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Anthony Edwards’ dunk to Kevin Durant was a defining moment in the NBA

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“Passing the Torch” feels like a loving exchange between two people. Think about how you’ll handle a torch – rigorously holding it in your hand while being careful not to move too quickly in order not to burn the person you’re giving it to. I imagine each people’s eyes staring into the fire, knowing that the flame needs to be controlled, but in addition being wary that the wayward embers could break down and hurt someone. When the torch is finally exchanged, there’s likely a nod of acceptance and relief that nobody was hurt. It’s calm.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards’ series-ending dunk to Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant on Sunday, ending the Timberwolves’ four-game winning streak over the Suns, was anything but quiet. It was a violent, explosive dunk that first caught the torch and cemented Edwards as the future, leaving Durant empty-handed in the twilight of his profession.

Even though Durant’s Suns entered the series against Edwards’ Timberwolves sixth in the standings, this was likely the biggest upset of the first round. The Timberwolves were immature, young and prone to late-season meltdowns similar to they did two years ago after they blew the most double-digit fourth-quarter leads in history playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies and last yr, when their team fell on a throw by Wolves center Rudy Gobert hits his teammate, forward Kyle Anderson. If any team was going to fold against a veteran team like Phoenix – led by Durant, who has 4 NBA Finals appearances and two championships under his belt – that might be the Timberwolves.

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That’s where Edwards comes in.

At just 22 years old, Edwards had turn into the emotional leader and most significant player on a team that already had 16-year-old point guard Mike Conley, four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and the aforementioned Gobert, who won three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Edwards has made no secret of his admiration and adoration for Durant, who entered the league when Edwards was still in elementary school. But Edwards continued to attack his hero – he was talking trash from the moment he first played isolation on Durant – and never relented, culminating in a decisive 40-point performance in Game 4 that worn out Durant’s respectable 33 points.

We’ve never seen Durant so completely defeated in a playoff series, especially since he was in great form. The considered anyone having the ability to seemingly demoralize considered one of the biggest scorers in league history seemed inconceivable at the starting of the franchise, let alone years ago when Durant was dominating the NBA with the Golden State Warriors. But it happened with utter destruction.

Which brings us back to the dunk.

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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (left) and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (right) talk during the second half of the Western Conference first-round game at the Target Center on April 20 in Minneapolis.

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Each yr brings its share of memorable dunks, but it surely’s rare that a single moment of airborne impact can change the trajectory of a sport.

In 1983, NBA great Julius Erving had his way legendary dunk over Los Angeles Lakers guard Michael Cooper, noting that this was his yr of being the best in the league and its champion. In 1991, Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan previously shook two New York Knicks players dunk to Knicks center Patrick Ewing on the way to his first championship. The dunk marked Jordan’s emergence as the latest king of the game. In 1994, Warriors center Chris Webber invoked one other changing of the guard before taking the ball behind his back. dunking on Suns forward Charles Barkleysignaling that a latest generation of power forwards who took their influence from Barkley, the Round Mound of the Rebound, would soon take over the NBA.

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Edwards over KD caused the same kind of tectonic shift.

With lower than two minutes left in the fourth, Edwards placed Beal in isolation. Dribbling between the legs. Left hand hesitation. The first step that moved at supersonic speeds. And the elevation. Durant began to jump to block but realized he couldn’t reach the top of Edwards. So he jumped out mid-jump. But his body was still present enough to be eviscerated by the fury of the impact.

It’s an apt metaphor for the show: Durant realizes for the first time in his profession that he cannot reach the heights of his opponent.

It have to be a humbling feeling that will be felt across the league as luminaries of my generation see their sporting mortality. We are already facing a play-off in which LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Durant is not going to make it out of the first round. We’re just days away from the possibility of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic becoming the only MVP winner to advance to the second round this season. Perhaps previous champions will get a second and third wind in the coming years, but these deep playoff runs feel more like one-offs than signs of recent dynasties. But Durant has the most extraordinary profession of those greats and a future that seems the scariest.

Durant’s Suns have it no first-round draft picks from 2025 to 2030. He has already expressed frustration with the way he was used in the Phoenix offense. Can he force a departure, which might send him to his third team since leaving Golden State in 2019 and the fifth team of his profession, or will he remain with a Suns organization that has no path to a championship ahead of him? and his “only” two titles after joining a Warriors team that had just broken the regular season games record. Either way, Durant’s profession might be difficult to quantify.

