Longtime NBA guard and former Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie is leaving his position as head coach of the Overtime Elite development team, Adam Zagoria tweets.
Ollie has been the Elite’s coach for two seasons. He issued a statement which read in part, “With OTE having a strong foundation in place, now is the right time to step away from my position. I’m looking forward to focusing on myself, my family and the next chapter in my career. I feel very confident that those standards will be sustained for years to come as they continue to build.”
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Some of the bigger postseason awards are still in doubt, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. While Nikola Jokic was considered the strong frontrunner for the Most Valuable Player award, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid are now very much in the running for the honor. The same goes for the Rookie of the Year race. Paolo Banchero seemingly had it wrapped up but Walker Kessler and Jalen Williams have made a big impact on their teams despite playing far fewer minutes than Banchero.
- Former NBA agent Charles Briscoe, who represented Dwight Howard among his clients, is among four men charged with schemes to defraud four professional basketball players of more than $13MM, the U.S. Department of Justice announced (story via Mike Vorkunov and other members of The Athletic staff). Briscoe is no longer certified by the Players Association and has not represented clients since last year. He is also being sued in Delaware state court for allegedly making false representations to secure funding for his startup sports agency.
- The Mavericks are now scheduled to play two exhibition games in Abu Dhabi against the Timberwolves early next season, one more than initially reported, Marc Stein writes in a Substack article. It’s part of a growing NBA presence in Abu Dhabi. USA Basketball recently confirmed that it plans to train and play in Abu Dhabi, with a full complement of NBA players, prior to this summer’s FIBA World Cup in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.
MVP- Giannas
He’s top 3 in DPOY voting
5th in scoring at 31 points per game
3rd in rebounding at 11.7 a game
While also averaging 5.6 assist per game, that’s more then Kyrie Irving, SGA, Jimmy Butler, etc
And his team has the best record in the league and you have to factor in their second best player Kris Middleton has missed significant game time.
Jokic is no where near as good of a defender, doesn’t rebound the ball as well, doesn’t score the ball as well, and his team isn’t playing as great as Giannis.
Embiid is also a good defender, also playing phenomenal on offence and who’s team is having a good season but I’d give the edge to Giannas.
Giannas has been a better defender this year, his team has a better record and he’s had to do that without his second best player in Kris Middleton for a large part of the season.
31-11-5 has only ever been done 3 times before, twice by Wilt (46 and 47 mins per game) and once by Elgin Baylor (42 mins per game). Giannas is doing it in 32 mins….
Rookie, I’d give it to Paolo but only just.
Yes his shooting numbers fell away badly, and the Magic have sucked but I’d still lean to him.
He was asked to be the face of the franchise and lead this team and so far they sit at 32 wins. Jalen Williams is what the 3rd choice currently behind SGA and Giddey and when Chet returns will be the 4th guy. Much different role and expectations. Imagine Paolo getting to play with an all nba level point guard. Even so the Thunder only have 5 more wins than the Magic. Paolo’s 3 rookie of the months is more than Kessler and Williams combined with 1 each.
Keegan Murray should be getting more love if anything. 2 rookie of the months and actually contributing to a winning team so the the Kings 3rd in the west. He’s currently also got the best ever 3P% by a rookie ever and is on track to break the rookie record of most 3’s in a season
Keegan Murray has my vote. He’s been consistent all season. He’s the real deal.
The all NBA teams are the biggest question marks…
Everything else is almost sewn up…
MIP: Lauri Markkanen
He’s not dead…what the hell
But your joke is.
Is playing exhibition games in Abu Dhabi a new form of NBA punishment? 102 in the shade and sand for 100s of miles, OH JOY. I’m sure the government is not stingy on the hookers.
That’s nothing compared to when Tomberwolves have to play in mid-january. Minnesota is cow-wo-wold!
Silver needs to let them play indoors!