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The NBA All-Star Game is hitting The Bay and in celebration, the Golden State Warriors’ record label Golden State Entertainment is releasing a collection of songs from Bay Area artists including two legends. E-40 and Too $hort dropped a new single, “Had To,” from the upcoming For The Soil, led by Bay Area rapper and producer P-Lo, which comes out on Feb 12.
“‘Had To’ and ‘For the Soil’ represent a journey of passion, creativity, and connection,” said P-Lo in a statement. “It’s been an amazing experience collaborating with E-40 and Too $hort to create this track. Golden State Entertainment and the Warriors are leading the way in bridging music and sports, and I feel honored to have worked on this track with them. Bringing this vision to life with such legends and tying it to a team and culture I deeply admire has been unforgettable.”
Golden State Entertainment is the first record label owned by an NBA team. According to their website, GSE “produces compelling documentaries, drops cutting-edge music, and hosts events and experiences to tell the stories of those who shape and move culture around the globe.”
The label is headed by David Kelly, GSE’s Chief Business Officer and Former Executive Vice President of A&R for Def Jam Recordings and Executive Vice President for Capitol Music Group, No I.D.
Besides E-40 and Too $hort’s “Had To,” For the Soil also features Larry June, Kamaiyah, Saweetie, LaRussell, G-Eazy, thúy and YMTK on a track called “Players Holiday.”
“P-Lo, $hort, and I had to drop this one for The Bay,” said 40 Water in a statement. “‘Had To’ is that real player’s anthem, straight from the soil to the stars, so it’s only right we bring the energy!”
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game goes down February 16, 2025 and it will be the fourth time the Warriors will host the game and the first time since 2000. The game will be televised nationally by TNT for the 23rd and final consecutive year. It will return to NBC (which aired the game for 11 years prior to TNT taking over coverage) next season.
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Source: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty / Luka Doncic / Anthony Davis
You know a trade is wild when social media has to check to see if Shams Charania’s account was hacked.
The entire sports world was left stunned last night when ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania posted a megaton of tweets on X, formerly Twitter, announcing, in a mind-blowing move, that the Dallas Mavericks were sending all-star guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a three-team deal for big man Anthony Davis.
“The Dallas Mavericks are trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Three-team deal that includes Utah,” Charania wrote in a post X.
The news came just hours after the Lakers smoked the New York Knicks in the Garden on Saturday night.
Davis did not play, but Max Christie did log minutes in the Lakers victory.
The news was so mindblowing that Charania had to follow up to ensure followers his account was not hacked and that the deal was indeed real.
Charania said the deal was made “in the shadows,” with Anthony Davis and LeBron James not even knowing it was going down.
“This deal materialized in the shadows … LeBron James had no idea this was coming. Anthony Davis had no idea this was coming. I’m told Luka Doncic is still stunned about this trade,” Charania said on ESPN.
LeBron James did chime in, responding to a post on CBS Sports’ official X account that he “had grown frustrated with Anthony Davis,” clapping back at the report, “You a fkn lie!!!”
NBA Players Were Left In Shock
As you can imagine, NBA Xitter, hell, everyone reacted to the news with shock. Luka Doncic is coming off a year that saw his Mavericks reach the NBA Finals, and he was pretty much cemented as the Mavericks guy for the foreseeable future.
Bruh!
You can see more reactions to the news below. This upcoming week will be an interesting one for the NBA.
1. Accurate
3. Also accurate
9. You called it
12. Kendrick Perkins had something to say
18. D-Wade Is A Fan of the chaos
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It is clear Draya Michele lives a life. She was recently spotted taking her 22-year-old son to see her boyfriend Jalen Green play.
As spotted on Page Six the former Basketball Wives star caused a stir online last week. On Sunday, Jan. 5 Draya Michele attended the Houston Rockets NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. By her side was her eldest son Kniko Howard who is still in his early 20’s. The mother and son duo were there to see Draya’s boyfriend Jalen Green play who is also 22-years-old. While she is still revered as one of the most sexiest women on social media, Draya is almost twice Green’s age. So naturally the idea of her dating someone the age of her son was polarizing to say the least.
As a result the footage was met with a lot of criticism online with many calling her out for having a boyfriend the same age of her son. Others pointed to the obvious gender hypocrisy where men are typically celebrated for courting women half their age citing that former NFL Head Coach Bill Belichick is dating someone 48 years younger than him.
Draya is no stranger to going viral. Most recently she made headlines as her former boyfriend NY Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor called local police to formally evict her from one of his properties. Prior to that she announced she was pregnant by Jalen Green on International Women’s Day. She would give birth to a baby girl that following May.
You can see some of the best responses to Draya Michele and her son popping out at the Houston Rockets game below.
