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On this date in 1980, one of the most iconic plays in NBA history happened. Julius Erving drove the baseline in the NBA Finals against the Lakers. Dr. J saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar coming over to block his shot, so he floated behind the backboard and swung the ball around for a layup on the other side of the hoop. Magic Johnson famously said, “Here I was trying to win a championship, and my mouth just dropped open. I thought, ‘What should we do? Should we take the ball out or should we ask him to do it again?’”
Jackpot
Wizards win lottery; is Dybantsa the prize?
he NBA is in the process of creating new rules around the draft lottery and penalties/provisions for ending tanking as we know it. So yesterday’s draft lottery may have been the last of its kind. The Washington Wizards broke the streak of three straight years of the team with the worst record dropping all the way down to fifth in the draft. They took home the No. 1 pick and will add to a roster that includes Anthony Davis and Trae Young after in-season trades.
The Wizards are now the third team to be involved in a Davis trade to land the No. 1 pick — joining the Pelicans in 2019 and the Mavericks in 2024.
Let’s have a little fun and do a mock draft for the lottery teams!
1. Wizards: AJ Dybantsa | BYU | Wing | Freshman
Dybantsa, in my opinion, is by far the best prospect in this draft. That’s not a knock on the other top candidates. He just appears to have the best measurables along with the skill set to be a building block for the franchise. Adding him to Davis, Young, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George should bring immediate expectations.
2. Jazz: Darryn Peterson | Kansas | Guard | Freshman
Putting Peterson in the backcourt with Keyonte George, alongside Jaren Jackson Jr., Ace Bailey and Lauri Markkanen in the frontcourt, gives Utah both the ability to compete now and a big look to the future. Peterson could thrive right away.
3. Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer | Duke | Forward | FreshmanBoozer immediately replaces the void at power forward left by the JJJ trade, and he becomes the focus of the franchise right away. If Ja Morant is still there next season, you have a good two-man game to develop.
4. Bulls: Darius Acuff Jr. | Arkansas | PG | Freshman
I may be overthinking this with the Bulls not taking Caleb Wilson here, but I think Acuff is the best guard available. Having Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis to play the three and four makes Wilson less necessary.
5. Clippers: Caleb Wilson | UNC | Forward | Freshman
John Hollinger had Wilson as the third-best player in the draft last week. The Clippers, who took Indiana’s pick from the Ivica Zubac trade, would get a massive win if he fell here. His energy and defense next to Kawhi Leonard would be big.
6. Nets: Kingston Flemings | Houston | PG | Freshman
Wagler versus Flemings is a tough decision, but Flemings is a much more explosive, entertaining guard. Brooklyn could use that.
7. Kings: Keaton Wagler | Illinois | Lead guard | Freshman
Sacramento’s horrific draft lottery luck continues. Wagler has the potential to be a dynamic, tall point guard. But he needs quite a bit of development. The Kings shouldn’t trade this one.
8. Hawks: Mikel Brown Jr. | Louisville | Guard | Freshman
The Hawks definitely need a dynamic guard, and Brown could provide that. As long as his back injury isn’t recurring and he cuts down on the turnovers, he’d be a great addition.
9. Mavericks: Braydon Burries | Arizona | Guard | Freshman
The Mavericks are severely lacking shooting around Cooper Flagg, and Burries would instantly add someone who can develop into a great shooter.
10. Bucks: Nate Ament | Tennessee | Forward | Freshman
I’m not sure Ament would be the best prospect, but he might have the best potential of everybody available at No. 10. He’s a 6-foot-10 forward who could be dynamic.
11. Warriors: Yaxel Lendeborg | Michigan | Forward | Senior
We know the Warriors need guys who can play right away, and Lendeborg can do that for them. He doesn’t totally solve their offensive issues, but Steve Kerr would love him.
12. Thunder: Karim Lopez | New Zealand Breakers| Wing
Lopez is a wing with good size, and they could put him into their development program and unleash him on the league as a super sub in two years.
13. Heat: Dailyn Swain | Texas | Wing | Junior
Throw Swain into #HeatCulture and you may see a very good role player down the road. He needs to develop an outside shot, but he’s a high-energy wing who can hit the boards.
14. Hornets: Koa Peat | Arizona | Forward | Freshman
The idea of Peat joining this fast-paced Hornets team is pretty fun to me. Having him as a do-it-all forward off the bench to add to this squad makes a lot of sense.
Those are my thoughts on the lottery with my first reaction to the results. But you should absolutely check out the latest mock draft from the best draft expert on the planet, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie.
