Police want to speak with Dallas Cowboys cornerback Kelvin Joseph regarding a shooting murder that took place in the Dallas area in March, according to reports.
Joseph, a 2020 second-round pick by the Cowboys, allegedly appeared to be part of a group that was involved in an altercation with another group containing 20-year-old victim Cameron Ray.
Footage shows gunshots being fired out of an SUV at Ray and his friends as they walked back to their car after the initial scuffle.
One of the people seen in the video was allegedly wearing a chain with the initials YKDV. Joseph goes by the name YKDV Bossman Fat in his aspiring rap career.
The Cowboys did not have an official comment, however ESPN is reporting that the team have spoken with Joseph and are encouraging him to cooperate with police and disclose what he knows about the case.
Detective Tonya McDaniel told KDFW that Ray's group was not responsible for the initial incident, which led to the shooting.
The $518,000 sale of Tom Brady's 'last' touchdown pass football has been mutually voided after the greatest quarterback in NFL history reneged on retirement.
In what seemed like an unbelievable stroke of misfortune for the buyer, Brady spectacularly announced his return to the game less than 24 hours after the purchase was finalised, although money was yet to exchange hands.
Brady's decision not to retire came 40 days after initially announcing his playing career was over in late-January, causing chaos in the sports collectible world.
But the anonymous buyer has been spared the devastating blow as Lelands Auctions – who facilitated the sale – announced on Thursday that the purchase had been voided by a mutual agreement.
"We wanted to do the right thing here," Mike Heffner, president and partner at Lelands, said.
"It's the most unique situation that we'll probably ever encounter in our lifetimes – at least when it comes to sports memorabilia. We're still not to the end of the book yet; we've written a chapter."
While the ball may not be Brady's last ever touchdown pass, it is for the time being, and Heffner said the owner still plans on selling it privately through Lelands.
"All parties were waiting to see how it played out," he said.
"Tom Brady, let's face it, is kind of unpredictable these days. Until he throws that first touchdown pass in September, this ball is still the record."
Cameron Young shot a career-best eight-under 63, with a bogey-free first round to take the lead at the RBC Heritage on Thursday.
The 24-year-old flew out of the gate in his debut at Harbour Town, with five birdies on the front nine, and capped the stunning round off with another on the iconic par-three 18th hole.
Young leads Chile's Joaquin Niemann by two strokes and is three ahead of seven others, including reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry, coming off his third-place finish at the Masters last weekend.
Former RBC Heritage winner Graeme McDowell, Mito Pereira, Adam Svenson, Corey Connors and Sepp Straka also put up scores of 66, with another ten a further stroke back, making light work of Harbour Town's famous tight fairways in the opening round.
Morgan Hoffman also played his first round on the PGA Tour since being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 2019, remarkably shooting an even-par 71.
After taking out The Masters, world number one Scottie Scheffler will miss the RBC Heritage this year. In what is still a packed field at Harbour Town this weekend, five of the world's top-ten players are taking part.
Meanwhile, Collin Morikawa closed with a bogey in front of the lighthouse on the 18th to finish the opening round on a one-under 70.
Coming off his calamitous final day at The Masters, where his triple-bogey on the 12th at Augusta National dashed his hopes of catching Scheffler, Cameron Smith shot a two-over 73.
Young, a rookie on the PGA Tour, has had second-placed finishes at the Rivera CC and Jackson CC, and qualified for The Masters – where he missed the cut with consecutive scores of 77.
"Honestly, I wanted to play last weekend," Young said. "But in terms of the end of the week, [missing the cut] is not the end of the world.
"I know it would be really nice, but you have good days and bad days and rarely do you have four good ones in a row. I'm glad it came early and I'm happy I kept myself around for the whole tournament."
The Milwaukee Brewers rode a quality start from Brandon Woodruff to a 5-1 home win against the St Louis Cardinals.
After a horrible first showing where he conceded seven runs in less than four innings, Woodruff was terrific in a bounce-back performance on Thursday, pitching five scoreless frames and allowing only four baserunners.
Milwaukee was always in control of the contest, leading 4-0 after three innings thanks to a big home run from Omar Narvaez and RBI hits to Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Renfroe.
