Tag: champion

76ers, Knicks make additions with eye on champion Celtics

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The Celtics were far and away the pride of the Eastern Conference, bulldozing their way to the franchise’s 18th NBA championship with a talented roster built around perimeter scoring and lockdown defense.

The race to prevent Boston from becoming the first team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors to repeat as champs began with the draft Wednesday night. While it was just the start of what figures to be an active offseason around the league, Day 1 made it clear that some of the Celtics’ top chasers next season may come from their own division.

Two of those teams — the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers — both made picks with an eye toward competing sooner rather than later.

LIST: 2024 NBA Rookie Draft first round picks

Philadelphia entered the offseason with basically a blank slate and lots of salary cap room to build out a roster around stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The 76ers began that process by picking up a shooter in former Duke guard Jared McCain.

Even before draft night opened, the Knicks were one of the NBA’s most active teams, acquiring Mikal Bridges in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. They followed that up Wednesday by signing OG Anunoby to a new contract worth more than $210 million, setting them up with two of the league’s top wing defenders to play alongside star Jalen Brunson.

Joining that mix will be a France’s Pacome Dadiet, a 3-and-D wing out of France.

The Nets were the only one of Boston’s Atlantic Division-mates without any first round picks.

Boston Celtics

Team needs: Depth. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made it clear earlier in the week that any player selected during the draft would have a difficult time cracking their current rotation. It’s a great position to be in for a team expected to spend the balance of the offseason simply tweaking the bottom of its roster

Who did the Celtics draft: Creighton G Baylor Scheierman. A lefty with great range from the outside, he scored more than 2,000 points in college. He won’t wow you with his athleticism and his ability to improve defensively will dictate how well he translates to the next level.

Player comparison: Orlando Magic F Joe Ingles.

New York Knicks

Pacome Dadiet, right, poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 25th by the New York Knicks during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Team needs: Not much from the draft, after agreeing to a deal to acquire Bridges from the Nets and getting Anunoby to agree on his long-term pact to stay in New York in the 24 hours beforehand.

READ: NBA: Knicks to acquire Mikal Bridges in trade from Nets

Who did the Knicks draft: France F Pacome Dadiet. The final of four French players selected in a historic night for the country, Dadiet is just 18 years old with a lot of room to develop. He’s good with the ball in his hands and has a multitude of ways to attack defenses.

Player comparison: Maybe someday Anunoby or Bridges, with an ability to guard multiple wing positions. But the Knicks have the real things now so may not even bring him over from France this season.

Philadelphia 76ers

Jared McCain NBA Draft Philadelphia 76ers

Jared McCain poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 16th by the Philadelphia 76ers during the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Team needs: Just about everything. Almost the entire team — players such as Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry and Nic Batum — ended the season with an expired contract. Team president Daryl Morey has about $65 million in salary cap space, a max contract topping $200 million to offer Maxey and plenty of questions to solve on how to finally, truly build an NBA championship contender around Embiid.

Who did the 76ers draft: McCain. One-and-done player who rapidly became the Blue Devils’ toughest competitor. Made 41% of 3s and 89% of free throws. Had two 30-point showings in the NCAA Tournament. He had two 30-point games in the NCAA Tournament to lead Duke to the Elite Eight.

Player comparison: Knicks G Jalen Brunson. McCain is roughly the same size and the Knicks All-Star and enters the league about two years younger than the former Villanova star when he was drafted.

Toronto Raptors

Team needs: Any promising player to line up alongside newly-extended All-Star forward Scottie Barnes on a talent-starved squad that traded away Anunoby and Pascal Siakam last season before slumping to a 25-57 finish and missing the play-in tournament.

Who did the Raptors draft: With the first-round pick it acquired in the Siakam trade, Toronto drafted 6-foot-4 Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter. Baylor’s top scorer in his lone season with the Bears, the 19-year-old Walter was also named Big 12 Freshman of the Year after averaging 14.5 points and 4.4 rebounds.



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Player comparison: A promising shooter, determined driver and aggressive rebounder, Walter is also considered a versatile defender. With that mix of qualities, he’s comparable to Clippers guard Terance Mann.

VNL 2024: Yuki Ishikawa, Japan rally past Olympic champion France

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Japan team celebrates in the VNL 2024 Week 3 game against France. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Yuki Ishikawa took matters into his own hands to help depleted Japan complete an epic comeback-from-behind 17-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-10 win over Olympic champion France in the Volleyball Nations League on Saturday evening before a roaring crowd at Mall of Asia Arena.

With Ran Takahashi flying home to Japan due to a nagging injury and Yuji Nishida sitting out after the second set due to abdomen pain, Ishikawa willed Japan back from two sets down, with 33 points off 31 spikes, one ace, and a block in front of 11,879 fans.

