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Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) & Notes

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The most telling “official” sponsorship package in all of sports might be the “official window” company for every sports franchise. The official window might determine the “window of opportunity” and just when the windows open and close for your local professional club.

Maybe you can blame it on the quick-changing New England weather, but here in Boston, the windows seem to be closing all too often these days. When quarterback and team leader Tom Brady departed from the New England Patriots and tight end Rob Gronkowski soon followed him to Tampa Bay, the window of opportunity closed on the Patriots, like a guillotine at Marie Antoinette’s execution.

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This spring, the double-hung windows at TD Garden were shuttered quite abruptly, as both the Boston Celtics of the NBA and the Boston Bruins of the NHL took early exits from their respective league playoffs.

After winning their 17th NBA Championship in 2007-08, the Celtics have remained (mostly) competitive with the exception of missing the NBA Playoffs in 2013-14. Boston made NBA Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2016-17, 2017-18, 2019-20 (in the NBA Bubble).

This season, they advanced through a first-ever NBA Play-In game but lost to the Brooklyn Nets, 4-games-to-1, in the first round of the playoffs. Soon after, the Celtics accepted the retirement papers from their head of basketball, Danny Ainge, and decided to move their talented head coach, Brad Stevens, up the ladder to head-up basketball ops as GM.

While the Celtics’ core is young, strong and capable, team chemistry, size and frequent injuries remain as obstacles in front of the Celtics in order to advance in future NBA Playoffs. The window of opportunity for the current team seems to be closing before they could make it to the NBA Finals.

On the ice rink along Causeway Street, the Boston Bruins are realizing a similar fate.

Last season, the Bruins finished the “normal” season leading the NHL and in prime position for the approaching 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Then, the Coronavirus hit, and the Bruins lost momentum, and re-started by going 0-3 in the NHL bubble ‘seeding round.” The Bruins regained some confidence with a strong showing in the 2020 first round with a 4-1 series win over the Carolina Hurricanes but fell flat and dropped their second-round series to eventual champion Tampa Bay, 4-1.

This season, the Bruins finished third in a re-configured “East,” then won a competitive first-round series against the tough Washington Capitals before being eliminated, 4-games-to-2, against the upstart New York Islanders.

Suffice to say, the core of the Boston Bruins team is aging from the Stanley Cup Championship of 2011 and Stanley Cup Finals appearance and losses to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and St. Louis Blues in the spring of 2019.

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“Every year, as you don’t achieve your goal and the further you go in your career, you get to realize it’s a year closer to retirement,” said veteran center and team captain Patrice Bergeron after the Bruins were eliminated. “So, obviously, it’s tough. From one year to the next, it’s always a missed opportunity and you want to keep going at it. It’s hard. As you get older, you know that you don’t have that many chances to achieve your goal and have a team that can actually compete for a Stanley Cup, so it’s always disappointing. About changes, I’m not sure. It’s not up to me. You always want to keep the same group and I feel like we have a great group here. We’ll see what happens.”

Unfortunately, in the world of sports, we all know what happens.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: For the Boston Bruins, the status of starting goalkeeper Tuukka Rask will be a key factor. Rask will soon have surgery for a torn labrum in his hip. The surgery will be scheduled within a month and recovery time could take five or six months from there. While some have speculated that Rask might test the free agent market upon return, much like former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara (now with the Washington Caps), Rask confirmed this week that it’s the Bruins or retirement. … “I’m not going to play for anyone else than the Bruins,” said Rask. “This is our home. We have three kids. The kids enjoy it here. They have friends in school. We have friends. At this point of my life and my career, I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else, especially with the health I’m looking at now and a recovery time of five or six months. Hopefully it works out that I recover well and we can talk about contracts when the time is right for that,” he concluded.

TRACK & FIELD AND TRACK SOME MORE? – According to The Japan Times, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee plans to use GPS as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The GPS tracking devices are not intended to monitor the real-time whereabouts of people from overseas, but to trace and confirm their movements retroactively in the event infections are confirmed, Toshiro Muto, the Olympic Organizing Committee CEO said. … He told reporters that everyone entering Japan from abroad, including athletes, officials and members of the media, will be required to submit plans for their first 14 days in the country and turn on the GPS function on their smartphones. … “We’re not going to be tracking every single movement,” he told a news conference. “I want to trust they will follow the rules first.” … The system for possible COVID-19 contact tracing came at a high cost. Japan’s digital transformation minister Takuya Hirai said the development cost for the app was $35 million, according to the Tokyo-based newspaper Nikkei.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) with Sunday Notes on Fragile Sports World

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – We’re often reminded just how fragile the world of sports can be, whether it be via a career-ending injury to a player, a scandal to ruin a player, a franchise or an entire sport or this terrible, horrible global pandemic which took down the entire sports industry. Of course that included the 2020 Summer Olympic Games and still threatens the scope and integrity of the Tokyo Games, still scheduled for July 23-August 8 this summer.

To say the industry is skeptical about these upcoming Olympic Games is to say Michael Phelps can swim a little bit, as in very obvious. Some athletes (and teams) are beginning to arrive in Japan and utilize the Olympic Village while adjusting to the time zone change(s). You must wonder, though, with COVID-19 vaccinations relatedly low in many – make it most – countries around the world and outbreaks of severe COVID-19 variations requiring lockdowns in the likes of India, large portions of Latin America, Argentina and Malaysia, what will the melting pot that is the Olympic Games bring to Tokyo? And, what will the athletes bring back to their native countries?

