A superior Oklahoma City Thunder team swarmed the Minnesota Timberwolves from the opening tip Wednesday night and cruised to a 124-94 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
The victory secured a 4-1 series for the Thunder and a berth in the NBA Finals. There, the Thunder will be overwhelming favorites to secure the franchise’s first NBA championship since it moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, no matter the opponent.
Thunder cap impressive run through West in dominant fashion
The Thunder were the best team in the NBA all regular season and look very much poised to challenge for the title after steamrolling the Timberwolves in what was largely a dominant run through the Western Conference playoffs.
The Denver Nuggets pushed the Thunder to the brink in a stout seven-game test in the conference semifinals. But the Thunder capped the series with a Game 7 blowout over a core that led the Nuggets to a championship just two seasons ago. OKC’s depth and persistence on both sides of the floor ultimately wore Denver down.
Outside of that series, the West was a cakewalk for the Thunder, whose relentless defense and efficient offense were considerably more than either the Memphis Grizzlies or Timberwolves could handle. Look no further than Wednesday’s first quarter for evidence.
Overwhelming first quarter sinks Timberwolves
The Timberwolves got on the board first with a 3-point shot by Julius Randle. They didn’t score again until an Anthony Edwards layup with 6:53 left in the quarter mercifully ended a 1-for-11 start from the field.
By the time the first quarter was done, the Thunder had opened a 26-9 lead and limited the Timberwolves to their lowest output in any quarter this season. Cason Wallace added insult to injury with a 3-pointer to beat the first-quarter buzzer on a pass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Timberwolves shot 3 of 20 from the field in the opening stanza. They missed all nine of their 3-point attempts. Edwards (six points) and Randle (three points) were the only Timberwolves players to score. Gilgeous-Alexander (12 points) outscored the Timberwolves on his own.
SGA named series MVP
Oklahoma City’s MVP ended the game with 34 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 14 of 25 from the field in another scintillating playoff effort that ended with him earning Western Conference finals MVP via a unanimous vote.
Thunder keep on the gas
The tepid first-quarter effort signaled that Minnesota’s season was, indeed, over. There was no reprieve in the second quarter, and the Thunder entered halftime with a 65-32 lead. By then, the Timberwolves had more turnovers (14) than made field goals (12). Those turnovers frequently turned into points for Oklahoma City.
The only question remaining after halftime was whether Oklahoma City would challenge the record for the largest margin of victory in postseason history (58 points) that they’d flirted with already in these playoffs.
The Timberwolves fended off that ignominy and played a competitive third quarter that they won, 30-23. Their refusal to fold after getting overwhelmed in the first half can stand as a point of pride for a team that advanced to the Western Conference finals for a second straight season.
But make no mistake. The Timberwolves never stood a chance in this game or this series.
The Thunder forced 21 Timberwolves turnovers on Wednesday. They secured the rebounding margin 46-39. They outshot the Timberwolves from the field (52.3% to 41.2%) from 3 (40% to 35.3%) and from the free-throw line (85.7% to 80%).
Chet Holmgren (22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Jalen Williams (19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) joined Gilgeous-Alexendar with sterling efforts to cap another big game from Oklahoma City’s Big 3.
Randle (24 points, 5 rebounds) and Edwards (19 points, 6 rebounds) were the only Timberwolves starters to score more than five points. Mike Conley went scoreless. Rudy Gobert scored two points on a single field-goal attempt. Jaden McDaniels shot 2 of 13 from the field in a five-point effort.
It added up to a microcosm of a dominant series for the Thunder.
OKC was in a different class
After the grind of a second-round series against the Nuggets, The Thunder dominated the Timberwolves in two home games en route to a 2-0 lead that sparked questions of whether they’d lose a game in the series.
The Timberwolves responded emphatically in a 42-point win at home in Game 3 that marked the largest margin of defeat for the Thunder this season. But it was a mirage.
A Thunder team that’s been the best in basketball all season bounced back for a hard-fought road win in Game 4 in which it repeatedly met and rejected second-half efforts from the Timberwolves to take control. Each time the Timberwolves mounted a rally in Game 4, the Thunder had an answer. They never relinquished their second-half lead.
