NBA NOTES - THE NBA SEASON BEGINS with CHANGES

Back in the day Kevin Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder then he became an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors NOW… WHAT WILL HAPPEN…. with the BROOKLYN NETS? - (Keith Allison photo)

RUSSELL WESTBROOK, WASHINGTON WIZARDS - (NBA - photo)   CHRIS PAUL, PHOENIX SUNS - (NBA - photo)   GORDON HAYWARD, CHARLOTTE HORNETS - (NBA - photo)   KYRIE IRVING, BROOKLYN NETS - (NBA - photo)   Eddie Jones a former LA Laker then traded to the Charlotte Hornets - (NBA - photo)

Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics Larry Bird in Game two of the 1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden Date 30 May 1985 - Steve Lipofsky www.Basketballphoto.com ALL TIME NBA 1st TEAM - BREAKING IT DOWN MAGIC JOHNSON & PHAL SAMPHORS

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

The 2020-21 NBA season begins with old faces in new places, the question is who ad where are they now. Some of the answers of key player moves are identified in this report - You know the names and their game but the season the question is WUSS-SUP with these OG's? - NBA's GREATEST PLAYERS OF ALL-TIME - THIS DAY IN THE NBA

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

FACES CHANGING PLACES

The 2020 NBA offseason produced plenty of player movement. Among those to change teams:

• CHRIS PAUL, PHOENIX SUNS: The 10-time NBA All- Star brings his leadership and playmaking to the Suns, who are seeking to build on last season’s 8-0 record in seeding games and make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Paul ranks seventh in NBA history in both career assists and steals.

• RUSSELL WESTBROOK, WASHINGTON WIZARDS: The 2016-17 Kia NBA MVP has been an NBA All-Star in nine of the last 10 seasons. Last season, he was one of two players (along with the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic) to average at least 27.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists.

• AL HORFORD, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: A fivetime NBA All-Star, Horford is set to play for a Western Conference team for the first time after spending 13 seasons in the Eastern Conference.

• GORDON HAYWARD, CHARLOTTE HORNETS: Hayward averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists with the Boston Celtics last season. He was named an NBA All-Star in 2016-17 with the Utah Jazz.

• MONTREZL HARRELL AND DENNIS SCHRÖDER, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: Harrell and Schröder finished in first and second place, respectively, in voting for the 2019-20 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award.

• JRUE HOLIDAY, MILWAUKEE BUCKS: A 2013 NBA All-Star and two-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection, Holiday joins Milwaukee after playing seven seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans.

• JOHN WALL AND DEMARCUS COUSINS HOUSTON ROCKETS: Wall, a five-time NBA All-Star, and Cousins, a four-time NBA All-Star, are both returning after missing last season. Wall has played all nine of his NBA seasons with the Washington Wizards, averaging 19.0 points and 9.2 assists. Cousins holds career averages of 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds.

WUSS-SUP?

• STEPHEN CURRY, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (5 GP LAST SEASON): The two-time NBA MVP led Golden State to three NBA championships and five consecutive NBA Finals appearances before last season’s extended absence (he returned in March and played one game before the season was paused). Curry needs five three-pointers to reach 2,500 for his career and is 66 threes from passing Reggie Miller for the second most in NBA history. He is also poised to become

• KEVIN DURANT, BROOKLYN NETS (0 GP): The 10-time NBA All- Star and 2013-14 NBA MVP is set for his first action since the 2019 NBA Finals. In three seasons with Golden State, Durant won two Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP awards and reached the NBA Finals three times. A four-time scoring champion, Durant has the sixth-highest scoring average in NBA history (27.0 ppg).

• BLAKE GRIFFIN, DETROIT PISTONS (18 GP): In 2018-19 (his first full season with Detroit), Griffin averaged a career-high 24.5 points, was named an NBA All-Star for the sixth time and earned All-NBA Third Team honors. He also made a career-high 189 three-pointers.

• KYRIE IRVING, BROOKLYN NETS (20 GP): Irving made a splash with 50 points in his first game as a Net, the highest-scoring debut in NBA history. He averaged 27.4 points in 20 games, which would have been a career high over a full season. Before last season, Irving had been named an NBA All-Star six times in a seven-year span.

DID YOU KNOW?

Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento Kings) is a cousin of three-time NBA All-Star Eddie Jones.

THIS DAY IN THE NBA

December 22, 1949 In his 13th game as a Celtic, Tony Lavelli scored 26 points as Boston beat the Minneapolis Lakers, who were on their way to a second straight NBA title. At halftime, the versatile Lavelli treated the 5,206 fans at Boston Garden to an accordion mini-concert, one of about two dozen performances he gave around the league for which he was paid $125 per concert by the NBA.

December 22, 1956 Bill Russell made his debut for the Boston Celtics at home against the St. Louis Hawks. The Celtics won 95-93. Russell scored six points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

December 22, 1962 The NBA’s 1,000,000th point was scored in either the Detroit-Chicago, New York-Boston or Syracuse-San Francisco game.

December 22, 1996 By pulling down 12 rebounds in Utah’s 100-94 setback at Cleveland, Karl Malone became the 11th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 and 10,000 rebounds in a season.

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