Even the biggest fans of the Olympic Games must wonder if the top athletes might opt-out when the time comes to travel to Japan. That quandary is amplified by the most recent update from the Tokyo Games organizers with some 10,000 of an estimated 80,000 workers and volunteers called it quits just as the games are beginning from a logistical and “behind the scenes” sense.

Organizers claim that they expect 80% of the athletes to be fully vaccinated for the games but that is quite opposite of the estimated 2-to-3% of the Japanese public currently vaccinated. The fragile nature of the Games and the Coronavirus will be under the microscope every day of the Olympics, at every venue, airport, bus terminal and the Olympic Village itself.

To that end, one might wonder just who will take the Saitama Super Arena court when – on July 26th – Argentina plays the winner of the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held June 29-July 4 in the hometown of the great Arvydas Sabonis, Kaunas (Lithuania).

TALK ABOUT the FRAGILE NATURE of SPORTS: Thoroughbred Horse Racing, Boxing and Track and Field once ruled the roost of the sports world, back in the days of Man o’War (1917), Joe Louis and the Millrose Games. In fact, a fight between Louis and Germany’s Max Schmeling had the largest audience of any radio broadcast in history.

Fast-forward … and I mean … really fast! In 1973, the great Secretariatcaptured the imaginations of sports fans and horse racing fans alike with a Triple Crown win capped-off by the most amazing run in the history of New York’s Belmont Park.

Throughout the years, work stoppages, drug scandals, steroid usage, and doping accusations – usually proven out by positive drug tests – have resulted in damage to the credibility of various sports, notably to bicycling (Lance Armstrong and others), baseball, weight-lifting and other Olympic sports.

Gambling scandals and match-fixing have plagued many of the sports, including baseball (Black Sox/Pete Rose), pro tennis (as recently as this past week when the 765th-ranked Yana Sizikova of Russia and the WTA, was arrested in Paris for alleged match-fixing in September of 2020) and basketball – both college (multiple occasions) and pro (most recently with the conviction of disgraced referee Tim Donaghy in 2007).

Lately, there’s been so many cheating scandals in sports that the media have run out of “Gates” to tag them. Spy-gate to Deflate-gate to Orchids of Asia Spa Gate have all captured headlines – and that’s just in New England. Following suit, MLB suspended several members of the Houston Astros and their managerial/coaching staffs for sign-stealing and illegal actions. That included a one-year ban and the firing of Red Sox Manager Alex Cora – who was re-hired by the club when the suspension was served in full.

As the 153rd running of The Belmont took place this weekend, a horse doping scandal – once again – crushed the racing industry. Trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for two years by Churchill Downs as his 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was twice-tested positive for betamethasone, a steroid used for therapeutic purposes in horses and often used in Kentucky to reduce swelling in a horse’s joints while treating pain and inflammation. Interest in The Preakness and Belmont dropped considerably because of the doping issue. Sadly, Baffert has had five horses test for illegal drugs this year.

Back to human conduct, as opposed to equine, the subject of player conduct – on and off the field of play – has caused major setbacks for sports leagues over the years, most notably the NFL with several murder and domestic violence cases (Rae Carruth, Aaron Hernandez, Ray Rice, and the case/trial of the century with O.J. Simpson).

In each instance, the governing bodies, leagues, players associations and sponsors quickly sort out the mess, many times with the sponsors cancelling multi-million dollar endorsement deals for the player(s) involved. From time-to-time, the sport takes a negative hit in television ratings and/or fan attendance but they’re usually forgotten in time by a very forgiving fan base – especially after work stoppages.

The North American sports leagues do their best to create solid, long-term and meaningful community relations programs to address many of the transgressions of their players or, maybe even, team owners.

Although the popularity of boxing, track and field and horse racing have waned, somehow the four major sports endure their many self-inflicted setbacks, all the while raising ticket prices, streaming/pay-per-view subscriptions and passing along the trickle-down effect of ever-rising digital television packages.

What’s a sports fan to do?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Just who is this “Perfection Line” you speak of with the Boston Bruins top offensive unit of center Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak? Certainly to be admired by all hockey fans, friends and foe of the Bruins, the only possible “Perfection Line” in NHL history would need to have the names of Wayne Gretzky at center, Bobby Orr (converted from defenseman to left winger), and Gordie Howe on the right wing.

SPORTS PERFECTION: Aside from countless bowlers – pro and amateur – tossing games of 300, the only two instances of perfection in sporting – IMO – are the previously mentioned run 48 years ago by Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont and the perfect game thrown 65 years ago this Fall by New York Yankees pitcher Don Larson in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Larsen’s accomplishment came at his home field of Yankee Stadium, against the crosstown rival Brooklyn Dodgers.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Are mostly tributes in waiting.

PEDROIA SALUTE: The Boston Red Sox announced plans to honor recently retired second baseman Dustin Pedroia during pregame ceremonies at Fenway Park on Friday, June 25, before the 7:10 p.m. Sox-Yankees game. Pedroia, who played in 1,512 games with the club from 2006-19, announced his retirement from the Red Sox and the game of baseball on February 1, 2021.

KOOS: An announcement dear to the heart of While We’re Young (Ideas), the New York Mets announced this past Thursday that pitcher Jerry Koosman‘s No. 36 will be officially retired on August 28. The team had planned to have his number retired during the 2020 season, but due to COVID-19 they postponed the event. … Koosman will join Tom Seaver (No. 41) and Mike Piazza (No. 31) as the only Mets players to have their number retired. The Mets have also retired manager Casey Stengel‘s No.37, manager Gil Hodges‘ No. 14, and Jackie Robinson‘s No. 42 — as MLB did in unison in 1997. … Dating back to the Summer of 2019, WWYI called for the retirement of Koosman’s number by the Mets.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – As Boomers, We’re All Going Backwards

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

BOSTON – The Greatest Generation passed a baton to the post World War II baby-boomer generation, largely defined as “boomers” born from 1946-through-1964. Oh what a mess we’ve made.

