Spurs center Victor Wembanyama says he's been cleared to return following blood clot
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He was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, and 3.7 assists when he was shut down; the only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
Wembanyama has traveled extensively recently and spent time last month at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place that welcomes visitors who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine, and more.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jonas Valanciunas says he's 'fully committed' to Nuggets, ending speculation he'd try to leave NBA to play in Greece
Jonas Valanciunas has spoken. He plans to play for the Denver Nuggets. Valanciunas clarified his stance on Monday for the first time since he was traded to the Nuggets from the Sacramento Kings. "I want to clear the air about my playing situation next season now that Denver has made their decision to keep me," Valanciunas told BasketNews. "The idea of playing for Panathinaikos, closer to home, was very exciting to me, but that will have to wait. "I am fully committed to honoring my contract with the Nuggets this season and will give it my all to compete for a championship." The Nuggets acquired Valanciunas to offer much-needed relief for three-time MVP center Nikola Jokić. But shortly after the July 2 trade, news broke that Valanciunas was being courted by Greek EuroLeague team Panathinaikos, leading to speculation that he would not play for Denver. Monday's statement should bring a conclusion to that speculation after Valanciunas previously declined to commit to Denver when given the chance. Valanciunas previously wasn't so clear Valanciunas is under contract with Denver on the second year of a three-year, $30.3 million deal. Since the news of Panathinaikos' interest in Valanciunas, Nuggets brass have made it clear that they intend for Valanciunas to honor his contract. 'There's been nothing but healthy conversations in terms of him honoring his contract and him excited to be a Nugget,' executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer said at a news conference last week. Valanciunas' contract extends his professional basketball rights exclusively to the NBA team that holds them. If he were to sign with Panathinaikos, which is much closer to his home country of Lithuania, he could do so only with the blessing of a Nuggets team that just traded for him. Valanciunas had previously offered a non-committal answer when asked about the topic by Lithuanian media. "We will find out only when the first game is played," Valanciunas said on July 8. "Everything will be clear." Once it became clear that Denver didn't intend to release him from his contract, Valanciunas had little recourse to continue playing for a team that's not the Nuggets. On Monday, he made clear that he intends to report to Denver and "give it my all." Whichg is good news for the Nuggets. The addition of Valanciunas is a key piece of an offseason roster overhaul that the Nuggets hope will return them to title contention, three seasons after Jokić led the franchise to its sole NBA championship. Key addition for Nuggets Jokić played 36.7 minutes per game last season, the most of his career by more than two minutes per game. He did so because the Nuggets lacked an effective backup center, and the Nuggets were significantly worse when Jokić was off the floor. Jokić faced physical matchups in the post in a pair of grueling seven-game playoff series when matched up against Clippers center Ivica Zubac and Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein. Without a viable backup, Jokić's minutes increased in the postseason to 40.2 per game. At 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds, Valanciunas is a physical presence in the post who can provide Jokić with much-needed relief in similar situations. He was an impact player for the Kings and Wizards last season with averages of 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in just 18.8 minutes per game. Valanciunas joins Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown as new faces in Denver from last season's team that took the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in a tightly contested second-round playoff series.
USA Today
25 minutes ago
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How similar is Nets' Cam Thomas to Bernard King for career impact?
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30 minutes ago
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"Shaq was pretty hard-headed, there's no doubt about it" - Phil Jackson on why Shaq may have been the toughest superstar he ever coached
"Shaq was pretty hard-headed, there's no doubt about it" - Phil Jackson on why Shaq may have been the toughest superstar he ever coached originally appeared on Basketball Network. Kobe Bryant wasn't the only personality Phil Jackson had to handle during his first stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, contrary to popular belief, Kobe might not have even been the toughest to manage. At least in Jackson's view, that distinction may have belonged to the 7'1", 325-pound centerpiece of the Lakers' early-2000s dominance, Shaquille O'Neal. It had little to do with ego or off-court theatrics and everything to do with the constant battle of harnessing talent that was both generational and, at times, uncontainable. Handling O'Neal Jackson arrived in L.A. in 1999, and O'Neal was already a dominant force and a walking mismatch who had bullied his way to multiple All-NBA First Team selections. But what Jackson saw wasn't just raw talent. It was potential that still hadn't been fully shaped into a championship mold. And that became one of his biggest coaching challenges. "Shaq's pretty hard-headed, there's no doubt about it," Jackson said. "But it was pretty easy to be positive with him, because everything in this offensive system looks to get the ball in the middle, you are looking to find the ball in the post, that's your first priority. Get the ball inside and see the best penetration way to get the ball close to the basket. That's the goal of almost every game." Jackson's triangle offense was tailor-made to spotlight a dominant interior player, and O'Neal became the focal point with his unmatched presence in the paint. But getting O'Neal to commit — mentally and physically — was a different kind of coaching effort. There were days when Jackson had to balance patience with pressure, managing the rhythms of a player whose conditioning and focus could swing with the season. What made O'Neal unique wasn't just his size. It was the finesse that lived within his power. His footwork and basketball IQ often got overshadowed by his brute force. And for Jackson, the mission was about aligning his game with the demands of a system that required discipline over dominance. The Lakers' three-peat from 2000 to 2002 didn't happen simply because they had stars. It happened because Jackson managed to fuse superstar energy with structured philosophy. And keeping O'Neal on the line was the thread that held the plan together. Even in moments of friction — be it with teammates, media or staff — O'Neal's role in the triangle offense remained untouchable. Everything started and ended with him on the integral part During that Lakers run, the towering Lakers big man averaged 28.5 points and 12.3 rebounds in the regular season and elevated those numbers even further in the playoffs. In 2000, he led the league in scoring and was named MVP. But what made him invaluable was his gravity and the way defenses collapsed, shooters got open and the way the triangle system could breathe, because he occupied so much attention and minutes on the floor. "With Shaq, it was more about getting yourself ready to play for a duration," Jackson said, That 1999–2000 season remains the statistical high-water mark for O'Neal's endurance. Averaging 40 minutes per game over an 82-game season — and even more in the postseason — was a grind. Yet it was also a necessity. Jackson needed him out there, anchoring both ends of the court, not just for the physical impact but for the psychological edge. When O'Neal was on the floor, the Lakers were a different team — tougher and less vulnerable. But that also meant Jackson had to constantly monitor O'Neal's health, practice intensity, and in-game stamina. Unlike Michael Jordan, who thrived on nonstop competition, or Bryant, who lived in the gym, O'Neal required a tailored approach, one that preserved his body but sharpened his edge. The payoff came in the form of one of the most dominant playoff stretches the league has ever seen. In the 2000 postseason, O'Neal averaged 30.7 points and 15.4 rebounds. He had three 40-point games in the Finals alone. And yet, beneath the highlights and hardware, Jackson never forgot just how tough the process story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
