David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 40

LOS ANGELES – From the minute the ball tipped, one of the biggest questions on the minds of Los Angeles Lakers fans was how well new superstar Luka Doncic would fit in his debut alongside current superstar LeBron James. Once the game was over, and the Lakers rolled to a 132-113 win, although Luka Doncic […]

With Luka Doncic on track to make his Los Angeles Lakers debut this coming week before the All-Star break, a lot of eyes will be on how well he meshes on the court with LeBron James. Ahead of Luka Doncic’s Lakers debut, we’ll be making our bold predictions for the rest of the 2024-25 season. […]

Just one day after an impressive Dallas Mavericks debut, Anthony Davis received a troubling injury update. Davis initially suffered the injury during the Mavericks’ game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, but afterward he stated he was fine. However, it appears as if the injury might have been a little worse than he was letting […]

The main question most fans have had since the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Luka Doncic at the NBA trade deadline, is when will their new star make his debut in the purple and gold. It appears that time is drawing near as Luka Doncic received a big update on the Lakers’ injury report, alongside […]

Over the past few seasons, the South Carolina Gamecocks haven’t done a lot of losing. Coming into their matchup with the Texas Longhorns on Sunday, South Carolina had lost a total of only two regular season games since 2022. But with a standout performance from sophomore star Madison Booker, Texas upset South Carolina, 66-62. In […]

With the Los Angeles Lakers in need of a true center, they had seemingly found their answer with the trade for Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets. But that trade was not to be as it was shockingly rescinded on Saturday. In the aftermath of the Lakers trade being rescinded, more information has come out […]

The NBA trade deadline was going astonishingly well for the Los Angeles Lakers, that is until Saturday evening when word came down that the Dalton Knecht trade with the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams was being rescinded. When the Lakers completed their trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, the inclusion of Anthony Davis […]

The Dallas Mavericks left plenty of people scratching their heads in bewilderment when they opted to trade franchise star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers by the NBA trade deadline. Doncic is a generational superstar and had given absolutely no indication that he would ever want out of Dallas. Which begs the question, what […]

LOS ANGELES – It was another day at the office, another day of yet another NBA history-setting feat from LeBron James following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 win against the Golden State Warriors on Friday. James became the oldest player in NBA history to score 40 points in a game, surpassing Michael Jordan. And according […]

While fans were hoping that Luka Doncic would possibly make his Los Angeles Lakers debut and return from injury on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, it appears as if they’re going to have wait a bit longer. And the Lakers might not have LeBron James as well due to injury. The latest injury update for […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the plan was always for him to spend most of his rookie season getting reps in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. So far, Bronny James has appeared in 11 games […]

The Dallas Mavericks did not do much to endear themselves to their fan base with the trade between the Los Angeles Lakers involving franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis. While Davis is a star in his own right, Mavericks fans were understandably frustrated following the initial news of the trade. But during his introductory […]

The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most active teams leading up to the NBA trade deadline. After shocking the NBA world by acquiring Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, they followed that up by addressing their center needs in Mark Williams in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets. The trades left the Lakers’ […]

LOS ANGELES – Prior to the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, JJ Redick was unable to comment on the team’s trade for Mark Williams as it had not yet been made official by the NBA. But the trade became official before the game ended, paving the way for JJ […]

LOS ANGELES – The big question on fans’ minds following the Los Angeles Lakers’ bombshell trade for Luka Doncic, is when Doncic will make his debut on the court. He’s been dealing with a calf injury that’s kept him sidelined since Christmas Day. But his return to the court, and in the Lakers’ purple and […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most active teams in the days leading up to the NBA trade deadline. On Thursday, the Lakers made their third trade of the season, acquiring center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, the Lakers’ 2031 first-round pick, and a […]

With the NBA trade deadline just one day away, the Milwaukee Bucks pulled the trigger on a trade for Kyle Kuzma with Khris Middleton heading to the Washington Wizards. While the deal was originally just between those two teams, that changed late Wednesday evening. The trade was expanded to include the New York Knicks and […]

In the aftermath of the Los Angeles Lakers’ trade for superstar Luka Doncic, one of the headlines coming out of Dallas is that the Mavericks reportedly were not thrilled with Doncic’s conditioning. Following the trade, both Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber, traded to the Lakers along with Doncic, came to his defense. Dorian Finney-Smith, who […]

Just a few days after the shocking Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers trade, the NBA was at it again, this time with a bombshell Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors trade. While official details are not fully confirmed yet, what is 100 percent certain is Butler will be teaming up with Stephen […]

The Los Angeles Sparks made their huge move of the offseason with the blockbuster trade for All-Star Kelsey Plum. With that out of the way, the next step for them becomes shaping the roster as the move forward in their rebuild. The Sparks have made a couple of roster moves on the margins since the […]

