🏀 Why So Emo, Jimmy?

Today’s a special day for Enjoy Basketball.

Not only are we celebrating the birthday of EB co-founder Kenny Beecham, but we’re also dropping the Enthusiast Trucker today at 5pm EST! Our last hat drop sold out in just 20 minutes, so make sure you’re ready when the time comes!

🏀 Only available at enjoybball.com! 🏀

Today’s Lineup

Influencing Hoops 😮: MrBeast is sponsoring an NBA team. Yes, really.

Ball Out Boy 👨‍🎤: Jimmy Butler got emo at Media Day…

Golden Years ⭐️ : This former point guard now writes children’s books!

But first, some trivia:

Big News

Devin Vassell signs 5-year, $146 million contract with SAS

The Spurs are really locking down their future! Casual fans may not know his name, but Vassell might be the most slept-on young scorer in the league.

Don’t believe us? Watch him get buckets. The dude averaged 18.5 PPG last year at age 22! Hopefully Wemby’s arrival will draw more media attention to his superb play.

Charlotte Hornets launch jersey patch deal with YouTuber MrBeast

This might be the weirdest news of the entire offseason.

YouTube megastar MrBeast just partnered with the Charlotte Hornets to promote his snack brand Feastables, whose logo will adorn the Hornets’ uniforms throughout the season. He becomes the first influencer with a sponsorship like this—we’re surprised LaVar Ball and BBB didn’t beat them to it. But seriously, when is the Enjoy Basketball deal? 👀 

Media Day Moments 📸

Heat fans aren’t the only ones depressed after Miami failed to trade for Damian Lillard. Just look at Jimmy Butler’s emo hair!

The internet went into a flurry thinking of fitting nicknames, and they’re just as ridiculous and hilarious as the hairdo itself. Bam Adebayo thinks it's just a phase… here’s hoping he’s right.

Damian Lillard gave a full interview on his internet-breaking trade to Milwaukee, but the main takeaway is this: he’s happy to be there and ready to win. We’re still getting used to the sight of it all, but we can’t wait to see that Dame and Giannis PnR!

And lastly, check out the Villanova Knicks! New York’s ex-Wildcats posed for a photo during media day and, needless to say, they all rocked the sunglasses to perfection.

(pssst… could Mikal Bridges be up next? 👀 )

Golden Years 👴

Remember CJ Watson?

For those who don’t, he was a solid role-playing guard who bounced around the Eastern Conference during the 2010s. And after he hung up his kicks for good in 2017, he got busy making moves in the literary world. 📚

That's right. The former PG traded the hardwood for hardcovers and started writing children’s books. And just like his basketball career, he’s scoring big. Watson's books are part of a series called "CJ’s Big Dream" and they're an absolute slam dunk for the little readers in your life.

Pick one of these up for your younger brother, your niece, or even yourself! No judgment here. We still mess with The Cat in the Hat.

Through engaging stories that revolve around sports, CJ encourages kids all over the world to pursue their dreams. And they’re not just about hoops! Watson embeds meaningful life lessons in each story, reminding readers of the importance of hard work, perseverance, and self respect.

It's so heartwarming to see former NBA stars like Watson pivoting (see what we did there?) into such meaningful careers post-basketball. Props to CJ! 🏀😌📚

Frozen Moments

• This surprise scared the $#!& out of Trae Young… 😆 

• OG Anunoby pranked Dame into thinking he had been traded to Toronto 😱

• CP3 and Steph Curry are already training together! 🏀 

What We’re Enjoying

Kid Cudi & Lil Durk just dropped a music video for their new song “Guitar In My Room”. The song is set to appear on Lyrical Lemonade’s upcoming album—take a look: 🎶⬇️

Also, check out this great article from The Ringer: The NBA’s Superstar Empowerment Era Proves It Has Its Limit

Signing Off

We’ve gotta say goodbye now, which honestly makes us as emo as Jimmy Buckets. Maybe next year we’ll make it out to media day… 👀🤫

-Conor Geelan

Trivia Answer: In 2002-03, Allen Iverson recorded the most minutes in a single season when he played 42.5 minutes per game for all 82 games! That’s a grant total of 3,485 minutes. Our knees are shot just thinking about that.

Before you go…