David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 52

The Chicago Bulls made the first major splash of the 2024 NBA offseason with a trade involving sending Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey. Caruso has long been coveted by other teams but there never seemed to be an inclination that the Bulls were looking to trade him. But the Bulls […]

The Los Angeles Sparks dropped another game on this current road trip, 93-80, against the New York Liberty. They fell to 0-5 on the trip. But one bright spot for the Sparks, despite the loss, was the play of second-year guard Zia Cooke. Cooke had her best statistical game of the season and credited being […]

The Los Angeles Sparks suffered a major blow this week when it was announced that rookie center Cameron Brink had suffered an ACL injury. The injury occurred early in the first quarter of the Sparks’ loss to the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday when Brink collided with Brionna Jones going to the basket. Sparks head coach […]

The 2024 NBA Draft is just about one week away and the Utah Jazz currently hold a lottery pick at No. 10. The Jazz missed out on the playoffs this past season, although they showed signs of growth. Based on this past season, the Jazz could say they had a successful 2023 NBA Draft. The […]

The 2024 NBA Draft is a little less than two weeks away and the Memphis Grizzlies currently hold a lottery pick at No. 9. Even so, this is a veteran-heavy team that just ran into some bad injury luck this past season. When healthy, this is a group that is looking to be a playoff […]

Los Angeles Sparks rookie center and rising WNBA star Cameron Brink suffered a knee injury early in the first quarter during the team’s game against the Connecticut Sun and will not return to the game, as per team PR. Brink collided under the basket with Sun center Brionna Jones and fell on the court. She […]

When the Dallas Wings selected Lou Lopez-Senechal with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, it was a historic moment. Lopez-Senechal became the first Mexican-born player to make it to the WNBA. Initially, Lopez-Senechal didn’t even realize what she had accomplished simply by being drafted. It wasn’t until it was pointed out […]

The Los Angeles Sparks are in the midst of a grueling road trip that will carry them through the end of the month. They don’t return home to Crypto.com Arena until July 2 against the Washington Mystics. But the Sparks have been playing better basketball as of late, most notably rookie wing Rickea Jackson. Although […]

The 2024 Paris Olympics are about one month away and the roster for Team USA has already been set with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton making his first appearance. Tyrese Haliburton suffered a hamstring injury during the 2023-24 NBA regular season that hampered him into the playoffs. But Haliburton recently quelled any concerns that his […]

This was a big week for the Oregon Ducks as they awaited the NCAA’s ruling on whether or not starting center N’Faly Dante would be granted another year of college basketball eligibility. The NCAA upheld their initial decision and denied Dante an additional year of play. Oregon moved swiftly to replace Dante with the addition […]

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is without a doubt one of the greatest players ever to play in the NBA. A four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP along with the rest of his accolades give him a resume that can stack up against anyone. But where does he see himself in terms of his […]

The Phoenix Mercury came into the 2024 WNBA season with a revamped roster and a new head coach in Nate Tibbetts. So far, it’s been a mixed bag as they’ve gotten off to a 6-6 start on the season. One of the key questions surrounding this Mercury team though has been their depth. The Mercury […]

The 2024 NBA Draft is just about two weeks away and one of the biggest questions is where Bronny James will be drafted. Most mock drafts have had him being selected in the second round amid reports that he was only willing to workout for certain teams. On a recent appearance on ‘The Green Light […]

Angel Reese has been one of the top rookies in the WNBA season as she makes her league debut with the Chicago Sky. She’s already had her fair share of controversy but you can’t ignore her on the court play. While she obviously has aspects of her game she needs to work on, she’s making […]

While there have been a lot of intriguing storylines and happenings around the WNBA this season, the number one topic that everyone can’t stop talking about is Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. Clark came into the league with a lot of hype and attention that not surprisingly drew opinions from all across the sports media […]

The Los Angeles Sparks believed they drafted a foundational player when they selected Cameron Brink with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. After four stellar seasons at Stanford, Brink developed into one of the WNBA’s top prospects. During her time at Stanford she received numerous honors, and now she can add […]

The Los Angeles Sparks return home to Crypto.com Arena following a three-game road trip during which they finished with a 1-3 record. The Sparks will face off against familiar Western Conference rival in the Minnesota Lynx, and it appears as if they’ll have reinforcements. Neither Lexie Brown nor Layshia Clarendon appeared on the Sparks injury […]

The California Golden Bears are in the midst of a retooling of their team. In the first year with new head coach Mark Madsen at the helm, the Bears finished with a record of 13-19 and only 9-11 in Pac-12 Conference play. But with the program set to move to the Atlantic Coast Conference for […]

The Connecticut Sun have been the top team in the WNBA this season with a perfect 9-0 record. They’re the only team in the league that has yet to lose a game. There’s probably not much to change about the Sun roster with a record like that, but the team felt the need to upgrade […]

There’s probably no player in the NBA right now that’s more polarizing than Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Green recently drew the ire of sports media host Skip Bayless who characterized Green as a dirty player. On a recent episode of Green’s podcast, ‘The Draymond Green Show,’ Green ripped into Bayless taking shots at […]

