When the Toronto Raptors surprised the basketball world by selecting forward Scottie Barnes with the fourth overall pick, many of those around the game still felt like it would be a worthwhile decision for Toronto in the long-term.
His ceiling as a player is very, very high, but in his present form, he is considered to be a work in progress that won’t enjoy immediate success in the league. But not so fast!
An offseason working alongside a franchise that is known for being amongst the best at player development appears to have paid dividends.
The Raptors rookie looked great in his preseason debut against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. He played an all-around great game, showed flashes of great defense, a solid shooting stroke and high basketball IQ. He finished the night with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks in limited action!
The Miami Heat were so close to competing the comeback and heading off the NBA Finals.
They were down by two and had possession with less than 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Instead of managing the clock and waiting as long as possible to get a shot off, Butler tried to take advantage of having a wide open shot and fired off a transition three with no defenders around him with still 17 seconds left. Unfortunately for the Heat, Butler simply didn’t get enough lift into the shot and clanked it off the front of the rim.
By the end of it all, Celtics won by four and find themselves off to the next round while the Heat are forced to reminisce over what went wrong.
Did Jimmy make the right decision? Watch the video below and let us know what you think!
Pascal Siakam accomplished something that not a lot of players that failed to make the All-Star team can do.
The Toronto Raptors forward was officially selected to the 2022 edition of the All-NBA third team after receiving 42 third-team votes and seven second-team votes.
The 28-year old played exceptional on both ends of the floor, and bounced back after a rough pandemic-shortened campaign in Tampa Bay. He averaged 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists through 68 games in 2021/22.
Siakam is just the third player in franchise history to receive the honour (Vince Carter, DeMar DeRozan). It marks the second time in his career he was selected to an All-NBA team. He was previously selected to an All-NBA second team after an impressive All-Star season in 2019/2020.
J-Cole wants to prove to everybody that he is more than just a rapper. He is also an aspiring basketball player and will get to play professionally north of the border.
The Grammy-winning artist has reportedly signed a contract to play for Canadian basketball team Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
The 37-year old previously played basketball in Africa last May with Patriots Basketball Club of the Basketball Africa League, but left after just three games due to “family obligations”.
The Shooting Stars will open their season against the Guelph Nighthawks on May 26.