By the time Game 5 tipped Wednesday night, the series was over. A relentless and deep Thunder defense had worn down the Timberwolves, three games earlier than it did the Nuggets. Minnesota had nothing left in the tank and virtually waved the white flag before the first quarter was done.
Do Pacers or Knicks stand a chance?
The Thunder now stand four wins away from securing an NBA title. Barring a miracle Knicks rally from a 3-1 deficit, OKC will face an Indiana Pacers team sparked by the surge to stardom of Tyrese Haliburton.
But Haliburton and the Pacers haven’t faced anything like this Thunder defense during their sensational playoff run. In the instance of a Knicks rally, neither has New York. The Thunder swept both teams in the regular season while winning three of the four games by double-digit margins.
Whoever advances out of the East will face an uphill climb against a Thunder team that looks very much poised to rise to the rank of NBA champion.
The Indiana Pacers had , playing quality defense across the frontcourt positions and doing it all while hardly ever turning the ball over. He’s just completely rock-solid: an additive accelerant, an All-Star and one of two NBA champions on the roster — we see you, Thomas — and an absolutely perfect fit.
OK, back to the clamps …
After that incremental progress post-Pascal deal, Indiana jumped all the way up to 13ththis season. And if you chop off those first 25 injury-plagued games, the Pacers rank ninth in defensive efficiency after early December — ahead of defense-first outfits like the Pistons, Rockets and Warriors.
“We’re starting to care more,” Pacers center Myles Turner told reporters earlier this season. “We went through a stretch last season where we kept on saying the same thing: ‘We gotta defend, we gotta defend.’ But I think now we’re putting those words into actions.”
And it leaps off the screen in the sheer amount of ground Indiana covers (second in the regular season and first in the playoffs in average distance traveled per game on defense, according to Second Spectrum) and in how quickly they do it (No. 1 in the postseason in average speed on defense) — especially in terms of the pressure they apply to opponents in the backcourt.
3. The Pacers love to pick up full court
The Pacers have played press defense more often than any other team in the NBA this season, according to Synergy Sports tracking data — 12.4 possessions per game during the regular season, and 18.6 possessions per game in the playoffs, twice as much as any other team in the postseason field. Indiana has forced turnovers on 14.6% of those press possessions, which is good, but almost beside the point; even without forcing a cough-up, the press pays dividends in the discomfort it inflicts on the opposing offense.
Applying pressure the length of the court is a great way to put extra miles on the legs of an opposing point guard; it’s no coincidence the second-place team in playoff press possessions, at 8.8 per game, is the Pistons, who deployed Ausar Thompson and Dennis Schröder to try to tire out Brunson in Round 1. It’s also a great way to get an offense out of rhythm.
Committing a defender (typically Nembhard, Nesmith, Sheppard, or the über-caffeinated T.J. McConnell) to face-guarding the opposing point guard the full 94 feet will often force the opponent to inbound to a secondary ball-handler — often someone less adept at handling ball pressure and at getting the team into its prescribed offensive sets. Indiana will also throw second and third defenders into the backcourt, including their bigs, trying to make even your release-valve outlet passes more stressful than they typically are.
The more difficult it is to get the ball across half-court, and the longer it takes to do so, the less time the offense has to attack. And, when it does, the more likely it is that it’ll be starting at a disadvantage, with players in spots they’re not supposed to be, scrambling around trying to get into position, knowing all the while that every second it takes to get started brings them one tick closer to the shot-clock buzzer. Hurried possessions are rarely smooth ones, and late-clock shots are less likely to find the bottom of the net: Indiana’s opponents have shot 51.2% this season when they fire with 15 or more seconds remaining on the clock, 45.1% after the 15-second mark, and 41.3% with seven seconds or less on the timer, according to NBA Advanced Stats.
All told, the Pacers have allowed 0.962 points per press possession this season, according to Synergy, well below their overall defensive mark. It’s a valuable tool in Carlisle’s arsenal — one he’s able to deploy because …
4. The Pacers are deep
No Pacer averaged more than 33.6 minutes per game during the regular season; no Pacer has averaged more than Haliburton’s 35.3 minutes per game in the playoffs. As my podcast partner Tom Haberstroh noted on a recent episode of The Big Number, all five members of Indiana’s starting lineup entered the conference finals averaging at least 14 points per game in the postseason — the first time since 1987 that a team has done that (minimum of 10 games started) — and eight Pacers are averaging at least 8.5 points per game.
