The Battle of the Slenderman: Chet Holmgren Will Dominate Victor Wembanyama

 

Chet Holmgren made his return to basketball after nearly a year away due to injury, helping the OKC Thunder defeat the Utah Jazz 95-85 in their Summer League opener on Monday. In 29 minutes of play, Holmgren showed flashes of his potential with 15 points on 45% shooting, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Veteran Jalen Williams led the way for OKC with 21 points and 4 rebounds, while Tre Mann chipped in 20 points and 4 three-pointers.

The Thunder built a lead as large as 27 points in the third quarter before the Jazz rallied in the fourth to cut the deficit to single digits. OKC scored 43 points in a dominant second quarter fueled by Williams, Mann and Holmgren, who scored 8 of his points in the period after missing his first 3 shots. Though the performance was solid for his return, Holmgren heard some "overrated" chants from the Utah crowd during his free throw attempts late in the fourth quarter.

Chet Holmgren vs Victor Wembanyama

Holmgren, who injured his foot in the last offseason and has never played an NBA regular season game yet, will get a chance to play in the NBA regular season and would be squaring off against Victor Wembanyama. Both players are comparable in size — skinny, seven-footers with ball-handling skills. The last time they faced each otherwas at the 2021 FIBA U19 CHAMPIONSHIP! withUSA vs France. France's squad led by 7'3" Victor Wembanyama. The17-year-old representing France came outballing in an attempt to carry his team to the gold medal. With a few minutes left in the game Victor fouled out with 22 points, 8 rebounds,& 8 assists, which is when team USA began their last minute comeback! The ending was insane so you have to watch it for yourself! Team USA with Chet Holmgren wonthat game.

While Wembanyama may be more mobile than Holmgren, Holmgren can be a defensive force. His four blocks in his Summer League debut show glimpses of the rim protection he could provide for the Thunder.Once the NBA season begins, fans will get tosee Holmgren and Wembanyamamatch up as two of the most intriguing young talents in the league, ushering in a new era of "unicorns".

Tre Mann’s Poster Dunk

One could argue that Tre Mann has an early claim to the title of "best dunk of the Summer League" following his vicious second-quarter slam against the Jazz. Mann's thunderous posterization of Micah Potter left no doubt that he came to play, sending an emphatic message with his athleticism and explosiveness. The jaw-dropping dunk was nothing short of brute force, leaving spectators and viewers stunned by Mann's ferocity above the rim. It may still be early, but Mann has surely set the bar high for dunks we may see the rest of the Summer League campaign.

Mann launched from the left side of the paint, cocked his right arm and put the hammer down. Right over Potter’s head.

TRE MANN UNREAL POSTER 😱 pic.twitter.com/0fSKvkPJwN

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 4, 2023

 

 

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LA Lakers Beat Chicago Bulls 96-90

The Los Angeles Lakers (9-10) were able to bounce back after losing to New Orleans Pelicans (105-88) last Tuesday, by beating the Chicago Bulls (10-6) Wednesday night at the United Center. They have already met last November 20, were the Bulls defeated the Lakers at Staples Center, 118-110, and Jimmy Butler posted a season-high 40 points.

Bull's Jimmy Butler led the game in scoring with 22 points on 4 for 18 shooting. The Lakers' Julius Randle pulled down 9 offensive rebounds and 11 defensive rebounds. Bulls Guard Rajon Rondo led the game in assists, with 6.

The Lakers are still struggling with injuries D’Angelo Russell has a busted knee, while Nick Young has a calf strain. This opens up much needed minutes to other guys to prove themself like Brandon Ingram who was put into the starting lineup, his third start of the season and Jose Calderon continues to get more time at the point guard spot. Nick Young is expected to be out 2-4 weeks with a strained calf muscle in his right leg.

China Beat the Philippines will host World Cup 2019 FIBA

The Philippines even asked the help of Filipino-American actor Lou Diamond Phillips who gave his speech to support the Philippines bid to host World Cup 2019 but in the end FIBA chose China to host the 2019 World Cup. China will be hosting the men's basketball World Cup in 2019 for the first time, FIBA said.

China and the Philippines were the two final countries bidding for the tournament.

It is evident that FIBA take into consideration the size, facilities, resources and infrastructure which the Philippines lacks.

No Deng No Problem as Bulls Defeated Suns 92-87

CHICAGO – Even though the Chicago Bulls were shocked by the Luol Deng trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they still found a way to beat the Phoenix Suns. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau appeared to be dejected when he spoke to reporters before the game. Who wouldn't be he just lost a two-time All-Star and a great defender that gave problems to opposing teams.

Bulls had only 9 active players on the roster and they still defeated the Suns 92-87 to win their 3rd consecutive game.

Taj Gibson scored 19 points and pull 10 boards, Joakim Noah added 14 points and 16 rebounds, D.J. Augustin and Jimmy Butler scored 13 apiece. Tony Snell had 12 points, he also had a back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter that gave them 13 points lead.

