Latest news with #ClevelandCavaliers
CNET
2 hours ago
- Sport
- CNET
NBA Finals 2025: How to Watch Pacers vs. Thunder Game 7
The NBA Finals will head back to Oklahoma City for a winner-take-all Game 7. The Pacers won Game 6 in a rout at home on Thursday, preventing the Thunder from winning the title and forcing the NBA Finals to go the distance. The NBA Finals have reached Game 7 only 19 times before. The last Game 7 occurred in 2016, when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit, winning Game 7 on the road against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Can the No. 4 seed in the East continue its improbable playoff run and seal the deal on the road? Or will the Thunder, the No. 1 seed in the West, capture its first title since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008? We'll get answers to those questions on Sunday night. Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals is set for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on ABC. Here's everything you need to know to watch or stream the game. The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder will meet for Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night on to watch Game 7 of the NBA Finals Like every game of the NBA Finals, Game 7 will be shown on ABC. There are two ways to watch local channels without needing a cable or satellite TV subscription. The first is with a live TV streaming service. And the second is with an over-the-air antenna, if you live in an area that has good reception. Each of the five live TV streaming services carries ABC, but not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries ABC in your area. All the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
New York Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
NBA free agency 2025: LeBron James, Julius Randle highlight thin power forward class
The free-agent power forward market is interesting at the very top, but only if you think LeBron James is about to change teams. After that, things tail off quickly, with only a few players worth eight figures based on my BORD$ estimates having any realistic chance of changing teams (more on the methodology here). A thin market extends down into the realm of exception money, where the market still isn't nearly as crowded as the backcourt positions. Advertisement As always, I've included all free agents and potential free agents due to player options, team options and non-guaranteed contracts, except for absurd cases. The New Orleans Pelicans won't be waiving Zion Williamson and his unusual non-guaranteed max deal. Cleveland's Dean Wade and Atlanta's Mo Gueye also should feel safe despite non-guaranteed deals for the upcoming season. Here's how BORD$ sizes up the power forwards: 1. LeBron James, Lakers, $52,755,443 (PO) The most amazing thing about James is that, at the age of 40, he is still good enough and durable enough that BORD$ projects him as one of only 14 players in the entire league who are worth at least $52 million for the coming season, a figure that nears the 35 percent 'supermax' of $54.1 million. (If you're curious, the esteemed 11 who project to be worth every dollar of the full supermax: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, Evan Mobley and Jalen Williams. Jayson Tatum would have made it 12 if not for his injury.) James has a player option for $52.6 million — yes, his BORD$ value nearly matches his contract to the dollar — and his decision on his next contract could go a few ways. Opting in is the most straightforward, and he has a no-trade clause that would carry over. However, there's also a chance he could opt out and re-sign at a lower number to help the Lakers use their nontaxpayer midlevel exception (MLE) to add more talent below the first-apron threshold, something that likely would be done in exchange for a 2026-27 player option. For instance, if the Lakers stretched Maxi Kleber and James took a $5 million haircut, the Lakers could use the entire nontaxpayer MLE — most likely on one of the free-agent centers listed below. James could sign a no-trade clause in any new contract, but that would be a brand-new negotiation. Advertisement 2. Julius Randle, Timberwolves, $26,879,933 (PO) Randle's valuation here feels low. Forget his dismal Western Conference finals performance and instead remember how good he was in the previous two rounds, and how his almost supernatural ability to kick out to 3-point shooters — even when he isn't doubled! — helps goose extra offense for the Wolves. That said, Randle is nearly 30 and isn't a terribly efficient shot creator when it comes to his own shots, and his defensive value is nothing special either. Projecting