Valdez Drexel Edgecombe Jr. has hit the ground running for the Philadelphia 76ers. The number three overall pick in the 2025 draft seems to only be getting better as the games go on. Already finding himself as every night starter but growing into a focal point in the offense along with becoming one of the Sixers’ most trusted defenders. His impact off the ball has helped the Sixers propel into the 5th seed in the East with a 17-14 record through the end of December. VJ’s blend of explosive athleticism and smart play has been a breath of fresh air for a team dealing with ups and downs, especially injuries to guys like Embiid.
Coming out of Baylor, where he flashed two-way potential, VJ has translated it seamlessly to the pros. He’s averaging 15.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on 42% shooting. But stats don’t tell the full story – he’s locking down perimeter guards, throwing down wild dunks, and making smart cuts or extra passes that fit perfectly alongside Maxey and Embiid. The kid plays hard every possession, and it’s contagious.
Postgame, VJ stayed humble, crediting teammates: “My teammates have faith in us to make a play, and that’s what happened” (WSLS). But that grin gave away how big it felt. This isn’t his only highlight – think back to his 22 points while clamping Brunson against the Knicks, or that double-double vs. Boston to end an earlier slump. VJ consistently steps up.
Chile… something’s been brewing between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant, and let’s just say the tension finally boiled over. Two stars, both with something to prove, exchanged words during Saturday’s game — and neither held their tongue. Grab your popcorn, because this storyline is getting spicy before anyone even steps back on the court.
Y’all! Memphis took home a 102–96 win Saturday night, and although Ja Morant missed his third straight game with a calf strain, he still found time to send some long-distance smoke. Klay, who dropped 22 points off the bench and hit 6-of-12 from deep, missed a potential game-tying three in the final seconds — and Ja wasted zero time reminding the cameras who he thought the real shooter of the night was.
After the final buzzer, Klay Thompson and Ja Morant came face-to-face, with footage showing Ja pointing his finger in Klay’s face, prompting Klay to push it back before stepping toward him. Teammates quickly rushed in to separate them, though what was initially said to spark Klay’s reaction remains unclear. During Cam Spencer’s live postgame interview, Ja walked up and said, “Tell ‘em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn’t bro from Golden State.”
Klay Checks Ja & Turns Up The Heat
Klay did not let that slide. Back in the locker room, he clapped right back, calling Morant’s comments nothing with “intelligent depth” and saying Ja “has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability.” And he wasn’t done. Klay doubled down, saying Ja’s been “running his mouth for a long time,” and that it’s “funny to run your mouth when you’re on the bench.” He even took it further, implying Morant’s off-court issues have kept him from living up to his star potential: “We need our best players to be out there… I hate to see that go to waste.”
The Fans Hit The Comment Section Like It Was Game 7
Fans immediately sprinted to The Shade Room’s comment section to toss in their two cents, and the theories were flying. Some Roommates joked that Ja must’ve said something slick about Klay’s bae Megan Thee Stallion, while others defended Klay, saying he’s never messy enough for anyone to come at him like that. A few commenters were confused altogether, wondering why Ja was stirring the pot when he wasn’t even playing and was posted up on the bench in a Nike tech.
One Instagram user @ratheblessed1 wrote, “He definitely said something negative about Megan 😭😭😭”
This Instagram user @therealmemphitz said, “Ja said get yo lil dizzy sizzy red bone azz tf outta here“
And, Instagram user @q33n.elly commented, “Love this Klay era 🙌🤎”
Meanwhile, Instagram user @dtay_blackie added, “Come on now, JA had on a Nike Tech. You already knew he was on timing. He’s a certified YN 😂”
While Instagram user @bunjeevision shared, “Thats not Klay Thompson no more. Thats DaKlayvius 🥷🏿 😂”
Finally, Instagram user @elle_mvrie said, “How you hating from outside the court? You can’t even get in! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭”
The start of the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2025-26 season hasn’t met expectations — at least, if you ask Ja Morant.
