage to the handwriting and the asymmetrical gold stripe down the entire kit mimics the famous crack on the Liberty Bell.
$200
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Last year, Sam was too sick to dream. He has Primary Immunodeficiency or PI. Thanks to the Jeffrey Modell Foundation, he has been properly diagnosed and treated. Now he’s head of the class.
helping children reach for their dreams
info4pi.org
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5. Apple TV 4K
It’s very difficult to discern between all the “black boxes” that have prolificated the streaming device market, but what makes Apple’s box stand above the competition are a few key things: picture quality, its familiar interface and design. The Apple TV 4K is the only streaming box to boast HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, giving you (if used in conjunction with a HDR10 and/ or Dolby Vision-supported display) the best viewing experience through a richer gamut of colors, and it can output Dolby Atmos, giving you a three-dimensional audio experience (Dolby Atmos sound system required). If you’re already down with Apple, tvOS (the company’s operating system for fourth-gen and later Apple TVs) will be very familiar to you , and the updated Apple TV app, called TV, organizes all your iTunes content and most video apps (Netflix being the elephant in the room) into a centralized environment. The app supports multiple user accounts and syncs with mobiles devices so different users can go from mobile viewing to the couch without missing a scene. In addition to the viewing experience, the Apple TV can support light gaming (think mobile titles) and Apple has Arcade, its game subscription service that will give you full access to Apple’s library of curated games. The included Siri remote allows spoken searches and the function is robust, allowing for deep combined searches— episodes of Simpsons guest-starring Shaquille O’Neal; ’90s movies starring Denzel Washington; 4K movies directed by Steven Spielberg—and there’s a good chance of answering your query. The remote has a touchscreen top for quick access around menus—though there is a learning curve if you’re coming from the standard directional buttons—and with a built-in accelerometer, gyroscope and compass, it doubles up as a gaming controller (the Xbox and PS4 controller are also supported via Bluetooth).
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4. Google Pixel 4 XL
2. Razer Huntsman Elite
Gaming keyboard design tends to lean toward the gaudy, but the Huntsman Elite is one that—especially if you turn down the requisite RGB lighting—can find itself on an office desk. The star of the keyboard is Razer’s proprietary optomechanical switch—instead of using a mechanical switch to register every keystroke, it relies on infrared light, which in theory responds faster—that it promises will give you a speed advantage during quick twitch games. That it would increase your gaming skills is debatable, but we can say that every keystroke is met with a satisfying tactile registration, making for a faster and more accurate typing experience. There are dedicated media control keys on the corner and a volume (or light illumination) dial. It’s also bundled with a wrist rest lined in a faux leather that has a strip of undercarriage lighting.
$200
1. Uncanny Brands NBA Basketball Popcorn Maker
It would be too easy to say this popcorn maker would be a “slam dunk” at your next movie or that you’d have a ball with it on game night, but it is pretty genius that they built a 1,000-watt motor into the bottom of the basketball to use hot air to make healthy popcorn. When not in use, the serving bowl pops back onto the top, making it look like a basketball on a pedestal, and keeping up with the multifunctional design, the measuring cup fits snugly on top to double up a butter melter.
$49.99
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3. ThermoWorks Signals + Billows
Pit masters will tell you that barbecue is an artform attained through long years of tending to a fire, to the point where they can gauge the optimal temperature by feel. We’re not denying their experience and expertise, but for most pit padawans, an open hand against the fire is not enough to properly measure the heat. For barbecue novices (and even more experienced smoke boys who crave more control), ThermoWorks’ Signals, in conjunction with the Billows, is a cheat code to low and slow Q. On its own, the Signals is a thermometer that has four probes that can individually keep tabs on three separate pieces of meat (may we suggest a brisket, a Boston butt and a rack of ribs?) and the air temperature of your pit. Signals can connect to your phone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and keep you connected to your meats through the app. Paired with Billows, the BBQ temperature control fan that attaches to the air intake vent of your smoker (most popular charcoal-based smokers are compatible, but check if yours require an adapter) to control the amount of air in order to regulate your smoker’s temps (give or take 10 degrees). The result is less micromanaging of the fire, turning your smoke sessions into worry-free time better used for a game of driveway hoops, watching the game or even a nap before dinner.