Aside from the fact a certain past President of the United States of America was born on June 14, 1946, judgement on the overall state of the generation paved in mud by the front end of the “boomers” will be reserved for another time this Memorial Day weekend. Instead, the focus of today’s notes will be on the transgressions in sports we’ve witnessed just this past week and how it reflects so negatively on the low bar we’ve all allowed ourselves to live by.

ICYMI: Five spectators were given lifetime bans from NBA arenas for their behavior at NBA Playoff games on Wednesday, May 26. The incidents:

  1. After twisting his ankle and being helped to the locker room in the third quarter of the Washington Wizards’ 120-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Philly’s Wells Fargo Center, Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was pelted with popcorn as he exited the court. Westbrook had to be restrained by team and security personnel and the fan was ejected from the game and given an indefinite ban from attending future games.
  2. The Utah Jazz banned three fans on Thursday and team owner Ryan Smith issued an apology on Twitter to the Memphis Grizzlies and to Grizzlies’ All-Star guard Ja Morant and his family after racist and sexist comments resulted in an altercation. Morant spotted the incident from the court and asked Memphis team security to check on his family and friends in the stands at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
  3. While Atlanta guard Trae Young was inbounding the ball in the fourth quarter of New York’s 101-92 win in Game 2 of their first round playoff game at Madison Square Garden, a Knicks fan spat at Young from his second row seat. MSG security investigated the incident and issued a statement noting the fan was identified, was not a season-ticket holder but was “banned indefinitely” from attending events at The Garden.
  4. Here, in Boston, players – namely Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets – brought forth Boston’s history of racial injustices.

The aftermath came complete with the players rightfully stating fan behavior is out of control.

The NBA Players Association issued a statement that read: “True fans of this game honor and respect the dignity of our players,” the players’ union said. “No true fan would seek to harm them or violate their personal space. Those who do have no place in our arenas. And their conduct is appropriately evaluated by law enforcement just as if it occurred on a public street.”

After the Wizards vs Sixers game, Westbrook stated much the same.

“To be completely honest man, this (expletive) is getting out of hand, especially for me,” said Westbrook after the loss. “The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the (expletive) they want to do, it’s just out of pocket.

“I’m all for the fans enjoying the game and having fun. It’s part of sports, I get it, but there are certain things that cross the line and in any other setting, I know for a fact that a guy wouldn’t come up to me on the street and pour popcorn on my head, because you know what would happen. … In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”

In all three incidents, the venues took action after reviewing video and digital surveillance recordings.

Valerie Camillo, the head of business operations for the Wells Fargo Center, issued a statement Wednesday night and said the incident “has no place in our arena. This was classless, unacceptable behavior, and we’re not going to tolerate it at Wells Fargo Center,” she stated. “We’re proud to have the most passionate fans in the country and the best home-court and home-ice advantage around, but this type of behavior has no place in our arena.”

The NBA league office, via the Commissioner, issued a zero-tolerance statement of NBA policies and team and league personnel all made reference to the NBA’s “Fan Code of Conduct” rules put in place after an ugly incident at The Palace of Auburn Hills between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in 2004.

“No one is going to get away with an act like that,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to NBC Sports Washington (DC). “You’re going to be caught. You’re going to be banned from an arena. In some cases there may be criminal prosecution depending if the conduct rises to that level of an assault or something that the police are going to take note of.”

The three separate examples of abhorrent spectator conduct all came at a time the country is reeling from an on-going global pandemic, piecing the economy and infrastructure back together after four years (2017-2021) of mass turmoil in the executive branch and in Congress, racial injustice and the need for much better police and immigration reform, all coming while the USA witnessed an all-out insurrection at the United States Capitol Building this past January 6. And, that’s the short list.

With those troubles in mind, don’t we all look to sports and sportsmanship in our games to be the light, the inspiration and the one place to cheer-on victory and move-on from defeat? A daily schedule of playoff games in ice hockey or pro basketball is combined with the relaxing, leisurely pace of Major League Baseball to create some peace of mind for sports fans around the world.

Leading into this Memorial Day, the HBO series “Band of Brothers” was on the menu of offerings to watch, as rainy day forecasts ran up and down the East Coast. The reminder of D-Day in Normandy, must be underlined by comments from Veterans of the Korean War, Viet Nam conflict, the Gulf Wars and all the troops (USA and Allies) still posted in the Middle East and Afghanistan – never mind those on watch on the North Korean border or at dangerous State Department or military posts the world around. They were the greatest, and we seem to be striving for the worst.

We wave flags and listen quietly as the National Anthem is played at arenas and stadiums. We respectfully remember our fallen soldiers and the true meaning of Memorial Day, while the grills is fired up along with it revelers filling their gut with Buds and Bud Lights at a backyard BBQs held this year, an event previously taken for granted until the pandemic shutdown everything a year ago.

But, as the light at the end of the tunnel of the pandemic glimmers with hope, we STILL don’t show respect to our fellow Americans.

As we celebrate and memorialize our fallen troops, we cannot ignore the fact that terrible fan behavior at our arenas of sport has hit unacceptable lows. Meanwhile, the behavior of our elected officials creating laws to suppress voting is even worse. The troops have fought to allow Americans to enjoy freedom and to reserve our abilities to vote without any unfair interference, assuring every citizen the rights Thomas Jefferson penned in 1776. He wrote, of course, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We’re going backwards.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While the main focus this week in the NBA was on fan behavior, and not basketball, Boston’s (injured and out-for-the-playoffs) Jalen Brown declared he had a “perspective to share.”