However, the best hit of the game belonged to the Cardinals, as Tommy Edman blasted a big 423-foot consolation home run in the eighth inning for the visiting side's only score.
After going one-for-four with a double, Brewers star Christian Yelich now has hits in five of his past six games as he looks to return to form following two down seasons by his standards.
Ohtani gets grand-slammed
Reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani was on the receiving end of a Jonah Heim grand slam as the Los Angeles Angels lost to the Texas Rangers 10-5.
Ohtani, who was the Angels' starting pitcher and lead-off hitter, was disappointing on the mound on Thursday, giving up six runs in less than four innings, and finished the game one-for-four in the batter's box after a ninth-inning double.
It was a frustrating game for the Angels after it started so well, as Mike Trout hit one of the biggest home runs of his career in the first inning, travelling 472 feet.
Yankees get out of a jam
Leading 3-0 heading into the ninth inning, the New York Yankees found themselves in a sticky situation when closer Aroldis Chapman walked three consecutive Toronto Blue Jays batters to load the bases with no outs.
Chapman was pulled from the game and replaced with Michael King, who struck out George Springer.
King then got Bo Bichette to line out to second base for a game-ending double play as Matt Chapman got caught too far away from first base when the catch was made.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry said he does not need to be at 100 per cent to return from injury in Game 1 of his side's opening round series against the Denver Nuggets.
Curry has been out of action with a sprained foot since mid-March, and the Warriors have sputtered in his absence, going 8-10 in the 18 games the two-time MVP has missed this season.
While they did finish with a five-game winning streak to end the regular season, the Dubs will need a fit and in-rhythm Curry to go deep into the post-season.
It is being reported that the Warriors feel Curry's injury is simply going to be a matter of pain tolerance, with no fear that playing may exacerbate the problem.
Speaking with media after the Warriors' scrimmage on Thursday, Curry said if he is allowed to play, he will be there in Game 1.
"You get cleared to play, at that point there's no time to really worry about that," he said.
"Are you going to help the team win? Are you going to make an impact and do what you do? If I feel like the answer is yes, I'm going to play.
"I'm not worried about it being a limiting factor in terms of how I will approach the game – hopefully there's a little wiggle room to see how I feel out there."
When discussing his chances, Curry said he has "high confidence".
"Everything has been positive in terms of getting back out there and understanding I'll be ready to play whenever that time is," he said "I'm hoping it's Saturday.
"I'll try to be the best version I can be, having missed a little bit of time... I have high confidence I can go out there and help our team win."
Jarrett Allen could be a possible inclusion for the Cleveland Cavaliers when they face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Allen, who has been out since March due to a fractured finger, has not been ruled out for Friday despite being listed by Cleveland as questionable.
Following their 115-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday in their opening play-in game, the Cavaliers now face a must-win situation to keep their season alive.
The 23-year-old All-Star averaged 16.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game and held a career-best net rating of +26 before the injury, sustained in March against the Toronto Raptors, with the Cavs ending the regular season with a 7-11 record from that point.
Allen's inclusion would give Cleveland renewed flexibility with their rotation, using Lauri Markkanen and Evan Mobley in different defensive matchups on the back of Allen's rim protection.
With a win on Friday, JB Bickerstaff's side would secure a first-round playoff matchup against the Miami Heat, the Eastern Conference's first seed.
It is looking increasingly likely that Ben Simmons will play for the Brooklyn Nets this season after reports that he is targeting a return during his side's first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
Shams Charania from The Athletic – who is also represented by Simmons' agency, Klutch Sports Group – said the Nets are hoping the return comes around April 25-29, which coincides with Game 4, Game 5 and Game 6 of the series.
Simmons is yet to play at all this season after sitting out of the early portion of the season with the Philadelphia 76ers due to mental health reasons, and has been sidelined with a back injury since arriving with the Nets via trade.
While everything is trending positively for Simmons' Nets debut to come in this year's playoffs, superstar teammate Kevin Durant said he would believe it when he sees it.
"I'm not expecting him to play," he said after practice on Thursday.
"That's easier for me. I'm not putting any pressure on Ben to come out there and hoop.