An opening-night NBA Cup loss to the Los Angeles Lakers left Morant noticeably frustrated with the Grizzlies’ coaching staff. “Go ask the coaching staff,” the two-time NBA All-Star responded multiple times to questions in the locker room about how he played in the 117-112 loss.
On Saturday, ESPN reported Morant was “suspended one game for conduct detrimental to the team.”
Ja Morant (12) is of the Memphis Grizzlies dribbles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat on April 3, 2025 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.(Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
The reported discipline surfaced less than 24 hours after Morant openly criticized the team and coaches.
When asked Friday about things Memphis could have done differently in the loss to the Lakers, an apparently irritated Morant responded, “According to them, probably don’t play me, honestly. That’s what basically the message was. It’s cool.”
Fox News Digital contacted the Grizzlies for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Morant finished Friday’s game with eight points, the lowest total among Grizzlies starters. Jaylen Wells led the team with 16.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) walks off the court during the second half of a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.(Alonzo Adams/Imagn Images)
The defeat and Morant’s underwhelming shooting performance were exacerbated by his slower pace and lower energy level than many have become accustomed to since his rise to NBA stardom.
The Grizzlies’ front office decided to make a coaching change after the team suffered a 4-0 sweep in the first round against the eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts after a basket during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors.(Petre Thomas/Imagn Images)
Find out why “Ja Morant Wrongly Criticized For Gun Celebration” Ja Morant was the subject of controversy once again after beating the Pelicans by one in overtime. The Memphis Grizzlies star was criticized for celebrating a dunk by pretending to spray bullets in the crowd and putting a bazooka on his shoulder. That, of course, would have been problematic if it was true. Morant has …
Ja Morant Wrongly Criticized For Gun Celebration
Ja Morant was the subject of controversy once again after beating the Pelicans by one in overtime. The Memphis Grizzlies star was criticized for celebrating a dunk by pretending to spray bullets in the crowd and putting a bazooka on his shoulder.
That, of course, would have been problematic if it was true. Morant has had issues with guns in the past and served a significant suspension to being the 2023/24 NBA season as result of his repeated gun-related incidents.
Neither of those things were true. Morant’s celebration in the Big Easy had nothing to do with guns.
Anyone who was outraged was incorrect. They assumed the worst of someone because of his past without having any knowledge of the truth!
Here is the celebration in question:
Ja Morant was playing in New Orleans. His celebration mocked the local crowd — who knew exactly what was happening — by hitting a local Louisiana bounce.
He was rocking his hips. Not shooting a gun.
For example:
Morant saw all of the manufactured outrage and targeted anger online after the game. He immediately set the record straight.
However, because people refuse to do their research on a specific topic before jumping to conclusions, multiple publications and sports personalities did not think to check with Morant. They did not see his post on X. They have no knowledge of the New Orleans dance.
It was easier to get angry at Ja Morant for something that looked to be anger-worthy instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt. His previous gun incidents were dumb. He suffered the consequences.
Morant is not stupid enough to turn back around from his suspension and immediately mock the league. That would not have gone over well. He knows that. He did not take any shots — pun intended — at Adam Silver.
Ja Morant’s celebration had nothing to do with guns. Everybody chill!
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave more details this week about when the investigation into Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant will conclude.
The investigation began last month after a livestream video on social media appeared to show Morant briefly displaying a handgun from the passenger seat of a vehicle while singing along to a song.
As a result of the footage, the Grizzlies suspended him from team activities during the offseason.
During a press conference on Thursday, the NBA commissioner said that the league plans to announce the probe’s outcome after this year’s NBA Finals, which features the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.
“My sense now is that shortly after the conclusion of the Finals, we will announce the outcome of that investigation,” Silver told reporters.
Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant in an NBA playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 26, 2023, in Memphis, Tennessee.
