COLORADO SPRINGS – USA Basketball named  the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team, which will compete at the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup, scheduled for Aug. 25-Sept. 10 in Manila.
The 2023 USA Men’s National Team includes Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Josh Hart (Knicks), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Cam Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks) and Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers). “On behalf of USA Basketball, I’m thrilled to introduce the 2023 USA Men’s National Team, which features some of basketball’s brightest talent,” said Grant Hill, USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director. “I am confident that working together, and under the leadership of our outstanding coaching staff, this team will proudly represent the United States this summer in Manila.” |
| Grant Hill |
| Highlighted by several NBA award winners and honorees, the 2023 USA Men’s National Team features nine athletes who have previous USA Basketball experience with Hart, Johnson and Reaves expected to make their USA debuts this summer. |
| Reigning NBA All-Star Haliburton made the all-tournament team after winning gold at the 2019 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup. More recently, he suited up for the 2021 USA Select Team which trained alongside the 2021 USA Men’s National Team prior to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Edwards, a 2023 NBA All-Star, attended 2017 junior minicamps before also playing on the 2021 USA Select Team. |
| Ingram, who in 2020 was an NBA All-Star and Most Improved Player, was a finalist for the 2020 USA Men’s National Team after being a member of the 2016 USA Men’s Select Team and training with the 2016 Olympic squad prior to the Games in Rio de Janeiro. |
| Recognized as the 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Jackson Jr. won a gold medal at the 2016 FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup. He and Bridges, who was on the 2022 NBA All-Defensive Team, played together on the 2019 USA Select Team, practicing alongside the 2019 USA Men’s National Team before the last World Cup. |
| Also a member of the 2019 USA Select Team, Brunson is a two-time gold medalist and the 2015 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. He was the MVP of the 2015 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup and won gold at the 2014 FIBA U18 Men’s Americas Championship. |
| Five team members have Nike Hoop Summit experience including 2021 NBA champion Portis (2013), Brunson (2015), Ingram (2015) and Jackson Jr. (2017). Kessler, who earned NBA All-Rookie honors last season, was picked for the 2020 USA Nike Hoop Summit Team (canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic) and has participated in USA minicamps and training camps. |
| Banchero, the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year, previously attended USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamps in 2019. |
| Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) will serve as head coach of the 2023 U.S. Men’s National Team. He will be assisted by Mark Few (Gonzaga University), Tyronn Lue (L.A. Clippers) and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat). |
Archives for July 6, 2023
Celtics Sign Walsh and Brissett
BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Celtics signed forwards Jordan Walsh and Oshae Brissett to contracts. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Walsh, 6-7/205, is expected to make his Celtics debut at the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas. At Arkansas, Walsh tied the program record for most games played by a freshman with 36 appearances in his lone collegiate season. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 24.4 minutes per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field.
The Dallas native helped the Razorbacks advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Walsh was ranked the No. 11 prospect by ESPN in the Class of 2022 after being named to the 2022 McDonald’s High School All-American Game and a Jordan Brand Classic participant. Walsh was selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.
Brissett, 6-7/210, has appeared in 172 career NBA games (43 starts) in four seasons with the Toronto Raptors (2019-20) and Indiana Pacers (2021-23). He owns career averages of 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game. Last season, he played in 65 games (two starts) with the Pacers and averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 18 points against Orlando on Nov. 21, including a season-high-tying four three pointers.
The Toronto, Ontario native has also made 42 appearances and 31 starts over two seasons in the NBA G League and earned All G League Second Team honors in 2020-21 with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants when he averaged 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Brissett originally signed with Toronto as a free agent on July 23, 2019, and appeared in 19 games during his rookie campaign with the Raptors.
Red Sox Sign Alfaro
BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Red Sox signed catcher Jorge Alfaro to a one-year contract for the 2023 season and added him to the active Major League roster. He will wear number 38.
To make room for Alfaro on the 40-man roster, the club designated catcher Caleb Hamilton for assignment. Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement.
Alfaro, 30, played in 10 games for the Colorado Rockies this season, going 5-for-31 with four doubles and one home run. The right-handed hitter was previously signed by Boston as a minor league free agent on January 18 and appeared in nine Grapefruit League games for the Red Sox, batting .478 (11-for-23) with three doubles and two home runs. He began the season with Triple-A Worcester, hitting .320 (56-for-175) with 30 RBI in 43 games. A Colombia native, Alfaro has batted .254 (400-for-1,573) with 71 doubles, four triples, and 48 home runs in 488 career Major League games with the Philadelphia Phillies (2016-18), Miami Marlins (2019-21), San Diego Padres (2022), and Rockies (2023).