“It’s a balanced effort,” Haliburton said after scoring 31 points in the Game 5 closeout in Cleveland — the Pacers’ first 30-point-scoring performance of these playoffs. “We’re different than every other team in the NBA. We don’t just have one guy who scores all the points. I think we defeat teams in different ways: We move the ball, the ball is flying, we’ve got a lot of different guys making shots, making plays.”
Carlisle leans on the starting five of Haliburton, Siakam, Nembhard, Nesmith and Turner — one of the best big-minutes lineups in the NBA during the regular season, and a league-best plus-81 in 233 playoff minutes. He won’t hesitate to go 11 or even 12 deep, though, because he’s got players he can trust all the way down his bench.
McConnell’s an ace backup point guard: a defensive menace at the point of attack, a sure-handed facilitator (56 assists against 20 turnovers in 229 playoff minutes) and a north-south engine who routinely makes well over 60% of his shots at the rim. Bennedict Mathurin offers scoring punch (and, sometimes, just punch) in the second unit — another source of hard drives, athletic finishes and defensive physicality on the perimeter.
Sheppard brings length and quickness on the ball and a bit more long-range shooting touch than Mathurin, but with less scoring verve (and in a quieter overall package). Obi Toppin’s a perfect frontcourt fit on a team that loves to push the ball in transition; while Indiana will often play Siakam and Toppin together at the 4 and 5 spots when Turner sits, Bryant has provided a credible floor-spacing, interior-scoring complement; against the Knicks, even deep-bench center Tony Bradley has gotten opportunities to combat the offensive rebounding of Mitchell Robinson, and has largely acquitted himself well.
While other teams tighten their rotations, the Pacers stretch theirs; the deeper you get into the series, the more evident the impact.
“Through the course of the series, you can see it on the other team’s faces,” Nesmith told reporters. “They’re tired. Their hands are on their knees. We’re continuing to run. It’s just game-by-game, quarter-by-quarter. You may not see it in the game, but they feel it.”
Carlisle’s comfort level with cycling through those options helps ensure that Indiana has fresh legs and the confidence that it can make a push with any combination in any circumstance — like, say, chopping down a 19-point deficit in a closeout game on the road.
“We just had a lot of guys that played extremely hard, and we just said, ‘Hey, let’s hang in this thing, try to wear them down and see if we can outlast them,’” Carlisle told reporters after Game 5 in Cleveland. “And essentially, that’s what happened.”
That’s happened a lot this season. The Pacers owned the NBA’s best net rating in “clutch” games during the regular season, blitzing opponents by 20.9 points per 100 possessions when the score was within five points in the final five minutes. Including the playoffs, Indiana is now 31-15 in “clutch” games — the most close and late wins of any team in the league — and has outscored its opposition by 183 points in the fourth quarter, the NBA’s fourth-highest mark, behind only Cleveland (+259), Minnesota (+225) and Oklahoma City (+201).
One big reason why?
5. Tyrese Haliburton isn’t overrated. If anything, he’s underrated
NBA players are certainly entitled to their opinions, and we’d never presume to say otherwise. Facts aren’t feelings, though, and a preponderance of them point toward Haliburton being a friggin’ monster when it comes to generating offense and driving winning.
Haliburton has been one of the most lethal crunch-time performers in the league this season, scoring 131 points in 149.5 regular- and postseason “clutch” minutes on 48/40/77 shooting splits, with 33 assists against just six turnovers. When he’s had a shot to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes of the game this season, he’s gone a preposterous 12-for-14 (85.6%) — 6-for-6 inside the arc, and 6-for-8 from 3-point range.
Three of those makes have come in these playoffs: his driving layup around Antetokounmpo in the series-clinching Game 5 overtime win over the Bucks; his stepback 3 over Ty Jerome to snatch Game 2 from the Cavs; and arguably the shot of the season, his stepback buzzer-beater to force overtime against the Knicks in Game 1, putting the Pacers in position to complete a 17-point comeback and deliver an uppercut to New York’s jaw at the outset of the Eastern finals.
According to ESPN Research, Haliburton is just the second player in the last 28 years with multiple go-ahead field goals in the final two seconds of a game in a single postseason. The other: LeBron James in 2018.
