After earning his first All-Star selection, the Philadelphia 76ers’ point guard Tyrese Maxey received recognition for his outstanding 2023-24 campaign. On Tuesday, Maxey was unveiled as the recipient of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

Maxey received 51 first-place votes and a total of 319 points from the panel of voters. Chicago Bulls’ Coby White came in second with 32 first-place votes and 305 total points, while Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun had 92 points.

After the 76ers traded James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers in the early 2023-24 season, Maxey was trusted with the starting point guard role and ended up delivering his career season. He averaged career-highs across the board, finishing the campaign with 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.0 steals.

“I have had to take different steps,” Maxey said after being presented with the award. “In the offseason, I didn’t know what the situation was going to be with James, so my thing was I have to work on pick and roll every day, working on passing, working on reads … those little things excite me the most, because I don’t think I couldn’t have made the plays I’m making this year in recent years.

The award for Most Improved Player is the first regular-season award presented for the 2023-24 season. In the following days, more awards will be handed out, including awards for Coach of the Year and Clutch player of the year.

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The Brooklyn Nets have wrapped up their head coaching search. The franchise announced that they have hired Sacramento Kings’ assistant Jordi Fernandez for the position.

The Nets fired head coach Jacque Vaughn after a poor start to the 2023-24 season, with assistant Kevin Ollie taking over on an interim basis. Brooklyn finished the campaign at No. 11 on the Eastern Conference standings with a 32-50 record.

Fernandez has served as the Kings’ assistant for the past two years while also coaching Canada’s national team, with whom he won a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He previously had a stint as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets and served as the head coach for the G League team Canton Charge.

The Nets considered a number of candidates for their head coaching vacancy, including the former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, but ended up deciding that Fernandez was the best option available.

“We’re thrilled to announce Jordi Fernández as Brooklyn’s new head coach,” said Nets’ general manager Sean Marks in a statement. “As we progressed through an extensive search over the past six weeks, it became increasingly clear that Jordi is the best coach to lead our team forward. Jordi brings a diverse set of experiences and basketball knowledge gained over the course of a coaching career that has taken him around the world.”

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The NBA announced the finalists for its regular season awards for the 2023-24 season, including Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. 

The list of finalists for the MVP award includes Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Jokic is looking for his third MVP award, while Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander are the first-time finalists.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert is looking to add another DPOY award to his resume, having claimed the honor three times so far. He will be challenged by Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and San Antonio Spurs’ rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama is also in the running for the ROY award and is the overwhelming favorite to win it. OKC’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller are the two other finalists.

OKC’s Mark Daigneault, Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, and Orlando Magic’s Jamahl Mosley are in the running for the Coach of the Year award. Daigneault led his team to a 57-25 record and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while Finch and Timberwolves finished just one win behind OKC with a 56-26 record. Mosley, on the other hand, guided the Magic to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 47-35 record and the first playoff appearance since 2019–20.

The finalists for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award are Malik Monk (Sacramento Kings), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), and Naz Reid (Timberwolves). Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets), and Coby White (Chicago Bulls) are in the running for the Most Improved Player award, while the Clutch Player of the Year award will go to either Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls) or Gilgeous-Alexander.

The winners for each award will be announced during the NBA playoffs.

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Six-time All-Star power forward Blake Griffin announced his retirement from the NBA on Wednesday. Griffin, who is best known for his time with the Los Angeles Clippers, walks away from professional basketball after 13 years in the league.

Griffin last played in 2022–23, when he appeared in 41 games with the Boston Celtics and averaged a career-low 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds. He remained unsigned throughout the 2023-24 season.

The former first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft made his retirement announcement via a statement shared on social media.

“I never envisioned myself as the guy who would have a ‘letter to basketball’ retirement announcement … and I’m still not going to be that guy. But as I reflected on my career, the one feeling I kept coming back to and the one thing I wanted to express was thankfulness,“ Griffin wrote in the statement. “The game of basketball has given me so much in this life, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

After sitting out his rookie season due to a knee injury, Blake Griffin made his NBA debut in the 2010-11 NBA season and immediately took the league by storm. He won the Rookie of the Year honors, was named an All-Star, and won the Slam Dunk Contest in his first year as a pro. Griffin would follow that by being an All-Star in each of the next four seasons while also finishing third in MVP voting in the 2013-14 season.

