Category: Sports

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Basketball tells stories. Some are of joy and triumph, others of  struggle and pain. These anecdotes are written in books and magazines, they’re made into blockbuster movies, video games and binge-able documentary series.

London-based artist Lakwena Maciver—whose compelling, distinct murals have been seen on the Wynwood Walls in Miami and The Bowery Wall in NYC—caught a glimpse of basketball’s narrative while working on a court in Arkansas back in 2020. Taking inspiration from poet Maya Angelou and a viral video from Arkansas state senator Stephanie Flowers speaking about social justice, Maciver’s designs echo emotion while capturing the powerful beauty of the game.

The basic layout of a basketball court has provided the canvas for Maciver’s most recent hoops project, “The Jump Paintings.” Each court in her series is an abstract portrait of the player it represents, cryptically alluding to their personalities, journey and character. Unlike her previous blacktop designs, these courts hang vertically on gallery walls and are the exact size of the player who inspired the creation, with “Tyrone” (top right, based on Muggsy Bogues) standing at 5 feet, 3 inches and “Manute” (top left), based on Manute Bol at 7 feet, 7 inches.

Maciver sees the game and its history through new eyes. Her refreshing vantage point, combined with her extensive research of the players featured, provides a contemporary and unique interpretation. She embraces the cultural importance of the game with dignity and respect, and her enjoyment flows throughout. “The Jump Paintings” series is unlike any other basketball/art crossover project seen before.

It would be dope to see the NBA bring on Maciver to design their All-Star Game court one day. Until then, the fact that she’s building a bridge that brings the stories of the playgrounds to art galleries around the world is a big deal. Long may the stories continue.

The Boston Celtics may have lost the NBA Finals, but from Coach Ime Udoka on down the line, they collectively believe one thing.

“The future is bright,” Udoka said after Game 6. “And we’re just getting started.”

The Boston Celtics proved to be one of the most, if not the most resilient teams in the NBA; after finishing the season with the second-best record in the East despite a .500 start through the first 50 games of the year, Boston flipped a switch during the second half of the season and won 26 of their final 32 games and finished the season with the best defense in the League.

Boston’s turnaround led to them going on a revenge tour through the Eastern Conference Finals, beating each team that eliminated them in the last three postseasons. It started with a sweep of the Nets, beat the Bucks in 7, and did the same to the Miami Heat.

“This is tough, getting to this point and not accomplishing what we wanted to,” a dejected Jayson Tatum said after finishing with 13 points on 6-18 shooting in 40 minutes per ESPN. “It hurts. You know, we all could have done things better. I feel like I could have done a lot of things better. But, you know, like we said, we competed, we tried all season, all playoffs.”

When they got to the Finals, the Celtics looked like a legitimate threat to win the title as Tatum razzled and dazzled his way into the superstar debate. Jaylen Brown proved that any thoughts Boston should break up the Tatum-Brown wing duo were premature, Marcus Smart won the DPOY, and Robert Williams and Al Horford proved to be the best frontcourt combo for a team that wants to switch 1-5.

Through the first three games of the Finals, the Celtics were neck and neck with the Warriors and grabbed a 2-1 lead. Boston could find a way to win no matter how big the deficit was. Then Game 4 happened, and Stephen Curry dropped perhaps the most consequential performance of his career with a 43-point outing in a 107-97 win. No problem, though. Boston was 7-0 after losses.

However, that streak was broken when Golden State won a Game 5 they had no business in winning, 104-94, as Andrew Wiggins made up for Curry being unable to keep up his torrid scoring pace with a 26-point, 13 rebound outing. Okay, no sweat, Boston is going back to TD Garden; no way they lose at home — right?

Wrong; despite Boston coming out of the cannon with a 14-2 run, Golden State took that punch and threw it right back with a 35-8 run, from which the Celtics never returned. They cut it to nine late in the third quarter, but their season-worst 22 turnovers were too much to overcome. After all, Boston is 0-8 when they turned the ball over at least 15 times.

“It’s going to hurt. It will hurt for a while. Probably that stuff never goes away. I’ve lost one before.” Udoka said, who was on the Spurs’ coaching staff when they lost to the Miami Heat in seven games in 2013.

“That was part of the message. Let it propel us forward, the experience. Growth and progress that we made this season. Obviously, getting to your ultimate goal and fall a few games short is going to hurt. There are a lot of guys in there [that are] very emotional right now.”

Boston’s first Finals appearance since 2010, losing in such a devestating matter will haunt the Celtics, especially after blowing some prime opportunity to go up 3-1 in Game 4 and having the chance to go up 3-2 at home in Game 5. But now, this loss could prove to be the fire Tatum and Brown need to destroy the East and make it back to the Final.

