Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton, Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield and Charlotte Hornets forward Kai Jones have committed to play for their native Bahamas in upcoming Olympic qualifying action.

All four are on the roster for Bahamas for its Olympic qualifier in Santiago de Estero, Argentina, from Aug. 14-20.

Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Uruguay and the U.S. Virgin Islands are also participating in hopes of qualifying for a spot in the 2024 Paris Games.

Bahamas must win this tournament to qualify for another Olympic qualifier next summer.

Bahamas has never competed in the Olympics in men’s basketball.

This Bahamian team is projected to be the strongest the country has ever had. Bahamas is coached by Golden State Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco.

The full roster is as follows:

Deandre Ayton, Dominick Bridgewater, Jaraun Burrows, Garvin Clarke, Kadeem Coleby, Rashad Davis, Buddy Hield, Sammy Hunter, Kai Jones, Danrad Knowles, Lourawls Nairn, Willis Mackey Jr, Franco Miller, Travis Munnings, Kentwan Smith, David Nesbitt, AJ Storr, Mychel Thompson

The Caribbean Basketball Academy are champions of the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase after a 52-50 overtime win over the Camperdown Giants in the final at the University of Technology on Saturday.

To advance to the showpiece event, CBA beat Hoop Factory Blues while Camperdown Giants beat Purple Power Basketball earlier on Saturday.

With both teams understandably tense due to what was at stake, CBA took a cagey first quarter 12-8.

They held a one-point lead with 1:13 to go in the first half before a Micah Swaine three-pointer gave the Giants a 16-14 lead. The Giants led 18-15 at the half.

A quick 4-0 start to the third quarter gave the Giants a seven-point lead and, with four minutes to go, they were up 26-16.

More solid play throughout the third saw them rewarded with a 32-20 lead entering the fourth quarter.

CBA cut the lead to eight with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter through a Jaiden Brown driving layup. The Giants were up 38-28 with 1:55 left before a quick 13-5 CBA run meant the lead was just two with 22 seconds left.

The Giants then hit a crucial layup which they thought sealed the game after putting them up four, however, this was not the case as Lebron Lewinson was fouled in the process of making a layup to cut the lead to two with 15 seconds left.

He ended up missing the freethrow but the ball ended up in the hands of Jaiden Brown who made a layup to tie the game at 45 with 11 seconds left.

CBA then forced the Giants into a turnover giving them the ball back with seven seconds left and a chance to win the game.

They ended up getting a good look with a Lewinson mid-range shot but it didn’t fall, meaning the champions would be decided in overtime.

In the end, CBA held their nerve to pull out a 52-50 victory and claim the trophy after losing in the final last year.

Lewinson was named MVP of the game with 16 points while Jaiden Brown led the champions in scoring with 18 points.

Micah Swaine, who was named MVP of the tournament, had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Giants.

“It means a lot,” said winning coach, Ludlow Barker, after the game.

“As I kept saying, we took the hardest route to get to the semi-finals and then the semi-final wasn’t that great but I told my guys that I prefer an ugly win over a pretty loss. I kept saying that from here, the only way we can go is up and that is exactly what we did,” he added.

He also lauded his team’s mental toughness to come back from down 10 with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“I’m speechless. We were dead and buried but they believed in each other, stuck it out and kept going. I said we were the best defensive team so we should use our defense and win this game and they did,” Barker said.

Losing coach, Nylon Hurd, said turnovers at key moments in the game cost his team the victory.

“I think we had some critical turnovers at critical times. We were able to hold Lebron (Lewinson) for most of the game before he hit two big time shots down the stretch. It is what it is. We will learn and move forward,” he said.

Hurd also said that, even though it was his team’s first year entering the competition, getting to the final wasn’t a surprise.

“For those who know, when we’re in competitions we’re always a quality team so it’s not new,” he said.

Jamaica’s Under-17 Men’s Basketball team ended group play with an 0-3 record at the FIBA Under-17 Centrobasket Championship in Belize after suffering a 43-76 defeat against Panama at the Belize City Civic Center on Friday.

D’Marley Elliott shot 6/13 from the field to finish with 13 points and six rebounds for Jamaica and he was supported by Ahmad Torrence (11 points) and Marcus McDonald (10 points).

It was a total team effort from the victors as they had five players scoring in double figures. Daniels Machore, Luis Poyatos and Lionel McDonald all scored 13 points while Hector Saavedra and Isaac Wright both had 12.

