Erik Slater: Nets ruled out Cam Johnson tonight at Chic…
December 3, 2024 | 3:49 pm EST Update
Victor Wembanyama, Dyson Daniels win inaugural Defensive Player of the Month award
NBA Communications: San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Defensive Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in October/November, becoming the first recipients of the new award.
NBA Communications: Other nominees... West: Toumani Camara (POR), Anthony Davis (LAL), Lu Dort (OKC), Kris Dunn and Ivica Zubac (LAC), Tari Eason and Amen Thompson (HOU), Draymond Green (GSW) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM) East: Bam Adebayo (MIA), Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez (MIL), OG Anunoby (NYK), Evan Mobley (CLE) and Jalen Suggs (ORL)
Duane Rankin: “Ryan and Oso tell me they need their $500,000.” Suns guard Devin Booker. “We just talked about it earlier a couple of times.” Oso Ighodaro. “Yeah, yeah. I need that $500,000. That would be nice.” Ryan Dunn. Players on NBA Cup championship team receive $514,970. #Suns #NBACup
Sean Cunningham: Sacramento Kings rookie Devin Carter ramping up workouts over the past week. This was a glimpse of his on-court activity following today’s shootaround
Mark Cuban: When I got to the NBA in 2000, they thought they were in the basketball business. Anything they did that wasn’t considered old-school or classic basketball was frowned upon. Back when David Stern—rest in peace—was the commissioner and Adam Silver was second in charge, I used to say the NBA stood for “Nothing But Attorneys” because that’s how they thought—just like a bunch of lawyers. They didn’t really think like entrepreneurs. You always have to know as a business what business you’re in. The NBA, and all professional sports, is in the business of creating experiences that are memorable forever. Professional sports are so unique because it’s the one form of entertainment where the ball is in the air, you’re down by one, and if it goes in, you’re screaming and yelling. If you miss, it’s the worst feeling. That’s so different from any other form of entertainment.
Mark Cuban: But the other thing that I did that completely changed the NBA—when I bought the team, we had four coaches: a head coach, an assistant coach, and two other coaches who did things like work with the players to develop skills, rebound for them when they wanted to get shots up, and similar tasks. I realized that we were spending more money training our office employees on how to use Excel and Microsoft Word than we were on developing our players to improve their skills—despite the fact that we were paying those players hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars each. I went out and found former Mavericks players like Morlon Wiley, Greg Riley, and others from a long list. I told them, “We want to bring you in and give you each an individual player to work with.” It was up and running within weeks. It also changed the culture, showing the players that I was ready to do whatever it took to win.
Mark Cuban: The hardest part when I took over the Dallas Mavericks was the other owners. They hated me. The Board of Governors consists of the 30 owners of NBA franchises, and we each own a third of the NBA entity itself. We get together two or three times a year to discuss everything that’s going on—from the business side to the basketball side of the league. All the other 28 teams sat in a room and started grilling me with questions: grilling me about whether I was going to be like Jerry Jones, what my goals were, and whether I was going to be like George Steinbrenner. They wanted me to be like them.
Mark Cuban: They wanted me to sit up in the suites and sign the checks. I literally remember walking into one of my first Board of Governors meetings and asking David afterwards, “Are we allowed to talk?” And he said, “Yeah, I want you to talk.” I replied, “Are you sure? Because it doesn’t look like anybody else here is going to talk.” He said, “No, Mark, that’s one of the reasons you’re here. You’re a tech guy, you’re a media guy, you understand things that these guys don’t know.” So I said, “Okay, you asked for it.” Everybody else was in a suit and tie. I walked in wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and they were all staring at me. I didn’t shut up for 24 years. I got fined a lot, but I didn’t shut up.
TNT Sports announced Tuesday that in addition to the primary game broadcasts on TNT, they’ll also offer an NBA 2K25 DataCast for each of the games they’re broadcasting. That alternate broadcast will be available on truTV (fitting into the wider sports plans there) and Max (with the B/R Sports add-on).
Viewers will see NBA 2K25 overlays such as the iconic Shot Meter, 2K Badges, official 2K camera angles and more, with split-second game insights powered by Genius Sports’ GeniusIQ — including player tracking, shot probability, and shot distance — embedded throughout the telecasts. The first-of-its-kind alternative viewing experience will feature contributions from Vince Carter, Candace Parker, Channing Frye, Adam Lefkoe, Kirk Goldsberry, and others.
December 3, 2024 | 3:36 pm EST Update
Jared McCain, Jaylen Wells earn Rookie of the Month honors
NBA Communications: Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells and Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in October/November.