The LA Clippers managed to spoil the Los Angeles Lakers’ celebration party on Wednesday night by beating them 116-109 to start the 2020-21 season.

Before the game tipped off, the Lakers marked the last season’s title-winning season by awarding the team with rings to commemorate their success.

The ceremony was filled with heartwarming moments, as the medical workers, players’ families, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and even some celebrities took part in the festivities.

The Lakers’ players, however, couldn’t enjoy the moment for too long—because it was time to focus on the new season and play the Clippers. But it wasn’t the greatest of starts.

Following a disappointing playoff exit in 2019-20, the Clippers came to Staples Center to play, and it showed from the very start. They dominated the Lakers in the first quarter, outscoring them by 20 points.

The Lakers managed to bounce back in the second, finding a rhythm and managing to cut the Clippers lead to just two before the half.

However, the Clippers managed to pull ahead once again in the third quarter, creating a double-digit lead to enter the final period thanks to some big moments from Paul George.

The Lakers tried to make another run in the last 12 minutes but couldn’t contain the Clippers’ offense enough to make it close.

The Clippers were led by George, who finished the game with 33 points, including 26 in the second half. Kawhi Leonard added 26 points, three assists, and two steals.

LeBron James starred for the Lakers on the other side with 22 points, while Anthony Davis finished the night with 18 points and seven boards.

The Lakers are hosting Dallas Mavericks next while the Clippers travel to Denver to face the Nuggets.

The post Lakers Beaten by Clippers as 2020-21 NBA Season Tips Off appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Knicks are currently finalizing a five-year deal with former Bulls and Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, bringing a new era of basketball to the Big Apple.

Thibodeau, who won the 2011 NBA Coach of the Year Award during his excellent run with Chicago, is expected to be announced as the franchise’s new head coach at some point this week.

This move could end up being a big win for the Knicks, who have struggled with a lack of consistency and winning results from their coaches ever since the turn of the century.

David Fizdale was the last coach to be kicked out of Madison Square Garden, being fired this winter after posting a dismal 21-83 record during parts of two seasons with the franchise.

While Mike Miller acted as the team’s interim coach during the majority of the 2019-20 season, it was clear that the franchise would look to bring in a big-name coach with whom to go forward, and they appear to have gotten their man in Thibodeau.

If things go to plan, the Knicks now have a tough, defensive-minded head coach who may be able to help their young, talented players and return the team to the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

The post Knicks Reportedly Agree to 5-Year Deal with Coach Tom Thibodeau appeared first on SportzBonanza.

One of the top prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft class has declared his intentions to play in the NBA G-League in the 2020-21 season instead of playing college basketball.

Jonathan Kuminga, who has been rated as the number one prospect by many outlets for next June’s draft, had been previously weighing the pros and cons of skipping college entirely. Apparently, the idea of playing professionally in the NBA’s development league’s professional pathway program was the most attractive option for him and his family.

“I see my potential as an NBA player, and with the G League, they’ll help me a lot more than college,” said Kuminga in an interview with The Athletic. “The G League will help me more than how college was going to help me on being the player I want to be right now and going pro,” he went on to add.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo native is a 6’8″ small forward who has the potential to turn into one of the most explosive offensive threats in the league.

Kuminga is set to make around $500,000 on his G-League contract in the upcoming season before he will be eligible for selection in next summer’s draft.

The post Top NBA Prospect Jonathan Kuminga to Skip College, Play in G-League appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered one of the first major injuries of the Orlando “bubble” camp on Sunday, as point guard Rajon Rondo suffered a right thumb fracture.

Rondo, who has played 20.5 minutes per game this season, averaging 7.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game, will need surgery to repair the fracture and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks of action as he recovers.

The veteran point guard, considered one of the Lakers’ most important bench pieces and a key role player in the Lakers’ pursuit of a championship, will certainly miss the rest of the regular season and a significant chunk of the playoffs due to his thumb.

The former Celtics star, a four-time All-Star and three-time NBA assists leader, has been a key depth piece for the team all season and his absence will certainly be felt going forward.

Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook will be expected to shoulder the burden of making up for Rondo’s missed minutes until the Kentucky alum is able to return to the floor.

The Lakers, currently on track to be the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, will hope that Rondo is able to return and contribute to a potential title run after the NBA’s return.

The post Lakers Guard Rajon Rondo Breaks Thumb in Practice appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Kobe Bryant has been honored with a spot as a cover athlete on the NBA 2K21 video game in the aftermath of his death in a helicopter accident in January.

The NBA 2K series, one of the highest-selling sports video games on the market and the only officially-licensed NBA game for the PlayStation and Xbox, has added Bryant as the third option alongside the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson.

2K is set to offer a “Mamba Forever” edition on both current and next-gen platforms in the fall in order to honor the life and legacy of the former Lakers star.

Bryant, a five-time winner of the NBA title, the 2008 Most Valuable Player, and an 18-time All-Star, will be featured as this year’s legend cover, an honor which has previously been given to players such as Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.

The “Mamba Forever” edition of the game is set to include exclusive content related to the career of one of the biggest stars in the history of the National Basketball Association.

This year’s game is expected to be released on September 4th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and will be released later for the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series when they hit the market this fall.

The post Kobe Bryant to be Featured on NBA 2K21 Cover appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Star shooting guard Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards revealed on Wednesday that he is still undecided when it comes to taking part in the restart of the NBA season in August.

Beal, which has been recovering from some nagging injuries that limited him before the postponement of the season, said that both his small injuries as well as the danger and limitations of the Orlando restart have forced him to consider not playing.

“Listen, it’s not a walk in the park,” Beal said about the bubble in which players will have to live in Orlando. “That is where a lot of guys are concerned about. We can’t just leave. We can’t just order whatever food we want. We can’t just do activities in which we want to do. We can’t go to our teammate’s room.”

Beal, a two-time All-Star, has been putting up superstar caliber numbers this season for Washington. He has averaged 30.5 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 57 games this season.

The 3rd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft has become the Wizards’ franchise cornerstone along with John Wall. Despite Beal’s excellence, however, the Wizards find themselves in 9th place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-40 record.

Beal is expected to make his decision about 2020 in the coming weeks.

The post Wizards SG Bradley Beal Undecided on Playing in NBA Restart appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Denver Nuggets have chosen to close their team’s practice facility for several days after two members of the team’s traveling party tested positive for the coronavirus.

These people, reportedly staff members and not players, had been in the facility recently and as a precaution, the 43-22 Nuggets were forced to shut down their facility in order to disinfect it, closing the facility until further notice.

The Nuggets, currently slated to be the Western Conference’s 3rd seed in the NBA Playoffs, are set to travel to Orlando in preparations for the season’s restart on July 7th.

The players which are in Denver, however, will be forced to practice and train individually and at a different place rather than the team’s facility after the scare.

This isn’t the only positive test which the Nuggets have received since the pandemic began, as center Nikola Jokic tested positive for the virus in his native country of Serbia last week.

Jokic remains in Serbia and will have to receive two negative test results in order to be allowed to return to the United States and to return to practice.

For now, the Nuggets can only hope that the outbreak within its team is confined to the two staff members and that it has not spread to other players and personnel who spent time in the facility.

The post Nuggets Close Training Facility Due to Coronavirus Positives appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who were informed by guard Avery Bradley that he would not participate in the rest of the 2020 season thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have reportedly settled on his replacement for the remainder of the season.

Los Angeles will reportedly ink veteran shooting guard JR Smith to a deal for the remainder of the year.

The 34-year-old scorer, the 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year and NBA Championship winner with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, will have the chance to come back to the league after he was waived by his former team last summer.

He has not appeared in an NBA game since November 2018.

Smith, who had spent the past five seasons as a volume-shooting sixth man for Cleveland, will reunite with former teammate LeBron James as he looks to play a part on the bench for a Lakers team that has NBA title aspirations.

The former Hornet, Nugget, and Knick will be expected to provide bench depth for the Lakers along with Dion Waiters, Alex Caruso, and Rajon Rondo as the team looks to continue the success that has propelled them to a title contender this year.

