The Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) will sign an agreement with Stella Azzurra Basketball Academy to develop and strengthen all aspects of youth basketball in Jamaica.

They made the announcement in a press release on Friday, January 6.

This agreement will facilitate exchange programmes and activities for youth players, sports support personnel and administrators.

Subsequent to the break in COVID 19 restrictions, JaBA and their development partner, P.H.A.S.E 1 academy have strategically placed emphasis on youth development, targeting teaching of fundamentals and making an effort to broaden the pool of youth basketball participants.

The recently certified FIBA level 1 coaches are tasked with the duty of developing 30 clusters of players from primary schools across the island.

These players and current early teens will transition into mini academies coordinated by PHASE 1 at specific regional locations. The synergies with Stella Azzurra will enhance the programmes and increase training and development activities in areas such as camps, clinics and competitions, exchange programmes for teams and officials, infrastructure development, training and exchanges in areas of Technology, Sports information and doping control and equipment support

“JABA is appreciative for the support of our current partners including MCGES, SDF, JOA, KFC and PHASE 1 academy as we strive to expand opportunities for youth basketball development,” the release concluded.

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone described the qualities that make reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic so unique after his selfless performance on Monday.

The 27-year-old Serbian dished 16 assists while only attempting five field goals – hitting all five – for his 14 points and 11 rebounds as his Nuggets beat the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers 122-109.

It improves his career-high assist average to 9.7 per game, which places him third in the league behind only Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton (10.3) and Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young (9.8).

His field goal attempts are the lowest they have been since the 2019-20 season at 15.2 per game – leaving him outside of the top-50 – while being efficient enough to score 25.0 points per game, the 20th-best average.

Speaking to reporters after the win, Malone said it is rare to find a star player so unfazed by their shot attempts.

"I tell you man, we always talk about it, I've been around the league a long time," he said. "I know a lot of players that, if they took five shots in 35 minutes, would be p***** off right now, I'm being serious.

"Nikola doesn't care – whether he takes five [shots] or 25. There's not many guys like him that I've ever been around, and I've been around the game a long time myself, and with my father when he was an assistant coach and a head coach in the NBA.

"It just speaks to – another triple-double – but, a truly selfless superstar. Five shots, no complaints, no pouting, no bad body-language. Let's just play the game the right way, that's all he cares about."

When asked a question about Jokic's ability to throw pinpoint bullet passes, Malone expanded on the craft of the near seven-footer.

"He will throw a bullet if a bullet is needed to be thrown, he will also throw a lob pass when it needs to be thrown, or he will just feather a bounce-pass through traffic if it needs to be thrown," he said.

"That's the beautiful thing about it, he can read the situation, and make the appropriate pass at the right time."

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham echoed those sentiments, sharing admiration for his opponent.

"Man, his ability to play-make, bringing the ball up, out of the post, the mid-post, the nail," he said. "His touch on his passes, his touch on his shots. He's one of those once-in-a-generation type bigs who just does it all.

"So his impact is not based on – he can put up big numbers – but it's not solely based on his scoring output. The way he puts his fingerprints all over the game – that's a rarity.

"Especially at his size, it's only a few of those guys in the league that are able to do that."

With the win, the Nuggets are tied for the best record in the Western Conference at 27-13.

The return of Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis remains weeks away, but he will reportedly take the next step in his rehabilitation process in the coming days.

Davis has missed the past 13 games due to an injured right foot, dealing with a bone spur fracturing off his navicular bone as well as a stress reaction.

Before he hopped off the floor during the Lakers' December 16 win against the Denver Nuggets, Davis was having his best season in a Los Angeles jersey.

He is averaging 27.4 points and a career-high 12.1 rebounds, while shooting a career-best 59.4 per cent from the field and being one of four players averaging at least two blocks per game (2.1).

A report on Monday from ESPN's Dave McMenamin states Davis "plans to begin the ramp-up process to return to play when the team returns to Los Angeles this week".

The ramp-up process will involve aquatic pool workouts and running on an altered-gravity treadmill to keep most of the weight off the big-man's foot as it continues to heal.

