SACRAMENTO, Calif. – When DeMar DeRozan woke up Tuesday morning with his first practice of the 2024-25 NBA season on the horizon, it finally hit him. The six-time NBA All-Star was a real member of the Sacramento Kings.

“Waking up in another (city), driving here, it really hit me,” DeRozan told Andscape after Kings practice on Tuesday. “Everything was just different. Landscape leaving the house. Drive. Realizing that rattling it, I’m trying to recollect learn how to get to the locker room once I get to the arena.

“Everything was so new and fresh that I was just trying to get my head around it. And sometimes it was good. It’s a new feeling. Everything will be new to me for the next few weeks.”

DeRozan sent shockwaves throughout the NBA when he agreed to a sign-and-trade on July 6 that sent him to the Kings from the Chicago Bulls, forward Harrison Barnes from Sacramento to the San Antonio Spurs and guard Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and money to the Bulls . DeRozan thus signed a three-year contract value $74 million. The 16-year NBA veteran averaged 24 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 79 regular-season games with Chicago last season.

DeRozan is also from Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles. By signing with the Kings, he has a 90-minute flight away from his five children, mother and other members of the family and family members in Los Angeles. This is the former USC star’s first game west of Texas in his NBA profession, which began in 2009.

“It means a lot to me,” DeRozan said of being in California. “Even one in all my daughters asks on daily basis when she will be able to come over – even a day where she could just come for a day, spend time with me and are available back. Knowing this offers her excitement. This makes me extremely blissful.

“And I definitely look forward to the moments where if something happens, if I get a day off, I can go home, see it and come back the same day. So I’m looking forward to that more than anything.”

DeRozan has been busy leading as much as the start of Kings training camp, promoting his book in the United States and Toronto.

DeRozan wrote about his public battle with depression, hoping it might encourage those in must seek help, including African Americans who’re less prone to seek mental health treatment. According to . DeRozan also recently spoke to the NBA’s rookie class and sent each member a replica of his book with a handwritten note.

“It was definitely a new feeling for me because I had never experienced anything like that before,” DeRozan said of writing the book. “(I) Never expected something like this. It was the first time, but it was good because he even helped me with so many things that I realized that I had to find a way for myself and work on myself to be able to continue as a friend, father and leader. So it was definitely something I challenged myself to do. But it was hard at first.”

Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown asked DeRozan to discuss his “phenomenal” book before the first practice of the season. DeRozan spoke for about 10 minutes. Holding a replica of the book, Brown told the media after practice that each Kings player also received a replica.

Brown said mental health issues are an actual problem amongst African Americans. According to McLean Hospital in 2024, roughly 25% of African Americans are in search of mental health in comparison with 40% of white Americans. Suicide is the third commonest reason for death in 2024 for Black men ages 15 to 24, in line with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“He talked to the team about his thought process in writing the book,” Brown said. “During the game, he also told the team why he did it. It’s all about him and letting people know that everybody has had problems. Even though they play in the NBA, they’re still human and undergo ups and downs in life similar to you or anyone else. And it’s okay to be vulnerable whenever you’re going through (life)…

“That’s why the key words for me were ‘be vulnerable.’ In our (African American) community, you don’t cry, you don’t go to the doctor. And that’s a stigma. For him to open it up and talk to our group today and have it in the book is an amazing thing to be a part of.”

DeRozan is a proven scorer and is known for enjoying closer games. After practice, Brown told the media that he was also pleasantly surprised with his passing skills. Brown and Kings guard De’Aaron Fox also was impressed with DeRozan’s patience and efficiency when attempting to rating.

“He’s not just a scorer, he’s a basketball player,” Brown said. “I let you know, a few of the passes he made (Tuesday), I didn’t think I used to be going to get there a few times. But he never panicked when he played. He played at his own pace. He acted fast when he desired to act fast. He walked slowly when he desired to go slowly.

“He kept the defense off balance. And when someone was open, he made the right pass… The luxury of having another guy who knows how to play, who can pass, dribble and shoot – and more importantly, wants to pass – that will help us be a little more dynamic on the offensive side of the pitch.”

Fox said: “He attracts loads of attention, especially when he has the ball. Even though he’s getting all this attention, he’s still capable of get to his spots and still put the ball in the basket. And when three or 4 guys go down, you get loads of open shots.

In addition to DeRozan, the Kings have a talented lineup that features two-time center Domantas Sabonis and Fox, a 2023 All-Star. The Kings even have a possible rising star in third-year forward Keegan Murray and proven veteran scorers Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk. The Kings broke a 17-year playoff drought by making the 2023 playoffs, but didn’t secure a return to the postseason during last season’s NBA Play-in Tournament.

