Category: Basketball

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A potential NBA Finals preview is on tap this evening when the Detroit Pistons visit the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There's no need to simply go with your gut when making your NBA picks for tonight, as our computer has crunched the numbers to deliver some high-value NBA player prop projections.

Let's dive into our top Pistons vs. Thunder computer picks for tonight, headlined by an Ajay Mitchell prop. 

For more on this game, check out Zak Hanshew's Pistons vs. Thunder predictions.

Pistons vs Thunder computer picks for March 30

Pistons	Thunder
Reed u12.5 points  -112	Mitchell u14.5 points  -120
Jenkins u16.5 points  -120	Holmgren o1.5 assists +120
Thompson u11.5 points  -112	Wallace u7.5 points  +102

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Pistons computer picks

Paul Reed Under 12.5 points (-112)

Projection: 9.8 points

Paul Reed is being called upon for more minutes by the Detroit Pistons, with Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, and Duncan Robinson recently joining Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart on the injury report.

Our computer is skeptical that Reed can deliver, projecting him to fall nearly three full points short of his current line at bet365. 

The Under has been a winner in eight of Reed's last 10 overall, and the projected edge is a robust 27.52%.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Reed Now at bet365!/span

Daniss Jenkins Under 16.5 points (-120)

Projection: 14.2 points

Our computer sees a sluggish tempo contributing to a slow night at the office for Cunningham's backup, Daniss Jenkins.

"The Detroit Pistons have played at the 7th-most sluggish tempo in the league over the last 5 games as the away team. The Pistons will likely see a decline in opportunities in this game from sharing the court with the 7th-least up-tempo tempo home offense in the NBA over the last 15 games (the Thunder)."

With his projection checking in at over two points toward the Under, there's a projected edge of 23.71%.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Jenkins Now at bet365!/span

Ausar Thompson Under 11.5 points (-112)

Projection: 10.3 points

Ausar Thompson is listed as questionable for this game with an ankle ailment. Assuming he plays, our computer expects him to miss this Over by more than a point, signifying a 17.3% edge for Under bettors.

This ticket has been a winner in eight of Thompson's last nine overall.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Thompson Now at bet365!/span

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Thunder computer picks

Ajay Mitchell Under 14.5 points (-120)

Projection: 11.5 points

Ajay Mitchell is expected to come in well short of this line tonight. Offensive rebounds, or lack thereof, are expected to contribute to this Under.

"The Thunder rank 5th-worst in in the league with just 9.6 offensive rebounds per game this year."

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Mitchell Now at bet365!/span

Chet Holgren Over 1.5 assists (+140)

Projection: 1.6 assists

The Oklahoma City Thunder big man has reached multiple assists in nine of his last 15 overall, and our computer is backing him to do it again on Monday night.

There is a 16.7% EV edge associated with this Chet Holmgren play, making it a four-star projection.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Holmgren Now at bet365!/span

Cason Wallace Under 7.5 points (+102)

Projection: 6.5 points

Cason Wallace has stayed Under his point total in eight of his last 10 contests, and he hit a fluky five triples in one of the two games in which he went Over. Our computer is not expecting lightning to strike twice in that regard tonight.

"The matchup against the Pistons is a hard one for 3-point shots; the opposing team's starting SGs have posted the 2nd-lowest 3-point rate in the NBA this year (27.6%)." 

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Wallace Now at bet365!/span

How to watch Pistons vs Thunder tonight

Location	Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Date	Monday, March 30, 2026
Tip-off	9:30 p.m. ET
TV	Peacock

Not intended for use in MA.
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Who: Phoenix Suns (41-33) @ Memphis Grizzlies (25-49)

When: 5:00 pm Arizona Time

Where: FedExForum — Memphis, Tennessee

Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports

Listen: ESPN 620 / S: KSUN

The Suns are looking to stack the wins and secure home-court advantage for the play-in at this point. They are 2.5 games ahead of the Clippers with 8 games left to play. This is the first of a back-to-back for the Suns, with another one coming in Orlando tomorrow, so it’s important they take care of business tonight.

The Clippers and Blazers face off tomorrow night in Los Angeles, with play-in seeding implications written all over that one.