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He will finish his profession in the top 10 in all-time points scored, and with two Finals appearances under his belt, he may never have a statue built in front of an NBA arena. Durant has played on some version of the super team that’s the Big Three for the last 15 years, and since leaving the Warriors in 2019, he has failed to make it past the second round. Sure, there are some unique circumstances behind the disappointments, but Durant was the leader of every of those teams.

This season, teaming up with Devin Booker (who scored 49 points on Sunday) and Bradley Beal was supposed to be his best probability to break that spell. However, the whole lot fell apart faster than anyone expected. Now Durant looks to a future that’s falling apart.

The Minnesota Timberwolves watch Anthony Edwards dunk during a game against the Phoenix Suns during Game 4 of the Western Conference first round on April 4 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

The unknown in all of that is what’s Edwards doing now? He was at all times going to eventually land after taking off to dunk Durant, but his profession was primed for continued growth. His next opponent is the league’s current immovable object in the type of two-time MVP Jokic.

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While the Nuggets might be the favorites, the results of this series won’t be as telling as what happens in the coming years. Edwards, along with his gritty defense, million-dollar smile, atomic dunks and off-balance attitude, began the season next, but now he’s on his way. He finds himself in a place he knows from every game: looking down on anyone who dares to get in his way before realizing there is no point in even trying.

This is what happens when you could have a torch and are ready to set fire to the whole lot that gets in your way.

DavidDennis Jr. is a senior author at Andscape and the writer of the award-winning book “The Movement Made Us: A Father, a Son, and the Legacy of a Freedom Ride.” David is a graduate of Davidson College.

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Ryan Clark breaks down in an emotional interview with Greg Brooks Jr.: “This child did not deserve it”

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Ryana Clark “The Pivot” podcast It boasts “key conversations”. However, the host of the podcast was not prepared for the emotional variety of his last interview with a former footballer of the State University in Louisiana Greg Brooks Jr. After almost an hour conversation with Greg Brooks and his father, Greg Brooks, Clark, Clark Put in tears a moment after Brooks was thrown out of the interview.

“Sometimes I miss it. I look at the screen and I think it should be me, but I’m just glad that I’m here.”

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“You are amazing. You are an inspiration, I mean that you are a superhero and I expected that from a very young age, when I met you, to achieve great things,” said Clark Brooks Jr. “I never expected you to achieve what you have man. I love you.”

For Clark, Ałunu LSU and the super Bowl master, this conversation was particularly annoying because he was there to witness Brooks Jr.’s journey. from early days of recovery.

“It’s hard to see, old,” Clark continued. “My tears are like a part of pride, but also just anger, because you are right, this child does not … does not deserve this man, and to be honest, GB (Greg Brooks Sr.), the most difficult part is for me that he has no anger. He is so happy of everything he has, he is so happy because of how far is.”

While the previous LSU football captain is grateful for recovery, his father, Brooks Sr., explained that Brooks Jr. He still experiences the extent of pain.

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“Don’t you think that this child suffered, old? Don’t you think that he had the successes of all his friends? Not hear from the trainer for over 17 months? Seventeen Fu ** months … it’s painful, old” – revealed Brooks Sr.

In a lawsuit against the University and Mother of God of the Lake Regional Medical Center at Baton Rouge, the Brooks family claims that LSU staff and medical staff performed neglect in the Brooks Jr. And that the varsity did not inform the athlete’s family about his injury.

“I just want young athletes in the identical place, if something hurts, tell them.

(Tagstranslate) LSU Football (T) Ryan Clark (T) Sport

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Coach San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich leaves the legacy of expressing injustice

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Gregg Popovich, the most important coach of San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich, won the highest and maybe the largest coach in NBA history outside the side line. It also disappeared, but actually not forgotten, Popovich used his platform to talk against racial, social and political injustice.

“He was probably one of the first trainers of the modern generation, who really spoke about politics and social injustice,” said coach Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr, a former guard of Spurs near Popuvich. “One of my favorite trainers is (former basketball coach of men from the University of North Karolina) Dean Smith. Dean Smith in the 1960s. He helped break the racial barriers in the south, refusing to take his team in some places for staying or eating. Coaches who really distinguish me. “

Spurs announced the retirement of Popovich from coaching on May 2 after 33 years as the most important trainer. Naismith Hall of Famer is the NBA leader in the field of coaching victories with 1422 wins in the regular season. The three -time NBA coach led Spurs to 5 championships. The 76-year-old also took third place in winning the playoffs.

