A number of top NBA stars are currently representing their countries in EuroBasket, which is now in the knockout round.
One of the tournament’s biggest stars, two-time defending NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, is no longer in title contention, though, as his Serbia side were stunned by Italy in the Round of 16. But former two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the quarter-finals after Greece got past the Czech Republic.
Elsewhere, the Basketball Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2022, which included NBA greats Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway Sr., while details of an exciting new tournament have emerged.
Read on below as SBOTOP shares some of the latest and most relevant NBA offseason news and updates.
Jokic’s Serbia ousted as Giannis’ Greece still going strong
The ongoing EuroBasket 2022 is getting good. The tournament just concluded the Round of 16, which saw a major upset as Italy knocked out a Serbia side led by two-time defending NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
Jokic, who produced plenty of NBA 2022 highlights with the Denver Nuggets, had a strong game with 32 points and 13 rebounds, but the Italians went on a 16-2 run in the fourth quarter to stun the Serbs.
Meanwhile, another two-time NBA MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, is still alive in the tournament as he led Greece to a 94-88 win over the Czech Republic.
Antetokounmpo, who is again among the favourites for the MVP award for the 2022-23 season, didn’t had 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Other NBA stars in the quarter-finals of EuroBasket are Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, who had 35 points in Slovenia’s 88-72 win over Belgium, and new Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, who erupted for 43 points in Finland’s 94-86 win over Croatia.
Manu Ginobili, Tim Hardaway headline 2022 Hall of Fame class
NBA legends Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway were among the nine-member class that was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend.
Joining them were Swin Cash, Bob Huggins, Del Harris, Lindsay Whalen, Marianne Stanley, Theresa Shank Grentz and George Karl.
The Argentinian Ginobili won four NBA champions with the San Antonio Spurs, with whom he spent his entire 16 years in the NBA.
But aside from his glittering NBA career, Ginobili also had a brilliant career in Europe as well as a decorated international basketball career. He won two Olympic medals with Argentina: gold in 2004 in Athens and bronze in Beijing in 2008.
As for Hardaway, he was a five-time All-Star and All-NBA guard who played 15 seasons in the NBA. He spent six seasons each with the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat and averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 assists over his career.
Jazz wanted too much from Knicks for Donovan Mitchell?
Despite being engaged in trade talks for Donovan Mitchell as well as having the assets to acquire him from the Utah Jazz, the New York Knicks lost out on Mitchell, who eventually landed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a blockbuster trade.
So why did the Knicks miss out on Mitchell? Hall of Famer and TV analyst Charles Barkley claims he has the answer. Barkley said Knicks senior executive William Wesley (also known as World Wide Wes) told him that the Jazz were asking for too much in a trade for Mitchell.
“I’m gonna give you inside information. I actually had this conversation last night with World Wide Wes at dinner,” Barkley said. “I said, Wes, why didn’t y’all make the trade? He says, ‘Oh man. Don’t go by the media stuff. [The Jazz] wanted my wife, my kids.’
“… He says, ‘We wanted the deal, obviously,’ but he said, ‘They wanted my wife, they wanted my kids, they wanted my grandkids. They were just trying to rip somebody off.’ So he says, ‘Dude, we’re gonna have to pass on it.’ And I give those guys credit, because you can’t give away everything.”
Of course, Wesley is far from the most objective source, so take his word with a grain of salt. But whatever the Knicks’ reasons for not landing Mitchell, the fact remains that they missed out on a star who would have significantly boosted their NBA 2022 odds of returning to the postseason.
NBA could add in-season tournament by 2023-24
The NBA made a major change a few years ago when it instituted a play-in tournament for the final playoff spots. And it seems another ground-breaking innovation could be coming in the form of an in-season tournament, which could potentially be played as soon as the 2023-24 season.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic, the tournament would see teams playing “Cup games” through November, which would still count as regular-season games. The top eight teams would then advance to a single-elimination final.
All eight final teams will likely receive some sort of prize, but the league and the NBPA are still in the process of finalising those details.
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