“I saw things floating around with Boston and the topic of racism,” he said this week, choosing to address off-court rather than on-court issues. “People around me urged that I should share my perspective. I have not talked to anyone — Kyrie, Marcus [Smart] or [Celtics GM] Danny Ainge — about my thoughts or my perspective, but I do think it’s a good conversation. I think that racism should be addressed, and systemic racism should be addressed in the city of Boston, and also the United States.

“However, I do not like the manner it was brought up, centering around a playoff game. The construct of racism, right? It’s used as a crutch, or an opportunity to execute a personal gain. I’m not saying that’s the case. But I do think racism is bigger than basketball, and I do think racism is bigger than Game 3 of the playoffs. I want to urge the media to paint that narrative as well. Because when it’s painted in that manner, it’s insensitive to people who have to deal with it on a daily basis.

“The constructs and constraints of systemic racism in our school system, inequality in education, lack of opportunity, lack of housing, lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable health care, tokenism, the list goes on. So I recognize and acknowledge my privilege as an athlete. Once you get to the point where that financial experience overtakes the experiences people deal with on a daily basis, I want to emphasize that as well.”

NAOMI OSAKA: Tennis star Naomi Osaka earned a cool $55 million this year, with approximately $5 million coming from on-court prize money and the rest from endorsements, ranging from Nike, to Beats, to Louis Vuitton to Levi’s to Tag Heuer (wrist watches) to salad/food retailer Sweetgreen among the two dozen brands she’s partnered with for marketing endorsements. … The Tokyo Olympics offered her additional marketing opportunities with Sportico reporting her newfound deals with ANA (Airline), Nissin and Google, all official Olympic sponsors/partners. … Yet, with tennis, PR and marketing all on the line, Osaka this week announced via a social media post that she would be skipping media sessions at the French Open (Roland Garros). … “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes’ mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” she wrote on Instagram. “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.” … At major tennis competitions, fines can range up to $20,000 for missing media obligations. … While players’ mental health is of utmost importance of course, sometimes the players might look at the other side of the coin and accept the fact that the reporters who cover tennis might have assignments that involve interviewing the players, and the pressure and mental health of a reporter is equally important. … Access and a healthy give-and-take, review-and-preview, praise-and-critique is among the most important aspects of the tennis tour. … Unlike team sports, tennis and golf put the media focus on one single athletes, and the pressure to endure that spotlight is intense. That said, the players surely know what they are signing-up for the tennis tour and when cashing first place prize money cheques of $1,694,710 planned for the men’s and women’s champions at Roland Garros 2021. … That first place prize pool, by the way, is down 12.5% from 2020. … The French Open first place prize in 2019 was $2,710,315.

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Tough Stretch Ahead for Red Sox

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BOSTON – When the Boston Red Sox score seven (or more) runs, they’re 15-0. When they score four or more runs, they are an MLB best 26-3 (.897). Last night, they scored but one run and lost to the Atlanta Braves, 3-1, and have now dropped each of their last two games after winning four in a row and going 5-1-0 in their last six series match-ups.

The Sox pitching staff has been equally impressive. Red Sox pitchers have allowed an AL-best 0.74 HR/9.0 IP (35 HR), good enough for second-fewest in MLB, aside from the St. Louis Cardinals staff at 0.70.

Dating back to April 8, a lifetime ago to many, yesterday was the first day the Red Sox took to the field being out of first place in the AL East. They began 46 consecutive days from 4/9-5/24 with at least a share of the top spot, including 43 consecutive days in sole possession of first place from 4/11-5/23.

Starting Thursday, each of Boston’s next 19 games will be against teams that made the 2020 MLB Postseason, and that extends to 27 of the next 30 contests – the bulk of the very important stretch in mid-season (HOU-7, NYY-6, ATL-3, TOR-4, MIA-3, TB-3).

Tonight’s starting pitcher for the Red Sox will be Nick Pivetta. Since being acquired by the Red Sox, Pivetta is 7-0 with a 3.28 ERA in 11 starts (57.2 IP, 21 ER). The only other pitchers to go unbeaten in their first 11-plus starts with the Red Sox were Matt Clement (first 12 in 2005) and Mike Nagy (first 12 in 1969).

The Red Sox are 10-1 in Pivetta’s starts. The Sox have never won as many as 11 of a pitcher’s first 12 starts with the club.

The Sox will play their 50th game of the season this evening. They have won at least 30 of their first 50 games 27 times, reaching MLB’s Postseason in each of the last five instances (2007, ‘08, ‘13, ‘16, ‘18).

Knicks Randle Named Most Improved

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NEW YORK – (Source: Official News Release) – New York Knicks forward Julius Randle was named the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Improved Player, the NBA announced.

A first-time NBA All-Star selection in his seventh season, Randle becomes the first player to win the Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award with New York. The annual award, which was first presented in the 1985-86 season, is designed to honor an up-and-coming player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons.

Randle received 98 first-place votes and earned 493 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant received the other two first-place votes and finished in second place with 140 points. Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. finished in third place with 138 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

In his second season with the Knicks, Randle averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists in an NBA-high 37.6 minutes in 71 games. He set career highs for averages in points and assists and matched his career high in rebounds, ranking in the top 20 in the NBA in all three categories. The 6-9 Randle is the sixth player in NBA history to average at least 24.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in a season, joining Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Nikola Jokić (who also did it this season), Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.

