Mike Cruz Articles - Page 45

After leading the Toronto Raptors to a convincing victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Lowry made sure to leave his mark by video-bombing teammate Fred VanVleet during his post-game interview. The six-time All-Star also showcased his awesome dance moves in the process. WYD, @Klow7 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZwLKU1FkCy — Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) August 2, 2020 Kyle […]

Philadelphia 76ers teammates Joel Embiid and Shake Milton had a heated exchange at the end of the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Following their disappointing 127-121 loss to the Pacers, the Sixers All-Star center downplayed the shouting match they had. “It’s basketball. Everybody makes mistakes. It happens. We got to come […]

Indiana Pacers forward TJ Warren had a career night on their first game back for the season restart against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. The 6-foot-8 wing erupted for a career-high 53 points to lead Indiana to their first win in the bubble games. With Warren’s epic night, NBA fans took to Twitter to troll […]

Indiana Pacers forward TJ Warren had an epic evening against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. The 6-foot-8 wing dropped a career-high 53 points in their first game of the restart to lead Indiana to a 127-121 victory. Warren also set a number of records while doing so. According to StatMuse, Warren became the 12th player […]

On June 13, 2019, Kawhi Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to its first title in franchise history. Nearly a month later, the 2019 Finals MVP bolted the team he just won a championship with and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Landing the big fish has never been the norm for Toronto. Being the only […]

Indiana Pacers All-Star Victor Oladipo has been hinting about playing in the restart for quite a while now. Oladipo initially intended to sit out the “bubble” games as a precaution for his recent return to injury just over a month prior to the season’s suspension back in March. However, it seems like the 6-foot-4 guard […]

On day 1 of the restart, Chris Bosh showed up in virtual form. For the Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets game on Friday night, a very familiar face pulled up in the stands. Only, it wasn’t really him. As seen below, Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki appeared on screen in cutout fashion during the contest. Mavs […]

Everybody, including the players themselves, is excited to have the 2019-20 NBA season back in a few days. However, for Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum, “basketball is secondary” in the season’s restart in Disney World in Orlando, Florida, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. McCollum, a vice president of the National Basketball Players […]

Current ESPN analyst Paul Pierce previously turned some heads when he excluded Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James from his top-five all-time list. According to the future Hall of Famer and Boston Celtics legend, that can still change, on one condition. Asked about what a fourth title would mean for James’ legacy on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown,” Pierce […]

Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams is in some hot water after being spotted in a club with rapper Jack Harlow on Thursday night. This comes after the three-time Sixth Man of the Year left the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida for his grandfather’s funeral. The Athletic has details of Williams’ adventure after leaving Disney World: […]

The Phoenix Suns’ Instagram account expressed its excitement for the start of the 2020 WNBA season while also supporting their sister team, the Phoenix Mercury. Unfortunately, the internet is full of trolls. One dismissed the Suns’ comment and said nobody cares about the WNBA. The Suns’ IG page replied and absolutely bodied the troll by […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and his children are very tight. James obviously isn’t at home right now. While their father has some business to take care of in Disney World, Bryce James decided to make fun of dad. The younger of the James boys delivered a hilarious impression of The King: Bryce doing […]

Kawhi Leonard is arguably the best player in the world today. Leonard put up one of the best postseason performances in NBA history in 2019 to lead the Toronto Raptors to its first NBA championship. A year later, Kawhi Leonard has the opportunity to do that again, but this time, with a different team. The […]

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart may not look the part, but he is actually quite the acrobat. Some of his pregame routines include doing backflips and handstands. He even garnered attention for doing a kip-up during a game. With that said, while at Disney World, Smart decided to teach his teammate Jaylen Brown some of […]

With the NBA going fan-less for the 2019-20 season’s return, the league is reportedly going to use virtual fans to make up for the lack of real fans at the games. Washington Wizards guard Ish Smith offered his two cents on the prospect of seeing virtual fans at the games, via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports. […]

The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly monitoring Zach LaVine’s situation in case the Chicago Bulls star requests a trade from the Windy City. The Nets are in win-now mode. They will look to maximize the limited championship window they have with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as their franchise cornerstones. Durant will turn 32 this September […]

Three of the four members of the NBA’s renowned Banana Boat Crew have launched the Social Change Fund. The fund, spearheaded by Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul, and retired Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade, aims to invest in and help organizations that support communities of color with policy […]

Khabib Nurmagomedov is arguably the best fighter in Mixed Martial Arts today and is undoubtedly at the top of his game right now. It’s why we’re going to discuss Khabib Nurmagomedov’s net worth in 2020. The UFC Lightweight Champion has never tasted defeat in his professional fighting career, winning all of his 28 bouts so […]

Kobe Bryant played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Initially starting out as one of the most electric, young superstars in the league, Bryant eventually became a cold and calculated assassin on the court. The late Lakers legend’s Hall of Fame career can be divided into two chapters. First when he wore […]

Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell played golf for the the first time on Saturday. Now Mitchell thinks he’s Happy Gilmore: First time golfing today… I’m the real life Happy Gilmore ⛳️ — Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) July 18, 2020 The 6-foot-3 guard, of course, gave a reference to the movie “Happy Gilmore” starring Adam Sandler as […]

It’s common knowledge that Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley don’t particularly see eye to eye with each other. The two outspoken personalities have had a feud that has been going on for some time now. Now, it seems like it’s about to come to a head. Green and […]

NBA fans often like to ponder “what if” scenarios. What if Derrick Rose didn’t tear his ACL in the 2012 playoffs? What if the Warriors lost to the Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals? How about if Shaq and Kobe never broke up? These are just some of the biggest “what ifs” in NBA […]

JJ Barea of the Mavs knows the NBA return is fast approaching and that everybody is gearing up for the “bubble” games in Disney World Complex in Orlando. Led by super sophomore Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks could emerge as one of the surprise teams in this year’s playoffs. As good as he’s been the […]

Kids who watch NBA games in the 90’s would instantly see the stark difference of the game back then from the game they see now. Today’s NBA is heavily reliant on 3-point shooting, floor spacing, and versatility on both sides of the court. However, nearly thirty years ago, in fact — even ten years ago […]

The New Orleans Pelicans announced on Thursday that Zion Williamson left the Orlando bubble to attend to family health matters. New Orleans, likewise, expects the rookie star to rejoin the team at the Walt Disney World complex at a later date. While his status to return is still up in the air, Pelicans head coach […]

Despite having won just one NBA championship in their existence, the Portland Trail Blazers still boast a history of iconic players. Some of their most prominent superstars include Bill Walton (led the team to their only title in 1977), Clyde Drexler (led Portland to two NBA Finals appearances in the 1990s), and current superstar Damian […]

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is not one to shy away from discussing social issues. In fact, he is one of the most outspoken NBA personalities when talking about them. The 71-year old mentor recently gave his two cents about the history of racial inequality, citing a New York Times article written by […]

Dirk Nowitzki is probably the first player that pops into everyone’s minds when thinking about the Dallas Mavericks. The German superstar played his entire 21-year Hall of Fame career in Dallas. Likewise, modern day Mavs fans would never forget the date June 21, 2018, the day they drafted their next face of the franchise in […]

Disney World is filling up with NBA players as the league prepares for the resumption of the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Florida. Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo arrived at the NBA campus rocking a Black Panther mask, giving a throwback to his 2018 Slam Dunk contest performance, while also wearing an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt. […]

San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills will donate his remaining salary for the 2019-20 season, amounting to more than $1 million, to aid Black Lives Matter organizations in his home country of Australia. With that, head coach Gregg Popovich lauded the Aussie’s decision and called him the “spiritual leader of the team.” “He’s the spiritual […]

ESPN reportedly suspended senior NBA insider Adrain Wojnarowski for sending an NSFW reply to an e-mail from Missouri Senator Josh Hawley. Los Angeles Clippers guards Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley both reacted to the network’s move to suspend one of its more renowned reporters. Sweet Lou vouched for ESPN to #FreeWoj, while Pat Bev responded […]

Sacramento Kings sophomore Marvin Bagley III has missed majority of the 2019-20 season due to a foot injury. However, he will reportedly join the team when the season resumes later this month. According to Jason Jones of The Athletic, Kings coach Luke Walton said the former no.2 overall pick has looked good in their workouts, […]

The Portland Trail Blazers will get some major reinforcements back in Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins when the 2019-20 season resumes later this July. Per Jamie Hudson of NBC Sports, head coach Terry Stotts said that the two big men looked like they never missed a beat from the significant time they took off the […]

LeBron James is undoubtedly the most synonymous icon in Cleveland Cavaliers franchise history. Despite being a small market team, Cleveland has had quite a rich history in the NBA. Aside from King James, a number of legends actually suited up for the wine and gold at some point in their careers. Here are five players […]

The San Antonio Spurs are arguably the best team of the 21st century so far. Led by franchise icons Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and to an extent, David Robinson at the tail end of his career, the Spurs became a symbol of excellence and consistency in the NBA. The aforementioned legends are arguably […]

NBA fans will always wonder why the universe never aligned Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to face off in a blockbuster NBA Finals. It was 2009. LeBron James had established himself as a legitimate superstar in the NBA. He had just won his first MVP and led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the best record in […]

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is one of the fastest rising stars in the NBA. As good as he already is, Tatum lets his game do the talking for the most part. Today, however, the Celtics news we’re going to talk about isn’t about Tatum’s basketball skills, but his ink game. The former No. 3 […]

The Indiana Pacers were close to a deal to bring in Lance Stephenson to cover for the injuries to Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb prior to the suspension of the 2019-20 NBA season. However, per Scott Agness, signing the former Pacer isn’t possible given that he is ineligible to play. No, Lance Stephenson is not […]

Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that a third Miami Heat player has tested positive for COVID-19. The Heat has not disclosed the names of the players infected with the disease. A third Heat player has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a source. The Miami Herald is not reporting the names of the […]