Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo missed the team’s game against the Charlotte Hornets after suffering a left big toe sprain on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old is listed as day-to-day after undergoing an MRI. Adebayo, who is averaging 19.9 points and 8.1 rebounds this season, exited in the first quarter of the Heat’s 122-112 road defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. The center did not return to the court.

“A guy hit me in the back of the leg and then I felt the pain in my foot,” Adebayo said after the loss. “So, I took it upon myself to check myself out and go see what happened.”

“Obviously, you don’t want to do anything more to cause any lingering effects. So, Spo (head coach Erik Spoelstra) checked me out.”

Adebayo joins Tyler Herro on the Heat’s injury report: the latter of whom is undergoing surgery on his left foot prior to the season.

The Heat sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference as the team gets ready for a four-game home stand, starting with the Hornets on Friday night.

On April 14, 2008, former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony was arrested and charged with driving under the influence (DUI).

Anthony was pulled over after police found him weaving between traffic lines, and he failed to turn off his high beams. Police conducted a field sobriety test, which he failed.

Following Anthony’s arrest, the Denver Nuggets suspended him for two games.

>50 MOST-INFAMOUS CELEBRITY MUGSHOTS SLIDESHOW & STORIES BEHIND THEM!

Anthony ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while ability impaired (DWAI). He was sentenced to one year of probation, 24 hours of community service, and over $1,000 in fines.

Anthony attended Syracuse University, where he was a consensus second-team All-American as a freshman, and he helped lead the team to its first national championship. After his freshman season, Anthony entered the 2003 NBA Draft and was selected third overall by the Denver Nuggets.

During Anthony’s 19-year NBA career, he was named to 10 All-Star games, six All-NBA Teams, and he was a one-time scoring champion. He also won three Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal.

Anthony was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, making him a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Malik Beasley will no longer be a target of a federal gambling investigation, attorneys Steve Haney and Mike Schachter said.

The news means Beasley could potentially enter free agency this summer. The Florida State alumnus is already being linked to the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

On June 29, federal authorities opened an investigation into the 28-year-old shooting guard on allegations of gambling and prop bets for NBA games. Beasley faced allegations from the 2023/24 season, where a U.S. sportsbook recorded an unusually high number of betting interests regarding Beasley’s statistics.

This is not the first time an NBA player has been under investigation for alleged betting probes. In April 2024, the NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Turner following an investigation that revealed he had tipped off bettors, bet on games while playing in the G League, and limited his game participation while playing with Toronto.

Miami Heat shooting guard Terry Rozier was also under investigation related to sports betting in early 2025. Rozier continued to play for the Heat and was not charged or accused of any crime.

Before June’s investigation, Beasley was set to sign a reported three-year, $42 million contract with the Detroit Pistons. This came following Beasley’s second-place finish in the 2024/25 Sixth Man of the Year award, where he played 82 games in his first season with the Pistons. The shooting guard averaged 16.3 points, helping Detroit finish 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a 44-38 record. The Pistons were eliminated in the First Round by the Knicks.

If Beasley were to sign for another team, it would be the seventh different franchise he’s joined since beginning his career in 2016 with the Denver Nuggets. In the last five seasons, Beasley has played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Utah Jazz, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Milwaukee Bucks and ended last campaign in Detroit.

In 2021, Beasley was suspended by the Timberwolves for 12 games after threatening a family that was househunting near his home with a gun.

Free agent center Deandre Ayton has agreed to sign a two-year deal, which includes a player option, with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources told ESPN on Wednesday night.

Between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Lakers, Ayton will earn $34 million next season. Ayton’s agents, Nima Namakian of Innovate Sports and Bill Duffy of WME Sports, reached a deal with the Lakers’ president of basketball operations and general manager, Rob Pelinka, on Wednesday, according to sources.

Ayton finalized a buyout with the Trail Blazers on Sunday night, with his representatives approaching the franchise about his desire to play in a winning situation and understanding the team’s rising number of young centers. Multiple teams reached out to Blazers’ general manager Joe Cronin to conduct a background check on Ayton and received strong reviews surrounding Ayton’s leadership and mentoring of big men such as Donovan Clingan.

With the Lakers, Ayton will slide into the starting center slot, providing an anchor and partner with fellow 2018 top pick Luka Doncic. Ayton and Doncic went Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, in the 2018 draft, developing a relationship from that class.

