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NBA All-Star Ratings Up

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LOS ANGELES – The NBA’s midseason showcase finally got the bounce it’s been chasing. The first All-Star broadcast on NBC since 2002 averaged 8.8 million viewers across broadcast and streaming, marking the event’s biggest audience since 2011, according to preliminary Nielsen data and Adobe Analytics. The number combined NBC, Peacock and NBC’s Telemundo.

That number nearly doubled last year’s total of 4.7 million viewers (up 87%), a surge tied to the new “USA vs. the World” format that gave Sunday night an actual hook beyond highlights and handshakes.

The audience topped out at 9.8 million in the 7-7:15 p.m. ET window, as USA Stripes squeezed past the World team 48-45 in the tightest, highest-leverage stretch of the tournament.

On the floor, Anthony Edwards picked up MVP honors with a 32-point, nine-rebound and three-assist line for the USA Stars (across three 12-minute games), while Victor Wembanyama powered the World side with 33 points, eight boards and two blocks.

It wasn’t perfect, but the format delivered what the league has been pleading for in recent years.

The TV window helped, too. The game followed a full day of coverage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and fed directly into NBC’s prime-time programming.

–Field Level Media

Beverly Hills Slop

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LOS ANGELES – When Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown spoke with reporters after Sunday’s All-Star Game in Inglewood, Calif., the topic quickly went from basketball to an incident between Brown and the Beverly Hills Police Department a night earlier.

And Brown’s account of events stands in stark contrast to those of the Beverly Hills PD.

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On Saturday night, police were called to a home where Brown was hosting what he called a “panel” — an event for his personal brand, 741, and Oakley, of which Brown says he is a brand partner.

But when police showed up, they said the event had to end because a permit for the event was previously denied.

“On Saturday, February 14, the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) responded to an event taking place at a private residence in the Trousdale neighborhood of (Beverly Hills),” the BHPD told The Boston Globe in statement Sunday. “An event permit had been applied for and denied by the City due to previous violations associated with events at the address.

“Despite the fact that the permit was denied, organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests knowing that it was not allowed to occur. BHPD responded and shut down the unpermitted event.”

The claim about the permit was one of the issues that angered Brown.

“That was not true,” Brown told reporters. “We didn’t need a permit because the owner of the house, that was his space. We were family friends. He opened up the festivities to us so we didn’t have to. We never applied for one. … I didn’t have to pay for the house or anything. They just opened it up. I had to pay for the build-out, but it was hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted for an event that was supposed to be positive.”

Saturday night, a video showing Brown speaking with a police officer at the house was posted to social media. In the video, Brown is seen repeatedly asking why the event was being shut down, with the officer said “the City” was shutting down the event.

“(I’m) in LA, we’re just trying to have an event, a panel, talking about culture, talking about future, talking about leadership, and for whatever reason I feel like we’re being targeted,” Brown told the camera.

Back at the All-Star Game, Brown said the house belonged to Jim Jannard, the founder of Oakley, and that he did not have to pay to use the house for the event.

“I’m offended by Beverly Hills, by the statement they put out, like we applied for something and didn’t get it and we did it anyway,” Brown added. “Like we were insubordinate. I know how to follow the rules. … It just seemed like somebody, you know, didn’t want whatever we had going on, to go on. Because out of everyone to be doing something (in the neighborhood), I was the only one that gets shut down.”

During the interview, Brown repeated that several hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent setting up the event, and that the owner of the house is considering filing a lawsuit.

“It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” he added. “I don’t think the BPDH made the right call here. The statement they put out was not accurate.”

–Field Level Media

NBA All-Star Game: We Are the World

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INGLEWOOD – Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey scored nine points and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards added eight as USA Stars came out on top during the All-Star Game on Sunday with an easy 47-21 mini-tournament victory over USA Stripes. The three-team round-robin tournament of short 12-minute games also included Team World, made up of international stars, and was the latest incarnation of the ever-changing All-Star Game format that went with four teams in a tournament-style bracket last year.

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Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder also scored eight points and Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons added six as the younger USA Stars avenged an earlier 42-40 defeat to the veteran USA Stripes in the three-game round robin.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ Maxey went 4 of 8 from the floor in the 12-minute title game and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Edwards went 3 of 5 with a pair of 3-pointers. Edwards scored 32 total points in his teams’ three games and was named MVP.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored six points and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James added five for USA Stripes.

USA Stars took control early in the title game by grabbing an early 12-1 lead, with Maxey scoring seven of the points. Team Stripes was within 18-9 with 7:03 remaining after consecutive 3-pointers from James and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, but USA Stars dominated from there.