Signals: $229 Billows: $59
Phones are a misnomer since they are less “phones” and more everything else—computing devices and cameras— these days. The camera part is especially key, whether you are a professional capturing content for your influencer Instagram account or just a casual picture taker. As its name suggests, the Pixel 4 XL is the best camera experience on a smartphone. It might not have the triple-lens setup of some of its flagship counterparts, but the Pixel makes the most of its dual lens setup (12.2 MP F/1.7 wide angle and 16 MP F/2.4 telephoto) to capture stunning portraits and crisper zoomed-in images. Two sliders to adjust shadow and brightness let you fine-tune images in real time before committing to the snapshot. Night Sight gives low-light photos extra life and vibrance, although depending on conditions, it could sometimes overexaggerate. Pet lovers rejoice: The Pixel 4 XL’s excels at bringing out detail to hair and fur, guaranteeing more awws on those pet posts. Images on the Pixel 4 XL’s 6.3-inch OLED screen come to life with the quad-HD display that boasts a density of 537 pixels per inch. One of the low-key but game-changing features is the 90Hz refresh rate which makes videos, games and even screen scrolling look smoother—expect more phones to follow Google’s lead in the future. Gone is the fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 4, replaced by Face Unlock, which like all facial recognition systems works well most times, but can occasionally be finicky. Much like the unadulterated Android presentation on the Pixel, the phone follows a similar approach in its design. There are clean lines throughout (some might complain about the protruding array of lenses in the rear camera), the display is almost a full front experience (there is a top bezel for the front camera) but no distracting notches or hole punches to speak of, and the matte colored finish (pictured is the Oh So Orange colorway) of the back makes it stand out from the market. Battery life was manageable; we were able to go a whole day (12 hours) with basic everyday use before we needed to charge it (USB-C and wireless charging). Like with all phones, we do wish the Pixel 4 added expandable storage, but pound-for-pound, it’s one of the best Android phones on the marketplace and certainly the one with the best camera.
$899
Air Jordan XI “Breds,” jordan.com; Apple TV 4K, apple.com; Beats Solo Pro, Powerbeats Pro, beatsbydre.com; Benq EX3501R. benq.com; Blue Yeti X, bluedesigns.com; Bombas Performance Basketball Socks, bombas. com; Chemex Ottomatic 2.0, chemexcoffeemaker.com; DemerBox DB2, demerbox.com; DeWalt Atomic 20V Max Drill/Driver, dewalt.com; DJI Osmo Mobile 3, dji.com; Ecobee SmartThermostat, ecobee.com; Epson Home Cinema 3800, Epson.com; Funko Pop! NBA Figures, shop.funko.com; Global Cleaver, globalcutleryusa.com; Google Pixel 4 XL, store.google.com; Herschel NBA Superfan Collection, herschelsupply.com; Holden M-51 Fishtail 3 Layer Jacket, holdenouterwear.com; HyperX Cloud Mix, hyperxgaming.com; iRobot Braava m6, irobot.com; LEGO Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, lego.com; Lenovo Y740, Lenovo.com; Logitech Harmony Express, Logitech.com; NBA Bleacher Creatures, bleachercreatures.com; Nike City Edition Jerseys, Kyrie 6, nike.com; Otterbox Venture 45, otterbox.com; Portable Kitchen PK360, pkgrills.com; Razer Huntsman Elite, razer.com; Samsung Watch Active2, Galaxy Note10+, Galaxy Tab S6, Samsung.com; Sonos Beam, sonos.com; The North Face Stratoliner L, thenorthface.com; ThermoWorks Signals, Billows, thermoworks.com; Uncanny Brands NBA Basketball Popcorn Maker, uncannybrands.com
It’s a win-winwin-win again. More awards. More reliability. From the network that gives you more.
#1 in video quality, video start time and video reliability. Nielsen
#1 network quality. J.D. Power
#1 overall network performance in the U.S. RootMetrics
#1 in 4G availability and video experience. Opensignal
#1 In Video Streaming, based on Nielsen SD Video Network Scores using data collected nationally between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2019. #1 Overall Network Performance and Most Reliable Network, based on RootMetrics® by IHS Markit’s RootScore® Reports: 1H 2019. Tested with best commercially available smartphones on 4 national mobile networks across all available network types. Experiences may vary. RootMetrics awards are not an endorsement of Verizon. #1 Wireless Network Quality, Verizon Wireless received the highest score in Volumes 1 & 2 of the J.D. Power 2017-2019 U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Studies of customers’ satisfaction with their network performance with wireless carriers. Visit jdpower.com/awards. #1 In Video Experience, Opensignal Awards – USA: Mobile Network Experience Report July 2019, based on independent analysis of mobile measurements recorded during the period March 16 – June 13, 2019 © 2019 Opensignal Inc.