Ayton cleared free agency waivers Wednesday evening and took some time to speak with interested teams before deciding on the Lakers. The Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets all had interest in Ayton, sources said.

Ayton is the first player to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in each of his first seven NBA seasons since Dwight Howard, whose career began in 2004-05. Ayton is also one of four players to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in each of the past seven seasons, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert and Nikola Vucevic.

Ayton, who will turn 27 on July 23, averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds while shooting 56.6% last season.

The Denver Nuggets are trading Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Cameron Johnson, sources told ESPN.

While both players have two years remaining on their contracts, the Nuggets are able to get off Porter’s contract, which has $38.3 million due this coming season and $40.8 million in 2026-27. Johnson will make $21 million this coming season and $23 million the following season.

The trade is also the first big move by the Nuggets’ new front office of Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace. It frees the Nuggets from the luxury tax and expands their ability to utilize most of a $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

The Nuggets followed the move by bringing back free agent Bruce Brown, who agreed to a one-year deal with the team that he helped win an NBA title with in 2023. Brown’s deal is for the veteran’s minimum.

Brown was popular in the Nuggets locker room and played a pivotal role on the championship role on the championship team. He does well alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, and Brown averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in 2022-23 with the Nuggets. Last season with the Toronto Raptors and the New Orleans Pelicans, Brown averaged 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds.

Johnson also appears to be a good fit for the Nuggets. The 6-foot-8 forward enjoyed a breakout season in his sixth year in the league, averaging 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 39% shooting from behind the arc with the Nets.

“I’m excited!” Johnson told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “I get an opportunity to compete with some of the league’s best. What more can I ask for?”

Already a solid defender who can space the court, Johnson showed more ability to create shots for himself in Brooklyn this past season, adding a unique dynamic to his profile as a 3-and-D player.

He has struggled with injuries throughout his career, however, and has not exceeded 60 regular-season games since the 2021-22 campaign.

Porter had spent his entire six-year tenure with the Nuggets, averaging 18.2 points and seven rebounds in 77 games for the Nuggets this past season. Porter was a key player during the Nuggets’ title run, and he gives the Nets a career 40% 3-point shooter.

He ends his Nuggets tenure second in franchise history in made 3-pointers with 843, trailing only Murray.

The New York Knicks are the only team with a current vacancy in their head coaching spot after deciding to fire Tom Thibodeau earlier this week.

There is likely high interest in the position, given the success the Knicks’ roster achieved this season.

Knicks Coaching Rumors

“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” the team said in a statement following Thibodeau’s departure.

Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori interviewed for the role this week.

Many other names have been in the mix.

Former Villanova head coach Jay Wright has been frequently mentioned. Wright has been retired from coaching basketball following his decision to leave Villanova in 2022.

However, analyst Seth Davis, who works with Wright on CBS, posted on social media that Wright is unlikely to leap to the NBA.

Former Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has been another name floating around. Just two seasons ago, Malone helped lead the Denver Nuggets to the franchise’s first NBA championship.

The New York Times also reported that Luke Walton and Mike Brown are two names floating around.

The team is reportedly “comfortable” not having a coach until the start of the Summer League, so there is time for the front office to pick the right candidate.

As it stands, Malone is the betting favorite at +125 to be the next head coach for the Knicks.

The Phoenix Suns are working with Kevin Durant and his agent and business manager, Rich Kleiman, in trade talks as the Suns look to move on from the 36-year-old 15-time All-Star.

Durant has presented the Suns with a list of preferred destinations. That list includes the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat.

While the Suns would like to help trade Durant to a destination of his choice, they’re not committed to it. According to a report from NBA insider Marc Stein, the Suns are “not promising to send Durant to any of those destinations.”

They’re certainly open to sending him to any of the three franchises if the return is beneficial to the Suns, but they are angling to get back as much as they can after offloading a historic load of assets to acquire Durant in February of 2023.

The Suns traded away Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks and a 2028 pick swap to the Brooklyn Nets for the future Hall of Famer.

It’s unreasonable to expect a return like that for Durant now, as he is two years older, but the Suns are going to do what they can as they try to acquire assets for Durant, who is still an unbelievably good offensive player as he approaches his late 30s.

In the 2022-2023 season, Durant took the Suns to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they lost to the eventual NBA Finals winner, the Denver Nuggets. Durant led the Suns to a 49-33 record in the 2023-2024 season, where they were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves. In Durant’s last season with the team, the Suns missed the playoffs as they finished with a record of 36-46 in the 2024-2025 season.