A 15-0 run eliminated any potential drama as USA Stars led 33-9 with 4:19 remaining.

The Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scored just one point in the title game, while going 0 of 4 from the floor. It came after he dominated the final round-robin game with 31 points in 12 minutes of a 48-45 victory over Team World to advance his side to the final.

In the opening game of the three-team round robin, USA Stars defeated Team World 37-35 in extra time on a 3-pointer from the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes.

–Field Level Media

NBA Says World “Be” Me

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INGLEWOOD – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Inside an arena covered by a shell that could pass for a globe, the NBA will try to entertain on Sunday while also reaching out to the rest of the world.

The NBA All-Star Game’s latest concept involves a team of the league’s top international players competing against two teams composed of domestic talent. The format will be a round-robin, leading to a championship game after one of the three teams is eliminated through a series of head-to-head matchups.

Team World will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada, yet still features the talents of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of Serbia, Luka Doncic of Slovenia and Victor Wembanyama of France among its nine players.

The USA Stars team skews younger with Devin Booker, Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards, while USA Stripes boasts experience with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard of the host Los Angeles Clippers.

Leonard is eager to showcase what the Clippers’ two-year-old Intuit Dome is all about. He appears less enthusiastic about the All-Star Game format that departs from traditional norms.

“I know it’s three teams and I’m like, ‘Is it a pickup game where we wait until somebody (wins)?” Leonard said. “I’d rather just be East and West and go out there and compete and see what the outcome is.”

At first glance, the setup appears to give players worldwide a chance to represent themselves in basketball’s best league, but even that opportunity feels somewhat empty. At least until the competition kicks off, it does.

“For me, I’m going to play like I played every year,” Jokic said Saturday. “… I’m not sure that it is going to bring (more) fire to me, no, because I play (that way) every game the same.”

The NBA is known for setting trends, but Sunday’s format appears to draw inspiration from the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off last year and the ongoing international showdown that is the Milan Cortina Olympics.

And yet, it doesn’t seem to be generating the same passion as either event. Jokic even has a prediction about how it all will unfold.

“We are going to have (veteran) OGs and maybe they’re going to play the most. They’re going to try to prove they can still be in this league,” Jokic said. “They are really good players. Probably all of them are Hall of Famers.

“I think Europeans are going to probably pass the ball a lot and have fun out there. OGs (are) probably going to win it, and the third team is probably going to dunk the most times.”

For all of the complaints that All-Star Weekend no longer moves the needle, Jokic does point out what is on the line for each squad. Perhaps that is the lens to use come Sunday.

“They need something to complain about (and) I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, to be honest, the All-Star Game, All-Star Weekend,” Durant said about All-Star Game criticism. “Just here to celebrate the game of basketball. People still coming to celebrate the game of basketball. They’re coming to watch.”

–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media

Celtics Acquire Vučević

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official Team News Release) – In a pre-trade deadline deal this week, the Boston Celtics acquired center Nikola Vučević and a future second-round pick from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons and a 2026 second-round pick.

In 48 games (all starts) this season, Vučević (6’10”, 260) is averaging 16.9 points (50.5 FG%, 37.6 3FG%, 83.8 FT%), 9.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 30.8 minutes per game. The 35-year-old is the only player in the NBA this season with 400+ rebounds and 80+ 3-pointers and is just one of three centers this season averaging at least 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists (Jokic, Sengun).
In 1,020 career NBA games (956 starts) over 15 seasons with Philadelphia (2011-12), Orlando (2012-2020), and Chicago (2020-2026), the Montenegro native has averaged 17.2 points (49.8 FG%, 35.1 3FG%, 77.3 FT%), 10.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 31.4 minutes per game. Vučević is coming off the most efficient shooting season of his career, shooting a career-best 53.0 percent from the field in 2024-25 while shooting 40.2 percent from three-point distance, the second-highest mark of his career. Vučević has made 16 career playoff appearances (15 starts), averaging 18.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 32.3 minutes per game.
A two-time NBA All-Star (2019, 2021), Vučević is the only active NBA player with 10+ seasons averaging at least 10.0 rebounds per game. He is also the only player in NBA history with at least 2,500 offensive rebounds, 800 3-pointers, 800 steals, and 800 blocks. Recording at least 40 double-doubles in nine consecutive seasons, Vučević ranks second among active players in career double-doubles (578), trailing only LeBron James, and ranks fourth among active players in career rebounds (10,601).
Vučević was originally selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by Philadelphia after playing three seasons collegiately at USC (2008-11).

