LOOK: Chet Holmgren celebrates and other pictures of the day in the NBA

NBA: Playoffs-Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston CelticsBoston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) smiles before game one of the second round of the…Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) smiles before game one of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.

© Winslow Townson | 2024-05-07

NBA: Playoffs-Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston CelticsBoston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) before game one of the second round of the 2024…Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) before game one of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.

© Winslow Townson | 2024-05-07

NBA: Playoffs-Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston CelticsWilson NBA basketballs are seen before game one of the second round of the 2024 NBA…Wilson NBA basketballs are seen

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How a Thunder championship could turn a $100 parlay into $1.7M — if the bettor keeps his ticket

Doug Greenberg

May 8, 2024, 09:33 AM ETOpen Extended Reactions

Wayne Shelton walked into Paycom Center on Tuesday for his first ever NBA playoff game. It was Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Shelton, a single father of one and owner of a real estate appraisal business in Phoenix, Arizona, is “nervous as hell.” Over the past year, he’s become one of the Thunder’s biggest supporters — not for sentimental reasons, but because the team may help him cash the parlay of a lifetime.

Shelton avidly watches and bets on sports, often using multiple screens to keep up with all of the action. However, his method for sports betting isn’t exactly conventional: He largely only bets futures, very rarely dabbling in day-to-day betting.

“I plant seeds throughout the year,” Shelton told ESPN. “I bet all the major sports for all the

Haliburton shoots for G2 rebound: 'I'll be better'

Brian Windhorst, ESPN Senior WriterMay 7, 2024, 04:29 PM ET

CloseESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two booksOpen Extended Reactions

NEW YORK — Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton is promising a bounce-back performance in Wednesday’s Game 2 after an uncharacteristic low-impact performance to start the second-round series against the New York Knicks.

Haliburton took just six shots, only one from inside the 3-point line, and scored six points as the Knicks rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to win 121-117 in Monday’s Game 1.

It was his second-fewest attempts in a game this season after a game in January when he left in the first half because of an injury.

2024 NBA offseason

We’ve got everything you need to prepare for a busy summer in the NBA.

• Marks: What every eliminated team should do
• Windhorst:

Nikola Jokic is about to win his third MVP award, and the Nuggets need him to play like it vs. Timberwolves

USATSI

On Wednesday evening, Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic is almost certainly going to be awarded the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. On Friday, he better start playing like it.

His Nuggets are down 2-0 to the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves, having lost its first two games at home. Anthony Edwards has far and away looked like the best player in this series — and perhaps of any postseason series so far. All while Jokic, the cool, celebrated, can’t-be-troubled-to-worry big man has looked more demoralized than dominant.

Already, the Jokic-isn’t-as-good-as-they-say silliness has cropped back up. He is that good. He does qualify as a rising all-time great. He will worthily win a third MVP award on Wednesday night — I voted for him — after an absolutely stellar season. And he will certainly fall into that weird

2024 NBA playoffs bracket, schedule, scores, games today: Knicks vs. Pacers Game 2 at Madison Square Garden

Kim O’Reilly, CBS Sports

Every second-round series in the 2024 NBA playoffs is now underway. The Celtics and Thunder, the top seeds in the East and West, respectively, both picked up Game 1 wins on Tuesday night. Boston pulled away from the Cavaliers, while Oklahoma City kept Luka Doncic quiet in a victory against the Mavericks.

The other two second-round series got started before Tuesday, and the reigning champs find themselves in a serious hole. The Nuggets are in trouble against the Timberwolves after a blowout loss in Monday’s Game 2. The Wolves are up 2-0 over Nikola Jokic and the 2023 champs, and they’ll head home with a chance to pull off a sweep at the Target Center.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in their second-round series against the

MVP vote: All the rankings of NBA legends

MVP is the most important individual accolade an NBA player can win, so we decided to put together a list of how legends did in MVP voting throughout their careers, ranking them by the number of seasons they received votes.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar owns the record for most MVPs for one player with six and it will be very hard to beat, but he’s not the leader in most seasons with MVP votes, which belongs to LeBron James with 19.

In case you’re wondering, Michael Jordan comes at No. 6 in this ranking, receiving votes in merely 13 seasons.

Check out the rest of these rankings below.

LeBron James: MVP votes in 19 seasons

Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

1st: 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
2nd: 2006, 2014, 2018, 2020
3rd: 2011, 2015, 2016
4th: 2008, 2017
5th: 2007
6th: 2005
9th: 2004
10th: 2022
11th: 2019
13th: 2021

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 17 seasons

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Terrible Towel Tales: Should the Steelers trade Najee Harris?


Cincinnati Bengals v Pittsburgh Steelers
Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Steelers news and commentary from Tuesday, May 7th

Welcome to the Terrible Towel Tales, where we’ll highlight some of the latest stories permeating Steelers media for your reading pleasure every Monday through Saturday. In today’s news…

Should the Steelers trade RB Najee Harris? | Curt Popejoy

There have been some rumblings that the Steelers might consider trading Harris and handing over the feature-back role to Jaylen Warren. Truth be told, this could happen even if Harris isn’t traded.

Harris is the only running back in the NFL to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last three seasons and has been consistent and dependable.

Steelers rookie Roman Wilson already drawing comparisons to Hines Ward | Bryan DeArdo, CBS Sports

It’s never a bad thing to be compared to Hines Ward, a fearless, physical receiver who parlayed his unique skill set into a Hall of Fame career (he isn’t in yet, but that’s for another day). Roman Wilson, the former Michigan standout, was compared to Pittsburgh’s legendary receiver shortly after the Steelers drafted him.

“In the third round, the Steelers grabbed two players who harken back to the great Hines Ward,” wrote Jim Wexell, the founder of Steel City Insider and a Steelers beat reporter since 1995. “In WR Roman Wilson, the Steelers got a starter with inside/outside capability and 4.39 40 speed. They also got a relentless team player and blocker, and a player with a huge chip on his shoulder for being drafted so late. Just like Ward.

Broncos Radio Host Blasts ‘Stupid’ Narrative of Steelers QB | Stephen Thompson, All Steelers

CBS Sports NFL Insider Aditi Kinkhabwala claimed that Wilson struggled to pick up Payton’s offense and that the calls had to be reduced to two-word phrases. But back in Denver, a set of radio hosts pulled no punches and defended the Steelers’ newest starting quarterback from claims that the offense had to be dumbed down for him in Denver.

“The idea that Russell Wilson can’t get verbose play calls is frankly stupid,” Ryan Edwards, Benjamin Albright and Grant Smith said on Broncos Country Tonight. “Russell Wilson had his best season under Brian Schottenheimer, who has famously long, verbose play calls.”

Steelers invite veteran running back to rookie mini-camp


Atlanta Falcons v Tennessee Titans
Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Another running back to keep an eye on this preseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers are inviting Jonathan Ward to their rookie mini-camp, per Aaron Wilson.

Ward spent last season with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, where he only totaled eight carries and two receptions on the season.

Ward came into the NFL in 2020 undrafted out of Central Michigan, where he was a standout back. In 2019, he averaged over six yards per carry while totaling over 1,100 yards on the ground with 15 touchdowns. In 2017, he had a 1,000 yard season, as well, with 10 touchdowns. The 26-year old was with the Cardinals from 2020-22 before being cut by Arizona and getting picked up by the Titans.

Pittsburgh has been in the news for other running back news over the last week after they declined Najee Harris’ fifth-year option. Ward will just be another name at the position to watch through the offseason and preseason cycle alongside undrafted free agent Daijun Edwards out of Georgia.