“First two sets, we were not working well. At the same time, we made too many mistakes, especially in our attacks. After the third set, we worked on our chemistry, our attack, and defense,” said the Japan skipper. “We have to push all the time. First and second sets we were a little bit nervous.”

READ: Japan’s Ran Takahashi leaves Manila to treat knee injury

“[33 points] is not important for me. What’s important is the team, so our teammates played very well, so I had to make the right plays,” he added.

Kento Miyaura, who came off the bench, also stepped up with 19 points built on 16 spikes, two aces, and a block as Japan improved to 8-3 in fifth place with one last assignment remaining against the USA on Sunday at 7 p.m.

Miyaura powered the Japanese to an early 10-5 start in the fifth set before Ishikawa delivered the killer blows to complete the comeback win against the 2022 VNL champions.

READ: VNL 2024: Japan bounces back with sweep of Netherlands

“It’s our last game in the Philippines, so we will do our best every time, and we will continue to play well,” said Ishikawa of USA. “It’s a really, really tough game for sure. United States plays fast, so our service needs to be well.”

Akihiro Yamauchi and Kentaro Takahashi added six points each as Japan won the second of its third assignment in their third consecutive VNL Manila leg.

France absorbed its second straight defeat in Manila, sliding to a 7-4 record in sixth place after a tough loss to the also-ran Iran.

Jean Patry led the balanced attack of the French Spikers with 21 points off 18 attacks, two aces, and a block. Trevor Clevenot backstopped him with 15 points, while Yacine Loati and Nicolas Le Goff had 11 and 10 points, respectively.



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France tries to end its skid against Brazil on Sunday at 3 p.m. 

Quinto, the boy who dreamed, finally a PBA champion

On: By: admin


Meralco’s Bong Quinto recently paid a visit to the grave of his father and brought an item to show that he has arrived as a champion basketball player.

That was a championship shirt of the Bolts’ run in the PBA Philippine Cup, the culmination of a lifelong dream for Quinto, one which he obviously shared with his father.

“Nagbunga lahat ng panalangin mo para sa akin (All of your prayers have finally paid off),” Quinto wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.

Quinto became a PBA champion after his key role in the Bolts’ turnaround from the brink of missing the playoffs. In the Finals, his performance also downplayed why he was a huge steal as a second round pick in the 2018 Draft.

It’s also a full circle for Quinto, whose dream started when he watched a PBA game for the first time in 2007 at Cuneta Astrodome, where he saw the deciding Game 7 between Alaska and TNT for the Fiesta Conference title.

The Aces won that, and Quinto would see more games, cultivating his desire to one day become a PBA champion himself.

“Before I dreamt of winning a championship in college, I dreamt of becoming a PBA champion,” said Quinto in Filipino.

Also NCAA champ

He got an NCAA title in 2015 with Letran as part of the Cinderella “Mayhem” squad handled by rookie coach Aldin Ayo as they denied San Beda a fifth straight crown. He played three more years with the Knights, his versatility as a post player who can also play in the perimeter on full display.

But Quinto, a projected first-rounder, eventually ended up being picked 14th overall by the Bolts, who curiously had a chance to take him at No. 5 but chose guard Trevis Jackson instead.

Jackson is no longer in the league, and Quinto became a key fixture on the Meralco squad that made it to multiple semifinals and two Finals prior to this season, losing both times to Barangay Ginebra.

Quinto emerged as one of the key reasons for Meralco’s turnaround from 3-5 before eventually eliminating Ginebra in Game 7 of the semis. He also had key contributions in the Finals.

“I told the veterans that I was playing for them, because I know that at the end all of us will be the ones benefiting,” said Quinto.



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Celtics look to become first repeat NBA champion since 2018

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, center, holds the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy as he celebrates with center Kristaps Porzingis, left, and guard Jaylen Brown, right, after the Celtics won the NBA championship with a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — It took more than a decade, savvy front office and draft moves, and some free agency luck for the Celtics to ultimately build the roster that brought an end to their 16-year NBA championship drought.

But with NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown already locked up long-term and fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum set to join him in the $300 million club this summer, Boston doesn’t have nearly as much work to do this offseason to keep together a core that is set up to become the first team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors to repeat as champions.

In the euphoria of locking up the franchise’s record-breaking 18th championship, Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck gave president of basketball operations Brad Stevens a shoutout for finishing a process that began when Stevens was originally hired as Boston’s coach in 2013.

“We all watched the team the last few years. Great teams, but not quite there,” Grousbeck said. “And Brad was brilliant. We knew we needed to make changes … and he got it done.”

Moving away from longtime executive Danny Ainge — the architect of Boston’s 2008 championship Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — in favor of the 44-year-old Stevens was bold. Now, just three years after being pulled off the sideline, Stevens has made good on the belief that ownership had in him.