As impressive as those buckets are, though, Haliburton’s impact isn’t confined to crunch time. Since those underwhelming first 25 games, he’s averaging 19.3 points on .628 true shooting to go with 9.7 assists against just 1.6 turnovers, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and the Pacers have scored 123.1 points per 100 possessions in his minutes, according to PBP Stats — an offensive rating that would’ve led the NBA during the regular season.
Among the 214 players who’ve logged at least 1,000 minutes in that span, the only primary ball-handler types whose teams had higher offensives rating in their minutes are Nikola Jokić, Donovan Mitchell and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Filtering just for this postseason, the Pacers have stayed steady, scoring a blistering 123.2 points-per-100 in Haliburton’s minutes — which ranks above all those guys.
He also just turned in one of the best games that any point guard has ever played in the postseason: 32 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, four steals, zero turnovers, a Mozart-level masterpiece in Game 4 against the Knicks.
Haliburton’s style of play is at the heart of what makes Indiana’s offense tick. He lives to push the pace, hunting hit-ahead passes and opportunities to probe for early, easy offense. When things slow down, he surveys and dissects coverages as well as any player in the NBA — but he’s not ponderous in his pursuits. Haliburton trailed only Jokić in touches and passes per game during the regular season, but he ranked 112th in both seconds per touchanddribbles per touch, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
In a related story, the Pacers finished second in the NBA in passes per game during the regular season and are leading the pack in the playoffs, averaging a whopping 319.4 passes per game — the most for any playoff team since 2018, and the most of any conference finalist in the player tracking era (2013-14). And they’re doing it while averaging just 2.9 seconds per touch — the second-fastest average touch time in the postseason.
Attitude reflects leadership; the ball finds energy. Haliburton leads by serving, and so, everybody eats. (And eats really well: Indiana finished the regular season fifth in team effective field-goal percentage, and leads the postseason at 58.5% — the highest mark of any conference finalist in the Cleaning the Glass database, which stretches back to 2003.)
The results speak for themselves: Two playoff appearances in Haliburton’s three full seasons in Indiana, and both times, the Pacers have made the conference finals. Doesn’t sound too overrated to me.
And hey, speaking of underrated …
6. You guys: Andrew Nembhard
Over the last two regular seasons, the 25-year-old Gonzaga product has averaged 9.6 points and 4.6 assists per game on 48/32/80 shooting splits. Over the last two postseasons: 14.1 points and 5.4 assists per game on 52/50/83 shooting. I believe this is what the kids call “a playoff riser.”
Nembhard gives the Pacers a secondary ball-handler capable of initiating offense — he’s toting a 3.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio through three rounds — and making opponents pay for face-guarding Haliburton to force the ball out of his hands. Including possessions where he passes out to a teammate, Indiana is scoring 1.24 points per possession finished out of one of Nembhard’s pick-and-rolls in these playoffs, according to Synergy — a top-10 mark among postseason players to finish at least 25 such plays.
He gives Indiana one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA — someone consistently able to bear the brunt of matchups against every team’s toughest offensive options. I mean that literally: Nembhard ranked in the 100th percentile in the NBA this season in average matchup difficulty, according to The BBall Index — ahead of venerable stoppers like Luguentz Dort, Dyson Daniels, Jrue Holiday, Jaden McDaniels and, well, everybody else in the league.
Nembhard also finished in the 99th percentile in individual perimeter isolation defense, and in the 96th percentile in off-ball chaser defense — elite at both applying clamps one-on-one on the ball and staying connected to dudes who scamper around screens all over the court. He’s got a knack for timely disruption, too, coming up with two of the biggest defensive plays of the playoffs — one steal with the Pacers down four in the final minute of overtime to continue their unreal comeback in Game 5 against Milwaukee, and another on an inbounds pass with Indiana down three in the final half-minute of the similarly unreal comeback in Game 2 against Cleveland.
Every team needs players who can defend at the point of attack, nail help rotations, distribute the ball, knock down shots, create in isolation and play through the ratcheted-up physicality that comes in the postseason. The Pacers found one with the first pick of the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft and inked him to a three-year contract extension that will account for less than 12% of the salary cap through 2028 — a deal that, just one year later, looks like an absolute steal for a 16-game player whose value leaps off the screen.