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook is declining his $3.4 million player option for the 2023-26 season, which will make him a free agent on June 30, a source told ESPN.

The 36-year-old former MVP averaged 13.3 points on 44.9% shooting, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 27.9 minutes over 75 games for the Nuggets this season. He started 36 games in his first campaign for Denver, the most for the veteran since 2021-22.

Westbrook underwent surgery on his right hand last month to repair multiple ligament tears, the team announced, though Westbrook stated in his personal newsletter that he was having surgery to fix “two breaks that happened during the season.” He is expected to resume full offseason training this summer following the procedure.

Westbrook has until June 29 to reach a decision about his player option. After the season ended, he told reporters in the Nuggets’ locker room that he hadn’t made up his mind yet, after circling the room to say his potential farewells to each of his teammates. If he’s indeed gone next season, Jalen Pickett is the in-house option to replace him on the depth chart at backup point guard.

The Nuggets could seek another experienced ball-handler in free agency as well. As with most bench players, Westbrook often excelled when sharing the floor with star center Nikola Jokic but struggled when Jokic was off the floor.

The two-time NBA scoring champion boasts career averages of 21.2 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in 1,237 games (1,075 starts) with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Nuggets.

He is the career leader in triple-doubles (203) and ranks eighth in NBA history in assists (9,925) and 23rd in points (26,205), but is still seeking his first NBA championship.

The Denver Nuggets have named David Adelman the next head coach after his stint as the interim coach.

Adelman took over for Michael Malone after the championship coach was fired with three games remaining in the regular season. Adelman kept the ship afloat the best he could after the surprising dismissal. The Nuggets won three key games to secure the fourth seed in the Western Conference before leading the Nuggets to a first-round win over the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games.

The Nuggets ended up playing the number one seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, where they pushed MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s team to the limit as the Thunder beat the Nuggets in seven games.

The Nuggets had to deal with some struggles during the series against the Thunder, as Aaron Gordon struggled throughout the series due to battling a hamstring strain throughout the series. The Nuggets’ lack of depth was exposed by the Thunder as they went on to blow the Nuggets out in the final game of the series in a 125-93 loss.

The Nuggets’ three-time MVP Nikola Jokić talked in a press conference about how the team needs to improve its depth.

“We definitely need it,” Jokić said during a press conference. “It seems like the teams that have longer rotations, longer bench, are the ones that are winning.” 

Adelman has been part of the Nuggets since the start of the 2017-2018 season, he first joined the NBA coaching ranks in 2011 under his father, Rick Adelman, who was the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves at the time. Next year will be Adelman’s first season as a full-time head coach in the NBA.

After a devastating 32-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in game seven of the Western Conference semifinals, the Denver Nuggets have some tough decisions to make in the offseason.

Nikola Jokić remains one of the best players in the NBA, averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists in the regular season. His dominant play, with help from core players like Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, has kept the Nuggets in playoff contention despite the firings of general manager Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone.

Despite the success of Jokić and the core players, they have several questions about the depth of the team and whether this roster can win them a championship. 

Injury and consistency concerns plague several of the other pieces in the Nuggets’ rotation. Michael Porter Jr. struggled against the Thunder but played through a shoulder injury. Porter’s lingering injury history and his fit within the rotation at a high price are a concern for the organization. Inconsistent play from players like Russell Westbrook and Peyton Watson can’t be relied on. 

“We definitely need it,” Jokić said during a press conference. “It seems like the teams that have longer rotations, longer bench, are the ones that are winning.” 

The Nuggets during their championship run in 2022-2023 had one of the best eight-man rotations in the NBA with current core members like Murray and Gordon, but also had key bench pieces like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. 

After their championship season, both players left in free agency, which left a hole in the bench that the Nuggets have tried to repair with players like Watson and Zeke Nnaji, but have been unsuccessful. 

These roster moves can’t be answered until the Nuggets hire a new front office. Whether the Nuggets hire someone internally or not is a significant question, as the next leader of the Nuggets’ front office may not believe that the current core is capable of winning championships. As a result, certain players who are viewed as untouchable could be traded.

After a hard-fought series, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets in seven games to reach the Western Conference finals, which they haven’t done since 2016. After a long series, the players can finally relax and prepare for the next series, except star forward Jalen Williams left this series with a gift from the NBA.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star forward was given a $25,000 fine from the NBA on Monday for wearing a shirt that said, “F— art, let’s dance,” to his postgame press conference after the Thunder’s series win over the Nuggets on Sunday.

