Basketball

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares109 Views

      in Basket

      After Midnight at the NBA Draft, Dreams Still Come True

      by

      Mark Tatum, the deputy commissioner of the N.B.A., had an important job — though not a glamorous one — on Thursday night.He had the late shift.Shortly after 11 p.m., Tatum clocked in to begin announcing the names of the players who had been selected in the second round of the N.B.A. draft at Barclays Center. By then, the crowd had thinned, leaving just dozens of scattered fans — and sharply dressed but tired family members — as his audience. There might have been tumbleweeds somewhere.Commissioner Adam Silver had received prime billing at 8 p.m., calling the names and shaking the hands of the most-hyped prospects in the first round, such as Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson — the top three picks.But Tatum was there for the confident players who were starting to feel snubbed, and for the long shots still hoping to be given a chance. Some of the players Tatum called — like Amari Bailey of U.C.L.A. — were with their family and friends up in the stands, not high-profile enough to be one of the 24 players invited to sit at the long tables draped with black tablecloths and gold basketballs on the floor of the arena. It looked like the most upscale cafeteria known to man.Mark Tatum on stage during the second round of the draft.The first pick Tatum announced, for the Charlotte Hornets at No. 31 overall, was James Nnaji, a center from Nigeria who came up and shook his hand. Art Nevins, a 34-year-old from Brooklyn, was still around to see it.A New Orleans Pelicans fan, Nevins had come with his friend John Traub, 33. Sitting in the stands, Nevins said he was sticking around for the second round to see if the Pelicans might be able to trade for Henderson, whom the Portland Trail Blazers had selected with the No. 3 pick.“I’m wide-awake,” Nevins said. “I’m ready.”It helped that because he had purchased his tickets with a particular credit card, he had received a voucher for two free drinks.Bailey, a point guard who spent one season at U.C.L.A., was selected 41st overall by Charlotte. He descended from the stands in a stylish white suit that appeared to be lined with pearls.Tatum, through a spokesman, said that he looked forward to announcing the second-round picks every year.“The second round is when the hard-core basketball fans at Barclays Center make the most noise,” he said.And they did: Even a single person’s cheers could be heard from the opposite side of the emptying arena.A few rows behind Nevins sat Christian Cabrera, a 22-year-old San Antonio Spurs fan who had made the trek from Atlantic City, N.J., to see Wembanyama be selected with the first pick. He wasn’t ready to leave.“You can’t be tired on a night like this,” Cabrera said. He added: “I’m a real fan, you know? I’m getting my money’s worth for the trip out here. I got to see Wemby up close and personal. I got to be on ESPN, so it was cool.”Amari Bailey, a point guard from U.C.L.A., was selected 41st overall by the Charlotte Hornets. He came down from the stands to meet Tatum on the stage.There’s always a chance of seeing history by hanging in there.In 2014, Nikola Jokic was sleeping in Serbia when the Denver Nuggets drafted him in the second round, and a Taco Bell commercial had been airing when Tatum announced his name. It seemed that only the people in the building had heard the call — the start of the N.B.A. career of a future champion and two-time winner of the Most Valuable Player Award.Depelsha McGruder, who attended the draft with her 11-year-old son, Grant, said she went to Harvard Business School with Tatum. She said his affection for the night shift was genuine.“It’s still the N.B.A. draft,” said McGruder, an executive at the Ford Foundation. “It doesn’t matter. I mean, there’s still people here. This is one of the biggest nights in basketball. Hoop dreams are coming true.”One player sobbed in Tatum’s arms after his name was called.Rayan Rupert, a 19-year-old guard from France, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 43rd pick.Tatum had another triumphant made-for-television moment, for those who were still awake and watching.Rayan Rupert, a 19-year-old guard from France, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 43rd pick. Rupert was the last of the 24 invited players still remaining at the tables on the main floor. When Tatum announced his name, Rupert received a roaring standing ovation from the remaining crowd as he hugged his family and friends, with tears in his eyes.Most second-round picks will not have All-Star careers, though players like Jokic, Draymond Green, Dennis Rodman and Manu Ginobili have been exceptions. But judging by all of the hugs, cheers and tears deep into Thursday night, getting drafted, no matter how late, still matters.The 58th and last pick of the draft went to the Milwaukee Bucks, sometime after midnight.They chose Chris Livingston, a forward from the University of Kentucky. He was in the stands and made his way down to the stage.Tatum ended the night with a handshake.One pick acknowledged some of the few remaining fans while heading into the tunnel at Barclays Center. More

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      Thompson Twins Are Ready for the NBA, but Not to Split Up

