Stephen Curry

And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh

The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates that voters can select for the award, as chosen by the league’s 30 head coaches:

Curry won the award last year.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
  • The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. They also both have Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors, Payton Pritchard atop their Sixth Man of the Year lists, and Kenny Atkinson as Coach of the Year.
  • Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Lakers, Doncic, Butler, Curry

The Suns’ disastrous season didn’t change Devin Booker‘s feelings about the organization. He wants to remain in Phoenix for years to come, he told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.

“I’ve spoke on it plenty of times,” Booker said. “I’m sure the people are sick of hearing my Phoenix love story, but I’m deeply rooting into this community. I take a lot of pride in it. We’ve built it from the ground up before. I didn’t think I’d be back in this situation, but it shows you how hard the league is. Once we get back to that championship level, I’ll be able to shed light on people that it can change very quickly.”

It seems unlikely Booker will be playing with both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal again next season. There’s heavy speculation that Durant will be traded and the front office will try to do something regarding Beal’s onerous contract. Booker has no issues with either player.

“I love playing with both of them,” Booker said. “Even the moments that we played together, they haven’t been to what we expected or wanted out of it, but good things do take some time to build and they take experience. We haven’t had a lot of that, but that’s not a good excuse to fall back on.”

Booker is eligible to sign a two-year, maximum-salary extension this offseason,  even though he just completed the first year of his four-year super-max extension. He seems tempted to take it if it’s offered.

“I’ve been in long enough where I’ve watched some of my heroes and idols just slowly get out of the league, and you see how it hurts them,” he said. “I don’t want to think about the day that I have to do that. It’s nice to be up for an extension.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Lakers‘ best source of information as they prepare for the Timberwolves in the opening round could be their superstar newcomer. Coach JJ Redick will consult with Luka Doncic, who led the Mavericks to a series win over Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals last season. “There are nuances to what teams are trying to do against certain opponents,” Redick said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The third-seeded Lakers will use their time off this week to heal up and gradually work on their game plan for the best-of-seven series. “It’s not necessarily going to be everything at once this week. We’ll have to slow drip, and I think that’s the approach that I think is going to work best for our group,” Redick said. “Tuesday will be more about us. Wednesday, we’ll introduce Minnesota.”
  • Speaking of Doncic, he became the first international player to have the best-selling jersey in the league, according to Mike Vornukov of The Athletic. Since the 2013/14 season, either LeBron James or Stephen Curry led the NBA in that category. The Lakers also had the league’s top-selling merchandise.
  • Jimmy Butler gave the Warriors fans a glimpse of “Playoff Jimmy” when he played 48 minutes, scored 30 points and matched up with Kawhi Leonard in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Clippers, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic writes. Golden State was relegated to the play-in tournament but Butler gives the Warriors another player who can take over and assert his will, Thompson notes. “You have a guy who can kind of slow the pace of the game down for us, get us into good things,” forward Draymond Green said. “Just having that extra added weapon. Having another No. 1 next to Steph is different.”
  • The Warriors have a clean injury report for their matchup with Memphis on Tuesday night, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Curry has a sprained right thumb and Butler took a knee to the thigh on Sunday, but both will play.

Pacific Notes: Curry, LeBron, Redick, Carter

Warriors star Stephen Curry left Friday’s game in Portland with a right thumb injury, but X-rays were negative and he returned to action after getting it wrapped up, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Curry, who initially injured the thumb in January, downplayed the issue after the game and said he’ll be good to go on Sunday vs. the Clippers, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“From what I know, just an aggravation,” Curry said. “The same thing (as the earlier thumb injury), but hopefully it wasn’t anything serious. … I just know it hurts right now, but I’ll be all right.”

The Warriors will need their top scorer at his best on Sunday — a win over L.A. would clinch a playoff spot for the team, while there’s a good chance a loss would lead to a play-in berth.