It is believed the ramp-up process will take at least a couple of weeks before the Lakers begin to pinpoint a return date.

Los Angeles lost four of their first five games with Davis sidelined, but an incredible stretch of play from LeBron James ignited a run of six wins from seven prior to Monday's loss against the Nuggets, where James was sitting out for rest reasons.

They began the season 2-10, but have recovered to 19-22 and now sit only 1.5 games behind local rivals the Los Angeles Clippers (21-21), who occupy the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

The Golden State Warriors will receive some handy reinforcements on Tuesday as future Hall-of-Famer Stephen Curry prepares to return from an 11-game absence.

Curry has not played since suffering a left shoulder subluxation against the Indiana Pacers on December 14, and after dropping three of the first four games without their two-time MVP, they steadied the ship and went 6-5.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP is averaging 30.0 points, 6.8 assists and a career-high 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting a blistering 43.4 per cent on a gaudy 11.6 three-point attempts per contest.

After starting the season 3-7, the Warriors have recovered to 20-20, and should be at close to full strength when they take on the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday following the return of starting wing Andrew Wiggins on Saturday.

The Warriors currently occupy the seventh seed in the congested Western Conference, only one game behind the fifth-seeded Sacramento Kings (20-18), but also only a half-game ahead of the 10th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers (19-20).

The Boston Celtics rode another impressive performance from MVP candidate Jayson Tatum to a 107-99 home win against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, improving their league-best record to 29-12.

Boston also boast a 16-5 home record, and while they have been the NBA's best offense for most of this season, it was their defense getting the job done against the Bulls.

After holding their opponent to under 100 points only four times from their first 37 games this season, the Celtics have now accomplished the feat in two of their past three outings.

While part of the Bulls' offensive issues boiled down to DeMar DeRozan leaving with a quadriceps strain, the Celtics were also able to hold the red-hot Zach Lavine to 40 per cent shooting (10-of-24), despite his otherwise impressive figures of 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Jayson Tatum was clearly the Celtics' best player, scoring a game-high 32 points on 10-of-21 shooting with eight rebounds and seven assists, while Grant Williams chipped in 20 points (eight-of-15 shooting) and eight rebounds off the bench.

Tatum's 30.8 points per game has him sitting fifth in the league, while his field goal percentage of 47.2 is the highest since his rookie year (47.5 per cent).

The loss for the Bulls snaps a three-game winning streak, and leaves them 10th in the Eastern Conference at 19-22.

Nuggets remain top of the West

The Denver Nuggets had no issue dealing with the visiting and LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers, defending home court with a 122-109 triumph.

It was another playmaking masterclass from reigning back-to-back MVP and arguably the greatest playmaking center in the history of the sport, with Nikola Jokic dishing a game-high 16 assists, grabbing 11 rebounds and finishing a perfect five-of-five from the field for his 14 points. 

He handed lead-scoring duties to Jamal Murray for the night, and he delivered with a season-high 34 points on 13-of-29 shooting, leaving the Nuggets tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the top seed in the West at 27-13.

Russell Westbrook continues to build his case for Sixth Man of the Year, contributing 25 points (10-of-21 shooting), seven rebounds and seven assists off the Lakers' bench.

Brunson heroics not enough for the Knicks

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 44 points as his side went down 111-107 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Brunson shot 15-of-30 from the field, hitting all 10 of his free throws, but a 38-point final quarter from the Bucks saw them claw back from a deficit that reached 17 points in the third period.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was solid by his standards with 22 points (six-of-15 shooting), 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while offseason signing Joe Ingles impressed off the bench with 17 points (six-of-14 shooting) and five assists.

LeBron James will not feature for the Los Angeles Lakers in their game at the Denver Nuggets on Monday after being listed as out with ankle soreness.

James has been in excellent form for the Lakers as they continue to recover from a desperate start to the season that saw them lose 10 of their first 12 games.

The 38-year-old is averaging 29.1 points per game, along with 8.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists, as the Lakers have improved from 2-10 to 19-21, including winning their last five.

They have averaged 125.8 points per game during that win streak, last winning five in a row while averaging at least 125 points in the 1987-88 season.

