David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 9

It’s been a busy free agency period for the Milwaukee Bucks so far. Although the team lost Brook Lopez to the LA Clippers, they did manage to agree to new contracts with several of their own free agents. At the onset of the NBA’s free agency negotiation period, the Bucks agreed in principle to bring […]

The Orlando Magic started off their offseason moves before the NBA Finals were even over when they acquired Desmond Bane in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. The trade was a move towards becoming a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. And with the NBA free agency negotiation period beginning on Monday, the Magic made […]

One of the Detroit Pistons’ early NBA free agency plans was but on hold for the time being as free agent guard Malik Beasley was recently named as a target in a league investigation into potential gambling. While Beasley has not been charged with any crime at this point, it appears as if the Pistons […]

The NBA free agency period officially began on Monday, and while contracts cannot officially be signed until July 6, teams can already begin negotiations with potential free agents. NBA teams have also been able to come to agreements with their own free agents before the negotiation period. The Milwaukee Bucks’ first order of business in […]

The 2025 NBA free agency period doesn’t officially begin until Monday, but several teams have already agreed in principle to new contracts with their own free agents as permitted by the league’s CBA. But as of Sunday evening, a surprising name hit the free agent market. The Portland Trail Blazers agreed to a contract buyout […]

The Los Angeles Sparks managed to salvage what would have been a disappointing road trip following their 85-75 win against the Indiana Fever on Thursday. Finishing the trip at 1-2, the Sparks return home for a rematch against the Chicago Sky. And much-needed reinforcements might be on the way. Both Cameron Brink and Rae Burrell […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks returned home on Sunday for a matchup against the Chicago Sky, a team they recently lost to during their three-game road trip. But even more significant on Sunday was the prelude to the jersey retirement of Candace Parker, who played for, and won a championship with both the […]

With the NBA free agency period set to begin next week, the Los Angeles Lakers don’t have much in terms of salary cap room to spend. It’s been well-documented that the Lakers are heading into the offseason looking to address their center issues. While a trade is the most likely avenue for the Lakers to […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder just won their first championship in the Oklahoma-era, but they got right to work with the NBA offseason and free agency period on the horizon. The Thunder’s first order of offseason business was a trade with the Washington Wizards involving Dillon Jones, as per Shams Charania of ESPN. In addition to […]

The Toronto Raptors will be under new front office leadership soon following the departure of longtime executive Masai Ujiri. With the NBA free agency period coming up, the Raptors could potentially have three open roster spots to address. And it appears as if one of those potential contracts will go to veteran guard Garrett Temple. […]

The Toronto Raptors made a shocking announcement this week when it was revealed that longtime executive Masai Ujiri would not return to the organization next season. Ujiri was entering the final year of his contract and both sides opted to part ways. With Ujiri out of the picture, much of the roster building would appear […]

For the second time in less than a week, the Los Angeles Sparks will face off against the Chicago Sky. The Sparks lost to the Sky, 97-86 on the road, and the rematch will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday. The game is significant in that it will be Candace Parker’s jersey retirement ceremony. […]

WNBA star Caitlin Clark may not have suited up during the Los Angeles Sparks’ 85-75 win against the Indiana Fever, but at this point, the Sparks will take what they can. Snapping a four-game losing streak with the win, the Sparks managed to salvage what had been a disappointing road trip to this point. For […]

After the conclusion of the NBA Draft, there are always talented players that go undrafted and end up signing free agent contracts with teams. These deals give teams the opportunity to evaluate players during summer league, and possibly into training camp. Right after the NBA Draft concluded, the Lakers made multiple roster signings to that […]

The Los Angeles Lakers potentially grabbed one of the steals of the 2025 NBA Draft when they selected Adou Thiero with the No. 36 overall pick. Using a series of trades, the Lakers moved up in the draft from No. 55 and ended up with a player who could conceivably help them immediately. But the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers initially came into the 2025 NBA Draft with very little fanfare. Without a first round pick, they held only the No. 55 overall pick in the second round. But before the end of the NBA Draft, the Lakers used a series of trades to move up and select an intriguing young […]

Every year there are quality players that fall to the second round of the NBA Draft for various reasons. Sometimes it’s just simply the fact that there are only 30 first round picks and a good number of impact players. One of those players who fell to the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft […]

There were multiple trades that took place during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, and one of those trades involved the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings. The Kings moved into the first round of by acquiring the No. 24 overall pick from the Thunder. The Kings then used their newly acquired first […]

Despite the Los Angeles Sparks’ inconsistent start to the 2025 WNBA season, one of their bright spots has been the All-Star level play of Azurá Stevens. Stevens has been putting up career numbers, and that culminated with a WNBA history-making game during the Sparks’ 97-86 loss to the Chicago Sky on Thursday. During the Sparks’ […]