“I don’t want to be too dramatic,” Curry said when asked about Sunday’s game. “It should be like a Game 7 kind of vibe. You win and you control your destiny on a guaranteed playoffs series. If you lose, you roll the dice.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Like Curry, Lakers forward LeBron James exited Friday’s game with an injury. However, head coach J.J. Redick told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN, that James is “fine” after appearing to tweak his left hip/groin area. With Los Angeles locked into the No. 3 seed, LeBron seems unlikely to play much – if at all – on Sunday in Portland.
  • Asked on Friday whether he finds being a head coach more rewarding than being a player, Redick quickly said yes, though the Lakers‘ coach admitted he didn’t have a great explanation for why that’s the case, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register (subscription required). “I tried to figure that out for the last six months, I’m not sure,” Redick said. “But I will say, I think anybody that was around me as a player knows how much I enjoyed the job every day and knows how grateful I was to be in the NBA every day and very grateful to have a 15-year career. I like this more.”
  • Kings rookie Devin Carter didn’t make his debut until January due to a shoulder injury and has struggled offensively, averaging just 3.8 points per game on .375/.288/.591 shooting in 35 outings (10.7 MPG). Still, he’s playing a rotation role lately for the play-in club in large part due to his contributions on the other end of the floor. “I live with a lot of what DC does offensively as he still finds his way because he is spectacular on the defensive end,” interim head coach Doug Christie told Spencer Davies of RG.org, who spoke to Carter about his first NBA season.

Pacific Notes: Zubac, Monk, Warriors Loss, Podziemski

Ivica Zubac recorded the first triple-double of his NBA career in the Clippers’ win over the Rockets on Wednesday, compiling 20 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. The veteran center achieved the feat when he assisted on Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s late three-pointer.

Zubac, who signed a three-year extension in September, almost didn’t get a chance to make some personal history.

“I wanted it,” Zubac told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “T. Lue (coach Tyronn Lue) wanted to sub me out, then everyone was like, ‘No, no, no.’ He asked me and I was like, ‘I’ll stay.’ I wanted it. I told Bogie ‘I’ll get it to you and you got to shoot it no matter what,’ and he did. Bogie is a big-time shot maker. So, I told him he’s never paying for dinner again. I’m glad he made that shot.”

The Clippers’ sixth straight win kept them tied with the Nuggets for the fourth-best record in the West.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Kings sixth man Malik Monk won’t be available for at least two weeks due to a calf strain. It’s a case of very bad timing for the club as the postseason approaches, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee notes. “It’s super unfortunate because we depend on him a lot,” interim Kings coach Doug Christie said. “In many ways, he is the leader of the team, definitely on the emotional side. A lot of the energy, the things that go on in the locker room, practice. He’s the head of the snake in many ways. He’ll still be around, obviously, but two weeks is two weeks and we need him. We need Malik’s energy, his shooting, his athleticism.”
  • A bad loss to the Spurs on Wednesday left the Warriors in a precarious position. They’re now in seventh place in the West with two games remaining. If the Grizzlies win their final three games against the Minnesota, Denver and Dallas — plus the Clippers beat the Kings on Friday and the Nuggets beat the Rockets on Sunday — then the Warriors would be stuck in the play-in tournament, regardless of whether they win their final two games, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. Golden State has games remaining against the Trail Blazers and Clippers. “A good team takes care of business the next two and goes from there,” Stephen Curry said. “We have to prove we’re a good team.”
  • Warriors wing Brandin Podziemski had a rough outing on Wednesday, scoring just seven points in 33 minutes. In his previous four games, Podziemski averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists. His surge in the second half of the season has fueled the Warriors’ chase for a top-six spot, Slater writes. “He was pressing early,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He was trying too hard to be an All-Star instead of just taking the next step. And we had a lot of guys who could all play. He didn’t stand out in camp. He didn’t play well enough to earn what he’s earning now.”

Pacific Notes: Curry, Udoka, Kings Pick, LaRavia, Beal

Stephen Curry was hot on the court in recent games but he was only hot at the officials and the opposing coach on Sunday. After scoring 125 points combined in wins over the Grizzlies, Lakers and Nuggets, the Warriors superstar had more turnovers (four) than points (three) in the Rockets’ 106-96 win, Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes.

