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☆ In Latest Gambling Scandal, Some See Glimpse of Sports’ Future
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Kevin Draper | Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Bradley, the basketball Hall of Famer and former United States senator known as a staunch opponent of legalized sports betting, was speaking about the topic back in January. But he might as well have been predicting the future. “Well there hasn’t been a scandal, yet,” he said, discussing how professional sports has become ever more entwined with the gambling industry in recent years. The league said Mr. Porter wagered money on his own team to lose, pretended to be hurt for betting purposes and shared confidential information with gamblers. competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport,” Adam Silver, the league’s commissioner, said in announcing Porter’s punishment.

Persons: Bill Bradley, ”, Jontay Porter, Porter wagered, Adam Silver Organizations: of Famer, United, National Basketball Association, Toronto Raptors Locations: United States

After the Indiana Fever made Caitlin Clark the W.N.B.A.’s No. In exchange for Clark’s once-in-a-generation talent, the W.N.B.A. The simplest reason the W.N.B.A. isn’t paying Clark more is that the league brings in just $200 million annually and relies on the N.B.A. The N.B.A., by contrast, brings in about $10 billion.

Persons: Caitlin Clark, ”, Clark’s, Biden, Clark Organizations: Indiana Fever, Nike

☆ One Potential Key to Knicks’ Season: Friendship
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Researchers who study social networks in workplaces have found that having friends at work can make employees more productive and successful, not to mention happier. Friends can hold one another accountable in ways that acquaintances can’t, and a friend can help a new employee understand the workplace more quickly. So it was when Donte DiVincenzo signed with the N.B.A.’s New York Knicks in July. “It’s almost like you skip that introduction phase.”The Knicks have exceeded expectations this season. Some basketball pundits think this could be the year they reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000, when Brunson’s father, Rick, was a Knicks bench player.

Persons: can’t, Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, “, ” DiVincenzo, Randle, Brunson’s, Rick Organizations: New York Knicks, Madison, Knicks, Eastern Conference, Philadelphia 76ers

Texas Rangers fans are hoping the slugger Adolis Garcia can blast the franchise to its first World Series title. Arizona supporters know the Diamondbacks need to continue being greedy on the basepaths if they’re to capture a second championship. More than 70.7 million people attended a regular-season game, a nearly 10 percent increase over last season. That was the highest percentage of growth in 30 years, and the league recorded record revenue in merchandise and sponsorship sales. Major League Baseball estimates that the rule changes resulted in a $500 million increase in its revenue.

Persons: Adolis Garcia Organizations: Texas Rangers, Diamondbacks, Major League Baseball Locations: Arizona

Days after Mat Ishbia reached a deal in December to buy majority stakes in the N.B.A.’s Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury of the W.N.B.A., he met with top executives to learn more about the teams’ business operations, including how local fans were able to watch their games on TV. The executives detailed three possibilities going forward, including sticking with Diamond Sports Group, which owned the regional sports network that for more than a decade had held the rights to show the teams’ games. It might cost the teams money in the short term, but the bet was that it would help them reach more fans, including those who dropped their cable subscriptions or, like many younger fans, never had one. “What was interesting was the amount of people that were reaching out to me on social media about how they couldn’t watch the Suns games,” Mr. Ishbia said in an interview, adding: “It’s their team. To not be able to watch your game wasn’t an option that we were interested in.”

Persons: Mat Ishbia, Ishbia, ” Mr, It’s, ” Organizations: Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, Diamond Sports Group, Diamond Sports, Suns, Mercury

☆ A New N.B.A. Champion’s Takeaway From a U.F.C. Champ: Relax
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Tania Ganguli | More About Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It was a Sunday afternoon in early July, and Jamal Murray had been in Las Vegas for a few days — enough time for the city to wear out anyone. Murray, the Nuggets’ star point guard, was less than a month removed from helping the franchise win its first N.B.A. He had spent the previous night feting his friend Alexander Volkanovski, U.F.C.’s featherweight champion, after Volkanovski won U.F.C. Murray had joined him for several hours before the fight and had been struck by how at ease Volkanovski was. The fighter had been happy to laugh and joke with Murray despite an important bout awaiting him later that evening.