Celtics Too Much for Rockets

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HOUSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics’ guard Derrick White scored a game-high 28 points and Payton Pritchard added 27 points off the bench as the short-handed Boston throttled the Houston Rockets 114-93 on Wednesday.

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The Celtics earned their fourth consecutive victory and claimed both ends of a road back-to-back, including a win in Dallas on Tuesday. The Celtics did so without Jaylen Brown, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, who paired 33 points with 11 rebounds against the Mavericks, in the second game by unleashing a flurry of 3-pointers early in the third quarter.

White was the linchpin of the decisive surge. The Celtics opened the second half 5 for 7 from behind the arc with White and Baylor Scheierman (15 points, 10 rebounds) nailing two threes apiece before Ron Harper Jr. extended a seven-point halftime lead to 67-48 at the 7:02 mark. When White converted from deep again roughly two minutes later, the Celtics led 72-50.

With 1.1 seconds left in the third, Rockets coach Ime Udoka was assessed a technical foul. The Celtics closed that frame with four free throws, two each from Pritchard and Neemias Queta, and carried an 85-63 lead into the final frame.

Queta posted a double-double of 10 points and 19 rebounds, while Luka Garza added 19 points for the Celtics. Harper paired 11 points with nine rebounds, including a trio of 3-pointers. Boston finished 19 for 51 from behind the arc, with White and Pritchard finishing 11 for 24 from deep.

Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 15 points but missed 7 of 11 shots. Alperen Sengun, who grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 13 points apiece. Amen Thompson (11 points) and Tari Eason (10) also scored in double figures for the Rockets, who shot 41.5%.

The teams combined to shoot 32.6% and missed 17 of 20 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Celtics emerged from that slog with an 8-2 spurt to open the second quarter, only for Smith to drill back-to-back threes that pulled the Rockets to within 26-25.

However, Boston eventually gained some separation later in the quarter to take a 49-42 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 18

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The Orlando Magic in Berlin

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – It’s been a little more than 40 years since the NBA China Friendship Tour, a six-week extravaganza when the NBA league office (the great Matt Winick, yours truly) and friends (Red Auerbach, Pete Newell, Ed Badger, Bill Blair) played host, coach, trainers and tour guides to the Chinese National Team as they visited the USA back in September of ‘85 in hopes of improving their game.

Long story short, as we say, the tour bounced from home base (Queens College, NY) to Princeton, NJ, Hempstead, NY, West Lafayette, Indiana, Beloit, Wisconsin, Lower Merion Township (Philly, PA),  Washington DC and Springfield, Massachusetts to take part in training camps underway for each NBA team bouncing basketball in close proximities to those towns. (That included: NJ Nets, NY Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, Washington (then Bullets; now Wizards) and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the annual Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame game in Springfield.

It was at Beloit and the Chicago Bulls training camp where we first saw Michael Jordan in person.

That tour was the beginning of the modern day NBA “going global.” Yes, there were plenty of prior examples, like Auerbach taking teams to train in the former Yugoslavia, or the Bullets playing a pair of exhibition games in China in 1979 as a part of “Ping Pong Diplomacy, but the NBA China Friendship Tour was a true beginning to then-Commissioner David Stern’s “one day at a time” method of moving the NBA closer and closer to worldwide awareness and prominence in the sports world.

The reason this story is the lead item to this week’s missive?

The NBA continued its efforts with a pair of Global Games in Europe with the Memphis Grizzlies playing the Orlando Magic Thursday in Berlin, Germany (118-111, Magic) and then a game Sunday (Noon ET) at 02 in London. The game in Berlin allowed the Magic brotherly tandem of Franz and Moritz Wagner to play in front of their home country fans for the NBA’s first regular season game in Berlin.

What seemed like a mountain to climb in 1985 is now a full-speed global lay-up of regular season, preseason and summertime clinics, not to mention the FIBA and USA Basketball efforts all over the world. Nowadays, a quarter of the NBA rosters are filled by international players, and as you’ve read in this column before, many of those players are the very best in the league.

Come NBA All-Star Weekend, we’ll see a team of international All-Stars compete against a couple of USA-based All-Star squads in what could be the beginning of an improved All-Star Weekend. Come February 13-15, it’ll all be on display in Los Angeles (Intuit Dome).

In August 2027, the FIBA World Cup (32 teams) will be contested in Qatar and in 2028, the Olympic Games will be played in Los Angeles.

