James Salmon Articles - Page 5

The basketball world is eagerly awaiting the official NBA debut of Victor Wembanyama, but before that happens he’ll make another kind of debut – the digital kind. Ahead of the official release of NBA 2K24, which will take place on September 8, basketball’s most popular gaming franchise has been gradually releasing the ratings of a […]

Coach of the Greek national basketball team has provided an update on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status in the lead-up to the FIBA World Cup, and it’s not one which will fill fans with a whole lot of confidence about the likelihood of the two-time NBA MVP playing at the event. Following the NBA season, in which […]

Nike’s iconic Kobe line is set to continue, with the sporting apparel giant officially confirming the release and unveiling date of its latest shoe after previously announcing their intentions to do so. Posting on Twitter on Wednesday, Nike said: “The newest shoe in the iconic Kobe line is almost here. Tune into SNKRS ‘Live From […]

Malika Andrews is set to become ESPN’s new host for the NBA Finals, replacing Mike Greenberg – who has hosted the show for the last two years – next season. Andrews rose to prominence during the 2020 NBA bubble, when she reported for ESPN directly from Orlando. She subsequently replaced Rachel Nichols – who she […]

Nearly 50 years into their history, the Utah Jazz are still yet to achieve the ultimate success. But while they’ve fallen short of an NBA championship, they’ve still boasted plenty of great players and enjoyed a number of very good seasons over the course of their existence. With their 1990s team headlined by John Stockton […]

Liz Cambage is no stranger to drama, and her basketball career has taken yet another twist. Cambage, a four-time WNBA All-Star, and has been an Olympic Bronze Medallist and a FIBA World Cup Silver Medallist playing for Australia. But her career with the Opals hasn’t been devoid of controversy, perhaps most notably when she was […]

The Boston Celtics have expressed interest in re-signing veteran forward Blake Griffin, but whether that interest is reciprocated remains to be seen, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. Griffin played his first season with the Celtics in 2022-23 after signing with the team just a couple of weeks before their season-opener. Over the course of […]

Kobe Bryant didn’t need a whole lot of words to make an impact. Speaking on Podcast P with Paul George by Wave Sports + Entertainment, Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson has provided a prime example of that with an anecdote about his ‘favorite memory with Kob’. The story went like this: “One time for […]

Donald Trump has sounded off on the United States women national soccer team after their surprising loss to Sweden in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup. The USWNT are the most successful team in FIFA World Cup history by a significant margin, having won it four times, including the last two. But […]

Jabari Parker is set to head to Spain, with the 28-year-old to sign a contract with FC Barcelona to play in the Liga ACB and EuroLeague. Parker, of course, was a highly touted rookie in the NBA, having been selected with the second pick back in 2014 out of Duke. He showed some reasonable signs […]

Since Flip Saunders left as head coach in 2008, things haven’t been so rosy for the Detroit Pistons. Throughout the 2010s they didn’t win a solitary postseason game, while their first three seasons of the 2020s yielded a paltry 60 wins. But that hasn’t always been the case. The Pistons, winners of three NBA championships […]

The Chicago Bulls’ success, as everyone in the NBA well and truly knows, has been defined to one incredible era. With Michael Jordan dominating the league and Scottie Pippen about as good a sidekick as one could hope for, they were unstoppable for much of the ’90s, accumulating six championships in that time. Unsurprisingly, that […]

It’s safe to say that the Golden State Warriors have had some pretty good teams in their time. Evidently, a lot of those are recent, with the dynasty which saw them win three championships in four seasons and then another a few years later unsurprisingly dominating this list. But how do those teams compare to […]

It’s been a rough few years for the San Antonio Spurs. After missing the playoffs just once in 30 years, they’ve failed to make it to the postseason since 2019 and last season bottomed out at a paltry 22 games, the second lowest number in the league and the lowest in the Western Conference. But […]

After years and years and years of mediocrity, the Sacramento Kings are finally on the march. Having not made the playoffs since 2006, they returned to the postseason in 2023 – and as the third seed no less – after a 48-win season which saw coach Mike Brown win the Coach of the Year award […]

The Denver Nuggets unequivocally proved themselves to be the best team in the NBA throughout the course of the 2023 season. Finishing as the number one seed in a competitive Western Conference wasn’t enough for plenty of the NBA world to believe it, but when they knocked off first the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, […]

Victor Wembanyama has plenty of fans, and Trae Young has joined the significant chorus raving about the French prodigy after he was selected with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. Wembanyama, of course, is one of the most unique and highly touted prospects in league history. […]

Scoot Henderson has named the top three players he’s looking forward to playing against in the NBA. The electric point guard, who will play in his first season next year after being selected in the top three in the 2023 NBA Draft, told ESPN that Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry, Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron […]

LeBron James is getting busy this offseason. After purchasing a home that Kathryn Hepburn previously lived in for a casual $36.8 million back in 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers star demolished the home and began construction on his “dream home.” It took two years of legal wrangling before he could start the job, but this […]