The contract is expected to be finished and announced by the middle of the week.

The post Lakers Finalizing Deal with SG JR Smith appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan has revealed that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and that he will opt out of the rest of the 2020 NBA season as a result of his illness.

Jordan, who signed with the Nets as a free agent last summer on a 4-year, $40 million deal, cited health concerns for himself, family members, and his teammates as reasons that he will stay home instead of participating in the conclusion of the season.

The Texas native has primarily played a reserve role for the Nets this season, recording 8.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in just over 20 minutes of action on average.

The Nets, who currently find themselves with a 30-34 record and are in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, will certainly miss their big man’s defensive and rebounding presence in the paint.

The team will have the option to sign a player to replace Jordan for the rest of the season if it chooses to do so. However, there have been no indications as of now that Brooklyn has targeted any specific player to replace their big man.

The NBA is scheduled to get back underway in early August in Orlando, Florida.

The post Nets C DeAndre Jordan Opts Out of NBA Restart appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Dallas Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein has informed his team that he will opt-out of the resumed NBA season due to the impending birth of his child in July.

The NBA gave the players of the teams who will compete in the season resumption the option to opt-out of the games without receiving their salary. If a player opts out, his team will have the ability to sign a player to replace him.

Cauley-Stein, a 26-year-old center who was traded to the Mavs in January from the Golden State Warriors, has played primarily as a backup for Dallas this season after being a starter for the Dubs.

The Kentucky alum is averaging 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds for a game this season, providing irregular production as a big man whose game hasn’t quite blossomed as expected ever since he was the 6th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Drat.

Dallas is expected to sign point guard Trey Burke in Cauley-Stein’s place for the rest of the season, an important addition to their team at a position where they needed to improve their depth.

Burke spent last season with the Mavericks, averaging 9.7 points and 2.6 assists per game in 25 games.

The post Mavericks’ Willie Cauley-Stein to Opt-out of NBA Season Restart appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The LA Clippers managed to spoil the Los Angeles Lakers’ celebration party on Wednesday night by beating them 116-109 to start the 2020-21 season.

Before the game tipped off, the Lakers marked the last season’s title-winning season by awarding the team with rings to commemorate their success.

The ceremony was filled with heartwarming moments, as the medical workers, players’ families, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and even some celebrities took part in the festivities.

The Lakers’ players, however, couldn’t enjoy the moment for too long—because it was time to focus on the new season and play the Clippers. But it wasn’t the greatest of starts.

Following a disappointing playoff exit in 2019-20, the Clippers came to Staples Center to play, and it showed from the very start. They dominated the Lakers in the first quarter, outscoring them by 20 points.

The Lakers managed to bounce back in the second, finding a rhythm and managing to cut the Clippers lead to just two before the half.

However, the Clippers managed to pull ahead once again in the third quarter, creating a double-digit lead to enter the final period thanks to some big moments from Paul George.

The Lakers tried to make another run in the last 12 minutes but couldn’t contain the Clippers’ offense enough to make it close.

The Clippers were led by George, who finished the game with 33 points, including 26 in the second half. Kawhi Leonard added 26 points, three assists, and two steals.

LeBron James starred for the Lakers on the other side with 22 points, while Anthony Davis finished the night with 18 points and seven boards.

The Lakers are hosting Dallas Mavericks next while the Clippers travel to Denver to face the Nuggets.

The post Lakers Beaten by Clippers as 2020-21 NBA Season Tips Off appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New York Knicks are currently finalizing a five-year deal with former Bulls and Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, bringing a new era of basketball to the Big Apple.

Thibodeau, who won the 2011 NBA Coach of the Year Award during his excellent run with Chicago, is expected to be announced as the franchise’s new head coach at some point this week.

This move could end up being a big win for the Knicks, who have struggled with a lack of consistency and winning results from their coaches ever since the turn of the century.

David Fizdale was the last coach to be kicked out of Madison Square Garden, being fired this winter after posting a dismal 21-83 record during parts of two seasons with the franchise.