Randle made a career-high 160 three-pointers in 2020-21, eight fewer than his total for the previous five seasons combined (168). He shot 40.1 percent from three-point range, well above his career mark of 29.5 percent entering the season. Randle also shot a career-high 81.1 percent from the free throw line.

Selected as a reserve for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, Randle tied for eighth in the league in double-doubles with 41 and tied for seventh in triple-doubles with six. Randle was named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for April and the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 17.

Behind Randle, the Knicks (41-31) finish tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. New York made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

Randle, 26, signed with the Knicks as a free agent on July 9, 2019. Before joining New York, he played his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and one season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Randle entered this season with career averages of 16.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

VOTING RESULTS: 2020-21 KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD
 
Player (Team) 1st Place Votes(5 Points) 2nd Place Votes(3 Points) 3rd Place Votes(1 Point) Total Points
Julius Randle (New York) 98 1 0 493
Jerami Grant (Detroit) 2 33 31 140
Michael Porter Jr. (Denver) 0 40 18 138
Christian Wood (Houston) 0 10 14 44
Zach LaVine (Chicago) 0 5 5 20
Jaylen Brown (Boston) 0 1 7 10
Chris Boucher (Toronto) 0 3 1 10
Mikal Bridges (Phoenix) 0 0 8 8
Zion Williamson (New Orleans) 0 2 0 6
Nikola Vučević (Chicago) 0 1 0 3
Clint Capela (Atlanta) 0 1 0 3
Jordan Poole (Golden State) 0 1 0 3
Jordan Clarkson (Utah) 0 1 0 3
Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City) 0 1 0 3
Darius Garland (Cleveland) 0 0 3 3
Kyle Anderson (Memphis)

RJ Barrett (New York)

Miles Bridges (Charlotte)

Lonzo Ball (New Orleans)

T.J. McConnell (Indiana)

Andrew Wiggins (Golden State)

Richaun Holmes (Sacramento)

Bojan Bogdanović (Utah)

Terry Rozier (Charlotte)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City)

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0

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0

0

0

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0

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0

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2

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1

1

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2

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1

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Below is the all-time list of winners of the Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award.

KIA NBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD WINNERS

1985-86 – Alvin Robertson, San Antonio
1986-87 – Dale Ellis, Seattle
1987-88 – Kevin Duckworth, Portland
1988-89 – Kevin Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90 – Rony Seikaly, Miami
1990-91 – Scott Skiles, Orlando
1991-92 – Pervis Ellison, Washington
1992-93 – Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver
1993-94 – Don MacLean, Washington
1994-95 – Dana Barros, Philadelphia
1995-96 – Gheorghe Muresan, Washington
1996-97 – Isaac Austin, Miami

1997-98 – Alan Henderson, Atlanta
1998-99 – Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00 – Jalen Rose, Indiana
2000-01 – Tracy McGrady, Orlando
2001-02 – Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana
2002-03 – Gilbert Arenas, Golden State
2003-04 – Zach Randolph, Portland
2004-05 – Bobby Simmons, LA Clippers
2005-06 – Boris Diaw, Phoenix
2006-07 – Monta Ellis, Golden State
2007-08 – Hedo Türkoğlu, Orlando
2008-09 – Danny Granger, Indiana

2009-10 – Aaron Brooks, Houston
2010-11 – Kevin Love, Minnesota
2011-12 – Ryan Anderson, Orlando
2012-13 – Paul George, Indiana
2013-14 – Goran Dragić, Phoenix
2014-15 – Jimmy Butler, Chicago
2015-16 – CJ McCollum, Portland
2016-17 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
2017-18 – Victor Oladipo, Indiana
2018-19 – Pascal Siakam, Toronto
2019-20 – Brandon Ingram, New Orleans
2020-21 – Julius Randle, New York

Utah’s Clarkson Named NBA Sixth Man

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NEW YORK – (Source: Official News Release) – Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson won the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award for his contributions in a reserve role, the NBA announced. This is the first Sixth Man honor for Clarkson, who becomes the first player to win the annual award with the Jazz.

Clarkson received 65 first-place votes and earned 407 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Utah forward Joe Ingles finished in second place with 272 points (34 first-place votes), making this the first time that teammates hold the top two spots in voting for the Kia NBA Sixth Man Award. New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose finished in third place with 77 points (one first-place vote).

Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. To be eligible for the Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started.

Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes in 68 games (one start). His scoring average of 18.3 points as a reserve was the highest in the NBA. Clarkson made a career-high 208 three-pointers overall (seventh in the NBA among all players) and a league-high 203 as a reserve. The 203 three-pointers are the fourth-highest single-season total off the bench in NBA history. He also ranked ninth in the NBA in free throw percentage this season (89.6).

Playing his first full season with Utah and seventh in the NBA, Clarkson recorded two games with at least 40 points, five games with at least 30 points and 23 games with at least 20 points off the bench. He scored 40 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 15 and 41 points against the Golden State Warriors on May 10, giving him two of the five 40-point games off the bench in Jazz history.

Clarkson joined Ingles in helping Utah finish with an NBA-best 52-20 record and the fifth-highest single-season winning percentage in franchise history (.722). The Jazz earned the top seed in the Western Conference for the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Clarkson, 28, was acquired by Utah in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 24, 2019. He re-signed with the Jazz on Nov. 23, 2020. Clarkson, the 46th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, has career averages of 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 521 games. He played with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cavaliers before joining the Jazz.