After scoring a combined 90 in wins at the Atlanta Hawks (47) and Charlotte Hornets (43), James missed the victory against his former team the Miami Heat on Wednesday with an ankle problem, before returning to score 25 against the Hawks on Friday and 37 against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

However, the Lakers listed their star man – the Western Conference Player of the Week – as out again ahead of Monday's clash in Denver, citing left ankle soreness.

James is 20-20 against the Nuggets. He does not have a career losing record against any team.

The Brooklyn Nets have confirmed that Kevin Durant has sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee, and he will be "reevaluated in two weeks."

Durant sustained the injury with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter of the Nets' 102-101 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday when Jimmy Butler fell into him after having his shot blocked by Ben Simmons.

The 2014 NBA MVP briefly stayed in the game but headed for the locker room when the Nets called a timeout 30 seconds later.

Brooklyn confirmed the result of scans on Monday, posting on Twitter: "Kevin Durant has been diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee. The injury occurred during the third quarter of last night's game at Miami. Durant will be reevaluated in two weeks."

Durant injured the MCL in his left knee in January last year, missing approximately a month and half while rehabbing, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said of his latest issue: "There's optimism Durant will miss less time than he did with a six-week absence last season". 

The 12-time NBA All-Star is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season and will hope to be back soon for a Nets team that has rallied after a slow start to be 27-13 and second in the Eastern Conference.

Doc Rivers compared James Harden's showing against the Detroit Pistons to something akin to prime Magic Johnson.

Harden finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 123-111 win for the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

In the process, Harden surpassed 24,000 career regular-season points, becoming the 27th player to hit that landmark.

And Rivers believes Harden deserves to be compared to the very best.

"I hate to you use this example, but when he's playing like this, it's like having a scoring Magic Johnson on the floor," Rivers told reporters. 

"When he runs our team with this kind of pace and he scores and gets assists, we're really good."

The Sixers needed others to step up in the absence of Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey also delivered alongside Harden, scoring 23 points.

"Our defense was pretty good, we took care of the ball and I think everyone competed hard," Maxey said.

"Even someone like Paul Reed comes in and gets nine points and eight offensive rebounds. He plays with so much energy that the other team can't keep up."

Philadelphia are 24-15 for the season and sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, which is propped up by the 11-32 Pistons.

"That's a team playing for a championship and we shot ourselves in the foot," said a frustrated Pistons coach Dwane Casey. 

"We had 22 turnovers – the same number we had in the last game against them. We can't give them points like that."

Kevin Durant went down injured before Royce O'Neale scored the game-winning two-pointer with 3.2 seconds left as the Brooklyn Nets edged the Miami Heat 102-101 on Sunday.

Durant exited late in the third quarter with a right knee issue after Jimmy Butler fell on him, but the Nets did enough without him to improve to 27-13 overall and second spot in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn have won 18 of their last 20 games.

Butler put the Heat ahead 101-100 with a dunk with 1:12 remaining, but O'Neale had the final say with a putback after Kyrie Irving had missed a 30-foot three-point attempt.

Irving top scored for Brooklyn with 28 points, including six-of-15 from three-point range with six assists, while Nic Claxton contributed strongly again with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Durant managed 17 points on five-of-11 shooting from the field with five rebounds in his 30 minutes on the court.

Butler top-scored for the Heat with 26 points, but shot nine-of-21 from the field with two turnovers, while Tyler Herro finished with 24 points before limping off late.

Bam Adebayo was also limited by a right-hand contusion, scoring 10 points with eight rebounds.

Harden records triple-double in 76ers win

James Harden recorded a triple-double and became the 27th NBA player with 24,000 career points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 123-111.

Harden finished with 20 points on seven-of-14 shooting, including three-of-five from beyond the arc, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Tyrese Maxey also came to the fore for the Joel Embiid-less 76ers, while Pistons guard Killian Hayes had a game-high 26 points, with four three-pointers.

Suns slump to sixth straight loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers consigned the short-handed Phoenix Suns to their sixth straight defeat with a 112-98 victory as Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland scored 22 points each.