"So I'm not expecting him to do anything but just to get his body right and get healthy as fast as he can – in my mind, I'm preparing as if we're playing with the team we have."
Head coach Steve Nash was non-committal when asked about Simmons' chances.
"It's up to Ben's back," he said.
"It's not up to me, any of us, other than his back… there's a chance Ben comes back, there's a chance he doesn't come back.
"So I think for us, we got to focus on the group; support Ben and his journey to get back on the floor, but at the same time we don't have time to lose focus on the group that's playing.
"Ben's a franchise cornerstone – but right now it's about supporting him physically and mentally to get back on the floor, and coaching the group to put its best foot forward in the first few games of the series at least.
"Internally, we're not sitting here saying 'Ben's returning in this series' – we'll see what happens."
Miles Bridges has been fined $50,000 for aggressively throwing his mouthguard into the crowd, hitting a teenage girl.
The incident took place when Bridges was ejected from the Charlotte Hornets' play-in game loss against the Atlanta Hawks after receiving two quick technical fouls in the fourth quarter.
While being escorted back to the locker room, Bridges appeared to react to a fan taunting him over the barricade, turning and throwing his mouthguard in that direction, but it missed and hit a 16-year-old girl.
He apologised for his actions when speaking with post-game media, calling it "unacceptable" and asked to be put in touch with the teenage girl to make amends.
The $50,000 fine matches the largest league-issued fine this season, equalling the figure Markieff Morris was slugged with after his flagrant foul on Nikola Jokic sparked a mini-skirmish.
Other big fines this season include $40,000 for Jusuf Nurkic for grabbing a fan's cell phone and throwing it into the stands, and $35,000 for Malik Beasley for striking Portland Trail Blazer Drew Eubanks.
Patrick Beverley has been hit with a $30,000 fine for "inappropriate statements" and "egregious use of profanity" after the Minnesota Timberwolves guard aimed salty shots at the Clippers.
The comments from Beverley came after Tuesday's 109-104 win for the T-Wolves in the seven-eight play-in game in the West.
Anthony Edwards played a starring role with 30 points for Minnesota and was interviewed alongside Beverley after the game.
Beverley was excitable after beating his former team. He spent four years on the Clippers before joining Minnesota last August.
"I wanted this so bad," Beverley said. "I wanted this one so bad."
He said his message to the Clippers was: "Take their a** home. Long flight to LA, take y'all a** home.
"It's deeper than that for me. I gave my blood and sweat and tears to that organisation. You guys know the story. Blood, sweat and tears, to just be written off like that, 'oh, he's injury prone, he's old', this, this, that, that.
"To be able to come here, play them in a play-in, beat their a**, there's no other feeling, man, no other feeling."
Beverley also used social media to express similar emotion, with added profanities. NBA chiefs considered he overstepped the line of acceptability.
A league statement on Thursday read: "Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $30,000 for inappropriate statements during a media interview and on social media, including the egregious use of profanity, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, president, league operations."
It was a second fine inside a week for Beverley, who had a $25,000 punishment imposed for improper conduct to a game official after being ejected from the Timberwolves' April 10 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
The Dallas Mavericks are expecting Luka Doncic to sit out their playoff opener against the Utah Jazz on Saturday due to a calf strain.
Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news on Thursday of what will likely prove to be a critical absence for the Mavs.
Doncic strained his left calf in the third quarter of the Mavs' final regular season fixture, a 130-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs, and sat out the rest of the game after putting up 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
The two-time All-Star would have been ineligible for the game had the NBA not rescinded his 16th technical foul of the season, which he earned in the game prior against the Portland Trailblazers. Doncic would have been forced to serve a one-game suspension if the technical foul had stood.
Though the win over the Spurs was ultimately a meaningless game, with the Golden State Warriors defeating the New Orleans Pelicans and confirming the Western Conference's third seed, the Mavs still had to keep up their end of the bargain and beat the Spurs.
The 23-year-old Slovenian averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game this season.
Steph Curry is likely to return for Game 1 of the Golden State Warriors' first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, after missing the home stretch of the regular season with a foot sprain.
