What can’t he do?!
Wemby’s homecoming is up next as Round 1 of the Paris Games tips off at 2 ET on NBA TV.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Jan. 23, 2025
Thursday Starts In Paris: “The face of France” takes center stage against Haliburton’s Pacers
Rivals Week: Thursday delivers an iconic clash and a matchup of familiar foes
Wednesday Wonders: SGA drops a career-high, while two rivalries go down to the wire
Roundup: A Rockets statement, Suns, Pistons & Grizz stay hot, C’s survive in OT
Simons 1-on-1: An exclusive S5 interview with Anfernee Simons as he returns to Orlando
BUT FIRST … ⏰
An epic day of hoops begins this afternoon in Paris…
In mere hours, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs face Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers in the opening matchup of the Paris Games (2 ET, NBA TV).
Tonight, Rivals Week boasts a stacked doubleheader on TNT as the Bucks host the Heat (7:30 ET) before a classic duel between the Lakers and Celtics (10 ET).
The 2025 All-Star Game starters will also be announced on TNT before the Heat-Bucks game (7 ET).
- Friday Night Highlight: A 3-game Friday will see Ja Morant’s Grizzlies taking on CJ McCollum and the soaring Pelicans (8 ET, NBA TV)
- Must-See Saturday: The second Paris Game tips off a monster Saturday, including the first three ABC games of the season: Nuggets-Wolves (3 ET), Celtics-Mavs (5:30 ET) and Lakers-Warriors (8:30 ET)
1. WELCOME HOME, WEMBY: PARIS GAMES TIP OFF TODAY
“This means everything,” Victor Wembanyama said Wednesday on the Paris Games.
Wemby’s homecoming is just hours away, as the superstar gets set for his first regular-season NBA game in his home country, leading the Spurs against one of the hottest teams in basketball – the Indiana Pacers (2 ET, NBA TV).
- Finding Pace: Indiana owns the best record in the East since the New Year (8-1), jumping from 8th to 5th in the standings
- Spurs’ Growth: Meanwhile, with 19 wins through 41 games, San Antonio is just four victories shy of surpassing its total win count from last season (22)
- Playoff Push: Now 12th in the West, the Spurs are just two games from the final Play-In spot, seeking their first postseason berth since 2019
The Reason? Wembanyama, who – at 21 years old – is on pace to become the first player in NBA history to average 24+ points, 10+ rebounds, 4+ blocks and 3+ threes in a single season.
- “Vic is unique,” said Chris Paul. “He can dribble, he can pass, he can shoot. He does a little bit of everything. That’s why it’s been so fun to play with Vic.”
- Phenom & Legend: Led by Wemby (24.4 ppg), San Antonio’s top six scorers are all 25 or younger, while Paul – ranked 2nd all-time in career assists – leads the team with 8.2 apg
- Elite Orchestrators: Today, Paul faces one of the league’s other premier distributors in Tyrese Haliburton, who won a Gold Medal in Paris this summer with USA Men’s Basketball
- “I’m just excited to be back,” said Haliburton. “I think everybody knows we’re going to Paris to play San Antonio, who obviously has the face of France on their team.”
Thursday and Saturday’s matchups mark the first time the NBA is playing two regular-season matchups in Paris, as the game continues to grow in France, with Wembanyama at the forefront.
- Les Bleus Ballin: France has been the most-represented European country in the NBA in each of the past 18 seasons, including a record-tying 14 Frenchmen in the league this season
- The Wemby Effect: The most-watched team on League Pass in France? You guessed it, Wemby’s Spurs
- 3x for No. 1: In fact, since Wemby’s first NBA game, the Spurs’ viewership on League Pass in France has more than tripled
- And It Extends Beyond Borders: This season, Wemby is the most-viewed international player (735M vies) and trails only LeBron James (1.04B) and Steph Curry (737M) globally
On The Ground In Paris: After returning to his hometown of Le Chesnay to open two new outdoor basketball courts on Tuesday, Wemby continued to grow the game at Wednesday’s NBA Cares clinic before showing off his soccer skills at PSG’s match against Man City.