7. They’ve been good against good competition
The Pacers went 20-18 against teams with .500-or-better records during the regular season, the seventh-best record against winning opposition in the NBA. (Four of the six teams above them — the Cavs, Rockets, Lakers and Warriors — have already been eliminated.) Go by net rating, and Indiana went 15-9 against teams with top-10 point differentials; the only team still alive with more wins against the upper crust was Oklahoma City. (Here’s where we remind you the Pacers led or were tied in the final minute in three of the fourgames they lost to Boston in last year’s Eastern finals — with Haliburton missing the final two games.)
This is what I meant on the switches: a little too much room in the switch pocket, a little miscommunication, a little (injury-aided?) dying on screens, a little (fear of drive-induced?) too much space for the pull-up. If you’re not dialed in, the Pacers will just carve you up. https://t.co/EyyCXnQNbZpic.twitter.com/YNPHAAjiu9
Haliburton’s playmaking, the collective shooting, the roster-wide commitment to playing off the pass, the full-court pressure, the defensive physicality of Nembhard and Nesmith on the ball, Turner’s rim protection and floor-spacing at the 5 — it all makes Indiana a bear to play against, even for the best opponents. Especially when they put the show on speed.
“It’s hard to play at our pace in a seven-game series,” Haliburton said. “It’s hard to play at our pace in a one-game series.”
That rat-a-tat pace baffled the Bucks, then it capsized the Cavs, and now, it’s on the verge of knocking out the Knicks. The Pacers have been building toward this ever since they dealt for Haliburton, and now the biggest opportunity of all — the chance to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 and to win it for the first time since 1973, when Indiana was still in the ABA — is right there in front of them. All that’s left is to seize it.
“You know, the league is wide open this year,” Carlisle said after finishing off Cleveland. “I mean, there are a lot of great teams, but it’s wide open. And we’ve just got to keep believing.”
Bryce Harper left Tuesday’s game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves after being hit on his right elbow with a pitch.
Per the TV broadcast, the Phillies announced that X-rays on Harper’s elbow from the Phillies clubhouse were negative. The initial diagnosis was a contusion. Philadelphia won the game, 2-0.
The incident took place in the bottom of the first inning. Braves starter Spencer Strider threw a 95 mph fastball inside on an 0-1 count that hit Harper on his elbow. Harper immediately clutched his elbow and eventually knelt to the ground in pain.
Edmundo Sosa took Harper’s place on the basepaths after Harper was awarded first base. It’s not immediately clear how much time, if any, Harper will miss or if he’ll require further evaluation of the injury.
Harper, 32, is an eight-time All-Star and two-time NL MVP. He won the fourth Silver Slugger of his career last season and received MVP votes. In 53 games this season, Harper is slashing .267/.372/.450 with eight home runs, 33 RBI and eight stolen bases.
The Phillies ended Tuesday in first place in the NL East with a 1.5-game lead over the New York Mets. Their 35-19 record is the best in baseball.
Harper is obviously key to Philadelphia’s hopes of competing for a World Series championship this season.
Candace Parker’s tenure with the Chicago Sky wasn’t long.
But it was impactful enough that the Sky have decided to retire her No. 3 jersey. The Sky announced on Wednesday that they’ll raise Parker’s jersey to the rafters on August 25 during a game against the Las Vegas Aces. It will hang next to Chicago’s 2021 WNBA championship banner.
Parker played two seasons for the Sky from 2021-22. An All-Star in both seasons, Parker helped lead the Sky to the franchise’s only WNBA championship. In her two seasons in Chicago, Parker averaged 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 45.8% from the field and 31.7% from 3-point distance.
“Candace has left an indelible mark on women’s basketball at every level and has inspired countless players and fans through her outstanding leadership and basketball talent on and off the court,” Sky CEO Adam Fox said, via a team statement. “We are honored to retire her jersey and celebrate her incredible legacy as a Chicago Sky player.”
Candace Parker’s tenure with the Chicago Sky wasn’t long. But it was impactful. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Michael Reaves via Getty Images
A graduate of Naperville Central High School in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Parker left Illinois to play three seasons at the University of Tennessee, where she led the Lady Vols to two NCAA titles.