ahead, paying him something like $90 million over the next three years seems fair, but going much beyond that feels risky. That figure is notable because Randle has an option for the coming season for $30.9 million, which could set up Minnesota for an 'opt in and extend' situation. If the Wolves limit it to 5 percent raises or less, Randle would be trade-eligible immediately. That number could go as high as $97 million on a three-year deal, plus it would have the same incentives as his current contract. If that seems slightly on the rich side, Minnesota could tack on a team option or non-guaranteed fourth year at the end to gain a bit of added flexibility, while Randle's agent gets to say he got the forward a $135 million deal. There are a lot of options here before we even get into the ones that involve Randle leaving. Most of these would likely be sign-and-trades, and because of the apron rules, those are much easier for Minnesota to execute if they're in reality 'extend-and-trades' where he opts into the $30.9 million first. Finally, Randle has a realistic option to just opt in for a year and play things out next summer when more cap space should be in the system. The reason to go that way is because of the risk of opting out into an uncertain free-agent summer, when the Wolves already seem like they have to choose not to bring back at least one rotation player. Advertisement 3. Santi Aldama, Grizzlies, $25,631,562 (R) Memphis is likely to bring back Aldama because his low cap hold is a key part of the Grizzlies' strategy. Memphis can park his $11 million salary-cap hold on its sheet and have enough space to renegotiate and extend Jaren Jackson Jr.'s contract, then come back to re-sign Aldama to a new deal. The tricky part is how much they're willing to pay Aldama when he overlaps at an already strong position on the Memphis roster and other needs lay waiting. The counterargument would be that this is why Memphis has to re-sign Aldama: His contract would need to be the matching salary for virtually any starting-caliber player whom Memphis would acquire in-season. I don't think there's enough money out there this summer to hit the BORD$ figure above, unless the Nets get wild. However, something around three years and $60 million to $65 million — especially if it's a front-loaded deal with 8 percent annual declines — would give the Grizzlies enough cap ballast to keep all its trade options open. 4. John Collins, Jazz, $20,417,184 (PO) Collins seems unlikely to opt out of his $26.6 million player option in 2025-26. However, this valuation at least offers a framework for what an extension might look like — possibly in concert with a trade. Collins is still only 27 and quietly threatened the 50-40-90 club for much of last season; he finished at 52.7 percent from the field, 39.9 percent from 3 and 84.8 percent from the free-throw line. He's lost some of the basket-area explosion that made him such a potent offensive player in Atlanta but has offset it with improved shooting since coming to Utah. Between that and his top-notch secondary rim protection as a non-center, Collins is a valuable player; he's just not quite as valuable as his contract pays him. Still, imagine a two-year, $40 million extension on his current deal, and you get to a total of $66.6 million over three years. Account for 5 percent raises, and one can envision an opt-out-plus-sign-and-trade that starts him at about $21.1 million in 2025-26. An acquiring team below the second apron would only need to send the Jazz $13.6 million in such a scenario, giving Utah instant cap savings in addition to (presumably) some asset considerations. I'm getting all worked up about this, but Collins probably just opts in and tries to cash out in free agency a year from now. The Jazz could also extend him, but they're committed long-term at power forward with Lauri Markkanen. Advertisement 5. Bobby Portis, Bucks, $15,293,138 (PO) Portis has a player option for $13,445,754 for the coming season, which he could opt out of to get a deal for the $14.1 million nontaxpayer MLE somewhere else. However, one other intriguing option would be for him to opt in to the final year and then sign a two-year extension off that with a 5 percent raise, taking the total package to $43 million for the three years and nearly matching what's available on an MLE deal. The reason for the Bucks to play ball on this is that Portis' contract would immediately be tradeable if the extension didn't boost his annual salary by more than 5 percent and didn't go beyond three years. Additionally, adding in a 15 percent trade kicker would take the amount of the deal, if he ends up getting dealt this summer, to much more than Portis could get on a three-year MLE deal from another team. Thus, both sides would come out ahead in some respects. 