The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

Player (Team) 1st Place Votes(5 Points) 2nd Place Votes(3 Points) 3rd Place Votes(1 Point) Total Points
Jordan Clarkson (Utah) 65 26 4 407
Joe Ingles (Utah) 34 31 9 272
Derrick Rose (New York) 1 15 27 77
Jalen Brunson (Dallas) 0 14 25 67
Tim Hardaway Jr. (Dallas) 0 5 9 24
Montrezl Harrell (L.A. Lakers) 0 3 5 14
Carmelo Anthony (Portland) 0 1 5 8
Chris Boucher (Toronto) 0 1 4 7
Bobby Portis (Milwaukee) 0 0 6 6
Enes Kanter (Portland) 0 1 2 5
T.J. McConnell (Indiana) 0 1 1 4
Miles Bridges (Charlotte) 0 1 0 3
Shake Milton (Philadelphia) 0 1 0 3
Thaddeus Young (Chicago) 0 0 2 2
Facundo Campazzo (Denver) 0

KIA NBA SIXTH MAN AWARD WINNERS

1982-83 – Bobby Jones, Philadelphia
1983-84 – Kevin McHale, Boston
1984-85 – Kevin McHale, Boston
1985-86 – Bill Walton, Boston
1986-87 – Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1987-88 – Roy Tarpley, Dallas
1988-89 – Eddie Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90 – Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1990-91 – Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1991-92 – Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1992-93 – Clifford Robinson, Portland
1993-94 – Dell Curry, Charlotte
1994-95 – Anthony Mason, New York

1995-96 – Toni Kukoc, Chicago
1996-97 – John Starks, New York
1997-98 – Danny Manning, Phoenix
1998-99 – Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00 – Rodney Rogers, Phoenix
2000-01 – Aaron McKie, Philadelphia
2001-02 – Corliss Williamson, Detroit
2002-03 – Bobby Jackson, Sacramento
2003-04 – Antawn Jamison, Dallas
2004-05 – Ben Gordon, Chicago
2005-06 – Mike Miller, Memphis
2006-07 – Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix
2007-08 – Manu Ginóbili, San Antonio

2008-09 – Jason Terry, Dallas
2009-10 – Jamal Crawford, Atlanta
2010-11 – Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers
2011-12 – James Harden, Oklahoma City
2012-13 – J.R. Smith, New York
2013-14 – Jamal Crawford, LA Clippers
2014-15 – Lou Williams, Toronto
2015-16 – Jamal Crawford, LA Clippers
2016-17 – Eric Gordon, Houston
2017-18 – Lou Williams, LA Clippers
2018-19 – Lou Williams, LA Clippers
2019-20 – Montrezl Harrell, LA Clippers
2020-21 – Jordan Clarkson, Utah

While We’re Young (Ideas) – May 23

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Oh Nate!

Say it ain’t so. Say you didn’t say it, but don’t say it was “taken out of context.”

Say whatever you want, Nate McMillan, because you walked right into it, and by doing so, you switched “the narrative” from dozens of great pre-NBA Playoffs storylines into one that is as old as time on a 1946 Grandfather Clock that’s only right twice a day.

The league was forced to do what it had to do and that was to dock McMillan $25,000 for “detrimental public comments asserting bias by the NBA relating to the 2020-21 Playoffs.”

In case you missed the story and the subsequent fine – which came on a week that the NBA was staging its first “Play-In” tournament and enjoying a number of entertaining games supplied to fans via extra coverage by TNT and ESPN – McMillan was asked a question about the fact many of the “national media” were picking the New York Knicks to defeat McMillan’s Atlanta Hawks team.

It’s a game played every year by the media. Their bosses ask everyone who covered a minute of NBA basketball to put forth their predictions for each series, leading all the way to their GUESS for the teams that will make it to the NBA Finals and one club that will be the NBA champion.

Here’s how Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote it:

<<On Wednesday, McMillan was asked about if he thought his players were aware that a lot of national media members were picking the Knicks to win the series (a panel of 16 experts at ESPN recently made predictions, and only two picked the Hawks to win). McMillan said he had discussed that with the team, and added that the Knicks are a franchise the league wants to see in the playoffs, which he was using as a motivating factor for the team.>>

The original quote: (which McMillan now claims was taken out of context, by the way)

“I’ve gone as far as saying the league wants this, they need this,” McMillan said. “… New York, you know, this is a big market,” McMillan said. “It’s a big market for the league, and New York has been out of the playoffs for a number of years. And this is a team that our league, they want to see. There’s a huge fan base. They want to see New York in the playoffs. They want to see the Lakers in the playoffs. Teams like that, the Boston Celtics, they want to see these teams in the playoffs, and I put New York in that category, that the league wants to see it, everybody wants to see this.

“Even to the fact that, our game was moved to Sunday. They want to see this. So yes, we have talked about that. We have talked about the advantages of this situation and some things that we’re going to have to face going into the game with kind of everyone picking New York to win. And a lot of folks wanting to see New York in the playoffs.

“So it’s a battle, it’s a challenge, that just being New York, all of that comes with playing in New York. And they’ve had a really good season. So I think the NBA is excited about them being back in the playoffs.”

There you have it. Nate McMillan – wonderful person, great player, incredible teammate for those great Seattle Sonics teams, trusted assistant coach for USA Basketball and worthy head coach in the NBA – undermines the whole damn league at the most important time of the year.

McMillan was using the media snub to motivate his players with an “us against the world” mentality. It’s a coaching technique older than the clock you just read about. In fact, it’s a technique perfected by Coach Pat Riley, mainly when he was coaching the stacked Los Angeles Lakers roster to championships, but also utilized when he was coaching the very New York Knickerbockers 29 other teams were claiming had an advantage. Riley motivated half his roster full of players with CBA resumes to believe “the league” was out to get them, and that because of their proximity to the NBA league office (645 Fifth Avenue to 33rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues) the refs called it tighter against the physical – call it hand-to-hand/lockdown/combat Knicks.