Now, back to the opponent at hand. The Grizzlies are 2-8 in their last ten games, but secured a one-point win in their most recent game against the Bulls on Saturday night. Memphis is (and has been) without several key players for most of this season.

Phoenix has won two of its last three after snapping a five-game skid. Let’s make it three out of four after tonight.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

The Grizzlies’ injury report is as long as a CVS receipt.

Suns

• Grayson Allen – QUESTIONABLE (Knee)
• Haywood Highsmith – OUT (Knee)
• Dillon Brooks – OUT (Hand)
• Mark Williams – OUT (Foot)
• Amir Coffey – OUT (Ankle)

Grizzlies

• Santi Aldama – OUT (Knee)
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – OUT (Finger)
• Brandon Clarke – OUT (Calf)
• Walter Clayton Jr – QUESTIONABLE (Ankle)
• Zach Edey – OUT (Ankle)
• Taj Gibson – DOUBTFUL (Foot)
• Ty Jerome – OUT (Ankle)
• Ja Morant – OUT (Elbow)
• Scotty Pippen Jr. – OUT (Toe)
• DeJon Jarreau – QUESTIONABLE (Elbow)

What to Watch For

The Green Light.

It’s time for Jalen Green to carry the Suns’ offense. He is fresh off a 31-point outburst against the Jazz in just 22 minutes. I expect him to be full throttle again in this one, as he’s starting to find his groove and grow into his role alongside Devin Booker. How about another 30-point outburst in less than 25 minutes?

Let the young guys cook

Man Man. Sheer. Dunn. Oso. This is the perfect environment for heavy minutes to be allocated to the young guys. Hell, throw Koby Brea in there too. The Grizzlies’ roster is comprised of a lot of youthful energy, which is a nice way for me to say they have a lot of G Leaguers or inexperienced rookies. There is some raw talent on their squad, but the Suns are the better team from top to bottom.

Ideally, the starters build a double-digit lead early, and the young guys get some burn. Especially since it’s the first of a back-to-back set.

Don’t be a Coward

The Suns will need to contain Cedric Coward in this one, as he just dropped 25 points in the win over the Bulls on Saturday night. Phoenix selected Khaman Maluach over Coward (not that he was ever a legitimate option, just in general) on draft night, so those subplot battles are always fun to track. GG Jackson is another tough forward with size who crashes the glass. Rasheer Fleming and Ryan Dunn will likely play heavy minutes to match up with their youthful athleticism.

Key to a Suns Win

This one is simple. Play hard, and do what the Suns do, regardless of the opponent. Phoenix did exactly that in their win over the Jazz on Saturday night. If Phoenix does not take the Grizzlies lightly, they will walk out of Memphis with a win.

If they play with their food and get cute, it could wind up being a more stressful game than necessary. Start strong, finish strong. Get the starters some “rest” in the 4th quarter so we have a shot against Orlando tomorrow.

Devin Booker said it best. “Very similar to last game. We want to handle our business early. It’s no disrespect to them. Obviously, they’re undermanned. We’re on two different routes right now. We’ve got to take care of business with a game tomorrow.”

Prediction

The Suns should win this one comfortably.

Suns 124, Grizzlies 110

Herald Jaylen Brown removed from Celtics injury report; Jayson Tatum out vs. Hawks

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Luka Dončić will be unavailable for the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Washington Wizards Monday, March 30, after the NBA suspended the MVP candidate one game for accumulating too many technical fouls this season.

"He's disappointed,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick following Sunday's practice, according to reports. “(Dončić) wants to be there for his teammates. ... We're gonna need everybody tomorrow.”

The Lakers enter Monday’s game having won 11 of their last 12 games. Los Angeles sits third in the Western Conference standings with a 48-26 overall record.

Dončić received his 16th technical foul of the season on March 27, during a game in which he led the Lakers to a 116-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

Dončić was seen pushing Nets forward Ziaire Williams, who then retaliated by swinging his arm back and hitting Dončić in the face. Williams received his fourth technical foul of the season and was not suspended.

NBA rules indicate that a player or coach will automatically be suspended without pay for one game once they receive their 16th technical foul of the regular season. The player will be suspended for one regular-season game for every two additional technical fouls that he receives.

Washington Wizards vs. Los Angeles Lakers: How to watch

• Date: Monday, March 30
• Time: 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)
• Location: Crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles)
• TV:Monumental Sports Network (Washington)
• Streaming:NBA League Pass

The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Luka Doncic playing for LA Lakers tonight vs. Washington Wizards?

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Steve Kerr addresses the Warriors “pattern” of third-quarter struggles after 116–93 loss to Nuggets.
• Moses Moody posts after undergoing successful patella tendon surgery over the weekend.
• Lakers’ Luka Doncic suspended one game after receiving 16th technical foul on Friday vs. Nets.

The Golden State Warriors walked into halftime with a seven-point lead over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, putting together another strong first half against one of the league’s top teams. But in what has become a familiar script during this portion of the season, that momentum didn’t carry over. The third quarter flipped everything. Denver erupted for 41 points while Golden State managed just 20, ultimately turning a competitive game into a 116–93 blowout loss.

The third-quarter struggles have become an unfortunate pattern for the Warriors. Whether it’s poor offensive execution, defensive lapses, or simply running out of gas, Golden State has repeatedly lost its footing coming out of halftime. And against the elite teams in the NBA, that has been the difference between winning and losing. 

Head coach Steve Kerr addressed the Warriors’ third quarter issue, acknowledging it’s become a recurring theme for the team.

Brandin Podziemski was one of the few bright spots offensively, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from three, while committing zero turnovers. Still, even his efficient night couldn’t make up for the team’s mistakes.

In total, the Warriors committed 13 turnovers — just two more than Denver — but the impact told a different story. Golden State managed only 13 points off Nuggets turnovers, while Denver turned theirs into 22 points.

After the game, Podziemski pointed to a key stretch of turnovers late in the second quarter that helped shift the momentum and gave Denver confidence heading into the second half.

Sunday was another reminder that the Warriors can compete with most teams but sustaining that level throughout the course of the game has been the challenge — especially when playing short-handed and relying on a limited rotation. Until they solve that, games like this will continue to slip away with time running out before the April 14th Play-in Tournament.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Monday, March 30th:

Warriors News:

What we learned as Warriors fall flat in fourth quarter during loss to Nuggets | NBC Sports Bay Area

In 10 games now with the Warriors, Porziņģis has a 30-point game and a 28-point game, and both were against the Wizards. His 22-point game came against the lowly Mavericks, and he needed overtime to reach 20 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Playing Jokić and the Nuggets was a new test for Porziņģis. The biggest one yet, perhaps. It’s safe to say the big man stepped up yet again. Yes, Jokić got his. But so did Porziņģis. 

He started the game strong and made two threes in the first quarter to give the Warriors an early lead. Porziņģis then scored eight points in the second quarter to bring him 14 first-half points as a plus-6 in a battle with the three-time NBA MVP. The Warriors fell flat in the third quarter, but Porziņģis still scored nine of their 20 points. 

Sunday Best: My latest around-the-league NBA Intel | The Stein Line

The Warriors made what has been described as a determined trade run at the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard in the final hour before the Feb. 5 trade buzzer sounded under the belief that Leonard might be unexpectedly unavailable after LA agreed to ship Ivica Zubac to Indiana. The Clippers ultimately balked then, but it is reasonable to presume that Golden State will investigate that possibility once again.

The Warriors are likewise routinely described by rival teams as one of the few credible destinations for LeBron James’ 24th NBA campaign if James and the Lakers indeed part ways after eight seasons together. “It has some legs,” one league source said of the LeBron link to the Warriors.

Moses Moody’s first post after undergoing successful patellar tendon surgery over the weekend

NBA News:

Lakers’ Luka Doncic hit with 1-game suspension for 16th tech | ESPN

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has been suspended one game for receiving his 16th technical foul in Friday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA announced on Saturday.

Doncic will serve the suspension during Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards.

Doncic and Nets forward Ziaire Williams were assessed double techs with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter of Friday’s game after jostling with each other following an offensive foul called on Doncic.

Raptors go on a historic 31-0 run against the Magic

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Final Score: Nuggets win 116-93 over Warriors, Jokic scores 25 points

For a half, a shorthanded Warriors team (no Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, or Moses Moody among others) — was outplaying a legitimate title contender on their home floor.

Then Jokic took over as he’s done so many time as Denver flipped the script completely. The Nuggets finished shooting 50% from the field and 47% from three-point range, going 19-for-40 beyond the arc for the game. Jokic ended with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists, doing it all with that infuriating casual efficiency that makes you want to both applaud and flip a table.

Follow @unstoppablebaby on X for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.

Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Craig Smith as the current coach of Utah.

Utah State announced the hiring of longtime Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson on Monday, March 30, poaching the five-time NCAA Tournament attendee to replace Jerrod Calhoun.

It's a splash hire at the mid-major level, especially with how long Jacobson spent at Northern Iowa. He has four NCAA Tournament wins in his career, including a second-round upset over No. 1 seed Kansas in 2010.

Utah State is one of the best non-Power program jobs in college basketball, and Jacobson will lead the program into the rebuilt Pac-12 next season. There, he'll be conference foes with Colorado State and coach Ali Farokhmanesh, his former player and March Madness hero from 2010.

REQUIRED READING: How Ali Farokhmanesh went from March Madness icon to Division I head coach

The Aggies have made six of the last seven NCAA Tournaments, and its coaches have gone on to earn high-profile jobs shortly after their tenure. Calhoun took the opening at Cincinnati after Danny Sprinkle left for Washington, and Sprinkle's predecessor, Ryan Odom, is now at Virginia. Craig Smith was the Aggies coach before Odom and took the Utah job. He was coach of the Utes for four seasons before being fired in 2025.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to join Utah State as it enters its next chapter in the Pac-12," Jacobson said. "I'm grateful to Cameron Walker for trusting me to lead such a historic program and to continue its tradition as one of the top men's basketball programs in the West. I look forward to getting to know Aggie Nation and the HURD, and for my family to become part of the Cache Valley and Logan community."

Jacobson leads the Missouri Valley Conference in all-time wins (220) and conference tournament wins (24), but the allure of the new Pac-12 was likely too enticing to pass up, as the league will be anchored by powerhouse programs Gonzaga, San Diego State and Utah State, to a lesser degree.

Numerous college basketball coaches commented on the hire in Utah State's announcement, including Purdue's Matt Painter and Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg.

"Ben is not only an exceptional coach but also a truly remarkable person," Painter said. "He has achieved tremendous success at Northern Iowa, and this opportunity at Utah State gives him the chance to build on that success both on the court and within the community. I'm excited for him and his family as they embark on this exciting new chapter in their lives.

Hoiberg added: "Ben Jacobson is one of the great coaches in our sport, and Utah State is fortunate to land a coach of his caliber.  He built Northern Iowa into one of the top programs in the Missouri Valley Conference for the past two decades. 

"When I was at Iowa State, we played his UNI teams several times over the years, and you always knew you would be in for a battle.  I have so much respect for the job he has done over the years."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Utah State poaches Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa for coaching job

It’s hard to be a good team without being a good clutch team. Of the 12 teams currently in a playoff spot (plus Philly, who’s on the cusp of it), 10 of them are in the top 11 in clutch net rating (the other team is Milwaukee, somehow). The others are Minnesota (15th), Denver (20th), and Houston (24th). Good teams are good because they can grit their teeth and come out on top in clutch scenarios.

The Knicks are among the best of the best in the clutch. Even after Sunday night’s meltdown against OKC, the Knicks are 19-13 with a plus-17.3 clutch net rating, only behind the Lakers, Thunder, and Sixers. Their defense is third-best, their offense is fourth-best, and their turnover rate is fourth-lowest. It’s overall pretty good.

But it’s not perfect. Now, perfection is an impossibility, but you should always strive to get as close to perfect as humanly possible. The limitations of the Knicks in crunchtime were shown on Sunday, albeit against maybe the most unstoppable force in the NBA in a fully healthy Thunder squad.

The Knicks’ clutch offense revolves around Jalen Brunson, as it should. As you may expect, he’s taken by far the most shots (73), has the most minutes (109), and the most points (99) in clutch scenarios this season among Knicks. No other Knick has even attempted 30 shots. He’s also been efficient, registering 46.6/42.3/76.9 splits. The reigning Clutch Player of the Year is absolutely the right man to assume this responsibility.

But there will be games that teams will sell out to shut his water off. That’s when you usually see guys like OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet get funneled the ball in the corner (Anunoby is 13-26 and 6-12 from 3 in the clutch this season, but what happens when they get the ball out of Brunson’s hands before he can make that read?