The Chicago Bulls announced early Tuesday that they have traded Luol Deng to Cleveland when he didn't agree with the proposed contract extension a 3 year, $30 million extension. The move though sad is beneficial for both parties since the Bulls saves money about $14.3 million in salary and gain spending flexibility. While for Deng he can get a bigger contract in free agency. The Bulls may also bag the lottery because of the trade.

In the trade the Chicago Bulls gave All-Star forward Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavalier in exchange for problematic center Andrew Bynum, three future draft picks and the right to swap 2015 first round picks with the Cavs (1-14 protected). Bulls waive Bynum immediately after the trade.

For the Phoenix Suns, Goran Dragic scored 21. The Suns is without guard Eric Bledsoe, who missed his third consecutive game because of a sprained right knee.

NBA Lockout is over!

Players and owners reach tentative agreement, what took you so long!

NEW YORK -- NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout and hope to begin the delayed season on Christmas Day.

Neither side provided many specifics but said the only words players and fans wanted to hear.

"We want to play basketball," NBA commissioner David Stern said.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, working to try to save the season. This handshake deal, however, still must be ratified by both owners and players.

Stern said it was "subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25."

Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago close the tripleheader against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9. Stern has said it would take about 30 days from an agreement to playing the first game.

"All I feel right now is 'finally,'" Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press.

Just 12 days after talks broke down and Stern declared the NBA could be headed to a "nuclear winter," he sat next to union executive director Billy Hunter to announce the deal.

"We thought it was in both of our interest to try to reach a resolution and save the game and to be able to provide the mind of superb entertainment the NBA historically has provided," Hunter said.

A majority on each side is needed to approve the agreement. The NBA needs votes from 15 of 29 owners. (The league owns the New Orleans Hornets.) Stern said the labor committee plans to discuss the agreement later Saturday and expects them to endorse it and recommend to the full board.

The union needs a simple majority of its 430-plus members. That process is a bit more complicated after the players dissolved the union Nov. 14. Now, they must drop their antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota and reform the union before voting on the deal.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can only be completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues still must be negotiated between the league and the players.

"We're very pleased we've come this far," Stern said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

The settlement first was reported by CBSSports.com.

Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labor relations committee, and attorneys Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy.

Owners locked out the players July 1 and the sides spent most of the summer and fall battling over the division of revenues and other changes owners wanted in a new collective bargaining agreement. They said they lost hundreds of millions of dollars in each year of the former deal, ratified in 2005, and they wanted a system where the big-market teams wouldn't have the ability to outspend their smaller counterparts.

Players fought against those changes, not wanting to see any teams taken out of the market when they became free agents.

"This was not an easy agreement for anyone. The owners came in having suffered substantial losses and feeling the system wasn't working fairly across all teams," Silver said. "I certainly know the players had strong views about expectations in terms of what they should be getting from the system. It required a lot of compromise from both parties' part, and I think that's what we saw today."

But it was never easy. The day required multiple calls with the owners' labor relations committee, all the while knowing another breakdown in talks would mean not only the loss of the Christmas schedule but also throw the entire season in jeopardy.

"We resolved, despite some even bumps this evening, that the greater good required us to knock ourselves out and come to this tentative understanding," Stern said.

He denied the litigation was a factor in accelerating a deal, but things happened relatively quickly after the players filed a suit that could have won them some $6 billion in damages if the court ruled the lockout was illegal.

"For us the litigation is something that just has to be dealt with," Stern said. "It was not the reason for the settlement. The reason for the settlement was we've got fans, we've got players who would like to play and we've got others who are dependent on us. And it's always been our goal to reach a deal that was fair to both sides and get us playing as soon as possible, but that took a little time.

And led to the second shortened season in NBA history, joining the 1998-99 lockout that reduced the schedule to 50 games. This time the league will miss 16 games off the normal schedule.

Source: Associated Press

 

Crittenton charged with murder

Police said late Friday that former NBA player Javaris Crittenton, who was once suspended by the league over guns in the locker room, has been charged with murder after a woman was shot on an Atlanta street.

Police spokesman Carlos Campos said police have secured a murder warrant for the arrest of Crittenton, who played at Georgia Tech, in connection with the shooting death of 22-year-old Jullian Jones on Aug. 19. Campos said Crittenton is not in custody and is wanted.

Atlanta police Maj. Keith Meadows told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday night that Crittenton is believed to be in the Los Angeles area. He said the FBI is involved in the investigation.

Jones, a mother of four, was walking with a group of people on the city’s southwest side when a dark-colored SUV drove by and she was shot by someone inside the vehicle, police said.

Investigators say they don’t believe the woman was the intended target. Campos said the motive appears to be retaliation for a robbery in April, in which Crittenton was a victim, Campos said in a statement.

Messages left for an agent who has represented Crittenton were not immediately returned Friday night.

Asian Baller Schools And Dunks On Lebron James

LeBron James is currently traveling the world to expand his global brand. James participated in a nation all-star charity game alongside some local legends on Friday in Taiwan and look what happened.

You would expect LeBron to dominate a game like this one since he’s stronger, taller, and more skillful than everyone. He did dominate the game, but he also had a moment of embarrassment. Watch James get his pocket picked by a miniature school boy for a dunk at the other end. 

Funny Lebron

Too funny not to post!