alds Page 26 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Bronny James suffers big fall in high school player rankings
The road to the NBA just got a little tougher for Bronny James. In the latest Rivals high school player rankings, James slid more than 30 spots down the list, from No. 29 to No. 60. Ranking in the top 60 players in the nation isn’t bad, but such a drop-off in four months isn’t a good look by any mea...
![Where should Kyrie Irving land? [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/e5ae3a27fc30fcb41fe613c5ad8a6754.jpg)
Where should Kyrie Irving land? [Update]
Is there a current NBA player who invokes more disgust, loathing, and aversion than Kyrie Irving? The Brooklyn Nets guard is on his way to imploding his third team. First, he demanded out of Cleveland after tiring playing second fiddle to LeBron James. Then he aggressively bounced out of Boston, cre...
The death of the superteam (for now)
The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors Finals was one of the more engaging championship fights of recent memory. The Celtics were on a Cinderella tear on their way to facing a retooled, post-Kevin Durant Warriors. Both teams had organically built the backbone of their roster through adept draf...
Jolly St. Perk, fashion faux pas, and more from NBA Draft night
I had the ESPN broadcast of last night’s NBA Draft on while cooking dinner, and even with my hands occupied by a pot of mac and a large spoon instead of my phone and internet, I knew Kendrick Perkins was going to get broiled over hot Twitter embers....
The 2022 NBA Draft’s top five picks felt like a sidekick draft
The 2022 NBA Draft’s starting lineup is exactly what we thought it would be with a zesty twist.Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, Jaden Ivey, and Keegan Murray flew off the shelf to kick off the evening. After reports emerged earlier in the day that the Orlando Magic were sinking their hoo...
The Pistons won the draft and the last two days
There might be some fans at the gigantic Little Caesars arena, because the Detroit Pistons took some serious steps towards solidifying a young nucleus for the future of their franchise....
It’s Kyrie’s world and the rest of the NBA is just living in it
He who has the gold, or in this case, the ability to dribble past his way through a cluttered paint, makes all the rules....
Riding the Chet Holmgren overhype train
The 2022 NBA Draft is just hours away, and the top three seem to be locked among Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga), Jabari Smith (Auburn), and Paolo Banchero (Duke). Some talking heads and experts think it’s a toss-up as to which player will be selected No. 1. I don’t think it’s even close. Holmgren is pullin...
Man alive, Dan Snyder has a lot to answer for
Daniel Snyder has run one of the NFL’s flagship franchises into the ground. From revenue to attendance and overall fan interest, the now-Commanders have never been less relevant to the most popular sport in America, with no signs of the end of the plummet in sight....
All or nothing: That’s USA basketball’s mantra, and it helped change sports
The great Reese Bobby admitted that he didn’t think through the only advice that he ever gave his son in Talladega Nights the Ballad of Ricky Bobby. “If you ain’t first, you’re last,” doesn’t even make sense. As Reese said after getting thrown out of Applebees, “you could be second, third, fourth, h...
The plan in is place and the pieces are set — now the Pelicans just have to execute
The New Orleans Pelicans blueprint was on display in the 2022 NBA Finals....
Back to school
The Chet Holmgren vs. Paolo Banchero vs. Jabari Smith debate as to who will be the first player taken in tomorrow’s NBA Draft has been the talk of the entire season (and offseason). Three one-and-dones from great schools representing the way it’s been done for decades, two of them not yet 20 years o...
Jabari Smith could put Orlando back on the right track
The Orlando Magic seems to have finally figured it out. Since Dwight Howard left in the clumsiest way possible in 2012, the franchise has been mired in mediocrity. They have been the poster child for the dreaded NBA purgatory. Since Howard’s departure, they’ve made the playoffs twice, losing in the ...
2022 NBA Draft Profile: Shaedon Sharpe and Detroit
What is Shaedon Sharpe? Future bust? Future superstar? Role player? Sharpe is the enigma of this Thursday’s draft. He could be many different things, perhaps a few at the same time. The only thing we know for sure is he’s going to be a Lottery pick. Nevertheless, Sharpe has been projected to go in t...
Kenny Atkinson pulled a Whitley, leaving Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets at the altar
This is not said very often, but poor Michael Jordan. The NBA legend got Whitleyed by Kenny Atkinson. Jordan was about to start a new life with Atkinson leading his Charlotte Hornets. They fit together as well as Byron and Whitley in the fifth season of A Different World, but then Dwayne Wayne, a.k....
Jayson Tatum is not a superstar (yet)
More than in previous seasons, these playoffs exposed frauds masquerading as superstars. The list is long — Donovan Mitchell, Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker. You can add Jayson Tatum to that list. After putting on a blitzkrieg throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, ...
We should all salute the baller named Sue
Sue Bird announced today that this WNBA season will be her last after 21 years in the league. She was drafted first overall in 2002 to the Seattle Storm, where she has remained throughout her two-decade career, during which she was a 12-time All-Star and won four WNBA championships, the most recent ...
Sorry Brian Windhorst, once you say ‘checkbook game,’ it’s no longer a compliment
Brian Windhorst saying anything that even a handful of people don’t like is going to bring out the toxicity on social media. Pissing off one of the most annoying fan bases in sports makes it so toxic it’s nearly radioactive. So those of you who went where you know you shouldn’t have gone in criticiz...
It’s all smiles with the Pelicans and Zion Williamson these days, or so they tell us
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, such as another Zion Williamson injury, in the 2022-23 season expect to see the full New Orleans Pelicans team that basketball fans wish had taken on the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Pelicans can offer Williamson a max contract extens...
C’mon give Jayson Tatum a break
The internet strikes again. Well, Twitter, to be exact....