Former No. 1 draft pick and NBA MVP Derrick Rose announced his retirement on Thursday following a 16-year career in the league.
Rose was selected first overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls and went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honours in 2008-09 before becoming the youngest MVP in league history at 22 years old in 2011.
He earned his third All-Star appearance in 2011-12, but Rose sustained a major knee injury during the 2012 playoffs that led to him sitting out almost all of the next two seasons.
That was the beginning of Rose battling knee and ankle injuries throughout his career.
Rose thanked the game of basketball on Instagram on Thursday, calling it “My First Love.”
“You believed in me through the highs and lows, my constant when everything else seemed uncertain,” Rose posted.
“You gave me a gift, our time together, one that I will cherish for the rest of my days.
“You told me it’s okay to say goodbye, reassuring me that you’ll always be a part of me, no matter where life takes me.”
Rose averaged 17.4 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 723 career regular-season games with the Bulls, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid have agreed to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Friday.
The max contract extension is worth $193million over three years, multiple media outlets reported, guaranteeing Embiid over $299million through the 2028-29 season.
Embiid announced the deal with a post on Instagram.
“Philadelphia is home. I want to be here for the rest of my career,” Embiid said in his social media post. “I love this community and everything you’ve given me and my family.
“There is a lot more work to do. You guys deserve a championship and I think we’re just getting started!”
The team announced the extension without disclosing terms, citing a team policy, with managing partner Josh Harris saying Embiid is “one of the greatest Sixers of all time and is well on his way to being one of the best players to ever play the game.”
With the start of the NBA regular season just over a month away, Embiid’s extension caps a massive offseason spending spree by the 76ers.
Philadelphia committed an estimated $550million in new money with extensions for Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, plus the free agent signings of Paul George and several role players.
Embiid has established himself as a franchise cornerstone and perennial MVP candidate but is still seeking the corresponding play-off success while dealing with several injuries.
Embiid was voted the 2022-23 MVP after second-place finishes in the two previous seasons.
He scored 34.7 points per game last season, but his 39 games played did not qualify him for the scoring title.
A seven-time All-Star, Embiid is coming off a summer in which he helped Team USA win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The Denver Nuggets and star guard Jamal Murray have agreed to a four-year, $208million max contract extension, multiple media outlets reported Saturday.
Murray had been scheduled to be a free agent next offseason but will now earn a total of $244million through the 2028-29 season.
Murray, 27, has emerged as the primary sidekick to three-time MVP Nikola Jokić and helped the Nuggets win the franchise’s first NBA championship in 2023.
Since returning from a torn ACL that cost him the 2021-22 season, Murray has emerged as one of the premier perimeter scorers in the NBA and a seamless fit with Jokic.
Murray averaged 21.2 points and 6.5 assists last season while shooting a career-high 42.5 percent from 3-point range.
Over 469 career games, all with Denver, Murray has averaged 17.5 points and 4.5 assists.
Murray has two 50-point play-off games and has averaged 24.2 points over 65 career post-season games.
The offseason spending of the Nuggets’ front office has become a controversial topic since they elected not to re-sign Bruce Brown and Jeff Green after winning the 2023 championship. This offseason, starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left in free agency to sign with the Orlando Magic.
With several veteran role-players leaving over the last two seasons, the Nuggets will rely even more on the two-man game between Murray and Jokić, as well as younger players like Christian Braun and Peyton Watson.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a one-year deal for the return of free agent Tristan Thompson, according to his agency.
Thompson, who spent his first nine professional seasons with the Cavs and is represented by Klutch Sports, played a key role in their first championship success back in 2016 alongside LeBron James.
The 33-year-old has since turned out for the Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Lakers, but his best years have come with the Cavaliers.
He was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and has averaged nine points and 8.3 rebounds for the Cavaliers in 10 seasons.
Thompson was re-signed by the Cavs as a free agent before the 2023-24 season, appearing in 49 games around a 25-game suspension he received after testing positive for a banned substance.
With Thompson's impending arrival, the Cavs are hoping they can make a deeper run in the playoffs this campaign after falling to the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs last season.
They will be doing so under new management, after parting ways with J.B. Bickerstaff and bringing in Kenny Atkinson, who had been the assistant at the Golden State Warriors for the last four campaigns.
The Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry have agreed to terms on a one-year, $62.6million contract extension that will keep the four-time NBA champion with the only franchise he’s ever played for through the 2026-27 season.
That campaign will be the 18th in the NBA for Curry, who is slated to earn $55.7million next season and $59.6million in 2025-26.
Curry, who captured a gold medal with Team USA at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, has won four NBA titles and two league Most Valuable Player Awards while also earning 10 All-Star selections.
The 36-year-old guard was the MVP of the 2022 NBA Finals as well as the MVP of the NBA All-Star Game that season, and he’s been named to the All-NBA First Team four times.
Drafted by Golden State with the seventh overall pick in 2009, Curry is the all-time NBA leader with 3,747 made 3-pointers and is 10th in league history with a 42.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Curry is also the best free-throw shooter in NBA history at 91.0 percent.
The New York Knicks will visit the Boston Celtics for the first game of the 2024-25 NBA season on October 22 after the schedule for the new campaign was confirmed.
The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA Finals to win their first championship since 2008 last season, their 18th crown taking them clear of the Los Angeles Lakers at the top of the all-time charts.
They will open the defence of their title against rivals New York, who finished second to Boston in the Eastern Conference in 2023-24.
The Knicks were plagued by injuries throughout the 2023-24 postseason and were beaten by the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals, but they have moved to strengthen during the offseason by adding Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
That game will form part of an opening-night double header, preceding the Minnesota Timberwolves' clash with the Los Angeles Lakers, as LeBron James enters his record-equalling 22nd NBA season.
The following day will feature Paul George's Philadelphia 76ers debut as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Los Angeles Clippers will welcome the Phoenix Suns to inaugurate their new home arena, the Intuit Dome.
Other standout fixtures for the season include Klay Thompson's reunion with the Golden State Warriors following his move to Dallas, which is set for November 12.
His Mavs debut could come against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, with the two Texas teams set to face off on October 24.
The 2024-25 All-Star Weekend will be staged in San Francisco from February 14 to February 16, with the regular season set to wrap up on April 13.
The Utah Jazz have signed forward Lauri Markkanen to a five-year, $238million contract that includes money added to next season’s salary and four additional years through the 2028-29 campaign.
The 2022-23 All-Star and NBA Most Improved Player will see his salary increase from $18million to $42 million next season before earning $196million from 2025-29.
“I’m excited to get this extension done,” Markkanen said. "I’m excited to get back to work and build with this franchise.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Markkanen with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft before dealing him to the Chicago Bulls in a draft-night trade.
Markkanen went on to earn First-Team All-Rookie honours in 2017-18 before Chicago traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in August 2021.
He spent one season with the Cavaliers before they dealt him to Utah in the trade that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland.
Markkanen averaged a career-high 25.6 points in his first season with the Jazz in 2022-23 while adding 8.6 rebounds per game. He was named an All-Star for the first time as well as the NBA’s Most Improved Player.
The 27-year-old Finland native followed that campaign by averaging 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds last season.
Markkanen's 1,004 made 3-pointers rank third all-time in NBA history for players seven foot or taller behind Dirk Nowitzki (1,982) and Channing Frye (1,049).
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