6. Dorian Finney-Smith, Lakers, $14,172,783 (PO) Finney-Smith has a player option for $15.4 million, almost where BORD$ pegs his value for the coming season. It's also almost exactly the value of the $14.1 million nontaxpayer MLE. There was some chatter at the time of his trade from the Nets that he could opt out of the deal to re-sign for lower money and more years, an effective strategy to 'land the plane' on a 32-year-old's declining years while managing the cap in the short term. However, Finney-Smith was good enough with the Lakers that the nontaxpayer MLE is probably something of a floor for him; several other teams can hit that number and would have interest. Los Angeles' strength is that it has his Bird rights and can get above that MLE, plus offer 8 percent raises. A three-year deal at Finney-Smith's age would be a bit of a risk, but one can see a scenario where he gets three years and $40 million to $45 million guaranteed from L.A. to swat away rival bidders. 7. Trey Lyles, Kings, $8,839,166 More like 'Deuce' Lyles; though used as a stretch big, he shot over 55 percent inside the arc for a fifth straight season while only hitting 34 percent of his 3s. (He's not much better for his career at 34.7 percent.) The recent additions of Jonas Valančiūnas and Jake LaRavia might make Lyles superfluous for the Kings, especially if Sacramento needs to divert money to the backcourt. Lyles could be a target for contending teams looking to fill out their rotation with an offensive-minded big. Advertisement 8. Precious Achiuwa, Knicks, $7,874,362 Achiuwa's positional dilemma is that he's only 6-foot-8, which is badly undersized for a center, but he's a suboptimal fit on the perimeter as a career 30.4 percent 3-point shooter who also consistently makes questionable shoot/pass decisions. BORD$ says 'live with it' — that his deficiencies are offset by enough defense, rebounding and opportunistic paint scoring to offset the limited spacing and forehead-slap decisions. The Knicks paid him $6 million a year ago, and BORD$ values him similarly for the coming season; however, accommodating that number in New York's payroll for the coming season is trickier given the Knicks' second-apron issues. If that money isn't available for him in New York, it should be someplace else; one wonders, for instance, about his fit with his former employers in Toronto. 9. Jabari Walker, Trail Blazers, $7,334,585 (R) This number is probably a surprise, as Walker was an afterthought in Portland's rotation a year ago; there were just too many bigs in the queue ahead of him. That could make him an under-the-radar pickup someplace else; Walker shot 38.9 percent from 3 and is only 22 and has always been effective as a paint finisher and rebounder in his three pro seasons. Portland will have restricted free-agent rights on him if the Blazers make his qualifying offer for a piddling $2.4 million, but the Blazers would likely flinch at a decent offer sheet since they have tax issues and a surfeit of bigs. It's hard to see retaining Walker being a huge priority for them. 10. Guerschon Yabusele, Sixers, $6,448,720 'The Dancing Bear' was one of the few pleasant surprises in Philly last season, coming over late in summer after a strong Paris Olympics and starting 43 games. He ended up averaging double figures (11.0), shooting 38.0 percent from 3, holding up better than expected defensively and creating a completely unexpected conundrum for this summer: How does Philly keep him? Yabusele signed a one-year minimum deal in 2024, and the Sixers have no Bird rights, so they have to use exception money to retain him. Also, remember that using more than the taxpayer MLE would cap Philly at the first apron, which isn't impossible but would require a fairly impressive feat of cap limbo. Fortunately, this BORD$ value suggests a fair solution: a one-plus-one deal with a player option for the taxpayer MLE of $5.685 million. That's a bit below Yabusele's BORD$ estimate, but it's offset by the ability to opt out for greater riches with early Bird rights a year from now. Meanwhile, it offers the secure fallback of a $6.2 million option for the 2026-27 season if things don't go as he hoped. Advertisement 11. Chris Boucher, Raptors, $5,615,423 Amid the general decrepitude in Toronto last season, Boucher quietly had one of his best seasons at age 32; notably, he jacked up his 3-point volume and knocked down 36.3 percent of his deliveries. While Boucher is too thin to take many minutes at center, his secondary shot blocking is a real plus, and he's a threat as a rim runner when he isn't bombing from the corners. On a good team, he probably works best as a fourth big, but there should be a short-term deal out there for him. 12. Trendon Watford, Nets, $5,184,822 Watford is trending upward after he went undrafted out of LSU and worked the last four years on minimum deals in Portland and Brooklyn. While he's not a particularly threatening floor spacer, his ballhandling and passing make him an effective short roller and elbow operator, and he is still just 24. Watford only has a $3.5 million cap hold, and the Nets have early Bird rights on him. Thus, Brooklyn could keep his hold on its books while it fills its voluminous cap space with other deals, and then give him a salary bump once all the other business is done. The Nets might even consider a balloon deal for $14.4 million a year, non-guaranteed after 2025-26, that would help his contract facilitate in-season trades. 13. Nic Batum, Clippers, $5,066,990 (PO) Batum is 36 and posts comically low usage rates for a perimeter player, which makes him feel like an expensive luxury … right up until the part where he ends up playing entire second halves in playoff games because he guards multiple positions, knocks down open shots and never makes game-plan mistakes. The Clippers won't have Bird rights if he opts out of his $4.9 million salary, but Batum can get a 20 percent raise up to $5.6 million without the Clippers needing to dip into exception money. It would seem easy for each side to arrive at a fair number. 14. Sandro Mamukelashvili, Spurs I'm a bit surprised BORD$ isn't more bullish here; Mamukelashvili posted a 19.7 PER in his fourth season that included a 34-points-in-19-minutes hailstorm against the Knicks on March 19. Advertisement The 26-year-old Georgian is a bit between power forward and center positionally and isn't an elite athlete but has plus ball skills for his size, a respectable shot and good feel. Obviously, the stretch-big situation is in pretty decent shape in San Antonio for the foreseeable future, but Mamu could be an under-the-radar option for another team looking for frontcourt help. 15. Bol Bol, Suns A talented but frustrating player who is a rail-thin 7-2 and can score in bunches, the Suns have Bol's early Bird rights. That, combined with the Suns' other apron limitations, could result in his return despite his falling out of favor late last season. In particular, one can imagine a scenario where he signs a bloated one-year deal that turns Bol into a walking trade exception for the Suns' in-season moves. The Suns could go up to $14 million on him in theory; in practice, their apron issues and the cost of a daunting repeater penalty might slow their roll on that front. 16. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Pelicans Robinson-Earl should have some demand after being pressed into the injury-addled Pelicans' rotation and not looking like an impostor; he has athletic limitations and is only quasi-threatening from the corners, but he's a plus-rebounder and a high-IQ passer and team defender. The Pels have early Bird rights on Robinson-Earl and thus could theoretically add him in a sign-and-trade as part of a larger swap. However, it's more likely that their already-crowded roster can't accommodate his continued presence once the Pels add a lottery pick and a beefy center in the offseason, especially since tax concerns will likely limit the roster to 14. Another team to watch is the Knicks, where he could be a cheaper replacement for Achiuwa above. I'll give you one guess where Robinson-Earl went to school. 17. Jeff Green, Rockets Green turns 39 in August, but he can still get off the floor (nine dunks in 396 minutes!), and his few minutes in a crowded Houston rotation were relatively solid. If the Rockets don't bring him back on a one-year minimum deal, he should have other options; notably, one wonders if a return to Denver would help upgrade the Nuggets' bench. Advertisement One other thing to watch with Green is whether Houston can use him in a sign-and-trade to facilitate a deal. Because he made $8 million last year, the Rockets can sign him for up to $9.6 million without triggering base-year compensation restrictions, making him a meaningful addition to any salary aggregation. 18. Marvin Bagley, Grizzlies Bagley quietly put together a halfway-decent season in Memphis and Washington; while he still struggles on defense, his finishing, rebounding and ability to sort-of play center make him a useful fifth big in a team's frontcourt rotation. The Grizzlies also can sign him for up to $15 million to put into a sign-and-trade without triggering base-year compensation rules, but they seem more likely to renounce his rights to generate enough cap space to renegotiate-and-extend Jaren Jackson Jr.'s contract. 