The NBA officially fined the star forward for “wearing clothing with profane language” during the postgame media session. This policy is enforced consistently to maintain a standard of proper behavior and respect within the league.

In game seven against the Nuggets, Williams recorded 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s victory over the Nuggets, which will take them to the Western Conference finals, where they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves to see who will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

In the regular season, the Thunder split the season series against the Timberwolves 2-2. Williams averaged 19.8 points, 6.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds against the Timberwolves.

The two franchises have not faced each other in the playoffs since 1998, when the Oklahoma City Thunder was based in Seattle and called the Seattle SuperSonics. The SuperSonics beat the Timberwolves in five games in a best-of-five series in the first round.

Game one of the Western Conference finals is set to begin on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP finalist, underperforming early on in the series.

With 38 points on 13-of-24 shooting, Gilgeous-Alexander closed out the Grizzlies in Game 4, leading the Thunder to a 117-115 win.

“I didn’t think he played any different,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I just think he got into a groove.”

Despite shooting only 35.3% — his worst three-game stretch of the season — Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder blew out the Grizzlies in both home games and pulled off a 29-point comeback in Game 3.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the league with 32.7 points per game on 51.9% shooting this season, started Game 4 with the hot hand, hitting his first seven shots and scoring 16 points in the first quarter.

“I’m impressed with my level to, I guess, stay with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In the past, I, for sure, would’ve turned down the aggressiveness a little bit. I think I made a jump as far as that this year. That’s something I’m definitely proud of. I try not to focus on the results and just focus on my mental development. I think I’ve taken a step forward in that, and I had a night like tonight because of it.

“In the past, I definitely would’ve shied away from the moment because of where my shooting was headed. I think I’ve taken a step mentally, but I think I’ve done so all season and been paid off in the moment in the night where we needed it.”

First-time All-Star Jalen Williams delivered for the Thunder throughout the series, putting up 23.3 points and 5.3 assists per game and closed out the Grizzlies with a 23-point, five-assist performance in Game 4.

Oklahoma City survived a cold night from three — making only seven-of-35 — thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and an aggressive defense that forced 22 Memphis turnovers and converted them into 32 points. The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant, sidelined by a left hip contusion.

The Thunder racked up 103 points off turnovers against the Grizzlies.

The Thunder finished the season with the NBA’s top-ranked defense and led the league in points off turnovers at 21.8 per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s three consecutive rough shooting games were unexpected, though his teammates were quick to defend his overall impact before the series finale.

“I think he played a hell of a series,” Chet Holmgren said. “He was making the right plays all series, making the right reads, trusting people, and that’s been really helpful, not only for myself, but for [Williams], for everybody down the list. And I don’t see that changing. He’s going to continue to play great. And when that ball’s going in at a high clip, you guys are going to be up here asking me how special he was that night.”

The Thunder are set to take on the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Clippers series in the second round.

After the Denver Nuggets cleared house, firing both head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, reports came out that Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook was a factor in the decision to fire both.

Disagreements between Malone and Booth about using Westbrook were part of a strenuous relationship. Additionally, reports of Malone’s leniency toward Westbrook were off-putting to many of the team’s players.

During a press conference on Monday, Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke denied any correlation between Westbrook and the firings of both Malone and Booth.

“Russ has been nothing but a positive for our group,” Kroenke said. “Russ was a very spicy ingredient for us to add, and we needed it.”

The Nuggets finished the season at 50-32 and the fourth seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the first game of the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets and Clippers split their regular-season series with two wins apiece.

In a year in which the Western Conference has so many high-quality teams, the Nuggets need to ensure that the noise is gone if they hope to contend for a title.

The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic revealed that he knew about the firing of former head coach Michael Malone before the decision was public.

“I knew a little bit before everybody,” Jokic said. “We made a decision, it was not a discussion.”

Before interim head coach David Adelman took over, Malone had been the only coach Jokic had in his NBA career.

“It was a 10-year relationship, so it was a heavy day for everybody,” Jokic said. “But I would say it’s part of the business.”

Reports of tension in the front office led to Malone being released, along with Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth. Frustrations were boiling over in the locker room as well. Players were visibly frustrated before, during and after games.

