Atlanta Hawks coach Nate McMillan believes big men entering the league from other countries thrive because they were taught the fundamentals of the game at a young age.
That grasp of the all-around game has helped international big men dominate the NBA.
Last season’s MVP voting confirmed the return to prominence of big men in the NBA. The voting also highlighted the dominance of big men from other countries.
Kyrie Irving said Wednesday he didn’t want to lose salary or a chance to compete for a championship with the Brooklyn Nets, but was doing “what’s best for me” by refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Nets decided Tuesday that Irving wouldn’t be with the team because he isn’t eligible to play in home games, where a New York mandate requires professional athletes on one of the city’s teams to be vaccinated to practice or play in public venues.
The Brooklyn Nets look like such a title favorite that James Harden felt the need for a reminder they aren’t a title team.
“We’re not the target. The defending champions are the targets,” Harden said. “They won last year. We’re trying to catch them.”
It may be a roster like none other.
The Los Angeles Lakers have four of the NBA’s top seven active scorers. The top three leading active rebounders. Three of the top four active leaders in assists. Three of the top five in blocks. Three of the top five in wins. Four of the top six in steals. They could even have five Olympic gold medalists on the floor at once and another on the bench.
This much is known: Ben Simmons is back in Philadelphia. But there’s no clear sign yet the All-Star guard is set to rescind his trade request and actually play for the 76ers.
Even coach Doc Rivers — publicly, at least — says he’s unsure of the status of the trade demand, the latest wrinkle in the on-again-off-again relationship between Simmons and the Sixers.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is a curious as any NBA observer to see how former league MVP Russell Westbrook blends with incumbent Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as part of the latest “Big Three” to chase a championship together in Los Angeles.
The Boston Celtics say center Al Horford has tested positive for COVID-19.
Horford is currently in isolation and didn’t travel with the team for its two-game exhibition road trip to Florida, which includes games in Orlando on Wednesday and Miami on Friday.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet doesn’t worry about players who aren’t teammates anymore, or what can’t be done without them.
He just wants to win.
Finally back home in Canada after two frustrating seasons disrupted by the pandemic, the Raptors are a far cry from the star-studded team that Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry helped lead to the 2019 NBA championship.
The Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t talking about the playoffs, wins or losses.
A franchise that had missed the playoffs just once in the previous 11 seasons ended last season in the draft lottery with a 22-50 record. General manager Sam Presti’s focus is on helping a group of talented young players led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flourish so the Thunder can be competitive again — eventually.
The Milwaukee Bucks sure didn’t get much time to celebrate their first NBA championship n a half-century.
Just three months after Giannis Antetokoumpo’s 50-point performance secured a title-clinching victory over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Bucks will be raising their championship banner and beginning a new season on Oct. 19.
Playing on an Olympic championship team was an experience Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine will never forget. The high-scoring All-Star hopes the winning doesn’t stop there.
He would love nothing more than to make the playoffs at long last, and the Bulls might be in position to do just that.