After this dominant five-year stretch, injuries derailed Griffin’s career and caused the Clippers to trade him to the Detroit Pistons midway through the 2017-18 season. Griffin briefly returned to All-Star form in 2018–19 before the injuries got the better of him once again. He was released by the Pistons during the 2020–21 season and played one-and-a-half seasons with the Brooklyn Nets before a stint with the Celtics.

Griffin retires with NBA career averages of 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

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You are probably familiar with various promos offered by NBA teams during games. Some NBA teams will hand out T-shirts, others will offer discount codes, while some will treat their fans with free food in case of certain events.

The Los Angeles Clippers have a particularly interesting promo that states all fans in the arena will get free chicken if an opposing player misses two consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter. This promo came into play during the regular-season finale against the Houston Rockets, thanks to center Boban Marjanovic.

Both the Clippers and Rockets had virtually nothing to play for as teams were locked in their places on standings. So, when Marjanovic went to the line with 4:44 left in the fourth quarter and missed his first free throw, he decided to treat the Clippers fans with some free food. He intentionally missed his second free throw, telling the crowd: “It’s on me,” and prompted huge cheers from the stands.

While some players probably wouldn’t want to do any favors to opposing fans, Marjanovic had plenty of reasons to do this for the Clippers’ fans. The 35-year-old Serbian played for parts of two seasons with the franchise, and despite appearing in only 56 games, he became a fan favorite due to his lighthearted humor and contagious energy.

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The Brooklyn Nets are inching closer to finding their new head coach. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Nets already have a list of finalists, which includes former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Budenholzer has been fired by the Bucks after an unceremonious end of the 2022–23 season. Milwaukee finished the regular season with the best record in the league but ended up being bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the eight-seeded Miami Heat.

Budenholzer is well-regarded around the league, considering his track record of success. He got his first NBA head coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013–14 and led the franchise to five postseason appearances, including two Conference finals, in six seasons.

After taking over the Bucks in 2018–19, Budenholzer made the Conference semifinals in each of his first four seasons and won an NBA title in 2020–21. However, during his time with the franchise, he was often criticized for sticking to his preferred style and not adapting well to opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

It remains to be seen whether the Nets, who fired head coach Jacque Vaughn in February, will go with a proven name in Budenholzer or pick out an up-and-coming coach. Their list of finalists reportedly also includes Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young and Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez.

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The Golden State Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green made NBA history in a 109-114 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. He became the first player in the history of the league to record a double-double without taking a single shot.

Green finished the Pelicans game with 12 rebounds and 11 assists. During his 36 minutes on the floor, he didn’t attempt a field goal shot or go to the free throw line.

Speaking with reporters after the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr didn’t mind the lack of Green’s contributions on offense. He praised him for his overall contributions and said that he was a big part of the reason why his team had a shot to win the game.

“I don’t care if Draymond shoots or doesn’t shoot,” Kerr said. “He does everything else. He was incredible tonight. His defense was so good, his competitiveness. I thought our guys in the second half, the way they fought, it was amazing to watch just the competitive spirit and the energy.

Draymond Green has had a rocky season in which he was suspended multiple times. However, he is still a crucial part of the Warriors’ team, thanks to his defense and versatility. Green is currently averaging 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game.

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The Milwaukee Bucks will close out the 2023-24 regular season without their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The decision comes after Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury in a 104-91 win over the Boston Celtics earlier this week.

Antetokounmpo went down in the third quarter of the Celtics game. He was running up the floor when he suddenly fell and grabbed his calf. The Bucks initially feared that he might have injured his Achilles, which would end his season completely, but an MRI showed that it was only a calf strain.

“Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI last night that confirmed the diagnosis of a left soleus (calf) strain. He will miss the remaining three games of the regular season and receive daily treatment and evaluation,” the Bucks said in an update.

The Bucks are currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference with a 49-31 record but still need to win at least one of their two remaining games to lock the spot with the third-place New York Knicks breathing down their neck.

It now remains to be seen whether Antetokounmpo recovers in time to be available for the start of the postseason. The Bucks are scheduled to play Game 1 on April 20 or April 21, but players usually miss between one and two weeks with similar injuries.

Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a career-high 6.5 assists per game this season.