READ: NBA: Brown, Tatum answer critics while leading Celtics to title

He did it by taking the war chest of draft picks Ainge left him and borrowing from the aggressiveness his predecessor was known for to immediately go to work.

It started coyly with a February 2022 trade deadline acquisition of Derrick White, a young defensive-minded reserve with San Antonio.

Then, following the loss to the Warriors in the Finals, he steered the team through the suspension and ultimate departure of coach Ime Udoka for having an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the organization.

Facing a franchise-altering moment, Stevens leaned on his gut, elevating back bench assistant Joe Mazzulla to the top job.

Then, after a conference finals loss to Miami last season, he did what was originally unthinkable by trading veteran leader Marcus Smart and reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon in separate deals that brought in 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis and defensive stalwart Jrue Holiday.

The pair turned out to be the missing links for a team that, including the playoffs, finished 80-21 this season, placing it second in team history behind only the Celtics’ 1985-86 championship team that finished 82-18.

READ: NBA: Jayson Tatum says past pain inspired Boston Celtics

It also marks the first time in seven seasons the team with the best record during the regular season went on to win the title.

Most importantly, Boston is set up to keep the current core intact for the foreseeable future.

Brown is already locked up through 2029. Tatum is eligible to sign a five-year supermax extension this summer that will be worth a record $315 million and run through 2031. White, who is set to be a free agent in 2025, can ink a four-year deal worth about $125 million this offseason.

The remaining returning starters, Holiday and Porzingis, have already been extended through 2028 and 2026, respectively.

While some tough, luxury tax decisions could be looming in a few seasons, it’s a team constructed to win now.

Brown said it’s left everyone poised to defend their title next season and beyond.



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“I think we have an opportunity. I think we definitely have a window,” he said. “We take it one day at a time. We definitely have to make sure we stay healthy. But, we’ll enjoy the summer, enjoy the moment, and then we get right back to it next year.”

For Dominicans, NBA champion Al Horford is a national treasure

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Boston Celtics center Al Horford, center, and forward Jayson Tatum, center left, celebrates with teammates near the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after the team won the NBA basketball championship with a Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, June 17, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Al Horford is being celebrated in the Dominican Republic after the Boston Celtics center became the first player from the country to win an NBA title on Monday.

Horford — whose full name is Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso — has been congratulated by the president of the Dominican Republic, international bachata stars and others after finally winning a championship in his 17th NBA season.

“Al Horford has made history as the first Dominican to win an NBA Finals series,” President Luis Abinader said on X. “What great pride for our country! Congratulations on your incredible achievement.” The tweet included an emoji of the Dominican flag and the hashtag #OrgulloDominicano, or #DominicanPride.

The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to win the franchise’s 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history.

“I feel proud to represent all the Dominicans, no just over there, but in the world because I know they’re in different places in Europe and here in the United States,” said Horford, who had a Dominican flag tucked in his waistband while posing for photos with the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

READ: Celtics look to become first NBA repeat champion since 2018

Rachel Quezada, a 38-year-old auditor in Santo Domingo Este, said she followed the entire series hoping for a Boston victory, which she never doubted given the team’s talent.

“I love that you can tell he is a person that doesn’t forget about his roots,” Quezada told The Associated Press. “The team had an A1 performance from the start.”

Horford, from Puerto Plata, joins a short list of Latino players to win an NBA title: Manu Ginóbili and Fabricio Oberto from Argentina, Butch Lee and J.J. Barea from Puerto Rico, Carl Herrera from Venezuela, Leandro Barbosa from Brazil, and Juan Toscano-Anderson from Mexico.

Dominican maestro Juan Luis Guerra also congratulated the 38-year-old Celtics star with an Instagram post of the basketball team and a caption that read “Glory to God!!.”

The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Sports posted a picture on X with text reading “Dominican Pride.”

Horford earned his first ring in his 15th playoff appearance. The 38-year-old has played in the Finals twice. He is the son of Tito Horford, a retired Dominican basketball star who played in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.



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Horford moved to Michigan from the Dominican Republic with his family before heading to Florida to play college basketball for the Gators.

Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla goes from Division 2 coach to NBA champion

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Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics yells while lifting the Larry O’ Brien Championship Trophy after Boston’s 106-88 win against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP

Joe Mazzulla has been called weird. He’s been called a sicko. He’s been called crazy.

Those comments weren’t coming from critics or haters directing anonymous insults toward the NBA coach of the Boston Celtics. They came publicly from his own players who, by all accounts, absolutely adore him. And they are meant with all possible respect, especially now that those players — and everyone else — must call Mazzulla something else.

A champion.