The Western Conference is stuffed with potential rivals: the Dallas Mavericks, 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. But DeRozan says the Kings have the talent to make the Western Conference Finals. The Kings have not played in the Western Finals since 2002.

“The passion, the drive of the coaching staff, from the players to the fan base, from top to bottom,” DeRozan said. “The guys wish to win. You saw where they were two years ago. The talent that they had there and even last 12 months before the injuries. Everything is possible. I believe the way we worked (Tuesday), the confidence the guys have and the way I’m approaching this summer, going into this season, has given me the most confidence.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who turns 39 in December, enters the season as the profession scoring leader and the league’s oldest energetic player. DeRozan is not yet one in all the oldest energetic NBA players – he is already 35 years old, but he is the oldest player of the Kings team and only one in all two players over 30 years old (Alex Len, 31 years old).

DeRozan has played not less than 74 games in each of the last three seasons. In his fifteenth season in the NBA, he also played the highest number in the league: 2,989 minutes and 37.8 minutes per game. Thanks to James’ words of wisdom on his offseason training plan, DeRozan hopes to have one other healthy season with loads of minutes in Sacramento.

“I’m grateful that I continue to do what I do at a high level,” DeRozan said. “I’m proud and I need to be unique and break this age barrier where people keep saying I’m old and slowing down. Last 12 months I led the league in minutes (per game) and I desired to play more. As for me, I just keep in great shape. I maintain my body. I get enough rest. I do nothing but loosen up with my children and jump.

“It means loads to me that I’m still playing. I like the guys who’ve played at a high level for thus long. I take a look at a man like Bron (James). It’s amazing what he does and the way he does so well. He takes care of himself. I remember one evening that summer we were playing cards and he was working on himself. This just goes to indicate why he has been playing for thus long. It’s amazing. So just steal stuff like that because you wish to have longevity and play at a high level, so other people feel that when you maintain yourself, you may play so long as you wish.

DeRozan shall be 38 years old when his contract with the Kings expires. But will he play until he’s forty? Well, that is where he drew the line.

“No,” DeRozan said with a smile.

Courtney Williams was walking on the streets of New York when her phone rang.

It was June 2016, and Williams had played just 14 games in her rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury. Two months earlier, in April, she was the No. 8 pick in the WNBA draft, an attractive two-point guard out of the University of South Florida who UConn head coach Geno Auriemma described as one in every of the hardest defenders in the AAC to defend.

For the Mercury, Williams has yet to make her mark, appearing in only six games and averaging just 4 minutes a game. In New York, she got a call from then-Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello.

Williams was traded to the Connecticut Sun.

“I didn’t know anything about anything… I’m a kid,” Williams said. “I’m wondering, ‘Will I come to the game tomorrow?’ “

The news got here as a surprise to Williams, who believed she would start her profession in Phoenix. This can be the first of several unexpected departures from the franchise.

Now in his ninth season, Williams continues to search for a long-term franchise home. However, she may have landed in Minnesota, her fifth WNBA team. After signing with the Lynx in February, Williams became a core member of a team that quickly emerged as a title contender.

“My first year was amazing,” Williams said.

With the Sun leading the Minnesota Lynx 1-0 in the WNBA semifinals heading into Game 2 on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) with a probability to win the league championship, Williams enjoyed every little bit of her final WNBA break, hoping it will be her last time.

This yr’s Lynx team, which finished the regular season with the second-best record in the WNBA and most wins in franchise history, offers Williams the best potential path to a WNBA championship since 2019. That season, Williams played for Connecticut, when she reached the finals against the Washington Mystics, but lost in the fifth and final game of the series.

“It will stay with you forever,” Williams said. “You do not get points only for getting there. You have to win this. I’m sure you have that thought in your mind: “I need to buy something now.” “

Four months later, in February 2020, Williams, who felt she had found a core group with which she was able to make a comeback, was traded to the Atlanta Dream. After the trade was announced, then-Sun general manager and head coach Curt Miller said Williams not desired to be in Connecticut, a claim Williams disputed at the time. Williams maintains she never wanted to depart the Sun, but has modified her perspective on the matter.

“Now that I look back and I’m older, I think I was so connected to that group and became so emotionally invested… I got rid of the business aspect of it,” Williams said. “I believe when it got here time to barter… when it got here time to do business, I let my emotions get the higher of me when it got here all the way down to it. We are all learning. We all grow. But yeah, I definitely didn’t want to depart, man. (They were) all my people. ”

Williams thought she had found her ultimate WNBA goal with the Dream. She returned to her home state of Georgia and had the opportunity to play for coach Nicki Collen, who was an assistant coach for Sun.

“It was like, ‘Okay, my people can come visit me.’ I can go home. So at first I definitely thought so (it was Atlanta).”

