Happy Friday, Enjoyers! There are less than two months until the NBA season starts, but we wish it was here already. Shout out to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl!

Today’s Lineup

Around the NBA

Warriors, Steph agree to extension until 2027

On top of the four-year deal that Steph and the Warriors agreed to a couple summers ago, Chef Curry and Golden State have done it again and signed a one-year, $62.6 million extension to keep Steph in town until the 2026-27 season.

Steph has always said that he wants to spend his entire career with Golden State, and we don’t blame him—when you’ve put as much time and energy into something and succeeded as much as he and the Warriors have, it feels silly to abandon it. He’ll be 38 by the time this extension is up (ancient for an NBA player) but something tells us he might still want to stick around even after that. After all, when you can get paid millions of dollars to do stuff like this in front of national television, why wouldn’t you:

Celtics sign Lonnie Walker to one-year Exhibit 10 deal

You might be familiar with Lonnie Walker for a number of different reasons—his college days at Miami, the incredibly meaningful story behind his haircut and why he cut it back in 2020, or his most recent stint with Brooklyn. Now, he’s joining the Celtics on a one-year deal that could prove to be the latest in a series of steals for the reigning NBA champions.

Walker’s deal falls under the Exhibit 10 category, meaning the money is non-guaranteed and he could still be waived during training camp. His deal is also eligible to be converted into a two-way with Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, and Walker would still be owed a bonus. Best of luck to the man himself!

Hoops History

A rookie player winning MVP is about as rare as anything in the NBA—it’s only happened twice since the award was created in 1955 and hasn’t happened in over forty years. Even with a generational superstar talent like Victor Wembanyama on a team as needy for talent as the Spurs, the idea of a first-year player winning the big one is pretty much impossible in the modern NBA.

But let’s take it back to the 1968-69 season, when the Baltimore Bullets’ rookie center Wes Unseld completed the impossible

Unseld was drafted by the Bullets (who have since moved to the nation’s capital and are now the Washington Wizards) with the second pick in the 1968 draft, one slot after NBA Champion and 12-time All-Star Elvin Hayes was taken by the Rockets.

Now, you might be thinking that Unseld established himself as an MVP-caliber player because he rose to the top of the otherwise struggling Baltimore roster and score a crap ton of points. But the real story is a little more complicated, because Unseld wasn’t the Bullets’ leading scorer. Or their second option. Or their third. Rather, Unseld was elite because, even as an undersized 6’7” center, he entered the league and instantly became one the best rebounders of all time.

Averaging almost 14 points and over 18 rebounds per game, Unseld dominated the glass on both ends en route to an All-Star appearance and, at the end of the year, a dual Rookie of the Year/Most Valuable Player honor. Consistently churning out double-doubles at a time when that was WAY rarer than it is now in the NBA, Unseld and the rest of the Bullets finished first in the Eastern Conference but lost in the first round of the playoffs to Willis Reed and Walt Frazier’s Knicks.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

As always, we couldn’t be happier to share our love for hoops with you every single week. Stay focused and positive this weekend, and we’ll catch back up with you Monday! Peace. ✌️

-Austin Zeglis