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This video raises a question we’ve seen quite often in recent years: Could Larry Bird still dominate today? Or would be be a role player?

The answer is yes, he could still run the league, and for a few reasons.

First, Bird was, as Joe Dumar once said, a basketball savant. Do you think Charles Barkley could play today? Magic Johnson? Michael Jordan? Isaiah Thomas? James Worthy?

Of course they could – and they all said Bird was the one whom they feared most, who gave them sleepless nights.

The main criticism of Bird is that he was slow and couldn’t jump. Well, neither can Nikola Jokić or Luka Dončić, and both of those guys will be in the Hall of Fame, because they, like Bird, can force the game to adapt to them, rather than vice-versa.

If nothing else, Bird’s passing ability was off the charts, and his hand-eye coordination was superb. So was his ability to keep track of everything happening on the court: he didn’t have to see his teammates to know where they were.

What also really works in Bird’s favor is this: in his heyday, the NBA was far, far more physical than it is today. Go look at some Bill Laimbeer highlights.

The NBA in the 1980s could be brutal. Consider the courage Thomas had to go into the lane the way he did at his size, and consider also the Jordan Rules the Pistons had for #23. They all knew they were going to get a beating every game.

It’s not like that now. The game is far more open, and Bird would either drive, pass, or hit jumpers at will.

Finally, there are some other factors that would work in his favor. The first is personal. Bird’s desire to dominate would propel him in today’s game, too. His mindset is far different from anyone in today’s NBA. He would sneer at 90 percent of the players in the league now.

And second, the advances in training, nutrition, equipment, and medical care would have really helped him. Just for one thing, a back problem ended Bird’s career. The treatment options today are far better.

Note – for some reason, the embed doesn’t want to work, so please hit the link above.

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While today's sports fans may not be able to imagine an American sports scene without basketball, more than 115 years passed between the signing of the "Declaration of Independence" and the first game of hoops in Springfield, Massachusetts.

James Naismith's invention began its spread across the nation in 1891. One year later, colleges began playing. The NBA was founded in 1949, and George Mikan quickly became the first professional basketball superstar. Now, as we near our nation's 250th birthday, we look back at the best U.S. athletes to play this uniquely American sport.

About USA TODAY's '250 for 250' series

Now through July 4, USA TODAY Sports is releasing our "250 for 250" list of America's top homegrown athletes of all time. Each week we'll bring you all-time standouts from across the sports world, and give readers a chance to vote on who should be featured.

Learn more about the series at usatoday.com.

You can also vote in a name that you feel is missing from this list by visiting our interactive poll.

Now, on to the list of our nation's top homegrown men's basketball players:

Michael Jordan, Laney High School (NC)

Jordan first became a national star when he hit the game-winning shot for North Carolina in the 1982 national championship game. He then took the NBA to new global heights as a six-time champion with the Chicago Bulls and member of the original Dream Team. Jordan won five NBA MVP awards and his "Air Jordan" shoe line and Jordan brand transformed Nike and the basketball apparel industry.

LeBron James, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (OH)

James was a high school sensation who lived up to all the hype to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and the most influential player of his generation. The Akron, Ohio native has won four NBA titles with three different teams, three MVP awards and three Olympic gold medals. He ushered in the league's player empowerment era when he made "The Decision" to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in 2010 and became the first NBA player to earn more than $1 billion in salary during his active career.

Kobe Bryant, Lower Merion High School (PA)

The 5-time NBA champion spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, initially starring alongside Shaquille O'Neal en route to three-straight titles (2000-02) under coach Phil Jackson. Bryant then won two more NBA championships without O'Neal and earned league MVP honors in 2008. He died tragically in a helicopter crash in Southern California in January 2020.

CLEVELAND — Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković was perplexed about Brandon Ingram’s lack of free throws after his team dropped Game 2 to the Cleveland Cavaliers115-105. In the process of that complaint, he admitted something that maybe no other coach has about this era of Cavs basketball.

“Cleveland is playing with a lot of physicality,” Rajaković said. “They’re very prideful of their physicality, and their whole team was very, very physical with Brandon.”

These comments were mostly directed at how the Cavs defended Ingram, but it also speaks to how this Cavaliers team has evolved on both ends of the floor.

Donovan Mitchell had one more thing to say to the media after his postgame press conference ended in the wake of his 30-point performance.