She then joined the Los Angeles Sparks as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft and embarked on a career that solidified her almost certain selection to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Parker won league MVP and Rookie of the Year in her first season in Los Angeles. When she’d wrapped her 13-season tenure with the Sparks, Parker had tallied two MVPs, five All-Star appearances, a Defensive Player of the Year award and a Finals MVP trophy after leading the Sparks to the 2016 championship. The Sparks will retire Parker’s jersey on June 29.
Parker left the Sparks in 2021 to play for her hometown Sky. After her two seasons in Chicago, Parker capped her career with her third WNBA championship as a starter for the Aces.
Even though he just started in three games last season, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix flashed some pretty brilliant stretches of play to close out the 2024 NFL season.
Still one of the more polarizing NFL quarterbacks in recent memory, some people choose to focus on Penix’s elite arm talent and ability to make throws all over the field while others choose to focus on his accuracy issues and lack of mobility. Your opinions of Penix are probably strong, and the film probably confirms your priors.
All of those talking points expectedly popped up in his rookie starts, but this excellent chart from Underdog’s Hayden Winks shows where the analytics support Penix’s chances of being a real force at the position.
Winks tracked all the NFL’s 2024 starting quarterbacks and removed reps involving screens, run-play options, spikes and unblocked pressures in his chart. Among his fellow quarterbacks, Penix shined in his three-game sample with his Pro Football Focus scores, his yards per pass attempt, his sack rate, his big-time throw rate and his turnover-worthy play rate.
Penix’s scramble rate was predictably low since he’s an inherent pocket passer, while his first-read rate on his passes were about in the league average and on par with many of his fellow rookies.
QB stats removing screens, RPOs, spikes, and unblocked pressures. I highlighted the rookies. pic.twitter.com/gSQGf5ogLU
Penix’s big-time throw rate is particularly eye-popping, as he stacked up with players like Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in being able to generate big-time throws with their arm.
Of course, Richardson has struggled throughout his tenure in Indianapolis, a more agile quarterback with his legs but one who has struggled with his health, turning the ball over and general consistency. Penix’s floor is probably a less agile Richardson, but he flashed big-play ability on par with Allen and Jackson last year, too.
Penix’s ability to generate big plays with his arm, his ability to gain meaningful yards per pass, his ability to avoid sacks and his ability to not turn the ball over will be critical as he tries to build on his rookie success.
It’s important to underscore, again, this was a three-game sample for Penix, and all of those games came against non-elite defenses in the New York Giants, the Washington Commanders and the Carolina Panthers. However, any rookie quarterback putting up these analytics in their first three starts against any NFL opponents should offer some encouragement.
Penix staying healthy, learning to vary the pass touch on his howitzer of an arm, building a chemistry with his Falcons receivers and sanding down his general accuracy concerns will be critical to his 2025 success, but it’s well within the realm of possibility that he’ll continue to improve on his flaws and heighten his strengths. Developing more chemistry with Atlanta’s receiving corps is basically a given now that Penix is entrenched as the full-time starter.
Sure, the numbers may balance out just a bit for Penix next year once he faces stiffer competition and goes through the complex rigors of his first full starting season in the NFL. However, some of what he flashed in his first season cannot be taught or developed. It’s just pure ability, something Penix seems to have in bulk.
If you’re a Falcons fan, you’ve got plenty reason for optimism about Penix’s future in the NFL. While the NFL has only seen a small sample size of what he can do, the numbers look pretty promising.
The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history.
Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego.
To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the 20th of 28 players who wore the No. 12 jersey for the Warriors.
That player would be Golden State forward alum Stephane Lasme. After ending his college career at UMass, Lasme was picked up with the 46th overall selection of the 2007 NBA draft by the Dubs.
The Port-Gentil, Gabon native would play just one game before he’d be waived, signing with the Miami Heat soon after.
During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Lasme wore only jersey No. 12 and put up no counting stats in his brief debut (and final game) with the team.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.
Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.
To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 17th of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 15 which has has had a total of 14 players wear the number in the history of the team.
The first of those players wearing No. 15 played in the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets era, guard alum Jim Hayes. After ending his college career at Boston University, Hayes was picked up with the 47th overall selection of the 1970 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons.
The Rockville Centre, New York native played his sole pro season with New York in the ABA, however, retiring as a player afterward.