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With a 111-92 win over the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks reached the 50-win mark in 2023-24. This ensured that the Mavs would finish the season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference but also brought a nice payout for their star point guard Kyrie Irving.

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Irving had a bonus clause in his contract that required Mavs to pay him $1 million if they reach 50 wins this season and he plays at least 50 games.

Irving signed a 3 year, $120 million contract with the Mavs in the offseason. At the time, he revealed that he asked for several performance-based incentives in order to provide a bit of added motivation for himself.

“I wanted everything that was structured in my contract incentive-wise to be based on production, and that was wins and how many games I’m playing,” Irving said at the time. “…

So I just wanted to make sure that I had some friendly terms, but also some realistic expectations for myself going into the season, looking to just play as many games as possible.”

Irving played in 58 games this season, his most since the 2018-19 campaign. Still, he will miss out on another bonus, which he would be due if he plays 65 games in 2023-24, considering there are only two games left in the regular season.

Kyrie Irving played exceptional basketball for the Mavs this season, averaging 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 41.1% from three-point line.

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The Phoenix Suns announced that they are signing veteran point guard Isaiah Thomas to a contract until the end of the season. Thomas previously played on two 10-day contracts with the franchise.

Thomas hasn’t played much so far with the Suns, spending 14 minutes on the floor in four games combined while scoring five points and adding two assists. However, the Suns reportedly want additional backcourt depth for the postseason while also appreciating his leadership and presence in the locker room.

Isaiah Thomas, who has two NBA All-Star nods to his name, last played meaningful basketball in 2021-22 when he averaged 8.4 points and 1.5 assists in 22 games with the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Charlotte Hornets. Thomas remained unsigned in 2022-23 and only returned to basketball this past March after signing with NBA G League side Salt Lake City Stars. He averaged 32.5 points and 5.3 assists in four games with before receiving a call-up from the Suns.

“I just spoke it into existence the last couple years,” Thomas said in a chat with reporters after signing the deal. “I spoke everything that’s happened in my career into existence, so it’s definitely not a surprise for me … I’m super grateful as always, appreciative of the opportunity. The Suns gave me an opportunity when no one else would.”

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After earning his first All-Star selection, the Philadelphia 76ers’ point guard Tyrese Maxey received recognition for his outstanding 2023-24 campaign. On Tuesday, Maxey was unveiled as the recipient of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

Maxey received 51 first-place votes and a total of 319 points from the panel of voters. Chicago Bulls’ Coby White came in second with 32 first-place votes and 305 total points, while Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun had 92 points.

After the 76ers traded James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers in the early 2023-24 season, Maxey was trusted with the starting point guard role and ended up delivering his career season. He averaged career-highs across the board, finishing the campaign with 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.0 steals.

“I have had to take different steps,” Maxey said after being presented with the award. “In the offseason, I didn’t know what the situation was going to be with James, so my thing was I have to work on pick and roll every day, working on passing, working on reads … those little things excite me the most, because I don’t think I couldn’t have made the plays I’m making this year in recent years.

The award for Most Improved Player is the first regular-season award presented for the 2023-24 season. In the following days, more awards will be handed out, including awards for Coach of the Year and Clutch player of the year.

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The Brooklyn Nets have wrapped up their head coaching search. The franchise announced that they have hired Sacramento Kings’ assistant Jordi Fernandez for the position.

The Nets fired head coach Jacque Vaughn after a poor start to the 2023-24 season, with assistant Kevin Ollie taking over on an interim basis. Brooklyn finished the campaign at No. 11 on the Eastern Conference standings with a 32-50 record.

Fernandez has served as the Kings’ assistant for the past two years while also coaching Canada’s national team, with whom he won a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He previously had a stint as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets and served as the head coach for the G League team Canton Charge.

The Nets considered a number of candidates for their head coaching vacancy, including the former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, but ended up deciding that Fernandez was the best option available.

“We’re thrilled to announce Jordi Fernández as Brooklyn’s new head coach,” said Nets’ general manager Sean Marks in a statement. “As we progressed through an extensive search over the past six weeks, it became increasingly clear that Jordi is the best coach to lead our team forward. Jordi brings a diverse set of experiences and basketball knowledge gained over the course of a coaching career that has taken him around the world.”

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The NBA announced the finalists for its regular season awards for the 2023-24 season, including Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. 

