Category: Basketball

We’ve dedicated an entire special issue,SLAM’s TOP 75 NBA Teams of All Time, to ranking the best 75 individual season teams ever. This week, we’re unveiling which squads made it on our top 10. To find out who else made it on the list, read here.

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10. 2012-13 Miami Heat

Coach: Erik Spoelstra

Record: 66-16

Roster: Ray Allen, Chris Andersen, Joel Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Josh Harrellson, Terrel Harris, Udonis Haslem, Juwan Howard, LeBron James, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Mike Miller, Dexter Pittman, Jarvis Varnado, Dwyane Wade

After LeBron James made his famous announcement that he had decided to play for Miami, he sat on a stage with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and talked about how many championships the trio would win with the Heat. “Not two. Not three…” And so on.

Well, after two years in South Beach, James had one title, not two. Nobody was restless, but there was clearly an expectation that after winning it all in 2012, Miami was about to start rolling.

The Big Three was on hand to try for a repeat, but the Heat had also added sharpshooter Ray Allen, who, though 37, provided some needed long-range production and finished the season making 41.9 percent of his three-point attempts. The formula worked. Miami rampaged to 66 wins, 12 better than any other Eastern Conference team.

James once again was the biggest star, leading the team in points, rebounds and assists. But Wade and Bosh were big every night, too. And while Allen was past the days when he could dominate with his long-range shooting, he was an undeniable weapon, as was do-everything forward Shane Battier, who actually shot a higher percentage from behind the arc than Allen did.

The regular season presented few hurdles for the Heat, and neither did the first two rounds of the playoffs. Miami swept Milwaukee in the first round and dusted away Chicago in five after that. But things got interesting in the Eastern Finals, when Indiana—led by Paul George and Roy Hibbert—extended the Heat to seven games in a series so heavy on defense that only one time did a team hit triple figures. In the finale, James scored 32, and Miami routed the Pacers, 99-76, to earn a Finals meeting with San Antonio.

The Eastern Finals series was great, but the Heat-Spurs showdown was even more dramatic. After five games, the Spurs held a 3-2 series lead, and it looked as if Pop’s bunch would close things out in the sixth contest. With 28.2 seconds left, the Spurs led, 94-89, but an Allen three-pointer with 5.2 left forced overtime, and the Heat ultimately prevailed. Game 7 was similarly dramatic. With San Antonio trailing by 2, Duncan missed a pair of shots close to the hoop, and the Heat held on to take the title. Though Miami wouldn’t win seven, as James had insinuated, the Heat had put up back-to-back banners, and that was still pretty darn good.

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Photos via Getty Images.

Eastern Conference finals MVP Jayson Tatum led the way with 26 points, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each added 24 and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 100-96 on Sunday night to earn a berth in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

After a 47-point Game 6 performance on Friday in Boston, Jimmy Butler led the Miami Heat with 35 points along with nine rebounds in Game 7. Bam Adebayo added 25 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists for the Heat.

Following a series-ending loss to the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat star guard Kyle Lowry (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) had a message for Jayson Tatum:

The Celtics returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2008 when Boston won a championship. It will be the first time for Marcus Smart as well for his teammates to play at this stage.

The 28-year-old point guard, who was one of the top three scorers for the Celtics alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with 24 points, says that his team is up for a challenge of facing the Warriors in the Finals.

“No matter what adversity is put in front of us. No obstacle, no loop. We’re gonna get through it. We’re gonna get over it. We’re gonna get around it,” Smart said postgame. “This is how we live our lives on the court. We really truly believe that.

“We know we’re going up against a great team with the Warriors. Great players, great organization. They have a track record to prove it. They know exactly what it takes. They’ve been here. There they’re vets. We know we got a long road in front of us, but we’re up for the challenge.”

In this VladTV clip, former NBA star guard Gilbert Arenas shares his thoughts on the incident in which Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage during the “Netflix is a Joke” festival.