“In terms of the timing, we’ve uncovered a fair amount of additional information,” Silver said of the investigation, according to a video clip via ESPN. He later added, “We probably could’ve brought it to a head now.”
“But we made the decision, and I believe the [National Basketball] Players Association agrees with us, that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of the series to announce the results of that investigation.”
Silver said the league weighed the fact that the Grizzlies indefinitely suspended Morant in the offseason and argued that waiting to announce the outcome of the investigation wouldn’t have much of an impact on the star point guard.
Morant’s livestream appearance last month was the second time this year he faced consequences for showing off his gun on social media.
The NBA had already suspended Morant for eight games a few months prior after he livestreamed himself holding a firearm at a nightclub in Glendale, Colorado, on March 4. The Glendale Police Department also conducted an investigation into the incident. He was not charged with a crime.
The Grizzlies player issued a public apology after the March 4 incident, taking full responsibility for his actions. Silver called Morant’s conduct “irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous” in a statement at the time.
Morant publicly apologized again shortly after the more recent incident in May, saying he knows he’s “disappointed a lot of people,” The Associated Press reported.
“This is a journey, and I recognize there is more work to do,” he said. “My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant received a lot of love from fans in his first game after being suspended over a gun-related incident earlier this month.
The point guard was captured in a video posted on social media receiving a standing ovation from Grizzlies fans as he walked onto the court during Wednesday night’s game at the FedExForum arena in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies played against the Houston Rockets and ultimately won 130-125.
Morant, who didn’t start the game, told ESPN that the support from fans “meant a lot.”
“Obviously, I’m thankful and grateful for everybody who’s been supporting me during this time,” he said. “It definitely helped me a lot, definitely made me feel a little better. Eased everything that was going on. Felt good to be back. Super excited. Glad we was able to get the win.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week that Morant’s “conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous.”
But he added that the star point guard had “expressed sincere contrition and remorse for his behavior.”
Morant came under fire earlier this month when he livestreamed himself holding a gun at a nightclub in Glendale, Colorado, on March 4. The Glendale Police Department announced days later that he was not charged with a crime after investigating the incident.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been suspended by the NBA for eight games without pay for “conduct detrimental to the league,” officials announced Wednesday.
The punishment follows an incident where Morant was seen in an Instagram Live video holding a gun at a nightclub outside Denver.
The league said an investigation “did not conclude that the gun at issue belonged to Morant, was brought by him into the nightclub or was displayed by him beyond a brief period. The investigation also did not find that Morant possessed the gun while traveling with the team or in any NBA facility.”
Morant has missed the last five games following the incident.
Earlier this month, the police department in Glendale, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, said the agency would not recommend charges against Morant.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of games Ja Morant has missed.
Here we go: The top 10 in our 2022-2023 League Pass Rankings! We revealed Nos. 30-11 on Tuesday, and you can read about the rankings formula there.
10. DALLAS MAVERICKS (35)
Look at this soul-snatcher:
That is the smile of someone who knows he has you. The Mavs’ offense is one-dimensional — Luka Doncic walks ball up, runs two-man game — but that dimension contains multitudes. The typical spread pick-and-roll pairs ball handler and rim-runner; Doncic can do that with any of Dallas’ bigs. He can make all the passes blindfolded.
Doncic’s size and comfort in the middle of the paint — the dead zone for some ball handlers — open up endless possibilities. He’s at his most predatory dragging smaller defenders into pick-and-rolls. Switch, and he mashes them in the post with smirking cruelty. (He took sadistic pleasure brutalizing Patrick Beverley in the 2021 playoffs.) Send help, and he picks you apart.
Even against like-sized defenders and traditional coverages, Doncic is a three-steps-ahead genius burrowing inside. His high-arching step-back is borderline unblockable, and he has hit 50% from floater range over the past two seasons — and a LeBron James-esque 73% at the rim last season.
