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Source: Jacob Kupferman / Getty / Eric Lewis
Eric Lewis won’t be blowing his whistle or handing out any technical fouls after retiring, effective immediately, the NBA has announced.
NBA referee Eric Lewis was one of the league’s best officials and a fixture on the court during the regular season and playoffs.
Now he is officially done with the NBA, the league said in a newsletter on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old ref’s retirement came while he was under investigation for possibly using a burner account on X, formerly Twitter.
His retirement, while it seems sudden, seems strategic or a compromise because the release notes, “In light of his decision, the NBA’s investigation into social media activity has been closed.”
Hmmmmm.
The league confirmed in late May, ahead of the NBA Finals, that it was looking into Lewis’ alleged use of a burner account on Twitter. Oops, we mean X.
The NBA was looking into whether Lewis was using his burner account to respond to messages critical of him on several occasions.
If that were the case, Lewis would have directly violated the NBA’s policy prohibiting officials from commenting on officiating publicly without the league’s approval.
Lewis’ not making the cut and being one of the 12 referees chosen to officiate the Finals despite having the grades and previous experience made it clear that the league was looking into what he allegedly did and was in some serious trouble, per USA Today.
Former NBA referee Eric Lewis worked in the association for 19 seasons and officiated over 80 playoff games, including six NBA Finals games.
Now, he can enjoy that free time and the freedom to post on X as much as he likes.
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Photo: Jacob Kupferman / Getty
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Noah Lyles is sitting at the top of the track and field throne after a star-making showing at the 2023 World Athletic Championships in Budapest. After winning three gold medals at the events, Lyles caused a stir after speaking at a press conference and challenging the world champion title bestowed upon the NBA champions year to year.
Noah Lyles, 26, is a six-time world champion and the leading 200m runner according to the World Athletics rankings system. As reported by USA Today, Lyles spoke last Friday (August 25) at a news conference and answered a question on how the American track team can raise interest and improve interest in the sport. Lyles came back with a fiery answer that matched his outsized personality on the track.
“You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head,” Lyles said to the reporter. “World champion of what? The United States?”
Lyles added, “Don’t get me wrong. I love the U.S., at times – but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA.”
While his words had some supporters, many online were quick to point out that the NBA is comprised of several international players, some of whom are champions in their own country. Last year’s NBA MVP was Nikola Jokic, a former second-round pick who hails from Serbia.
Speaking of the NBA, several players, including Kevin Durant and Devin Booker among others, had plenty to say about Lyles’ comments. ESPN’s SportsCenter X account compiled some of the comments, which can be viewed below. We also share a video from First Take discussing the quip.
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Normally, when Drake pulls up to a venue the room belongs solely to him for the night. But on Monday (Aug. 21) when the Six God’s It’s All a Blur tour touched down at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, he was more than happy to share the spotlight with the venue’s resident big dog: LeBron James. […]
Source: Christian Petersen / Getty / Draymond Green / Jordan Poole
Draymond Green is not one to bite his tongue on his podcast or social media, but his penchant for clapping back at “haters’ had him looking like quite the fool.
Even though the Golden State Warriors ultimately chose a side by sending Jordan Poole to the wall to join the Night’s Watch, aka the Washington Wizards, and sticking with the current loudest voice in the NBA, Draymond Green, there still seems to be tension between the former teammates.
In a recent episode of Patrick Beverley’s The Pat Bev Podcast with Rome, one of the topics the two players touched on was the incident involving Green punching Poole in the face during a Warriors’ training camp last season, which set the tone for the at the time defending champs shaky 2023-24 season.
Green admitted to Beverley that the incident resulted from things building up, leading to him punching socking Poole, and not just something that happened at the moment.
“I don’t just hit people. Dialogue, of course, happens over time, and you usually ain’t just triggered by something that fast, to that degree. This is a team, ain’t nobody on my team triggering me in an instant,” Green said to Beverley. “We know stuff that you don’t say amongst men. We know things that you have to stand on.”
Anthony Poole Had Time For Draymond Green
The clip quickly went viral, and it wasn’t Poole who responded to it, but his father, Anthony Poole, who had time for Greene.
“I’m stand on this that’s is some bs,” Anthony Poole tweeted. “Jp was his guy and he avoid me all last yr. He is a soft as b-tch and I’m standing on this and he didn’t apologize to me and my wife. So he lame and me and him can meet anytime he want.”