But it didn’t work out in Atlanta either. Despite excelling with the Dream and earning All-Star honors during the 2021 season, Williams’ involvement in a non-WNBA fight involving other Dream players led to Atlanta selecting to not re-sign her. Williams then entered free agency.

Over the next two seasons, Williams would spend one other yr with Connecticut in 2022 and one yr with the Chicago Sky in 2023. When Williams entered free agency in January, she was not only on the lookout for a company to play for, but in addition on the lookout for a long-term home.

“That was my biggest thing in free agency,” Williams said. “When I talked to all the teams, I said I used to be at a point in my profession where I didn’t wish to bounce back anymore. If you may offer me more of being a part of the core group than when you see me being a part of a franchise, that is where I would like to be. Minnesota got here and matched my energy.

“It was something Courtney and I talked about. “Courtney’s back in the conversation as one of the best defenders in the league is where she belongs,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said after a Sept. 1 regular-season victory over Chicago. “We are committed to doing this.”

During her time in the WNBA, Williams’ identity in the league became synonymous with midfield scoring. As many as 57.5% of Williams’ points this season got here from the middle. The WNBA player who was second on this category (for players who logged a minimum of 20 minutes per game) was Atlanta Dream forward Tina Charles with 22%.

“(The diameter is) something of a lost art in the game. For most players in the league, including the NBA, it’s usually not a high percentage shot,” said Lynx guard Bridget Carleton. “It’s a shot that defenses expect from offensive teams. It’s a break for Courtney and teams don’t desire her to take it.

Williams led the league in mid-range shots per game (6.9) while posting a career-best shooting percentage (46.2), passing Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (46.3) for the best shooting percentage in the league amongst players with a minimum of 4 attempts per game from the level.

“It’s a lot of fun, he can give it his all,” Carleton said. “She’s really good and extremely efficient, and when she can achieve that, it’s really nice. It can’t be stopped.”

Williams credits the Lynx coaching staff with setting her up on the court to achieve success. Minnesota assistant coach Elaine Powell played with two exceptional midfield talents in Katie Smith, now also the Lynx’s associate head coach, and Deanna “Tweety” Nolan.

“Courtney is able to get to her place. He knows when he gets to his spot he’s going to do one of his mid-range pull-ups,” said Powell, who won three championships as a defenseman with the Detroit Shock. “When you have someone like Courtney, it’s easier for her to do pins or get (Alanna Smith) to screen drag or whatever so she can get to her favorite thing, which is the pull-up jumper.”

Williams says she has had the most fun playing Lynx basketball in years. Teammates say Williams brings a veteran presence to the Lynx locker room and an energy as big and brilliant as the blonde hair he currently sports on the court.

“Every time Courtney is in the room, you’re going to laugh,” Carleton said. “You’ll have fun.”

Williams is in the second yr of the biggest transition of his profession, moving from a two-guard position to a point guard. As a Sky player in 2023, Williams was asked to attain for the first time, to which she reluctantly agreed. Despite her reluctance, Williams achieved her goal, rating fourth in the WNBA in assists per game (6.3).

As the Lynx point guard in 2024, Williams continued to showcase her skills as Minnesota’s leading defender. The Lynx led the league in assists during the regular season, and Williams averaged 5.5 per game, the most on the team.

“Most people know Courtney as a great mid-range shooter, but now she penetrates the hole and gets to the hole and makes it easier to get the ball where it needs to be,” Powell said. “Now she’s really pulling more out of the bag she already had.”

Williams committed herself to development in her recent position. Whenever she could, she watched other games to see how other top quarterbacks viewed the game and the way they handled it. He is consistently on the lookout for “gems” from the Lynx coaching staff. Sometimes they’re easy reminders, like putting more emphasis on clock management or ensuring he can see the entire court while he’s working.

“He’s not afraid to ask questions and he’s not afraid to say, ‘Hey, show me again because I don’t understand,’” Powell said. “She is open and wants to learn.”

As Williams continues to learn, Carleton said she already has a few of the traits of a point guard.

“Her decision making on ball screens. Her ability to deal with pressure, recover from balls and read correctly. He always reads well,” Carleton said.

“I think people have to make a decision,” Williams said. When I get out of the pick and roll, will you step forward? Are you going to make use of hard hedging? Whatever they select, I have a decision I can agree with.

New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones, who played for Williams on the Sun, is joyful to see her flourish in Minnesota, where he considers Williams’ role to be ideal. Now, as Williams and the Lynx’s opponent, Jones said that given the variety of offensive threats the Lynx have on their roster, from 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier to 2 of the best three-point shooters in the league, Kayla McBride and Carleton, Williams’ protection becomes rather more difficult.