“As much as y’all talk about us three: me, him (James Harden), and Ev (Evan Mobley)… Dean Wade deserves a ton of credit for tonight,” Mitchell said. “I know he only had three points, but his impact is extremely high outside of just scoring. Y’all need to give him his credit. He’s playing at a high level right now for us.”

Playoff basketball often comes down to whether you can take away one of the things your opponent does best. The Cavs have made a concerted effort to make Ingram work — Toronto’s leading scorer — to impact the series with his jump shot. They’ve been physical with him at the point of attack, forcing him to work to get to his patented midrange jumper.

And the one making it difficult for Ingram was Wade, due to his strength advantage.

It’s hard to contest a tough shotmaker like Ingram. At 6’8”, he can usually rise above his defender in the midrange for a clean look. And even if the defender does get a contest, he’s skilled enough to make them anyway.

The best defense for someone like that doesn’t necessarily come from contesting the shot, but by making it challenging for him to get to his spots. This is what Wade did.

Wade was physical and aggressive in denying Ingram the ball wherever he was on the court. The play below is an example of that.

The Raptors had to run a screen for Ingram just to get him the ball. Even though Ingram gets a good look after the screen, the physicality from the denial, combined with the impending threat of Wade trailing the play without fouling, contributes to the missed shot.

Wade’s ability to stay connected with his combination of strength and footspeed means he doesn’t have to sell out to put a good contest on a shot, including one as difficult to do so on as a high-post fadeaway.

Even though Wade deserves a majority of the credit, he wasn’t the only one who was physical with Ingram. Both Harden and Sam Merrill also had instances of forcefully pushing Ingram off his spots when they were switched onto him. It was truly a team effort.

Ingram vowed after Game 1 that he needed to take more than just nine shots. He did so here, but wasn’t efficient, going 3-15 for just seven points.

Cleveland’s physicality on offense showed up in two main ways. First, the Cavs’ star guards weren’t able to be taken out of the game.

Both Harden and Mitchell did a good job of dealing with Toronto’s ball pressure and the extra contact the referees were allowing. They were still able to get to their spots and keep the offense on track. This has been an issue in the past, as Cleveland’s previously undersized guards were susceptible to double teams and pressure in the backcourt.

Second, Mobley punished mismatches. The Raptors played much smaller this game, opting to switch screens as much as possible. Mobley made them pay for doing so as he forcefully attacked his smaller defender whenever getting an opportunity to do so, even off of offensive rebounds. This led to a 25-point outing on 11-13 shooting.

That aggression was much needed on a night the Raptors decided to shift their strategy and play small. Toronto started 6’7” forward Collin Murray-Boyles at center in place of their usual big Jakob Poeltl, to open the second half. Afterward, Rajaković said he wanted to do this so that they could easily switch the pick-and-roll and shut that down.

To Toronto’s credit, the switch shut down the pick-and-roll. The issue is that it made them susceptible to drives to the basket.

The lack of rim protection more or less left every individual defender on an island. The defenders guarding Cleveland’s bigs weren’t in a position to really help off, given the size disadvantage they already had. This resulted in more lanes for Mitchell and Harden to get to the basket. They took full advantage of that as they combined for 58 points.

Jarrett Allen wasn’t able to make the most of Toronto playing small. They were able to hide RJ Barrett on him for long stretches without Allen becoming much of a factor as a scorer or as an offensive rebounder. This led to head coach Kenny Atkinson choosing to leave him out of the closing lineup.

The bench was an issue for the Cavs.

They only provided 19 points, with none of the five reserves tallying more than six. This gave way to the Raptors’ reserves outscoring Cleveland’s by 26.

Max Strus and Merrill seem locked into the rotation. The same might not be said for the other three bench players who received minutes.

Dennis Schroder once again couldn’t find his shot, as he went 1-5 from the field with five points.

There are concerns about Keon Ellis’s defensive impact on this team. He’s likely best used guarding ones and twos, but he won’t often have the luxury to do so given Cleveland’s backcourt. This leaves him defending some of Toronto’s bigger and stronger wings. He’s struggled in that setting, which makes it difficult for him to get minutes when he isn’t providing much offensively.

Jaylon Tyson had some good moments as he seemed to calm down after a difficult playoff debut on Saturday. He handled Toronto’s bigger wings well defensively, but hasn’t found a rhythm yet on the other end.

The Cavs’ offense will go as their core four takes it. That said, the others need to provide much more on that end than they are. The current scoring balance isn’t sustainable over what could be a long postseason run.