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Popovich trained the Spurs dynasty, which included the NBA championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, Hall of Famers David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Future Hall of Famer Kawhi Leonard. With the NBA All-Star Center Victor Wembanyama, in its composition, Popovich trained only five matches this season, after which he suffered a stroke in a team facility on November 2, 2024. He never returned out of bord.

Popovich will remain in Spurs as the president of basketball operations and was replaced by Mitch Johnson, who was a short lived team of the team this season.

“It’s a sad day. It’s also an encouraging day,” said Kerr on May 2. “This is a natural transition for him organizationally to go to the next role. He also gives him space and time that he must regain after health problems.

“So I got a lot of mixed emotions … mainly my love for pop. My empathy for what has gone through with the Spurs organization. All of the above. This is a very emotional day for everyone involved. Thank you, pop.”

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Coach Houston Rockets, Ime Udoka, former guard of Spurs and assistant coach near Popowicz, said on May 2: “This is a sweet -bitter day, of course, for all of us. But I am glad that he is in the good place. And I am glad that he is good with his family. A special day. A special person. One of the best for it. I am happy that I have a chance to work with him and call him.”

Coach Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr (on the left) and coach San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich (on the right) meet after the match at the Chase Center on November 1, 2019.

Cary edmondson-us today sport

Popovich also had an impact on the world, undeniably using his platform to speak about injustice. What made his openness much more unique was that he was a white man who spoke about marginalized individuals who didn’t seem like him.

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Former San Antonio Spurs Forward Lamarcus Aldridge once described Popovich as “color blindness” to Andcape. Popovich was also known that he normally had an inventory with international talent.

“When you meet him, color doesn’t matter to him,” Aldridge said about Popovich. “It can refer. People can say that he and Stephen Jackson are really close. Stephen Jackson is the opposite of being from Europe. It doesn’t matter who you are. He connects with all people … He is so open to everything.”

Popovich once expressed respect for the playmaker San Francisco 49ers Colin Kapernicka and his national protest. These were the words of a person who attended the American Air Force Academy and obtained a bachelor’s degree in the field of Soviet studies. He served five years of the required lively service in the Air Force and once considered a profession in the CIA.

“A quite good group of people immediately thought that they did not respect the army,” said Popovich once. “It had nothing to do with his protest. In fact, he was able to do what he did because of what the army was doing for us. Most people think about it, but there will always be an element that wants to jump on fashion and this is unfortunate in our country.”

Popovich once took Spurs to the private screening of the film “Chi-raq” with the famous film director Spike Lee. Popovich had a former John Carlos track star, who joined Tommie Smith to get a controversial salut of black power on the podium medal during the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968, confer with his team. Popovich gave his players the book “Between the world and me” by Tahisi Coates, who was written as a letter to the writer’s teenage son about reality, emotions and symbolism of being an African American in the United States. Popovich also took his team for the show “The Birth of the Nation”, the film Parker invested about Nat Turner, who managed the historic riot of slaves in 1831 and see the famous art of “Hamilton” in New York.

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“It is obvious that the domestic plane of slavery still penetrates our social system in this country,” said Popovich once. “People want to ignore it, they don’t want to talk about it because it is uncomfortable.”

Popovich also described the race in America as “elephant in peace.” He believed that the White Americans didn’t understand the pain and stress related to being an African American. Popovich remembered listening to the black assistants of trainers about how that they had to confer with children about the best way to cope with the police in the event that they were confronted. He said it was something that as a white man never had in common together with his two children.

“It’s easier for white people because we haven’t experienced this experience. For many white people it is difficult to understand the everyday feeling with which many black people are dealing with,” Popovich once said. “I did not talk to my children about how to behave in front of a policeman when you stop. I did not have to do it. All my black friends did it. There is something that is wrong in it and we all know it.”

From left to right: coach San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich and former players of Spurs David Robinson and Tim Duncan during Tony Parker’s pension ceremony on November 11, 2019.

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Popovich also also talked about what he thinks were injustices in the American government, particularly against President Donald Trump. During October 27, 2024, a press conferencePopovich described Trump as “pathetic” and accused him of supporting the culture of racism and division in America. Popovich also added that he believes that Trump has confirmed racism, which normalized and legitimized discrimination on this process.

Popovich recurrently talked about the control of weapons. In 2023, Popovich gave an unnecessary, nine -minute lobbying lobbying for the laws of weapon control in America and criticizing “cowardly legislators who are selfish” before the match in Dallas. Popovich criticized republican legislators in Texas and Tennessee, and in addition expressed contempt for the expedition of representatives in 2023 Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from the Chamber of Representatives in Tennessee. Two black democrats were demonstrating weapons control on the floor of the chamber after a shooting in Nashville. Popovich called the provisions on the resistance of weapon control, an try and “clog all these things (in) the myth of the second amendment.”