Persons: Jamal Murray, “, ”, —, he’d, Murray, Alexander Volkanovski, Volkanovski Organizations: Denver Nuggets, Nuggets Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Giannis Antetokounmpo Wants It All. Even if It’s Not in Milwaukee.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Tania Ganguli | More About Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I care about my kids.”The Bucks recommended he speak to a sports psychologist, so Antetokounmpo tried it. The Bucks lost in the first round of last season’s playoffs, winning only one game against the Miami Heat as Giannis worked through injuries. Milwaukee fired its coach, Mike Budenholzer, and hired Adrian Griffin, who had been an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. That change, Antetokounmpo said, is part of why he is unsure if he’ll sign an extension. “How the coach is going to be, how we’re going to be together.

Persons: ” Giannis, “, Antetokounmpo, I’ve, ”, Giannis, Mike Budenholzer, Adrian Griffin, “ You’ve Organizations: Bucks, Miami Heat, Milwaukee, Toronto Raptors

☆ The N.B.A. Player Who Might See His Mom at Union Meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Tania Ganguli | More About Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The National Basketball Players Association is the union for N.B.A. But Terri Jackson is no ordinary N.B.A. players’ union, and, in February, she was invited to the N.B.A. players’ union’s winter meeting. When he finished, Terri Jackson said, she wanted to get up and cheer; she was so happy to see the maturity he showed.

Persons: Terri Jackson, Jaren Jackson Jr Organizations: Basketball Players, N.B.A, Memphis Grizzlies

☆ ‘Winning Time’ Is Back. Here’s What to Know Ahead of Season 2
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Tania Ganguli | More About Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fictionalized shows drawn from real life don’t always satisfy the people depicted. But when the subjects are superstars accustomed to speaking for themselves, their criticism can take on a life of its own. That’s what happened after the first season of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” which returns for a second season on Sunday. But many of the people portrayed in Season 1 objected loudly to the way they and others were depicted — Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) and Coach Jerry West (Jason Clarke) among them. West even demanded an apology from HBO (and his character does seem more muted in the coming season).

Persons: don’t, Jeff Pearlman’s, ”, Jerry Buss, John C, Reilly, Magic Johnson, Quincy Isaiah, Kareem Abdul, Jabbar, Solomon Hughes, Jerry West, Jason Clarke, Max Borenstein, “, they’ve Organizations: Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, Showtime Lakers —, HBO Locations: West

LeBron James Jr., the son of the N.B.A. star LeBron James, suffered a cardiac arrest while practicing at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles on Monday and was taken to the hospital for treatment in the intensive care unit, according to a statement from a spokesman for LeBron James and his wife, Savannah. The younger James, known as Bronny, is now in stable condition and no longer in the I.C.U., the statement said. “LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the U.S.C. He is the eldest of the Lakers star LeBron James’s three children.

Persons: LeBron James Jr, LeBron James, James, LeBron, Bronny James, LeBron James’s Organizations: University of Southern, Los Angeles Fire Department, Street, Galen Center, U.S.C, Lakers, Ohio State Locations: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Savannah, Oregon

☆ Victor Wembanyama Gets Introduction to N.B.A. Fame and Game in Las Vegas
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Tania Ganguli | More About Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The walls around Victor Wembanyama, as he sat for a news conference Friday night at the Thomas and Mack Center, were plastered with images of past winners of the Las Vegas Summer League tournament. The summer league debuted the year after James’s rookie season, so its first marquee rookie was Dwight Howard, the top pick in 2004. As Wembanyama spoke with reporters, a picture of a smiling Howard could be seen on a wall to his right. The closest real comparison is to James’s entry into the league in 2003. Wembanyama had just finished his debut performance in a Spurs jersey, when he scored nine points with eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks.

Persons: Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Wembanyama, Howard Organizations: Thomas, Mack Center, Las Vegas Summer League, “ Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Spurs Locations: Victor

☆ Victor Wembanyama Drafted No. 1 Overall by San Antonio Spurs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Victor Wembanyama had grown up in the suburbs of Paris dreaming about this moment since he was 12 years old. He had long felt as though he was different from everyone else, as though he could be great — and not just in basketball. The San Antonio Spurs selected Wembanyama No. 1 overall in Thursday’s N.B.A. “One of the best feelings of my life,” Wembanyama, 19, said.

Persons: Victor Wembanyama, He’d, Wembanyama, ” Wembanyama, “, I’ve Organizations: San Antonio Spurs, Barclays Center Locations: Paris, N.B.A, Brooklyn

☆ A Subway Ride With Victor Wembanyama to Yankee Stadium
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Tania Ganguli | Desiree Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was a rather unremarkable Tuesday at Central Park West and Columbus Circle. A light breeze rustled the sycamore branches hanging over a bicycle rental kiosk filled with neat rows of mint green helmets. Then, at 4:41 p.m., a black Mercedes van crept through the jam of buses, police vehicles and flower-adorned bicycle cabs. He was on his way to Yankee Stadium to throw the ceremonial first pitch for Tuesday night’s game with Seattle. But before that, he wanted to try something he had never done: ride the New York City subway.