The threat of those shots unlocks Doncic’s generational passing. He understands how every up-fake, pivot, and half-spin freaks help defenders into thinking they should swarm — and which passes any slight rotation might expose. Last season, he even started throwing straight backward overhead passes to pick-and-pop bigs. Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood must be ready at all times.
This is my favorite piece of Mavs art in ages:
The navy sings against the new white-washed floor.
The Lakers ranked No. 2 last season, but the idea of them — How will Russell Westbrook fit? — turned out to be way more interesting than the experience.
The Lakers played fast, but they were boring — unorganized, dispirited, lacking any cohesive identity. LeBron James remains the ultimate chessmaster, but there’s little reason to suspect the overall product will be much different. (Darvin Ham said this week he’s considering starting Anthony Davis at center, and leaning there would boost L.A.’s watchability. You can’t play Westbrook, LeBron, Anthony Davis, and a traditional center — even one with decent range like Thomas Bryant or Damian Jones. Don’t sleep on Jones’ passing!)
They scored this high only because of their art — including the league’s prettiest court — and the comedy category. Are Beverley and Westbrook really friends? Like, really? Or will latent tension boil over? Comedy can become pathos, and we reached that point with Westbrook last season when the Sacramento Kings’ blared “Cold as Ice!” on every bonked jumper and layup.
Will James engage pout mode once he breaks the scoring record if the Lakers are toast? James achieved peak eye-rolling sulkiness ahead of the 2018 trade deadline, when he realized the Cavs were dead barring a roster shake-up. It was bizarrely enthralling.
Thumbs up to these white throwbacks — replicas of the jerseys the team wore in their first-ever game, per league officials. They even have faux belt loops! Powder blue is always welcome.
The Wolves ranked first in pace and second in scoring efficiency after Jan. 1 last season. They have one blockbuster young star in Anthony Edwards, fast becoming a three-level scorer as his confidence soars on pull-ups and step-backs.
Edwards wants to dunk people into oblivion — the bigger, the better. He flies at the rim as if he thinks he can dunk through humans — that they will disintegrate beneath him.
One of the league’s keenest offensive tinkerers — Chris Finch — must figure out how to mesh Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert in an unusual double-center look that has to work given the Wolves traded everything short of the old Metrodome baggie for Gobert.
Finch will get creative on defense, too. On some nights, the Wolves might flip-flop matchups — slotting Towns onto centers, and stashing Gobert elsewhere so he can act as roving shot-blocker. We might see glimpses of last season’s blitzing defense as a surprise adjustment.
Kyle Anderson weaponizes his slowness; defenders stumble ahead of his elongated moves, allowing Slow-Mo to saunter through creases. He snatches some of the league’s cleanest live-dribble steals. Jaden McDaniels still seems like a blank canvas, and looms as Minnesota’s swing factor. Jaylen Nowell jacks and struts with a gunslinger’s bravado. How will D’Angelo Russell — on an expiring contract — respond if Finch yanks him for Jordan McLaughlin in crunch time again?
The Wolves relegated their gaudy neon green to the trimmings on this pristine new jersey:
Standing ovation for the fangs extending down off the “M” and “V.”
PSST: Towns’ averages in 11 postseason games: 19 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3.5 turnovers (gag!), and many, many silly fouls. He has three single-digit scoring games, plus a dud in last season’s play-in. It’s time.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is one-of-one. He evolves each season — more floaters, more screening in the pick-and-roll, snappier passing. He supplies highlights both preposterous and of the most visceral basketball violence. Antetokounmpo rising from underneath the rim, off two feet, and cramming on someone’s head is perhaps the rudest act in the sport.
I loved his recent speech about the importance of will over skill. It was once fashionable to compare Antetokounmpo and Ben Simmons — enormous, turbocharged ball handlers with rickety strokes. What might Simmons accomplish if the Philadelphia 76ers surrounded him with shooters — as the Bucks have done for Antetokounmpo?
