This is one of the best Sundays in American sports… 🏈

That’s right—the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Portland Trail Blazers tonight! Get out your popcorn!

Today’s Lineup

🏈 The NBA’s Biggest NFL Fans

The NFC and AFC play their conference championships today, and the winners will advance to the Super Bowl. But here at Enjoy Basketball, we like to make everything about hoops, so we wondered: which NBA players are the biggest fans of the four final NFL teams?

Commanders: Kevin Durant

The Slim Reaper was born in Washington, DC, grew up ten minutes from the Commanders’ home arena, and is a die hard fan. After Washington’s 45-31 playoff upset against the Lions, Durant was in Washington’s locker room dapping up players and ownership and called it "the biggest win since I've been a Commanders fan." A Lions running back imitated KD’s iconic tunnel dance move after he scored a touchdown, but Durant clapped back on X after the Commanders W.

Chiefs: Rasheed Wallace 

Before researching this segment, we didn’t know Rasheed Wallace was a fan of the Chiefs, but just look at this video of him pouring champagne on himself in celebration. He didn't have any allegiance to a single team, but was a big Joe Montana fan and when the Niners traded the legendary QB to Kansas City in 1992, Wallace became a big supporter. 

Eagles: Karl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson

Despite this Knicks duo growing up in northern New Jersey, KAT and Brunson are birds fans. Just last week, Towns wore an Eagles shirt court-side when sidelined with an injury playing the 76ers in Philly. With Josh Hart being a Commanders fan, the Knicks need to trade for a Giants or Jets fan ASAP to represent NYC! 😂 

Bills: Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady  

Vinsanity and T-Mac recently bought a minority ownership stake in the Buffalo Bills and were on the field for their Monday Night Football game in September. The cousins played in Toronto, which is just a two-hour drive from Buffalo, so maybe the roots were formed way back then… 🤔 

🇫🇷 The NBA Returns to Paris

The San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers played two games in Paris this week, the first time the league has had multiple games in France in one season! Oddly, both were blowouts and yet the teams split the series 1-1. The game on the 23rd, the one in which the Spurs triumphed, was the most watched regular season NBA game on TV in French history. But the week was about so much more than basketball.

Obviously, the French phenom Victor Wembanyama was the main event, returning to massive cheers from his home country. Wemby attended a Louis Vuitton fashion show 📸 and a PSG soccer match ⚽️ while in town. But Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton also leaned into the Parisian lifestyle. The Pacers squad got decked out in some great fits, and Haliburton wore two FIRE pairs of kicks for the games: one with macaroons and another with the American flag surrounded by gold, an image to Tyrese’s role on the US national team that brought home the gold medal in Paris just six months ago. 🇺🇸 🥇 

Plenty of stars came out from the basketball world, including Spurs legends Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and David Robinson, hall-of-famers Oscar Robertson and Pau Gasol, and WNBA stars Sabrina Ionescu and Cameron Brink. Odell Beckam Jr, Jamarr Chase and Ceedee Lamb also made the trip! 🏈 

Perhaps the most amazing moment came not from the stars like Wemby or Haliburton, but from Obi Toppin. The Pacers backup forward proposed to his girlfriend! Way to capitalize on a work trip to the City of Love, Obi!

Wednesday is the start of the Chinese New Year, when the Year of the Dragon comes to a close to make way for Year of the Snake—or, what Nike is calling the Year of the Mamba. Nike is introducing a “Mamba Mentality” training section into the Nike app, which is a nice way to spread Kobe’s goat-ed work ethic to fans for free across the world. 🌎

Additionally, as a tribute to Kobe and his snake-inspired nickname, the brand is reintroducing “Year of the Mamba” to the holy trinity of Kobe shoes: the Kobe 5s, 6s, and 9s.🔥 

Signing Off

Like the Pacers and Spurs, we’ve gotta bid you adieu until tomorrow, when our regularly scheduled programming will return to your inbox! ✌️

-Conor Geelan