The two-time MVP and three-time NBA Champion is averaging 25 points, six assists and five rebounds this season in 64 games – his most games played since the 2018-19 season.
Curry is essential to the Warriors' success, as illustrated by their 8-10 record in games he has missed this season, compared to 45-19 when he has played.
Golden State head coach Steve Kerr spoke about how everyone is desperate to get the star guard back on the court, but the organisation will not rush him back before he has proven his readiness.
"We're not going to play him without getting a scrimmage," he said.
"The whole team will need a scrimmage, given that we generally play every other day and now we have six days between games, that's pretty unique.
"But it would be irresponsible to put Steph out there in a playoff game without having scrimmage time before."
Kerr also suggested that if Curry is to suit up in Game 1, he will be on a minutes restriction, saying he won't play "30, 35 minutes", and may come off the bench.
Curry's 'Splash Brother', Klay Thompson, also weighed in on the status of his team-mate.
"It felt good to play, and Stephen Curry looked like himself," he said. "He just gives everybody a lift with just his presence on the court.
"It was great to have him out there."
A women’s pair of Chauna Kelly and Petal Smith will depart Jamaica on Friday for the Dominican Republic where they will participate in the Beach World Championship Qualifiers from April 16-18, 2022.
Jamaica will play in Group A alongside Canada, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Curacao. Group B comprises Cuba, Mexico, US Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and the Cayman Islands.
Each team will play in a round-robin format with the top two teams from each group advancing to the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championship which will take place in Rome, Italy from June 7th to 19th, 2022.
Jamaica is resuming competition in beach volleyball after a two-year hiatus prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The team will be accompanied by Coach Oneil Ebanks.
Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed to the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters with straight sets wins on Thursday, remaining on course for a final meeting.
Last year's runner-up Andrey Rublev, however, missed out on a last-eight spot after falling to a three-set defeat against Jannik Sinner.
World number three Zverev overcame Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2 7-5 to progress in Monaco, where he is seeking to win the sixth ATP 1000 title of his career.
"For the second clay-court match of the season, I can't complain too much," the 24-year-old second seed said on court after sealing the victory.
"Yes, I lost focus a little bit in the second set, but at the end of the day, he's somebody that can really play. I'm happy with a two-set win."
Tsitsipas (3) remains in contention for a second consecutive title in the principality after defeating Laslo Dere 7-5 7-6 (7-1) and will face off against 12th seed Diego Schwartzman for a semi-final spot after the Argentine defeated Lorenzo Musetti in a hard-fought three-set encounter.
There will be no repeat of 2021's final between Tsitsipas and Rublev, however, after the Russian fell to a thrilling 5-7 6-1 6-3 loss to ninth seed Sinner in the day's final contest.
The other seed to fall victim to a shock in the last 16 was world number seven Casper Ruud, losing 6-3 7-5 to Grigor Dimitrov, who will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in the last eight.
Finally, Novak Djokovic's conqueror Alejandro Davidovich Fokina cruised past David Goffin 6-4 6-1 to set up a quarter-final tie with the United States' Taylor Fritz, who bested compatriot Sebastian Korda – with whom he played doubles with in Monte Carlo – in straight sets.
The NFL Draft is rarely dominated by teams in contention to lift the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the upcoming season.
Though trades regularly shuffle the pack, more often than not the draft headlines are made by teams who finished at the wrong end of the regular-season standings in the previous campaign, such is the nature of league's annual selection meeting.
While those franchises with rosters capable of contending to go all the way to the Super Bowl may not be as reliant on the draft as those rebuilding their teams, the selections they make can be critical in providing the potential final piece of what they hope will be a championship-winning puzzle.
Inevitably, not every team expected to contend in April will do so once the season gets under way in September.
Yet we can make educated guesses as to which teams will be in the mix to go deep into the postseason in each conference.
Here Stats Perform has identified four such teams from each conference, with the Cleveland Browns omitted from the list due to the threat of a possible suspension for new starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
With help from some advanced metrics, we look at what each of these eight teams need to add in the draft to maximise their hopes of standing underneath the confetti in Arizona next February.
NFC
Los Angeles Rams
Identifying draft needs for the Rams is a difficult task not because they don't have any, but because they so often fill their holes by trading away their picks to land superstars.
