Category: NBA News Blog

NBA news blog

Thunder forward Jaylin Williams out with concussion

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams sustained a concussion during last night’s Oklahoma City Blue game and has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Per the NBA’s Concussion Policy, Williams will now begin the NBA-mandated Return-to-Participation Protocol. This process includes a series of steps designed to ensure an athlete exhibits symptom-free behavior before resuming basketball activities. There is no predetermined timetable to complete the protocol, as each injury and player is different and recovery time can vary in each case.

NBA penalizes Knicks for early free agency discussions on Jalen Brunson

The NBA announced today the New York Knicks violated league rules governing the timing of this season’s free agency discussions and that the league has rescinded New York’s own second-round pick in the 2025 Draft.

From the league: “This outcome reflected a finding, following an investigation, that the Knicks engaged in free agency discussions involving Jalen Brunson prior to the date when such discussions were permitted. The team fully cooperated with the investigation.”

Per the New York Post, “the Knicks signed Brunson to a four-year, $104 contract, and he has been worth every penny so far, leading the Knicks to an 18-13 record and their current eight-game winning streak.”

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd fined by NBA

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has been fined $25,000 for coming onto the court to confront and direct inappropriate language toward a game official, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Kidd was assessed two technical fouls and ejected, occurred with 2:00 remaining in the third quarter of the Mavericks’ 116-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 19 at Target Center.

Hawks President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk steps down

Hawks President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk is stepping down from his position as president and transitioning to an advisor position reporting directly to Principal Owner Tony Ressler.

Effective immediately, General Manager Landry Fields will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Hawks Basketball Operations team.

Hired in May 2017, Schlenk has overseen the rebuilding of the Hawks beginning with a 24-win season in 2017-18 and peaking with the franchise’s second-ever trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. Last season, the Hawks finished 43-39 and were eliminated in the First Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs in five games by the Miami Heat.

“Throughout this season, Tony and I have had multiple, honest conversations about some of the personal things I’ve been going through and how I’ve been feeling, and I appreciate the counsel he has provided me as well as the opportunity he gave me six seasons ago to be a first-time general manager. As we enter a new year, the timing feels right for me to take a step back, reflect and prioritize my family,” Schlenk said.

“I am proud of the group I assembled both on the floor and in the front office. We have built a strong foundation for the Hawks franchise and achieved a high level of success. As an advisor, I look forward to working with Tony and Landry and continuing to make contributions in less visible but still impactful ways.”

Under Schlenk’s guidance, the Hawks drafted two-time All-Star and 2022 All-NBA guard Trae Young, All-Rookie Team selections John Collins and Kevin Huerter and 2021 Rising Star recipient De’Andre Hunter.

“We have a great appreciation for the work Travis has done in guiding our franchise through a quick rebuilding process and shaping us into a playoff contender. He has worked tirelessly from his first day with our organization to move us toward our ultimate goal of becoming a championship franchise,” Ressler said. “With his strong eye for talent, work ethic and knowledge of our team, we are confident that he will serve us well as a trusted advisor.”

Former NBA player Louis Orr dies

Louis Orr, who mostly played for the New York Knicks during his NBA career, has sadly passed away at a fairly young age. Via the New York Times:

Louis Orr, a star forward at Syracuse who in the 1980s played for the Knicks alongside Bernard King and Patrick Ewing and who later became a college coach, including as Ewing’s assistant at Georgetown, died on Thursday at his home in Cincinnati. He was 64.

The cause was melanoma, his daughter, Monica Russell, said.

Orr shot over 50 percent for all four years of his Syracuse career. After serving as the sixth man as a freshman, he became a starter, with his best year coming as a senior, in the 1979-80 season, when he averaged 16 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Orange won the Big East championship that year, and Orr was named the team’s most valuable player and selected for the all-Big East first team.

He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 1980 and joined the Knicks in 1982. He found that his skinny physique was an issue in the N.B.A.

Magic forward Chuma Okeke undergoes surgery

Orlando Magic forward Chuma Okeke has undergone an arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee.

A chondroplasty was performed and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Okeke (6’8”, 230, 8/18/98) has played in 18 games (seven starts) this season with Orlando, averaging 5.4 ppg., 4.2 rpg. and 1.4 apg. in 21.8 minpg. He has missed the last 14 games (Nov. 25-Dec. 19) due to left knee soreness.

Originally selected in the first round (16th overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft by Orlando, Okeke has appeared in 133 career NBA regular season games (46 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 7.9 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 1.8 apg. and 1.17 stlpg. in 24.6 minpg., while shooting .802 (101-126) from the free throw line.

Damian Lillard is now the leading scorer in Portland Trail Blazers history

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard scored his 18,041 career point in the third quarter of tonight’s game at Oklahoma City to pass Clyde Drexler (18,040) and become the franchise’s all-time leader in points.

“Damian’s commitment to Portland is now incapsulated with this prestigious career milestone,” said Portland Trail Blazers General Manager, Joe Cronin. “His dedication, humility and hard work have been pillars for his path to this very moment. On behalf of the organization, we would like to congratulate Damian on this great achievement and look forward to many more.”