While heading to the locker room at halftime, Curry seemed frustrated about the way he was being defended. He crossed paths with Houston coach Ime Udoka, who said something to Curry that led to a terse exchange.

“When people start complaining about foul calls or crying about physicality, you’ve done your job,” Udoka said. “That’s the first step in winning the battle. So I told my team, when this team starts crying about it, up the intensity, up the aggressiveness, and make the refs adjust to you.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Kings owe the Hawks a first-rounder which is top-12 protected in this year’s draft. It’s still very much uncertain whether that pick will be conveyed, given Sacramento’s current status as a play-in team. James Ham of The Kings Beat takes an in-depth look at the scenarios where the Kings might retain the pick.
  • Kings forward Jake LaRavia is progressing through his rehab for what is now being called an incomplete scaphoid fracture of his left thumb, Ham tweets. LaRavia, who has been cleared for light on-court workouts, has been sidelined since March 25. He averaged 8.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game last month.
  • What should the Suns do with Bradley Beal this offseason — trade the oft-injured wing, waive him and use the stretch provision to spread out the financial burden, or buy him out? Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com (subscription required) takes a deep dive into each of those possibilities.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Lakers, Beal, Clippers

Warriors star Stephen Curry did a little bit of everything in Friday’s win over Denver, including some coaching, writes Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. Holding a lead during a play stoppage late in the game, Curry motioned for coach Steve Kerr to reinsert Gui Santos to provide energy and defense. Kerr took the suggestion, and Santos helped close out a 118-104 victory.

“I was like, ‘OK, if he’s saying it, then I’m going in,’” Santos said. “When the game matters a lot, in the most important moments, Steph wants everything to be perfect. He sees everything.”

Several players expressed the same message about Curry after the game, which was the Warriors’ first regular season win over the Nuggets in more than three years. Curry’s attention to detail when it’s time for “meaningful basketball” is part of what has made him one of the greatest players in NBA history.

“There’s a completely different focus, but you see the focus everywhere,” Draymond Green said. “It’s not just once Steph steps on the court in the game. It’s in practice, it’s in his workouts. He’s on the phone talking: ‘Yo, we need to do this.’ He gets into the weeds around this time. We try to keep him out of the weeds all year, because it can be a bit exhausting. But he kind of knows when it’s time for him to get in the weeds, and that’s where he is right now. … You can see the look in his eyes from a mile away.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Coach J.J. Redick ran several actions involving LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to finish off Friday’s win over New Orleans, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The Lakers have started winning the minutes with their three stars on the court together, and Doncic believes their chemistry is improving. “Obviously, like we talk about, it’s still a work in progress,” he said. “We haven’t had many practices together, but I think we’re getting more comfortable, like you saw (on Friday). It’s getting better.”
  • Suns guard Bradley Beal missed all seven of his shots from the field Friday at Boston, but he felt fine physically after returning to the lineup following an eight-game absence due to a strained left hamstring, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “Just getting back into a rhythm, getting back into the pace of the game,” Beal said. “Just got to be a little more aggressive. It was a little bit trying to feel my way into the game.”
  • The Clippers are in playoff mode already as they try to climb into the top six in the West and avoid the play-in tournament, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. has won 10 of its last 12 and entered tonight in a three-way tie for the sixth spot. “Everyone is treating every game like the playoffs. Honestly, it’s fun,” Ivica Zubac said. “I think what the NBA did with that play-in, I think it’s a really good thing. It’s very competitive and it’s been good. The last few weeks have been fun. You just kind of lock in, treat it as a playoff game, a must-win, and I’m sure other teams are like that too.”

Pacific Notes: Durant, Hield, Morant, Curry, Kawhi

Asked on Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link) about possible offseason trade destinations for Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Shams Charania said there was mutual interest between the Suns‘ star and a handful of potential suitors ahead of February’s trade deadline. According to Charania, that list of teams included the Timberwolves, Knicks, Rockets, Spurs, and Heat.

“Those are the types of teams, from my understanding, that had interest then,” Charania said. “And I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason.”

