When your cousin and one of the game’s original high-flyers welcome you to basketball immortality.
THE LINEUP 🏀
What’s inside today’s edition?
Entering The Hall: Hear from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of ‘24
Capturing The Moment: 13 of our favorite photos and GIFs from Sunday’s enshrinement
Preseason Roundup: KAT beat his former squad to lead a six-game Sunday
Pulling Even: NY closes out Game 2 to even the W Finals, setting up huge Game 3
What’s Ahead: A five-game night opens the final week of the preseason
BUT FIRST … ⏰
The final week of preseason preparations begins…
An NBA TV doubleheader highlights a five-game slate of preseason games, beginning with the Sixers visiting the Hawks (7:30 ET) followed by the Clippers hosting the Mavs (10:30 ET) in a first round Playoff rematch.
1. QUOTABLES: HALL OF FAME SPEECHES
Sunday’s Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony delivered laughter, tears, stories and poetry from the 13 inductees who took the stage and recalled the unique journeys that led them all to the birthplace of the game in Springfield, Mass. | Watch every speech here
- Vince Carter closed out the ceremony giving a reminder to his fellow inductees: “From now on, they don’t just say your first and last name without saying… ‘Hall of Famer.'”
- Chauncey Billups showed love to the city that embraced him and where he earned his nickname ‘Mr. Big Shot’: “The NBA franchise that loves me like family finally found me… Detroit” [pause to put shades on] “What up doe … If you know, you know. Look at my big man [Hall of Famer Ben Wallace seated on stage] we always in sync, he got ’em on too.”
- Michael Cooper – who got the ‘COOOP’ chant from Lisa Leslie, Magic Johnson and Pat Riley – discussed his friend, mentor and fellow Hall of Famer Jerry West: “I owe him more than he can ever understand. I miss him more than I can ever express.”
- Doug Collins was still coaching, sharing a message of growing through his failures to reach the Hall: “In my life if you look at my career, I’ve never been afraid to fail.”
- Seimone Augustus opened her speech with a poem that was as smooth as her game – leaving quite the impression on T-Mac and Dr. J: “Home is where the heart is and where the heart is, it grows. I want to tell you a story about a girl from the Bayou, who cooked up a good pot of gumbo. Sprinkle in a little Pistol Pete, Dr. J, Teresa Edwards, Allen Iverson and many more, they all helped me develop the game that you all adored.”
- Jonnie West, son of the late Jerry West, on his father’s historic third induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame: “Contributor to the game of basketball. That is you in every single sense and that will live on forever.”
2. CAPTURING 13 MOMENTS FOR 13 HALL OF FAMERS
The cameras were rolling as 13 inductees were welcomed to the Hall on Sunday. Here are 13 of our favorite images from the night.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024
Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace
Vince Carter and family
Michael Cooper and Magic Johnson
Doug Collins
Vince Carter, Julius Erving and Tracy McGrady
Chauncey Billups with teammates from the 2004 champion Pistons – Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince
Charles Smith with Joe Dumars
Seimone Augustus and family
Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Alvin Williams
Jonnie West, son of the late Jerry West
Superfan honorees Spike Lee, Billy Crystal and Alan Horwitz
Herb Simon with Larry Bird, Tamika Catching and Reggie Miller
3. KAT WINS WOLVES REUNION ON A SIX-GAME SUNDAY
Knicks 115, Wolves 110: Just 11 days removed from a blockbuster trade sending him from Minnesota to New York, Karl-Anthony Towns got a win over his former squad at his new home.
- New Dynamic Duo: KAT (16 pts, 16 reb) and Jalen Brunson (24 pts, 6 ast) combined for 40 points to counter Anthony Edwards’ game-high 31 points (with eight 3s) along with 15 points, seven dimes and two 3s from former Knick Donte DiVincenzo
- Reunions: From pregame dap ups to postgame jersey swaps, the love between the former teammates was clear to see
Heat 101, Pelicans 99: Up 20 in the 3rd quarter, the Heat needed a pair of Pelle Larrson free throws with seven seconds left to secure the win in a game filled with must-see dunks, including Bam skying over everyone above and Zion’s tough catch and finish.
Blazers 105, Kings 85: Scoot Henderson (17 pts, 7 ast) and rookie Donovan Clingan (10 pts, 10 reb) led the Blazers to their first preseason win, while the Kings dropped to 0-3.
Celtics 115, Raptors 111: With Boston’s usual starting five out, Lonnie Walker IV (20 pts, 4 3s), Payton Pritchard (19 pts, 9 ast, 5 3s) and Drew Peterson (23 pts, 3 3s) combined for 62 points to keep the Celtics unbeaten in preseason (4-0).
