Riley coached Abdul-Jabbar in Los Angeles and later lur…

Riley coached Abdul-Jabbar in Los Angeles and later lured James to Miami for a four-year run starting in 2010. He sees in James much of what he saw in Alcindor when that bus pulled into Schenectady in 1961. “It’s all about LeBron right now, and it should be, with his unique career and unique opportunity to do this,” Riley said. “Training, travel, personal chefs, personal trainers, all that stuff has come into play since Kareem. I hope people realize Kareem’s story as well and how different it was. He went to college for four years; LeBron came out of high school. But they both dominated from Day 1. They both turned potential into greatness from Day 1.”
More HoopsHype Rumors
March 21, 2023 | 9:20 pm EDT Update

Thunder 'open-minded' to SGA playing in back-to-backs?

Joe Mussatto: Mark Daigneault said the Thunder is “open-minded” to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander playing on back-to-backs moving forward (like the upcoming one Thursday/Friday.) Daigneault said SGA has responded well from abdominal strain: “The back to backs are more on the table now when they were then.”
March 21, 2023 | 7:58 pm EDT Update

Damian Lillard not interested in rebuilding with Portland

NBACentral: Damian Lillard says he’s not interested in rebuilding “That’s not what I’m interested in. That’s what the frustrating part of it is. Talking about what’s gonna happen next season. And us ‘building’. That’s not what I’m here to do especially at this stage of my career”

Coach Darvin Ham said this extended push hasn’t left his team mentally fatigued in any noticeable ways. He’s mostly seen the opposite. “It’s caused them to come to the game on high alert and high awareness,” he said. “Just having something to play for. You’d be surprised how comfortable guys are with that as opposed to having to play a meaningless game. The fact that these games carry so much weight, I think, is causing our guys to lock in more. I don’t see any stress. I just see guys figuring it out because they want to be a part of this team getting into the postseason and making a run. “So the stress, the anxiety, I don’t see that. My coaching staff and I, we talked about that this morning, they don’t see that from our players. I see a bit of hunger.”