Panama also dominated the rebounding battle 55-43.

The Jamaicans had previously lost their first two games 54-102 to Puerto Rico and 68-93 to the hosts on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Puerto Rico and Belize advanced to the semi-finals from Group A while Mexico and the Dominican Republic advanced from Group B. Puerto Rico will face Mexico while Belize will tackle the Dominican Republic on Saturday.

Jamaica’s next game will also be on Saturday when they face Costa Rica for the right to advance to the fifth-place playoff. The loser will play in the 7^th place playoff against the loser of the game between El Salvador and Panama.

Camperdown Giants, Purple Power Basketball, Hoops Factory Blues and the Caribbean Basketball Academy will contest the semi-finals of the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase at UTECH on Saturday.

In an unfortunate turn of events for the defending champions, Phase 1 Academy, they entered day two thinking they had two wins in the bank but, after it was found that they used an ineligible player in both those games on Thursday, those results were overturned to wins for Purple Power Basketball and Hoop Factory Blues, respectively.

The day’s play began with the Caribbean Basketball Academy attempting to rebound from a pair of day one defeats.

Last year’s beaten finalists did just that with a comprehensive 56-41 victory over Hoop Factory Blues.

CBA enjoyed an 11-point lead at the half before an avalanche in the third quarter saw them stretch it to 24 to lead 50-26 heading into the final quarter.

Jahidi Campbell had 16 points and nine rebounds while Jaiden Brown had 15 points, nine assists and four steals for CBA. Joel Ricketts also provided support with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Nathan Ricketts led the Blues with 12 points and five assists.

The second game of the day saw Purple Power Basketball get their second win of the showcase with a 31-29 win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.

Jacqwaine Freeman led Purple Power with 18 points and five rebounds while Yahvarr Fearon had 12 points for Blue Mahoe.

Next up was a clash between Phase 1 Academy and the Camperdown Giants.

In an exciting contest, Phase 1 came out 48-45 winners for their first official victory.

Derjean Royal had 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals for Phase 1 while Micah Swaine led the Giants with a game-high 24 points.

After the break, Hoop Factory Blues bounced back from their loss earlier to book their spot in the semis with a 36-30 win over Purple Power Basketball for their third win.

Nathan Ricketts, once again, led the Blues with 13 points and a pair of steals while Jordan James had seven points and 10 rebounds. Tyreke Tummings had nine points for Purple Power.

Camperdown Giants were next to book a spot in the last four after rebounding from their defeat to Phase 1 Academy earlier in the day with a 51-45 overtime win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.

Micah Swaine led the way for the giants with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Hubert Rodney had 14 points and nine rebounds for Blue Mahoe Basketball.

The day’s final game saw the Caribbean Basketball Academy pull out a hard-fought 43-41 win over Phase 1 Academy to book their spot in the semis. Both teams entered the contest knowing a win would see them advance to the last four.

CBA played an excellent first three quarters to go into the fourth and final period with a 36-28 lead before a ferocious Phase 1 fightback meant the teams were separated by just two points in the end.

Jaiden Brown had 21 points, five rebounds and three steals while Joel Ricketts had 13 points and 13 rebounds for CBA.

Romareo Mills had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the outgoing champions.

“We took the hardest route to get here,” said CBA coach Ludlow Barker after the game.

“Last night, we were really frank with each other. We had some heart to heart conversations and we came out today and did everything we needed to do,” he added

“One good thing about this tournament is you never know who is going to win,” Phase 1 Academy coach, Onecia Smellie, said after the game.

“Every single game, the boys came out and they played hard, win, lose or draw,” she added

The semis will see Camperdown Giants facing Purple Power while Hoops Factory Blues will oppose the Caribbean Basketball Academy before the two winners square off later on Saturday in the final.

Phase 1 Academy and Camperdown Giants were the only two teams to go unbeaten as the 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase got underway at the Alfred Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology (UTECH) in Kingston on Thursday.

Defending champions, Phase 1 Academy, entered their first game with just five players but that didn’t seem to matter as they secured a comfortable 41-27 victory over Purple Power.

Derjean Royal led the way for Phase 1 with 20 points and five rebounds while Mordecai Clarke had 10 points and six rebounds for Purple Power.

Phase 1 Academy coach, Onecia Smellie, praised her team’s effort despite their lack of numbers.