Persons: Mercedes van, “ It’s Victor Wembanyama, Wembanyama, LeBron James Organizations: Central Park West, Columbus, Barclays Center, San Antonio Spurs, Yankee, Seattle, New Locations: Brooklyn, New York City

☆ N.B.A. Suspends Ja Morant for 25 Games After Second Gun Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Sopan Deb | Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant for 25 games without pay to start the 2023-24 season after a league investigation found that he had posed with a gun in a video streamed on social media for the second time in just over two months. After the first video, in March, the N.B.A. suspended Morant for eight games, and he apologized. He apologized again after the second video, in May. “Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.”

Persons: Ja Morant, Morant, Adam Silver, ” Silver, ” Organizations: Memphis Grizzlies, “

☆ N.B.A. Finals Game 5 Live Updates: Denver Nuggets Look to Close Out Miami Heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sopan Deb | Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Juhyun Lee, left, Jung Soo Lee, center, and Junam Lee, right, went to Game 1 of the N.B.A. In 2019, Junam Lee began posting about her father, Jung Soo Lee, on a Denver Nuggets fan page on Reddit, often with comments about how excited he was for an upcoming game. “It almost felt like a reflection of my life,” Jung Soo said in Korean during an interview translated by Juhyun. And there Nuggdad was at what was the biggest game in Nuggets history to that point, wearing his Murray jersey. “That’s motivating for me to continue to get healthy and find victories throughout my life, in whatever they may look like,” Jung Soo said.

Persons: Juhyun Lee, Jung Soo Lee, Junam Lee, Junam, “, Jung Soo, Nikola Jokic, “ Nuggdad, ”, Alec Gwin, ung, ince, amal, eason, ike, J ung Organizations: Denver, Nuggets, Denver Nuggets, Lakers, Western Conference Locations: ”, y'all

☆ The Nuggets Almost Won a Title in 1976. Denver Can Make History Now.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That season, the Nuggets packed their new McNichols Arena, which opened in 1975, with the pending N.B.A. The Nuggets played the Kentucky Colonels in the first round of the playoffs and won in seven games. Facing elimination at home in Game 5, they won despite 37 points from Erving. If they could force a Game 7 in Denver, they were sure they could win it. But Erving led a furious fourth-quarter comeback in Game 6 to win the game and the championship.

Persons: Gerard, “, ” Gerard, ” Terry, Terry, Erving, Simpson, Issel Organizations: Nuggets, Colorado Mine Company, Nets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Kentucky Colonels, New York Nets, Denver Locations: Erving, Denver

☆ Denver Nuggets Beat Miami Heat for First N.B.A. Championship
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It took an unheralded center from Serbia who turned into the most formidable player in the game and a Canadian point guard who found himself again after a long and arduous recovery from a career-threatening knee injury. It took patience, collaboration and a discipline born of trying, failing and learning how to keep climbing just a bit higher. The Denver Nuggets are N.B.A. They beat the Miami Heat, 94-89, in Game 5 to seal the victory. The rest of Denver’s indefatigable eight-man rotation bolstered the team’s two biggest stars until the end.

Persons: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray Organizations: Denver Nuggets, Ball, Miami Heat Locations: Serbia, Canadian

☆ Jamal Murray Lets His Play Do the Talking
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

But on Wednesday night, Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray walked into the interview room after winning Game 3 of the N.B.A. finals wearing an unassuming white T-shirt and baggy gray sweatpants. A few glints here and there — a glittering bracelet and large stud earrings — added a little sparkle. There are ways in which he seems unassuming, perhaps because he is often overshadowed by his teammate Nikola Jokic. But when you really pay attention, particularly throughout this year’s playoffs, his play sparkles through those perceptions.

Persons: Jamal Murray, —, Nikola Jokic Organizations: Denver Nuggets

☆ Want a Class in Leadership Styles? Look to the N.B.A. Finals.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A few weeks after Caleb Martin joined the Miami Heat, he didn’t yet have much social capital with his teammates. Martin had heard that Butler had an aggressive personality, that he was known to bark at teammates and coaches. But Martin wasn’t thinking about the potential consequences of upsetting Butler during a pickup game on one of those early days. He marched up to Butler and said, “Anything you got a problem with, come say it to me.”For a split second, Martin wondered if his boldness would irritate Butler. “He didn’t view it as disrespectful or nothing like that,” Martin said.