      by

      Amen Thompson and his twin brother, Ausar, sat side by side amid a swirl of tourists at Carmine’s restaurant in Times Square on Monday around 8 p.m. They had flown into New York that morning for the N.B.A. draft at Barclays Center, and now they were trying to decide what dishes to share with their family. Their father, Troy, who is also their agent, ordered sautéed chicken, spaghetti with shrimp and a Caesar salad with anchovies on the side.Ausar tried an anchovy for the first time as he thought about the week ahead.“It’ll be a bittersweet moment when we’re drafted,” he said. “It’s something we’ve prepared our whole lives for, but it means we’ll be apart for the first time in our lives.“We keep acting like everything is normal, and we’re going to stay together like this forever, but it’s going to be over” — he picked his phone up from the white tablecloth and looked at an app — “in two days and 23 hours and 18 minutes.”The twins’ preparation for the N.B.A. began more than a decade before the Houston Rockets chose Amen and the Detroit Pistons picked Ausar in the first round of the draft on Thursday night. They grew up in Oakland, Calif., with Troy; their mother, Maya; and their older brother, Troy Jr., who played college basketball for Prairie View A&M. When the twins were 9 years old, they created a vision board to motivate them on their journey. It had handwritten goals, such as “become the greatest N.B.A. player of all time” and “become a multibillionaire” and “become 6 feet 9 inch.” It also included a child’s idea of concrete steps to reach the N.B.A., like “run two miles dribbling left-handed” and “eat vitamins every day, healthy foods and milk.”On a tour of New York last week, Amen and Ausar Thompson visited the Empire State Building.Ausar and his mother, Maya Wilson, viewed the city from the top of the Empire State Building.Ausar dribbled a basketball while waiting to start an interview for the “Today” show.Troy Thompson and Wilson, the twins’ parents, were interviewed on the “Today” show by Craig Melvin.The twins watched a funny video while waiting for breakfast smoothies.Before dinner on Monday, they’d seen their vision board on a billboard in Times Square.Amen jokes now that the only goal he regrets writing is the height. He and his brother measured in at 6 feet 5.75 inches at the N.B.A. draft combine in Chicago last month. “I should have said that I wanted to be 7 feet tall,” he said. “Then I’d really be 6-9 right now.”Their preparation ramped up in 2021, when they were among the first players to sign with Overtime Elite, a semiprofessional basketball league based in Atlanta. And it became a daily obsession beginning last June when Ausar and Amen attended an N.B.A. draft party for their friend Josh Minott, who was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round. On his way home, Ausar decided he wanted to know exactly how many days, hours, minutes and seconds there were until he would become an N.B.A. player, too.He also wanted to know the exact amount of time he had left to be with his brother.That’s when he went searching for a countdown timer for his iPhone. He downloaded one and agreed to pay the $9.99 annual subscription fee. He scrolled through the photos on his phone and picked a shot of him and Amen celebrating on the OTE basketball court to use as a backdrop for the timer. Then he punched in the date and time of the next draft: June 22, 2023, at 8 p.m. There were 364 days to go.The twins signed autographs at the N.B.A. Store in Manhattan.Ausar, above, and Amen conducted spontaneous interviews in Times Square for Buzzfeed.When Ausar first turned on the countdown to the draft, time had seemed to saunter. The brothers were 19 then, and when the OTE season began on Oct. 20, there were still 245 days to go.Over the past year, Ausar checked the app as often as once a day but at least once a week. When he needed a little extra motivation to rise for an early alarm clock, he’d open the app. He would nudge his brother and hold his phone open when they had second thoughts about staying late again after another practice.They were part of OTE’s second draft class, but they were the league’s first players projected to be drafted in the first 14 picks, a segment known as the “lottery” and a signifier of top talent. And so the twins’ draft status was not just a matter of personal pride, but also a K.P.I. for OTE’s half-billion-dollar business.When the OTE season concluded — the twins’ team, City Reapers, won the league title on March 7 — there were just 107 days to go. When they arrived in New York on Monday, they knew it could be their last chance to be together for a while. “The longest we’ve ever been apart is two days,” Ausar said. “I went to Florida last year, and he stayed in Atlanta. He called me like 30 times!”Overtime Elite, a basketball league that offers players an alternate path to the N.B.A., hosted a party in the twins’ honor.Amen checked his phone while Ausar completed interviews.The Thompson family gathered for a portrait at the party.Amen ThompsonAusar ThompsonElijah King, 14, played basketball with Amen at the party.On Tuesday, they went to the Empire State Building for a tour and photo shoot. They’re both scared of heights and had to be assured that the railing was taller than them. Even then, they were apprehensive about climbing the ladder to an observation deck that isn’t open to the public. Then they went to a court to shoot a segment with the “Today” show, went to two brand photo shoots and finished the day working out with the popular N.B.A. trainer Chris Brickley.On Wednesday, they did a series of interviews arranged by the N.B.A. and then attended a meeting with the N.B.A. players’ union before making their way to Brooklyn for an OTE draft party. In an arts warehouse that had been converted into a content studio with a fenced-in basketball court, the Thompsons ran through five interviews in 90 minutes. They eagerly answered a question about what they were working on in their games (“shooting,” they both said) and tolerated another about whether they had twin telepathy (“no” was their curt response). After Ausar hit a deep 3-pointer over the fence, they returned to their hotel to try on their suits. There were 21 hours to go.On Thursday, draft day, they woke up at 9 a.m. to get touch-ups from a barber in their hotel rooms and then invited four camera crews — including one from their designer and one from The New York Times — to watch them get ready. They joked about a last-minute switch of their matching double-breasted suits by the designer Waraire Boswell. They also teased the idea of trading places with each other when they were selected, to see if anyone noticed. But in the end, Amen wore the cream suit, and Ausar stuck with navy blue.The fashion designer Waraire Boswell adjusted Amen’s suit as he and Ausar prepared for draft night.Piling into an elevator with another draft pick, Anthony Black, back center, on the way to the draft.About 30 minutes after the countdown timer expired, Amen was sitting at a long table with his family at Barclays Center when he received a phone call from the Rockets to let him know they would select him with the fourth pick. Ausar sprang up out of his seat to celebrate.“My heart was beating so fast,” Ausar said. “I was more worried about where he would be drafted than about where I would be. And I think I was happier for him than I was for myself.”As Amen made his way to the stage to shake the hand of N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver, Ausar’s phone wasn’t ringing. Troy hadn’t heard anything either. Ausar was about to open Twitter on his phone to see if any of the N.B.A. insiders had tipped the next pick when he noticed that none of the TV cameras had moved from his table. When he saw Silver return to the podium, he sensed that he was about to be picked by the Pistons at No. 5.When he heard his name called, he stood and paused, almost instinctively looking for his brother, but Amen was already gone. He hugged his mother instead. Nearby, Amen was being connected to a microphone for an interview and punched his fist in the air when he heard his brother’s name. They didn’t find each other again until a few minutes later, but they only had enough time for a high-five before they were pulled in opposite directions for interviews.Amen, left, entered an after party with his girlfriend, Hannah Watlington, and Ausar walked in with his girlfriend, Ally Lo Ré.Entering the celebration after the draft.The twins’ family at the party.Ausar took a look at his N.B.A. draft card.After leaving Barclays, they went to another OTE party. “If I ever have a son who goes in the draft, I’m going to tell him to put up a sign at every party that says, ‘Please, no pictures,’” Ausar said and laughed. “I feel like all we did was walk in, take pictures for an hour and a half and then leave.”Finally, at 2 a.m., they collapsed into Ausar’s room and had a moment to celebrate with each other. The moment that they’d been counting down to since that draft party a year and a day before had come, and it had gone better than they initially imagined. “We didn’t just go top 10,” Amen said later. “We went top five.”The next morning, on their way to appear live on “Today,” they got an additional bit of good news from their father: The Rockets were going to let Amen first fly to Detroit to stay with Ausar until Sunday, and the Pistons were allowing Ausar to fly to Houston to return the favor for Amen. The countdown timer had expired 13 hours ago, and time had seemed to slow down again. For at least a few days longer, the Thompson twins would still be together.Amen and Ausar prepared for a final appearance on the “Today” show on the Friday after the draft. More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Basket