With a healthy Brooklyn, Miami, and Milwaukee in the way, it won’t be an easy task, but like Udoka and his team said, the future is bright.

“The future is bright,”  Brown said. “I always look at adversity as opportunities to shape an individual. For whatever reason, it wasn’t our time. That means we still got a lot to learn. Personally, I still got a lot to learn.

“For me, it’s always about growth. Continuing to get better, continuing to find different ways to lead. That’s what it’s about. The future is bright. I’m excited to get back next year.”

Bradley Beal isn’t just taking this time to heal his injury, he’s also trying to heal a broken neighborhood. A nearby basketball court residing in Columbia Heights at Banneker Community Center was in dire need of a makeover.

Being unfamiliar with the courts, Beal noticed the decrepit lines, cracked backboards, and unleveled courts were just across the street from the prestigious HBCU, Howard University. Showing concern, the Wizards All-Star decided to team up with an organization named Hoop For All. This organization is known for hosting basketball events, as well as providing needed support to the people of particular communities.

“It was a no-brainer. I loved what Hoop For All did as an organization, spreading awareness of medical issues that especially hit the Black community,” Beal said.

“I liked that they were young, they didn’t necessarily have a big following, and when I saw the courts for the first time—it was exactly what the community needed. You’ve got nice tennis courts over there, a nice middle school, a playground, a pool. The only thing that was missing were nice basketball courts.” Beal said.

The ceremony will include a basketball clinic and community health resources such as health rate checks, blood pressure checks, and many other basic health screenings. Beal will attend the court’s unveiling on June 18, a project that will be finished within a year and carried out with funding from Beal and support from HoopFall and the NBA’s Player Association.

“When you go to the basketball court, you meet new people every time. We want that same feeling at this event,” Hoop For All founder KB Thomas said as he spoke about the project, per the Washington Post. “Everybody coming together. It’s an opportunity to fall in love with the basketball again, to fall in love with your community again, and feel like your community is taken care of. It’s very easy to feel forgotten. The No. 1 thing we want to show is that somebody still cares about the people in the inner city of D.C.”

Beal is considering signing a multi-year deal with the Wizards worth $250 million. The three-time All-Star is mainly focused on rehabbing from an injured wrist that he underwent surgery to repair in February. He ensures that the surgery was good and that he is recovering very well.

The team of underdogs grows as the basketball gods crowned another champion.

The newest inductee to the team is Juan Toscano-Anderson, who became the first NBA player of Mexican descent to win an NBA title.

Toscano-Anderson, who played his college basketball at Marquette, contributed to two seasons of the Marquette Golden Eagles going to the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight in consecutive seasons. Toscano-Anderson wasn’t the best player on his team, so he made his most significant contributions on the defensive end.

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, Toscano-Anderson played in Mexico, Venezuela, spent some time with the Warriors G-League team, and then made Golden State’s roster in February 2020, signing a three-year contract.

Toscano-Anderson went from averaging 8.3 points as a senior in college to NBA champion and Slam Dunk participant, making him the first player of Mexican descent to do so.

The NBA Finals have ended with Golden State’s title-clinching Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics.

At the championship stage, there are no moral victories. For what it’s worth, nine-time champion (combined as a player and coach) Coach Steve Kerr praised the Celtics for their run to the Finals after starting the season at .500 through the first 50 games. Boston ended up winning 26 of their last 32 games and finished the regular season with the League’s best defense.

The Celtics then went through a successful revenge tour through the Eastern Conference playoffs, beating the Nets, Bucks, and Heats on their way to the Finals. Those three squads are the only other teams to beat Boston in the last three postseasons.

“I wanna say congrats to the Celtics on a great series,” Kerr said. “They were incredible. Their defensive athleticism, length, and toughness was really tough to overcome. They had us on the ropes in the series and had a tremendous season. Since I’ve been here, we lost in the Finals twice, and it’s devastating to get this far and to come up short. I got a lot of friends across that hall between Ime and Will Hardy, Damon Stoudamire, Aaron Miles, a bunch of really good friends. Guys, I’ve coached and in FIBA, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White — great group of guys.”

“I genuinely feel for them cause I know what it’s like to lose at this point. But they had an amazing run, and it’s a great series.”

For the first time in their playoff run, Boston not only lost back-to-back games after winning their first seven games after a loss, but they lost three straight for the first since late December. Turnovers played a significant part in that December losing streak, committing at least 15 in those three consecutive l’s. On Thursday, Boston coughed the ball up a season-worse 22 times.