While Mike Miller acted as the team’s interim coach during the majority of the 2019-20 season, it was clear that the franchise would look to bring in a big-name coach with whom to go forward, and they appear to have gotten their man in Thibodeau.

If things go to plan, the Knicks now have a tough, defensive-minded head coach who may be able to help their young, talented players and return the team to the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

The post Knicks Reportedly Agree to 5-Year Deal with Coach Tom Thibodeau appeared first on SportzBonanza.

One of the top prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft class has declared his intentions to play in the NBA G-League in the 2020-21 season instead of playing college basketball.

Jonathan Kuminga, who has been rated as the number one prospect by many outlets for next June’s draft, had been previously weighing the pros and cons of skipping college entirely. Apparently, the idea of playing professionally in the NBA’s development league’s professional pathway program was the most attractive option for him and his family.

“I see my potential as an NBA player, and with the G League, they’ll help me a lot more than college,” said Kuminga in an interview with The Athletic. “The G League will help me more than how college was going to help me on being the player I want to be right now and going pro,” he went on to add.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo native is a 6’8″ small forward who has the potential to turn into one of the most explosive offensive threats in the league.

Kuminga is set to make around $500,000 on his G-League contract in the upcoming season before he will be eligible for selection in next summer’s draft.

The post Top NBA Prospect Jonathan Kuminga to Skip College, Play in G-League appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered one of the first major injuries of the Orlando “bubble” camp on Sunday, as point guard Rajon Rondo suffered a right thumb fracture.

Rondo, who has played 20.5 minutes per game this season, averaging 7.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game, will need surgery to repair the fracture and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks of action as he recovers.

The veteran point guard, considered one of the Lakers’ most important bench pieces and a key role player in the Lakers’ pursuit of a championship, will certainly miss the rest of the regular season and a significant chunk of the playoffs due to his thumb.

The former Celtics star, a four-time All-Star and three-time NBA assists leader, has been a key depth piece for the team all season and his absence will certainly be felt going forward.

Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook will be expected to shoulder the burden of making up for Rondo’s missed minutes until the Kentucky alum is able to return to the floor.

The Lakers, currently on track to be the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, will hope that Rondo is able to return and contribute to a potential title run after the NBA’s return.

The post Lakers Guard Rajon Rondo Breaks Thumb in Practice appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Kobe Bryant has been honored with a spot as a cover athlete on the NBA 2K21 video game in the aftermath of his death in a helicopter accident in January.

The NBA 2K series, one of the highest-selling sports video games on the market and the only officially-licensed NBA game for the PlayStation and Xbox, has added Bryant as the third option alongside the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson.

2K is set to offer a “Mamba Forever” edition on both current and next-gen platforms in the fall in order to honor the life and legacy of the former Lakers star.

Bryant, a five-time winner of the NBA title, the 2008 Most Valuable Player, and an 18-time All-Star, will be featured as this year’s legend cover, an honor which has previously been given to players such as Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.

The “Mamba Forever” edition of the game is set to include exclusive content related to the career of one of the biggest stars in the history of the National Basketball Association.

This year’s game is expected to be released on September 4th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and will be released later for the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series when they hit the market this fall.

The post Kobe Bryant to be Featured on NBA 2K21 Cover appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Star shooting guard Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards revealed on Wednesday that he is still undecided when it comes to taking part in the restart of the NBA season in August.

Beal, which has been recovering from some nagging injuries that limited him before the postponement of the season, said that both his small injuries as well as the danger and limitations of the Orlando restart have forced him to consider not playing.

“Listen, it’s not a walk in the park,” Beal said about the bubble in which players will have to live in Orlando. “That is where a lot of guys are concerned about. We can’t just leave. We can’t just order whatever food we want. We can’t just do activities in which we want to do. We can’t go to our teammate’s room.”

Beal, a two-time All-Star, has been putting up superstar caliber numbers this season for Washington. He has averaged 30.5 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 57 games this season.