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Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has informed the team that he wants a trade, saying that he’s looking to get “his joy back” playing basketball.
NBA star Jimmy Butler has officially informed the Miami Heat that he wants out. The star guard “indicated to the Heat he wants the team to trade him” according to reports, expressing that he is “open to playing anywhere other than Miami.” The news broke after Butler spoke candidly to the media after the Heat’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers at home on Thursday night (January 2). “I want to see me get my joy back for playing basketball,” he said to a reporter. “Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon. But I want to get my joy back. I’m happy here … off the court. But I want to be back to somewhere dominant. I want to hoop. I want to help this team win and right now I’m not doing that.” When asked if that could happen in Miami, Butler responded, “Probably not.”
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The situation between Butler and the Heat has been brewing since last spring when team president Pat Riley announced that they would not extend the guard’s contract before the 2024-2025 season. Things were also soured when Butler, who missed the Heat’s first-round playoff series against the eventual champion Boston Celtics due to a knee injury, indicated that if he were healthy the team would’ve won. Riley gave a curt response to those comments at his end-of-season media session: “If you’re not on the court playing, you should keep your mouth shut.” It was reported that Butler’s team has consistently met with Riley and Heat owner Mickey Arison in the past few weeks to try to resolve the split with no success.
Sources also state that Butler has not provided a list of teams he wants to be traded to, feeling as if he’d make any team a contender. It was also revealed that he is willing to “do whatever the Heat ask of him” during the process before he is traded. Butler did not play the entire fourth quarter of the game against the Pacers, the second straight game this week where he was benched. He is in the final year of his contract, earning $49 million. He plans to decline his 2025-2026 player option to become a free agent in July.
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LeBron James made it a point to declare Christmas Day a day for the NBA, as the NFL played games on the holiday through the Netflix streaming platform.
The battle between the National Football League and the National Basketball Association for ratings dominance took center stage on Christmas Day (Dec. 25). Superstar LeBron James made it plain that the holiday belongs to the NBA during an interview after the Los Angeles Lakers’ thrilling 115-113 win on the road against the Golden State Warriors. “Merry Christmas to my family back home, I’m coming home,” James said to ESPN’s Lisa Salters afterward at Chase Center. “And I love the NFL. I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day.” James made it a point to look directly into the camera as he added that last statement.
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James’ comments came hours after Netflix livestreamed two climatic games – the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-10, and the Baltimore Ravens soundly beat the Houston Texans 31-2 in the later contest. The second game also featured a dynamic halftime performance by Beyoncé, who performed songs from her Cowboy Carter album. The show also featured country star Shaboozey and the singer/rapper Post Malone, in addition to her daughter Blue Ivy joining her. The day was expected to boost ratings for the streaming platform’s further expansion into live sports, with a deal reportedly worth $150 million.
The NBA has been criticized for its performance recently, with a report showing a drop in ratings. But Christmas Day has traditionally been a strong showcase for the league. This Christmas Day was no exception, as the NBA had five games nationally aired between ESPN and ABC, beginning with the San Antonio Spurs taking on the New York Knicks, which featured a simulcast on Disney+, featuring animated players from both teams along with Disney favorites such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse. Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns echoed James’ statements after his team’s victory over the Denver Nuggets. “Today was a step in the right direction to get people excited again for the game of basketball,” he said.
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The Emirates NBA Cup semifinal bracket took shape Wednesday night, and this weekend, the quest for in-season championship gold continues. Although critics of the Emirates NBA Cup concept have their thoughts, fans were treated to a pair of great games en route to Las Vegas for the title game.
The Atlanta Hawks took on the New York Knicks in a game that looked to be going the way of Jalen Bruson and the Bodega Boys until “Ice Cold” Trae Young stepped up to deliver a double-double, pouring in 22 points and 11 assists in a second-half comeback win. The Hawks took the game 108 to 100 at the famed Madison Square Garden, cementing Young’s growing legend as a star in this league. Karl Anthony Towns showed up big for his team with a 19-point, 19 rebounds double-double, but the Hawks’ bench production and efficiency wore down the Knickerbockers.
The surging Houston Rockets faced off against the Golden State Warriors and this game was decided by one point with a last-second miracle shot from Stephen Curry not going his way. The Rockets, a young team full of explosive athletes, relied on their big man Alperen Sengun, who led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Rockets have lost 15 games straight to the Warriors, snapping it with their 91-90 win in a thriller of a game in Houston.
If the action on the court is any indication, the players are certainly taking things seriously when it comes to the Emirates NBA Cup, which comes with a $500,000 payday for each player and in-season bragging rights.
