The Brooklyn Nets will play their fourth of their five NBA2K23 Summer League games in Las Vegas Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 when they face the Toronto Raptors. The Nets are 2-1 going into the contest after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 92-71 on Tuesday. 

Brooklyn opened summer league play with a 101-97 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last Friday. Jalen Wilson, a 6-8 forward from the University of Kansas and the 51st overall pick in the second round by the Nets in last month’s draft, led the team with 17 points, adding five rebounds and two blocks. Wilson signed a two-way contract with the organization last week. Armoni Brooks, who last played in the NBA during the 2021-2022 season for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors, also scored 17 points while grabbing six rebounds.

18-year-old first-round pick Noah Clowney (No. 21 overall) struggled in the opener, scoring four points on 1 of 9 shooting from the field, missing six of seven three-point attempts. The 6-10 forward/center from the University of Alabama had seven rebounds.

In the second contest against the Knicks, Brooklyn came away with a 98-80 victory. Armoni Brooks led the team with 21 points, while David Duke Jr. chipped in with 19 points and four assists. Wilson, who won the 2022 NCAA championship with Kansas, finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Clowney added eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

While Clowney hasn’t shot the ball well in two Summer League games thus far, with a combined 5-18 through three games, he has shown the athleticism, mobility, and force to be a plus rim protector, rebounder and floor runner that translates well to the NBA. With only one year of playing college basketball and weighing around a slim 210 pounds, he has much room for physical growth and skill development. 

The Nets’ other first-round pick, Dariq Whitehead, an 18-year-old 6-7 forward from Duke, is sitting out the summer league. The Newark, New Jersey native is recovering from foot surgery performed in New York last month.  

Brooklyn announced they re-signed Cam Johnson, who came to the team from the Suns in the Kevin Durant trade. The deal is reportedly four years and close to $95 million.

Brooklyn also signed Whitehead, former Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr, who was a lottery pick by the Dallas Mavericks in 2017, and shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV, the 18th pick in 2018 who spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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The Knicks’ NBA2K24 Summer League team is devoid of a 2023 first round pick. That’s because the Knicks didn’t have any picks in last month’s NBA Draft. So most of the focus in discerning which players have the potential to be part of the team’s future rotation has been on second-year guard Trevor Keels and undrafted free-agent Jaylen Martin. Both are on two-way contracts.

After being one of the highest rated high school basketball players in the class of 2021 out of Paul VI Catholic in Chantilly, Virgina, Keels spent one year at Duke before being taken by the Knicks in the second round (No. 42) in last year’s draft. The stout, 6-foot-4, 19-year-old shooting guard from Clinton, Maryland, split time this past season with the NBA squad and their G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.  

Martin’s path next season will also be in the NBA and G League. The 19-year-old from Florida was coached in high school at the Florida State University School in Tallahassee by former Knicks player Charlie Ward before transitioning to the Overtime Elite (OTE) program. While playing for the YNG Dreamerz, he faced Amen and Asur Thompson—who were drafted No. 3 (Houston Rockets) and No. 4 (Detroit Pistons), respectively, last month, in this year’s OTE championship. The Dreamerz lost 3-0 to the twins’ City Reapers.

Heading into the third of their five summer league games last night (Wednesday) against the Orlando Magic, Keels has so far not stood out in the Knicks’ two summer league games this weekend against the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets. In the Knicks’ 110-101 loss to the 76ers, Keels was 1-6 for two points in 14 minutes playing in the starting lineup. He was 3-7, including 2-6 on 3-point attempts, for eight points in 19 minutes versus the Nets in a 98-80 Knicks defeat.

The 6-foot-6 Martin showed more upside, scoring 12 points in 26 minutes versus the Sixers coming off of the bench, and then 15 points, logging a team-high 34 minutes as a starter facing the Nets. Although Martin shot poorly, missing eight out of 11 3-pointers and going 5-14 overall, he said he found his footing as the contest progressed.

“I feel like as the game went on, I loosened up and was able to play my game,” he said.
Knicks summer league head coach Dice Yoshimoto said there will be inherent highs and lows for young players as they navigate a learning curve.

“He did some good things and things he needs to work on,” Yoshimoto said, referring to Martin. “Anybody coming into this league…has to learn how to be a pro. Since the draft he’s done that. He’s been in the gym all day. He’s a gym rat.”

