Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 55

The San Francisco Giants may have fallen off the pace in the National League playoff race, but there is a ton of fanfare surrounding the team and its future amid the emergence of rookie shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, the 26-year-old versatile middle infielder/outfielder, has done nothing but rake since the Giants called him up for […]

Social media has changed the way fans follow professional sports. This has also changed how players can market themselves. Building a brand is paramount in this day and age, and what better way for someone to do it than to post or repost their highlights? However, as this unnamed Portland Trail Blazers player learned quickly, […]

The Philadelphia 76ers had as good of an offseason as they could have had, which is just about everything Joel Embiid can ask for in his continued bid to win a championship. Embiid is definitely good enough to become the best player on a title-winning team, but having the right pieces around him is crucial […]

Team USA is not fooling around in their quest for redemption. Coming off a fourth-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA deployed one of its most stacked rosters in years, with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Joel Embiid, among others, being called upon to lead the nation to a gold medal in […]

The New York Knicks have managed a huge turnaround over the past half-decade or so, transforming from one of the worst-run franchises in the NBA into one of the association’s most well-oiled machines. This offseason, the Knicks finally made their big move, trading away a ton of draft capital to bring Mikal Bridges in to […]

Team USA, despite a few hiccups in their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics, managed to go unbeaten in five exhibition games, which is about everything they could have hoped for. However, there is a major concern for them with only a little under a week to go before the Olympic Games begin. At the […]

The Miami Heat’s development team strikes again. Long lauded for their ability to unearth diamonds in the rough, the Heat have, once again, been vindicated, this time in the form of a Summer League championship trophy after they defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 120-118, in an overtime thriller in the final. The Grizzlies may have had […]

Team USA’s preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics has come with its fair share of turbulence. Most recently, they were pushed to the brink by South Sudan despite being 43.5-point favorites to win on the night. But a few weeks ago, it was Jaylen Brown who kicked up a fuss when he expressed his disappointment […]

Everyone can learn a lot from how the NBA and its media partners view certain players and teams based on how the scheduling shakes up. The marquee matchups between the most marketable teams and players are usually reserved for special occasions, such as Opening Night and Christmas Day, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, after an incredible […]

The 2021 NBA playoffs was a bizarre time for the Milwaukee Bucks. They have been one of the best teams in the association ever since Mike Budenholzer took over as head coach, but they couldn’t quite get over the hump. In fact, in 2021, they encountered a ton of problems on their way to winning […]

The last thing any team needs in the lead-up to the Olympics is an injury to one of its important players. On Sunday, during Australia’s final exhibition game in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum sustained a finger dislocation that immediately forced him to exit the game, according to Olgun […]

With the 2024 Paris Olympics right around the corner, the topic of how the NBA style compares to the international brand of basketball has become a major conversation point yet again. But for Houston Rockets big man Alperen Sengun, the differences between the two don’t necessarily make scoring harder in one league and easier in […]

The 2024 WNBA season has been one of the most exciting years in the history of the league, thanks in large part to the arrival of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, two rookies who have captured the association by storm. Clark and Reese ooze charisma, and they back it up as well with some solid […]

The Miami Heat may be one of the youngest franchises in the history of the NBA, but they have been one of the most successful. This is thanks in large part to the contributions of the greatest player in franchise history, Dwyane Wade, who led the team to a championship as early as his third […]

In the summer of 2010, LeBron James decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency to sign with the Miami Heat, forming a big three with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the process. This ended up being one of the most successful team-ups between superstars in NBA history. They made it to the […]

The fan interest in the WNBA seems to be at an all-time high. However, with the WNBA All-Star Weekend on the horizon, there seems to be a bit of disappointment in the air upon the reveal that the best of the best wouldn’t be the ones participating in the weekend’s events, with New York Liberty […]

The Denver Nuggets showed that it is, indeed, better late than never. Amid a lackluster offseason in which they lost a pillar of their championship team in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, it was paramount for the Nuggets to make a move that would address their mounting depth issues. On Thursday, the Nuggets finally made their long-awaited signing […]

The Phoenix Suns fell way short of expectations during the 2023-24 season. The Bradley Beal trade was meant to get the Suns to the upper-echelon of contending teams, but instead, they fell flat on their faces with a 49-win, six-seed finish that ended with them winning a grand total of zero games in the 2024 […]

Never has the NBA seen someone drafted in the second round — and as the 55th overall pick, no less — get so much attention as Bronny James has had. Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, the franchise with the biggest fanbase, already casts a huge spotlight on him, and being the firstborn son of […]