      Victor Wembanyama Has San Antonio Businesses Eager to Cash In

      by

      Mark Burnett can’t get Victor Wembanyama out of his head. Well, he could, but it would be like taking a knife to the “Mona Lisa.”Burnett, a San Antonio Spurs superfan, had Joe Barajas, a well-known local barber, shear Wembanyama’s likeness into the side of his head just over a week ago. He, like pretty much everyone else in the basketball world, had been expecting the Spurs to select Wembanyama No. 1 overall in the N.B.A. draft on Thursday.“I wanted to show Victor something special, that the city of San Antonio already loves him,” Burnett said at a draft night party at the Spurs’ home arena, moments before San Antonio indeed selected Wembanyama, who had shared a photo of Burnett on his Instagram account.Fanatical? Perhaps. But also eminently reasonable, and not just because of the immense promise of Wembanyama, a 19-year-old French basketball star. As San Antonio’s sole major professional sports franchise, the Spurs are the beating heart of the seventh-largest city in the United States.The Spurs introduced Victor Wembanyama at a news conference at their home arena, the AT&T Center, on Saturday.Darren Abate/Associated Press“I want to do the best I can in every aspect of the job,” Wembanyama said during his introductory news conference on Saturday in San Antonio. “The fans have been the best at their job. I can only hope to be at their level.”That magic, though, has recently gone missing in the River City. The Spurs have not been to the playoffs in the past four seasons; they had made it every year since 1997, winning five championships. A miserable 2022-23 campaign, where they tied for the worst record in the Western Conference, granted a silver lining: a tie for the best odds to receive the No. 1 pick in the draft. Now they have Wembanyama.“It’s going to be a huge uptick for the economy,” said Aaron Peña, who owns two bars in San Antonio and plans to open another in two weeks. “We’re already planning to host not only opening-night parties, but every Spurs game. It’s going to be a party.”For some business owners, the party has already commenced. Chip Ingram owns Roo Pub, an Australian-themed bar inspired by Patty Mills, a former Spurs guard from Australia. Ingram got a big crowd in his pub on May 16 after he announced that if the Spurs won the draft lottery that night, he would pick up the tab. That night might have cost him a pretty penny, since the Spurs won, but Ingram said the spotlight made it more than worth it.Matt Dawson, a Spurs fan, celebrated the draft at the Southtown 101 bar in San Antonio on Thursday in a T-shirt that turned the “W” logo for Whataburger into a symbol for Wembanyama.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesFans at the draft party at the AT&T Center on Thursday in San Antonio.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesIngram has spruced up his menu with a “Wemby Burger” that includes foie gras and French onion strings. After a $1 promotional deal on draft night, the burger now costs $21.50 — a nod to the Spurs legends Tim Duncan, who wore No. 21, and David Robinson, who wore No. 50. They, too, were No. 1 picks.Economic research casts some doubt on the potential strength of the Wembanyama effect in San Antonio. A 2017 paper from Daniel Shoag of Harvard University and Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute found that LeBron James’s return to Cleveland in 2014 boosted the number of restaurants and other eating and drinking venues close to the Cavaliers’ arena. But that wasn’t the case in Miami when James joined the Heat in 2010, though he had a significant effect on employment close to the arenas in both cities. Economists have long argued that professional sports franchises and their stadiums don’t do much to help local economies.“I think people are going to be into the Spurs no matter what, but this just does give more attention to San Antonio,” said Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio who was also the secretary of housing and urban development under President Barack Obama. “It gives a boost to the city in terms of how much it’s in the national spotlight. It raises the profile and visibility of the city with people, and that’s always good for business.”Fans rushed to purchase Wembanyama gear at the Spurs’ draft night party.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesShea Serrano, an author and television writer from San Antonio, never passes up an opportunity to discuss his beloved Spurs. He said he “lost my mind” when the Spurs won the draft lottery.“It felt in the city at that moment like we had won another championship,” he said.Brandon Gayle, chief operating officer of the Spurs, said the team had seen a sharp increase in demand for season tickets — and from a younger, more diverse demographic than usual. San Antonio’s population is about 66 percent Hispanic or Latino of any race and 23 percent white alone, with less than 10 percent of residents who identify as Asian or Black/African American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Gayle said the Spurs wanted to expand their reach further into Mexico and Austin, Texas, where the team has played several games in recent seasons.From the opening of the Spurs’ arena, the AT&T Center, before the 2002-3 season to the 2018-19 season, the last time the team made the playoffs, San Antonio always ranked in the top half of N.B.A. attendance. They were in the bottom five the past two seasonsCarly Tovar represents the second generation of a three-generation Spurs family. She attended the draft night party with her young son, Mario Calderon, and her father, Ralph Tovar, who started rooting for the Spurs when the team moved from Dallas in the 1970s. The Spurs won their first title in 1999, when Carly was in high school. Over the protests of her father, she went downtown to join in the celebration, where fans walked on the freeway, honked their car horns in jubilation and soaked in the victory over the Knicks.Ralph Tovar, left, his grandson Mario Calderon, center, and his daughter Carly Tovar, right, at the Spurs’ draft night party.Josh Huskin for The New York Times“I came up with David Robinson, Avery Johnson, and I was able to appreciate the next generation with Duncan and Robinson,” Carly said. “So now we get to see that happen for the third time.” She motioned to her son.Ralph agreed. “It’s good for our city,” he said. “It’s got what we call la lumbre, the fire.”The renewed energy around the Spurs has visibly changed San Antonio, in the form of striking Wembanyama homages from local artists. Oscar Alvarado, a tile mosaic artist who traces his family’s San Antonio roots back nearly 300 years, built an 18-foot-tall Wembanyama cutout from steel and plywood. Colton Valentine crafted a larger-than-life mural of Wembanyama palming two basketballs on the outside of a bar in the artsy neighborhood of Southtown, earning a visit from Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich. And Nik Soupe was perhaps the boldest of them all: He finished a mural of Wembanyama wearing a Spurs jersey nearly two months before the draft lottery.An art installation of Victor Wembanyama by San Antonio artist Oscar Alvarado.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesSeveral fans said Wembanyama’s ability to generate a palpable buzz was decidedly “un-Spurslike.” Duncan was notably quiet and rarely did interviews or commercials, much like Kawhi Leonard, who helped the Spurs win their most recent championship, in 2014.But so far, Wembanyama has reveled in the spotlight. He beamed in a video on Instagram as a horde of fans greeted him after he landed in San Antonio on Friday.“He should expect legions of little old ladies saying prayers in Catholic churches for the Spurs to win,” Castro said, “and his success being celebrated by people like he’s a member of their family. That’s the level of enthusiasm and how personally that a lot of folks take it over there.” More