Suns 118, Nuggets 114: Phoenix rested its starters, but still came out with a win behind a combined 40 points from Ryan Dunn (20 pts with 6 3s) and Monte Morris (20 pts, 7 ast). Denver is still seeking its first preseason win despite a near triple-double from Nikola Jokic (21 pts, 14 reb, 9 ast).
Warriors 111, Pistons 93: Even with all-time 3-point king Steph Curry on the bench, the Warriors hit 18 3s to improve to 4-0 in the preseason. Moses Moody (14 pts) led six Warriors in double figures and five with at least two 3s, while Detroit’s Jaden Ivey led all scorers with 19 points.
4. LIBERTY PULL AWAY LATE, EVEN WNBA FINALS 1-1
In many ways, Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA Finals played out as a carbon copy of Game 1.
- New York jumped out to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter
- New York extended that lead to nearly 20 points in the first half
- Minnesota battled back to pull within five points multiple times
But there was one key difference – the final 3:23 of both games.
- In Game 1, New York led by 11 with 3:23 left, only for Minnesota to score the next 12 points to go up by 1 with five seconds left, before a NY free throw forced OT
- In Game 2, New York led by 2 with 3:23 left, but this time it was the Liberty that went on a 12-0 run, closing the game with an 80-66 win and the series tied at 1-1
Stewie & Laney: Breanna Stewart (21 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk) had a stat-stuffing game for the ages, while Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points with four 3-pointers, including the corner 3 that ignited NY’s game-closing run after Minnesota had cut the lead to two points.
- Stewart: “The moment the game ended Thursday night I was looking forward to Sunday to change things, change the narrative a little bit.”
- Finals Record: Stewart’s seven steals were not only a career-best (regular season or Playoffs), but set the WNBA Finals record for most in a game
- Elite Company: Stewart became the fourth player to post at least 20 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast and 5 stl in a Playoff game – joining Sheryl Swoopes (2002), Tamika Catchings (2009) and Alyssa Thomas (2019) – with only Stewie and AT doing it in the Finals
Speaking of legends, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (16 pts, 8 reb, 4 stl) passed Chelsea Gray, Cappie Pondexter and A’ja Wilson for the fourth-most points scored (227) in a single postseason. With at least two more games to play, can Phee reach the top of this list?
- Diana Taurasi: 245 PTS (2009)
- Brittney Griner: 240 pts (2021)
- Maya Moore: 234 PTS (2015)
- Napheesa Collier: 227 PTS (2024)
The series shifts to Minnesota for the next two games, beginning with the pivotal Game 3 on Wednesday (8 ET, ESPN). Since the WNBA went to a best-of-five Finals in 2005, the winner of Game 3 in a series tied 1-1 goes on to win the series 71.4% (10-4) of the time.
5. FINAL WEEK OF SEASON PREP BEGINS
The 2024-25 regular season tips off in just eight days. That gives teams one week to finalize their rosters (deadline is Monday, Oct. 21 at 5 ET) and get their squads ready for the 82-game marathon that lies ahead.
The last five days of preseason action begins tonight with a five-game slate, headlined by an NBA TV doubleheader.
- Grizzlies at Pacers (7 ET, NBA League Pass): After averaging a league-best 123.3 points last season, the Pacers (1-1) have upped that mark to 129.5 ppg in their first two preseason games. The Grizzlies (2-1) are being cautious with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., who are nursing minor injuries
- Sixers at Hawks (7:30 ET, NBA TV): How will Paul George and Zaccharie Risacher follow up their impressive debuts? PG (23 pts, 6 reb, 4 3s in 26 minutes) shined in his Sixers debut, while No.1 pick Risacher (18 pts on 7-9 FG, 3 reb, 3 3s, 2 ast) dazzled in his NBA preseason debut for the Hawks
- Wizards at Nets (7:30 ET, NBA League Pass): In his first three preseason games, No. 2 pick Alex Sarr has averaged 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the Wizards. As Washington plays its second-to-last preseason game, Brooklyn plays its second to open a three-game week
- Bulls at Bucks (8 ET, NBA League Pass): The Bucks (0-2) are still looking for their first preseason win this season, but they do lead the NBA in 3-point shooting at 41.6%. Speaking of 3s, Zach LaVine went off for 28 points on 6-of-6 shooting from 3 in Chicago’s last preseason game. What will he do tonight?
- Mavericks at Clippers (10:30 ET, NBA TV): Dallas’ first step toward the 2024 NBA Finals was a first round matchup with the Clippers, which the Mavs won in six games after LA had eliminated Dallas in 2020 and 2021. Luka Doncic (calf) and P.J. Washington (hip) are not expected to make their preseason debuts