Losing a franchise icon in free agency is never easy for a fanbase or the members of the organization. This offseason, this was exactly what the Golden State Warriors had to go through after they let Klay Thompson walk to the Dallas Mavericks via sign-and-trade. But life goes on, even after breakups. The Dubs rebounded […]

Most rookies struggle with making the jump from the amateurs to the professional level. After all, the game is faster, and there are more schemes and notes for them to digest. This is why NBA players rarely peak in their first year in the Association. Nonetheless, for the Los Angeles Lakers, however, they are hoping […]

The NBA In-Season Tournament is back for its second year under a different branding — the NBA Cup. The association is clearly taking pages out of international football leagues’ playbook, and this makes sense to drum up even more anticipation as the NBA tries to incentive teams to engage in some highly-competitive battles early on […]

The NBA In-Season Tournament was a rousing success in its first season. Now called the NBA Cup, the special courts and jerseys established a special aura within the competition, and this tournament gave way to some of the most competitive regular season basketball we have seen in quite some time thanks to the trophy and […]

Despite being the 55th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, Bronny James has been subject to the most media coverage among his peers during the Summer League thanks to him being the son of one of the greatest players of all time, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. Everything Bronny does — good or […]

The MLB trade deadline is creeping up closer and closer, and plenty of trades will surely go down with the Wild Card picture being so bunched up in both leagues. For the New York Yankees, the past month or so hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. They’ve lost control of the AL East division lead […]

The break-up between Klay Thompson and Golden State Warriors may be painful, as it will be a jarring sight to look at Thompson donning a Dallas Mavericks uniform after 13 years with the Dubs, but this parting of ways was very much inevitable and necessary. But no one should ever let Thompson’s departure sully the […]

The Las Vegas Aces may have suffered a 93-85 loss to the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night, but let that not distract anyone from the continued greatness of A’ja Wilson. Wilson, in a losing effort, put up 28 points and 14 rebounds as she continues the hot streak that has been bolstering her claim as […]

There is no disputing that LeBron James has had one of the greatest careers, not just for any basketball player, but for any professional athlete that has graced this world. The Los Angeles Lakers star has been at the top of the sport for over 21 years now, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing […]

It has been a bit of an eventful offseason for the Denver Nuggets, but not in an ideal way. They lost one of the pillars of their championship team, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, after he chose to sign with the Orlando Magic in free agency, while DaRon Holmes II, the impressive big man the Nuggets had high […]

Jalen Brunson turned some heads around the league when he decided to sign a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension, essentially eschewing the opportunity to sign a five-year, $269 maximum contract with the New York Knicks had he decided to wait a year, opt out of his contract, and re-sign. This is an unequivocal win for […]

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown made waves when he expressed his disappoint over being passed up on for a Team USA call-up in the aftermath of Kawhi Leonard’s withdrawal from the team. However, Brown’s discontent over how things shook up for himself wasn’t taken too kindly by some fans. After all, it seemed as though […]

It looked as though everything was going smoothly for Kawhi Leonard and Team USA in their bid to bag home the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, last week, both Team USA and the Los Angeles Clippers deemed that it was in Leonard’s best interest for him not to suit up for the […]

The Chicago Bulls have finally bitten the bullet and pivoted towards a head-on youth movement. They traded away Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey earlier in the offseason, and they dealt DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade for two second-round picks — disappointing given how much they could have gotten had they traded […]

Suffice to say, this offseason is shaping up to be a less-than-ideal one for the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Not only did they lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency after the 3-and-D wing signed a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic, they also lost 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes II to a […]

The Chicago Bulls didn’t exactly please their fans with the way they have conducted their offseason to this point. Their reluctance in selling their veterans at peak value cost them dearly, with the Bulls trading away Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey straight up while losing DeMar DeRozan for two second-round picks in a sign-and-trade. The […]

The Indiana Pacers surpassed any and all expectations of them during the 2023-24 season, making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals and even putting up a solid fight against the eventual champion Boston Celtics, contrary to what a sweep would say. In the process, it has been a bit easy to forget […]

The top free agents are off the board now that two weeks have passed since the 2024 NBA free agency period began. This, however, is not to say that there aren’t quality players who are still searching for a home for the upcoming season. In particular, teams would be remiss not to float Tyus Jones […]

One of the main subplots revolving around the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason to this point was their search for the team’s new head coach. Darvin Ham got the ax following a first-round exit for the Lakers against the Denver Nuggets, and since then, it became clear that the franchise was setting its sights on naming […]

The Team USA ramp-up process for the 2024 Paris Olympics isn’t only a chance for stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant to dazzle the world with the team-up of a lifetime. After all, those players, as great as they may be, won’t be playing the game of basketball for a living […]