“As you can see, we don’t really have numbers so the strategy was just to conserve on defense and push on offense. We have to play smarter because we don’t have numbers,” Smellie said before going into what they needed to address to be better in the coming games.

“We definitely have to brush up on defense. We gave away a lot of backdoor cuts. As we can see, my guys have been playing for a while but sometimes when the excitement of the game comes in, adrenaline kicks in and they just go. We definitely gave away some easy layups and we weren’t boxing out sometimes. If we work on those areas I think we should be fine,” she added.

Coach Orville Bennett from Purple Power was critical of his team’s ability to play together but says more experience will do them well.

“More games will solve that. It’s a mix of my younger players and my more senior Under-19s so they need to learn to play as a team and not individuals.”

“I guess it’s because of the bright lights of the tournament, everybody wants to show what they have so with more games under their belt, that will go away.”

“Our opponents will be bigger, stronger and more seasoned then my young team so we’ll go back to the drawing board and come better.”

The day’s second game was an absolute treat as the Hoop Factory Blues pull out a dramatic 44-41 win over Blue Mahoe Basketball.

Blue Mahoe played a solid first half to go into the halftime interval with a 14-12 lead before Hoop Factory turned the game on its head to lead 26-20 after the third quarter.

Blue Mahoe retook a 38-37 lead with 1:27 left in the game before, with the teams tied at 41 with 10 seconds left, Dakari Nicolson hit a game-winning three-point shot with two seconds left to secure the win for Hoop Factory.

Kymani Phillips had a solid all-round game for the Blues with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists and was supported well by Nathan Ricketts with 12 points, five steals and three assists. Hubert Rodney had 13 points and seven rebounds for Blue Mahoe.

Hoop Factory coach, Lennox Lindo, was happy with the win despite his team almost blowing a 10-point lead with very little time left in the contest.

“I was nervous a bit but also a bit disappointed too. We had a 10-point lead with about three minutes to go then we changed up our defense and it almost cost us the game but we got a really good shot in the last couple of seconds.”

Blue Mahoe coach, Lynford Brown, was proud of his team despite the defeat and pointed to an inability to hold on to the ball as his team’s downfall.

“To be honest, I’m really proud of my boys. They’re a fairly inexperienced and young team. There were some key moments for us where we committed some unforced turnovers which led to us losing. Nonetheless, I’m very proud.

The third game of the day saw the Camperdown Giants score an impressive 54-35 win over last year’s finalists, the Caribbean Basketball Academy (CBA).

The Giants produced an excellent defensive display to lead 30-15 at the start of the fourth quarter, including a third quarter where they held CBA to just four points.

Micah Swaine had 15 points, three steals and two assists and Mark McGowan had nine points and eight rebounds for the giants while Jaiden Brown had 12 points for CBA.

CBA coach Ludlow Barker, thought the Giants deserved to win.

“First I’d have to congratulate the Giants on getting their first win of the competition. It’s the first time they’re in it,” he said.

“I thought we played a very indiscipline game and fell behind and then we struggled throughout. I thought we were too relaxed before the game and they came out and wanted it more so they deserved to win,” he added.

Giants coach, Nylon Hurd, was happy with the win.

 “Any coach would be happy with a win. Both defensively and offensively, it worked out well for us,” he said.

“Based on the start, we got ahead of them and stuck to it. We only got a bit indiscipline in the third quarter and that’s when they made a little run but then we got back disciplined and that was the game,” he added.

After a break, play returned with Phase 1 Academy facing Hoop Factory Blues, with each team searching for their second win of the day.

Phase 1, with six players this time, were able to come out 51-40 winners.

Derjean Royal had his second great game of day one with 26 points and eight rebounds for Phase 1 while Nathan Ricketts had 14 points for the Blues.

The day’s fifth game saw Blue Mahoe hand Caribbean Basketball Academy their second loss of the day by a score of 45-44.

Akeem Pusey and Hubert Rodney both had 14 points for Blue Mahoe while pulling down seven and eleven rebounds, respectively. Joel Ricketts had 13 points and five rebounds for CBA.

The day’s final game proved to be another nail-biter as Camperdown Giants beat Purple Power 34-29 for their second win of the day.

The Giants led 8-5 after a cagey first quarter before Power turned things around slightly to lead 18-16 at the half. It was a one-point game in favor of the Giants entering the final quarter where they held their nerve to pull out the win after the two teams exchanged the lead multiple times.

Micah Swaine scored 13 points while Mark McGowan had six points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Giants. Jacqwaine Freeman had 11 points for Purple Power.

Bronny James has been discharged from the hospital three days after he went into cardiac arrest.

Dr. Merije Chukumerije, a consulting cardiologist for LeBron James' oldest son, said in a statement issued by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday that the 18-year-old was "successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest.

"He arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center fully conscious, neurologically intact and stable. Mr. James was cared for promptly by highly-trained staff and has been discharged home, where he is resting. Although his workup will be ongoing, we are hopeful for his continued progress and are encouraged by his response, resilience, and his family and community support.”

The news of his discharge came hours after LeBron took to social media for the first time since Bronny went into cardiac arrest on Monday, saying his family is "safe and healthy."

"I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers," LeBron James wrote. "We feel you and I'm so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we're ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us!"

Bronny, whose name is LeBron James Jr., was hospitalised after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice at the University of Southern California on Monday.

A family spokesperson said on Tuesday that he was in stable condition and out of the intensive care unit.

His brief stay in the ICU is considered a positive sign in his road to recovery.

Few other details have been reported about Bronny's health after he collapsed on the basketball court.

Considered one of the top high school recruits in the United States, the younger James made the decision in May to stay close to his dad and family in Los Angeles and play college basketball at USC over Ohio State and Oregon.

The 38-year-old LeBron has said previously that he would like to play in the NBA along with Bronny, and announced two weeks ago that he will return for his 21st pro season and sixth with the Lakers.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time league MVP is coming off another stellar season in 2022-23, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games.

LeBron James took to social media for the first time since his oldest son, Bronny, went into cardiac arrest on Monday, saying his family is "safe and healthy."

"I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers," LeBron James wrote Thursday. "We feel you and I'm so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we're ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us!"

The 18-year-old Bronny was hospitalised after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice at the University of Southern California on Monday.

A family spokesperson said on Tuesday that he was in stable condition and out of the intensive care unit.

His brief stay in the ICU is considered a positive sign in his road to recovery.

Few other details have been reported about Bronny's health after he collapsed on the basketball court.

Bronny, whose name is LeBron James Jr., was reportedly unconscious when the ambulance arrived at USC's Galen Center, and rushed to the hospital where he was treated by the medical staff.

Considered one of the top high school recruits in the United States, the younger James made the decision in May to stay close to his dad and family in Los Angeles and play college basketball at USC over Ohio State and Oregon.

The 38-year-old LeBron has said previously that he would like to play in the NBA along with Bronny, and announced two weeks ago that he will return for his 21st pro season and sixth with the Lakers.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time league MVP is coming off another stellar season in 2022-23, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games.

Bronny James, the 18-year-old son of LeBron James, was hospitalised after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball practice at the University of Southern California, according to a family spokesperson.

The spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday he is now in stable condition and out of the intensive care unit.

The incident occurred Monday morning, when he collapsed on the basketball court, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Bronny, whose name is LeBron James Jr., was reportedly unconscious when the ambulance arrived at USC's Galen Center, and rushed to the hospital where he was treated by the medical staff.

"We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information," the statement said.

Considered one of the top high school recruits in the United States, the younger James made the decision in May to play college basketball at USC over Ohio State and Oregon.

The 38-year-old LeBron has said previously that he would like to play in the NBA along with his oldest son Bronny, and announced two weeks ago that he will return for his 21st pro season and sixth with the Lakers.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time league MVP is coming off another stellar season in 2022-23, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games.

Jaylen Brown may not even be considered the best player on his own team, but he is now the highest-paid player in NBA history.

Brown agreed to terms on a five-year supermax contract worth up to $304million with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

The deal, which is fully guaranteed and includes a trade kicker that would further increase Brown's salary if he's traded, surpasses the $264million contract signed by two-time league MVP and NBA champion Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets last summer.

Brown is a two-time All-Star and was named to the All-NBA second team this past season - his first such honour.

He averaged career highs of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists - ranking second on the Celtics in all of those categories to Jayson Tatum, who was named to his second consecutive All-NBA first team following this past season.

The Celtics have reached the conference finals in five of Brown's seven pro seasons - including a trip to the 2022 NBA Finals in which they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

Brown averaged 24.6 points on 54.1 per cent shooting and 47.1 per cent from 3-point range in Boston's first two playoff series this past season, but struggled with his shot in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat and the Celtics were eliminated in seven games.

