Blake Griffin is dunking like this is actually basketball

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

HEY, BASKETBALL! Well, “basketball.” The USA Basketball Showcase was on Thursday. Klay Thompson nutmegged DeMar DeRozan in the open court. Blake Griffin smashed on ‘em. And don’t you worry about injuries: they moved one stanchion to Arizona and the other to Idaho.

REBUILDING FOR NOW: Jesus Gomez on how the Blazers are rebuilding without bottoming out (again).

WOW: James Harden, one of the least liked superstars in the NBA, really signed a $200 million deal with Adidas.

DOPE: LeBron is promising scholarships for lower-income Akron kids in his foundation’s mentor program. This is a seriously cool thing.

OH HO HO: And of course, as you’d expect, LeBron put a bit of public pressure on the Cavaliers to sign up Tristan Thompson.

A GOOD THING: Nick Young lost a lip-sync battle to his belle Iggy Azalea. Nicki Minaj is nodding somewhere.

YES: D’Angelo Russell tweeted that Tracy McGrady might be the G.O.A.T. This is one of my favorite wrong opinions one could possibly have given the circumstances.

WELP: Russell Westbrook passes during a drill in which he’s supposed to shoot, LeBron and Melo bust their guts laughing at the irony.

HELLUVA SUNSET: Kobe apparently wants to win gold in the 2016 Olympics in Rio and retire. I don’t understand why he just doesn’t plan on retiring after the Lakers win the championship next year?

Happy Friday. See you next week.