Mitchell, who scored a season-high 71 points in last weeks' OT win over the Chicago Bulls, made seven-of-12 from the field, while Garland dished off seven assists in a fine display.

The Suns were missing their backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker but were within one point at three-quarter time before fading.

Duane Washington top scored for Phoenix in 25 minutes off the bench with 25 points including five triples.

Kevin Durant is set to undergo an MRI after exiting the Brooklyn Nets' 102-101 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday with a knee injury.

Durant sustained the injury with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter when Jimmy Butler fell back into the Nets forward after having his shot blocked by Ben Simmons.

The 2014 NBA MVP remained in the game initially but appeared concerned by the knock and headed for the locker room when the Nets called a timeout 30 seconds later.

"He didn’t finish the game," Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters. "Just right knee, he'll get evaluated tomorrow. Then hopefully we'll have some more info for you.

"Most likely it will include imaging just to make sure we're good."

Durant had injured the MCL in his left knee in January last year, missing approximately a month and half while rehabbing.

The 12-time NBA All-Star is averaging 30.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists this season for the Nets, who have rallied after a slow start to be 27-13 and second in the Eastern Conference.

"He's in good spirits as we all are," Nets team-mate Kyrie Irving said of Durant. "The strength of our team is us picking each other up.

"Just being ready for whatever's thrown at us... I think one of the greatest qualities of our team is our bench and the way we support each other, despite who's in the lineup.

"Now it's time to go out and exemplify that until we find out the timeline with K and when he could be available again. So we just got to be mature about it."

Luka Doncic will miss his fourth game of the season after being ruled out of Sunday's road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Doncic, who is leading the league in scoring at 34.0 points per game, has played in 37 of the Mavericks' 40 games this season. They are 23-14 in those 37 games and 0-3 when Doncic has not played.

He is officially listed as out due to left ankle soreness after putting up 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Saturday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

It has been yet another spectacular campaign for the 23-year-old Slovenian superstar, who has a Rookie of the Year and three All-NBA First Team selections from his first four seasons.

Doncic has taken yet another step forward on both ends, posting career highs in points, field goal percentage (49.9), three-point percentage (35.5), made free throws per game (8.4) and steals (1.6).

He will be joined on the sideline by Dorian Finney-Smith (adductor strain), Josh Green (elbow sprain) and Maxi Kleber (hamstring tear).

The Mavericks entered Sunday's action sitting fourth in the Western Conference, just 3.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets in first place.

LeBron James has expressed his frustration at the lack of trade movement for the Los Angeles Lakers following the 136-134 victory against the Sacramento Kings.

A fifth consecutive win saw the Lakers improve to 19-21, a game back of the 10th seed Utah Jazz, who occupy what would be the final place in the Western Conference play-in tournament.

That is still well below the expectations that surround James and the Lakers franchise, and their inactivity in the market has raised eyebrows, as has the apparent reluctance to trade the 2027 and 2029 first-round picks that some feel can be used to improve the roster.

With the February 9 trade deadline on the horizon, James made it clear his patience on the matter is waning, telling the Athletic: "I play the game. I worry about who's in the locker room. I can't do nobody else's job.

"Listen, you guys know. It's not rocket science. I'm doing what's best for my guys in the locker room. That's all I can worry about.

"Y'all know what the f*** should be happening. I don't need to talk."

The Lakers were reportedly considering trading Russell Westbrook and both first-rounders to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield but elected to wait for a deal that would have a greater impact upon the team.

Despite the loss of key players and poor early-season form, the Lakers sit just two wins off sixth place and are 7.5 games adrift of Western Conference leaders the Denver Nuggets.

The Los Angeles Lakers are "trending in the right direction" after beating the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, according to coach Darvin Ham.

An awful start to the season saw them lose 10 of their first 12 games, but the Lakers' form has evened out and their 136-134 win over the Kings made it five victories in a row to move them on to 19-21 for the campaign.

LeBron James posted 37 points as well as eight rebounds and seven assists as the visitors secured their latest win at Golden 1 Center.

Ham pointed to his team's struggles earlier in the season – including two defeats to the Kings – as partly responsible for their recent upturn, saying after the game the Lakers are "trending in the right direction and learning from our mistakes." 