The list of finalists for the MVP award includes Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Jokic is looking for his third MVP award, while Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander are the first-time finalists.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert is looking to add another DPOY award to his resume, having claimed the honor three times so far. He will be challenged by Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and San Antonio Spurs’ rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama is also in the running for the ROY award and is the overwhelming favorite to win it. OKC’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller are the two other finalists.

OKC’s Mark Daigneault, Timberwolves’ Chris Finch, and Orlando Magic’s Jamahl Mosley are in the running for the Coach of the Year award. Daigneault led his team to a 57-25 record and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while Finch and Timberwolves finished just one win behind OKC with a 56-26 record. Mosley, on the other hand, guided the Magic to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 47-35 record and the first playoff appearance since 2019–20.

The finalists for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award are Malik Monk (Sacramento Kings), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), and Naz Reid (Timberwolves). Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets), and Coby White (Chicago Bulls) are in the running for the Most Improved Player award, while the Clutch Player of the Year award will go to either Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls) or Gilgeous-Alexander.

The winners for each award will be announced during the NBA playoffs.

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Six-time All-Star power forward Blake Griffin announced his retirement from the NBA on Wednesday. Griffin, who is best known for his time with the Los Angeles Clippers, walks away from professional basketball after 13 years in the league.

Griffin last played in 2022–23, when he appeared in 41 games with the Boston Celtics and averaged a career-low 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds. He remained unsigned throughout the 2023-24 season.

The former first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft made his retirement announcement via a statement shared on social media.

“I never envisioned myself as the guy who would have a ‘letter to basketball’ retirement announcement … and I’m still not going to be that guy. But as I reflected on my career, the one feeling I kept coming back to and the one thing I wanted to express was thankfulness,“ Griffin wrote in the statement. “The game of basketball has given me so much in this life, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

After sitting out his rookie season due to a knee injury, Blake Griffin made his NBA debut in the 2010-11 NBA season and immediately took the league by storm. He won the Rookie of the Year honors, was named an All-Star, and won the Slam Dunk Contest in his first year as a pro. Griffin would follow that by being an All-Star in each of the next four seasons while also finishing third in MVP voting in the 2013-14 season.

After this dominant five-year stretch, injuries derailed Griffin’s career and caused the Clippers to trade him to the Detroit Pistons midway through the 2017-18 season. Griffin briefly returned to All-Star form in 2018–19 before the injuries got the better of him once again. He was released by the Pistons during the 2020–21 season and played one-and-a-half seasons with the Brooklyn Nets before a stint with the Celtics.

Griffin retires with NBA career averages of 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

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You are probably familiar with various promos offered by NBA teams during games. Some NBA teams will hand out T-shirts, others will offer discount codes, while some will treat their fans with free food in case of certain events.

The Los Angeles Clippers have a particularly interesting promo that states all fans in the arena will get free chicken if an opposing player misses two consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter. This promo came into play during the regular-season finale against the Houston Rockets, thanks to center Boban Marjanovic.

Both the Clippers and Rockets had virtually nothing to play for as teams were locked in their places on standings. So, when Marjanovic went to the line with 4:44 left in the fourth quarter and missed his first free throw, he decided to treat the Clippers fans with some free food. He intentionally missed his second free throw, telling the crowd: “It’s on me,” and prompted huge cheers from the stands.

While some players probably wouldn’t want to do any favors to opposing fans, Marjanovic had plenty of reasons to do this for the Clippers’ fans. The 35-year-old Serbian played for parts of two seasons with the franchise, and despite appearing in only 56 games, he became a fan favorite due to his lighthearted humor and contagious energy.

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The Brooklyn Nets are inching closer to finding their new head coach. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Nets already have a list of finalists, which includes former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Budenholzer has been fired by the Bucks after an unceremonious end of the 2022–23 season. Milwaukee finished the regular season with the best record in the league but ended up being bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the eight-seeded Miami Heat.

Budenholzer is well-regarded around the league, considering his track record of success. He got his first NBA head coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013–14 and led the franchise to five postseason appearances, including two Conference finals, in six seasons.