The chemistry between Mitchell and Harden looks like it’s been forged over multiple playoff runs. It hasn’t. This was the duo’s 24th game together. That speaks to how well their games fit and how much they’ve invested in making this work.

Harden admitted that because they haven’t had much time together, they needed to find other ways to get on the same page. “I think what speeds that process up is communication and talking,” Harden said.

That includes pointing out when you see something the other could’ve done better, as was the case on at least one occasion on Monday.

“We always communicate what we see,” Mitchell said. “He was telling me what he saw, even though I scored on that possession…there was an easier read that I didn’t see.”

The Cavs made a daring and aggressive move when they traded for Harden as late as they did in the year. Adding someone that important into the mix when they did doesn’t have much of a precedent for resulting in a title or overall playoff success. That just isn’t how basketball is typically played.

But if it ever were to work, it’d be in a setting like this. One that is open to listening to and implementing feedback. Right now, it seems like the Cavs’ top two stars are trying to approach this the right way.

“We’re behind,” Harden said. “I don’t even know how many games we’ve had together, so I think our communication during games, practice days is very, very important. That can get us over the hump. So anytime I gotta say something, or Don say something, we communicate it. We let it be known to the team just so we can all be on the same page.”

The tale of the tape in the Houston Rockets’ opening round postseason matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers was one that hinged on health. Especially heading into the series.

The Los Angeles Lakers were seemingly at their weakest, as the team was forced to play without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves seemingly for the entirety of the matchup. Granted, the Rockets have also not been at full strength at any point of the regular season, having been without Fred VanVleet all season and Steven Adams for the last three months of the season.

Neither of those two are at the level of Doncic or Reaves on the star scale. Not even close.

The assumption was that the Rockets would easily take care of a ragtag bunch centered around 41-year-old LeBron James and role players. And right so.

They should’ve been able to. They should be able to. However, when Kevin Durant went down, the narrative shifted.

People began to give the Rockets sympathy since they were without Durant. Sure, Durant is a surefire All-NBA player this season who turned in one of the greatest individual scoring seasons in Rockets history, especially when factoring in efficiency (26 points on 52 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from deep, 87.4 percent from the foul line, 64.2 percent true shooting and 58.8 percent effective shooting).

But again, the Lakers were playing without their top two leading scorers, and the league’s leading scorer. The Rockets should be able to beat this iteration of the Lakers without Durant.

They tanked for three seasons and amassed four years of top-five draft picks. Alperen Sengun is a two-time All-Star.

And Amen Thompson is one of the best two-way players in the league. Jabari Smith Jr. was viewed as the best player in his draft class.

Two of the aforementioned three have landed pay days. And Houston boasts much more youth and athleticism than the Lakers.

The Rockets also have more of their key players than the Lakers. The Lakers are much more compromised than the Rockets, even without Durant.

So they shouldn’t get any sympathy for losing to this iteration of the Lakers. They got gashed by Luke Kennard, after all, who was the game’s leading scorer.

And nothing against Kennard, who is a very good shooter, but he shouldn’t be outplaying Sengun, Smith, Thompson or Reed Sheppard.

Which is why the Rockets can’t use the injury excuse, as it pertains to Durant. Well, they can, but they shouldn’t get sympathy.

Because the Lakers managed to win in spite of much more significant injury-related absences.

GAH! Where am I? Whose laptop is this? CelticsBlog? “Grant Burfeind, Staff Writer?” That can’t be right. The last thing I remember I was Googling whether my appendix would be compatible with Joel Embiid’s body and what his address is so I could mail it his way. Now…well, now I’m somewhere else entirely.

I catch a glimpse in the reflection of this laptop screen. Dear god, I’m gorgeous. But it’s not me. My stress lines are completely gone. That soreness in my lower back, no more. Whose body is this, and why does it feel completely devoid of the stress that I’ve been so used to carrying my entire life?

I think back to last night. After I gave up on removing my own appendix, I opened up Twitter for some therapeutic trolling of Celtics fans. The storm was angry last night…is it possible a bolt of lightning careened into my room, striking me at the same moment this “Grant Burfeind” person was reading my awesome burn? And somehow, we’ve Freaky Friday’d with one another?

I can’t believe it, but I also can’t deny it. I’m a Sixers fan, and I’ve ended up in a Celtics fan’s body.

