The second round of the 2023 NBA draft saw the Cavaliers use their pick at No. 49 to select an intriguing prospect in Emoni Bates, a former top-ranked high school recruit who starred as a transfer at Eastern Michigan last season.
Cleveland’s selection of Bates, who was ranked No. 1 in the recruiting class of 2022, presents the promising 6-foot-6 forward with an opportunity to continue his career at the next level following a turbulent two collegiate seasons.
Author: Michael
The NBA draft took place Thursday night, and now everyone will predict with extreme confidence how the careers of those chosen will play out. Just like last year, when everyone knew Bennedict Mathurin would be a scoring machine or that Christian Braun would play pivotal minutes in the Finals. With that in mind, let’s run through some winners and losers!
Winner: Spurs
Long known to be the first pick, Wembanyama’s fate was sealed Thursday night as San Antonio selected him.
Decades from now, the Hornets will hope their history reads something like this:
In his final act as team owner, Michael Jordan, the NBA’s greatest player, boldly selected Brandon Miller, who alongside LaMelo Ball led Charlotte to its first NBA championship.
What’s possible, though, is that the ’23 draft will be remembered like this:
In his final act as team owner, Michael Jordan, one of the worst talent evaluators in front office history, selected Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson, a decision that set the franchise back for a generation.
In an interview with TMZ Sports on Thursday, UFC president Dana White said he believes a fight between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg would shatter all MMA records.
“This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world, bigger than anything that’s ever been done,” stated White. “It would break all pay-per-view records. These guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity.”
After speaking with Musk and Zuckerberg White added that ‘both guys are absolutely dead serious’ about stepping inside the steel cage.
A Game of the Century delivered, and then some.
Former No. 1 LSU met present No. 1 Wake Forest in the College World Series Bracket 2 championship game Thursday night in Omaha, Nebraska, with a date in the national championship series on the line.
The two best pitchers in the nation – LSU’s Paul Skenes and Wake’s Rhett Lowder – went heat-for-heat.
College World Series Spectacular: Classic Pitcher’s Duel On Tap – Wake’s Rhett Lowder (15-0) vs. LSU’s Paul Skenes (13-2)
And regulation couldn’t contain them.
An unexpected slide in the 2023 NBA draft for former Villanova standout Cam Whitmore confused many NBA fans and pundits on Thursday as many wondered why teams passed on the talented forward.
A widely projected top-10 pick entering the night, Whitmore uncomfortably sat in the green room until late in the first round when he was selected by the Rockets with the 20th overall pick. Still, despite Whitmore becoming a first-rounder, questions persisted on social media about why he dipped on draft boards.
In two separate draft-night deals, the Dallas Mavericks traded the No. 10 pick and Davis Bertans for the 12th and 24th selections and Richaun Holmes.
The Damian Lillard trade rumors found their way onto the telecast of the 2023 NBA draft in an unexpected way on Thursday after various shots of a fan wearing a custom-made “Trade Dame ” jersey made the rounds online.
With the Trail Blazers owning the No. 3 selection, Lillard’s future was, once again, heavily discussed, though both sides shut down talks of a split before the draft. Ultimately, the Blazers used the pick on G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson, despite their star guard’s reported preference for the selection to be traded for more win-now talent.
After days of chatter and speculation surrounding the Raptors’ potential desire to move up in Thursday’s draft, Toronto ended up staying put at No. 13.
It was a Dog Day Afternoon for Washington Nationals skipper Dave Martinez.
Martinez had himself a viral moment on Thursday after getting ejected from the Nats’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The coach was criticizing home plate umpire Doug Eddings before getting the boot — stating his case that too many strikes were getting called on low pitches, some possibly out of the strike zone.
To further make his case, Martinez got down on all fours to point out to Eddings where the pitches were landing.