This prompts a discussion about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. To that, Gilbert Arenas emphatically states that he believes the whole thing was staged because Smith and Rock were friends who have worked together in the past.

As the interview continues, Arenas continues to make his case that the ordeal was fake by outlining components of the occurrence that didn’t make sense to him:

The Boston Celtics are on their way to their first NBA Finals since 2010 after the C’s beat the Miami Heat, 100-96, on the road in Game 7.

The Celtics’ Eastern Conference Finals series win was largely thanks to their efforts of inaugural Larry Bird winner, Jayson Tatum. Tatum finally helped the Celtics get over the ECF hump after three tries since Boston drafted him third overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Celtics have made four conference finals appearances since 2016.

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Jayson Tatum hoists the Larry Bird Trophy awarded to the Eastern Conference Finals MVP 🏆#PhantomCam #BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/vRMUNs1sqm

— NBA (@NBA) May 30, 2022

The former Duke Blue Devil finished Game 7 with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in 47 outstanding minutes. He averaged 24.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game for the series, never ceasing to make the most critical plays when Beantown needed him to make them. Tatum put together the sublime Game 7 performance while wearing a No. 24 armband in honor of mentor Kobe Bryant.

“It’s a great honor,” Tatum said. “This is my third time, and to get over the hump with this group, it means everything. So i couldn’t be prouder of these guys — the road that we took to get here, not a lot of people believed in us. We took the toughest route, and it worked out.”

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Jayson Tatum discusses winning the First-Ever Larry Bird Trophy awarded to the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and getting to the #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV. pic.twitter.com/CrM0vfBjMj

— NBA (@NBA) May 30, 2022

The 2022 NBA Finals begin on June 2, with Golden State hosting Game 1 taking place in Chase Center. It will be the Warriors’ sixth appearance since 2015 and the 10th they’ve made in franchise history. The Celtics have made the NBA Finals 20 times in their history, winning 17. Their most recent title run came under the leadership of Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.

The Celtics’ improbable road to the Finals comes after Boston finished the regular season with the best defense in the League and won 26 of their last 32 games after going .500 in the first 50 games of the season. Boston (51-31) earned the No.2 seed in the playoffs, eliminating the Nets in a four-game sweep, finishing the defending champion Bucks in seven, and beating the Heat in seven games.

Numerous fans and figures in the NBA have praised the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching signing of Darvin Ham, which includes his former teammate with the 2004 champion Detroit Pistons in Chauncey Billups. 

In an interview with Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, the current Portland Trail Blazers coach praised the acquisition of Ham, in which he refers as “more than qualified” to call the shots for the Lakeshow crew. 

“He’s going to be honest as a coach of the Lakers, which is what I think you need in the NBA today — somebody that’s going to be honest but know how to be honest without actually just tearing you down,” Billups said. “What can you say? He’s won as a player. He’s won as a coach. I mean, this dude is more than qualified for the task at hand. I’m so happy and proud of him. I spoke to him last night and he was so excited.”

Ham served as a coaching assistant for over a decade following his pro career, and it’s definitely the right time for him now to take the challenge of being the leader on the sidelines. 

But the job in front of him is not an easy task, as he is projected to guide LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers to a convincing bounce-back season — off from a disappointing 2021-2022 campaign. 

Still, amid the pressure, the Purple and Gold are in high morale, knowing that they’ll have a different culture to enjoy now with the arrival of their first-year coach. 

And James is the proof of that. 

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So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congrats and welcome Coach DHam!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 #LakeShow💜💛

— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 28, 2022

With one win away to advance to their second NBA Finals in three years, the Miami Heat will seriously bet on Tyler Herro to play his best basketball. 

League sources have confirmed that the microwave two-guard is set to take the floor this Sunday after missing the last three games of their Conference Finals matchup against the Boston Celtics. Herro was then shelved to nurse his groin injury, but he passed the requisite tests of the team’s training staff to finally play this Game 7. 

