Fifteen NBA executives polled by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype unanimously picked Mavericks star Luka Doncic as the NBA player under 25 years old whom they’d most want to build a team around. While Doncic’s selection comes as no surprise, there are some interesting picks further down Scotto’s list, which was derived from asking those 15 NBA execs to name the five players under 25 they’d most want to build around.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant ranked second and third, with Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley following them at No. 4. Former first overall picks Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves) and Zion Williamson (Pelicans) came in at Nos. 5 and 6, with last season’s Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes (Raptors) rounding out the top seven. You can check out Scotto’s full story to see the other seven rising stars who received votes.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- After spending three years in an analyst role with the network, Dwyane Wade won’t return to TNT for the 2022/23 NBA season, reports Andrew Marchand of The New York Post. According to Marchand, TNT made an offer to retain Wade, but he decided to leave his position to focus on other business ventures.
- Euroleague Basketball has appointed Dejan Bodiroga as its new president and Marshall Glickman as acting CEO, per a press release. They’ll replace Jordi Bertomeu, who served as president and CEO for 22 years and was a co-founder of Euroleague Basketball, which operates and oversees the EuroLeague and EuroCup, two of the world’s biggest non-NBA basketball leagues.
- Former NBA star Baron Davis and ex-NBPA executive director Michele Roberts are among the backers of the new Fan Controlled Hoops league, which is scheduled to launch in February of 2023, as Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic outlines. The league, which will follow in the footsteps of Fan Controlled Football, will feature 4-on-4 games played on an LED floor, with fans getting the opportunity to illuminate parts of the court to create zones where players get extra points when they score.
I’m not sure where Simone Fontecchio is gonna fit in with Utah this season but his role as the #1 scorer/player on this Italian squad is pretty concrete. He’s keeping Italy close in their quarterfinal game vs France. 6pt French lead w/ jus under 6mins left in the 1st half…
Fournier hasn’t done much yet but great shooting (9-16 from trey), great size (Gobert + Yabusele) & some stiff 2nd qtr defense has France up 7 at halftime
dude this is aside from me just pestering you. genuinely, who do u think is actually reading this and interested in what you have to say except for yourself? it’s literally online you don’t need to tell us
Really have to agree its boring as hell.
Big trey from Sprissu doubles the Italian lead to 6 halfway thru the 4th as they look to pull a 2nd straight upset..
Tommy Huertel’s strong drive & lay past/over Sprissu ties it w/ 5secs to go..
Fontecchio’s drive & lay past/over Fournier goes awry & we head to OT. What a tournament
It’s been Sprissu/Fontecchio vs Heurtel/Fournier down the stretch for the most part but Fournier just fouled out. France up 2 halfway thru OT
Rudy stepped up after Fournier fouled out & Fontecchio never got going in OT. France wins by 8 & advances to the semis. Valiant performance by Italy tho
Yabusele again? He was a big hope of mine, a 16th pick, for the Celtics. Loved his name Guerschon Yabusele & how announcers who didn’t prepare mangled the pronunciation. Entertaining, energetic, exciting, he could shoot the three, or gave me that impression. Glad to see Yabusele playing. Hey, we’re looking for a power forward, aren’t we?
Go Celtics!
I’d really would have liked to see these games. I’d like to see Rudy, Fournier & Yabusele play together.
But I guess the US is licensed out or something. And I didn’t make any effort.
Go Celtics!
They play again on Friday around 11am
You can stream the game many places or you can watch it on ESPNplus.