CHECK IT SPIN MOVES
JULIUS RANDLE
New York might not have signed an All-Star over the offseason, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Knicks didn’t secure a future one. Julius Randle is nobody’s consolation prize—the sixth year forward is coming off four straight seasons where his scoring average saw an uptick—and is primed for his first All-Star selection if the trend continues. After a very abbreviated rookie year (Randle broke his leg in his first game), he quickly returned to form to flash the slashing big man game that made him the seventh pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He had his best season last year with 21.4 points and 8.7 rebounds, prompting the Knicks to commit long term to the former University of Kentucky product. The “City that Never Sleeps” will keep Randle entertained when he’s not entertaining New Yorkers at the Garden, but the 25-year-old is a family man, preferring to spend his time with his young son Kyden and wife Kendra, and his list of varied interests.
TV
“There are so many great shows on right now, but the show that I’m currently watching is Power. I don’t personally relate to any of them, but I always find myself rooting for Ghost. I don’t like Tommy right now because he’s at war with Ghost, I’m not sure how the season is going to end but it’s going to be really interesting. The way this season has gone, I do believe that none of the characters will have a very happy ending. I’m still pretty upset about how they [spoiler alert!] wrote out Proctor, he went out like a man though.”
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APPS
“I’m on Instagram (@JulilusRandle30) a lot, it’s probably one of my favorite apps right now, I love the memes and the jokes. Unfortunately, being a part of social media as a pro athlete opens you up to a lot of criticism in your comments and mentions. I don’t pay much attention to that because I know it’s just people hiding behind a computer screen or a phone saying things they wouldn’t say to my face. I’ll probably laugh if I saw them face to face though. “
ILLUSTRATION: MATT CANDELA
BY JAMMEL CUTLER #33
MUSIC
“Jay Z is my favorite rapper, so his music is always in my rotation. He’s a legend, and he’s still one of the best in the rap game today. I remember in college Coach Cal [John Calipari] used Jay Z and Drake music in his pitch to recruit me to U.K. Wale just dropped a new album [Wow... That’s Crazy] so I’ve been listening to that, I always bump Meek Mill, Drake and Jay Z. This might sound surprising, but on gamedays I don’t listen to music that’ll get me super hyped. I usually listen to something soothing, something more on the mellow side.”
FOOTWEAR
“When I hoop I always wear Kobes or PGs, I just feel that those two sneakers are very comfortable when I’m playing. If I had to rank my favorite sneakers I would have to go with Kobe 4 and the Kobe2, but I can go on and on.”
GAMING
“I’m not an avid gamer, I only play when I have company over, but the game I always end up playing is NBA 2K. Even though I played as myself in the past, now when I play with a group of people we play on random. People say that they’re best at 2K, but playing with randoms usually proves that you’re the best because anyone can play with the best teams in the game and just dominate. Bobby Portis talks a lot of trash, but we haven’t played as of yet.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A KNICK? “Just putting on a Knicks uniform playing in this city, in a historic arena, is a dream come true for me. The way the city and the fans embraced me with open arms is something that my family and I cherish. I hope to play a helping hand in restoring the Knicks to their former glory. We have a great coaching staff and a great team and I expect us to have a good season.”
WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON BRINGING TO THE TEAM? “I will bring a toughness and a hard-working attitude to this locker room. I pride myself on getting better every day, whether it’s on the court or in the weight room. A lot of people outside of our locker room isn’t giving us much of a chance, but I don’t pay attention to the outside noise. I think we shock a lot of people this season.”
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THIS SEASON? “I want to be a better all-around player that makes my teammates better, I’m going to bring it. Night-in-and-night-out we’re going to put the League, and all our naysayers, on notice. We’re a competitive, hard-working, and gritty team, we’re going to have a lot of fun, compete and win as many games as possible.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF NEW YORK? “I like the passion this city has for their sports teams. The people here are hard-working and we’re going to try to reflect that on the basketball court.”