    • 150 Shares139 Views

      in Basket

      Victor Wembanyama Picked No. 1 Overall by Spurs in 2023 NBA Draft

      by

      Wembanyama, the 19-year-old French basketball star, had been perhaps the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James.Victor Wembanyama had grown up in the suburbs of Paris dreaming about this moment since he was 12 years old. He had long felt as though he was different from everyone else, as though he could be great — and not just in basketball.He’d spent the past several months, and even the last few days, exuding cool calm about his future. But when his moment finally arrived, he couldn’t help but cry.The San Antonio Spurs selected Wembanyama No. 1 overall in Thursday’s N.B.A. draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In doing so, they officially started the N.B.A. career of one of the most highly anticipated prospects in league history.“One of the best feelings of my life,” Wembanyama, 19, said. “Probably the best night of my life. I’ve been dreaming about this for so long. It’s a dream come true. It’s incredible.”The Charlotte Hornets selected Alabama’s Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick. The Portland Trail Blazers chose Scoot Henderson, a guard from the N.B.A.’s G League Ignite, with the third pick. The Thompson twins from Overtime Elite, a semiprofessional league for prospects, went next. Houston took Amen Thompson with the fourth pick, and Detroit selected Ausar Thompson at No. 5.The Charlotte Hornets selected Alabama’s Brandon Miller with the second pick.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesScoot Henderson was the No. 3 pick overall, by the Portland Trail Blazers.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesEach team had five minutes to make its selection in the first round. Although the Spurs’ pick had been submitted early in the allotted time, N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver waited until all five minutes had elapsed before announcing the selection.“Longest five minutes of my life,” Wembanyama said.His stomach began to flutter, and his family members grew quiet. They began looking at their watches.Then Silver finally called Wembanyama’s name, and a new chapter of his life began. He hugged his sister and his brother, who both cried with joy. He hugged his parents and then his agents.Later, backstage, someone handed him a Spurs jersey with his name on it.“Someone knew this was happening somehow,” he quipped.In San Antonio, Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich was thrilled.“He’s not LeBron, or Tim, or Kobe, or anyone else,” Popovich told reporters there. “He’s Victor.”Wembanyama talked about working to win a championship as soon as possible, and about the Texas breakfast tacos he’d heard so much about.Fourteen players from outside the United States have been selected first overall in the N.B.A. draft. Wembanyama is the first international top pick who did not play high school or college basketball in the United States since the Italian player Andrea Bargnani, whom the Toronto Raptors selected first in 2006.At more than seven feet tall, with the agility and ball-handling skills of a much smaller player, Wembanyama has drawn comparisons to N.B.A. stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant. He has long admired those players, but he has often said he doesn’t want to be like anyone in particular. He has said he wants to “be something that’s never been seen before and will never be seen again.”Fans line up outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn before the N.B.A. draft.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesOn Wednesday, the N.B.A. took the unusual step of hosting a news conference just for Wembanyama before the other prospects addressed the news media in groups.“Welcome to San Antonio,” a reporter from Texas said during Wembanyama’s news conference. With the draft still a day away, the reporter quickly added, “Not yet.”Wembanyama smiled.“Not yet,” he said.Wembanyama had been projected as the No. 1 pick for this draft even before the 2022-23 season.The Spurs won the draft lottery in May, as Wembanyama watched with friends and family in France.“I was just thinking I was feeling lucky that they got the pick as a franchise that has that culture and that experience in winning and making, creating good players,” Wembanyama said on Wednesday. “I really can’t wait.”The Spurs have had a strong history with French players and with the top pick in the draft.They drafted the French point guard Tony Parker late in the first round in 2001. He won four championships with the Spurs and was named the most valuable player of the finals in 2007. Another French player, Boris Diaw, spent more than four seasons in San Antonio and was part of the 2014 championship team.The Spurs have also had great success making the first pick in the draft. In 1987, they used the No. 1 pick to take David Robinson, who won the league’s M.V.P. Award in 1995, was a 10-time All-Star and won two championships with the Spurs. Then in 1997, San Antonio chose Tim Duncan first overall. Duncan went on to win five championships and two M.V.P. Awards, and he was named finals M.V.P. three times.Coming into a team with that kind of history might seem like a lot of pressure for a teenager like Wembanyama, but he has appeared to be unruffled by it.Spurs fans at Barclays cheer for Wembanyama.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesThe 2023 draft class onstage with N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver. Wembanyama stood at the back, a head taller than everyone else.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesOn Wednesday, Wembanyama had been asked about a comment from a pundit, who said that his career would be a disappointment if it wasn’t like that of Durant or the Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon.Wembanyama calmly dismissed the premise.“I’ve got such high expectations for myself that I’m immune to all this stuff,” he said. “So I really don’t care.”Wembanyama grew up in Le Chesnay, west of Paris, but left at age 14 to live about 20 minutes away in the dorms of his childhood club, Nanterre. He went to high school across the street. He has played professionally in France since he was 15, often competing against and with players much older than him. It meant he had few opportunities to lead a team.But last season, he starred for Metropolitans 92, a French club based in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. Most of his games were broadcast on the N.B.A. App.“Only this year I had the opportunity to learn to know this kind of responsibility,” Wembanyama said. “It is the best thing I learned in my career so far.”The team had created a plan to prepare Wembanyama physically and mentally for the N.B.A. In turn, Wembanyama became deeply invested in his teammates’ growth.One day in April, he told his agent Bouna Ndiaye that he needed a second athletic trainer because the first was overloaded. Ndiaye, assuming Wembanyama meant a second trainer for himself, found one and had been prepared to pay the second trainer’s salary to satisfy his client. But Wembanyama told him the trainer was for the whole team.“He told me, ‘Yeah, but you don’t understand,’” Ndiaye said. “‘My teammates need that. Because I believe in this team.’”Wembanyama said it felt “surreal” to hear his name called at the draft.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesThe club eventually agreed to hire another trainer.Wembanyama was named the most valuable player of his French league, the youngest ever to win that award, and led his team to a second-place finish. They lost in the finals last week.He got to New York on Monday, excited to experience the city he had seen only in films and on television.He rode the subway to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx from Columbus Circle in Manhattan on Tuesday. He jumped over the turnstile as he exited the train station in homage to Jacques Chirac, the former French president, who hopped a turnstile in the Paris metro in 1980. Wembanyama threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Yankees’ game against Seattle and laughed after it sailed wide.It had otherwise been difficult for Wembanyama to simply go out and see the city. The anticipation for what heights his career could reach had been building even before Thursday’s official welcome into the N.B.A.He was the first player to walk into the green room at Barclays Center on Thursday night. About two and a half hours before he heard his name called, he walked onto the stage for a moment. As he left the floor a minute later, he turned back to look at the stage one more time.“This is when it started to feel a little bit real,” Wembanyama said after he was selected. “It still isn’t completely real. At that moment I started visualizing.”In San Antonio, Spurs fans felt a new sense of hope after a stretch of losing seasons. They walked around yelling “Go Spurs Go!” In one bar, fans passed around a cutout of Wembanyama’s head for photographs.At a draft night party at the Spurs’ arena, the crowd was chanting “Wemby” an hour before the draft had even begun.Wembanyama said he had felt “so much love” from Spurs fans since San Antonio won the draft lottery last month.“I think there’s murals of me in the city center in San Antonio,” he said. “It’s just incredible. I could not ask for a better welcome than this.”Santul Nerkar More