Against the Heat, he averaged 19 points on 41.8 per cent shooting and connected on just 16.3 per cent of 43 3-point attempts. He misfired on 8 of 9 3-pointers in Game 7.

The third overall pick by Boston in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brown has career averages of 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

The 2023 Jamaica Basketball Showcase (JBS) is set to be bigger and better than the inaugural event in 2022.  The event will be broadcast live on several SportsMax platforms and will be reaching a global audience, creating a great opportunity to showcase the best basketball talent in Jamaica and helping to revitalize the sport in the country.

That was the overarching theme expressed at the launch of the 2023 JBS that place on Tuesday, July 19, at Express Fitness at the Constant Spring Golf Club in Kingston. The event was attended by representatives from SportsMax, the Jamaica Basketball Association, and Express Fitness as well as players from the participating teams.

The 2023 JBS is scheduled to take place from July 27-29, 2023, at the Donald Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology and is expected to be a major showcase for basketball talent in Jamaica. Six Under-20 teams including defending champions PHASE 1 Academy, Purple Power, Hoop Factory Blues, Camperdown Giants, Blue Mahoe Basketball and Caribbean Basketball Academy, will compete for JMD$300,000 in prize money. PHASE 1 will take on Purple Power in the opening match.

Paul Campbell, CEO of Sports Innovators Group (SIG), the event's organizer, said that the 2023 JBS promises to be "bigger and better" than the inaugural event in 2022." He added that the event is expected to "reignite some interest in basketball" in Jamaica.

Campbell cited the addition of SportsMax as a broadcast partner as a major reason for the event's growth. He said that SportsMax's reach will help to expose the JBS to a wider audience, both in Jamaica and around the world.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Matthews, CEO of SportsMax, said that the network is "excited" to be broadcasting the 2023 JBS." Matthews expressed the view that SportsMax is committed to "developing local and regional sports," and that the JBS is a "great opportunity" to do just that.

According to the broadcaster’s CEO, SportsMax, who have entered into a five-year agreement with SIG will be providing premium coverage of the JBS, including live broadcasts on the SportsMax channels and streaming on the Sportsmax app, on CEEN TV as well as the Sports Innovators Group website.

Paulton Gordon, President of the Jamaica Basketball Association, believes JBS is "a huge success" and that the association is "looking forward to an ongoing partnership" with Sports Innovators Group."

He said that the JBS has helped to "revitalize basketball in Jamaica," and that the association is "committed to working with Sports Innovators Group to make the JBS even bigger and better in the years to come."

Nicholas Lynch, CEO of Express Fitness, said that the company is "very much invested into developing sport through youth" and explained that the JBS is "an excellent opportunity" for Express Fitness to "continue that support."

Lynch also said that Express Fitness will be providing a number of resources to the JBS, including fitness training for the players and support for the event's marketing and promotion.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the biggest surprises in the NBA last season, and the team believes coach Mark Daigneault can help them take the next step.

Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti announced the team signed Daigneault to a multiyear extension on Wednesday.

Terms of the deal were not released.

The Thunder weren't expected to be particularly good in 2022-23 after finishing with the NBA's fourth-worst record in 2021-22, coupled with a foot injury suffered by No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren last summer forcing him to miss the entire season.

Daigneault, however, nearly directed Oklahoma City to a playoff berth, and he finished second in NBA Coach of the Year voting.

The Thunder went 40-42 in the regular season before beating the New Orleans Pelicans in a Play-In game. Oklahoma City's season ended with a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a second Play-In game.

Their 16-win improvement from the 2021-22 season was the second-biggest jump in the NBA behind the Sacramento Kings' 18-win increase.

Daigneault is entering his fourth season at the helm at Oklahoma City after serving as a Thunder assistant in 2019-20 - the last season the team made the playoffs. Prior to working on the Thunder bench, he spent five seasons as head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue, the team's G League affiliate.

Next order of business for Daigneault is a playoff berth and series win - something the Thunder haven't achieved since 2015-16, when they lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the Western Conference finals.

The Phoenix Suns' busy offseason continued Sunday with a pair of moves.

Cam Payne was traded by the Suns to the San Antonio Spurs, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, while ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports Phoenix signed former Orlando Magic forward Bol Bol to a one-year deal.

The Suns also sent a second-round draft pick and cash to the Spurs, and traded a 2026 first-round pick to the Magic in exchange for three future second-round selections.