Green, of course, responded by saying, “That’s so cute… it’s impossible to avoid you an arena for a year champ. I got get my family from that family room every game. And stop using those words, they usually don’t go over well amongst men.”
Draymond Green’s Twitter Fingers Were Not Done
After his online spat with Poole, Green focused on Basketball Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Kevin Garnett. Green couldn’t help himself responding to a fake tweet from TheNBACentral troll account, TheNBACentel, that claimed Garnett issued a challenge to him regarding the Poole incident.
“Draymond punching JP is like a senior punching a freshman who’s half his size and than walks around talking himself up as if he’s like that. Come try me Dray,”
“I tried you when I was a rookie KG, and you started talking to yourself like I wasn’t talking to you. What’s that like? The freshman picking on a senior citizen that’s double his size?” Green said in response to the fugazi tweet.
Instead of keeping it going, Garnett jokingly responded by pointing out the tweet was fake and telling Elon Musk to “do something.”
Twitter wasn’t as forgiving and hit Green with all the jokes.
You can see the reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty
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LeBron James thrilled his legion of fans and put haters on notice when he announced at the ESPY Awards last week that he will return to the Los Angeles Lakers for his 21st NBA season. LeBron James has worn the number 6 but with the league retiring the number after the passing of NBA legend Bill Russell, King James will switch back to 23 out of respect.
News of the jersey number switch for LeBron James came via a report from ESPN that over the weekend, Rich Paul, James’ agent, and member of his inner circle, shared that his client will be donning the new number on the back of his jersey this coming season.
“It’s LeBron’s decision,” Paul told ESPN. “He chose to out of respect for Bill Russell.”
Russell, who brought championship glory to the Boston Celtics many times over, died last year at 88. The NBA decided to retire Russell’s No. 6 jersey number league-wide, which was the first that that has ever happened. If a current NBA player donned the No. 6, they could keep the number if they so choose.
As the outlet suggests, jersey sales with James’ number will be in high demand as his No. 6 replica jersey was a hot seller last year. Fans can expect to be on a long list of potential owners of a No. 23 LeBron James jersey when the season launches this fall.
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LeBron James, in the eyes of many, will go down as one of the best basketball players to ever lace them up and the accolades are numerous. Still, King James cast doubt if he’d return to the court for his 21st NBA season but that chatter was silenced at this year’s ESPYS Award ceremony.
LeBron James, 38, received the Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY award Wednesday night (July 12) but before he went to deliver his moving acceptance speech, James’ wife, Savannah James introduced her husband to the Dolby Theatre crowd in Los Angeles in humorous fashion. Mrs. James was flanked by their three children, sons Bronny and Bryce, and daughter Zhuri.
James showed all of the poise of a veteran as he took the stage and thanked his supporters while taking note of his long list of detractors. In his speech, James told the crowd that his devotion to the game is still strong as it ever was and despite his advanced age, he still has a lot left to give. And it was in this speech that the kid from Akron, Ohio let the world know that he was running it back.
“I don’t care how many more points I score or what I can or cannot do on the floor,” James said. “The real question for me is, ‘Can I play without cheating this game?’ The day I can’t give everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today.”
Among the attendees were some of James’ former teammates such as Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and others. James’ speech was met with approving nods and applause from the crowd, and the news certainly delighted Lakers Nation who all assumed that after the team was swept by the Denver Nuggets in this year’s Western Conference playoffs, James would retire.
On Twitter, LeBron James saw his name trending with people celebrating the news along with some requisite hate, something James mentioned in his speech. We’ve got reactions from all sides below.
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2K is celebrating its 25th anniversary by unveiling its latest edition of the popular NBA gaming series — and it’s officially available for preorder. The new NBA 2K24 will not only feature a slam dunk-worthy lineup of players to choose from, but comes in multiple covers, including two with the legendary Kobe Bryant on front, which you can collect.
Four editions of the game were made for consoles including PS5, PS4, Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC. You can collect or choose between the Black Mamba version or Kobe Bryant edition of the game, which will feature past and current-gen versions of the game.
Pricing will defer depending on the console and version of the game you choose.
Keep reading to preorder the game and ensure you have a copy by the time it’s released.
GameStop
NBA 2K24 – Kobe Bryant Edition
$From $59.99
The Kobe Bryant edition will have you go back to the athlete’s early career days and work your way up to stardom level. Card-collecting mode has returned, which comes with hours of customizable options. The Kobe Bryant edition only comes with the base game with the option to purchase the past-gen or current-gen version of the game.