This year, the Rams don't pick until 104 overall in the third round, not that the Super Bowl champions will mind skipping the first two rounds.
When it finally comes to their turn, the interior of the offensive line stands out as an area of weakness, while the Rams might also be eyeing an edge rusher to help fill the void left by Von Miller, whose stunt-adjusted pass rush win percentage of 43.4 was fifth among edge rushers with at least 100 one-on-one matchups last year.
San Francisco 49ers
The Niners are in a similar position to the Rams in that they don't have a lot of needs, though the urgency is greater for a team that let a fourth-quarter lead slip against Los Angeles in the NFC Championship Game.
Right guard has been a long-standing issue for San Francisco, and the Niners will also need to find a developmental center to replace Alex Mack when he eventually retires. Nebraska's Cam Jurgens is a name to watch there.
San Francisco do not pick until 61st overall in the second round, having traded this year's first-rounder in the package that landed Trey Lance. A defense that ranked first in pass rush win rate could be stacked further by another edge rusher to pair with Nick Bosa, and there is a clear need next to Jimmie Ward at safety.
Of course, what would really make it a successful draft for the Niners would be finally trading Jimmy Garoppolo to secure more picks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There's a theme here, and the theme is that trying to find needs for NFC contenders is tough, especially in the case of the Bucs, who brought back Tom Brady after he quickly got bored with retirement and re-signed a host of free agents many expected to depart.
With Todd Bowles assuming the head coaching reins from Bruce Arians, it's fair to anticipate a focus on the defense from the Bucs, who own the 27th pick in the first round as well as two other top-100 selections.
More beef on the interior of the defensive line is required with Ndamukong Suh as yet not re-signed and, though Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal have signed as safety help to atone for Jordan Whitehead's departure, a rookie who can make a difference down in the box and in coverage would be a welcome addition to the defense.
Green Bay Packers
Now this is more like it. The Packers have one glaring, obvious need and there's no way they can fail to address it, right?
Brian Gutekunst may have a history of eschewing first-round wide receivers but, after trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, it would be an extremely bemusing move to risk Aaron Rodgers' wrath and do so again.
Chris Olave, Jameson Williams, Treylon Burks, Jahan Dotson... they all must be in the mix here and, with two selections in the first round, the Packers could even double up at the position.
There are other holes. The secondary could use some more quality depth, and an offensive line that ranked 28th in run-block win rate could also be improved, but the Packers' hopes of getting over the hump in 2022 likely rest on their ability to give Rodgers weapons that mitigate the impact of Adams' stunning departure.
AFC
Kansas City Chiefs
After Patrick Mahomes faced the most pressures in a Super Bowl since 2006 in consecutive years (28 in SB LIV, 34 in SB LV), the Chiefs overhauled their offensive line heading into 2021 and were confident they were on course for the title game once again – only for Mahomes' own stunning playoff collapse to end both the team's season and the career of Tyreek Hill in Kansas City.
Hill's departure in a trade to the Miami Dolphins leaves a gaping hole.
New signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling at least offers a downfield option, but that was his sole responsibility with the Packers in 2021, recording a league-high average depth of target of 17.6 yards but making just 26 catches. Valdes-Scantling and fellow recruit JuJu Smith-Schuster, who's coming off shoulder surgery, have just one 1,000-yard season between them; Hill has four.
Thankfully, the Hill deal means the Chiefs have plenty of draft picks – two in each of the first three rounds – and plenty of options at wide receiver, but safety Tyrann Mathieu and cornerback Charvarius Ward must also be replaced just to get Kansas City back to where they started.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are a year behind the Chiefs, beaten in the Super Bowl after leaving their quarterback horribly exposed. Joe Burrow faced 23 pressures against the Rams, tied for third-most since 2006.
Like the Chiefs, they quickly set about bolstering their O line in free agency, though there remains a pressing need at left guard. Ted Karras played there for the New England Patriots last year, but is set to move back into center after Trey Hopkins was cut.