As Michael Porter Jr. finishes up year seven in Denver, all signs point to a long-term stay with the Nuggets.

To avoid the second apron of the salary cap, the Nuggets invested heavily in their star core—Porter Jr., Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon—each making at least $22.8 million this season. Only Zeke Nnaji and Dario Saric make more than Russell Westbrook’s $3.3 million veteran minimum salary.

Porter Jr.’s $35.9 million makes him a plausible trade chip if Denver wants to free up cap space, but the Kroenke family isn’t open to the idea of moving him.

“The Kroenkes have a fondness for Porter that stems from deep ties to their shared alma mater: Missouri,” according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. “Sources with knowledge of Denver’s thinking have maintained for some time that they struggled to envision ownership ever approving a deal that would send Porter away from the franchise.”

The Nuggets selected Porter Jr. with the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft after playing just three games at Missouri because of a back injury. He missed all of his first season before making his debut in 2019.

Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke has strong ties to Missouri, where he grew up and earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the state’s university. His son Josh, now the team’s president, played 122 games for Missouri between 1999 and 2004 and was part of the Tigers’ Elite Eight team in 2002.

The Denver Nuggets cleaned house Tuesday, firing both head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth in a shocking move with the playoffs right around the corner.

The Nuggets have named David Adelman, their lead assistant, as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

In 10 seasons as Denver’s head coach, Malone led the team to its first and only championship, finishing with a 471-327 record.

“They’ve lost four games in a row, they’re now in the bottom-half of the league in defensive rating, and so they felt like the signs were there that this season was not going to end well,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on SportsCenter. “They’re getting out ahead of what they felt they were going to do come offseason.”

While Denver’s dismissal of both Malone and Booth comes as a surprise, tensions existed between the two.

“The fabric in what both sides had philosophically, there were some big differences there,” Charania said. “Instead of maybe letting go of one guy and keeping the other, the Nuggets, Josh Kroenke, today let go of both.”

Since the All-Star break, the Nuggets have posted an 11-13 record and are in danger of slipping into the play-in tournament.

The Denver Nuggets made a shocking move on Tuesday, firing Head Coach Michael Malone and General Manager Calvin Booth. These firings came just two years after the Nuggets’ first NBA championship.

Malone is the winningest coach in Denver Nuggets history.

David Adelman will take over as the interim head coach. The Nuggets made this move with just three games left in the regular season and sitting tied for fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

Malone is the third head coach to be fired this season, joining former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown and former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins. Booth is the first general manager to be fired this season.

Since their firings, reports have arisen of disputes in the front office, especially between Malone and Booth. One of these disagreements was around how to use Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook. Reportedly, Booth was in favor of playing Denver’s younger guards, while Malone insisted on going with Westbrook.

Denver Nuggets Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke referred to his team as “joyless” over the past few games. While likely more factors went into the decision to fire Malone and Booth, this move will hope to push the Nuggets into a more positive direction.

With the firings of Malone and Booth have come questions about the future of the team, more specifically, the future of Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic.

Speculation about the three-time MVP award winner’s future and whether he wants to stay in Denver has grown.

For now, the Nuggets will look to end the regular season on a positive note and head into the playoffs with momentum.

Carmelo Anthony, a ten-time NBA All-Star, has been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

Anthony was drafted third overall by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, a star-studded draft that featured LeBron James at first to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwyane Wade at fifth to the Miami Heat.

Anthony quickly became one of the league’s most prolific scorers, averaging 21 points per game as a rookie. Over eight years and 564 games with the Nuggets, he put up 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists, leading Denver to a deep playoff run that ended with a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009 Western Conference Finals.

In 2011, the New York Knicks acquired Anthony in a blockbuster three-team trade. He led the league in scoring in 2013, but New York’s playoff run ended in the second round. In 412 games with the franchise, he averaged 24.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Anthony’s seven-year Knicks tenure ended in 2017 when he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he played just one season. He then had brief stints with the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Lakers, finishing his career in Los Angeles during the 2021-22 season.

Over 19 seasons, he averaged 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 44.7% shooting from the field and 35% from three, ranking 10th in NBA history with 28,289 career points.

During his lone season at Syracuse, Anthony led the team to the 2003 national championship and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Anthony also dominated the international stage, taking home Olympic bronze in 2004 before winning gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016, making him the most decorated American men’s basketball player in Olympic history.