I push back from the desk I’m sitting at and take stock of the room I’m in. Celtics paraphernalia adorn the walls. A 2024 NBA Champions replica banner. A poster of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown holding the Larry O’ Brien trophy and the Finals MVP trophy, respectively. I think I’m going to be sick. I need to get out of here.

I race out of the room, practically jump down the entire flight of stairs I find in front of me, and burst out the front door. It’s a beautiful day, and the charm of the apartment buildings to my left and right is undeniable. Across the street, a man in a #11 Celtics jersey and a devastating sunburn catches my gaze, looks up from his phone, and says, “Hell of a game last night! The Celtics are the balllllls! You think the Sixers even show up for Game 2?”

I ignore him, still not fully processing this new reality I’m in. A “ring, ring” snaps me out of my stupor. I step back as a young child on a green bicycle whizzes by, two shamrocks painted on either cheek. “Can’t wait for your next article, Grant! I’ve got an idea for you – should any future playoff matchup between the 76ers and Celtics count as an automatic win for Boston to spare the Sixers fans the grief? Could be good!” 

She doesn’t wait for me to respond, and lets out another “ring, ring” as she pedals away.

I watch her disappear down the street, that stupid little bike rattling over the pavement. I’m still stuck where she left me, trying to square what I’m experiencing with anything I’ve felt before.

I take a deep breath. Close my eyes. Open them again, accepting that this is really happening. Then, I take stock of what I’m seeing. Everyone here looks…happy. Like they’re not waiting for something to go wrong.

And not fake happy or “we’ll see what happens” happy. Actual, out-in-the-open, no-guard-up happy. There’s a couple walking a dog across the street, both in Celtics gear, debating whether they should buy playoff tickets for this opening round or wait until the next. A guy on his porch is smoking a cigar, coughing after every puff, but smiling all the same. Nobody looks tense or like they’re bracing for the other shoe to drop.

Even the sun feels different. Warmer, almost alive. I swear I can hear it whispering, “Who hurt you?” How does it know?

Back home, after that awful game 1 versus Boston on Sunday, I know the energy is the complete opposite. I bet this Grant fella is experiencing it for himself. My neighbor, Vinny, is probably yelling about VJ Edgecombe’s ceiling and comparing him to AI. Joey, our landlord, is likely lamenting that the Process died in 2019. I know Bobby has our favorite call-in show blasting through his open window. Right this second, they’re probably debating whether Tyrese Maxey is allowed to smile after a loss.

If Grant is standing outside my apartment right now, there’s a very real chance he’s watching my two roommates arguing in a pile of trash bags, one of them holding a half-eaten Wawa hoagie like it’s evidence in a court case.

That’s just April in Philadelphia.

I take a few steps down the street, not really thinking about where I’m going. I just need to move.

This is ridiculous. I’m PROUD of where I’m from. Philly made me tough, not like these Boston softies. You don’t grow up a Sixers fan and come out soft. You take your hits, build up a tolerance for things going sideways. It’s part of our identity, and we wouldn’t have it any other way…right?

I’m not one of these people. I’m not. I keep walking. The street opens up a little and then I see it.

TD Garden.

I’ve seen it before, obviously. On TV, in clips, in all the places I don’t like to look for too long. But standing here, actually looking at it, is different. It’s bigger than I expected. Goosebumps tingle across my forearms. It has this weird calmness to it, like it wants to wrap you up in a big hug after a long day. Almost like an old friend that you know will always be there when you need them.

I stop for a second. This is where they walk in expecting to win.

Expecting.

That’s the part that sticks.

Back where I’m from, nothing is ever that simple. Even when things feel good, there’s always something attached to it. A condition. A “yeah, but.” You learn to live in that space. You almost get comfortable with it.

Here, it’s just…confidence.

And I hate how much sense that’s starting to make.

I tell myself this isn’t real. That I just need to figure out how to get back, how to get myself struck by lightning and ensure this Grant guy gets struck at the same time. I should be panicking, maybe someone at Massachusetts General Hospital can help me reverse this?

Instead, I turn around and start heading back toward the apartment I woke up in.

By the time I get back inside, the panic I felt earlier is gone, or at least quieter.

I sit back down at the laptop, and read through the game recap on the CelticsBlog page that’s still up on my screen. “Celtics, Jays look sharp in Game 1, blowout 76ers 123-91.” I read about how the Celtics kept the ball moving, generated clean looks, and stayed connected from start to finish. The words are so unfamiliar that a sense of vertigo starts to wash over me.