That versatility at least gives the Bengals options at either position depending on how the draft plays out, with their first pick not until the end of the first round (31). In fact, given competition at cornerback, edge and/or tight end could also be sought, the Bengals may be flexible throughout.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills are the Super Bowl favourites, and with good reason. They were a coin flip away from beating the Chiefs and would have backed themselves against the Bengals, which might have quelled some of the optimism in Cincinnati channelled above. Buffalo have also added Super Bowl champion Miller to a defense that gave up a league-low 4.57 yards per play.
That's not to say there don't remain areas for improvement, with cornerback an obvious place to start. Tre'Davious White is returning from an ACL tear, and the Bills need a new man opposite him, given the loss of Levi Wallace.
The Bills might also be advised to ease the burden on all-action quarterback Josh Allen with the addition of a reliable running back. Allen ranked third among QBs for rushing yards in 2021 (763) but accounted for 34.5 per cent of his team's total – far and away the greatest share at his position.
Second on the list was former MVP Lamar Jackson (767 yards, 30.9 per cent), who's already showing signs of wear and tear having been tasked with running the Baltimore Ravens' offense.
Los Angeles Chargers
Outside the Packers, the Chargers perhaps have the most obvious positional need of any contender at right tackle – despite their own strong signings so far.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater was their first-round pick in 2021 and earned Pro Bowl recognition in his rookie season. Among offensive tackles with 200 or more pass protection snaps, Slater's stunt-adjusted win percentage of 90.5 ranked third. However, that stood in complete contrast to right tackle Storm Norton, whose 63.0 per cent ranked third-last.
Norton was brought in to play 15 games after a back injury put Bryan Bulaga on injured reserve. Bulaga has now been cut, and the Chargers surely cannot run it back with Norton.
The very best OTs in the draft are unlikely to still be available when the Chargers get to work in the middle of the first round, but it's no surprise to see them widely linked with Northern Iowa's Trevor Penning.
Tiger Woods will participate in July's JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in preparation for The Open later that month.
Woods confirmed he will participate in The Open following his successful return to action at the Masters, although he admitted he does not expect to ever play a full schedule again.
The 15-time major winner defied the odds to compete at Augusta National, 14 months on from sustaining serious leg and foot injuries in a car accident.
The Pro-Am, which is hosted by Irish racehorse owner JP McManus, will include a number of the biggest names from the world of golf, including Ernie Els, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy.
Woods has appeared at the charity event on three previous occasions, and McManus was delighted to have the legendary 46-year-old on board.
"His presence at Adare Manor will undoubtedly bring huge excitement to the thousands of spectators," he said.
"We are very grateful to him for giving up his free time to be with us."
Woods' presence at the Masters marked his first time competing at a PGA Tour event since November 2020, and not only did he make the cut for a 22nd successive time at Augusta, he also played all 72 holes.
After a strong start to the week, Woods faded from contention and carded back-to-back rounds of six-over 78 on Saturday and Sunday – both career-worst scores, though he received warm ovations from the crowds all week.
The Pro-Am will be held at the County Limerick venue, which will host the 2027 Ryder Cup.
So here it is. That time of year again where we separate the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the champions from the... rest.
The NBA playoffs get underway on Saturday with plenty of stories to be written and legacies to be cemented.
Can the Phoenix Suns turn their dominance in the regular season into a championship? Will the Milwaukee Bucks be able to retain their crown? Could someone from the play-in tournament sneak in the back door and go all the way?
These questions and plenty more will keep us glued to our screens as we watch the action unfold over the next two months.
But what of the individual stories? There are plenty of players who have made names for themselves in the business end of the season down the years, with lots of big names who will particularly want to make an impression this time around as well.
Stats Perform has selected five such players to focus on, explaining why they may just have a bit more to prove over the next few weeks than others.
James Harden – Philadelphia 76ers
It may feel slightly like shooting fish in a barrel to start with a player who is known for not being able to get over the line in the postseason, but we are not above easy wins here.
Harden has been to the NBA Finals just once in 12 postseason appearances, and that came 10 years ago with Oklahoma City Thunder.
Strictly speaking, his playoff averages have been impressive. While with the Houston Rockets, he averaged at least 26.3 points per game (PPG) in the playoffs, including an impressive 31.6 in the 2018-19 season.