After taking over the Bucks in 2018–19, Budenholzer made the Conference semifinals in each of his first four seasons and won an NBA title in 2020–21. However, during his time with the franchise, he was often criticized for sticking to his preferred style and not adapting well to opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

It remains to be seen whether the Nets, who fired head coach Jacque Vaughn in February, will go with a proven name in Budenholzer or pick out an up-and-coming coach. Their list of finalists reportedly also includes Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young and Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernandez.

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The Golden State Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green made NBA history in a 109-114 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. He became the first player in the history of the league to record a double-double without taking a single shot.

Green finished the Pelicans game with 12 rebounds and 11 assists. During his 36 minutes on the floor, he didn’t attempt a field goal shot or go to the free throw line.

Speaking with reporters after the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr didn’t mind the lack of Green’s contributions on offense. He praised him for his overall contributions and said that he was a big part of the reason why his team had a shot to win the game.

“I don’t care if Draymond shoots or doesn’t shoot,” Kerr said. “He does everything else. He was incredible tonight. His defense was so good, his competitiveness. I thought our guys in the second half, the way they fought, it was amazing to watch just the competitive spirit and the energy.

Draymond Green has had a rocky season in which he was suspended multiple times. However, he is still a crucial part of the Warriors’ team, thanks to his defense and versatility. Green is currently averaging 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game.

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The Milwaukee Bucks will close out the 2023-24 regular season without their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The decision comes after Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury in a 104-91 win over the Boston Celtics earlier this week.

Antetokounmpo went down in the third quarter of the Celtics game. He was running up the floor when he suddenly fell and grabbed his calf. The Bucks initially feared that he might have injured his Achilles, which would end his season completely, but an MRI showed that it was only a calf strain.

“Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI last night that confirmed the diagnosis of a left soleus (calf) strain. He will miss the remaining three games of the regular season and receive daily treatment and evaluation,” the Bucks said in an update.

The Bucks are currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference with a 49-31 record but still need to win at least one of their two remaining games to lock the spot with the third-place New York Knicks breathing down their neck.

It now remains to be seen whether Antetokounmpo recovers in time to be available for the start of the postseason. The Bucks are scheduled to play Game 1 on April 20 or April 21, but players usually miss between one and two weeks with similar injuries.

Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a career-high 6.5 assists per game this season.

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With a 111-92 win over the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks reached the 50-win mark in 2023-24. This ensured that the Mavs would finish the season as the fifth seed in the Western Conference but also brought a nice payout for their star point guard Kyrie Irving.

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Irving had a bonus clause in his contract that required Mavs to pay him $1 million if they reach 50 wins this season and he plays at least 50 games.

Irving signed a 3 year, $120 million contract with the Mavs in the offseason. At the time, he revealed that he asked for several performance-based incentives in order to provide a bit of added motivation for himself.

“I wanted everything that was structured in my contract incentive-wise to be based on production, and that was wins and how many games I’m playing,” Irving said at the time. “…

So I just wanted to make sure that I had some friendly terms, but also some realistic expectations for myself going into the season, looking to just play as many games as possible.”

Irving played in 58 games this season, his most since the 2018-19 campaign. Still, he will miss out on another bonus, which he would be due if he plays 65 games in 2023-24, considering there are only two games left in the regular season.

Kyrie Irving played exceptional basketball for the Mavs this season, averaging 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 41.1% from three-point line.

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The Phoenix Suns announced that they are signing veteran point guard Isaiah Thomas to a contract until the end of the season. Thomas previously played on two 10-day contracts with the franchise.

Thomas hasn’t played much so far with the Suns, spending 14 minutes on the floor in four games combined while scoring five points and adding two assists. However, the Suns reportedly want additional backcourt depth for the postseason while also appreciating his leadership and presence in the locker room.

Isaiah Thomas, who has two NBA All-Star nods to his name, last played meaningful basketball in 2021-22 when he averaged 8.4 points and 1.5 assists in 22 games with the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Charlotte Hornets. Thomas remained unsigned in 2022-23 and only returned to basketball this past March after signing with NBA G League side Salt Lake City Stars. He averaged 32.5 points and 5.3 assists in four games with before receiving a call-up from the Suns.

“I just spoke it into existence the last couple years,” Thomas said in a chat with reporters after signing the deal. “I spoke everything that’s happened in my career into existence, so it’s definitely not a surprise for me … I’m super grateful as always, appreciative of the opportunity. The Suns gave me an opportunity when no one else would.”

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