“The one-on-ones are very important because as soon as you help, you pay for it with the shooters they have,” Jones said. “Courtney has always been great in one-on-one games, so stopping her is even more difficult.”

As Williams continued to reflect on her recent finals appearance with The Sun, one aspect of her performance in Connecticut stood out.

“We had a great group,” Williams said. “I believe that is what got me to where we at the moment are. We’ve got a great group, man. They’re just a selfless group and I believe that is the most vital thing that involves my mind after I take into consideration attending to the finals – it’s the locker room.

After the Lynx cruised to a victory late in one in every of the final games of the regular season, Williams was interviewed by Terrice Foster-Brasby of NBC Sports Boston. Williams, buoyed by the victory, gushed about her team and teammates, indicative of the impact the Lynx organization had on the ever-adapting and developing league veteran. Williams has his sights set on bringing the title to Minnesota. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to get into the franchise that offered her the home she was on the lookout for.

Williams said at the end of one in every of her post-game answers, “I love being here.”

It seems that Mike Tyson has said goodbye to his grudge against famous boxing promoter Don King for good. The two men once had a business relationship of 22 years after meeting early in the heavyweight champion’s profession in the ring in 1988.

Tyson, 58, recently appeared on “It Is What It Is,” sharing the current situation between him and the 93-year-old. In an interview with host Cam’ron, the retired athlete said that his former business partner recently called him.

“We talked and said we loved each other,” Tyson said, noting that the aging icon’s health was deteriorating.

He was then asked whether his feelings about the claims that King had abused him had modified. “No, consider Don King, he actually taught me, it’ll never occur again. That’s the difference in being taken advantage of, it’s the experience. So that it doesn’t occur again,” said the “Hangover” actor.

Tyson’s relationship with King became strained at the turn of the millennium when the boxer claimed he was being financially exploited. Their consequences made headlines when, in 1998, an iron-fisted New Yorker sued a businessman for $100 million. He alleged that the promoter defrauded him with bad contracts and that King amassed excessive earnings. The case was settled and Tyson collected $14 million.

#OnThisDay 23 years ago:
Former two-time champion Mike Tyson files a $100 million lawsuit against Don King in US District Court. Mike claims that a treacherous, longtime promoter systematically defrauded him of tens of thousands and thousands of dollars over a 10-year period.#box #history #otd pic.twitter.com/3Laq2lasFp

— KT_BOXING (@KT_BOXING) February 5, 2021

Despite their controversial relationship, they continued to work together for an additional two years. In 2000, Tyson fired King and other members of his management team. He said he was taken advantage of and accused King of rigging his fights – most famously when Tyson suffered a knockout in his 1990 match against Douglas Buster.

Cam’ron delved into their bad blood and asked, “Did you have to lay your hands on him?” The “Hotboxin'” podcast host replied, “Well, yes.” Tyson wrote about the attack on King in his 2013 autobiography, “Undisputed Truth.”

The boxer and promoter agreed to fulfill in Florida, where King lived, to debate a possible reconciliation in 2003. That same 12 months, the retired athlete filed for bankruptcy after accumulating $23 million in debt.

Traveling on his former mentor’s private jet, Tyson gave in to his addictions and got high on cocaine.

“Drugs were playing with my head, I was going crazy and getting jealous” – Tyson he wrote. When King picked him up in a Rolls-Royce with Tyson’s former chauffeur, Isadore Bolton, which he believed King had stolen from him, the boxer went berserk.

He recalls: “We were driving to Miami from Fort Lauderdale on I-95. Don said something innocent and all the jealousy and rage poured out of me and I kicked him in his fucking head. Boom! He doesn’t turn his back on a jealous cocaine addict.

The attack escalated when he admitted choking King, who was sitting in the passenger seat, before being thrown from the vehicle.

Michael Moorer, Don King, Mike Tyson, Emmanuel Steward and Gerald McClellan #box #history pic.twitter.com/xtCPVsHJRv

— Boxing History (@BoxingHistory) February 19, 2020

Fans saw a clip of Tyson’s latest recording comments about his and King’s relationship, and one person noticed how quiet it became as Mike described the incident. “Mike, annoying everyone.” Another said, “He became so serious when they asked to lay hands on him.” According to 1 listener who wrote, “At first everyone underestimated him,” these difficult business lessons weren’t exclusive to the promoter.

Another viewer guessed that the end of men’s employment contributed to the decline of Tyson’s profession. “Mike and Don King. 100 million for the fight… Mike without Don King’s peanuts for the fight” – read the comment.

Tyson retired in 2005, but has since announced his plans to return to the ring against influential YouTuber Jake Paul.

Despite the complications of aging, King says he’s “doing well” and continues to advertise fights.