Hamilton, 28, has played in four games for Boston this season, including two starts as the catcher. The right-handed hitter has also played in 30 games with Worcester, batting .180 (18-for-100) with four doubles and three home runs. Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 23rd round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft, Hamilton has gone 1-for-23 with one home run in 26 career Major League games with Minnesota (2022) and Boston (2023).
SlamBall: Tickets On Sale for Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The organizers of SlamBall are selling tickets for 2023 SlamBall League Series 6, which includes 30 sessions over four consecutive weekends beginning on Friday, July 21 (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, ESPN). Tickets are now available at https://www.unlvtickets.com/eventInfo/spe/840/slamball with all games held at Cox Pavilion on the campus of University Nevada Las Vegas. Information on playoff tickets will be announced at a later date.
Tickets are priced at $30 for daily general admission, $50 for reserved and $125 for a limited number of VIP tickets, including post-game, on-court experiences with players and coaches.
Each competition day will feature two sessions of three games per session, with four teams battling in each session and all eight teams competing each night. The winners of the first two games of each session will then meet in the Main Event to determine the winner of the session.
SlamBall previously noted that ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+ will combine to televise more than 60 hours of regular season action and all playoff games, including the SlamBall Finals as part of an exclusive, two-year national broadcast partnership for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
“Las Vegas has emerged as a sports mecca, and we take great pride in being a distinctive addition to the city’s thriving sports scene,” said Mason Gordon, SlamBall creator and co-founder. “SlamBall is a sport that truly comes alive when experienced in person. There is simply nothing else comparable. The games are a thrilling display of non-stop, high-speed action from end to end, showcasing the extraordinary athleticism of our players. Being just a few feet away allows you to fully appreciate their remarkable skills. And we designed the schedule to make sure SlamBall fans can witness every team and player every night.”
Opening night will feature a battle between legacy teams MOB, led by Gage Smith (Elizabeth, CO) against the Rumble and its top star Bakari Copeland (Decatur, GA) and legendary Coach Ken Carter. Other games on Opening Night include the Slashers with captain Tony Crosby II (Inglewood, CA.) vs. Lava with Bryce Moragne (Tampa, FL) and Nathaniel Harris (Hammond,IN); Wrath with Christian Gray (Riverside, CA) vs. Gryphons and Justin Holmes (Roseville, CA); and Ozone with Bryan Bell-Anderson (Sarasota, FL) vs. Buzzsaw and Michael Kolawole (Rowlett, TX).
In the ensuing weeks, matchups will be announced several days prior to each week’s sessions, which following opening weekend will be held each Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through August 13. Each regular season competition date will feature two sessions, with all eight squads taking the court each night.
The full schedule, subject to change, with session start times and TV coverage is as follows:
📺 Regular Season (two sessions per date, all times PT):
• Fri, July 21, 4 p.m., ESPN
• Fri, July 21, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, July 22, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, July 22, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, July 23, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, July 23, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Thu, July 27, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Thu, July 27, 8 p.m., ESPN
• Fri, July 28, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Fri, July 28, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, July 29, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, July 29, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, July 30, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, July 30, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Thu, August 3, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Thu, August 3, 8 p.m., ESPN2
• Fri, August 4, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Fri, August 4, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, August 5, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, August 5, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, August 6, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, August 6, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Thu, August 10, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Thu, August 10, 10 a.m., ESPN2
• Fri, August 11, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Fri, August 11, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, August 12, 5 p.m., ESPN+
• Sat, August 12, 7:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, August 13, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
• Sun, August 13, 5 p.m., ESPN+
🏆 Playoffs
• Tue, August 15, SlamBall Playoffs, TBD, ESPN+
• Thu, August 17, SlamBall Championship Game, 8 p.m., ESPN2
For more information about SlamBall visit http://www.slamballleague.com.
Celtics: Grant Williams Signed/Traded
BOSTON -(Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Dallas Mavericks agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal with restricted free agent Grant Williams as part of a three-team sign-and-trade agreement that includes the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs will receive forward Reggie Bullock and an unprotected first-round pick swap in 2030 from the Mavericks. The Celtics and Mavericks will each receive two second-round draft choices.
Williams, 24, spent four seasons with the Celtics since being a first-round pick in 2019 out of Tennessee. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 79 games (23 starts) last season.
Williams has career averages of 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 288 games (58 starts). He underwent surgery on his left hand last month and is expected to be fine before the start of training camp.
Williams is the second key player Boston has traded this offseason. The team previously dealt guard Marcus Smart, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for 2021-22, to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Teams officially can’t sign free agents or formally announce trades until Thursday.
Bullock, 32, spent the past two seasons of his 10-year NBA with the Mavericks. He averaged 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 78 games (55 starts) last season.