“I was wondering because we have a governor and governor governor and prosecutor general, who made it easier to have more weapons,” Popovich said, referring to politicians from Texas. “It was a response to the murder of our children. I just thought it was a bit strange decision. But it’s just me.”

So how did Popovich develop into so conscious, caring and vocal?

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The son of a Croatian father and Serbian mother organized naturally about other cultures, growing up in a racially diverse eastern Chicago in Indiana, 18 miles from the Chicago center. According to the universal census of the United States of 2010, Eastern Chicago had 42.9% black, 35.5% white and 19.1% of other races. Popovich attributed his military origin for making him aware of the world. He also learned about the world when he played basketball for the American Basketball Team of the Armed Forces in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

“When you meet him and learn about his upbringing and his origin, raised in (suburbs) Gary, Indian, in a multicultural district …”-said Udoka. “He all the time talked about the neighbors he had – an Italian family, a Jewish family, a black family. Everything around him was immigrants and his.

“This is the core of who it is. It is appropriate, regardless of whether you are black, white or different.”

Kerr also spoke about social injustice, racism, violence with weapons and political problems during the training of warriors. He recognized Popovich for uplifting him to make use of his platform to talk.

“I was 100% inspired by pop for the courage to speak and take the hits you do,” said Kerr. “I met POP after I signed a contract with Spurs in 1999 during the blockade. You can see the sacrifice for his country. A proud air force graduate. From the first national anthem (played in the game Spurs) I saw how he stood on an unusual American flut.

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“This is a belief together with, say, the Shenanigans of this country politically – in actual fact all BS began at the moment, at the turn of the century … between social media and Buffoners politically, on this era, wherein everyone screams against one another.

Marc J. Spears is a senior NBA author for Andcape. Once he was capable of immerse himself at you, but he was unable for years, and his knees still hurt.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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Why America still makes the black fathers of sports villains

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In the sports industry value a billion dollars there isn’t any image more quietly threatening to the system than a robust, engaged black father.

We see it time and again.
Lavar Ball is known as boastful.
Deion Sanders is known as selfish.

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Richard Williams was crazy long before the world learned the names Venus and Serena.
Lebron James is in some way criticized for being too publicly supporting his son Brony.
Earl Woods was presented as a controlling character, even when he raised one of the biggest golfers he had ever seen.

Cecil Newton Sr. He met with public control simply following his son CAM.

The plan is evident: when the black father stands at the center of his child’s success – leading, protecting, moving away from exploitation – the media paint him as an issue.
As Egomaniak.
As someone “bothers”.

Why?
Because strong black fathers disturb the narrative.

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The system is just not only invested in the talent of black athletes – it invests in controlling them.
A young black athlete without suggestions is less complicated to control. Easier to pay. Easier to face against others. Easier to the brand, profit and reject when it’s comfortable.

A powerful black father changes the terms of the contract.

Requires higher contracts.
He asks about coaching decisions.
It protects the mental health of your child from the franchise.
He reminds the world that his son or daughter is just not only an asset – but a human being along with his family, dreams and dignity.

And that is where real fear lies.

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The image of a united black family – not broken, absent, not broken – a challenge of deeply rooted stereotypes on which American society has long been about the justification of inequalities.
A powerful black man standing next to his child and says that he is just not perceived as an act of love, but as an act of revolt.

It is less complicated to submit a father than to confess that the system is designed to make use of athletes, while they’re young, sensitive and isolated.
It is less complicated to make fun of yourself than to confront the truth:
Black families who stick together support one another and are fiercely in favor of their very own, are irrefutable, not a threat.

The experience of NFL Sanders Sanders shows what black men know too well - confidence is a threat

When Deion Sanders tells his sons that they’re kings, not goods, it worries the old order.
When Richard Williams insists that his daughters are larger than tennis, he prescribes the rules.
When Lavar Ball dreams loudly for his sons, he scares a system that prefers black athletes to be grateful and quiet.

But let’s be clear:
It is just not their trust that threatens the sports industry.
It’s their love.
Their refusal to permission to their children used and rejected to the side.
Their impudence is consider that they deserve sitting at the table – and pull up the chair without not asking for permission.

Black fathers in sport should not villains.
They are architects.
They are defenders.
These are a shield between industries value a billion dollars and kids, otherwise they consumed.

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Or possibly this can be a real story that America doesn’t wish to tell.


Jonathan Conyers

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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