    • 63 Shares109 Views

      in Basket

      Best-Dressed at the NBA Draft

      by

      Tailoring, bling and Louis Vuitton, oh my.The fact that the N.B.A. draft occurred smack in the middle of the Paris men’s wear shows was something of a cosmically appropriate coincidence.After all, the draft has increasingly become one of our most watched runways, the heart of the convergence between fashion and sport that has spawned the tunnel walk and social media accounts that chronicle players’ wardrobes — and leads to front row seats at shows like Louis Vuitton, recently attended by LeBron James, and Rick Owens, where Kyle Kuzma showed up. And it is only getting more important.ESPN has added a one-hour “N.B.A. Draft Red Carpet Special” just as E! does for the Oscars and the Met Gala, including a 360 degree cam kind of like the E! Glambot, the better to capture the looks in the round, as well as a reporter asking the attendees, “What are you wearing?”Yes, the question isn’t just for women any more.Perhaps because most of the athletes aren’t used to answering, they didn’t respond with a “what” — they didn’t name their brand — but a “why.” Why they chose the look they chose. Which in turn reflects why this all matters.As Mitchell Jackson, the author of the forthcoming “Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion,” a coffee-table book that elevates the subject to the same decorative status as a Dior or Gucci monograph, said: “N.B.A. draft fashion is its own subject now, not an afterthought but part of the big show. It was always something the players cared about, but with more media coverage of the draft, with the advent of social media and the tunnel, it’s an important part, dare I say essential part, of player’s star power.”It’s the players’ first chance to create the brand of them and offer it up for public consumption. As a result, everything is tailored. Not just literally, but conceptually.The draft class, in all their finery.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesStarting with Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick and widely touted “generational talent” from France, who wore a forest green suit from Louis Vuitton with a kimono-like jacket that wrapped at the waist and a matching forest green shirt, a large stone dangling from his neck. Vuitton is, of course, the world’s dominant luxury brand, one synonymous with French savoir-faire and one that recently hired a Black American — Pharrell Williams — as its men’s wear designer, all values (inclusivity, cross-border diplomacy, success) that line up with what Mr. Wembanyama promises to represent.As for the color, he said he liked it because it made him think of outer space (he’s reaching for the stars), while the stone around his neck, less blingy than some of the other ice sported by his soon-to-be competitors, was an element said to help achieve goals.His only competition in the high-fashion stakes came from Kobe Bufkin (picked 15th, by the Atlanta Hawks), in a cream tweed double-breasted suit sans shirt, a choice that revealed a highly tuned trend antenna. It implicitly associated him with other celebrity proponents of the suit-without-shirt look, like Timothée Chalamet (who popularized the trend when he went shirtless to the 2022 Oscars). Little wonder LeagueFits announced that “Atlanta will be competing for a leaguefits championship, confirmed.”Kobe Bufkin in double-breasted tweed, shirtless. Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesNotably restrained was Brandon Miller, the No. 2 pick, in a three-piece plaid number, and Amen and Ausar Thompson, identical twins chosen fourth and fifth, who wore matching double-breasted suits by the tailor Waraire Boswell. One was white, and one was navy. “They went for subtlety,” Mr. Jackson said, a sign of just how much draft fashion has shifted from the straightforward “look at me” to “think about me” or “invest in me.”Pointedly, the looks were part of a collaboration with Amex, and Mr. Boswell also designed a limited-edition jacket inspired by the Thompson suits that will be available only to Amex cardholders. Why not start the influencing as soon as possible?Amen (in white) and Ausar (in navy) Thompson, dressed by the tailor Waraire Boswell.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesOn the other end of the spectrum were Scoot Henderson (picked third) and Gradey Dick (picked 13th), who were the most bedazzled athletes of the night. Even then, though, their bling wasn’t just bling for bling’s sake. It was bling with reason.Mr. Henderson’s suit, by Indochino (a label that has something of a lock on draft-day dressing, this year working with nine athletes), was covered in more than 600 gemstones meant to represent his family tree, incorporating the birthstones of his parents and siblings.Scoot Henderson, in blinged-out Indochino.Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times“I wanted to be very thoughtful about how my draft-day look represents both my journey so far and what’s next,” Mr. Henderson, who also wore a customized bedazzled grill, said in a news release. “This suit is a visual representation of what got me here.”This is the next iteration of the personal-story-in-a-lining approach that has become familiar among many players, who paper the inside of their jackets with photographs and memorabilia printed onto silk. See, for example, Taylor Hendricks (picked ninth), whose sugar-pink suit concealed a whole biography.Taylor Hendricks, whose pink suit had a special lining.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesAs for Mr. Dick, he wore a turtleneck and zoot suit jacket, both covered in red sequins. The look got him compared to Zoolander and Siegfried and Roy on social media but was a nod, he said, to Dorothy’s ruby slippers and his own journey from Kansas to the presumably magical world of the Toronto Raptors (a team whose color also happens to be red). Not to mention the suggestion that he has courage and heart, too.Gradey Dick, in sequins. Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesAs a choice, the sequins were mocked and praised in equal measure, but either way they were impossible to ignore. In the attention economy, that’s a win. More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Basket