He added: "A couple of months back we'd have lost a game like this, and back then sitting here with you guys in post-game pressers telling you as much as it hurt, we need to go through this process, we need to learn, trial by fire.

"All those experiences are causing us to be more conscious on offense, not just throwing away possessions late in the game.

"At the end of the day, everything we have gone through this season I think has been a huge education for us."

Thomas Bryant, who scored 29 points along with claiming 14 rebounds, also praised his team-mates for their resilience.

"It says a lot about the confidence, the strong resiliency that we try and bring each and every night out," the former Washington Wizards center said.

"I know each and every last one of those guys are proud of each other out there."

Chicago Bulls' All-Star guard Zach LaVine says he "feels like me again" after scoring a combined 77 points in back-to-back games capped by his side's 126-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

LaVine starred with 41 points including 11 three-pointers in Friday's 126-112 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, following that up with 36 on 12-of-21 shooting against the Jazz.

That marks the best form that the 27-year-old has achieved this season after undergoing arthroscopic left knee surgery in the offseason.

"First couple of back to backs, I played and didn't feel great," LaVine told reporters.

"[Now] I feel great. Legs feel healthy. Felt springy at the beginning of the game. It's good to feel like me again."

On Friday, LaVine hit 11 of his 13 three-point attempts (84.6 per cent), joining Stephen Curry as the only players in NBA history to hit at least 11 three-pointers in a game at over 80 per cent efficiency.

LaVine shot another six-of-12 from beyond the arc against the Jazz, including three in a row to push the Bulls' lead to eight.

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan encouraged LaVine to take on more three-point attempts.

"For us to generate more threes, he can be a big part of that," Donovan said.

"Then he's got to find a balance between shooting those threes and obviously getting downhill and either getting to the basket or passing and creating offense for others."

Chicago's win over the Jazz made it three in a row, along with eight victories from their past 11 games, during which they have the fourth best offensive rating in the NBA.

"It always helps when your best players are playing well and you're focused on the other end," LaVine said.

"We're playing well. We're making big plays. I'm not saying we're playing perfect, but we're competing.

"We're coming to each game with a certain type of energy and confidence and we need to keep taking it game by game. We're not trying to look ahead and get ahead of ourselves."

LeBron James scored 37 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 points and 15 assists off the bench as the Los Angeles Lakers sneaked past the Sacramento Kings 136-134 on Saturday.

The win made it five straight victories for the Lakers, who were missing Anthony Davis (foot), as they improved to 19-21.

Dennis Schroder hit two free-throws with 3.1 seconds remaining before De'Aaron Fox missed a 43-foot attempt on the buzzer. Fox had squared the game up at 134-all with a 14-foot shot with 7.1 seconds remaining.

James' driving layup and one with 48 seconds left had earned the Lakers the lead which they never gave up.

The four-time NBA MVP scored 10 fourth-quarter points, shooting at 50 per cent for the game, finishing with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Schroder added 27 points with four-of-five from three-point range, while Thomas Bryant added 29 points and 14 rebounds.

Westbrook played 34 minutes, making a strong contribution, becoming only the second player to reach 20 points, five rebounds and 15 assists off the bench since starters were first tracked in 1970-71.

Fox scored 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, with Domantas Sabonis having 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Doncic triple-double in Mavs win

Luka Doncic had his ninth triple-double of the season with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the New Orleans Pelicans 127-117.

Dallas raced to a 34-15 quarter-time lead with Christian Wood starring early to finish with 28 points, while exciting rookie Jaden Hardy scored 15 for the second straight time.

The Pels, playing without leading scorers Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum, were led by Jonas Valanciunas with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Tatum guides Celtics past Spurs

Jayson Tatum scored 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting as he lifted the Boston Celtics past the San Antonio Spurs 121-116.

Tatum scored a tiebreaking jumper with 33 seconds left, while Jaylen Brown added 29 points and Malcolm Brogdon contributed 23 off the bench.

The Spurs pushed the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics all game, with eight players scoring double digits for the home team, led by Zach Collins with 18 points and 12 rebounds.