WHICH ASPECT OF NEW YORK DO YOU DISLIKE? “It has to be the traffic in Manhattan. Man it’s just so much! It reminds me of LA traffic— once it took me 45 minutes just to go 10 miles. Also it seems like everyone in this city is always in a rush to get somewhere.”
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CHECK IT BY JAMMEL CUTLER #33
IN HIS SHOES
ALLONZO TRIER
When Mike Bibby rocked The Foamposite One during his time at Arizona, he was one of the early pioneers that brought sneaker culture into the mainstream. Bibby is one of the early NBA hypebeasts that started the current sneaker culture wave that is deeply entrenched in the streets and on the NBA hardwood. Bibby had his time, and now another Wildcat is ready to stake his claim in sneaker culture. Allonzo Trier of the New York Knicks is one of the rising stars on a young Knicks team and is one of the team’s fastest guards and most prolific isolation scorers. In his debut last year after entering the League as an undrafted rookie, he caught everyone by surprise with his scoring prowess. However, one of the most underrated aspects of Trier’s NBA career is his sneaker rotation. Trier is one of the NBA’s top sneakerheads, showing a plenty of range—from Kobes, KDs and LeBrons, and on occasion, he’s known to break out the rarest PEs that’ll make sneaker veterans like PJ Tucker blush. Trier is slowly entrenching himself as one of the best sneakerheads in the League, a habit that started in his early years on the court, maintained during his tenure at Arizona and continues to thrive today.
Throughout your NBA career, I’ve seen you rock a variety of sneakers when you play. Sneakers that range from Kobes, LeBrons, and even a couple of PGs. Which sneakers do you like to hoop in? I’m a big Kobe fan, I have a lot of KD, a lot of old retro stuff mixed in with some new stuff, it varies. What goes into your mind when you’re picking game day sneakers? Usually it depends on what jersey color, something that I want to wear that feels comfortable, maybe something that’s in style—it depends on a lot. What are your top five favorite sneakers that are in your rotation? I don’t have a top-five sneaker because what I wear changes daily, so essentially my top five of what I wear on- and- off the court is like a revolving door. PJ Tucker is widely considered the sneaker king of the NBA. Would you consider yourself as one of the sneaker princes in the League? I would say that I’ve been into sneaker culture my entire life, since I was growing up as a kid. For anyone who’s followed my path of me playing basketball, you see that I’ve been known for rocking different pairs of sneakers and a lot of exclusive stuff on the floor. I noticed that you rock a lot of Kobes on the court, what separates his Nike signature line from other lines? For me it’s all about comfort. I’ve been playing in Kobes since I was in Arizona, and that has spilled over into the NBA. You have been in New York for two years now. Has living here given you an advantage when it comes to buying sneakers since New York is the fashion capital of the world? I wouldn’t say so. I don’t spend a lot of time going to those places, but I have a few people that I’m connected with that can help me get what I need when I need it.
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Do you feel that the cross-branding between sneaker companies and fashion designers like Virgil Abloh brings more eyes to sneaker culture? I think it’s dope because any time you have people with creative minds behind something, to create something for the people it’s great. It creates hype and more popularity for sneaker culture. Start, bench, cut these collabs: Don C, Travis Scott, Virgil Off-White. That’s a tough one...I’m going to be a little different. I’m going to start Don C, bench Travis and cut Virgil Off-White. Do you have a grail that you’re currently after? Not exactly, I have a pair of The Platinum Yeezy 2 that I just bought—I’ve been looking for them for a long time. I have a lot of sneakers that I’ve been able to obtain from various resell shops and other contacts that I made over the years. I’m pretty fortunate to have most of the pairs that I have right now because I know there are a lot of people that will do anything to get them. Some prized sneakers that people have include Air Mags, OG Banned 1s or some rare Ray Allen PE 13s. Do you have a prized pair that you own? I have so many pairs. I have a lot of vintage pairs of sneakers that a lot of people would like to own today. They’re waiting for them to get the retro treatment. I have a lot of rare released sneakers that people weren’t able to get. What would it take for you to part with them? A very big bag!
STEVEN FREEMAN; NATHANIEL S. BUTLER (3)/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
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Both the motor and the motivator. 4
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CALORIE BURN
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