Bronny James, son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, was drafted to his father’s team with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and subsequently signed to a four-year contract. And that’s not where the criticism began, but it’s perhaps where it seemed to become open season.

Bronny spent only one-year playing college basketball, half of which he spent recovering from a cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect. In the 25 games he played for the University of Southern California, he averaged just 4.8 points per game. In other words, the question that emerged from his four-year, fully guaranteed deal with the Lakers was a given – why would L.A. hand out a contract like that, if not for his father’s influence?

Much of Bronny’s early tenure, both in the G-League and NBA, has only made these accusations more virulent. Perhaps most notably, following a Jan. 29 Lakers game where Bronny went scoreless, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went on live television and lambasted him.

“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”

In the midst of such criticism, though, Bronny has quietly but significantly gained consistency and confidence. After putting up six, four and 16 points on 29% shooting in his first three games with the G-League South Bay Lakers, Bronny has posted 30 points twice and 20 points three times in the ten games since. In the NBA, while he’s still averaging about 1.7 points per game, the team sees improvement as well.

So what’s enabling Bronny to average over 20 points per game in the G-League, which he never did in high school or college?

“I just think it’s a confidence thing,” he said.

Lakers head coach J.J. Redick praised Bronny’s growth as a playmaker, adding that he “has been fantastic in practices” lately. That confidence, both internal and external, enabled Redick to play Bronny for 16 minutes against the Denver Nuggets on March 14, where he made a three-pointer and had a steal.

“It’s great that [Redick] had the level of trust to throw him into a big game the other night at Denver, which is a tough place to play, and he got in the game, made a couple defensive plays, made a corner 3, and I think that’s what he prides himself in is the 3-and-D type of archetype,” said general manager Rob Pelinka. “And for him to be doing it in moments in NBA games, that’s great that he’s even grasped that already.

Bronny credits newfound freedom and “getting reps” with his building confidence, but also mentioned media criticism as a source of motivation.

“My first thought about everything is I always try to just let it go through one ear and out the other, put my head down and come to work and be positive every day,” Bronny said. “But sometimes it just, it fuels me a little bit. I see everything that people are saying, and people think, like, I’m a f—ing robot, like I don’t have any feelings or emotions.”

“But I just take that and use it as fuel for me to go out, wake up every day and get to the gym early, get my extra work in, watch my extra film every day, get better every day,” he continued. “That’s what [Pelinka] wants me to do as a young guy, coming in, playing in the G League and learning from far on the bench watching the Lakers play.”

And Bronny has done what the Lakers have asked of him – what it would be reasonable to ask of any young, second-round player at this point in their career. He’s jumped on any chance to improve and learn, and he’s played NBA minutes when the bench has been depleted.

There are no guarantees about Bronny’s future in the NBA, and there’s probably no way he can live up to the media’s warped expectations. What he can do, though, is keep his head down and keep improving. And that’s what he’s done thus far.

The Washington Wizards and two-way forward Justin Champagnie are finalizing a new four-year contract worth $10 million, his agent, Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management tells uSports.

Champagnie will earn $1.8 million from the Wizards for the last six weeks of the season. Meanwhile, he’s putting up career highs with 7.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 50.4% from the field and 37.6% from three.

Champagnie initially signed a 10-day contract with the Wizards on Feb. 24, then agreed to a two-way contract in March.

A two-way contract allows players with three years or fewer of experience to earn one salary for playing in both the NBA and the NBA G-League. These contracts can range from one to two seasons.

Champagnie appeared in eight games for the Capitol City Go-Go, the Wizards’ G-League affiliate, where he averaged 20.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.1 steals in 36.5 minutes. He also posted shooting percentages of 48.7% from the field and 75.0% from the free-throw line.

Champagnie made his first start for the Wizards this season on Dec. 7 at home against the Denver Nuggets, helping the team to their first win since Oct. 30, putting an end to a 16-game losing streak.

Scoring a then career-high, he shot 9-for-13 from the field, 2-for-4 from three, and 3-for-5 from the free throw line. He also tied his career-high with eight rebounds, along with two steals and two blocks in 37 minutes.

Over the next 12 games, Champagnie earned a starting role, including a standout performance in an overtime loss at home, 136-132, to the New York Knicks on Dec. 29.

He recorded a career-high 31 points, hitting 13-15 from the field and 5-6 from three. He also recorded 10 rebounds, marking his second NBA double-double.

Prior to joining the Wizards, he had stints with the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, also playing for their G-League affiliates.