Bullock made 151 3-pointers last season, second most in his career behind the 163 he made for the New York Knicks in the 2020-21 campaign. He has made 852 career treys in 512 games (294 starts) with six teams.
–Field Level Media
Bello Gets the Job Done for Sox
BOSTON – (Staff and wire Service Report) – Red Sox starter Brayan Bello tossed seven innings to help the Boston Red Sox end a four-game home losing streak by beating the Texas Rangers 4-2 on Wednesday night.
Bello (6-5) limited the Rangers to two runs on eight hits. He struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.
Bello has pitched at least six innings in eight of his 14 starts this season and has pitched into the seventh in each of his last five outings.
Reliever Chris Martin kept Texas off the scoreboard in the eighth inning and All-Star Kenley Jansen recorded his 18th save by pitching a scoreless ninth.
The Red Sox were held to five runs in their previous four home games — three losses to Miami and one to Texas.
Justin Turner had two hits and two RBIs for Boston, which dropped a 6-2 decision to Texas on Tuesday. Connor Wong and Masataka Yoshida also had two hits for the Red Sox.
Adolis Garcia hit a two-run home run for the Rangers, his 22nd home run of the season.
Texas received three hits from Corey Seager, who has reached base in 24 straight games.
Texas starting pitcher Jon Gray (6-5) allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two.
PGA Tour: John Deere Classic Preview
SILVIS – The John Deere Classic is the 38th of 44 FedEx Cup Regular Season events, with just seven events played over the next five weeks before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
New in 2023, the Top 70 players (not 125) at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship will qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
There are nine players in the field within the Top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, the most at the event since 2012 (9), led by reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and 2022 Presidents Cup participant Cameron Young (No. 19), who is making his tournament debut, and No. 29 Russell Henley, who finished runner-up at the 2019 John Deere Classic.
J.T. Poston won the 2022 John Deere Classic in wire-to-wire fashion, earning his second career PGA Tour title and first since the 2019 Wyndham Championship. Poston went on to qualify for the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career and finished the season No. 15 in the FedExCup standings. With a win, Poston would become the fourth player to successfully defend a title this season, joining Max Homa (Fortinet Championship), Rory McIlroy (THE CJ CUP) and Scottie Scheffler (WM Phoenix Open). Five players successfully defended a title during the 2021-22 season, the most since 2007 (5).
Zach Johnson has made 14 consecutive cuts at the John Deere Classic, with his most recent MC coming in 2007. The only other player that has made the cut at the same PGA TOUR event every year since the start of the 2008 season is Matt Kuchar, who has made the cut in each of the last 17 years at the RBC Heritage (DNP/2006). Johnson is making his 21st start at the event, three shy of Jay Delsing for most in tournament history, and with a made cut, would tie D.A. Weibring‘s tournament record for most total made cuts (18). Johnson has recorded seven top-10s at the event, highlighted by a win in 2012 and runner-up finishes in 2009, 2013 and 2014.
One of the tournament favorites, Denny McCarthy, finished T-6 at the 2022 John Deere Classic, his first Top-10 in four starts at the event. Currently at No. 34 in the Official World Golf Ranking, McCarthy is the third-highest-ranked player in the field. He enters the week with three Top-10s in his last six starts, highlighted by a runner-up at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, where he lost in a playoff to Viktor Hovland.
PGA TOUR rookie Ludvig Aberg is making his ninth career start on Tour and his fourth since joining the TOUR as a member via PGA TOUR University. Aberg entered the third round of last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in a tie for third before going on to finish T-40. He enters the week No. 188 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the Top 70 will qualify.
Luke List, Charlie Hoffman, Webb Simpson, Brandon Wu and C.T. Pan are among the players no longer competing at the John Deere (WDs).
On Wednesday, Brian Gay (WD/back injury) – with Tommy Gainey in; Justin Lower (WD) – Arjun Atwal (IN)
Report: NBA’s “In-Season” Cup at Vegas
LAS VEGAS – The NBA’s first in-season tournament will conclude with the semifinals and final in Las Vegas, ESPN reported. The semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 7 and the final for Dec. 9, and stats from the event, with the exception of the title game, will be included as part of the regular season, per ESPN.
The league will unveil details of the event at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, part of the NBA Con Fanfest being held at the site of the league’s most visible summer league.
ESPN will conduct a live show for the announcement, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver scheduled to be joined on the broadcast by others including the league’s past four No. 1 overall draft picks: the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero, the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards.
Some details of the tournament format were previously reported when the National Basketball Players Association agreed to the event as part of a labor deal.
Teams will be separated into six groups, three per conference, not necessarily by division. During group play, each club will have two home games and two road games. The six group winners and two wild cards will advance to the quarterfinals.
Players who are part of the championship team reportedly will get $500,000 apiece.
–Field Level Media