The Celtics were 0-8 in this postseason when they turned the ball over at least 15 times. Jaylen Brown led Boston in scoring with 34 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, followed by Al Horford’s 19 points and 14 rebounds outing and Jayson Tatum’s 13 points and seven dimes on 6-18 shooting from the field.

“Offensively, we were not good this series,” said Brown, who was Boston’s leading scorer for the series with an average of 23.5 points per game. “Give credit to the Warriors. They forced us into doing stuff that we didn’t want to do, and that resulted in turnovers, et cetera. At times, we just got to be better. That’s it.”

Tatum, in particular, struggled with ball security, becoming the first player in playoff history to commit 100 turnovers. He also committed 23 turnovers in the Finals. Tatum scored 21.5 points per game in the Finals, a drop from the 27 he averaged during the regular-season. Tatum’s struggles in the Finals could be attributed to the grueling road to the Finals.

The Celtics played back-to-back Game 7’s against the Bucks and Heat, two of the most physical teams in the League. There’s also the emotional wear and tear it takes to make it to the championship stage.

Regardless, Boston’s core of Tatum, Brown, and Smart is under contract next season, and their championship window will still be open despite the significant challenges the Bucks, Heat, and Brooklyn Nets will present in Boston’s hopeful return to the Finals.

Really think about how much the world has gone through since June 16, 2015. Everything that’s happened, all the growth, all the loss.

There’s been a constant throughout these last seven years: Stephen Curry and the Warriors keep on winning. SLAM Presents WARRIORS is an in-depth look at the Bay Area’s basketball dynasty.

Tap in to get your copy of SLAM Presents WARRIORS now.

SLAM Presents WARRIORS is available now in these exclusive Gold and Black Metal Editions, as well as Cover Tees. Celebrate the 2022 NBA Champs with this special collector’s issue.

As the final seconds of the Golden State Warriors, 103-90 win over Boston ticked away, Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter of all time and the most outstanding player in franchise history, was crying tears of joy.

The rest of Golden State’s core, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green could be seen dapping up and hugging each other, and 2015 Finals MVP and the first critical free-agent acquisition of the dynasty Warriors era, Andre Iguodala, joined in on the festivities too.

“This one is definitely different because of the three years of baggage we carried coming out of that Game 6 in 2019,” Curry said per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I can say it now; I don’t know how many teams could carry that as long as we have with the expectations of comparing us now to teams of past and make it to the mountaintop again.”

For Curry, Green, and Thompson, their fourth title in eight years felt a little different. It’s mainly because Golden State’s developed quite the chip on their shoulder since their kingdom collapsed following their 2019 Finals loss to the Raptors. As he celebrated in his champagne-soaked jersey, Curry could be seen asking no one in particular, “what else are they gonna say?”

The 2022 Finals MVP and Thompson were on top of the championship dias, getting ready for an embrace, when Thompson blurted out, “All we do is shoot threes and win championships.”

Most importantly, the signature depth that led the Warriors to so much success since 2015 reemerged during this run to the 2022 title.

“This is a collective season,” Thompson said. “Strength in numbers is alive and well.”

Speaking of “Strength in Numbers,” Thompson perhaps had the biggest chip on his shoulder since he’s returned from not playing basketball for over 940 days. He took it personally when Jaren Jackson Jr. trolled the Warriors after the Grizzlies beat them in the regular season in March.

“I can’t wait; there is this one player on the Grizzlies who tweeted ‘strength in numbers’ after they beat us in the regular season, and it pissed me off so much,” Thompson angrily said. “I can’t wait to retweet that thing—frigging bum. I had to watch that, like this frigging — okay, okay. Sorry. Bad memory just popped up. Going to mock us? Like, you ain’t ever been there before, Bro. We been there. We know what it takes. Hold that. Twitter fingers, can you believe it? “I’ve got a memory like an elephant; I don’t forget.”

That the Warriors were able to turn these perceived slights into fuel for a championship run isn’t unusual. The greatest NBA dynasties, players, and teams have been able to turn it on after the proverbial bear was poked. Curry, Thompson, and the Warriors are just the latest to join the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the all-time champs of petty.

The basketball gods have certainly given the Warriors grace as their dynasty went through its ups and downs. Becoming the first team to go from the League’s worst record in 2020 to a championship in a three-year span speaks a lot to their resilience and championship DNA.

“You get goosebumps just thinking about, you know, all those snapshots and episodes that we went through to get back here, individually, collectively,” Curry said. “And that’s why I said I think this championship hits different. That’s why I have so many emotions, and still will, just because of what it took to get back here.”

After a grueling season, the Warriors can kick their feet up and appreciate what it means to be champs again. It’ll be a few months before the Warriors will likely have to find another collection of slights to help inspire them to another championship run.