🏀 A New WORLD Champion

Plus, a promising guard in the basketball state

Author

Quinn Everts
September 11, 2023

We know that week one of the NFL season is in full swing. Congratulations if your team won! They’re going to win the Super Bowl. We also know the US Open finals just wrapped up, and they were thrilling (congratulations to Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic!) So, if you missed some of the basketball this weekend, we’ll give you a pass.

Now that we think about it, maybe we’d rather you don’t watch the basketball so that you read this newsletter
anyway, let’s do it.

Today’s Lineup

Champions Of The World: Germany captures their first ever FIBA WC title đŸ‡©đŸ‡Ș

Canada Snatches Third: And this player got a redemption story đŸ‘€ 

Ready To Pop: Indiana is ecstatic about their second-round pick from 2022 đŸŒœ

Only four players have ever recorded a quadruple-double. Which of these players is NOT one of them?

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Deutschland ist Weltmeister (Germany are champions!)

It was never easy for Germany en route to a FIBA World Cup championship—you can tell by looking at their three knockout stage games, which they won by a combined ten points. But it also never felt like a fluke for Germany. Behind the cool hand of Dennis Schröder and the frightening versatility of Franz Wagner (watch out, NBA) Germany proved early on they had gold in their sights.

The championship game wasn’t particularly pretty—Germany turned the ball over 13 times, and both teams shot under 32% from deep. But we’re very confident that no one in Deutschland is going to mind.

Brooks, SGA Power Canada To Bronze Medal

There wasn’t a gold medal on the line in Canada vs. USA, but you wouldn’t have known that by watching the game. Dillon Brooks led all scorers with 39 points and went 7/8 from 3PT. If we know one thing about Brooks, it’s that he will compete no matter what. Sometimes (like the NBA playoffs) that competitive spirit can be to his detriment. Other times, like this World Cup, it can help him lead his team to a medal. Apparently.

And of course, there’s always SGA, who scored 31 of his own—including one of the smoothest (double?) ankle-breakers we can remember.

Ready To Pop: Andrew Nembhard

Second-round picks are often—to put it frankly—guesses. Front offices will take gambles on players who have to grind their way to an NBA career.

But Indiana snagging Andrew Nembhard never felt like a longshot. Granted, Nembhard was the first pick in the second round of 2022’s draft, but the former Florida Gator-turned-Gonzaga Bulldog seemed like the closest to a “sure thing” you can get in the second round.

Stats: 9.5 PTS, 4.5 AST, 2.7 REB, 44.1 % FG, 35.0% 3PT, 0.9 STL

Nembhard never looked like a rookie. His feel for the game in his first professional season is noteworthy, and the Indiana coaching staff clearly already trusts him as an integral piece of their future, which includes some other young studs as well.

The good folks at Crafted NBA have Nembhard in the 70th percentile of all NBA players in deflections and the 89th percentile in “passer rating,” a measurement of his assists, turnovers, and how many shots he creates for teammates all in relation to his usage. Nembhard isn’t the most talked about young Pacers guard, but he’s a key piece for what the team wants to accomplish in the future.

What is Andrew Nembhard's ceiling?

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Frozen Moments

What We’re Enjoying

Life in The G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA by Alex Squadron

More fans are more plugged into the stars of the NBA than the players on the outer edges, but author Alex Squadron makes those borderline players the focus in his new book Life In The G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA. Squadron followed the newest G-League team in Birmingham, zeroing in on a few players and providing a striking view of what the life of a minor league basketball player looks like.

Signing Off

And we’re gone! The air is getting cooler, and the leaves are getting crispier, so go take an elegant walk and enjoy the long days while you still can. We’ll talk to you soon đŸ«Ą

Trivia Answer: Surprisingly, the original triple-double king Oscar Robertson never recorded a quadruple-double.

Before you go


What was the best sporting event you watched this weekend?

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In your best Mike Breen impression, what did you think of today's newsletter?

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