      Chris Paul Headed to Warriors as Wizards Trade for Jordan Poole

      by

      Paul, who has spent the past three seasons in Phoenix, is expected to be traded to Washington and then to Golden State.The Washington Wizards plan to trade Chris Paul to Golden State for guard Jordan Poole after reaching an agreement to acquire Paul from the Phoenix Suns earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the deals who was not authorized to discuss them publicly.The plan, which was first reported by ESPN on Thursday just hours before the N.B.A. draft, continues a chaotic off-season for Paul, a 12-time All-Star guard who has spent the past three seasons in Phoenix. Paul, 38, said he was caught off guard on Sunday when he learned that the Suns planned to trade him. The Wizards’ deal with the Suns is expected to send Bradley Beal, a three-time All-Star guard, to Phoenix, according to the person.“Seriously, it is part of the business, and what you realize is that no one owes you anything,” Paul said of the Suns trading him, in an interview with The New York Times on Monday. “No matter how you are with them or what you do, you realize that in this business, nobody owes you anything, as it should be.”In Golden State, Paul would team up with the sharpshooting guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, whom he has faced in the playoffs three times, most memorably in the 2018 Western Conference finals with the Houston Rockets. Golden State beat Houston in seven games that year, with Paul missing the final two games due to injury, then swept Cleveland in the N.B.A. finals. Paul hasn’t won a title, but he helped lead the Suns to the finals in 2021.In recent years, Paul has scored less and missed time with injuries. In the 2022-23 season, he averaged a career-low 13.9 points per game and missed the Suns’ final four playoff games. But teaming up with Curry, one of the best point guards in N.B.A. history, may provide his best chance to win an elusive championship.The move is risky for Golden State. Curry, 35, will have in Paul another historically talented guard to help get him easy shots, if Paul can approximate his All-Star form. But if Paul continues to decline, Curry will have to shoulder more of the offensive burden. Paul likely will also have to get used to not being his team’s primary ballhandler.For Golden State, the trade is a rapid about-face on the 24-year-old Poole, whom the team once viewed as a promising bridge out of the Curry era. So much so that in October, Golden State rewarded Poole with a four-year contract extension worth up to $140 million.Poole, who just finished his fourth season, helped Golden State win a championship in 2022. While he has shown potential as an elite scorer, he had a penchant for erratic play and sloppy turnovers. His season got off to a rocky start: During a preseason practice, Golden State forward Draymond Green punched Poole in the face, video of which was leaked to TMZ, causing a headache for a franchise known for stability. The friction between Green and Poole lingered over the season.Poole is the second key young player Golden State has moved on from in the past several months. In February, the Warriors traded center James Wiseman, 22, to the Detroit Pistons. They had drafted him No. 2 overall in 2020 amid much hype. The young talents they have left, like Jonathan Kuminga, 20, and Moses Moody, 21, who were both first-round draft picks in 2021, have yet to play well consistently, though they have shown flashes of promise.Poole, whom Golden State drafted late in the first round in 2019, had been the best of the team’s recent picks. Now he is poised to join a Wizards team that appears to be commencing a full-scale rebuild. More