However, it has more been one-off performances, invariably at crucial moments, that have let him down. This was summarised perfectly last year in Game 7 for the Brooklyn Nets against the Bucks, when he sank only five of 17 field goal attempts.
Now at the Sixers after a huge trade earlier in the season, and with the league's top scorer Joel Embiid on his side, Harden will surely be determined to silence his doubters and reach the second NBA Finals of his career.
Chris Paul – Phoenix Suns
This is likely the best chance the Suns will ever have to win an NBA championship, and ditto Paul.
An incredible regular season record of 64-18 saw them finish atop the Western Conference with a win percentage of 78.0, almost 10 per cent more than the second-place Memphis Grizzlies (68.3 per cent).
For Paul, this, therefore, is almost certainly his strongest chance to finally win a championship ring, especially having come so close last year.
The 12-time All-Star has the most assists per game in the league this season (10.8), and only Trae Young (737) has more overall assists than his 702, though the Atlanta Hawks star has played 11 more games.
At 36 years of age, Paul will not have many more opportunities, and will want to make this one count.
Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks
It has been another memorable season for the young Slovenian, averaging 28.4 PPG as well as 8.7 assists and 9.1 rebounds.
In his two previous playoff campaigns, Doncic has stepped his game up even more, averaging 31.0 PPG in 2019-20 and a remarkable 35.7 PPG last year. However, on both occasions, the Mavericks still could not make it past the first round.
Dallas ended the regular season with a record of 52-30, winning seven of their last eight games, and will go up against the Utah Jazz in the first round, a team they have beaten twice in the last six weeks.
It is not so much that Doncic himself has a point to prove, but he will be looking for more help from his team-mates as he looks to get to the latter stages, where a player of his talent surely belongs.
Tyler Herro – Miami Heat
Another young player who has already put in some strong postseason showings in his short career so far.
Herro impressed in the 2020 playoffs, but last year the Heat were whitewashed by the Bucks in the first round. As the number one seeds in the East this year, all eyes will be on them to do much better.
While Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will of course be important, Herro could well be the difference-maker.
The 22-year-old point guard has comfortably produced his best regular season so far, averaging 20.7 PPG, as well as 4.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
Many expect it to be Miami v Phoenix in a battle of two number one seeds in the Finals this year, in which case Herro will be looking to repeat his second-best scoring performance of the season when he came away with 33 points in the Footprint Center in January's 123-100 win against the Suns.
Ben Simmons – Brooklyn Nets
It has been a nervous wait for Simmons, not just to return to fitness, but to see if he would even have the chance to turn out for the Nets this season.
While it has not been suggested the 25-year-old will return from back problems imminently, it has been reported the Nets are looking to use the player they traded Harden for in February sparingly towards the end of the first round.
Thankfully for him, his team-mates made it through their play-in game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday and so take their place in the playoffs, where they will start off in a fascinating encounter against the Boston Celtics.
Simmons has not played a single minute of basketball this season, not since his notorious performances in last year's postseason with the Sixers that saw him draw the ire of Joel Embiid and coach Doc Rivers.
Although Embiid accused Simmons of wanting to be a star more than wanting to win, that he won't necessarily need to fire from the off could help him, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in excellent form for Brooklyn.
Simmons will want to discover the sort of form he showed in the 2018-19 campaign, when he averaged 16.9 PPG, as well as 7.7 assists and 8.8 rebounds.
Miles Bridges has apologised for throwing his mouthguard aggressively into the crowd, accidentally hitting a 16-year-old girl.
The incident occurred after Bridges was ejected from the Charlotte Hornets' 132-103 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.
After disagreeing with a referee's decision, he was assessed a technical foul, and then a second one for arguing and "aggressively approaching the official with a closed fist."
As he was being ushered down the tunnel to the locker room, Bridges appeared to react to a fan taunting him over the barricade, leading to him throwing his mouthguard. The mouthguard missed the man and hit a 16-year-old girl.
Speaking to post-game media, Bridges expressed remorse for his outburst, but mainly about the fact that he missed his intended target.
"I was aiming for the guy that was screaming at me and it hit a little girl," he said. "So that's definitely unacceptable on my part and I take full responsibility.