The 3rd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft has become the Wizards’ franchise cornerstone along with John Wall. Despite Beal’s excellence, however, the Wizards find themselves in 9th place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-40 record.

Beal is expected to make his decision about 2020 in the coming weeks.

The post Wizards SG Bradley Beal Undecided on Playing in NBA Restart appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Denver Nuggets have chosen to close their team’s practice facility for several days after two members of the team’s traveling party tested positive for the coronavirus.

These people, reportedly staff members and not players, had been in the facility recently and as a precaution, the 43-22 Nuggets were forced to shut down their facility in order to disinfect it, closing the facility until further notice.

The Nuggets, currently slated to be the Western Conference’s 3rd seed in the NBA Playoffs, are set to travel to Orlando in preparations for the season’s restart on July 7th.

The players which are in Denver, however, will be forced to practice and train individually and at a different place rather than the team’s facility after the scare.

This isn’t the only positive test which the Nuggets have received since the pandemic began, as center Nikola Jokic tested positive for the virus in his native country of Serbia last week.

Jokic remains in Serbia and will have to receive two negative test results in order to be allowed to return to the United States and to return to practice.

For now, the Nuggets can only hope that the outbreak within its team is confined to the two staff members and that it has not spread to other players and personnel who spent time in the facility.

The post Nuggets Close Training Facility Due to Coronavirus Positives appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who were informed by guard Avery Bradley that he would not participate in the rest of the 2020 season thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, have reportedly settled on his replacement for the remainder of the season.

Los Angeles will reportedly ink veteran shooting guard JR Smith to a deal for the remainder of the year.

The 34-year-old scorer, the 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year and NBA Championship winner with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, will have the chance to come back to the league after he was waived by his former team last summer.

He has not appeared in an NBA game since November 2018.

Smith, who had spent the past five seasons as a volume-shooting sixth man for Cleveland, will reunite with former teammate LeBron James as he looks to play a part on the bench for a Lakers team that has NBA title aspirations.

The former Hornet, Nugget, and Knick will be expected to provide bench depth for the Lakers along with Dion Waiters, Alex Caruso, and Rajon Rondo as the team looks to continue the success that has propelled them to a title contender this year.

The contract is expected to be finished and announced by the middle of the week.

The post Lakers Finalizing Deal with SG JR Smith appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan has revealed that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and that he will opt out of the rest of the 2020 NBA season as a result of his illness.

Jordan, who signed with the Nets as a free agent last summer on a 4-year, $40 million deal, cited health concerns for himself, family members, and his teammates as reasons that he will stay home instead of participating in the conclusion of the season.

The Texas native has primarily played a reserve role for the Nets this season, recording 8.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in just over 20 minutes of action on average.

The Nets, who currently find themselves with a 30-34 record and are in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, will certainly miss their big man’s defensive and rebounding presence in the paint.

The team will have the option to sign a player to replace Jordan for the rest of the season if it chooses to do so. However, there have been no indications as of now that Brooklyn has targeted any specific player to replace their big man.

The NBA is scheduled to get back underway in early August in Orlando, Florida.

The post Nets C DeAndre Jordan Opts Out of NBA Restart appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Dallas Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein has informed his team that he will opt-out of the resumed NBA season due to the impending birth of his child in July.

The NBA gave the players of the teams who will compete in the season resumption the option to opt-out of the games without receiving their salary. If a player opts out, his team will have the ability to sign a player to replace him.

Cauley-Stein, a 26-year-old center who was traded to the Mavs in January from the Golden State Warriors, has played primarily as a backup for Dallas this season after being a starter for the Dubs.

The Kentucky alum is averaging 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds for a game this season, providing irregular production as a big man whose game hasn’t quite blossomed as expected ever since he was the 6th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Drat.

Dallas is expected to sign point guard Trey Burke in Cauley-Stein’s place for the rest of the season, an important addition to their team at a position where they needed to improve their depth.

Burke spent last season with the Mavericks, averaging 9.7 points and 2.6 assists per game in 25 games.

The post Mavericks’ Willie Cauley-Stein to Opt-out of NBA Season Restart appeared first on SportzBonanza.