The Boston Celtics have reached the NBA Finals for the second time in the past three seasons. This year, the Celtics were powered by major offseason acquisitions in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. They received good news on the injury front as Porzingis is expected to be ready for Game 1. As the Celtics come […]

The NBA Draft is approaching and set to be held across two days this year from June 26-27. The first round is scheduled for the first day while the second round will take place the following day. As the NBA Draft draws near, one name that is gaining traction among NBA front offices is former […]

Behind superstar Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks have reached the NBA Finals for only the third time in franchise history. Doncic has led the Mavericks as a No. 5 seed, beating three higher-seeded teams in the process without homecourt advantage. On a recent appearance on the Bully Ball Podcast hosted by Rachel Nichols and DeMarcus […]

The Los Angeles Clippers are heading into the 2024 offseason with a few big decisions to make. They recently came to an agreement on a contract extension with head coach Tyronn Lue, ensuring Lue is at the helm for the next five seasons. One of those big decisions coming up for the Clippers is the […]

The 2024 NBA Draft is scheduled across two days this year, with the first round taking place on June 26 and the second round taking place on June 27. The Los Angeles Lakers have the No. 17 and No. 55 overall picks in the NBA Draft, with the New Orleans Pelicans recently deferring the first […]

The Phoenix Suns came into the 2023-24 NBA season hoping to be championship contenders. They had added Kevin Durant at the 2023 NBA trade deadline and followed that up by aquiring Bradley Beal in a trade with the Washington Wizards in the offseason. But the Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs […]

After making the playoffs a year ago, the Brooklyn Nets had a disappointing 2023-24 NBA season as they failed to qualify for the postseason. In 2023, the Nets seemed to be on the verge of becoming an exciting young team highlighted by the acquisitions of Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. But now the Nets are […]

The Boston Celtics have reached the NBA Finals for the second time in the past three seasons. So far, they have not lost more than one game per playoff series. They dispatched the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in five games each before sweeping the Indiana Pacers to come out of the Eastern Conference. A […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are coming off their second-best record in franchise history at 49 wins, and most since they rebranded themselves as the Pelicans. For the most part, they managed to stay healthy until the very end of the season when Zion Williamson went down during the team’s play-in game against the Los Angeles […]

The Los Angeles Sparks fell to 1-1 on their current three-game road trip following an 83-73 loss to the Chicago Sky. The Sparks were without head coach Curt Miller who missed the game due to his induction into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame due to his success at Bowling Green. Although the Sparks were […]

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut with the Indiana Fever hasn’t quite gone as expected. Or maybe it has depending on who you talk to. The Fever have not gotten off to a good start to the 2024 WNBA season. The Fever’s most recent loss, a 103-88 drubbing by the Seattle Storm, dropped them to 1-8 and […]

WNBA contracts work a little differently than NBA contracts. Only about five players on WNBA 12-woman rosters come into training camp with what is called a veteran-protected contract. The rest are on essentially non-guaranteed contracts and have to make a roster. Such was the situation Sparks guard Zia Cooke found herself in as she was […]

The Los Angeles Sparks visit the Chicago Sky on Wednesday as they continue their three-game road trip. They’re coming off a win against the Indiana Fever and looking to keep that momentum rolling. But if the Sparks are hoping to get a win, they’ll have to do so without head coach Curt Miller who is […]

Last season was a disappointing one for Bobby Hurley and the Arizona State Sun Devils. They finished the 2023-24 season with an overall record of 14-18 and 8-12 in Pac-12 Conference play. That’s now three of the last four seasons that the Sun Devils have failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.But help is on the […]

The Kansas Jayhawks had a disappointing 2023-24 season by their standards. For a program that has NCAA championship aspirations and making yearly tournament runs, they fell short of expectations. In terms of the positives though, Kansas got a solid freshman season from Johnny Furphy, solid enough that Furphy has decided to keep his name in […]

The Indiana Pacers are coming off one of their most successful seasons in recent history. After missing the playoffs for the past three seasons, the Pacers made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals albeit losing to the Boston Celtics in a 4-0 sweep. Heading into the offseason, the Pacers have a few key questions […]

After grabbing their first win of the season against the Washington Mystics last week, the Los Angeles Sparks have now lost consecutive games to bring their record to 1-5. Their most recent loss came on Sunday against the visiting Dallas Wings, 84-83. While the Sparks were unable to get a win, one of the major […]

The Los Angeles Sparks are looking to get back into the win column following their loss against the Indiana Fever on Friday. But for the Sparks to get a win against the visiting Dallas Wings, they’re going to have to do so without starting point guard Layshia Clarendon who was ruled out for the second […]

Caitlin Clark may be getting a ton of attention this season as she begins her rookie year in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever, but she’s not the only former Iowa Hawkeye making their professional debut. Caitlin Clark’s Iowa teammate Kate Martin was also drafted in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces […]