Category: Basketball

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers fought back from a double-digit second-half deficit to regain control of the series. Eleven fourth-quarter points from Dennis Schroder and multiple clutch shots from Evan Mobley carried the Cavs to a 125-120 victory to take a 3-2 series lead over the Toronto Raptors.

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson decided to make a change with his starting lineup: Dean Wade was out, Max Strus was in. The idea behind this move was to primarily juice an offense that couldn’t get anything going in either Game 3 or 4.

This move didn’t produce instant results. The Cavs were outscored by nine points in the first five minutes with the starting lineup on the floor. They weren’t physical defensively, and the insertion didn’t provide the offensive boost Atkinson was likely hoping for.

Momentum changed after the initial subs came in. Dean Wade and Sam Merrill provided an immediate spark, but the real story was James Harden playing some of his best basketball since coming to Cleveland.

Harden carried the Cavs through the opening quarter. He poured in 14 points in that frame to help the Cavs secure a narrow 38-34 lead after one.

Cleveland gave that advantage away at the beginning of the second quarter.

Atkinson decided to give Thomas Bryant his first minutes of the series at the start of the second quarter, and it didn’t go well. The Raptors picked on him defensively and neutralized any advantage he would’ve created inside because they could cheat off Mobley.

This allowed the Raptors’ offense to get going. Toronto rattled off 40 points in the second quarter, led by 11 points from Ja’Kobe Walter, and the team went 5-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc.

Turnovers were once again a problem for the Cavs in the second quarter. After a lights-out first quarter, Harden turned it over four times himself. As a team, Cleveland gave it up six times in the quarter, leading to 14 Toronto points off turnovers.

This all resulted in the Cavs going into the half with a seven-point deficit.

Brandon Ingram left the game in the second quarter with a heel injury that kept him out the rest of the game. He scored just one point on 0-2 shooting in 11 minutes.

The Raptors pushed their advantage to 12 at the start of the third quarter. The Cavs fought back to keep the game within reach, and then cut the deficit to just three at the end of the quarter, thanks to a three and dunk by Mobley just before the clock expired.

A Jaylon Tyson three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter tied the game. The Cavs took their first lead since midway through the second quarter with a Mobley triple. Dennis Schroder took over from there.

After being an afterthought for the first four games of the series, Schroder made his presence felt. He ran the offense in the fourth quarter and carried the team over the finish line. He scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter on an efficient 5-8 shooting.

Schroder’s emergence came at the expense of Donovan Mitchell’s minutes. Mitchell was held to just six and a half minutes in the final frame and didn’t re-enter the fourth quarter until under three minutes left in the game.

It was a weird game for Mitchell. There were spurts — particularly in the third quarter — where he was his usual aggressive self. Still, this wasn’t typical playoff form. He finished just four of his 10 shots in the paint. Mitchell had 19 points on 7-17 shooting with three assists.

Harden and Mobley led the Cavs with 23 points apiece. Harden went 7-13 from the field with nine rebounds and five assists. Mobley had six points in the fourth quarter.

RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 25 points on 9-19 shooting with 12 rebounds and five assists. Walter had 20 points on 7-16 shooting. Scottie Barnes had 17 points on 6-16 shooting with 11 assists and eight boards.

It’s been a hard-fought series that hasn’t necessarily been pretty throughout. The same warts that have plagued the Cavs throughout this era of basketball have cropped up at the worst times. Still, they have a chance to close out this first-round series as it shifts back to Canada.

Game 6 is on Friday evening.

With Franz Wagner ruled out for Orlando with a calf strain, Detroit looked to capitalize inside. Jalen Duren was working inside early and the Pistons were in the bonus quickly with nine minutes left in the first. They got back to playing basketball the Detroit way with seven offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points. They led Orlando 38-26 after the first quarter.

The game turned into the Cade Cunningham vs Paolo Banchero show in the second quarter. Banchero was doing it all for Orlando as he looked to step up with Wagner’s injury, but Cade was a man on a mission. He had nine straight points at one point and finished with 20 points in just the second quarter alone. A couple bad fouls at the end of the quarter by Detroit gave Orlando a 7-0 run to give the Pistons a 66-60 lead heading into halftime despite Detroit holding a 17-point lead earlier.

There were two scares to start the second half as both Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris rolled ankles. Duren picked up his fourth foul halfway through the quarter and Ausar was in the locker room, but Thompson returned to the floor shortly after. He found Tobias Harris in transition for a dunk then Cade for a three – so strange how good things happen when Ausar’s on the floor! Detroit took a 89-79 lead heading into the final frame.

Thompson had a nice behind-the-back move and drive on Jalen Suggs followed by two threes from Javonte Green and Duncan Robinson to push Detroit’s lead back to 16. Orlando battled back as Cade knocked down free throws for his 40th point to put Detroit up nine with five minutes to go. Banchero turned into a flamethrower from deep, hitting four threes in the final quarter and two late to make it a 112-109 game, but Cunningham hit Desmond Bane with a nasty step back midrange jumper that would end up being the dagger to force a Game 6 back in Orlando. Detroit would win 116-109.

See y'all in Orlando. https://t.co/yAqZX0PBmSpic.twitter.com/VO16TxMIP0

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 30, 2026

I mean, give it up to Cade freakin’ Cunningham – he had 45 points on an incredibly efficient 23 shots, along with going 14-for-14 from the free throw line. Cade set a new franchise record as his 45 points were the most in Detroit Pistons playoff history. He also knocked down five of his eight three-point attempts. This guy is the real deal.

Tobias Harris continues to be the steady vet, and frankly, Detroit’s #2 option in this series. He finished with 23 points and eight rebounds while shooting 50% from the field. Duncan Robinson and Jalen Duren each finished with 12 points.

This might’ve been one of the most impressive games of Ausar Thompson’s career. He finished with six points, 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals, and two blocks. He was everywhere defensively and continues to be a difference maker on both sides of the court. He flashed some more ball-handling ability tonight and it’ll get more comfortable to him with time, but there’s no doubt he has been Detroit’s second most important player in this series.

While Paolo Banchero also had 45 points, it’s a good strategy to let him shoot the ball 31 times. To show how much of an anomaly this game was for him, it was the first time all season that he attempted double-digit threes while also being the first time he has made more than five of them. Frankly, the fact that Paolo had one of the best sharpshooting games of his career and Orlando still couldn’t get the job done should be good news for Detroit.

The series is now 3-2 heading back to Orlando as the Pistons will need to find a way to claw out another win. If they can win Friday night, Game 7 will take place in Detroit on Sunday.

Lock in, sickos.

Go Stones.

DETROIT — Cade Cunningham came through for the Pistons when they needed him. With Detroit teetering on the brink of elimination, Cunningham outdueled Orlando’s Paolo Banchero in a sensational scoring matchup of former No. 1 overall picks.

Cunningham had a franchise playoff-record 45 points and the top-seeded Pistons held off the eighth-seeded Magic for a 116-109 win on Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series, avoiding elimination for at least a couple of days.

“We dug ourselves a hole and now it’s time to climb our way out,” Cunningham said. “It’s possible.”

Orlando leads the series 3-2 and will get a second chance to advance at home on Friday night. If the Pistons win their first road game of the series, they will host a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.

Banchero also scored 45 points for a playoff career high — but missed 7 of 12 free throws — and fell one point short of equaling the franchise postseason record shared by Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard.

The Magic were outrebounded by 16 and made just 16 of 30 free throws.

“We got to be better on the glass and obviously, better on the free-throw line,” said Banchero, drafted No. 1 overall by Orlando in 2022. “If we make our free throws, we got a real chance of winning the game. We lost by seven, and missed 14 free throws. That’s the game.”

Cunningham set a single-game playoff scoring record for Detroit that had stood since Dave Bing had 44 points in 1968. Isiah Thomas approached that mark with a 43-point performance in 1988.

In NBA history there was only one other playoff game with two players scoring 45 or more.

Donovan Mitchell scored 51 points for Utah in a win over Denver in 2020, while the Nuggets’ Jamal Murray had 50 points.

When Detroit drafted Cunningham first overall in 2021, it was hoping he would have games like this one.

He was 13 of 23 from the field, made a playoff career-high five 3-pointers and was 14 of 14 at the line.

“We’re going to see this a long time,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s going to do a lot of special things.”

The 24-year-old Cunningham came up short in late-game situations with the ball earlier in the series and in last year’s first-round series against the New York Knicks, but he was clutch in key moments to extend the matchup with the Magic.

The Pistons never trailed, going ahead by 17 points in the first half and by 15 early in the fourth quarter.

The Magic pulled within three points on Banchero’s sixth 3-pointer with 1:09 left.

On the ensuing possession after Ausar Thompson hustled for an offensive rebound, Cunningham made a step-back, 16-foot jumper to help seal it.

“Not everybody is blessed with those opportunities to have pressure and have things on the line like that,” Cunningham said. “I’m just thankful for it and trying to make the most out of it.

“We’ve had a great season so far and none of us want it to end.”

The Pistons are hoping to bounce back from the brink of elimination as they did against the Magic two-plus decades ago.

Detroit’s comeback in 2003 as a No. 1 seed against eighth-seeded Orlando was the first of seven times NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit this century.

The Nuggets were the last team to pull off the feat six years ago — in the same series that featured Mitchell and Murray each scoring 50-plus point — and they became the first team in the league to do it twice in one postseason.

“You don’t want to put yourself in this situation, but this is what we expected,” Bickerstaff said. “When our backs are against the wall, we come out swinging. We come out kicking. We come out scratching, biting, clawing.”

Victor Wembanyama is putting a new spin on Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit, “It’s My Party.” 

In it, she sings, “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to.” 

Wembanyama, 22, essentially said the same thing when he addressed fans who have criticized and mocked him for crying following emotional wins for the Spurs in an interview with French outlet L’Équipe. 

The Spurs superstar recently received attention from fans who noticed him crying after a comeback victory over the Clippers last month.

On Tuesday, he was visibly emotional on the bench as San Antonio clinched its opening-round series in five games over the Trail Blazers. 

When the French outlet asked Wemby about it, he had no problem defending his show of emotions. 

“That’s a tough question. I think it’s first and foremost a fear of judgment,” he told L’Équipe reporter Maxime Aubin. “Like this feeling that you have to act a certain way, social codes, I guess. Personally, I refuse to carry the burden of having to hide my emotions.” 

Wembanyama has become a massive star — both in his literal stature and popularity — through his first three seasons in the NBA. 

During the postseason, he’s averaged 21 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.0 blocks through four games. 

As for the emotion after the win on Tuesday night, Wembanyama explained it as having felt like the Spurs had passed a “step.” 

“It feels like a step passed, step 1 done. I’m personally happy to see things are moving forward in the right direction,” he said. 

San Antonio is going through its first playoff run since the 2018-19 season, and it’s hard to imagine any Spurs fan having any issue with the big man’s emotional displays as the team keeps winning. 

The Spurs will face the winner of the Nuggets-Timberwolves series.

Facing elimination, Cade Cunningham willed the Detroit Pistons to a massive victory in Game 5.

Detroit withstood a late Orlando Magic surge Wednesday, April 29, winning 116-109, to force a Game 6, though Detroit still trails in the series 3-2.

It had been a frustrating round for Cunningham, who committed 24 turnovers over the previous three games prior to Wednesday night. Cunningham’s scoring had been there, but his supporting cast on the Pistons had been struggling to provide enough contributions.

At the risk of being closed out, Cunningham took matters into his own hands, setting a new Pistons franchise record for most points in a single playoff game.

Here’s Cade Cunningham’s full box score from Game 5 of the first round against the Orlando Magic.

Cade Cunningham stats vs. Magic

• Points: 45
• FG: 13-for-23
• 3PT: 5-for-8
• FT: 14-for-14
• Rebounds: 4
• Assists: 5
• Steals: 1
• Blocks: 0
• Turnovers: 6
• Fouls: 3
• Minutes played: 43:39

Cade Cunningham highlights

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cade Cunningham points tonight, Magic vs Pistons stats

After missing a month with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, Austin Reaves is available for his postseason series debut Wednesday, but will not be in the starting lineup as the Lakers try to clinch their first-round series against the Houston Rockets.

In Game 5, the Lakers will start the same lineup that helped them build a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series over the fifth-seeded Rockets: :LeBron James Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton.

But it took Reaves only three weeks to get upgraded to questionable on the status report. One day shy of four weeks, he can return just in time to give the Lakers a much-needed boost to close out a tough Rockets team.

Reaves’ return will help stabilize the Lakers’ shorthanded backcourt that is still without Luka Doncic. The Lakers have averaged 20 turnovers a game in this series, including 24 in Game 4 in Houston, where the Lakers missed out on a chance to sweep the series. James has handled the majority of the play-making responsibilities, had eight turnovers in each of the last two games.

“If he is able to go, we just want Austin to be Austin,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. “That's the biggest thing, I think, as the series has gone on, their pressure and physicality has just increased every game, and ball-handling is been important for us all series.”

One more win against the Rockets will put the Lakers into the Western Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round.

While the Lakers are getting healthier, the Rockets will be without their star player for the third consecutive game. Kevin Durant was ruled out Tuesday because of a left ankle sprain. He has missed four of the five games this series.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

You can never doubt Austin Reaves’ heart.

After an initial recovery timeline that would have him out 4-6 weeks, Reaves returned to the court last week and will return to the lineup just under a month after suffering his injury, joining the Lakers for Game 5 against the Rockets on Wednesday.

Lakers star Austin Reaves has been cleared to return for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/T3fNjPEOeF

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 30, 2026

As has been the case, Reaves was a gametime decision for Game 5. In both Game 3 and Game 4, Reaves went through pregame warm-ups before being ruled out. On Wednesday, he went through pregame warm-ups and was ruled available.

JJ Redick on Austin Reaves for Game 5: “He’s going to go through the same process and we’ll make the decision at game time”

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 30, 2026

In the days leading up to Game 5, it became more and more clear that Reaves was likely to make his return. The Lakers came into the playoffs not expecting Reaves or Luka Dončić to play in the opening round. While Luka is no closer to returning, they’ve at least gotten back one of their best players in Austin.

It took multiple weeks and the Lakers had to win some playoff games without him, but Austin Reaves will be joining the team for competitive matchups once again.

Now, he is back, giving the Lakers a huge injection of offensive firepower. He averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game this season. His rebounding and scoring totals are career-highs for the five-year guard.

It’s been nearly a month since Reaves has played in a Lakers game. He suffered his injury during a loss against the Thunder. Afterward, his MRI confirmed that he had a Grade 2 oblique strain, and the projected recovery period was 4-6 weeks.

The Lakers have found plenty of playoff success in Reaves’ absence. They’ve been able to survive and extend their season in time for him to come back, which was a goal Lakers head coach JJ Redick established before the postseason began.

Despite the Lakers’ short-term success, long-term wins will only come with Reaves on the floor. Shockingly, that is coming perhaps sooner than expected.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

After being sidelined for nearly four weeks because of an oblique injury, Lakers star guard Austin Reaves made his long-awaited return to the court in Game 5 against the Rockets. 

The Lakers upgraded Reaves from questionable to available 45 minutes before tipoff on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena, making Reaves eligible to make his playoffs debut after missing the first four games of the best-of-seven first round playoff series. 

Reaves was sidelined for 27 days because of the Grade 2 left oblique strain he suffered during the April 2 loss to the Thunder, returning earlier than the 4-6 week recovery timeline that typically comes with the injury.

He was listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 3 win and Sunday’s Game 4 loss before being downgraded to out for both games.

During his first media availability since suffering on Tuesday, Reaves responded, “just how my body feels,” when asked what would determine whether he played on Wednesday. 

Cleary, he feels good enough and confident in his body, which coach JJ Redick emphasized was the most important

“I said, ‘let’s take the context of the series out of it’,” Redick said pregame on Wednesday. “‘Because if you’re not confident, you shouldn’t play. If you are confident, you should play.’ It’s that simple.”

The Lakers had been without Reaves and fellow star guard Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) since both suffered regular season-ending injuries on April 2.

He and Doncic missed the final five games of the regular season with their respective injuries, with the Lakers going 3-2 in those games.

“I’ve been pretty miserable,” Reaves said on Tuesday. “Just not having somewhat of a control on a game, just sitting over there with…no hope that I can affect the game. Obviously I can talk and try to lead from being over there, but not really being on the court sucks. We’ve seen in the past when I get injured, I do everything I can to get back as soon as I can while still being safe at the same time.”

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The Lakers entered Wednesday up 3-1 in the first round series over the Rockets. 

“Obviously, our confidence doesn’t waver as a team,” Reaves said. “Basically the message from that day forward was, ‘we’re going to do everything as a team, that they were going to do everything as a team to give us an opportunity to come back and play.’ And they’ve done exactly what they said.”

Reaves averaged a career-high 23.3 points to go with 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in a career-low 51 regular season games after also missing significant time in December and January because of a calf strain. 

He has a $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 that he’s expected to decline, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason with the expectation of a significant pay raise.

“We just want Austin to be Austin,” Redick said pregame of Reaves. “That’s the biggest thing. As the series has gone on, their pressure and physicality have just increased every game, and ball handling has been important for us all series, so he would certainly help there.”

Are the Kentucky Wildcats in danger of losing Malachi Moreno to the NBA Draft?

When Moreno first announced he was testing the NBA waters, many assumed that he’d ultimately withdraw and return to school. While that’s still the likeliest outcome, his NBA stock appears to be higher than anticipated.

The latest 2026 NBA Mock Draft from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo has Moreno going 43rd overall to the Brooklyn Nets, right in the middle of Round 2. While it’s still pretty far from a first-round selection and guaranteed money, it does give Moreno something to think about if he feels confident that he’d be one of the 60 selections in this year’s draft.

Elsewhere, Jayden Quaintance went 15th overall to the Chicago Bulls, while no other Wildcats from this past season were selected, though Ugonna Onyenso, who finished his career at Virginia, went 50th overall to the Toronto Raptors.

I’d still wager on Moreno returning for his sophomore season, especially with the 2027 draft class looking significantly weaker than this one. A sophomore leap could very well put him in the first-round range of next year’s draft.

In other words, it’s far too early to panic about potentially losing Moreno to the NBA, but it will be interesting to watch the pre-draft process unfold for him, especially if he gets invited to the NBA Combine in Chicago on May 10-17.

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The Toronto Raptors held their own in their crucial first-round game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road, even taking a lead into the half.

But not only did the Raptors lose Game 5, 125-120, they may have lost one of their key players due to injury.

Star forward Brandon Ingram, who led Toronto in scoring during the regular season, was ruled out for the second half with right heel inflammation, an issue that he has been managing since after the All-Star break.

“Brandon, as you guys know, has been dealing with his heel,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković told reporters after the game. “He reaggravated the heel on one play. We tried to re-tape him. At halftime, he tried to activate it to see if he could be ready for the second half, but he was not able to come and play the second half.

“So tomorrow we will know more when we do more evaluation.”

Ingram played 11:22 in the first half, but was subbed out with 7:32 left to play in the second quarter and immediately went back to the locker room; he did not return to the floor for the rest of the period.

During his time on the court, Ingram was limited to just 1 point on 0-of-2 shooting, with 2 assists, 1 rebound and 1 block.

Ingram has struggled a bit during the postseason and entered the night averaging just 14.8 points per game, which was well below his season average of 21.5.

“It’s something that’s on and off,” Rajaković continued. “He was doing well, and he just reaggravated it on that play.”

The Raptors, at least initially, appeared to be well-equipped to handle Ingram’s absence; at the half, Toronto had five different players reach double-figures in scoring, with guard Ja’Kobe Walter leading the way with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brandon Ingram injury update, status for Raptors-Cavaliers Game 5

April 29, 2026

Location: CryptoDotComStaplesForum, Los Angeles California

TV: ESPN

Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español)

Online: ESPN

Time: 9:00 PM CST

Probable Starting Lineups

Rockets: Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun

Lakers: Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Lebron James, Deandre Ayton

As expected, Austin Reaves returns to play tonight in Los Angeles, and Kevin Durant is out for the Rockets.