Persons: Caleb Martin, Jimmy Butler, Martin, Butler, ” Martin, It’s Organizations: Miami Heat

☆ On the Denver Nuggets, the Role Players Get to Be Stars, Too
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“So we just go with the hot guy.”Jokic is the engine that powers the Nuggets, but Gordon also called him “one of the most unselfish basketball players.” Jokic is averaging a triple-double in the playoffs, with 29.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game. That happened on Saturday, in the Nuggets’ 119-108 win in Game 3 with the Lakers. Jokic had just 5 points and 2 rebounds at halftime, then got into foul trouble by committing his fourth less than halfway through the third quarter. That means somebody else has to step up.’ I think that’s something our team has done time and time again.”The Nuggets’ players have not just accepted roles that require them to defer to others, but embraced them in service of winning a championship. Jokic was the team’s only All-Star this year and no Nugget made an All-Defensive team; Jokic has never played with someone who made those teams while playing with him.

☆ Everybody Wants Victor Wembanyama. He Wants to Rule the N.B.A.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boris Diaw was passing through Paris in late September and thought he would check out a basketball game. It was the first home game of the season for the Metropolitans 92, a French league team led by the star teenager Victor Wembanyama. At Marcel-Cerdan Sports Palace in Levallois, near Paris, N.B.A. Diaw grew up in Paris and played 14 years in the N.B.A., including more than four seasons in San Antonio with Tony Parker, considered by many to be the best N.B.A. “I hope he can actually get away from that and just focus on his career and playing and practicing and having fun, too.”

☆ Ja Morant Suspended Again for Possible New Gun Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

again after he flashed an object that looked like a gun in a carefree manner during an Instagram Live video posted over the weekend. The Memphis Grizzlies said in a statement that they had suspended Morant from all team activities pending the league’s review. In March, the league suspended Morant for eight games after he was seen holding a gun while dancing at a nightclub near Denver. The Instagram Live video was posted early on March 4, when, the N.B.A. said, Morant had been “in an intoxicated state.” Morant soon left the team and checked into a facility in Florida for counseling.

☆ He Saw ‘Greatness’ in the Lakers When They Were at Their Worst
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

You’d have to look closely or you’d miss the homemade sign nailed to a telephone pole outside the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo, Calif.It’s right outside the entrance to the players’ parking lot, but many of them miss its blue-and-yellow words as they drive in. “I SEE GREATNESS IN YOU,” it says. The sign gives no indication of who “I” might be, who “you” are or what kind of greatness you possess. But in a small yet meaningful way, the message has inspired Lakers Coach Darvin Ham as he leads the team in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors. Ham has even forged an unlikely friendship with the man who posted the sign: Terrance Burney, a basketball-loving airline employee whose home is filled with inspirational signs.

☆ Knicks Absorb First Blow in Throwback Battle With Miami Heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Tania Ganguli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Knicks walked off the court at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon with their shoulders slumped. The energy that gripped the arena at the start of the game against Miami had dissolved into a mélange of people shuffling out, Heat fans boasting and a few Knicks fans shouting insults, mostly at the game officials and the Heat fans. “I was horrific,” said Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who scored 25 points but missed all seven of his 3-point attempts. On Sunday, the Knicks lost to the Heat, 108-101, in Game 1 of the N.B.A.’s Eastern Conference semifinals. But despite the dour mood that engulfed the Garden after the game, it would be unwise to bury the Knicks for their performance.

☆ When a Los Angeles Playoff Game Ends, Their Jobs Begin
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Tania Ganguli | Mark Abramson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They finished well before 7 a.m. and Mendez drove home at 6:30 a.m. At that time of day there is little traffic, so it took him just 10 minutes. Like dozens of others, Mendez worked tirelessly to make sure the arena could handle its frenetic week. The busiest time came in the 36 hours after the Kings game Friday, when the building turned over from the Kings to the Clippers to the Lakers and back to the Kings. All three teams have called the arena home since 1999, when it opened as Staples Center. “My favorite part of this is when they’re done,” said Lee Zeidman, the president of Crypto.com Arena; the nearby Microsoft Theater; and the surrounding entertainment district, L.A. Live.

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