Even five years ago, before Antetokounmpo cracked the top five in MVP voting, the comparison failed the smell test. Antetokounmpo was bigger, faster, longer — better. Most of all, he was tougher. While Simmons’ struggles at the line turned into something of a phobia, Antetokounmpo kept coming — kept drawing contact, kept risking failure, kept improving. That’s will.
The Bucks are a fast-break machine — Four Steps or Less — but their half-court offense finished dead last in points per possession in the playoffs. Even with Khris Middleton out, that raised alarms internally. I suspect the Bucks will spend the regular season honing anti-switch devices on offense and experimenting with new looks on defense — including snuffing 3s after spending years living with above-the-break triples.
Who emerges as trustworthy playoff guys among George Hill, Jevon Carter, Joe Ingles, Jordan Nwora, and Serge Ibaka? If the answer is “no one,” the Bucks could face critical depth issues. How much Antetokounmpo at center will we see?
Once every few games, an opposing player annoys Jrue Holiday — and draws out Holiday’s playoff-level defense as punishment. What a nightmare.
Marques Johnson was a five-time All-Star, nailed a supporting role in “White Men Can’t Jump,” and is now one of the best analysts in any sport. Not fair.
Boston’s stars offer different stylistic ingredients, but they don’t always synthesize on offense. The defense … holy hell. They are huge, mean, smart — a switching forcefield. (Marcus Smart and Blake Griffin have to wager on who takes the most charges, right?)
They are also strategically quirky. The Celtics clicked into place when they shifted their center — Robert Williams III — onto nonthreatening wings, unleashing him as a free safety.
Time Lord didn’t just reject shots. He obliterated them. He spiked some before they even left shooters’ hands — before they really became shots at all. Others, he smashed against the backboard with such force you almost expected them to become impaled in the glass. From mid-January on, Boston allowed 105.4 points per 100 possessions — four points stingier than the league’s No. 2 defense.
The Celtics became one of the greatest defenses of all time, even as smart opponents began exploring counters to Boston’s scheme — running Williams around off-ball screens, using more false actions. Expect more of that cat-and-mouse game now that opponents have had an offseason to study.
Boston found its flow on offense too. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Smart cooperated in more two-man actions — forcing switches Tatum and Brown could exploit. Tatum’s liquid grace and Brown’s straight-line power make for a perfect contrast. Derrick White added Spursian quick decision-making. (Update: He should be part of the Griffin-Smart charge-taking wager too!)
The Celtics’ green uniforms are maybe the best in sports, and they improved their historic court by removing the chunky white circle from underneath the leprechaun:
The tribute to Bill Russell is understated and noble.
Grant Williams never shuts up. Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine are tremendous. Boston is under championship pressure, with a coach — Joe Mazzulla — thrust into the spotlight under bad circumstances. What is Mazzulla about? How do the players respond?
5. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (37)
You have to be good and watchable to rise here; the algorithm sees 50-win upside.
I don’t care if these guys shoot a single 3-pointer. I just want to see Zion Williamson pinballing to the rim, bodies flying everywhere after making even glancing contact with this linebacker phenom. He gets from arc to rim faster than a camera flash, out of every action: pick-and-rolls as screener or ball handler; post-ups in which he plows through victims like shorter Shaquille O’Neal, or spins around them like wider James Worthy; end-to-end rampages you almost feel through your screen. (The Pelicans with Williamson have played at ludicrous speed.)
The roster isn’t really built for it, but please, Willie Green, give us some Williamson at center!
Forget second jumps. Williamson has the league’s quickest third and fourth jumps. Pity the fools who box out Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas. Reserve them extra time in the cold tub, maybe the hospital.
CJ McCollum might put a defender on his butt at any moment. He connects complex dribbles — hesitation, crossover, pull-back — with unusual fluidity, and cans all variety of floaters with either hand. Brandon Ingram’s midrange arsenal is simpler, but almost as effective.
Larry Nance Jr. is all flare screens and twirling handoffs, and he’ll play tons of crunch-time center. Herbert Jones’ arms actually typed this column from New Orleans; instead of shooting 3s, should he just reach all the way from the arc and plop the ball in?
