The AllStar is proud to present The Daily Swish, a digest of what’s moving and shaking in your favorite basketball league. This is the place to help you start your day (or end it) with notable newsy nuggets from around the association.
We kick things off at The Daily Swish with Covid-19 vaccines, and there’s a lot of talk about them around the NBA this week.
Making Headlines
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stopped by CNN to make his views on non-vaccinated players clear. “The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,” he said.
This came after Kyrie Irving failed to show up at the Brooklyn Nets Media Day. New York has mandated Covid-19 vaccinations for all players that play or practice in the city.
Bradley Beal and Andrew Wiggins have also copped criticism from around the league for their stance on the vaccine.
There’s good news for Denver Nuggets fans as Michael Porter Jr signed a $207 million five-year max contract extension. The extension is the same basic deal that Luka Doncic and Trae Young signed during the offseason.
Over in Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo slapped the underdog label on the defending champs saying, “Nobody believes in us and nobody believes we can do it again.”
#WhatsTrending
Blazers guard Damian Lillard spoke out about the topic dominating coverage of team Media Days at the moment: Covid vaccinations.
The Bucks unveiled their shiny new championship patch that is stitched onto their jersey collar along with the 75th anniversary logo for the NBA.
And of course we couldn’t have Media Day without the Sixers taking a shot at Ben Simmons…
Best of r/NBA
Robin Lopez cast doubt on whether the Bucks (and his twin brother Brook) actually won an NBA championship last season. In jest or not, he claims he wasn’t there and is “still doing his own research.” u/Neuroxex was quick to check facts, pulling up evidence that Lopez had been watching Paddington instead of the NBA Finals.
Ja Morant got the backing of NBA reddit after sharing that he got vaccinated early on.
David Letterman showed up at the Nets Media Day to troll Kevin Durant.
The Bet
For weeks, we’ve been speculating on where Ben Simmons will end up. One sportsbook favors him either to the San Antonio Spurs or Minnesota Timberwolves: +450
Philadelphia 76ers GM Daryl Morey confirmed that Simmons requested a trade “shortly after the season”. Check out the latest on the saga from The AllStar here.