19. K. J. Martin, Jazz (NG) Martin has a non-guaranteed deal for $8 million with no trigger date. The practical effect of this is that the Jazz will keep him on the books the entire summer unless they can use his contract as matching salary in a trade. They could even take his salary into the season if room remains on the roster and below the tax line. 20. Vlatko Čančar, Nuggets Čančar came back from a torn ACL last season but wasn't nearly as effective as he was pre-injury and quickly fell out of the mix, playing in just 13 games. He might return to Europe at some point but would be a back-end roster option if he stays. 21. Josh Minott, Timberwolves (NGTO) Minott is only 22 and has shown flashes in his sporadic minutes, especially defensively. However, he's also been passed by other young players on a win-now Minnesota roster that doesn't have infinite space for young projects. Minott is still two-way eligible, and one wonders if the Wolves could decline his $2.2 million option for this year, re-sign him to a two-way with a wink and a nod that there is a roster spot waiting for him after the trade deadline and go forward from there. Another thing to watch is his guarantee date. Right now, Minott's option date and his guarantee date are both June 28, but the Wolves could pick up the option and push back the guarantee with his agreement. That would leave the door open to aggregate his salary in a trade later in the summer or even during the season. Advertisement 22. James Johnson, Pacers The veteran sage of Indiana's locker room seems likely to return with a similar arrangement as the last two years, likely signing a partially guaranteed deal so Indiana can temporarily vacate his roster spot cost-free if a trade situation requires it. 23. Anthony Gill, Wizards (NG) Filling a similar role to Johnson above with a young Wizards team, Gill's $2.5 million deal for the coming season has a late June guarantee date, but that could easily be extended by mutual agreement. That would give the Wizards more chances to potentially use the contract in a trade while also seeing how the rest of their roster is shaking out. Gill is 32 and is a limited stretch threat (29.8 percent career from 3), but his IQ and paint toughness are pluses in small doses, and the knowledge he spreads from his education at the University of Virginia is incalculable. 24. Lamar Stevens, Grizzlies Stevens can't shoot (28.4 percent career from 3) but got into 36 games for the Grizzlies the past two seasons as a play-hard guy who defends and creates paint chances. He'll likely be a popular guy once 10-day season rolls around in January, but he may have trouble finding steady work before then. 25. Markieff Morris, Lakers Morris turns 36 in September and hasn't played more than 35 games in any of the last four seasons, but there's a plausible scenario where he returns to L.A. in a 'Luka whisperer' role similar to that of Johnson in Indiana above. 26. Jae Crowder, Kings The Kings were desperate for power forward help when they signed Crowder off his couch at midseason. The fact that they were just as desperate afterward is probably not a great omen for Crowder's future. He turns 35 this summer. 27. P.J. Tucker, Knicks (NGTO) Added late in the year to fill the 15th roster spot with a locker-room guy, the 40-year-old Tucker only got into three games. However, he could factor into the Knicks' summer plans. His $3.5 million team option gives the Knicks the chance to use him in a trade and send him off with a bag, especially as the option is non-guaranteed. That means New York could pick it up and hold off on waiving him until October if no trade opportunity emerges. 28. JT Thor, Wizards One of the best two-letter-first-name guys ever to come out of Alaska, Thor ended last season on a two-way with Washington but is no longer two-way eligible. After a three-year NBA apprenticeship as a minus-impact tease with the theoretical, hazy outlines of intrigue because of his height and length, Thor looked a bit more like an actual basketball player for the Cavs and Wizards last season and will only be 23 when camp opens. Realistically, he probably needs to shine in the G League before his next opportunity comes. Advertisement 29. Keshad Johnson, Heat (TO) Miami promoted Johnson from a two-way deal to a roster contract midway through his rookie season, but he only ended up playing in 16 games. It seems highly plausible that Miami could decline his $1.96 million option for the coming season and re-up him on another two-way, which would open a roster spot for somebody who fits better in Miami's short-term plans. 