David Stern’s vision when he watched the 1985 Chinese National Team warming up at Queens College has been fulfilled ten times over, and in such a relatively short timeframe. It’s a damn shame Stern (passed away in Jan. 2020), and FIBA’s (Executive Directors) Stankovic (passed away March 2020) and Patrick Baumann (died suddenly in 2018, at age 51) aren’t around to see this day come.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The University of Miami will play Indiana University for the College Football national championship on Monday. As part of the alternate coverage of the event, the ACC Network will deliver extensive on-site studio programming surrounding the Hurricanes bid for the title, which coincidentally will take place at Hardrock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The pre-event coverage will be highlighted by appearances from North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, who will join the network’s coverage as a special guest analyst.

Belichick will contribute analysis on ACC Network’s signature football studio show ACC Huddle, offering fans his unmatched perspective on championship preparation, in-game strategy and postseason success, complementing ACC Network’s established roster of analysts throughout National Championship weekend.

Sunday – Championship weekend coverage gets underway Sunday with the head coaches news conference, featuring Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti previewing the National Championship matchup.

At 8:00pm ET, ACC Huddle Championship Preview airs on ACC Network with anchormanTaylor Tannebaum being accompanied by analysts Mac Lain, Eddie Royal and Jimbo Fisher to break down every angle of the Hurricanes–Hoosiers showdown. Immediately following, a special edition of the ACC Network Football Podcast debuts at 9:00pm ET, hosted by former Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel and former Georgia Tech captain Roddy Jones.

Monday – On game day, ACC Network will celebrate with more than seven consecutive hours of live programming from Hard Rock Stadium. Coverage begins at 5:00pm with Inside ACCess at the National Championship, hosted by college football reporters and ACC insiders Andrea Adelson and David Hale.

ACC Huddle at the National Championship follows at 6:00pm ET, with over 90 minutes of in-depth pregame coverage. Tannebaum hosts alongside Huddle analysts Mac Lain—who played in the 2016 CFP National Championship with Clemson, Virginia Tech Hall of Famer Royal, 2013 national championship–winning head coach Fisher and eight-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick. The coverage also features ACCN host Kelsey Riggs Cuff, ACCN college football analyst Tom Luginbill, and College Football Hall of Famer Mark Richt, the legendary former Miami quarterback and head coach.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: With the Indiana Hoosiers and Fernando Mendoza making an unexpected journey to the CFP national championship game, the most frequent media day question was the typical “how does it feel” and “what about your return to Miami?” After three or four iterations of that subject came up on media day, the topic finally got around to tickets. With Miami playing a home game and Indiana fans traveling as if the game’s outcome depended on it, ticket prices are in the stratosphere – the $6,000 to $16,000 range.

Putting the questions together, Mendoza answered: “I would say it feels great. Tickets are definitely a problem because there’s so many family members that want to come to the game. However, I’ve attempted to not let it sink in so I can stay in the present moment.

I kind of stay in the football mindset that I want to stay in. Although that — there’s so many externalities to this game, playing Miami in Miami, that you can get wrapped up in all the emotion. However, I want to keep it focused on football and really kind of force it to not sink in,” he said.

It can sink in next week or the week after, but I just want to focus on football right now to give my team the best chance, and that’s the same with all my teammates.”

GOTTA HAVE HEART: Golfing legend Sir Nick Faldo is heading home, from Cleveland to England after successful open heart surgery. Said Faldo in a January 16 social media post: “Headed home. After two weeks in Cleveland, Nick Faldo, and his wife, Lindsay, are on their way home following a successful, scheduled preventative open-heart surgery to repair his enlarged aorta, performed by world-renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Lars Svensson at The Cleveland Clinic. We are deeply grateful for Dr. Svensson and his exceptional medical team. Nick is now looking ahead to returning to his golf course design work and to the Masters Week in Augusta, GA, where he will be celebrating “Six back in ‘96.” Home never felt so good.

Sam Coffey (Manchester City file photo)

THIS JUST IN: From The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry to Boston College to Penn State to the professional NWSL’s Portland Thorns to the USA Women’s National Team to – now – Manchester City, Sam Coffey (daughter of former NY Daily News columnist Wayne Coffey) is getting better and better to the point where she’ll be a team leader for both Man City and the USWNT. From Man City’s (Swedish-born) manager Andree Legertz: “There’s something with American players which I really like,” he said. “Their energy. [Sam Coffey] has leadership in her, an intensity in how she’s playing and training. That is something that can help us grow. She’s a great passing player, covering a lot of ground in defending. Aggressive. There’s a lot of things in her that will fit well in our team.”

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: This week, world No.1 pickleball player Anna Leigh Waters announced she was joining Nike, making Swoosh history as the 18-year-old is the brand’s first sponsored pickleball athlete. Get ready for Air Lob Anna Leigh.

PARTING WORDS & MUSIC: Last week, just before post time, the world learned of the passing of Grateful Dead guitarist/vocalist/legend Bob Weir. I placed two of his songs from his final appearance (60 year anniversary at Golden Gate Park) in the main section of last week’s missive.

This week, I’ve had a little time to process Weir’s passing and wanted to put one more music post up in memory of Weir, Jerry Garcia and the Band. This acoustic clip is from 1987. It was a seven song set (all online) and it concluded with Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door the Bob Dylan song that seems so fitting. Joan Baez joined Garcia and Weir on stage and I make note, she just celebrated her 85th birthday on January 9th.

Spurs Top Celtics

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox each scored a team-high 21 points to lead the visiting San Antonio Spurs to a 100-95 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.

The game was tied with 1:56 to play, but the Spurs finished the game on a 7-2 run.

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Fox also had nine rebounds and six assists. Wembanyama, who played 26 minutes, added six rebounds and three blocked shots. San Antonio also received 12 points and 13 rebounds from Julian Champagnie.

It was the second game in as many nights for the Celtics, who attempted only four free throws in the loss (3 of 4). Derrick White scored 29 points and Jaylen Brown had 27 to lead the Boston offense.

The Spurs won despite shooting 10 of 44 (23%) beyond the 3-point arc. San Antonio entered the game shooting 35% from 3-point territory this season, but made only 27% of their 3-point attempts in the seven games leading up to Saturday’s matchup. The Spurs had a 3-4 record during that stretch.

Boston guard Sam Hauser didn’t play in Saturday’s game because of right hamstring tightness. Hauser, one of the team’s best perimeter shooters, started the previous four games and scored 19 points (five 3-pointers) during Friday’s victory over Toronto.

An early 12-0 run put the Celtics in front 14-7, and Boston led 26-21 after 12 minutes. The Spurs were 2 of 15 from 3-point range in the first quarter. Boston had a 55-50 halftime lead.

A Wembanyama free throw tied the game, 64-64, with 4:36 remaining in the third, but Boston had a 75-73 lead after three quarters.

Nuggets Tough on the Road

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Nuggets 114, Celtics 110

BOSTON – (staff and Wire Service Report) – Wrong Peyton.

Denver’s Peyton Watson scored 30 points and Jamal Murray added 22 points, eight rebounds and a career-high 17 assists to lead visiting Nuggets over the Boston Celtics for the Nuggets’ NBA-best 15th road victory.

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Watson made six of his seven 3-point attempts, including a 3-pointer that put Denver up 106-93 with 2:24 to play. Watson has scored at least 20 points in each of his last five games. Denver’s Nikola Jokic missed his fifth straight game with a knee injury. The Nuggets have a 3-2 record without him.

Boston received a game-high 33 points along with seven rebounds and four assists from Jaylen Brown, who also committed seven turnovers. Neemias Queta had six points and a career-high 20 rebounds for the Celtics. Ten of Queta’s 20 rebounds came at the offensive end.

“Traed” Young

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ATLANTA – (Wire Service Report) – The Atlanta Hawks traded four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards, multiple outlets reported Wednesday night. The return package from Washington included veteran guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert.

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Young, 27, has spent his entire career in Atlanta since he was acquired via from Dallas immediately after the Mavericks selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2020-21 season, but they followed with first-round exits the following two seasons and have been eliminated in the play-in the last two seasons.

Young, the franchise’s all-time leader in assists (4,837) and 3-pointers made (1,295), has averaged 25.2 points, 9.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and one steal per contest over 493 games (all starts) with the Hawks.

However, he’s played just 10 of the team’s 39 games this season, missing an extended stretch with a sprained MCL and sitting out currently due to a right quad contusion.

The Hawks (18-21) were 2-8 in the 10 games Young played this season and are currently positioned for the play-in for the third straight year as the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference.

McCollum, 34, is in his first season with the Wizards after spending much of his career in Portland (2013-22) and the last three-plus seasons in New Orleans (2022-25).

The 2015-16 Most Improved Player, McCollum is averaging 18.8 points (his fewest since 2014-15) and 3.6 assists over 35 games this season.

Kispert, 26, was selected 15th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by Washington. He’s averaged 10.9 points and shot 38.3% from outside the arc in 311 games (105 starts) spanning five seasons with the Wizards.

He’s averaging 9.2 points and shooting 39.5% from 3-point range this season.

–Field Level Media