The Orlando Magic had one first round pick and No. 25 in the 2025 NBA Draft, and they used that pick to select Jase Richardson from Michigan State. The pick is significant not only because of his talent, but because his father Jason played for the Magic during his NBA career. The Magic had actually […]

The Toronto Raptors used their lottery pick at No. 9 to select Collin Murray-Boyles in the 2025 NBA Draft. Coming into draft night, the Raptors reportedly offered the No. 9 pick to the Boston Celtics for Derrick White, but it appears as if those talks did not progress any further. As they held onto their […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ first selection of the 2025 NBA Draft came with the No. 17 overall pick which they used on Joan Beringer from France. With the selection of Beringer, the Timberwolves now have two players of French descent on the roster. Following the news that the Timberwolves had selected Joan Beringer in the first […]

The New Orleans Pelicans moved up to grab another lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft via a draft night trade with the Atlanta Hawks. The Pelicans sent the No. 23 pick in the draft as well as future first round pick to the Hawks in exchange for the No. 13 overall pick. The Pelicans […]

The Charlotte Hornets selected Duke freshman Kon Knueppel with the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA Draft, amid rumors that they might have been looking to trade down. But that No. 4 was significant for another reason as well. Kon Knueppel has four brothers, and he shared a touching moment with all of them […]

With the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected Duke star Cooper Flagg, to nobody’s surprise. Flagg has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick for quite some time regardless of who ultimately landed the top overall spot. But with teams obviously unable to speak about the pick prior […]

Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith (2) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby (5) during the first half at Wintrust Arena.The Los Angeles Sparks’ current losing streak hit four games, and they started off their current road trip at 0-2. One particularly concerning trend in those two road losses in […]

The Atlanta Dream had a two-game win streak snapped on Tuesday following their 68-55 loss on the road against the Dallas Wings. With the loss, the Dream dropped to 10-5 on the season, but remain only one game behind the New York Liberty for the top seed in the Eastern Conference standings. Despite the loss, […]

Just one day after agreeing to a contract extension with Daniel Gafford, the Dallas Mavericks made their second major move of the offseason in agreeing to a new contract with star point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving opted out of his contract and signed a new deal worth $119 million over the next three seasons. Following […]

The Ole Miss Rebels made the NCAA Tournament this past season, their first appearance since 2019 and the first in the Chris Beard era. After upsetting Iowa State in the round of 32, they nearly upset Michigan State in the Sweet 16 before losing narrowly. For the Ole Miss to continue their upward trajectory under […]

The Connecticut Sun are in the midst of a rebuilding season, but they’ve had a solid mix of both young players and veterans this season. But it appears as if they will be without one of those key veterans for the foreseeable future. Sun veteran guard Marina Mabrey received an update this week on the […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder became the second youngest team in NBA history to win a championship following their Game 7 win in the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers. The only team with a younger average age to win a title was the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers. During the Thunder’s championship parade, backup big man […]

Following their 103-91 win in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, the Oklahoma City Thunder won their first championship in the OKC era. The Thunder do not claim the Seattle Sonics’ history, so this is essentially their first championship in franchise history. The question then becomes, when is the Thunder’s championship […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA championship in the OKC era after their 103-91 win against the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Helping lead the way for the Thunder in Game 7 was Jalen Williams who proved to be a good complimentary star to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the NBA […]

The collective hearts of the Indiana Pacers dropped in the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals after star guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with an injury and was ultimately unable to return. While the Pacers managed to keep things close, even leading at halftime, the absence of Haliburton was too much to […]

Early in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers’ worst fears were realized when star guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with an injury. Haliburton was ultimately ruled out for the remainder of Game 7, and the Pacers then turned to an unlikely hero. Backup guard TJ McConnell came off the bench and did […]

As the Oklahoma City Thunder inch closer to winning an NBA championship, they have Chet Holmgren to thank for that. Chet Holmgren has been a game-changing force on the defensive end in the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, and in Game 7 he set a Finals record with blocks, as per StatMuse. With five […]

The 2024-25 season for the Dallas Mavericks was a forgettable one for obvious reasons, but hope springs eternal among the fanbase as the team secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. With Cooper Flagg all but certain to be selected No. 1, Mavericks star Kyrie Irving had a message for fans […]

When the 2025-26 NBA season tips off, Mitch Johnson will begin his role as full-time head coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Johnson took over as interim following Gregg Popovich’s leave of absence, and then was promoted to full-time after Popovich announced he was stepping down. And there will be a new face on the […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers looking to win their first championship in the OKC-era. Early in the first quarter, it was key reserve Alex Caruso who got the Thunder’s Game 7 crowd hyped up with a big throwdown dunk. The Thunder social media team […]