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The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced a four game 2022-23 preseason schedule, beginning on October 5 and concluding on October 14.
The slate of games tips off at Philadelphia (Oct. 5) followed by back-to-back games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse vs. Philadelphia (Oct. 10) and Atlanta (Oct. 12).
The Cavs will conclude their preseason schedule at Orlando on October 14.
The Houston Rockets have announced their four-game schedule for the 2022 Preseason.
The Rockets will open the preseason by hosting San Antonio at Toyota Center on Sunday, Oct. 2 followed by another home game vs. Toronto on Friday, Oct. 7. Houston closes out its preseason with games at Miami on Monday, Oct. 10 and at Indiana on Friday, Oct. 14.
AT&T SportsNet will broadcast the games against the Raptors and Heat. All four games will be available on the radio broadcast home of the Houston Rockets, SportsTalk 790 KBME and NewsRadio 740 KTRH as well as in Spanish on TUDN 93.3 FM.
The Rockets full schedule for the 2022-23 regular season will be announced at a later date.
The Sacramento Kings have announced their four-game 2022-23 preseason schedule, tipping off at Crypto.com Arena against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Oct. 3 (7:30 p.m. PDT).
The following week, the Kings face the Portland Trail Blazers at Golden 1 center on Sunday, Oct. 9 (6 p.m. PDT). Sacramento then travels to Phoenix for its final road game against the Suns on Wednesday, Oct. 12 (7 p.m. PDT) at Footprint Center.
The Kings return home to take on the Los Angeles Lakers at Golden 1 Center on Friday, Oct. 14 (7 p.m. PDT).
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced today that they will honor the life and legacy of 11-time NBA champion and civil rights pioneer Bill Russell by permanently retiring his uniform number, 6, throughout the league. The iconic Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer will be the first player to have his number retired across the NBA.
“Bill Russell’s unparalleled success on the court and pioneering civil rights activism deserve to be honored in a unique and historic way,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Permanently retiring his No. 6 across every NBA team ensures that Bill’s transcendent career will always be recognized.”
“This is a momentous honor reserved for one of the greatest champions to ever play the game,” said NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio. “Bill’s actions on and off the court throughout the course of his life helped to shape generations of players for the better and for that, we are forever grateful. We are proud to continue the celebration of his life and legacy alongside the league.”
In addition to retiring Russell’s number, the NBA will pay tribute to the Boston Celtics’ legend throughout the 2022-23 season. All NBA players will wear a commemorative patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys, and every NBA court will display a clover-shaped logo with the No. 6 on the sideline near the scorer’s table. The Celtics, for whom Russell played his entire career and coached, will have a separate and unique recognition for him on their uniforms, to be announced soon.
Russell’s jersey number, which he wore for his entire 13-season career from 1956-69, will not be issued again by any NBA team to any player. Players who currently wear No. 6 will be grandfathered.
Regarded as the ultimate winner and model teammate, Russell transformed the game with his dominant defense and graceful athleticism at the center position. He won a record 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons, which followed back-to-back national championships at the University of San Francisco (1955 and 1956) and a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team (1956). Russell, who led Boston to eight consecutive NBA championships from 1959-66, was so synonymous with success that the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award was named for him in 2009.
His myriad accomplishments included five NBA Most Valuable Player awards, 12 NBA All-Star selections and 11 All-NBA Team honors. Russell was named to all four NBA anniversary teams (25th, 35th, 50th and 75th) and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. A four-time NBA rebounding champion, he ranks second in league history in total rebounds (21,620) and rebounds per game (22.5) in the regular season. The Celtics retired his No. 6 jersey in 1972.
Russell’s impact on the NBA extended far beyond his playing achievements. In 1966, he was hired by the Celtics as the first Black head coach in the history of the NBA and major U.S. professional sports. As a player-head coach, he guided Boston to back-to-back NBA championships in 1968 and 1969.
During and after his extraordinary basketball career, Russell passionately advocated for the values of equality, respect and inclusion. He marched for civil rights with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and was steadfast in his belief that all people should be treated with dignity. Russell was awarded the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his athletic feats and lifelong commitment to social justice.
The San Antonio Spurs have signed rookie forward Jordan Hall to a two-way contract.
Hall, 6-8/220, wrapped his sophomore campaign at Saint Joseph’s averaging 12.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists in 50 career games (47 starts). In 2021-22, he led the Hawks with 14.1 points, 5.8 assists and 1.23 steals and ranked fifth nationally in assists per game on his way to All-Big 5 First Team.
A native of Wildwood, New Jersey, Hall became the fifth player in program history to record a triple-double when he posted 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists on 2/20/21 vs. La Salle. The former Hawk also registered 113 total assists during his freshman year to lead the Atlantic 10 Conference and was named 2020-21 Big 5 Co-Rookie of the Year, All-Big 5 Second Team and Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
Suiting up for the Spurs Summer League team, he averaged 3.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists over five games in Las Vegas
Hall will wear No. 30 for the Spurs.
The San Antonio Spurs have signed center Gorgui Dieng.
It’s reportedly a one-year deal.
Dieng, 6-10/250, spent the 2021-22 season with the Atlanta Hawks where he averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 8.4 minutes in 44 games while shooting 47.3% from the field. He is making his second stint in San Antonio after appearing in 16 games for the Spurs in 2020-21, averaging 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 11.3 minutes.
Per the San Antonio Express News, “the move re-kindled speculation that the Spurs could be willing to trade starting center Jakob Poeltl as it continues to rebuild after missing the playoffs the last three seasons. The Spurs also have forward/center Zach Collins on their roster.”
A 10-year NBA veteran, Dieng holds career averages of 7.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.5 minutes in 597 total games played. Selected in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft (21st overall) by the Utah Jazz, he was dealt to the Timberwolves on draft night and spent his first six-plus seasons with Minnesota.
A native of Senegal, Dieng won the 2013 NCAA Championship in his final season as a junior at the University of Louisville.
Dieng will wear No. 41 for the Silver and Black.
The Atlanta Hawks have signed free agent guard Trent Forrest to a two-way contract.
Forrest saw action in 60 games (six starts) for the Utah Jazz as a two-way player during the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 12.8 minutes (.490 FG%, .792 FT%). In his six starts, the 6-4 guard notched 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 28.4 minutes of action (.611 FG%, .429 3FG%, .889 FT%). Utah compiled a 4-2 record when inserting Forrest into the starting lineup. In a win against Denver on Feb. 2, 2022, Forrest poured in a career-high 18 points on 6-7 shooting from the floor, in addition to two rebounds, a career-high tying eight assists and one steal in 39 minutes as a starter.
After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, Forrest signed a two-way contract with the Jazz prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, and then again before the 2021-22 campaign. He signed a standard NBA contract on April 10, 2022. Over his two-year career, Forrest has seen action in 90 games (six starts), owning career averages of 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 11.9 minutes (.478 FG%, .851 FT%). He has also appeared in four postseason contests.
A product of Florda State, Forrest appeared in 137 games (69 starts) over his four-year collegiate career, tallying 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 25.4 minutes (.462 FG%, .748 FT%). He finished his Seminole career as the all-time winningest player in program history with 104 wins, ranked third in total steals (224) and games played (137), while ranking fifth in total assists (455) and 10th in free throws made (336). The Chipley, Florida, native was selected to the 2019-20 All-ACC Second Team and All-ACC Defensive Team, while garnering All-ACC Academic Team honors in each year at Florida State (2017-20).
Via the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
There will be a south-of-the-border element for the Miami Heat when the NBA schedule is released in coming days.
The Heat, under current NBA plans, are scheduled for a Dec. 17 game in Mexico City, one that will count against the San Antonio Spurs’ home schedule.
It will be the Heat’s first regular-season game outside of the United States or Canada since defeating the Brooklyn Nets 101-89 on Dec. 9, 2017 in front of a listed 19,777 in Mexico City.
The game at Mexico City Arena is part of the Spurs’ expansion beyond their AT&T Center home.
The Philadelphia 76ers 2022-23 preseason will feature four exhibition games. The slate begins when the 76ers travel to Brooklyn on Monday, Oct.3 to take on the Nets at Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The team then returns back home to face Cleveland on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at The Center at 7 p.m. ET, which will be followed by a second meeting with the Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 10 on the road at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Philadelphia’s preseason slate wraps up at home against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. ET.
All four of the 76ers preseason games will air on the radio on the team’s flagship radio station, 97.5 The Fanatic. Both home games (Oct. 5 vs. Cleveland and Oct. 12 vs. Charlotte) will be telecast on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Phoenix Suns have re-signed forward Ish Wainright, to a two-way contract.
Wainright (6-5, 235 pounds) played in 45 regular season games for the Suns last season, averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per game. Over his final two games of the season, he totaled a combined 35 points on 14-of-29 from the field and 7 of 16 from three-point range, plus 11 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists. He scored all of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter on April 6 at the LA Clippers, joining Cam Johnson and Jamal Crawford as the only Suns players in the last 25 years to score 20-plus points in a period while coming off the bench. Wainright also appeared in seven games during the postseason.
Most recently, Wainright averaged 11.0 points on 42.1% from the field and 41.4% from three-point range plus 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals in five games for the Suns at the 2022 NBA Summer League last month in Las Vegas. He also represented Uganda at the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers in July, averaging team highs of 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
The Suns initially signed the 27-year-old on Oct. 21, 2021 and he made his NBA debut on Nov. 19. Wainright played the previous three seasons internationally in Germany and France. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he played collegiately at Baylor where he earned Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors as a senior in 2017.