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When Michael Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in 2023, the NBA no longer had any African American majority franchise owners. But with the announcement of former MLB star Alex Rodriguez becoming a co-owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, he says Black and Hispanic ownership is now a part of the NBA. “I’m hoping that the trend continues,” Rodriguez said to Andscape following an introductory news conference at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 11. “But as far as being someone with Black and Brown skin, I’m representing a lot of good people out there. Give credit to [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver, who championed this transaction. I’m grateful for that.”
When asked if it was important to represent “Black and brown” in his basketball ownership, Rodriguez told Andscape: “Yes. That is what I do. I represent both. And the reason why I am here is because I saw Magic [Johnson] wearing a suit and tie. I said, ‘That was a guy I can relate with. He looks like me. He came from the bottom like me.’ “I can’t put myself in his shoes. But when Magic [became a Los Angeles Lakers minority owner], it kind of ignited my vision. ‘Why not me? Why not you? Why not us?’ I’d like to affect one person to say, ‘This is a guy who is a former athlete who has been through some ups and downs, course-corrected and is someone who can lead others to their dreams.”
Oklahoma City’s future $1 billion arena will open with a new name following an agreement between Paycom and owners of the Thunder to end a naming rights contract that started in 2021 and was to last 15 years. Paycom, headquartered in Oklahoma City, employed 7,306 people as of Dec. 31, 2024 with a client base topping 37,500, and is one of the city’s leading employers.
The announcement of the naming rights change coincides with a scheduled unveiling of conceptual designs for the new arena by Mayor David Holt at the July 16th State of the City. The presentation Wednesday at the convention center is hosted by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and is a sold-out event.
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Scott Agness: Pacers have a new jersey patch sponsor: Lucas Oil. It’s their third different one, along with Spokenote and Motorola. The logo will also appear on practice jerseys, replacing Ascension St. Vincent.
Shaq: You know I'm a little upset, right? Co-Host: Well, what happened? Shaq: The Lakers got sold for $10 billion, and I ain't get no Douly. I ain't get no brand-new Escalade. I ain't get nothing, dog. Co-Host: No, man. You know they gave you a “Thank you for your service.” Shaq (mocking tone): "Thank you for your service"? It was Magic, me, and Kobe like—can I get something? I mean, can I get... I mean, can I get a check for, like, you know, $50 million... something? Something. Come on—$10 billion? Jeanie Buss... you probably won't never see her again. She probably gonna be on that spaceship with Elon Musk after that.
Jack Sikma: 'Oklahoma City didn't steal the franchise. Seattle lost it'
Jack Sikma: "It’s completely different. And there's no anger in that. Yeah, it's not that. It's just different. And again, Oklahoma City didn't steal the franchise. Seattle lost it, which was for a number of reasons. There are a number of villains that we could—you know—kick the dog at this guy or that guy, or whatever. So, I hold nothing against Oklahoma City and their fans. But I’m not rooting for them. Seattle needs a franchise again. And actually, Seattle's been teased a bit about a franchise because there's always one other event that has to happen. I can understand—they needed a new media deal done. They got it done. That helps set a price. It's really—we think we’re going to expand, but we don’t know what it's going to cost. So, I guess we use the term many times—patience. That’s what it’s going to come down to. And hopefully, if they do ever decide to expand, Seattle’s near the top of the list, if not the top of the list."
Thunder going for sale soon?
The Thunder’s NBA championship comes at a cost. The title makes it all the more likely that the Thunder soon could be sold. A source close to Thunder Chairman Clay Bennett told the Tulsa World that the rising value of NBA franchises makes it quite likely that the Thunder’s partners will want to sell soon.
Caitlin Clark’s Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham is cashing in on her position as her bodyguard. Cunningham’s profile has exploded following her fight with Jacy Sheldon of the Sun. She’s picked up an endorsement deal with home security company Ring. “In light of recent events, you guys know how serious I am about protecting my girls on the court,” says Cunningham in the video. “But what’s protecting my home court, AKA my actual home? The obvious choice is Ring.”
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NBA 2006 No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani played 10 years in the NBA — mostly with the Raptors but also with the Knicks and Nets — before finishing his pro career in Spain. Since retiring, Bargnani has returned to his native Italy and has been an active investor. Most recently, the 39-year-old made his first sports tech investment in Pick-Roll, a social basketball app that connects players seeking to join pickup games and find community around a shared love of the sport. On the appeal of joining Pick-Roll . . . I’ve been very active in the private equity, venture capital world in the last few years. So when I got in touch with Pick-Roll, I immediately liked the fact that it meets the most basic need of every basketball player, which is to find the nearest playground and organize a pickup ball game. It sounds pretty, pretty simple, but it can be very challenging at times. And there are millions of basketball players out there, so I think the idea is very scalable in the future.
Matt Barnes thinks Magic Johnson is going back to the Lakers (along with Bob Myers)
Matt Barnes: But with new ownership—who’s obviously tied to Magic Johnson—and Magic is tied to Rob in the Commanders deal... do we smell what The Rock is cooking? Or am I crazy to think that Magic could be on his way back to the Lakers at some point? Maybe with Bob Myers—a fellow Bruin, the great mind behind the Golden State Warriors—who’s just sitting at home collecting checks, looking good on ESPN, owning NFL teams. As a Laker fan, what would you think?
What I slowly started to realize was: they had no idea what they bought. Zero idea—in terms of financials, books, future three- to five-year plans. How this works. How this functions. The broadcast part of it especially. I bring that up because the broadcast part links directly to that bonus situation. They bought the team and didn’t realize there was going to be this gap year before Amazon jumps in—where we're actually going to lose money on broadcast, no matter what. They got in, they had big plans early on, and then someone tapped on the door and said: ‘Um, did you know we're going to lose tens of millions of dollars on broadcast this year, just because of syncing and we aren’t on Amazon yet?’ And they did not know that. And everything changed from then."
So back then—leading up to December, like that fall—were you guys internally like, 'Something's happening'?" Answer: "There’s always been, over the last couple years, whispers. Like, 'Mark’s really in the sh*t now. Something’s going to have to happen.' Some crypto thing. FTX. The Tom Brady–Gisele crypto thing. People were like, 'Man... Mark.' We had a deal with a crypto wallet company that went belly-up. It caused a bunch of weird lawsuits and things like that."
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