Remember? Then-Knicks guard Derek Harper would lock onto his opponent’s hip with a hand-check that could keep a Boeing 747 from taking off, all the while John Starks and Anthony Mason were accosting opponents and never “letting up an easy basket,” to say the least.

Riley came clean when he spoke (at length) at the funeral services for David Stern in January 2020. Paraphrasing here, Riley told a story of being called on the carpet by then Executive VP, Business and Legal Affairs Stern, along with out-going Commissioner Larry O’Brien and being read the proverbial riot-act by Stern, with warnings of what was to come if Riley continued to plant conspiracy-theory stories about getting jobbed by the refs.

Deeper thoughts about “integrity of the game,” “the trust of the fans,” and “no one person being bigger than the whole of the league” were discussed. A young Lakers coach was only seeing the myopic ways of one series, one title and doing whatever he could do to influence the outcome of one, next game. Stern was seeing the future, five or maybe 10 or 20 years down the road from that NBA Championship Series in the early 1980s.

But, fast-forward to 2002 and Riley was back at it again!

While coaching-up the Miami Heat, Riley spoke of referees’ “dislike for me over the years,” detailed “inequality” and “inconsistency” in the officiating process, and offered a viewpoint of “real bias” in the calling of games.

For his theatrics, Riley was docked a cool $50,000 by the NBA, indicating McMillan might’ve gotten off easy with his misguided comments worth $25G.

To sum it all up is quite easy. Here are the key points:

  1. Integrity of the game, the integrity of its game officials and the trust in those by fans from every corner of the globe is the single most important thing the NBA has to offer. When you boil it all down, there’s nothing more important than a fair, entertaining and hopefully well-officiated game. It’s all about every single game.
  2. “The NBA” is not influencing the outcome of games, by staff or anyone sitting in executive offices. The players decide the outcome of the game with their talent and abilities. To say otherwise, is to cut the very roots of what the NBA offers which is the best athletes in the world competing against each other in a basketball game.
  3. It is damn near impossible to officiate an NBA game. Those very players are faster, stronger, quicker, and everything else you can imagine from being prepared, well-coached, incredible defenders, amazing shooters, in top-notch physical condition and being ultra-competitive. Good coaches KNOW the calls even out over the course of a season. They also know that if their team is standing on the perimeter, hoisting up ill-advised three-pointers, they are not going to get to the line as much as an opponent taking the ball to the basket.
  4. At this time of year, more than any other, the integrity of the league is even more important as more people are watching games and the NBA Playoff games intensify as each series progresses. The focus should be on the great games and the great performances of the athletes.
  5. Making statements, however intentioned, guided or mis-guided, takes the focus off the game and places it 180-degrees away from where a healthy sports organization needs its TV-watching, ticket-buying fans focused. It also plants the seed, once again, and as the games unfold, every questionable call comes under a microscope of criticism and mistrust that is undeserving. But, because of one coach, the thoughts travel like electric current right through to the minds of fans in every NBA city and around the world.
  6. When you really drill down, a coach’s comments – like McMillan’s – are really accusing the NBA and its officials of committing felony fraud. In my mind, that’s a crime in itself and the coaches should be disciplined for such accusations. In addition to the league office, the NBA Coaches Association should also administer stiff fines to its members for crossing such a line.
  7. To that end, the league needs to fine (both the team and the coach) and suspend the coach for at least a game going forward for comments which undermine the very credibility of the game.

Finalists for 2020-21 NBA Awards

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NEW YORK – The NBA announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers for the 2020-21 regular season: NBA Coach of the Year, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player, Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and Kia NBA Sixth Man.


The three finalists for each annual award, based on voting results from a global panel of sports media and sports/game broadcasters, are listed in alphabetical order below:

NBA Coach of the Year

Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns

Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers

Kia NBA Most Improved Player

Jerami Grant, Detroit Pistons
Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets
Julius Randle, New York Knicks

Kia NBA Most Valuable Player

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

Kia NBA Rookie of the Year

LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings

Kia NBA Sixth Man

Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz
Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz
Derrick Rose, New York Knicks

The NBA on TNT studio and game crew will announce the winner of each award during coverage of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Basketball Hall Elects 16 New Members

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SPRINGFIELD – A day after its COVID-19 delayed 2020 induction ceremony, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 16 honorees for the Class of 2021 which will be enshrined on Saturday, September 11, 2021 in ceremonies at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun resort hotel and arena.

The 2021 honorees class includes nine voted in from the North American and Women’s committees, including the ninth-winningest coach in NBA history Rick Adelman, two-time NBA champion and 11-time NBA All-Star Chris Bosh, NBA Finals MVP with the Boston Celtics and 10-time NBA All-Star Paul Pierce, the first Black NBA head coach Bill Russell, four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Champion Ben Wallace, five-time NBA All-Star and NBA Rookie of the Year Chris Webber, two-time NCAA national champion Villanova Wildcats coach Jay Wright, seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith and seven-time WNBA All-Star and three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson of Australia.

Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected seven direct-elect enshrinees, including the first President of the WNBA and current BIG East Commissioner Val Ackerman, NBA coach Cotton Fitzsimmons and basketball guru Howard Garfinkel from the Contributor Committee, Clarence “Fats” Jenkins from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Croatia’s Toni Kukoc from the International Committee, Bob Dandridge from the Veterans Committee and Pearl Moore from the Women’s Veterans Committee.