"That's out of character for me... I don't act like that or ever flash out like that.
"So that was definitely wrong, a lot of emotions and hopefully I can get in contact with the young girl and sincerely apologise to her and do something nice for her, but that's definitely on me.
"I was upset about a call – a couple of calls really – I let my temper get the best of me. It was definitely the wrong thing to do.''
Baker Mayfield has said he feels "disrespected" by the Cleveland Browns, and insists he is "ready for the next step" in his career.
The number one draft pick from 2018 is under contract for 2022 at $18.9million – fully guaranteed – with Cleveland picking up his fifth-year option last year.
However, the Browns appeared to move on from Mayfield as their starter when trading a significant package of draft picks to the Houston Texans to acquire Deshaun Watson.
The franchise also picked up former Pittsburgh Steelers backup QB Josh Dobbs from free agency last week, leaving Mayfield's future in further doubt.
Speaking to the YNK podcast on Wednesday, Mayfield said: “I feel disrespected... I was told one thing and they completely did another."
Mayfield suggested that the Seattle Seahawks were "probably the most likely option" for him after they traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, insisting: "I'm ready for the next chapter.
"I really, truly, honestly have no regrets of my time in Cleveland of what I tried to give to that place. True Clevelanders and true Browns fans know that."
Mayfield arrived in a Browns team that had gone 0-16 the year prior, improving them to 7-8-1 in his first campaign, and taking them to their first playoff victory in 26 years in his third.
However, a difficult 2021 season would follow, suffering a shoulder injury in Week 2 against the Houston Texans, before being booed during the home victory against the Detroit Lions in Week 11.
"I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that I got caught up in all the negativity and stuff during the year last year," he added. "I was trying to be tough and fight through [the injury], but then physically I wasn't as capable of doing what I would normally [do].
"When I wasn't performing on the field, that's when it really started to go downhill. Because I can tough it out, I don't care, I'm not going to complain about it, like everybody is banged up. But then when it started hindering my play and going downhill, that's when I was like, 'oh s***'.
"That's when I started losing my own self-confidence and losing myself. This past year was rough. It was. It was rough on me, my family. It sucked because I knew what I could be doing, but I physically wasn't in a state to do it."
Mayfield had just 17 passing touchdowns to his name (one rushing TD) in the 2021 campaign, his lowest during his four years in Cleveland, though he did end the season with a better pass completion percentage than in 2019 (60.5 to 59.4), as well as throwing fewer interceptions (13) than in either of his first two seasons (14 in 2018, 21 in 2019).
"I know what I need to do for me to be the best version of me and be able to lead an organisation," he added. "I'm in a good place right now."
New Orleans Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum called Wednesday's play-in tournament win against the San Antonio Spurs "the start of something special".
McCollum has been the star of the Pelicans since arriving in a mid-season trade, and it was no different against the Spurs, netting a game-high 32 points to go with seven assists and six rebounds.
The former Lehigh University standout has been averaging 23.3 points and 6.0 assists since the All-Star break and helped propel the Pelicans into the play-in tournament despite starting the season 1-12 from their first 13 games.
Speaking with post-game media, McCollum said it feels like something great is brewing in New Orleans.
"This is the start of something special, for sure," he said.
"You see the energy. Feel the energy. My mother is in town – I have some family in town – when we go out to eat, you can feel the city is excited about basketball, as they should [be].
"There's a lot of talent here. We're playing the game the right way. It's going to be a lot of winning in our future."
McCollum went on to talk about how seriously the Pelicans were taking this game with their season on the line.
"I understood the magnitude of this game," he said.
"The Spurs are always going to go on a run at some point. They are well-coached. They execute. They have a lot of great players who can shoot and score.
"When you get a chance to get up double digits, you have to put the pedal to the metal and try to be aggressive… I try to be more aggressive in the playoffs, try to get downhill a little bit more."
Pelicans head coach Willie Green had nothing but praise for his star shooting guard.
"We just got the ball to him, and he made play after play, score after score," he said.
"The rest of the guys started to feed off C.J. – he's been in these moments, he's played on the big stage.
"It's no coincidence that he goes out and has the game that he has."
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