    • 113 Shares119 Views

      in Basket

      The Boot Camp for NBA Analysis and Hot Takes

      by

      Alan Williams was the first person to brave the anchor desk, tucked away on a chilly set at the University of Southern California that was darkened, save for the spotlight on Williams in his black suit and blue-striped tie. Almost involuntarily, he lifted a hand from the desk’s shiny surface and nervously scratched his face.Williams, a former N.B.A. player, read from a teleprompter, his deep voice booming robotically in the nearby control room, where U.S.C. students monitored his volume and made sure the camera was level. He bobbed his head up and down, much like the aliens inhabiting human bodies in the 1990s movie “Men in Black.”“Hi, everyone!” he said as he looked into a camera. “Welcome to ‘Sports Extra.’ I’m Alan Williams. The Miami Heat have evened the series against the Denver Nuggets. The Miami Heat’s tough-mindedness is really led by Coach Erik Spoelstra. And their identity truly proves Heat culture. Goodbye.”The camera stopped rolling, and Williams loosened his shoulders.“Oh god, did I go too fast?” Williams muttered. He looked around the set. Five other current and former professional basketball players quietly lingered in the corners. After a woman off to the side reassured Williams that he was fine, he responded with relief: “Man, I was about to say. Silence?”Norense Odiase, left, said broadcasting allowed him to tap into his skills beyond basketball.Alan Williams, left, and Norense Odiase, top right, are seen in the monitors during an exercise with Rob Parker, an analyst at Fox Sports.This drew laughter from the set and scattered applause from the players, who, like Williams, were wearing crisply pressed, stylish suits. Williams did another, smoother take, prompting one of the suited men to yell, “That boy good!”Williams, 30, and the men were at U.S.C.’s journalism school this month for a two-day N.B.A. players’ union camp called Broadcaster U., now in its 15th year. They learned how to host a studio show or podcast, do color commentary and rapidly dole out hot takes for an on-camera sports debate. Former N.B.A. players like Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and Shaquille O’Neal have gone through the program.Willow Bay, who once hosted “Inside Stuff” with Ahmad Rashad, addressed players during the camp. She’s now the dean of the U.S.C. Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.While superstars typically compete for more than a decade, the average N.B.A. player lasts only a handful of years. Dozens of players will get their start at the N.B.A. draft on Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but most of them will eventually have to find a new way to make a living. Crossing over into film and television has proved to be a viable, and often lucrative, alternate path, even for players who weren’t big stars.With a new television deal looming for the N.B.A., and streaming services and social media changing how fans engage with the game, there will likely be more opportunities for players to cash in.Williams played for the Nets and the Phoenix Suns from 2015 to 2019. Last year, while playing in Australia, he occasionally provided color commentary for the National Basketball League there.“I know that my time is coming to an end soon,” Williams said. “I want to be as prepared for the next step as possible.”Brevin Knight, a former N.B.A. point guard who went through the program in its inaugural year in 2008, is now a color commentator for the Memphis Grizzlies.“When you are done playing, you would like to take a little bit of time just to take a deep breath,” Knight said. “But I’ll tell you: The spending habits keep going and you always need something coming in.”Some camp attendees have already undertaken pursuits beyond the court. Norense Odiase, 27, plays in the NB.A.’s developmental league, the G League, and has a self-help podcast called “Mind Bully.” Will Barton, 32, has been in the N.B.A. since 2012 and has released several albums for his singing career under the name Thrill. Craig Smith, 39, spent six seasons in the N.B.A. and has written a children’s book.Will Barton, right, working with Jordan Moore, co-host of the “Trojans Live” radio show.Gerry Matalon, a talent performance coach and former ESPN producer, talking with Craig Smith.Smith was next up at the anchor desk after Williams, and he bounced in his seat. The words on his teleprompter were in all capital letters, though they were not supposed to be read that enthusiastically. Someone must have forgotten to tell him.“Hi, everyone!” Smith nearly shouted. “Welcome to ‘SPORTS EXTRA!’ I’m Craig Smith! Just about 24 HOURS until Game 3 of the N.B.A. finals!”He even stomped his feet a few times.Smith said he has been inspired by the many players who have started podcasts and especially by LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who have used their fame to create production companies.“It influences me a lot because I feel like we have a real voice and I feel like we have power that comes with it, being that we’re more than just ‘shut up and dribble’ players,” Smith said. “We have meaning and people want to hear what we have to say.”Hours later, Rob Parker, a Fox Sports host and an adjunct professor at U.S.C., gathered the players for what might be called Hot Take O’Clock to show them how to throw verbal bombs. He shared directives like “Don’t stay in the middle of the road” and “Make stuff that you can pull out — ‘Meme-able.’”“It’s OK to be wrong,” Parker said, adding that if they could be right all the time, they “would be in Las Vegas making money.”Parker frequently debates Chris Broussard, a Fox Sports host, on their radio show “The Odd Couple.” Williams asked Parker if he had ever disagreed with Broussard just for argument’s sake. Parker said no, and that he and Broussard discuss topics before their show. They use the ones they disagree on.“If we all agree that LeBron is the greatest player ever, what conversation are we having?” Parker said. “Do you know what I mean? There’s nothing going on here, and no one’s going to watch it.”Parker led the players in mock debates, as if they were on ESPN’s “First Take” or Fox Sports’s “Undisputed.” Those are among the most-watched programs at their networks and have turned their hosts into household names.Barton, center, taking notes during the broadcasting camp.Odiase and Smith argued about whether the Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler needed to win a championship to get into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Odiase said no; Smith said yes.“How many guys have taken a team of seven undrafted players, the eighth seed, to the N.B.A. finals?” Odiase said.“Is it Jimmy or is it Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley?” Parker interjected, referring to Miami’s longtime coach, Spoelstra, and its president and former coach, Riley.Odiase paused.“I’m sorry,” he said. “Before Jimmy got there, did they win without LeBron?”“Yeah, with Shaq and D-Wade,” Smith retorted, referring to O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, who won a championship in 2006 with Riley as coach.This rebuttal, undercutting Odiase’s argument, elicited laughter from the control room. Parker ended the segment and complimented Odiase and Smith for having a lively debate.“I do not believe nothing I’m saying,” Odiase told Parker afterward. Later, in an interview, Odiase said he felt “very uncomfortable” arguing a point he did not support, though he believes it happens “a lot” in sports media.The players receive reels of their best moments to show with networks in hopes of getting hired.For current and former players, taking part in hot take culture means having to critique players in ways they might not like if the comments were directed at them.Barton said that he gets frustrated sometimes when analysts “go too far on a player, especially if you haven’t played or you don’t really know what the guy’s going through.”He continued: “I feel like a lot of guys try to do that so they could go viral or feel like they’re a bigger asset to whatever company they’re working with because it’s entertainment.”The players also pretended to be analysts for an N.B.A. finals game. Jordan Moore, the radio voice for U.S.C. men’s basketball, did play-by-play. But first, he had advice.“Worst broadcast is if I go, ‘Oh, what a shot by Jimmy Butler!’ And you go, ‘Man, what a shot!’” Moore said.He added: “You all played in this league. You played with these guys. You have advance knowledge. That’s what you need to tap into. I could never get your job.”Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, who have worked for ESPN, and Shaquille O’Neal, an analyst for TNT, are among the former players who have gone through the program.The most earnest session was about podcasting. In 15-minute chunks, the players exchanged stories about their lives: playing on the road, dealing with fans, growing up.Shelvin Mack, 33, who played in the N.B.A. from 2011 to 2019, asked Robert Baker, a 24-year-old in the G League, what it was like to play for Harvard. Baker recalled a game against Kentucky.“My nerves was cool,” he said. “Tip off, I was warming up well. I was hitting shots, and then they played the intro type of song, I said, ‘Oh.’”Mack said, “You froze up?”“Yeah, bro,” Baker said, adding, “Tough day.”The players receive reels with their best moments from the camp that they can send to networks in the hopes of getting hired. Williams said the potential financial rewards of broadcasting appeal to him, though he’s “comfortable” financially. Odiase said this alternative career is a way to tap into his other skills and interests beyond basketball.“It’s learning all aspects of yourself to grow after the game,” he said. More

