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Come Fan with UsWednesday, July 1, 2026

Good morning. Zach LaVine gave everyone the vapors.

That and more in Sunday’s special NBA newsletter.

Good morning. It’s Sunday. That’s no excuse. Let’s basketball.

EVERYONE LOVES KEVIN DURANT. NOW WHAT? Paul Flannery’s Sunday Shootaround focuses on KD, who is done being nice for the sake of being nice. Some very interesting quotes about the Thunder’s path, the MVP race and more in there. Plus the other categories you know and love. Check it out.

HAVE MERCY, LAVINE: Two of Zach LaVine’s four dunks drew perfect scores, and they were all majestic. He’s a worthy dunk champ. The reaction shots alone are worth the price of admission.

Here’s Prada on what the performance meant for the maligned event.

Personally, I quite enjoyed the brilliant showmanship of Victor Oladipo donning a tuxedo T-shirt and singing a few lines of “New York, New York,” much to the glee of the crowd, before giving us a reverse 360 that the fellas on TV kept calling a 540. Any other year, that might have been the highlight. And Oladipo is going to get that record deal. Book it.

HOT LIKE CURRY: Stephen Curry hit 13 straight shots in the championship round to clinch the Three-Point Shootout by acclamation in the best field in memory. Just a dominant finish. He might put up 50 in the main event. J.J. Redick was the other story, becoming the first guy in memory to have shots waved off because his foot was on the line. Mitch Richmond commiserates.

IT’S TRUE: There was a Skills Challenge that didn’t include tasks like “roll an opponent’s ankle” or “hand check your opponent 35 feet from the basketball” and Patrick Beverley still won it.

THIS IS PRETTY PERFECT: There’s a Team Bosh dynasty in the Shooting Stars competition. Of course there is.

STATE OF THE LEAGUE: Adam Silver spent a lot of time on practical, game-improvement topics in his State of the League address. Eager to see how aggressively he pursues playoff seeding reform.

FASHION IS DANGER: J.R. Smith had the best time at the NBA’s inaugural All-Star Fashion Show. Sarah Kogod went behind the scenes to show us how the sausage is made.

THE OTHER NBA: Fascinating conversation between Myles Brown and porn actress Lisa Ann on the whole NBA-women on the road scene. Possibly not safe for work.

THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT TODAY: Pau and Marc Gasol, both All-Star starters. Here’s an important photo of them much younger.

Happy All-Star Sunday. See you briefly Monday morning.

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