Julius Randle has talked about the impact of Jalen Brunson on his game after the former Dallas Mavericks point guard moved to the New York Knicks prior to the 2022-23 season. Speaking on Podcast P with Paul George presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, Randle said, “Maybe it’s just something about lefties. But as soon […]

It’s safe to say that Klay Thompson has had a pretty successful career. Having played a key role in no less than four NBA championships he’ll go down as one of the Golden State Warriors’ best ever players. But despite that success, the ‘what-ifs’ still burn deep for one of the greatest shooters in history. […]

The Atlanta Hawks are where no NBA team wants to be, mired in mediocrity having won 43 and 41 games respectively over the last two seasons before being knocked out relatively comfortably in the opening round of the playoffs. Trae Young is not quite leading them to the Promised Land just yet, but with a […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a pretty fun spot. After consecutive sub-25-win seasons, they bounced into playoff contention in 2022-23, winning 40 games in the regular season before going down in disappointing fashion to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the eighth-seed play-in game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ascension into the game’s elite was a primary reason for […]

After acquiring Kevin Durant in February, the Phoenix Suns had justifiably high hopes entering the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Unfortunately for them, they were one of four victims of the rampaging Denver Nuggets en route to a first-ever championship, with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant unable to stave off the Nikola Jokic-led onslaught and being resigned […]

Another major tournament, another close-but-not-quite finish for Rory McIlroy. A four-time major champion by the age of 25, it’s now been almost nine years since he last won one of the big four events, and he went agonizingly close once again at the 2023 US Open. And an obscure stat points to the issue which […]

Find me someone who thought that Wyndham Clark would win the US Open this week, and I’ll find you a liar. Clark secured his inaugural PGA Tour victory just over a month ago, but while the form was there he’s never been even in the conversation to win the US Open (or even a major […]

The first domino of the NBA offseason has fallen, with Bradley Beal set to head to the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards. With the Miami Heat touted as the other team likely to land the former Wizards star, this may look like their second loss in a week after they […]

Michael Jordan has spent plenty of time in the news in recent days, with the Charlotte Hornets majority owner set to sell his stake in the franchise. But Jordan’s business in Charlotte isn’t done quite yet. According to ESPN, he’s set to meet with Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson on Monday, the two players competing […]

With news of Bradley Beal’s trade to the Phoenix Suns filtering through the league on Sunday, the NBA landscape has already shifted less than a week after the Denver Nuggets won their first ever championship. Remember when Kevin Durant was traded to the Suns, and they looked like arguably the most talented team in the […]

Though the Minnesota Timberwolves season ended with an emphatic series defeat at the hands of the eventual NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, there was a bit for them to take out of the season. One of those things was the rapid improvement of Naz Reid, who demonstrated over the back half of the season that […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo is used to being in the basketball headlines, but typically, it’s for his exploits on the court. Recently, however, he was caught up in a basketball story he would no doubt have preferred not to be a part of and as a spectator rather than a player. He was among a number of […]

The opening round of the 2023 US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club has seen some impressive golf being played, perhaps most notably the twin scores of 62 by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele. When Fowler finished the 18th he became just the second player in major history to shoot such a score – […]

LeBron James’ season on the court might not have ended the way he wanted it to, but he’s wasted no time continuing to make an impact off it. The I Promise Program, which is a part of the LeBron James Family Foundation, aims to “provide the resources, incentives, and academic and emotional support the students […]

Jeff Green, Deandre Jordan and Ish Smith might have played a combined average of just 4.53 minutes per game in the Denver Nuggets NBA Finals win, but hey – they’re still NBA Champions, and they’re more than happy to let the world know all about it. At the Nuggets championship parade on Thursday following their […]

It would be hard to overstate just how great Nikola Jokic was in the recently concluded NBA Playoffs. He was an obvious Finals MVP choice, dominating from pillar to post, systematically picking apart every defense he was presented and leading his Denver Nuggets to their first ever NBA championship as a result. But just how […]

Bam Adebayo has been a member of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for four consecutive seasons, so it’s safe to say it’s relatively common knowledge that he’s a good defender. According to Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, however, he’s still not regarded highly enough. Speaking after the Heat lost the NBA Finals, Spoelstra praised […]

Shaun Livingston’s 2007 knee injury was one of the most gruesome on an NBA court in recent memory, and a significant blow for the Los Angeles Clippers at the time. And for the talented young guard, it very nearly proved to be career-ending. Talking with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on SHOWTIME Basketball, Livingston recently […]

It’s fair to say that the 2022-23 season didn’t go quite as planned for the Charlotte Hornets. With Miles Bridges unavailable all season after his arrest and LaMelo Ball playing less than half the season, they were not only unable to continue their progression from the season prior, but regressed significantly. Invariably such a season […]

Nikola Jokic’s incredible postseason performance, which led the Denver Nuggets to their first ever championship, has deservedly drawn some major plaudits from the NBA world. But there’s always somebody who has to zig when others zag, and Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix appears eager to fill that role. Speaking after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, […]