Jose Alvarado’s crouching, hide-and-seek backcourt steals are incredible theater. He’ll have ball handlers looking over their shoulders even when he’s not in the game. He is Keyser Soze.
The Pelicans are due some fresh art. The bench overflows with interesting players. Here’s hoping Dyson Daniels earns run.
4. DENVER NUGGETS (38)
Nikola Jokic might be the most inventive passer in basketball history, and is for sure No. 1 all time among bigs. He dares passes everyone else is scared to try — slips to cutters where the passing window is no bigger than the basketball itself.
Jokic imagines passes no one else sees — and then makes them. As he’s gotten in better shape, he’s added occasional dunks and tornado baseline spins.
The regular season is about finding the right balance of defensive schemes for Jokic. This is perhaps the biggest season in Nuggets history; they need everything in place for the playoffs.
Jokic has his pick-and-roll mind-meld partner back in Jamal Murray. Murray’s role in their two-man devastation has long been underrated. He’s an ace pull-up shooter with a knack for slick pocket passes that lead Jokic into open space.
They have the league’s prettiest and most varied give-and-go partnership. We see the classic — Murray bolting away from handoffs, and Jokic lofting him buttery goodness:
But they also turn routine pick-and-rolls into give-and-gos within that tricky midpaint area:
That is a mini masterpiece. In terms of both shot selection and process, Denver is a nice antidote to 3s-and-dunks spread-pick-and-roll hegemony. Murray’s Blue Arrow celebration is cool.
Michael Porter Jr. is perhaps the X factor of the season. Will he accept third-banana status? Kentavious Caldwell-Pope locks the starting five into place. Bruce Brown does the same for the bench, and gives Denver crunch-time lineup flexibility. Once every 10 games and out of absolutely nowhere, Jeff Green posterizes someone.
Are you worried about Denver’s bench offense? Bones Hyland isn’t.
3. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (39)
Ja Morant is the new League Pass superstar. He is a hellacious rim-attacker, cocking it back and hammering pain onto larger humans; he jumped over and through Malik Beasley for the highlight of last season.
Morant’s sneering swagger set the tone for the team from day one. There is nothing fake about the Grizzlies’ puffed-chest arrogance. They do not conceive of themselves as the little guy challenging Goliaths. Trash-talking LeBron James is not, for them, unearned pluck. They believe they are Goliath, now.
Morant could chase points, dominate the ball, hunt the spectacular. Instead, he brings teammates with him — empowers them, uses the attention he draws to create shots for them. Morant is a whip-smart cutter, willing to cut as a decoy (or to catch lobs above the square). He slows down in transition, knowing trailers come open in his wake.
Memphis defends with ferocity — Dillon Brooks going chest to chest with all comers, everyone swiping at the ball. The Grizz forced heaps of turnovers, and blazed at the league’s second-fastest pace. Do not look away from the Memphis alley-oop machine.
Desmond Bane has borderline Ray Allen-level precision in his jumper. Remember when Steven Adams carried Tony Bradley — 6-10, 250 pounds — away from an altercation as if he were about to take Bradley to Suplex City? What a legend.
The young guys will get chances filling in for Jaren Jackson Jr. and departed veterans. I give it two games before an opposing announcer expresses shock at John Konchar’s leaping ability
Can you spot the subtle upgrade from last season’s court …
… to their new one?
They eliminated that silver-blue racing stripe along the baseline that always confused me.
2. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (40)
The Warriors came so close to reclaiming their No. 1 perch, with Draymond Green providing a new, unfortunate reason to tune in to Golden State’s basketball symphony.
Green’s punch might have been one hot-tempered man going through personal issues losing control, and slugging his trash-talking foil. It became more because we saw it, yes, but also because of the deeply human and almost literary arcs one could project onto it.
Green, in the final year of his contract, might be aging out of the dynasty he helped build. Jordan Poole, on the verge of his first massive deal, is a keystone in extending that dynasty beyond Green’s NBA lifespan. A decade ago, when this all started, Green was the low draft pick who roared — trash-talking his elders, challenging them, refusing to show deference. That is how Poole relates to Green now.
To win a title, there can be no fissures. There will be lingering tension over what happened last week. How will it manifest? How long will it last?
The potential basketball tragedy of all this — of contract realities and personality conflicts intruding upon this Bay Area basketball idyll — is that Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry should finish their careers together as Warriors. That is how it’s supposed to be. What they share is why we follow sports — an understanding of one another’s tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses so deep, they barely have to talk on the court. Every simple action between them contains a dozen counters, and they choose them in the moment, in sync, in step, always connected.
It is a bond of winks and nods that cannot form unless you share tens of thousands of reps at the highest level. And it is, still, beautiful to watch.
Andre Iguodala is part of their fabric too, and he gets another chance at a proper swan song. The army of lottery picks is in position to seize roles. Whether they are ready will go a long way to determining Golden State’s repeat chances. Jonathan Kuminga is at eye level with the rim before you even realize what’s happening.
Golden State is a top-five art team. Curry, Green, and Thompson will wear captain “Cs” on throwback jerseys — rare in the NBA.
These new alternates are nice:
The Warriors deal in bright yellow and blue. This clean navy look is a pleasing change, even it is eerily similar to the University of California, Berkeley color scheme. I like how the shorts echo the team’s bridge-wiring motif.
1. BROOKLYN NETS (41)
I considered invoking the Ian Eagle Corollary, which dates to the Joe Johnson “It’s not that bad here!” era and allows me to reduce the Nets score if the light-hearted categories — art, comedy — lift them higher than they deserve. I opted against it, and so the Nets three-peat as League Pass champions — which has really worked out for them in the Kevin Durant–Kyrie Irving era.
This team could be gone in 30 games — boring, bad, an entire era demolished. Irving could find new reasons to be the basketball player who doesn’t play basketball. Ben Simmons could melt — flinching at the threat of contact, wilting under Hack-a-Ben, holding a prolonged missed free throw contest with Nic Claxton. (Claxton is 6-of-25 from the line in the postseason.) All that could push Kevin Durant to renew his allegedly dormant trade request, at which point the Barclays Center may as well collapse into a sinkhole.
That’s the severe downside. The more likely downside is the Nets are run-of-the-mill good — a playoff team, but not strong enough to lift the stench of self-inflicted misery.
The journey to either of those bad places is disaster-movie riveting. Simmons hasn’t played a real game in 16 months; there is justified interest in every move he makes. Even that functional downside scenario features plenty of Irving and Durant, two flashbulb attractions.
Whatever your feelings about Irving, he is a show — a Maravichian dribbling magician with a bottomless bag of soft floaters and twisting layups. His lefty runner takes your breath away. Two seasons ago, when the Nets were quasi-functional, Irving was the one who got them running in transition.
Durant is one of the dozen greatest players ever, and perhaps the most well-rounded offensive force the game has ever seen. He is elite at literally every subsection of offense. He can assume any role, at any time. Even when Durant is raining pull-up fire, it might not be the classical beauty of his gangly game that draws you in. What really hits you in the gut — what mesmerizes — is the sheer invincibility of it, the way Durant exercises total dominion over everything from every place on the floor.
And that’s the upside. The soul-sapping melodrama can make you forget: This might work. They might be happy. They could be redeemed. They might be unstoppable on offense, Simmons tapping into his inner Draymond Green with endless shooting around him. They will take risks and innovate to survive on defense, and there is night-to-night joy in watching a team sink its teeth into that challenge.
The broadcast is as good as it gets, and the art is solid — including this alternate court, first revealed here, that matches the ABA-era stars-and-stripes uniforms the Nets are bringing back:
The differently colored painted areas — one blue, one red — are a gamble, but they work here.