    • 150 Shares129 Views

      in Basket

      Victor Wembanyama Takes the Subway to Yankee Stadium to Throw First Pitch

      by

      It was a rather unremarkable Tuesday at Central Park West and Columbus Circle. Vendors sold hot dogs, coffee and overpriced bottled water nearby. A light breeze rustled the sycamore branches hanging over a bicycle rental kiosk filled with neat rows of mint green helmets. Then, at 4:41 p.m., a black Mercedes van crept through the jam of buses, police vehicles and flower-adorned bicycle cabs.Two teenagers watched as a lanky young man in dark sunglasses, black shorts and a white T-shirt unfolded himself out of the van and stood at more than seven feet tall.“Oh my god!” one of the teenagers said. “It’s Victor Wembanyama!”Wembanyama was in town for the N.B.A. draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, when he will almost certainly be selected No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs as one of the most anticipated prospects since LeBron James. He was on his way to Yankee Stadium to throw the ceremonial first pitch for Tuesday night’s game with Seattle. But before that, he wanted to try something he had never done: ride the New York City subway.Wembanyama greeted fans as he arrived at Columbus Circle.And as he entered the subway.“Watch your head!” a police officer bellowed as Wembanyama walked through the station and ducked beneath a cream-painted pipe on the ceiling.“I’m used to it,” said Wembanyama, who is at least 7-foot-4. In France, where he grew up and played professional basketball last season for Metropolitans 92, he has ridden the Paris metro plenty of times. By now, at 19 years old, he is generally accustomed to bobbing his head to keep it from hitting things.He had flown to the New York metropolitan area on Monday afternoon, when he was swarmed by fans at Newark Liberty International Airport. Now he had just visited the offices of the N.B.A. players’ union on Sixth Avenue, about a block from Bryant Park. He needed to catch a Bronx-bound D train at Columbus Circle. A teammate from France, Bilal Coulibaly, who is also expected to be drafted early on Thursday, Wembanyama’s agents and his communications manager had come along.Wembanyama’s family met him at the subway station — his parents, brother and sister — as did police officers, N.B.A. security personnel, in-house content producers for the N.B.A., and reporters and photographers from two French news media outlets and The New York Times. It was a formidably sized group for a Tuesday afternoon subway car.At over seven feet tall, Wembanyama had to bend his head to keep it from touching the ceiling of the subway car.Exiting the D train at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.Harry Cisse, 17, who was on the way to a friend’s graduation, sighed deeply as the group packed onto the train, leaving little space to move or breathe.“WELCOME TO NEW YORK!” a woman’s voice boomed in the distance as the train began to roll. She added, as Wembanyama stood in the middle of the car with his head bent: “HOW TALL IS HE?”Sebastian Cardona, 22, immediately texted and called some friends on FaceTime with his iPhone to let them know he was on the train with Wembanyama.“Rookie of the year!” Cardona yelled before trying to get Wembanyama to turn around for a photo. Cardona, too, was on his way to see the Yankees. He said he knew Wembanyama was going to throw out the first pitch, but he never expected to see him on the subway.A few feet away, a woman shouted in French for Wembanyama to turn. He obliged a couple of times and smiled for her photos. Aladji Sacko, 25, a Frenchman who now lives in New York, was standing next to the woman on his way home.“I’ve only seen him on TV,” Sacko said as he grinned. A few minutes later he wove through the crowded car to sneak closer for a photo.Wembanyama surrounded by police and his entourage, walking in the Bronx.Many eager fans awaited a Wembanyama signed baseball.After the first stop, at 125th Street, Wembanyama found a seat. Two seats away, a woman’s headphones flashed colored lights. She closed her eyes and ignored the commotion around her.Wembanyama smiled as he sat, then spent most of the ride like anyone might — checking his phone, chatting with his companions. He did a short interview with the N.B.A.’s entertainment group, telling them he wished he had a chance to visit more of the city. After Thursday night, Wembanyama is expected to be whisked off to San Antonio.It took four stops on the D train to go from Columbus Circle to Yankee Stadium. Wembanyama and his court left the train together, ascending a yellow-tiled stairwell into the Bronx. People driving and biking by Wembanyama yelled to get his attention. One person in a car shouted, “Go Spurs!” and Wembanyama smiled to acknowledge the cheer.Trying to see if the Yankees were a good fit.Wembanyama, left, spoke to Yankees catcher Jose Trevino inside the Yankees’ dugout.Fans waiting in line to enter Yankee Stadium grabbed their cellphones to record Wembanyama as he passed by, chattering excitedly about the N.B.A. draft.Inside the stadium, Wembanyama spent some time in the dugout with Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, perhaps getting some advice on his impending pitch. Wembanyama fiddled with a baseball that looked like a golf ball in his outsize hands. He left the dugout to sign autographs and pose for pictures with children.He still had more than an hour before his pitch.When it was finally time, he clapped as he approached the mound. The crowd, still filling in, cheered to welcome him. Wembanyama wound up and threw the pitch too far outside for Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt, stationed behind home plate, to catch it.Wembanyama shrugged, and then he laughed.Wembanyama threw a wild first pitch. More