A 35-year-old whose only head coaching experience before taking over the Celtics in the fall of 2022 was at the NCAA Division II level is now the leader of the best team in the NBA world. Boston wrapped up the NBA title on Monday night, beating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to finish off a five-game roll through the finals and secure the team’s record 18th championship.

“There’s nothing better than representing the Celtics,” Mazzulla said, “and being part of history.”

READ: Celtics rout Mavericks to win record 18th NBA championship

Including playoffs, Mazzulla’s record is now 148-54 — a .729 winning percentage. Among all coaches with at least 200 games in the NBA, nobody has a better record than that.

And when it was over, yes, the famously stoic Mazzulla smiled.

“The thing you just can’t take for granted in the game today is a coach’s greatest gift is a group of guys that want to be coached, want to be led, that also empower themselves,” Mazzulla said earlier in the series. “So, I think at the end of the day, just appreciate the fact that we have an environment where learning and coaching is important, and getting better and developing is important. You can’t be a good coach if your players don’t let you.”

He’s the 37th coach in NBA history to win a title and the seventh to do so from the Celtics’ bench, joining Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Fitch, K.C. Jones and Doc Rivers.

And there are other names the Celtics call him, too. Like genius, for example. Mazzulla doesn’t hide his Christian faith, talks about three of his loves beyond family being Jesus, coffee and jiu-jitsu, is obsessed with things like international soccer, and in his spare time leads teams to NBA titles.

“He’s really himself. He’s like authentic to himself. We all appreciate that,” Celtics guard Payton Pritchard said. “He’s not trying to be somebody he’s not. So, I think that’s kind of like the sicko side of it. He’s different, but we respect that. Then the basketball genius, you can learn a lot from him as to how he sees the offensive side of things, the play calling, the game management, all that. He’s elite in that. I’ve personally learned a lot from him, and I think our whole group has.”

READ: Celtics follow ‘craziness’ of Mazzulla’s coaching style to NBA Finals

Alex Cora, the manager of the Boston Red Sox, makes no secret that he believes the Celtics are going to be enjoying success for a while. He’s close with Brad Stevens, the front office mastermind of the team, and has gotten to know Mazzulla somewhat well since he took over as coach. The respect he has for Mazzulla is clear.

It’s not like Mazzulla struggled in Year 1 after being shoved into the job unexpectedly following the scandal that led to the Celtics parting ways with Ime Udoka; the Celtics did make Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last season. Cora just thinks things were more suited to Mazzulla’s needs in Year 2, such as bringing in assistants like Charles Lee (the next coach of the Charlotte Hornets) and Sam Cassell.

“I do believe that with everything that they went through, with the head coaching part of it, and Joe last year being the head coach but not having his staff, I think it was kind of like an obstacle for him,” Cora told reporters before a Red Sox game last week. “But he got the right people, they got the right coach.”

Mazzulla’s path to the NBA mountaintop could easily be described as non-traditional, and not just for the circumstances under which he got the job as Udoka’s replacement.

Mazzulla’s only previous experience as a head coach before taking over the Celtics was a two-year stint at Fairmont State in West Virginia, where he went 43-17 and made the NCAA Tournament in his second season. A native New Englander from Rhode Island, Mazzulla played at West Virginia, was an assistant for the Celtics’ G League team before taking over at Fairmont State, and then got hired by the Celtics again in June 2019 to be part of Stevens’ coaching staff.

They’re a lot alike, Mazzulla and Stevens. They don’t waste words. They don’t seek the spotlight. Asking them a question about themselves is almost certainly not going to get any sort of peel-back-the-curtain answer. It’s not about them. It’s just about wins.

“When Joe won coach of the month, I was like, ‘Hey, congratulations,’” Celtics guard Derrick White said. “And he just looked at me and said, ‘Nobody cares.’”

The closest Mazzulla likely came to getting a head-coaching gig in the NBA before getting promoted by Boston was in 2022, when he interviewed with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz hired Will Hardy, and Mazzulla said they made the right decision. But when he looked back at that process, Mazzulla hated one part of his interview.

He wore a suit. “They’re useless,” he said.

To be clear, that wasn’t where Mazzulla thinks he blew that interview. The Jazz asked him a fairly standard question. Paraphrasing, they wanted to know how Mazzulla, as a young coach — actually younger than some NBA players — felt he was ready to lead a team.



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He didn’t have a great answer. But now, nobody will have to ask him that question again. Mazzulla answered it Monday night once and for all. He can lead a team to the top of the NBA world. The Celtics’ 18th banner will be raised this fall, and that’s more than enough for him.

“You get very few chances in life to be great and you get very few chances in life to carry on the ownership and the responsibility of what these banners are, and all the great people, all the great players that came here,” Mazzulla said. “When you have few chances in life, you just have to take the bull by the horns and you’ve got to just own it. And our guys owned it.”