2. SGA DROPS 54, RIVALS WEEK DELIVERS TWO THRILLERS
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having a career season.
And on Wednesday, the Kia MVP Ladder leader dropped a career-high.
Thunder 123, Jazz 114: In a masterful performance, Gilgeous-Alexander erupted for 54 points, along with 8 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks as OKC outlasted Utah to improve to 36-7. | Recap
- Thunder Legends: SGA is the first OKC player to score 50+ points in a game since Russell Westbrook in 2017 and just the fifth player in Thunder/SuperSonics history to drop 54+
- His Company? Westbrook (3x), Kevin Durant, Fred Brown and Ray Allen
- Scoring Clinic: Shai only needed three 3s to get there, going 17-of-35 from the floor and 17-of-18 from the line, with his league-best midrange shooting (53% on the season) on full display
- Paint Artist: The dazzling performance extended into the paint – where SGA ranks first among all guards in points – as he sliced through Utah’s defense with a parade of must-see buckets
- Unstoppable: By the end of the 3rd, Gilgeous-Alexander had 41 – five shy of his previous career-high (46) for his sixth 40-point game this season. 15 minutes later, he was in the OKC record books
- But for the NBA’s top scorer, it’s nothing new: “Had a few more points tonight,” said SGA postgame. “But nothing special.”
Rivals Week continued to deliver Wednesday with a pair of nail-biters.
Kings 123, Warriors 117: DeMar DeRozan went 7-of-7 for 19 points in the 3rd quarter to erase an 18-point deficit before the 4th, where Sacramento closed the game on a 14-4 run to storm past Steph Curry and the Warriors, improving to 10-2 under Doug Christie. | Recap
- DeMar & Domantas: DeRozan finished with 32 points, while Domantas Sabonis added his 20th straight double-double in style (26 pts, 18 reb)
- “We’ve been resilient these last couple of weeks,” said DeRozan after the win. “This is what you get when you come together as a team.”
Wolves 115, Mavericks 114: Kyrie Irving went off for 36 points and 9 assists, and while Dallas had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, Anthony Edwards (21 pts, 7 ast) stood tall against his favorite guard to seal the win for Minnesota. | Recap
3. ROCKETS STATEMENT; C’s SURVIVE; SUNS, PISTONS & GRIZZ STAY HOT
The only team to beat the Thunder and Cavs this season? The Houston Rockets.
Rockets 109, Cavaliers 108: Fred VanVleet dropped 26 points, and Alperen Sengun’s go-ahead free throws with 5 seconds left lifted Houston over Cleveland, as Darius Garland was unable to capitalize from the stripe on the game’s final possession. | Recap
- Tied At The Top: With the Cavs’ loss and the Thunder’s win, OKC and Cleveland are tied for the best record in the NBA (36-7)
Celtics 117, Clippers 113 (OT): With James Harden and Kawhi Leonard out, Derrick Jones Jr. tallied 29 points, including a game-tying bucket with 4 ticks left to force OT. But Jaylen Brown (25 pts) and Jayson Tatum (24) wouldn’t be denied, as Boston held on for the win. | Recap
Suns 108, Nets 84: Devin Booker (32 pts, 14-24 FG) and Kevin Durant (24 pts, 8-15 FG) combined for 56 points on 56.4% shooting in a wire-to-wire win over the Nets, marking Phoenix’s sixth dub in eight games. | Recap
Pistons 114, Hawks 104: Cade Cunningham stuffed the stat sheet (29 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast) as the Pistons outpaced the Hawks, rising to 6th in the East with a 9-3 record in their last 12 outings. | Recap
Grizzlies 132, Hornets 120: Mark Williams had a career-high 38 points for Charlotte, but it wasn’t enough to slow down Desmond Bane (24 pts), Ja Morant (16 pts, 13 ast) and Memphis, which notched its fourth straight W. | Recap
4. NIGHT 3 OF RIVALS WEEK: HEAT-BUCKS, CELTICS-LAKERS TONIGHT
In the past five seasons, the Bucks and Heat have met in the Playoffs three times.