Brunson’s 19 assists are also by far the most in the clutch, with Josh Hart second with 8. Speaking of Hart, he’s the black sheep of the starters in crunchtime, only being a plus-2 in 50 minutes, while seven players currently sit at plus-15 or higher. There’s not much ball movement, but that makes sense considering that it’s almost always a Brunson-focused isolation down the stretch. The captain has an exceptionally high 37.2 usage rate in clutch scenarios.

There’s one thing in particular that the Knicks probably should’ve been working on all season, but could still stand to try out to diversify the late offense, and that’s getting Karl-Anthony Towns involved. He’s only attempted 23 shots in clutch scenarios this season and has a paltry 18.8 usage rate. He’s usually reduced to the occasional pick-and-pop and being forced to get his touches on the glass. There are games like last night in OKC where Towns got going with post-ups on smaller defenders and then it just… stopped.

The first, second, and third options should always be Brunson making decisions with the ball in his hands, but Towns is an All-NBA talent in his own right. You didn’t just get him for the other 43 minutes of the game, we saw what he can do when he saved the season by himself in Detroit last April.

But that’s only one thing that could be improved upon in these scenarios. There are two areas where the Knicks are normally quite good, but are mediocre-to-bad in the clutch. The first sorta makes sense, OREB%. Mitchell Robinson has played just 23 total clutch minutes this year for a variety of reasons, and he’s the biggest reason why the Knicks are as monstrous on the boards as they usually are. I’d imagine that more minutes for Big Mitch would increase that rate, and we’ll see it at times in the playoffs, but it’s certainly interesting.

The one that’s more baffling is free-throw percentage. The Knicks, who currently rank 12th in FT% at 79.1% (if you include Mitch, it’s 81.6%), are catastrophically bad in the clutch, ranking 28th at 70.5%. As I said earlier, Mitch barely plays in the clutch and has only attempted four of the team’s 88 clutch free throws. While OG Anunoby and Deuce McBride are shooting fine, others are shooting much worse than their season averages:

Landry Shamet: 6-for-12 (season: 72.6%)
Karl-Anthony Towns: 9-for-14 (season: 85.8%)
Jalen Brunson: 20-for-26 (76.9%, season: 84.3%)

There are many reasons why the Knicks lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Pacers, but the biggest one might have been an inability to cash in at the line in the final minute. It’s just not tenable to leave points on the line in games that matter. You might get away with it in Brooklyn, but you won’t in Boston.

Mike Krzyzewski may not be the head coach for Duke men's basketball anymore, but the Elite Eight loss for the Blue Devils was still heartbreaking.

The No. 1 overall seed Blue Devils were knocked out of the NCAA Men's Tournament when Braylon Mullins knocked down a 40-foot buzzer beater following a turnover by Duke on Sunday, March 29. That gave UConn the 73-72 win to advance to the Final Four this weekend in Indianapolis.

REQUIRED READING: Did Dan Hurley deserve a technical after game-winning shot for going face-to-face with ref?

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils lost in brutal fashion for the second straight year.

Krzyzewski joined the Pat McAfee Show on Monday, March 30, to talk about the loss.

"It was heartbreaking," Coach K said. "I am telling you. Even though I haven't coached for four years now. It was a great, great basketball game. Not a good one. It was a great game."

"It was heartbreaking and it was a great basketball game..

I haven't coached for four years and I couldn't fall asleep last night..

I have such great empathy for our guys"

Coach K #PMSLivepic.twitter.com/r9tXN5x9C8

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 30, 2026

Krzyzewski led the Blue Devils to five national titles between 1980 and 2022, before he retired. While he did win national titles with Duke, he suffered many heartbreaking losses in the single-elimination tournament, with 13 total Final Four appearances.

Even while not coaching actively, the loss still stings for Krzyzewski.

"I could not fall asleep last night," Krzyzewski said. "I felt like I was a part of that. And then you're thinking of all these individual kids and how you are going to take care of them. You have such great empathy for our guys. Obviously, I am a Duke guy and have concerns for them. It's a tough one to get over."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Krzyzewski says he lost sleep over Duke's Elite 8 loss to UConn

LSU re-introduced basketball coach Will Wade on Monday, March 30, and the one-year NC State coach brought jokes back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Wade, who coached LSU from 2017-22, was fired by the program for recruiting violations. He was also suspended in 2019 after an FBI wiretap uncovered him conversing with a recruit about a potential monetary offer.