During his time suiting up for the Nets, Hayes wore only jersey Nos. 10 and 15, and put up 3.1 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
Ahead of the 2025 season for the Jacksonville Jaguars, what does Executive VP of Football Operations Tony Boselli want to see from quarterback Trevor Lawrence in 2025?
On a recent appearance on Sirius XM’s NFL radio, that’s the question Boselli was asked.
“No. 1, we want to make sure we surround Trevor Lawrence with a good run game, good offensive line, and get better around him,” Boselli said. “Everyone talks about Trevor Lawrence, ‘he needs to get better, he needs to improve.’
“Obviously, he’s still a guy at the early part of his career, that wants to be better, he’s a competitor, the work he has put in, not only in rehabbing to get his body back to where he wants to after the offseason shoulder surgery, but also installing a new system. This will be the third system that he’s been in in five years.”
The emphasis this offseason for the Jaguars‘ organization as a whole was evident: make sure Lawrence has adequate help around him. That process started when the team hired Liam Coen, who runs a Sean McVay-esque system that has benefited quarterbacks around the NFL.
GM James Gladstone would then reshape the offensive line unit by making six new additions between free agency and the NFL draft.
As Coen said early on in his tenure, the play of the Jacksonville offensive line has to improve this season. Consistent success for any offense begins up front by providing a steady run game to lean on and time in the pocket for the quarterback.
Along with the additions up front, Gladstone would also add quite a bit of speed to the offense as well, signing Dyami Brown in free agency and then selecting Travis Hunter and Bhayshul Tuten in the draft.
“He’s putting the work in,” added Boselli, “but we also want to get better around him. And then, at the end of the day, Trevor Lawrence is a competitor. He’s not satisfied with where he’s at. He needs to continue to ascend and continue to improve, and as a team we need to if we want to reach the goals that we’ve set.
“So my expectation of Trevor Lawrence is just to continue to compete, continue to work, and just become who we know he is and what’s inside of him.”
Lawrence appeared in 10 games last season, completing 61% of his throws at 7.2 yards per attempt with 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
.@Jaguars Executive VP of Football Ops Tony Boselli discussed QB Trevor Lawrence heading into the 2025 season…
Wednesday night was another busy one in Cincinnati high school lacrosse, as eight local teams played for four spots in regional championship games.
In boys Division I action, St. Xavier hosted rival Moeller and Lakota East met Mason at Mason. For Division II girls, CHCA clashed with Ursuline, and Mariemont battled Indian Hill. Division II boys and Division I girls regional semifinals were played yesterday.
Here is a recap of all the action from Wednesday night. Check back for more updates:
Bombers beat Crusaders in rivalry renewal
The St. Xavier Bombers are one win away from their seventh consecutive regional championship and spot in the state tournament after a 15-6 win over rival Moeller Wednesday. The Bombers scored twice in the first two minutes of the game and never gave up that lead.
St. Xavier will host Mason, which beat Lakota East in the other semifinal, in the regional final at 7 p.m. Friday, May 30.
The Bombers have made the Division I state championship game each of the past two years. In 2023, they lost to Dublin Jerome 12-10. Last year, they lost to Olentangy Liberty 15-14. In 2022, they made the state semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Upper Arlington.
The Atlanta Falcons have finally found their starting center, re-signing veteran Ryan Neuzil to a two-year, $9.5 million contract. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Neuzil’s deal includes $6.25 million in guaranteed money and keeps him with the team through the 2026 NFL season.
Neuzil, an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, has appeared in 48 games (12 starts) since signing with Atlanta in 2022. Last season, Neuzil started eight games in place of an injured Drew Dalman and held his own. The 27-year-old now solidifies the team’s last remaining hole on offense.
Falcons and restricted free agent center Ryan Neuzil reached agreement on a two-year, $9.5 million deal that includes $6.25 million guaranteed, per agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln. pic.twitter.com/Gy115wb4u1
Dalman departed on the opening day of free agency, signing a three-year, $42 million contract with the Chicago Bears. This left the Falcons with a considerable hole in the middle of their offensive line.
The team placed a right-of-refusal tender on Neuzil, which allowed Atlanta to match any deal he received as a free agent. Now that the Falcons have solved their center issues, they can focus on evaluating the bottom half of their roster and look to add depth for the upcoming season.