- In 2020, Miami ended Milwaukee’s season in the East Semis on its way to the NBA Finals
- In 2021, the Bucks bounced the Heat in the first round, sparking a run to their first NBA title in 50 years
- In 2023, Miami clapped back, ousting Milwaukee in the first round en route to another Finals appearance
Tonight, the two East powers will meet again in Milwaukee (7:30 ET, TNT).
A key to watch? The battle inside – where two superstars will collide.
- Paint Power: Averaging the second-most points in the NBA (31.5), Giannis Antetokounmpo has dominated at the rim, scoring a league-high 20.9 points in the paint
- Historic Pace: That puts him on pace to join Shaq (1997-2002) as the only players to average 20+ PITP in back-to-back seasons since it was first tracked in 1997-98
- Paint Protection: But Bam Adebayo has held Giannis to 46% shooting in the paint since 2020 – Giannis’ 4th-lowest percentage among his most frequent matchups
- The Effect? A split decision. In their 30 career matchups, both Giannis and Bam have 15 wins, with Giannis 10-9 against Bam in the regular season and Bam 6-5 in the Playoffs
On Thursday, the two stars, known for their strength and athleticism, will clash again on the national stage.
Then, one of the most iconic rivalries in sports gets underway as the Lakers host the defending champion Celtics (10 ET, TNT).
From Russell vs. West to Bird vs. Magic and Pierce vs. Kobe, Boston and Los Angeles have clashed 374 times across the regular season and playoffs. The Celtics lead the all-time series 209-165, and the two franchises boast more NBA titles than any others.
Another legend entered the rivalry’s rich history ahead of the 2018-19 season, when LeBron James – already a rival to Boston during his time in Cleveland and Miami – joined the Lakers.
Since then, five of the Celtics & Lakers’ six season series have ended in a 1-1 split, including five games decided by five points or less.
- Clicking At Crypto: The first chapter of this season’s series begins at Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers are 15-6 – the 4th-best home winning percentage in the NBA (71.4%)
- C’s Road Ws: But the Celtics join OKC with the best road winning percentage in the NBA with a 16-5 record outside of TD Garden (76.1%)
In an iconic rivalry, will the Celtics stack another road dub, or will the Lakers earn a signature win?
5. EXCLUSIVE S5 INTERVIEW WITH ANFERNEE SIMONS
Six more games tip off tonight on League Pass, including the Magic hosting the Blazers, marking a homecoming for one of the league’s brightest young stars – Anfernee Simons.
We caught up with Simons ahead of tonight’s game to get a few thoughts on basketball, life and giving back to the city where he grew up, through his Be A Light foundation. You can see the full interview here.
You’ve made a big leap as a player over the past few seasons. What lessons from your first few years in the league helped you make that jump?
Simons: Learning from all the older players that played in front of me early in my career really shaped the player I am today. They taught me how to handle success but also how to handle failures …
“If I had to name one person, I’d say Dame was that guy. He taught me how to handle attention while remaining humble.
What was one of the toughest lessons you had to learn that really shaped you as a player?
Simons: Control what you can control. I was frustrated early on because I wasn’t in control of everything, but I learned to stick to what I can and the results will fall.
When you return to Orlando, what’s the first place you visit that reminds you of where you started?
Simons: I would probably say my nana’s house. That’s one of the places early in my career that I would spend a lot of time at, so it will always feel like home. My cousins lived right around the corner from her so they would run over, and we would play games and play basketball in the street.
They still come to my games to this day and have been supporters my whole career. They’re always there anytime I need them.
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