The last 24
🏀 More mocking. Here’s how The Athletic writers who cover the lottery teams see the first half of the first round unfolding.
🏀 Keep it professional. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson and a referee working the Cavs-Pistons series were college teammates — but not exactly close friends. Joe Vardon has the details on this unusual situation.
💰 Running it back. Kerr’s future with the Warriors was uncertain. He signed on for two more years.
🏀 Great start. The WNBA bet big with Caitlyn Clark versus Paige Bueckers on opening weekend. They more than delivered.
🗣️ Chuck responds. Draymond Green took a shot at Charles Barkley on TV. Chuck: “I never punch down.”
🔊 “NBA Daily.” Watch and listen to a recap of all the weekend playoff action.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
Knicks sweep Sixers
What’s next for Philly?
Start spreading the brooms …
Knicks 144, 76ers 114 | Knicks sweep the Sixers
New York cruised to a 4-0 second-round series win over Philadelphia yesterday behind 25 3-pointers (tying the NBA playoff record) and a 25-point effort by Deuce McBride. Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 10 assists in just under 20 minutes of action, bringing his assist total to 56 in the last seven playoff games.
The Knicks await the winner of the Cavaliers-Pistons series, which Detroit leads 2-1. This gives us a chance to say goodbye to the Sixers and prepare for their offseason.
Was this the expected outcome? Yes and no. Losing to the Knicks was definitely the expectation, but they should have won a game or two. The Sixers couldn’t find ways to close out Games 2 and 3.
Who are the 76ers’ big free agents? Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, Kyle Lowry.
What’s the draft situation? Their pick (17th) goes to the Thunder (of course), but they get Houston’s pick (22nd) in the first round. Their second-round pick (47th) heads to Phoenix.
What’s the pressing need for Philadelphia? More frontcourt help to minimize the need for Joel Embiid in the regular season. The Sixers also need plenty of 3-and-D guys. Retaining Grimes and Oubre is important.
Overall grade for the 76ers’ season: B
Embiid and the Sixers are at a crossroads, Tony Jones writes.
Playoff update
Wemby’s elbow leads to Wolves win
Other than the Game 2 blowout, the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs have given us three great games in this second round. But Game 4 might have been the most controversial because of Victor Wembanyama getting ejected in the first half.
During the second quarter, Wembanyama was being corralled by Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid after an offensive rebound. It appeared McDaniels was fouling Wemby, but then he had a big windup before elbowing Reid in the throat.
Check out Dylan Harper’s reaction:
The refs determined it was a Flagrant 2. That meant Wembanyama was ejected, and he needed clarification from teammate Harrison Barnes. You might have assumed the Spurs would be in trouble from there, but they controlled the majority of the next quarter and a half.
Harper (24 points) was incredible off the bench. So was Luke Kornet, who filled in for Wemby and played great defense in the paint. And De’Aaron Fox went on a big run in the second half. Ultimately, Anthony Edwards was the Wolves’ hero again. He had 36 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, to bring the Wolves to another chaotic win. He delivered a Mother’s Day gem for his late mom, Marcus Thompson writes.
The series is 2-2 and headed back to Texas.
Now, let’s preview tonight’s Game 4s (all times ET) …
Thunder at Lakers, 10:30 p.m. (Amazon Prime)
The Thunder are up 3-0 and look to remain perfect in the postseason.
You may look at the Lakers being down 3-0 and think OKC is dominating them. And it’s not the case. L.A. has done a great job keeping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from having a big series. He’s averaging 21.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.0 turnovers with 45.8/36.4/78.9 shooting splits.
However, the Lakers can’t avoid the onslaught. They play about 38 minutes of good basketball and then the dam breaks. The Thunder have been fueled by Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell and whichever role player wants to step up. The brooms are ready.
Adjustment for Los Angeles: Can’t give up so many points off of turnovers. Minimize those mistakes.
Adjustment for OKC: Find ways to get SGA going downhill around the swarming defense.
Pistons at Cavs, 8 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
The Pistons had a chance to go up 3-0, only to see Donovan Mitchell outduel Cade Cunningham and James Harden’s revival in Saturday’s Game 3. Cunningham’s turnover problems continued — he now has 17 in this series, bringing him to 58 through 10 playoff games this postseason.
The Cavs are still trying to get consistency with Evan Mobley and Harden. The role players consistently knocking down shots would be big too. But they found a lot more space to operate against a stingy Detroit defense.
Adjustment for Detroit: Shrink the floor on defense and get back to taking away driving lanes.
Adjustment for Cleveland: Have to keep the Pistons away from the offensive boards.