Charania didn’t explicitly mention the Warriors, but that’s likely due to the fact that Durant was known to be resistant to a Golden State reunion in February. If his stance changes this summer, it’s possible the Warriors could once again emerge as a suitor.

One report this week suggested that Durant is open to the idea of returning to Phoenix next season, but a trade still appears to be the most likely outcome. Unlike in February when the Suns unilaterally gauged the market for the veteran forward without consulting him, the team and Durant’s camp would likely work together on any deal this offseason, Charania notes.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • The NBA is looking into an incident from Tuesday’s Warriors/Grizzlies game when Golden State sharpshooter Buddy Hield and Memphis guard Ja Morant aimed finger-gun gestures at one another, according to Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. A video of that brief interaction can be found here (via Twitter). The NBA has fined players for that gesture in the past and is likely especially sensitive to this case since Morant has been suspended twice in the past for waving around an actual gun in social media videos.
  • Stephen Curry racked up 52 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in the Warriors‘ win over Memphis on Tuesday and told reporters after the game that he feels rejuvenated after taking a week off to recover from a pelvic injury in March, per ESPN. “I feel in a good rhythm,” Curry said. “The week off helped. The tank is pretty full.” Steve Kerr said a couple weeks ago that he wanted to get Curry some rest, but the Warriors coach no longer seems as concerned about his star guard’s condition. “I think (the week off) helped and I think two rounds of golf on this road trip helped,” Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
  • After missing the first two-plus months of the season while recovering from a knee procedure and then playing on a minutes limit for several more weeks after that, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has recaptured his All-NBA form, having averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game with a .521/.397/.825 shooting line in 13 March outings. Law Murray of The Athletic takes a look at Leonard’s resurgence and the 33-year-old’s desire to enter the offseason healthy.

NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

The NBA announced the 2024/25 finalists for a pair of awards on Wednesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.

The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.

The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

Holiday is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who has earned the honor in the past — he won it in 2021. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey won the award last season.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2024/25. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.

Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, while Timberwolves guard Mike Conley has also won the award twice, including in 2024. However, neither of those veterans is a finalist this season.

The Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

Award Candidates Who Still Need To Reach 65-Game Mark

There are just 12 days left in the 2024/25 regular season, which means time is running out for certain end-of-season award candidates to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

A player doesn’t need to reach that 65-game mark in order to be eligible for Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or All-Rookie teams, but it’s a necessary requirement for most of the marquee awards: Most Valuable Player, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and Most Improved Player.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the following players who could be in the mix for one or more of those awards haven’t yet met the 65-game criteria, but still have a chance to do so:

In some cases, a player’s actual games played total doesn’t match up with the figure noted above. That’s because in order for a game to count before the 65-game minimum, the player must be on the court for at least 20 minutes. A player is also permitted to count a maximum of two games between 15 and 20 minutes toward that minimum.

Let’s use Mobley as an example. The Cavaliers big man has technically appeared in 66 games this season, but he played just 12 minutes in one of those games, 18 minutes in two of them, and 19 minutes in one. That means he only has 64 games that actually count toward the minimum — all 62 games in which he played 20-plus minutes, along with two of those games between 15-20 minutes.

Mobley will have to play at least 20 minutes once more this season in order to be eligible for awards like Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and All-NBA. Given that he’s healthy and the Cavs still have seven games left on their schedule, Mobley should have no problem meeting that requirement. But it’ll be a taller order for some of the other players on this list.

Durant is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain and has been ruled out for at least two more games. He would have to play 20-plus minutes in three of the Suns‘ final four games to be award-eligible. Brunson, on the shelf due to his own ankle sprain, is in a similar boat, though the Knicks guard has a chance to return before Durant does.

Lillard, who is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf, seems pretty unlikely to play in six of the Bucks‘ last seven games. Holiday is healthy but has no wiggle room to miss any of the Celtics‘ remaining seven games.

Many of this year’s other top award contenders have already met the 65-game criteria. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic did so in style on Tuesday night — his 65th game of the season was an incredible 61-point triple-double in a 140-139 double-overtime loss to Minnesota.

