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Come Fan with UsFriday, June 26, 2026

LeBron threw Charles Barkley through a metaphorical window

Good morning. We have that and more in Tuesday’s NBA newsletter.

NBA: Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA: Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning. We’re working out the kinks on the new format — bear with us. In the meantime, check out our other SB Nation newsletters covering the the NFL, NHL, baseball, global soccer, college football, and college football recruiting.

Let’s basketball.

Chucked Overboard

It sounds like Charles Barkley criticized LeBron James one too many times. The four-time MVP laced into TNT’s star entertainer-analyst after Cleveland’s loss to the Mavericks on Monday. LeBron dove into Barkley’s notorious off-court troubles as a player — “I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid” — and implied that Barkley is only still on TNT because of unpaid gambling debts. YEAH, MAN. LeBron went there.

LeBron was noble enough, however, to take the high road and not mention the time Barkley got a DUI after running a stop sign because he was in a hurry to procure oral sex from a preferred prostitute.

The Beat Goes On

The NBA continued to react to President Trump’s travel ban. Kyle Lowry called it “bulls--t.” When a reporter asked if he wanted to rephrase that without cursing, Lowry declined. Here’s a collection of NBA reactions to the policy, which continues to draw protest all over the country. I also enjoyed Bram Kincheloe’s piece on Steve Kerr’s comments and Bryan Curtis’ essay on the end of the Stick-to-Sports Era. And, as always, listen to Rachel Nichols.

Scores Galore ...

SAC 119, PHI 122
BKN 96, MIA 104
ORL 105, MIN 111
DET 109, BOS 113
CLE 97, DAL 104
MEM 115, PHX 96

... And Plenty More

We have a blockbuster trade ... in the WNBA. The Chicago Sky are trading top-five player Elena Della Donne to the Washington Mystics. Here’s a great analysis of the move from Swish Appeal.

Ben Cohen found a high school in Minnesota that never takes a bad shot.

Kevin Durant is the reason Steph Curry’s magic is back.

Chris Herring found that many NBA players are determining that you can indeed go home again.

I wrote that the Knicks’ big mistake wasn’t re-signing Carmelo Anthony to a massive deal — he’s quite movable — but giving him a no-trade clause.

Derek Fisher opens up.

What it’s like to watch NBA basketball in virtual reality.

Glory! Jimmer Mania is fully taking over China. They chant “Jimo!” for him, which translates to lonely. That bummed Jimmer out. From Les Carpenter: “[T]he translator went on to explain that the conversion from Mandarin to English is not perfect, that the fans were not chanting “lonely” but rather something like “loneliness master” or “loneliness god.” They were saying he stood at such a high level, alone at the top, that he had no enemies. He was, in a sense, the very best.” Jimo! Jimo! Jimo!

Be excellent to each other.

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