For the first time, I’m not rage-reading about the Celtics from the outside. I’m part of it. I’m really here, in this body, in this life, starting to get a sense of what this must feel like every night, every season, every decade.

I think to myself, Celtics fans have no clue how good they have it.

These people wake up expecting things to work. Even when something goes wrong, there’s this baseline belief that it’ll sort itself out eventually. Even when they switch ownership groups, coaches, whatever. This aura and legacy of “Celtics basketball” seems to persist. What even is “76ers basketball”? The word “process” enters my brain for a second and I physically flinch.

This isn’t how it works where I’m from.

Back in Philly, you don’t assume anything. You hope, negotiate, and convince yourself it might be different this time, even when the writing is on the wall.

And now that I’m here…I don’t know why I’d want to go back.

I sit there for a while, staring at the screen.

I know I should probably try to undo this whole thing. No way Grant will know jack shit about making a Philly cheesesteak. He’s going to ask if we have gluten-free bread and I’ll be finished. Well…not me. Him. That sorry, down-trodden, pessimistic man who’s never seen the inside of a Conference Finals in his lifetime.

I guess there’s no reason to rush. After all, this might be the only time I get to experience this euphoria of supporting a quality basketball franchise.

This is a better situation. I’d never admit it in my old body, but here? Now? I can scream it from the hilltops without the fear of Joey or Vinny or god forbid Mr. McLaughlin pummeling me into oblivion.

Grant, wherever you are — whether you’re in my apartment trying to explain to my roommates that you’ve been Freaky Friday’d, or trying to figure out how to relieve your lower back (you never will, believe me) — I wish you nothing but happiness and good fortune.

I really do. You’ll need it as a 76ers fan.

Take care of my fish. Water the plants, or don’t, screw ‘em.

Because I think I’m going to stay in this new life for as long as I can.

The Celtics’ Game 1 blowout was surgical. Limiting their turnovers to eight and Philly to 4-of-23 from behind the arc certainly helped, but offensively, Boston stuck to their core offensive principles en route to a 123-91 win over the 76ers.

There are 2,350 square feet from midline to baseline and head coach Joe Mazzulla maximizes every inch of it. On most offensive sets, the Celtics want to turn their halfcourt sets into 3-on-3 battles with shooters spaced out in the corners.

Conceptionally, Boston wants to force defenses to pick their poison between 1) a scoring ball-handler, 2) a scorer coming off a screen, or 3) a big man who can either pick-and-pop or roll to the rim. It sounds simple, but done with focus and precision, it has resulted in this year’s Celtics ranking amongst the most efficient offenses in league history.

Sometimes, it’s this easy. Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, and Nikola Vucevic are walking up the ball and preparing to run an action to either free up White or Tatum. Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown are flattened out to the corners. And without a single screen, the spacing does most of the work.

Sure, Vooch does get shoulder into Kelly Oubre and is ready to receive the ball from White for a possible dribble hand off or another screen. Paul George sees none of that — all his attention is on Brown.

But because of all the space leveraged by everybody’s ability to shoot the three, Brown has so much space to play in. A simple back cut and a perfectly placed bounce pass from White has JB rocking the rim to extend the lead to 25.

However, it’s not always that easy and that’s where Mazzulla & Co. have employed a series of DHOs, back screens, etc. to put teams in a predicament. One of the Celtics’ most used actions is the Spain pick-and-roll. Here’s CelticsBlog’s resident Xs and Os expert, Nik Land, on the action: “Spain or ‘Stack’ Pick and roll is an on-ball screen followed by a back screen on the on-ball screeners man.”

Again, we’ve got Tatum — Boston’s best player on the floor — and Baylor Scheierman, in the corners. Pritchard, Neemias Queta, and Sam Hauser creating an almost football-esque I formation, and in a way, it’s set up to run the ball.

Queta sets and flips a screen for Pritchard and as soon as he sees Dominick Barlow’s attention switch to Payton, he knows that he’s got him beat. Hauser sets a back screen with solid contact, Tyrese Maxey makes zero contact with Neemy, and Queta is free for the alley-oop.

Two plays later, a similar action. It’s a dribble hand off this time between Queta and Pritchard with Tatum setting the screen.

Queta is met by Quentin Grimes on the rim run, but the damage is already done. Mazzulla stresses the importance of creating 3-on-2s and 2-on-1s, but this is a 3-on-1 with Tatum drawing so much attention above the break.

