🏀 Is This Former Star Coming Back?

NBA media days start later this month. Once media days are done, then the preseason begins. And when the preseason begins, the regular season is pretty much here, too. So, when you think about it…the NBA season is basically here already.

In the meantime, we do have WNBA basketball. Playoffs, in fact. The best kind of basketball! So let’s get to it again, y’all.

Today’s Lineup

Warriors Want D12? What would the 3-time DPOY provide for Golden State? 🦸

W Playoffs: A’ja Wilson is on another level…can anyone stop the Aces? ♠️

Ready To Pop: Is this wing the most important building block in PDX? 🌹

Superman In The Bay?

Wise men say to never leave any stone unturned. The Golden State front office has proven to be full of wise folks over the years, so maybe they know something we don’t by reaching out to former star Dwight Howard for a workout. Howard has been playing in Taiwan after playing in 60 games for Los Angeles in 2021-22.

So what can Dwight potentially bring to the Warriors? Well, he’s big, for starters. Howard could provide, at the very least, a big body—something Golden State is lacking. Behind Kevon Looney, the Dubs don’t really have another true center, and Howard could supply that…even if he didn’t ever expect it. 

Howard is 37, so if he does ultimately head out to the Bay, his role will likely be small. Think eight to twelve minutes a game of energy, rebounding, and some blocks. He is averaging over 20 & 10 in Taiwan right now (while shooting more than three 3s a game, yes we mean it) though something tells us those numbers might not carry over. But we have been wrong before!

WNBA Playoffs Roll On

It wasn’t that long ago that A’ja Wilson tied a WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points…and the pressure of the postseason evidently has not slowed her down at all, as the Aces star dropped 38 on Sunday to lead Las Vegas past the Chicago Sky and on to the second round of the WNBA Playoffs.

Ready To Pop: Shaedon Sharpe

By all accounts, leading up to the 2022 NBA Draft, Portland was shopping their first-round pick—number 7 overall. Of course, Portland ended up keeping the pick and selecting Shaedon Sharpe.

The Blazers knew taking Sharpe was a risk—he had no college tape and hadn’t played in a basketball game in over a year at draft time. It wasn’t an unprecedented risk—Darius Garland played just two games at Vanderbilt before going number five overall, and Portland’s own Anfernee Simons passed over college entirely, too—but a risk nonetheless. After Sharpe’s rookie year, we’re confident in saying that risk is paying off.

Stats: 9.9 PPG, 3.0 REB, 1.2 AST, 47.2% FG, 36.0% 3PT

What To Enjoy: Sharpe scored 20+ points eight times over Portland’s last ten games of the season, showing high-level scoring moves from everywhere on the court.

Not as Enjoyable: Portland went 1-9 in those games and had no intentions of competing, so it’s tough to fully gauge how meaningful those buckets are. But a rookie scoring this effortlessly—no matter what the game means and what teams are participating— is a great sign.

Sharpe’s highlight reel is pretty surreal. He became one of the league’s best dunkers the second he was drafted, but he is far from just a dunker. He can jump 1000 inches (that’s an advanced stat) but he’s showed enough shooting ability off screens, leading fastbreaks, and overall creation ability for us to believe those skills are for real.

Frozen Moments

• The “new” Magic jerseys are S-tier if you ask us…🪄

• We must go to the floating Luka court 💧

What We’re Enjoying

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: This movie absolutely rules. The score (done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who also created the score for The Social Network, Gone Girl, and others) is thrilling, the animation is gorgeous (very Spiderverse-esque), and the jokes land for basically all audiences. TMNT will never not be cool. Go see this movie in a theater if you can.

Signing Off

We’ll catch you all in a few days! In the meantime, this is your sign to reach out to a friend that you haven’t talked with in a while. They’ll be happy to hear from you, and it’s always good to reconnect. Talk soon!

-Quinn Everts

Trivia Answer: That 42-piece dropped by Stewie last year tied Angel McCoughtry, who originally set the record by scoring 42 for the Dream in 2010.

Before you go…

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