“It’s all hands on deck,” Spoelstra said about Herro’s availability.

The reigning KIA Sixth Man of the Year is averaging 13.5 points per game to go along with 4.1 boards and 2.9 assists this postseason. He is expected to give a necessary back-up offensive carry to Jimmy Butler to pull off the series. 

The Celtics and the Heat are moments away to take the Game 7 stage. The emerging winner will go for a date with the waiting Golden State Warriors in the championship round. 

The Lakers started working out players that could be added to their roster if they don’t get drafted in this year’s NBA Draft because Los Angeles has no picks t use.

One of those players is Drew Peterson out of University of South California. The 22-year-old shooting guard peaked in his final year in college as he averaged 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 33 minutes per game.

Playing college basketball in California, he was close to the Lakers and attended some of the games they played. He was asked about the experience of working out for the team.

“Obviously, I know Lakers are a historical franchise,” Peterson said. “Playing at SC I’m right down the road from same road with the arenas. I’ve gone to my fair share of Laker games and it’s really cool getting to work out and see all the facilities and see all the history behind all this. Playing for Lakers is a dream for anybody. So, it’s really cool to get this experience.”

According to Peterson, the Lakers could be a good place for him to develop as there are two prime examples of undrafted players making name for themselves with the purple and gold – Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves.

“I watched a lot of Laker games throughout the year,” the 6’9″ shooting guard said. “I grew up in Chicago, so, obviously, Alex Caruso is a well known name to me too, coming from here developed really well and got paid over there really well. So it’s cool to see that.

“I think an important thing for me is getting in a program that really has proven they can develop role guys and stuff like that. I’m willing as one of those guys to buy into whatever situation I need to be. I’m looking to help in any way I can. I want to be in a winning team and I want to be able to do whatever I can to help the team win.

“A team that has experience with developing guys like me Austin Reaves, Caruso, stuff like that it’s really enticing. Hopefully I can put myself in a position to be available to do that. I’m going to work my butt off to be in that position and it’ll pay off.”

Unfortunately, there will be no “Bang!” calls for this Sunday’s Game 7 hoops.

Renowned broadcaster Mike Breen will be unavailable to deliver ESPN’s play-by-play voice for the upcoming do-or-die match between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.

Per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Breen tested positive from COVID-19 and is feeling fine amid the illness. There are still hopes that he’ll be healthy and active to return once the Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals tips-off.

With that, Mark Jones was reported to leave the network’s radio calling and will fill Breen’s position as the temporary lead man of the television crew. He’ll join Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines.

Both Celtics and the Heat are knotted at 3-3 in this Eastern Conference Finals. The winner will take the Golden State Warriors for the championship crown of this season.

As the NBA Playoffs are one game away from the Finals, European football season is also reaching its penultimate stage. Yesterday Real Madrid and Liverpool squared off at UEFA Champions League Final at Stade de France in Paris. It was the Spanish giants that won the title thanks to a goal by Vinicius Junior.

Several NBA stars attended the game, most notably LeBron James, Kevin Love and Rudy Gobert. The French center had four of his fellow countrymen in this game as well as a couple of French speaking Belgians. He shared photos of him with Madrid’s Kerem Benzma (France), Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois (Belgium).

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Luka Doncic, who was a star for Real Madrid’s basketball team before coming over to the NBA, celebrated the win of his beloved team on Twitter. He tweeted the number 14 which is the number of Champions League titles that Madrid has won. “Its so nice to be a REAL MADRID fan!😊,” the Slovenian superstar added in another tweet.

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Its so nice to be a REAL MADRID fan!😊

— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) May 28, 2022

Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid also joined the celebrations by tweeting ‘HALA MADRID.’

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HALA MADRID

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) May 28, 2022

Trae Young also watched the game. “Vini Jr so cold !! Omg🤯⚽️” was his tweet.

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Vini Jr so cold !! Omg🤯⚽️

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) May 28, 2022