The Knicks play the Boston Celtics tomorrow (7 p.m. ESPN2) and will finish their schedule against a yet to be determined opponent, date, and time.  

Knicks forward Josh Hart, who opted into the final year of his contract at $12.9 million at the start of this year’s free-agency period, which began at the end of June, will represent Team USA at the FIBA World Cup, which will take place from August 25 to September 10 in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.

The Team USA roster also includes Hart’s Knicks teammate Jalen Brunson, the Nets’ Mikal Bridges, 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, and NBA All-Stars Tyrese Haliburton, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Anthony Edwards. 

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During a visit last month to the Bronx’s Universal Hip-Hop Museum (610 Exterior Street), its co-curator, Prime Minister Pete Nice (from 3rd Base), guided DMC, half of the legendary Run DMC duo, through a mini-tour. Chief curator Paradise Gray also shared some valuable history as the three legendary artists traveled through time while detailing some of the vintage memorabilia on display. The full gallery is scheduled to open across the street next year.

At one point, they came across a pair of “like new” vintage red, black, and white Adidas-sponsored Run DMC sneakers in a glass case.  

“Where’d you find them?” DMC asked. “Me and Dise got ’em off eBay,” Nice answered. ”Some guy in Japan had them.” Nice showed DMC a late-1980s Video Music Box event flier that “you and (DJ Jam Master) Jay signed to Paradise.” An astonished DMC glanced and reacted with “Yep. Wow.” 

They went to another section where there was a flier of Run DMC performing at the legendary Disco Fever night club up in the Bronx. “A lot of people don’t know that Jay missed that,” Nice said. “Yep, cuz he went to the avenue to get fly,” DMC agreed. “How crazy is that?”

Next, they viewed some more classic memorabilia by several other “Golden Era” artists, such as Joe Ski Love, Salt & Pepa, and Rakim, among others.

Thanks to the museum, “people have the wherewithal to save stuff,” DMC surmised.

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Atlantic City, NJ — IBF interim welterweight champion Jaron Ennis dominated Roiman Villa, handing him his second career loss with a 10th-round TKO Saturday night at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) won every round on the scorecards of all three judges except the fifth, and remained in complete control from the opening bell to the stoppage.

“My dad (trainer Bozy Ennis) wanted me to throw more body shots and give him more angles and not stand in front of him,” said Ennis. “I was getting hit with shots I wasn’t supposed to get hit with.” 

In continuing to assess his performance, Ennis gave credit to Villa, who fought courageously in defeat. 

“I was breaking (Villa) down and I came out victorious,” said Ennis. “I knew he was a tough kid. I just had to be smart and take my time and keep touching and touching, and eventually, I was going to get him. I was setting him up.”

The 28-year-old 2015 U.S. National Golden Gloves light-welterweight champion from Philadelphia recapped closing out his opponent.

“I hit him with a big left hand and I knew he was going down,” Ennis said. “ I was waiting for the left shot and I threw a hook and I knew he was going, so I just threw one more and that was it. I knew they were going to stop it.” 

As is customary for all leading boxing contenders, Ennis called out the sport’s best welterweights after his win.

“I want the winner of Errol Spence and Terence Crawford,” he declared. “Let’s make it happen. I’ll take on (current WBA regular welterweight champion) Eimantas Stanionis in a heartbeat. I want to get into the ring one more time before the end of the year to make it three fights. Stanionis, Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas—all the top guys out there. Let’s make these fights happen.” 

In Las Vegas on Saturday at UFC 290, Alexander Volkanovski retained his UFC featherweight championship with a TKO of Yair Rodríguez. Alexandre Pantoja captured the UFC flyweight championship in an action-packed matchup that went the distance and saw Moreno break his hand in the loss. 

Dricus du Plessis knocked out former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the second round. Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya entered the octagon after the fight, and he and du Plessis should face each other soon. 

Jon Jones will defend his UFC heavyweight championship for the first time against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on Saturday, November 11, at Madison Square Garden. Jones is a former UFC light heavyweight champion who moved up in weight class. 

This Saturday, Alycia Baumgardner will defend her WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA, IBO, and the Ring female super-featherweight titles against Christina Linardatou in Detroit. The following Saturday will see arguably the most compelling matchup since Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao clashed in 2015 when undefeated unified WBC, WBA, and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence battles undefeated WBO Welterweight Champion Terence “Bud” Crawford on July 29  at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Showtime PPV.

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