LOS ANGELES – Gabe Vincent may have only been on the Los Angeles Lakers roster for one and a half seasons now, but his name is one that’s come up in trade rumors, especially this season as the Lakers’ search for a big man has dominated recent headlines. So when he first got wind of […]

LOS ANGELES – As the Los Angeles Lakers prepared for their matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, the obvious topic on everybody’s mind was the Lakers’ recent bombshell trade for Luka Doncic. As Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick sat at the podium for his pregame press conference, he took a moment post trade to reflect […]

One of the biggest questions on the minds of Los Angeles Lakers fans is when will they get to see newly acquired star Luka Doncic make his debut in the purple and gold following the blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks. Well Luka Doncic has already touched down in LA as footage of his plane […]

The Los Angeles Sparks shook up the WNBA world this past week with the acquisition of All-Star guard Kelsey Plum in a three-team trade involving the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces. It cost the Sparks the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, but Plum is a former No. 1 pick herself […]

You would have to go back to when Magic Johnson was playing for the Los Angeles Lakers to arguably find an NBA trade on par with the Lakers’ bombshell acquisition of Luka Doncic. Johnson came to the Lakers in 1979, just a few years after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the […]

To say the Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world with their bombshell trade of Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis is a major understatement. This was arguably the biggest trade in the NBA in the last 15-20 years, if not longer. But with Anthony Davis gone to the Mavericks, the next question for the Lakers […]

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ bombshell trade, acquiring Luka Doncic in exchange for Anthony Davis, one of the biggest questions in the aftermath was the future of LeBron James in Los Angeles. And now it appears as if that question has been answered. LeBron James reportedly intends to remain with the Lakers past the upcoming […]

The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the NBA world on Saturday, acquiring superstar Luka Doncic in a massive trade with the Dallas Mavericks. And all it cost the Lakers was Anthony Davis who is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and arguably the Lakers’ best player this season. To say this trade was a […]

The Los Angeles Sparks signaled their intent to accelerate the timeline of their rebuild with the acquisition of All-Star guard Kelsey Plum in a sign-and-trade deal during WNBA free agency. It’s a new beginning for Plum, who had spent the first eight seasons of her career with the Las Vegas Aces. It’s also a homecoming […]

The Los Angeles Sparks struck hard in WNBA free agency as part of a blockbuster trade to land All-Star guard Kelsey Plum. With Plum being their big addition of the offseason, the focus now turns to filling out the rest of the roster. The Sparks made a smaller move in WNBA free agency this week […]

The WNBA free agency period is underway, with players now able to officially sign new contracts. The New York Liberty lost Courtney Vandersloot to the Chicago Sky, which might not be all that surprising considering she was moved to the bench during their title run. The Liberty did manage to bring back a key bench […]

The Indiana Pacers continued their recent surge with a 132-127 win against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. With the win, the Pacers improved to 27-20. It was their third consecutive win and eighth in their last ten games. Not only that, but the Pacers tied a franchise record for most players with at least 15 […]

With the WNBA free agency moratorium period lifted and players officially able to sign new contracts, there were a flurry of free agent moves that had already been agreed upon. The Chicago Sky were among the most active teams in free agency, bringing back veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot, and also signing veteran guard Kia […]

The last time the Boston Celtics and the New Orleans Pelicans squared off against each other, it was a close, thrilling game with the Celtics barely squeaking out a 120-119 win. So it came as no surprise that the second matchup between the two was just as nail-biting. The Celtics emerged victorious once again, 118-116, […]

It’s been a big week for San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, who was selected to his first NBA All-Star appearance. With the Milwaukee Bucks in town against the Spurs on Friday, Wembanyama found himself up against two All-Stars in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. From the get-go, Victor Wembanyama made it clear that […]

The Golden State Valkyries will begin play this season with 2025 being their inaugural year in the WNBA. Fielding a competitive roster is going to be important for the Valkyries, and they did their part trying to make a splash during the WNBA free agency period. The Valkyries made a push for free agent guard […]

The Indiana Fever, in their quest to get back to their glory days of championship contention, made a splash in WNBA free agency this week, agreeing to terms with free agent forward Natasha Howard. With Howard’s addition, just how close are the Fever to establishing themselves as an elite team in the league? Pretty close […]

The Los Angeles Lakers continued their Grammy road trip on Thursday with a 134-96 win against the Washington Wizards. The Lakers never looked back after the first couple of minutes of the first quarter, dominating the Wizards early behind an inspired effort by LeBron James. Following the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick praised James […]

The Houston Rockets have been one of the surprise teams of the 2024-25 NBA season as they are currently 32-14 and in second place in the Western Conference standings. A big reason for the Rockets’ surge this season has been the steady presence of veteran leader Fred VanVleet, who could be in line for a […]