The bracket and game times are as follows from NBA.com:
Saturday’s Semifinals
East: (1) Bucks vs. (3) Hawks (4:30pm ET, TNT)
West: (1) Thunder vs. (2) Rockets (8:30pm ET, ABC)
Tuesday’s Championship
East Winner vs. West Winner (8:30 ET, ABC)
From our side, we’re liking the top-seeded East team Bucks over the Hawks in the early game this Saturday (Dec. 14). For the West, it’s hard to imagine anyone getting past the stacked and top-seeded Thunder team, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander commanding the point. Don’t take any advice from us, we’re just sharing our opinions! It all goes down this weekend. We can’t wait.
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Photo: Getty
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It looks like the Los Angeles Lakers are putting father and son on pause. The team has assigned Bronny James to the G League.
As per NBC News the rookie will split his time honing his skills in a developmental division of the NBA. ESPN is reporting that organization will have the son of LeBron James join the South Bay Lakers. Originally launched in 2001, the G League serves as the National Basketball Association’s minor league. According to sources Bronny will still suit up in the purple and gold for Lake Show home games but will not travel with his father and the rest of the team so he can play for the G League.
This should not come to fans as a surprise as head coach JJ Redick made it clear this was the strategy for Bronny all along. “The plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one. [General manager] Rob [Pelinka] and I have talked about that. LeBron’s talked about that” he said to sports news network last month. While he made history by being the first NBA talent to play on the same team with his father, Bronny has only averaged about one point per game and a 16% shooting average in four games.
In 2023 he suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball workout. He was soon admitted to the ICU at the University of South California and was treated by the medical staff. Bronny then underwent a procedure to treat congenital heart defect; months later he was cleared to play.
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NBA star center Joel Embiid received a three-game suspension from the league after shoving a reporter after a game over the weekend.
On Tuesday (November 5), the National Basketball Association announced that Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid would be suspended for three games after an altercation with Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Marcus Haynes after the team’s game last Saturday (November 2). The suspension means that he will miss the Sixers’ games against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Charlotte Hornets.
“Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, said in a statement. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”
The incident was initiated because of Haynes’ column, which made a reference to Embiid’s late brother and his son, both named Arthur while questioning the center’s effort during the preseason and during his multiple absences during his career. Embiid, who was on the United States men’s Olympic team that won the gold medal in Paris this past summer, has been out tending to minor swelling in his knee. “The next time you bring up my dead brother and my son again, you are going to see what I’m going to do to you and I’m going to have to … live with the consequences,” Embiid said to Hayes when confronting him.
Embiid, who was slated to make his season debut in the Lakers game, will instead appear with the Sixers as they square off against the New York Knicks on November 12, in the first round of the NBA’s in-season tournament now known as the NBA Emirates Cup. Haynes has apologized for the comments and removed them from the article, but Embiid rejected the apology.
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It seems the game of musical chairs continues with ESPN’s staff. Shams Charania has announced he is now the brand’s NBA Insider following Adrian Wojnarowski’s exit.
As reported by Deadline, the popular basketball personality has taken his talents to the global sports network. On Monday, Oct. 7 he made the announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I am honored to join ESPN as the company’s Senior NBA Insider. I can’t wait to be part of an incredible group of colleagues at ESPN and serve the sports audience worldwide,” he wrote. This news comes on the heels of Adrian Wojnarowski’s recent departure from the brand after serving as an NBA reporter since 2017. Last month, the Bristol, Conn., native revealed he was retiring from journalism to take the general manager position of the men’s basketball team at St. Bonaventure University, his alma mater.
When asked about his replacement Woj made it clear that the position is a once in a lifetime opportunity. “I hope he has as fulfilling and as rewarding of a career as I’ve had,” he said. “And I certainly wish that for him and he’s right about the incredible group of colleagues that he is going to find at ESPN. For me that was always the best part of working at ESPN.”
2024 has been a bumpy year for ESPN with relation to employee turnover. Back in August, the network had a reorganization that resulted in several on air personalities being terminated. Some of the personnel who were impacted included Robert Griffin III, Sam Ponder, Zach Lowe and others. You can see Woj discuss Shams Charania below.
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Dikembe Mutombo, the shot-blocking NBA legend and member of its Hall of Fame, has passed away. He was only 58.
NBA analyst Shams Charania reported that Mutombo passed away from brain cancer. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement announcing the eight-time NBA All-Star and philanthropist’s death.
“Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life. On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA,” said Silver. “Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.”
OG NBA fans remember Mount Mutombo blocking shots and famously waving his finger at anyone who tried him when he was protecting the rim.
Even before his playing days were over, Mutombo began helping the people of his native Democratic Republic of the Congo, a passion that saw him open a school and hospital via his charity. He also served as a Global Ambassador for the NBA.
As soon as news of his passing broke, Xitter began going up for Mutombo, saluting for his exploits on the court and a life well played. Rest in powerful peace Dikembe Mutombo.