30. Drew Timme, Nets (NGTO) Timme is another guy who could follow the team-option-to-two-way pattern after he was a late-season promotion straight from the Nets' G League roster. His late-season play was encouraging, but the Nets don't really need his money on their books while they figure out how to use their heaps of cap space, and Brooklyn's roster may end up crowded with contracts dumped by other teams. 31. Spencer Jones, Nuggets (R-2w) The Nuggets have three two-way players who all performed quite well last year in Jones, P.J. Hall (below) and Trey Alexander, and they have a strong case to bring all three back as restricted two-way free agents. Jones shot 50 percent from 3 in 11 games in the G League, which surely isn't sustainable but warrants further investigation from his employers. It's not a total fluke; he shot 39.7 percent from 3 in four seasons at Stanford, and the 6-7 wing spiked his G League stats with three 'stocks' (steals + blocks) per game and a plus rebound rate. 32. P.J. Hall, Nuggets (R-2w) Hall is only 6-8 but got busy on the glass in the G League, posting a 21.1 percent rebound rate down there. The intriguing part is that he combines that with hints of a stretch game, knocking down 18 triples in his 13-game G League stint. Hall also got into bits and pieces of 19 games with the Nuggets, totaling just 114 minutes, but his G League sample is the part that intrigues. If he can be a '3-and-rebounds' big, that's an angle to rotation-level value. 33. E.J. Liddell, Bulls (R-2w) Liddell only played 53 minutes for the Bulls but had a solid season in the G League for Windy City. He has an incredible knack for shot blocking for a 6-6 forward, sporting a 6.3 percent block rate in the G League over the past two seasons, and shot the 3 more consistently (36.3 percent). If he can add a dash more of the other stuff — a bit more on-ball vitality, an added millisecond of quickness covering the perimeter — he can be a player. (Top photo of LeBron James and Julius Randle: David Berding / Getty Images)
Hindustan Times
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
A look at the NBA Finals Game 7 history and home court advantage as the Indiana Pacers take it down to the wire
The Indiana Pacers dominated Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, forcing a Game 7. The Pacers came into Game 6 needing to win at all costs to keep the series alive. The team managed to pull off a stunning and dominant win, meaning that the fans will see a first NBA Finals Game 7 in nearly a decade. There will be many firsts to look forward to in the upcoming NBA Finals Game 7. First of all, it will be the first Game 7 in the Finals since LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers played it out with Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors back in 2016. It will also be the first NBA Finals to go into Game 7 without LeBron James on the court in 15 years. The last time it happened was when Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Boston Celtics in the 2010 finals. Whoever wins Game 7 will become the champion for the first time in their history. The last time it happened was in 2023, when the Denver Nuggets won the championship. Ten teams are still looking for their first NBA title, but the list will shrink down to nine on Sunday. The Oklahoma City Thunder will have home-court advantage in the NBA Finals Game 7. The finals have gone to full stretch 19 times in the past, and the home team has come out on top on 15 of those occasions. So, the odds are heavily in the Thunder's favour. The Indiana Pacers hope to defy those odds and join the Celtics, the Washington Bullets, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in winning Game 7 on the road. The Celtics won it twice, in 1969 and 1974, while the Bullets and the Cavaliers triumphed in 1978 and 2016, respectively.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Colin Cowherd Slams LeBron James for 'Ring Culture' Comments
Colin Cowherd Slams LeBron James for 'Ring Culture' Comments originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Twenty-one time All-Star Los Angeles Lakers superstar power forward LeBron James, who has appeared in 10 NBA Finals and won four of them, apparently no longer thinks championships matter when appraising a successful NBA run. Advertisement The 6-foot-9 superstar, a four-time Finals MVP, abandoned the Cleveland Cavaliers to make a bid for championship glory with the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010, apparently very much wanting to cement his legacy and win a title. With Dwyane Wade aging and Miami shipping out Mike Miller to save money, James jetted back to Cleveland in 2014 as a free agent. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron JamesJesse Johnson-Imagn Images The four-time league MVP won two titles with the Heat (next to future Hall of Famers Wade and Chris Bosh), in 2012 and '13, and one with Cleveland (alongside fellow future Hall of Famers Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love), in 2016, while appearing in eight straight NBA Finals. He next signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent in 2018, winning it all with Hall of Fame teammate Anthony Davis in 2020. During a recent episode of his "Mind The Game" podcast with new co-host Steve Nash (replacing JJ Redick, who's now his head coach), James bemoaned the notion of "ring culture" that has popped up around his historic career. 'A ring is a team accomplishment," James claimed. "I don't know where [ring culture] started, especially when it comes to me individually.' Advertisement Understandably, the guy that has hopped around to different teams three different times in free agency to pursue more championship was chastised by media pundits for these comments. On his show "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," longtime sports personality Colin Cowherd rightly called out James' hypocrisy. "Nobody says, 'Charles Barkley's not amazing.' Nobody says, 'Allen Iverson's not amazing.' Nobody says, 'Dan Marino's not amazing.' But Barkley isn't MJ [Michael Jordan], and Marino's not [Tom] Brady," Cowherd noted. "And the reason is the trophies, and LeBron knows that." Jordan won six championships in an eight-year span with the Chicago Bulls (and was retired during one of those seasons), while Brady took his New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to 10 Super Bowls, winning seven. Barkley, Iverson and Marino never claimed a championship in their respective sports. Advertisement "LeBron has no chance to win a trophy with the current Lakers roster, so now they don't matter. He's spent his entire career pursuing titles," Cowherd observed. "You think he went to Miami to lay on the beach? He went there for [Pat] Riley and [Erik] Spoelstra and a better owner and a better roster. He didn't go West, he stayed in the weak East, to keep getting to Finals. LeBron pursued Finals and Michael's six-for-six for years." "So back when... he knew he had a chance to win several more, the ring mattered," Cowherd said. "Now he can't, now rings don't matter." Related: Stephen A. Smith Calls Out LeBron James Following 'Ring Culture' Comments This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
LeBron James Names One of the Best NBA Defenders He Ever Faced Without Hesitation
LeBron James Names One of the Best NBA Defenders He Ever Faced Without Hesitation originally appeared on Athlon Sports. LeBron James entered the NBA in 2003 straight out of high school. The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in the loaded 2003 NBA Draft, which featured future Hall of Famers Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Advertisement James has played for the Cavaliers (twice), Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers. He has won four MVPs, four championships, four Finals MVPs, one scoring title and one assists title. A top 75 player of all time, James is the leading scorer in NBA history. He has scored the most points in the regular season and postseason despite playing some elite defenders. On the latest "Mind the Game" episode with Steve Nash, a fan asked James and Nash who the greatest defensive players they faced were. LeBron James gave Ron Artest his flowers. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images James, 40, went with Ron Artest, who is now known as Metta World Peace. "Ron Artest was, you know, Metta World Peace now, oh my goodness, really good with his hands," James said. "Latterly was really good. Strong as an ox. You know, I played against him my early years when he was in Indiana. Advertisement "I mean, you know, it was challenging, you know, for sure. You know, it was one of the best defenders probably I've played against." Artest won the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year Award with the Indiana Pacers. He made four All-Defensive Teams during his 17-year career. A one-time All-Star, Artest played for the Chicago Bulls, Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Lakers (twice) and Knicks. He helped Los Angeles with the 2010 championship against the Boston Celtics. In 991 NBA games, Artest averaged 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.5 blocks. Related: LeBron James Urged to Make 'Substantial Sacrifice' for Lakers Next Season This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
