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Proctor received a welcome to Cleveland phone call from Cavs All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell after the franchise drafted him last month in the second round (No. 49 overall) out of Duke University. “He was just welcoming me,” Proctor said July 7 after a Summer League minicamp practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “We had spoken before, but, obviously, when I got my name called, he called me.
LeBron James on Cooper Flagg: Unlike myself, he gets to join a team with Hall of Fame players and coach
LeBron James: I personally think that he wants to be great. He had a hell of a year at Duke. A guy that can do so many different things out on the floor, can play with the ball, can play without the ball. His jump shot is going to continue to get better. Super athletic, quick second jump. Also he has the benefit unlike myself, he gets to join a team that's established, with Hall of Fame guys: Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, right off the bat. Hall of Fame coach Jason Kidd. These guys can give him the whole blueprint while he continues to learn what his blueprint will be.
Also developing is what I'm calling The Center Vortex at the back end of the lottery. Beginning with New Orleans at No. 7, there are plenty of teams that have been linked to centers. The top-rated prospect, Maluach, has visited with the Pelicans, Wizards and Hawks, sources say. The Duke product is also expected to meet with the Jazz before next Wednesday's Round 1. Does that mean Maluach can go as high as No. 5? The mere question has only added to the skepticism that he will make it to the Raptors at No. 9.
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A lawsuit filed by a Jane Doe in Los Angeles County on Thursday, May 29, accuses Zion Williamson, who was selected first overall in the 2019 draft, of rape and assault over their years-long relationship that allegedly began in 2018 when Williamson was playing at Duke University.
In an exceptional evening, FIBA honoured several iconic figures who have left an indelible mark on the sport’s history. Among the inductees were: Pau Gasol (Spain) – Two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and Spain’s all-time leading scorer in EuroBasket. Mike Krzyzewski (USA) – Legendary coach known as “Coach K,” who led Team USA to three Olympic gold medals and Duke University to five NCAA titles.] Ticha Penicheiro (Portugal) – WNBA’s all-time assists leader and one of the greatest playmakers in women’s basketball. Andrew Bogut (Australia) – NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors and three-time Olympian. Dawn Staley (USA) – Three-time Olympic gold medallist and flag-bearer for Team USA at Athens 2004. Alphonse Bilé (Côte d’Ivoire) – West African basketball icon and 1981 FIBA AfroBasket champion. Ratko Radovanović (formerly Yugoslavia) – Olympic gold medallist (Moscow 1980) and 1978 FIBA World Cup winner. Leonor Borrell (Cuba) – Four-time World Cup participant and 1986 tournament top scorer.
Duke announced on Thursday the hiring of Evan Bradds as an assistant coach. Bradds joins Duke after serving as an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz, where he was hired in 2022 by head coach Will Hardy. During his time in Utah, Bradds was instrumental in player development and also led the Jazz’s Summer League team in 2023.
The former Duke University star has averaged 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in eight NBA seasons with Chicago and Orlando, including 9.1 points and 7.2 rebounds with the Magic this season. Carter also had 16 points and eight rebounds in Orlando’s 109-100 Game 2 loss to the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics on Wednesday. The Magic take a 0-2 deficit in the best-of-seven series into tonight’s game against Boston in Orlando (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET). “It challenges us, but that’s the beauty of basketball,” Carter said after losing to Boston in Game 2. “We’re all competitors. We all believe we can guard our yard. We’ve just got to do a better job of knowing our personnel, including myself. Some guys like to pump-fake, certain guys drive certain directions. I have to do a better job in the moment understanding that and getting the costly stops that we need, especially during those runs that we had.”
There’s also Cameron Brink, the second-year rising WNBA star of the Los Angeles Sparks who, in 2023, became the first woman to join New Balance’s basketball roster. And last year, the brand even landed Duke University freshman Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, who grew up 25 miles from New Balance’s Skowhegan, Maine factory. “We take an approach of ‘fewer, bigger, better’ with signing athletes,” Naveen Lokesh, New Balance’s global head of basketball marketing, told Andscape. “We aim to sign fewer partnerships, but market athletes in a bigger way, by telling better stories.”
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Cooper Flagg on facing LeBron James in Team USA scrimmage: I had to snap out of it
Before that matchup against Team USA, Cooper Flagg said he had to calm his nerves and "snap out of it," especially when he realized he'd have to battle one of his idols -- LeBron James. "It was cool, an unbelievable experience," Flagg said during an appearance on "The Brotherhood Podcast," hosted by his Duke teammate Caleb Foster. "Just having the opportunity to be there and just share the court with that level of talent and player, the people who've made that type of name for themselves. I've been watching them for years, growing up.”
Noah Levick: Jared McCain: “At Duke, it’s a big platform in college. Obviously that comes with a lot of hate and a lot of scrutiny wherever you go, but I think that’s prepared me for where I’m at, especially with Philly. So I think I’m ready for it.”
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