REQUIRED READING: Will Wade introduced as new LSU basketball coach. Highlights press conference

Wade made light of how he left his LSU career during his re-introduction, saying one way or another, he's going to make history with the Tigers this time around.

"We're gonna make history one way or the other," he said. "We're coming back to try to hang a banner and win a national championship, or I'm gonna be the first coach fired from the same school twice. One way or another, we're gonna make history."

Will Wade (re)introduced at LSU:

"We're gonna make history one way or the other. We're coming back to try to hang a banner and win a national championship, or I'm gonna be the first coach fired from the same school twice. One way or another, we're gonna make history!" 😂 pic.twitter.com/jZOZP9SObN

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 30, 2026

Wade led McNeese to an NCAA Tournament win over Clemson in 2024, before leaving for NC State, where he coached one season. He left the Wolfpack in controversial manner, leaving NC State fans in frenzy over the situation.

It isn't the first joke Wade has made since the LSU news has come to light.

"They're gonna kill me if I start answering questions. I'm trying to follow more rules this time," Wade said to a group of reporters who saw him arriving in Baton Rouge.

LSU never formally announced Matt McMahon's firing in a separate announcement, rather burying the news in an announcement noting Wade's return to LSU.

Wade won games for the Tigers, though, and led the program to an SEC regular season title and Sweet 16 in 2019. He took LSU to the NCAA Tournament in three of his five seasons. He made the NIT before COVID-19 wiped out March Madness in his other season at the helm.

Wade will now look toward rebuilding an LSU team that finished 15-17 last season and has missed the NCAA Tournament in every season since Wade left the program. Perhaps his jokes will also work on the next cycle of recruits for the Tigers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Wade jokes he'll make history 'one way or the other' at LSU

Michael Jordan explained that his massive NBA fame caused a “burden” in his life and ultimately was a reason he retired from the sport in 2003.

During a recent interview with CBS Mornings, Jordan looked back on his illustrious career — winning six NBA titles and achieving two separate “three-peats” — and what drove him to seek a “quieter life” outside of basketball.

“When I say I wanted to retire and get to a quieter life, I wanted to get away from basketball in terms of what I represented in that arena and how big I’d gotten,” Jordan, who is considered the greatest basketball player of all time, told CBS’s Gayle King while at Phoenix Raceway.

Michael Jordan says, “The burden of living a certain way,” pushed him to step back from basketball’s spotlight and to seek a quieter life.

He tells @GayleKing that @NASCAR gives him a different kind of purpose, one that still keeps him passionate and fired up.… pic.twitter.com/Tb6lRS7D3v

— CBS Sunday Morning (@CBSSunday) March 29, 2026

“It was such a huge burden for me in that sport. Here [in NASCAR], the burden is not quite the same. It’s something that I think that keeps me alive and vibrant.

“The burden of living a certain way, trying to maintain whatever everybody’s perspective is for you or was for you. That is a burden. And it’s a lot of people that have to endure it. And at some point and time, you say, I’m tired of doing that.”

Jordan, who has lived a private life after hanging up his jersey for good, co-founded the NASCAR team 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin in 2020.

The 63-year-old Chicago Bulls legend has been in the spotlight recently as his team is dominating this season, winning four of six races thus far.

Jordan explained that he thinks he’s “cursed with this competitive gene” that has taken over everything he does — even at home.

He joked that he races his wife, Yvette Prieto, to see who could shower and get dressed first.

“Anything that I do is from a competitive lens and in some ways that keeps me young that keeps me aggressively [and] thinking positively,” Jordan said. “It helps me understand everything that I’m involved with or connected with… I think my appetite to prove as a kid created this competitive thing within me that has transcended and taken over everything that I do.”

When asked if he misses basketball, Jordan said: “100 percent. It’s a huge piece of me [that misses basketball] but I’ve compensated that feeling through NASCAR and fishing.”