However, according to the latest straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Jokic is the clear runner-up to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who has played 72 games) in the MVP race. Of the 100 media members polled by Bontemps, 77 picked the Thunder guard as their Most Valuable Player, while just 23 chose Jokic. The three-time MVP may need a couple more performances like Tuesday’s in order to close that gap by the end of the season.

Besides Jokic, one other notable player who has narrowly eclipsed the 65-game minimum is Cade Cunningham. The Pistons guard has missed four games in a row with a left calf injury and is considered doubtful to return on Wednesday, but he played his 65th game on March 19, prior to his recent absence.

That’s especially important for Cunningham and the Pistons because, as Bontemps notes, the fourth-year guard is considered a virtual lock to earn a spot on one of this year’s All-NBA teams, which will ensure that his maximum-salary rookie scale extension begins at 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap instead of 25%. That would increase the overall projected value of Cunningham’s five-year deal from $224.2MM to $269.1MM.

Western Notes: Curry, Kuminga, Collier, Fertitta

Stephen Curry‘s pelvic contusion only forced him to miss two games, but the Warriors star said after making his return on Friday vs. New Orleans that he expects to “feel it for a while,” as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN notes. Still, Curry, who suffered a hairline fracture in his tailbone when he fell hard onto courtside stairs during the 2020/21 season, was relieved not to get a similar diagnosis this time around.

“I think that (this time it didn’t) break anything or have any bone damage, was mostly just a deep serious contusion that I’ll feel it for a while,” Curry said. “But I can play and I can’t make it worse as long as I don’t land on it again.”

Curry made just 7-of-21 shots across 34 minutes in Friday’s win over the Pelicans and spoke after the game about needing to work on his timing and endurance. But head coach Steve Kerr believes that getting a week off at this point of the season – even if he spent most of it recovering from an injury – will benefit Curry this spring.

“I thought he looked great,” Kerr said, per Youngmisuk. “He was moving really well. Took care of the ball. I thought Steph played an excellent game. He probably missed his last five or six threes, so the numbers don’t look great, but he looked like himself. And I think the week off did him a lot of good.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

  • With Warriors guard Gary Payton II sidelined due to a thumb injury, Kerr believes there’s an opening for forward Jonathan Kuminga to step up and take on some of the defensive responsibilities that the team had given to Payton (Twitter video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “It opens up an opportunity for JK to be that defensive stopper, the guy we’ve relied on Gary to be,” Kerr said. “JK’s the obvious guy. Put him on the best offensive player, pick up full (court), harass people like Gary does. I’m going to ask JK to do that. It definitely opens up more minutes for him if he’s effective with that.” Kuminga, who have averaged just 23.4 minutes per game in eight contests since returning from an ankle sprain, didn’t have one specific defensive assignment on Friday against a New Orleans team missing most of its top scorers.
  • Speaking to NBA insider Chris Haynes on the first episode of the Haynes Briefs YouTube show, Jazz guard Isaiah Collier said that not being selected to participate in last month’s Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend motivated him and added “fuel to the fire” (Twitter video link). As Andy Larsen writes for The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required), the Jazz are making a strong promotional push to get Collier a spot on an All-Rookie team, dedicating a section of their website to making his case for consideration. It has been up-and-down season for the first-year guard, but since he entered Utah’s starting lineup on January 5, Collier has more assists than anyone in the NBA besides Trae Young, Nikola Jokic, and James Harden.
  • While Tilman Fertitta has indicated that he’ll resign as CEO of Landry’s Inc. if he’s confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino, the Rockets owner won’t be stepping away from his controlling interest in the NBA franchise, writes Erica Grieder of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I have been advised that during my service as Ambassador, the Embassy may address particular matters affecting the financial interests of the National Basketball Association, of which the Houston Rockets professional basketball team is a member,” Fertitta wrote in a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. “The agency has determined that it is not necessary at this time for me to divest my interests in the Houston Rockets because my recusal from particular matters in which these interests may pose a conflict of interest will not substantially limit my ability to perform the essential duties of Ambassador.”