It’s been nearly two weeks since Steve Kerr huddled with Steph Curry and Draymond Green in the waning moments of the Golden State Warriors season-ending loss to the Phoenix Suns. Kerr seemed intent to keep the sentiments that he uttered to his Hall of Fame-bound players a secret, though Curry, Green, and the league’s microphones had other plans.

In the aftermath of that loss, Kerr said that he would take “a week or two” to decide his future, and choose between a hiatus from the sidelines, or a 13th season at the helm of one of the sport’s model franchises.

No one could fully read the tea leaves, but in the first week it sure started to feel like Kerr was going to spend 2026 Opening Night on a coach in his Southern California home, legs kicked up, and a cold one in his hand. A few days after the loss, Green said “it felt like that was it,” when speaking about the moment he shared with Curry and Kerr. Warriors insider Monte Poole said he felt the odds were slim that Kerr would return.

And then, of course, there’s the historical precedent. Usually when someone takes a step back and a few weeks to evaluate their future, it results in a change of direction. The “take a week or two” for a coach is like couples therapy in a relationship: it’s doing due diligence for something that, more often than not, already has a predetermined fate.

But that might not be the case in Kerr’s situation, and it feels like the tide is starting to turn, and the momentum has shifted towards a Kerr return. An article published on Wednesday by ESPN’s Shams Charania, Ramona Shelburne, and Anthony Slater reports that Kerr met with Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr. for a few hours on Monday, and that the trio will meet again next week. That points to something fairly obvious: if Kerr wanted to leave, he would have done so already.

The ESPN report, and others in recent days, paints the picture of a team that is fairly unified in their desire to re-sign Kerr, and a coach who just isn’t sure what he wants to do (ESPN described it as “Kerr will take a previously planned golf trip to close out this week as those around him continue to describe Kerr as torn about his own side of the choice”).

Some of his conflict, admittedly, might stem from those conversations with Lacob and Dunleavy. Reports have suggested that the Warriors not only want Kerr to sign on for multiple years to give the team long-term stability amid roster retooling, but also would like him to modernize his offensive scheme, work more closely with the analytics department, and revamp his coaching staff. Kerr is too much of a company man to force his own employment against anyone’s wishes, so deciding whether or not he wants to coach under those parameters might be the biggest thing for him right now.

For now, we wait. The longer this goes on, the greater the odds of Kerr returning for a few more years, and presumably lining up his retirement with Curry and Green’s. The fact that his decision hasn’t been made, and the fact that he’s meeting with the team a second time, suggests that he does, indeed, still love and enjoy coaching. Ultimately, that seems the factor that’s most likely to win out in the end.

NEW YORK (AP) — New Orleans’ DeAndre Jordan won the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award Wednesday, edging Portland’s Jrue Holiday and Houston’s Jeff Green.

Jordan finished with 1,445 points in voting by 385 current NBA players. Holiday — a three-time winner — finished with 1,437 points and Green had 1,420.

A panel of league executives selected 12 finalists, six from each conference, to be considered for the honor. Jordan adds the award to a list of accolades that includes three All-NBA selections, two All-Defensive Team picks, one All-Star nod, an Olympic gold medal from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and a championship with Denver in 2023.

The award pays tribute to the player deemed the league’s best teammate “based on selfless play, leadership on and off the court as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment to the team.”

It has been presented since 2013 and is named for Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes, teammates on the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals from 1955-58. Stokes suffered a brain injury in the final game of the 1957-58 regular season, fell into a coma days later and was paralyzed. Twyman became Stokes’ legal guardian and advocate, and supported him for the rest of his life.

Other players nominated for the award this season were Toronto's Garrett Temple, Charlotte's Pat Connaughton, New York's Jalen Brunson, Boston's Jayson Tatum, San Antonio's DeAaron Fox, Detroit's Duncan Robinson, Oklahoma City's Jaylin Williams, Orlando's Desmond Bane and the Los Angeles Lakers' Marcus Smart.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba