Chris Mannix

3 weeks ago | sacbee.com | Chris Mannix

Before De'Aaron Fox's shot could clear the rim, Amen Thompson's eyes darted towards the Rockets sideline. In Houston, nothing triggers an Ime Udoka tongue-lashing faster than a blown defensive assignment, and Thompson, his dynamic second-year swingman, seems to collect more than his share of earfuls. General manager Rafael Stone estimates Thompson's ratio of scoring to getting yelled at by Udoka "is pretty close to 1-to-1."The situation is irrelevant.

3 weeks ago | si.com | Chris Mannix

Locked away on his cellphone, Jalen Williams keeps receipts. Screenshots of every criticism, slight and disrespect. Too small, one pre-draft analyst said of him. Too slow. Can’t defend. Isn’t explosive. Doesn’t create his own shot. As a rookie, Williams would scroll through his archive whenever he needed motivation. As a third-year player, an All-Star, a starter on the Western Conference front-runner he … still does. “Average role player, I remember that one,” Williams says. “I’ll look.

4 weeks ago | si.com | Chris Mannix

When attempting to explain the potential of Evan Mobley, Kenny Atkinson has been known to invoke the name of an all-time great. “Magic Johnson,” says Atkinson, the Cavaliers’ head coach. “Sometimes, he’ll be playing, and he’ll look like him.” An example: In mid-March, Mobley yanked down a rebound early in the second quarter of Cleveland’s game against Memphis. He started the fast break, instantly switching from 6' 11", 215-pound defensive menace to an impossibly long playmaker.

4 weeks ago | si.com | Chris Mannix

NBAFirst-year coach JJ Redick instilled a simple philosophy, the front office traded for Luka Doncic and Los Angeles has reasons to believe. Here’s the story, at least as Rui Hachimura tells it. When JJ Redick was hired as Los Angeles Lakers coach last June, he had a goal: 50 wins. Third seed. It seemed improbable. Back then, expectations, at least externally, were modest.

1 month ago | nbc4i.com | Chris Mannix

Cooper Flagg is locked into the top overall pick, while the Rutgers duo goes 2–3, plus other notes from scouts more than two months out from June’s draft. The lasting image of Cooper Flagg is a crushing one: riding on the back of a golf cart, a blank stare, his mind undoubtedly revisiting the foul-line jumper in the closing seconds of the Final Four semifinals that came up just short.