“For the first time in our history, we’ll enshrine two Classes in one calendar year,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2021 Enshrinement festivities will begin at Mohegan Sun on Friday, September 10 with the Enshrinement Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala. The Class of 2021 and returning Hall of Famers will then journey to Springfield, Mass. for the annual celebratory events taking place at the newly renovated Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and MassMutual Center on September 11

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Notebook

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Whether the sport in being celebrated two hours to the south at Mohegan Sun, an hour and a half to the west in Springfield, Mass, being played at WNBA and NBA arenas nationwide or destinations around the globe, the game of basketball is in the news in a big way this weekend and for many months to come.

The Basketball Hall of Fame is utilizing the Mohegan Sun (Uncasville, Connecticut) as headquarters for the 2020 Enshrinement ceremony this weekend, then packing up the circus tents and heading to the newly renovated Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame museum in Springfield – the birthplace of basketball – to announce the 2021 class of inductees. (The names of Celtics star Paul Pierce and Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boy era have already leaked out as ‘21 inductees).

First! The 2020 class is among the most elite in history, with Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant headlining the group. The 2020 class induction, forever to be known as a memorial tribute to Bryant, has been delayed – for what seems to be forever and a day – because of the global pandemic. While Bryant deserved top billing, for sure, the class of ‘20 represents a wide-ranging group, spanning the globe from FIBA HQ in Europe (to honor the late Patrick Baumann) to Bentley College, only 11 miles down the road where Bentley Coach Barbara Stevens calls home.

The 2020 class represents every aspect of the sport of basketball quite well. Stevens and Baylor/LSU women’s coach Kim Mulkey are inducted as top notch and deserved women’s team college coaches while Tamika Catchings (NCAA: Tennessee, WNBA: Indiana Fever, USA: Multiple Gold) represents the very best the sport has to offer, both on and off-court.

Just as you would expect with such a glorious cast, the coaches on the men’s side are among the very best with the late Eddie Sutton memorialized for his work via the college game and the great Rudy “Rudy T” Tomjanovich honored for his work with the Houston Rockets. Credited for his longtime, loyal assistant coaching efforts for Bill Fitch and as the two-time NBA championship head coach of the Rockets, Rudy T knew the game from the inside out. He was also an NBA All-Star forward (San Diego/Houston Rockets), never mind his impressive work for USA Basketball as head coach at the 1998 Worlds (Bronze during NBA labor dispute) and 2000 Sydney Olympics (Gold medal). … Remember: “Don’t EVER underestimate the heart of a champion.”

Even the media awards pay tribute to the best of the best with ABC/ESPN/MSG Network’s Mike Breen being honored for his play-by-play work and Mike Wilbon honored for print journalism. Wilbon, the Washington Post sports columnist for decades, turned Pardon the Interruption television personality extraordinaire and Breen, the voice of the NBA on ABC and ESPN, are both being honored as the Curt Gowdy Media Award winners for 2020.

Yes, with the 2020 honors, the Basketball Hall of Fame took a page from its counterpart in Cooperstown and “touched all bases” with a class for the ages. But the BHofF enshrinement for 2020 and this week’s announcement for 2021 are merely the dessert being served before the main course of hoops mania over the next few months. How? Let us count the ways:

  1. The 25th Anniversary season for the WNBA tipped-off Friday night with four exciting games, including the return of 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick Sabrina Ionescu, who had her rookie season cut short with a season-ending ankle injury in just her third pro game. Ionescu put an exclamation point on her return, hitting the game-winning three-pointer from the wing with less than a second remaining to give the New York Liberty a 90-87 victory over the Indiana Fever in the WNBA’s season opener. … As part of the WNBA’s 25th season and its focus on innovation, the league will launch the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup in-season competition during the 2021 season. Conference rivalry bragging rights, a new WNBA Commissioner’s Cup trophy and a prize pool of $500,000 will all be at stake when the inaugural WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game is played on Thursday, Aug. 12, at Phoenix Suns Arena. … Regular season WNBA action will take on an added level of importance as 60 select, intra-conference “Cup games” will determine the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams that will advance to the first ever Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game. … The “Cup Games” will be the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals, all set to take place in the first half of the season between May 14 and July 11, prior to the in-season scheduling break due to the Olympic Games.
  2. The Basketball Africa League, a newly formed but one-year delayed organized pro league spanning the continent of Africa, will debut May 16. Both the International Basketball Federation and the NBA are providing full support to the endeavor which features 12 pro teams.
  3. Not to be forgotten, the BAL’s and WNBA’s big brother, the National Basketball Association, will begin its 2021 NBA Playoffs with a “Play-In” tournament, a new and unproven concept to field the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each of the two NBA conferences. Gone is the NBA Bubble in Orlando and the 2021 playoffs will take place with a limited number of fans in each home arena, depending mostly on State and local government rules and authorities.
  4. A couple weeks down the road, the European “EuroLeague” Basketball Final Four will be staged in Cologne, Germany on Friday, May 28 and Sunday, May 30. The competing four teams include CSKA Moscow vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, and AX Armani Exchange Milano vs. FC Barcelona
  5. As summer approaches, the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Men and Women will be staged to determine the final national teams to compete in Tokyo. Those qualifiers will be played from June 29 to July 4th, a few weeks before the Tokyo Olympics begin (July 25th) with Iran facing a qualifier to be determined later. The delayed Olympic tournament will run through the gold medal game scheduled for Saturday, August 7 at the Saitama Super Arena, the “Brooklyn” to Tokyo’s “NYC.”