Named to the NBA’s Top 75 Greatest Players of all time ahead of the 2021-22 season, Lillard, entered tonight’s game averaging 28.3 points (45.1% FG, 39.8% 3pt, 89.4% FT), 3.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 34.4 minutes per game in 18 games for the 2022-23 season.

Lillard, 32, is the only player in franchise history with six All-NBA honors and one of three players to be named All-NBA First Team while with the Trail Blazers (2017-18). Lillard is a six-time NBA All-Star, a 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist and the unanimous 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Weber St. product is the all-time franchise leader in scoring average, three-pointers made (2,229) and free throws made (4,047). Additionally, he is second in field goals (5,883), second in minutes (26,484), third in assists (4,857), fourth in games played (730) and sixth in steals (698).

Donovan Mitchell and Nikola Jokic named NBA Players of Week

The NBA announced today that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic have been named the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Players of the Week for Week 9 (games played Monday, December 12, through Sunday, December 18).

This marks Mitchell’s fourth career player of the week award (once in 2021-22 and twice in 2018-19) and the 65th time a Cavalier has ever won the weekly honor, including the first time this season.

Mitchell led the Cavaliers to a 3-1 record this past week, will all three victories coming against teams with winning records. The sixth-year guard averaged 32.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists, while shooting .539 from the field, .425 from three-point range and .882 from the foul line. He topped the 25-point mark in all four games and was one of only two players in the East to average 30.0 points with at least a .500 clip from the field and .400 mark from beyond the arc (Kevin Durant). Among Eastern Conference leaders, Mitchell ranked first in field goals made (48, no other NBA player made more than 36), second in three-pointers made (17), third in points per game (32.0) and 16th in field goal percentage (.539). Additionally, he made at least six three-pointers in a game twice last week and now has seven such games this season, which is already tied for second-most in a season in Cavaliers history behind only JR Smith’s nine games of six threes or more in 2015-16.

Mitchell opened the week by nearly helping the Cavs overcome a 19-point deficit in San Antonio after tallying a game-high 28 points and five rebounds in 37 minutes on Dec. 12. He followed that up with 34 points (27 in the first half), a 6-9 (.667) clip from beyond the arc, three rebounds, four assists and one steal in 38 minutes during Cleveland’s 105-90 win at Dallas on Dec. 14. In the 118-112 victory over Indiana on Dec. 16, the Cavaliers overcame 13-point fourth quarter deficit by going on a 28-9 scoring run in the last nine minutes of the game, with Mitchell scoring 16 points during that run and finishing with a game-high 41 points and eight three-pointers made. He also scored his 9,000th career point that night (his 371st game), becoming the fourth-fastest active NBA player to reach 9,000 points, behind LeBron James (336 GP), Joel Embiid (343 GP) and Kevin Durant (346 GP), and is the quickest in NBA history to total 9,000 points and 1,000 three-pointers. The 6-3 guard closed out the week with another come-from-behind victory after his 25-point, four-rebound, three-assist and one-steal performance in a 100-99 overtime win against Dallas on Dec. 17.

Through his 27 appearances this season (all starts) with Cleveland, Mitchell is averaging a career-best 29.5 points (eighth best in NBA) on career highs in field goal percentage (.503), three-point percentage (.424) and free throw percentage (.889), to go with 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.37 steals in 36.9 minutes per contest. He is one of two NBA players with at least 100 three-pointers made on at least .400 shooting from deep (Stephen Curry), and his 106 three-pointers made rank fifth in the NBA. The Cavaliers’ 20-11 record is the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference and the franchise’s best 31-game start since 2017-18 (23-8).

Jokić wins the award for the first time this season and has now earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors 12 times in his career, the most in franchise history.

Jokić, 27, averaged 36.0 points, 17.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 3.66 steals while shooting .623 from the field en route to a 2-1 week. He ranked first in the NBA in total rebounds for the week and among the Western Conference he ranked first in steals, second in assists and third in points. The Nuggets have now won four of their last five games and currently sit tied for second in the Western Conference at 18-11.

Joker kicked off the week by registering 43 points (17-20 FG’s, 9-10 FT’s), 14 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in a home win against Washington on 12/14, becoming the first player in NBA history to post those numbers in game. He followed that up with 25 points (8-15 FG’s), 11 rebounds and eight assists in Denver’s lone loss of the week on the road against the L.A. Lakers on 12/16. He capped the week by posting 40 points (12-26 FG’s), a career-high 27 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals in a 119-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets. His 20 rebounds in the first half set a new franchise record for most rebounds in a single half and was the most by any NBA player since Dwight Howard in 2018.

Jokić joined Wilt Chamberlain as only the second player in NBA history to post a triple double with at least 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists. Additionally, over this past week, he became the Nuggets NBA franchise leader in rebounds passing Dan Issel (5,707) for first all-time.

The Sombor, Serbia native, leads the NBA in PER, is third in assists per game, sixth in rebounds per game and seventh in field goal percentage while averaging 25.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.50 steals in 32.9 minutes per game.