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Jordan also earned the title of NBA MVP five times, is a six-time NBA Finals MVP, a 14-time NBA All-Star and a three-time NBA All-Star MVP. He also made the All-NBA First Team 10 times and is a nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team honoree.

He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1998 and was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1985.

Jordan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as an individual player in 2009 and as a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team in 2010.

The Connecticut men’s and women’s basketball teams each are one victory away from the championship game of the NCAA Tournament, and that could be very expensive for a furniture store, an insurance company or both.

Jordan’s Furniture, a company based in Massachusetts, will be on the hook for $50 million if both win their first games of the Final Four and advance to the championship games, according Eliot Tatelman, the former CEO whose sons run the company.

The men’s team plays Illinois Saturday, April 4 and the women’s team plays the winner of the Elite Eight game between South Carolina and TCU.

"We have insurance," Tatelman told USA TODAY Sports. "We want them to win."

The customers and the men's team had a close call Sunday, when UConn beat Duke on Braylon Mullins' last-second, 35-footer.

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a 15-ball half-century as Rajasthan Royals thrashed Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

On a pitch which was under covers for most of the last two days due to wet weather, Chennai was put in and crumbled to 127 all out in 19.4 overs. All six Rajasthan bowlers shared the wickets.

The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi was dropped on the first ball he faced then powered the chase with 52 off 17 balls — raising the third fastest fifty in the IPL — as Rajasthan cruised to 128-2 in only 12.1 overs.

Five-time champion Chennai has undergone a youth movement in order to make a long-term rebound from finishing in last place last year. But it made an inauspicious start thanks to the youngest player in the league.

Sooryavanshi's miscued pull shot against Matt Henry in the first over was dropped by debutant Kartik Sharma, a tough two-handed catch over his shoulders while running backward from midwicket. Sharma failed to chase the ball and it dribbled over the boundary, the first of Sooryavanshi's four boundaries plus five sixes.

Sooryavanshi gave Rajasthan a blazing start of 74-0 in the powerplay. He clobbered wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad for successive sixes and raised his half-century off just 15 balls before he holed out to Sarfaraz Khan at sweeper cover in the seventh over.

Fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal had a front row seat to Sooryavanshi's artistry. He was dropped on 26 before finishing 38 not out off 36 balls.

“The plan was to decide the game in the powerplay as we’d restricted them to a low score," Sooryavanshi said. “After every ball Jaiswal doesn't tell me to take a single. He tells me that the ball's going off the bat nicely and to keep going.”

New Rajasthan skipper Riyan Parag’s decision to bowl first in favorable conditions was vindicated when Chennai slumped to 38-4 against the express pace of Jofra Archer (2-19) and Nandre Burger (2-26).

Former Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson (6) had a forgetful first game for his new franchise Chennai when Burger flattened his off stump with a 140 kph delivery.

Samson was hired to fix the top order batting issues for Chennai but captain Ruturaj Gaikwad also made only 6 when he exposed his stumps against Archer’s pace and was clean bowled.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (2-18), playing for Rajasthan after 17 seasons with Chennai, struck twice in his first over to reduce Chennai further to 57-6.

With Mahendra Singh Dhoni not available for the first two weeks due to a calf injury, Chennai was in danger of opening its campaign with less than 100 runs. But Jamie Overton top-scored with 43 off 36 balls before he was run out in the last over.

___

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

It’s amazing what can happen in a week, especially for a franchise as strange as your Philadelphia 76ers.

This was the Sixers’ starting lineup last Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder:

This was their starting lineup this past Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets:

Truly hilarious.

But hey, Saturday’s win over the Hornets was a big one. It felt like a playoff atmosphere and the Sixers dominated in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory. They’re in seventh in the East as of this posting, but with plenty of room for movement at 41-33. They’re a full game back of the fifth-place Toronto Raptors and a half game back of the sixth-place Atlanta Hawks (who swept the Sixers this season). They’re two games up on the Orlando Magic, who sit in eighth (the Sixers own the tiebreaker).

They’ll continue their run of good health when they take on the Miami Heat Monday night. The Heat are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Indiana Pacers Sunday. This is also the season rubber match for these teams after they split the first two matchups. It’s not a must-win by any means, but taking care of business in South Beach would be another meaningful win.

So, what’s on your mind right now? Hit me with your questions and comments below.