“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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

The WNBA preseason is underway and there’s already drama.

Both Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark made their WNBA debuts this weekend, but only one among the games was televised.

I think you may guess which one.

Although the WNBA app showed that every one preseason games can be available to watch this weekend, this turned out not to be the case and fans were upset, especially those that were hoping for Angel Reese’s debut.

Since the sport couldn’t be viewed on TV or on the WNBA app, a fan in attendance streamed the whole event live, and while gauging views on social media is not an actual science, the video was viewed by roughly 434,000 people on Saturday.

Imagine if the league actually counted those views.

Does the league realize how much star power it has now? As Lynx’s coach – Cheryl Reeve said in a Friday morning tweet encouraging people to watch the Lynx/Sky matchup, the league is greater than just one player.

It’s still unclear to me whether this was the fault of the WNBA itself or the tv network that owned the rights to the Chicago Sky or Minnesota Lynx games, but it surely was one other example of a wasted opportunity to make the most of all of the current emotions around women’s basketball.

We keep hearing that we want to do more to support the WNBA, and judging by the response on social media from individuals who weren’t able to see Friday’s game (just search the WNBA to see people furiously screaming at them), plenty of people that donated $35 to support the league.

Sports

Why cannot they see all of the matches?

If there are strange bureaucratic structures that prevent certain games from being included on League Pass, everyone involved needs to come together and determine how fans – individuals who want to support the league by watching – can get their investment back.

I said it within the headline and I’ll say it again: this is the Angel Reese account. I just want to see her play.

The WNBA wanted all this attention and now they’ve it, but it surely looks like they do not have the horses to capitalize on all the eye, and ultimately, in the event that they don’t, recover from it, the players will suffer.

Monday was Angel Reese’s twenty second birthday. She spent the evening on the Met Gala.

She will play her second WNBA game on Tuesday night as her team takes on the New York Liberty, and since everyone caused such a stir on Friday night, the WNBA found a way to the sport is available to watch as a part of League Pass.

I hope everyone will tune in and watch our girl do her thing.

In the grand scheme of things, the dearth of availability of a preseason game may not seem to be that big of a deal, and that would be the case within the NBA, but within the case of the WNBA, the sport matters since the more eyes we will placed on it, Ladies, the more support we construct for the league and The more support we construct for the league, the more likely we’re to make changes that may translate into things like not having to fly ads to games and getting extra money for girls players.

There’s a fan base there. There is support. People are ready, willing and hungry for girls’s basketball.

WNBA, the ball is now in your court.

The development you’ve got been asking for is inside your reach. Are you ready to take care of it? Once you’ve got it, what are you going to do with it?

The Chicago Sky’s first game of the WNBA season began with rookies chosen on this yr’s draft, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. However, the league did not televise its skilled debuts, which caused confusion and disappointment.

People wonder why – especially in the case of Reese’s college rival, Caitlin Clark (now playing for the Indiana Fever), who happens to be white, shown on TV. According to the Associated Press, the Sky match was listed as available for viewing.

But someone on X, the platform formerly often called Twitter, did their part to make sure that fans who did not have access to the game could see Reese and Cardoso’s debuts. User X, @heyheyitsalli wrote: “Would you want me to try broadcasting the game here? I do not promise quality, but I can try.

would you want me to try broadcasting the game here? I do not promise quality, but I can try

— alli (@heyheyitsalli) May 3, 2024

With this message, she not only gained the respect of users, but was in a position to fulfill many users’ dreams of watching the Chicago Sky season opener.

Lynx vs Sky preseason game!! https://t.co/fOHriWWcVV

— alli (@heyheyitsalli) May 4, 2024

The numbers were amazing – over 615,800 viewers watched the broadcast. Alli shared a screenshot of her 173,381 live viewers at the time of posting the news.

Y’all, these are a few of the WILDEST numbers. WOW pic.twitter.com/DJF6Xloss1

— alli (@heyheyitsalli) May 4, 2024

When asked about Alli’s performance, Lnyx coach Cheryl Reeve said she deserved “three dollars” per viewer.

“Anyone who watched this could send that person three dollars. I do not even know who that’s,” Reeve said. I suppose I’d say the growth is going on in a short time. It’s so sped up. I’ve been saying this repeatedly in our own organization – business as usual will now not work.

Cheryl Reeve shared some good comments post-game about the decision NOT to broadcast the Sky-Lynx game. Watch the full clip.

“The growth is happening so fast. The previous actions will no longer work. You will be left behind and this is an example of that.” #WNBA 🎥 @minnesotalynx pic.twitter.com/VIYfrzUteD

— Vanshay Murdock 🎥🎥 (@VanshayM) May 4, 2024

The Sky lost to the Minnesota Lynx 92-81. Reese scored 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes, while Cardoso scored six points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 13 minutes.