Pritchard has three options here: hit the cutting Queta again, kick out to the now wide open Hauser, or eventually, take the easy layup himself. This is laser eye surgery for the Celtics.

Later in fourth and with the game in hand, it’s another Spain PnR with different personnel, but same result.

Jabari Walker does a good job positioning himself to defend Pritchard’s drive and Luka Garza running to the restricted area. Unfortunately, that leaves Jordan Walsh, a 38% corner three-ball shooter, alone for an open jumper.

The 76ers can certainly make adjustments in Game 2. The playoffs are all about moves and counter moves and counter moves to the counter moves. They could switch on the screens more or blitz and hedge the ball handler to blow up the movement. The chess match continues tonight at 7 pm.

The injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves mean the asks of the Lakers’ role players have increased, both in terms of responsibilities and expected production.

For a player like Deandre Ayton, who has been under a microscope for most of the season, it puts even more pressure on him, which can lead to a wide variance of outcomes. But through one game, it could hardly have been better.

Ayton went toe-to-toe with the Rockets frontcourt, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. That also doesn’t capture his impact defensively, where he helped the purple and gold force Houston into just 37.6% shooting. All of that helped add up to a win for LA in Game 1 on Saturday.

In a year full of ups and downs, Ayton is riding high into the postseason, a result of positive reinforcement and belief from the coaching staff.

“I could feel the trust JJ had me all practice this week,” Ayton said. “It does a lot giving an NBA player confidence, especially in this league. I really tried my best to show him that I’m here, I’m ready throughout those practices, just being super and extremely consistent. I couldn’t wait to beat up on somebody else.”

The Lakers have spent much of the season trying to get the most out of Ayton by any means possible. At times, it’s been in the way of wearing silly shirts. Other times, it’s been giving him crunk juice. But if the end result is play like this in the postseason, the absurd things they’ve done will be worth it.

Any chance of the Lakers advancing in the playoffs requires Ayton being at his best. Because when he is at his best, the Lakers are at their best.

“He was great,” Redick said of Ayton’s Game 1 performance. “I think he was great on both ends. Again, we’re at our best when he’s playing at a high level.”

Relying on him comes with lots of risks. But the Lakers aren’t in a position where they have other options. So long as Luka and Austin are out, they need Ayton to step up.

Through one game, he held up his end of the bargain. If he keeps doing so, then the purple and gold could really be in business.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

San Antonio Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA's defensive player of the year.

The 7ft 4in France international is the first unanimous winner in the award's 43-year history having secured all 100 of the first-place votes.

At 22, he is the youngest player to win the award and the second to win it within their first three seasons, after Spurs legend David Robinson (1991-92).

Wembanyama was the first overall draft pick in 2023 and has led the league in blocks (3.1 per game) for the third straight season.

The two-time All-Star also averaged career highs in points (25.0) and rebounds (11.5), and claimed a steal per game.

"I'm super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first ever unanimous [winner]," he told NBC.

Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren finished second with 239 points (76 second-place votes), while Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons was third with 60 points (nine second-place votes).

Wembanyama, who is also a Most Valuable Player contender, helped San Antonio post the second-best record in the regular season (62-20) and their defence was ranked third overall.

German NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki told AFP: "I've never seen anything like it.

"His defence is so good that he changes the game just by being on the court and taking away some of the lay-ups and twos that other teams would usually take."

• Doncic & Cunningham eligible for NBA awards after appeal

Cavs take charge against Raptors

Wembanyama starred during his play-off debut on Sunday and the first round of the post-season continued on Monday, with the Cleveland Cavaliers taking charge against the Toronto Raptors.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points for Cleveland while James Harden added 28 as the Cavs claimed a 115-105 home win to go 2-0 up in the seven-game series.

"They're one of the greatest (back-courts)," said team-mate Evan Mobley. "It's hard to stop them because of their offensive prowess. They can make any shot."

Toronto's shooting guard RJ Barrett added: "They're a problem and we've got to figure out how to fix that."

Anthony Edwards claimed 30 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves fought back from 19 points down to win 119-114 at the Denver Nuggets and level their series at 1-1.

The Atlanta Hawks also claimed a comeback win on the road, beating the New York Knicks 107-106 to make it 1-1, with CJ McCollum scoring a game-high 32 points.

• Lakers make winning start as NBA play-offs begin