What’s up, Enjoyers? We’re only 76 days away from the 2025-26 NBA season. 😎

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to David Robinson, Dale Ellis, Sasha Vezenkov, and Sydney Colson! 🎉

Around the Association

Spurs, De’Aaron Fox agree to four-year maximum extension

Foxes are common down in Alamo City, but we can officially be certain about one in particular staying there for the next few years!

On Monday, Shams reported that the Spurs and All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox had agreed to a four-year, $229 million max contract extension to keep Swipa in San Antonio until 2030, without a player option included in the final year of the deal.

With the new deal in place, Spurs fans can rejoice knowing their newest franchise PG, who was acquired in a deadline trade with the Kings this past February, is here to stay.

Perhaps the most exciting piece of this news is the confirmation that Victor Wembanyama is going to have his partner in crime for the next few years to come. Due to unfortunate season-ending injuries to both Wemby and Fox last season, the basketball world only got to witness five total games from the two as running mates.

Howeverrrrrr, those five games did give us quite the glimpse of how scary this duo might become together. 😎

While Fox will primarily spend the next four years putting on a show for Spurs fans, he’ll also continue to play the mentor role for reigning ROTY Stephon Castle and 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper. Get that bag, Swipa! 💰

Celtics trade Niang to Utah, sign Chris Boucher to one-year deal

Leave it to Brad Stevens to keep us occupied in the dog days of the offseason!

The Celtics made two back-to-back moves on Tuesday. First, they traded recently acquired forward Georges Niang (along with two future second-round draft picks) to the Jazz in exchange for two-way rookie RJ Luis Jr, per Shams. Niang returns to Utah for a second stint with the Jazz and is expected to stay put and help be a stable veteran presence for the young guys on the roster. Nothing like playing in a place where you’re already familiar with the rims!

Moments after the Niang trade, the C’s signed long-time Raptors center Chris Boucher to a 1yr, $3.3M deal. Boucher had been with the Raptors since the start of the 2018-19 season, the year Toronto won its franchise’s first-ever championship. With Boston’s relatively thin frontcourt rotation, Boucher is expected to play a rather large role in Beantown. 🍀

WayBack Wednesday

Close your eyes and imagine a 6’1”, 180 lbs point guard who can rise over seven-footers for ferocious slams and give your squad 20 points and 10 dimes a night. Pretty cool, right?

Well, you can stop imagining now. In today’s edition of WayBack Wednesday, we’re showing off a player who spent the entire 1990s doing exactly that: Kevin Johnson!

After being picked seventh in the 1987 NBA draft by the Cavaliers, KJ’s career got off to a somewhat unorthodox start—Cleveland dealt him at the trade deadline, bringing his talents to Phoenix. But once he arrived in The Valley, the scorching sun immediately shone on him. ☀️

Johnson’s career quickly began to soar (about as high as his airtime on his dunks) as a member of the Suns. KJ took home the 1989 Most Improved Player award—in that 1988-89 season, his numbers skyrocketed to 20.2 points and 12.2 assists per game. Not only was he a walking highlight reel, but he also became a walking double-double. 🔥 

As the calendar flipped to the 90s, his numbers continued to rise and translate into team success. Alongside MVP Charles Barkley, Johnson played a massive role in leading the Suns all the way to the 1993 NBA Finals, where they came up two wins shy of a title.

With how electric his highlights were, it would be a disservice to KJ to not showcase one of his top career moments—this FILTHY poster dunk over NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon during the 1994 Western Conference Semis. Mind you, Hakeem is about a foot taller than Johnson. In KJ’s mind, it’s like he wasn’t even there: ⬇️

Three in the Key

Signing Off

That’s all for today, Enjoyers! Thanks for making us a part of your day. If you have a few spare minutes this week, take some time to think about all the things in your life that you’re grateful for. It’s easy to focus on everything we don’t have, and in doing so, we end up losing sight of all the great things we already have in our daily lives. Gratitude goes a long way!

We’ll be back on Friday to catch you up on the latest hoops news. Catch ya then!

Bobby Kasmire