The 28-year-old Payne averaged 10.3 points, 4.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 48 games for the Suns in 2022-23 - his fourth season in Phoenix.

The Suns have been one of the NBA's busiest teams this offseason, trading away Chris Paul while acquiring fellow guards Bradley Beal and Eric Gordon.

With the Spurs, Payne will likely split point guard duties with Tre Jones.

Bol is entering his fifth NBA season after being waived by the Magic earlier this month.

Expected to provide depth off the bench for Phoenix, Bol got off to an encouraging start to the 2022-23 season for Orlando, starting 32 of the team's first 37 games before ultimately falling out of the rotation.

He averaged 12 points and 7.1 rebounds in the first 37 games, but made just one more start the rest of the season, averaging 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in the final 33 games he played.

LeBron James announced on The ESPYs on Wednesday that he will play another season for the Los Angeles Lakers.

James, 38, said he will return for his 21st NBA season and sixth with the Lakers after accepting the ESPY award for Best Record-Breaking Performance for surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time scoring list last season.

“I don’t care how many more points I can score or what I can or can’t do on the floor,” James said. “The real question for me, can I play without cheating the game? The day I can’t play without giving everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today.”

At the end of last season following the Lakers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals, James said he wasn’t sure if he would be back.

That was in stark contrast to James’ previous sentiments, when he said on several occasions that he would like to play alongside his oldest son, Bronny, in the NBA.

The superstar James had another stellar season in 2022-23, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 55 games.

The Boston Celtics announced Wednesday that they have signed forward Kristaps Porzingis to a two-year contract extension.

While terms of the deal were not announced, multiple reports indicated that the deal would pay Porzingis $60 million over the next two years. The extension will go into effect after the upcoming season, during which Porzingis will earn $36 million.

The extension comes two-plus weeks after the Celtics acquired the 7-foot-3 Porzingis in a three-team trade with the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs.

Porzingis had a career year last season with the Wizards, averaging a personal-best 23.2 points to go with 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks in 65 games.

Boston hopes the versatile native of Latvia can play a major role alongside all-NBA forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Porzingis, who has also played for the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, has averaged 19.6 points and 7.9 rebounds in 402 career games.

The San Antonio Spurs have seen enough from Victor Wembanyama in Las Vegas.

Wembanyama, the much-hyped No. 1 overall pick from last month’s draft, will not play in any more Summer League games this season, multiple media outlets reported Monday.

The news comes a day after the 19-year-old scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his second and final Summer League game.

In 54 minutes of Summer League action, Wembanyama totalled 36 points, 20 rebounds, three assists and eight blocks while shooting 41 percent from the field.

After playing into June in the French League playoffs, Wembanyama was never expected to play every game for the Spurs in Las Vegas and now has an opportunity to reset before looking towards his rookie NBA season.

“I’m going to sit down with the Spurs to know what the next months are going to be like,” Wembanyama said after Sunday’s game. “When to go on vacation, when to start back working out, where I’m going to practice, in San Antonio or somewhere else.

“I just know I’ve got two to three months - two to three great months - that are coming and they’re going to change my life.”

Wembanyama’s debut Friday garnered a sell-out crowd and one of the largest U.S. television ratings in Summer League history. Sunday’s encore was a bit more modest but still drew far more attention than a typical summer game.

NBA greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West were among those who watched Wembanyama’s first NBA exhibitions.

Touted by some as the best NBA prospect since LeBron James entered the league in 2003, Wembanyama has experienced a month-long whirlwind of media attention since travelling to the United States. The teenager has responded to the spotlight like a seasoned veteran, thus far, and admitted that he would rather be on the hardwood than in front of microphones.

“In the past month, I think basketball wasn’t even 50 percent of my schedule,” Wembanyama said. “I can’t stand it. I know it’s a special moment in my life, but I’m glad it’s over. Honestly. I just want to hoop. I just want to work out, lift because this is my life. Obviously, every first pick is going to go through this. And it just makes me better for the future.”

Wembanyama’s apparent humility and workmanlike attitude do not fit well with flashy Las Vegas, but they should pair perfectly with Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich, who signed a new five-year, $80million contract over the weekend, keeping him in San Antonio until he is 79 years old.

“There’s something great going on, starting,” Wembanyama said of the upcoming season. “We kind of knew it was going to happen, but now it’s, ‘Let’s get it rolling. We can get started now.’”