GameStop
NBA 2K24 – Black Mamba Edition
$99.99
The Black Mamba version comes with the same base game as the Kobe Bryant edition, but will have additional bonuses including 100K VC, 15K MyTEAM points, 2K24 starting five draft box with three option packs, 10 box MyTEAM promo packs, a cover star sapphire card, on diamond shoe, 2-hour double XP coin and more.
For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom merch, tech deals from Walmart and over-ear headphones.
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Shaquille O’Neal often refers to himself as the quote, “most dominant big man ever” and it’s hard to debate his stance. However, a meme stating that Joel Embiid would give The Big Aristotle the business on defense has Shaquille O’Neal himself egging on the contest of elite NBA centers.
O’Neal, 51, reshared a meme that’s been floating around posing a scenario that the Philadelphia 76ers superstar would lock Shaq up on defense. Like O’Neal, Embiid, 29, is swift on his feet despite his massive frame and even takes up ball-handling duties in certain play schemes. O’Neal was a bulldozer on the court in his prime, commanding automatic double-teams and even getting triple-teamed.
The NBA game of today is now a game of speed, and finesse, with elite shooting and passing taking over from the slow grind of pick and roll and other fundamental staples. Shaq, one of the most knowledgeable analysts in the game, wrote in the caption of the tweet, “i like these conversations. give me your thoughts. you already know mine. #barbecuechickenalert.”
In so many words, Shaq believes Embiid would have a hard time with him. There are also clips floating around with O’Neal dunking powerfully on the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and others.
With a career average of 23.7 points per game along with 10 boards, O’Neal’s numbers were exceptional for his era. Embiid, who is averaging 27 and 11, might have better numbers but still has a long way to go in matching Shaq’s laundry list of achievements, including being a four-time NBA champion and three-time NBA Finals MVP.
On Twitter, the debate is going strong. Check out the reactions below.
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Marcus Smart was the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics and one of the team’s better players in its last playoff rum but will now suit up for a new team in the upcoming season. Smart was moved in a three-way trade that sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis guard Tyus Jones to the Washington Wizards, and the Wizards shipping Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics.
Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of The Year and three-time NBA Hustle Award winner delivered his best assist total at 6.3 per game this past season for the Celtics and elevated his scoring during the playoffs. However, he was sent to Memphis with Boston getting the Grizzlies’ 25th pick in exchange along with Golden State Warriors’ protected first-round pick in 2024.
Tyus Jones joins a new-look Wizards team who recently traded star guard Bradley Beal for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet, part of a rebuild for the Washington squad that welcomes a new front office looking to spark a long-discussed rebuild. The Celtics are sending its 35th pick in tonight’s draft to Washington. Much of the details of the trade between the details can be found in his report from ESPN.
As the outlet noted, the Celtics were in talks with the Los Angeles Clippers in hopes of sending guard Malcolm Brogdon, the 30th pick in tonight’s draft to the Wizards, and Porzingis to the Celtics. When the deal didn’t materialize, Memphis came into play.
On Twitter, the discussion of the Marcus Smart trade was largely celebrating the Texas native’s time in Boston and we’ve got some of the reactions below.
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Michael Jordan was an inspiration to many as the only Black majority stake owner of an NBA franchise but now he’s relinquishing that title for a potentially huge payout. According to swirling reports, Michael Jordan will offload his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for a reported $3 billion dollars.
News of the sale went wide last Friday (June 16) after the Charlotte Hornets issued a statement leaguewide that Michael Jordan will sell off his ownership stake to The Buyer Group consisting of Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
More from the Hornets’ PR team via NBA.com:
Plotkin, who acquired a minority stake in the Hornets in 2019, has been an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2019 and is the founder and chief investment officer of Tallwoods Capital LLC. Schnall is co-president of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, where he has worked for 27 years, and has been a significant minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks and an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2015. Schnall is in the process of selling his investment in the Hawks, which is expected to be completed in the next several weeks.
The Buyer Group will also include Chris Shumway, Dan Sundheim, Ian Loring, Dyal HomeCourt Partners, North Carolina natives recording artist J. Cole and country music singer-songwriter Eric Church, and several local Charlotte investors, including Amy Levine Dawson and Damian Mills.
Jordan, 60, will retain a minority stake in the Hornets and will reportedly still work with the team’s front-facing actions in some capacity. A report from CNBC states that Jordan, who initially purchased his stake for $275 million, will net 10 times as much if the sale is approved by the NBA Board of Governors.
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