Sports Al Dente

“Betting on professional sports is currently illegal in most of the United States outside of Nevada. I believe we need a different approach.”

The upcoming 10th anniversary of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver writing those two sentences is important because those words were part of a movement that changed the sports scene and made betting on games — a controversial issue for many years — more accepted.

These two sentences began an opinion piece that Silver wrote for The New York Times, first seen on the newspaper’s website on Nov. 13, 2014, and in print the next day. He wrote the piece himself, not even sure where it would lead.

The headline: “Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting,” marked a big change from the NBA’s earlier stance on the topic. Silver was just trying to start a conversation. A decade later, the NBA has more than two dozen partnerships with gaming companies.

Now, the idea of sports betting is no longer just a conversation. It’s become a major trend.

“I’d say when it comes to sports betting, I certainly don’t regret writing that op-ed piece and being in favor of legalized sports betting,” Silver said. “I still think you can’t turn the clock back.

I think, as I said at the time, with the advent of the internet, widely available sports betting online… that we had to deal directly with technology and recognize that if we don’t legalize sports betting, people are going to find ways to do it illegally.”

Silver’s op-ed did not change the betting scene on its own, but it clearly helped start the movement. At first, the change was slow; nearly four years after he wrote the op-ed, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that banned gambling on football, basketball, baseball, and other sports in most states, allowing states to legalize sports betting.

This law, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, had been in place since 1992 and stopped state-authorized sports gambling with some exceptions. It made Nevada the only state where a person could bet on the outcome of a single game.

In the first four years after PASPA was struck down, Americans legally wagered $125 billion on games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo took some time this summer to express his feelings about the NBA’s view of the Milwaukee Bucks, despite being busy with his wedding and playing in the Olympics. He made a notable social media post reacting to the NBA’s schedule, saying, “No Christmas game?!” along with laughing and crying emojis.

This isn’t the only sign the Bucks have felt disrespected after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the past two years. The Bucks were left out of the five-game Christmas Day schedule, and in a survey of general managers, they ranked fifth when asked to name the top four teams in the Eastern Conference.

“As a basketball player who loves the game, nobody’s talking about us, right?” said Bucks forward Bobby Portis. “Nobody mentions us about championships. Nobody mentions us about Christmas. Nobody says anything about the Bucks.”

Last season brought a lot of unwanted attention to the Bucks. They faced many challenges and changes, including acquiring seven-time All-NBA guard Damian Lillard just before training camp, and firing head coach Adrian Griffin after only 43 games, replacing him with Doc Rivers.

Throughout the season, Antetokounmpo, three-time All-Star Khris Middleton, and Lillard were all available together for only five of the final 39 games.

Now, they are hoping for more stability to achieve greater success. “This year we have a little bit more time to be prepared,” Antetokounmpo said. “Having one year of working together, me and Dame, and a few months with the coaching staff.

That’s also a benefit. We’ll take it day by day and try to build it, and hopefully that will put us in a better position to compete.”

Lillard may benefit the most from this situation. Last year, he spent most of the offseason waiting to see where he would end up after asking to be traded from Portland. This time, he had a full summer to get ready for the season with the teammates he will be playing with.

He mentioned that the Bucks will see the “real version” of him this year. “Now we’ve been in something together,” Lillard said. “We’ve experienced some struggles together and some failure. We’re coming into a new year much more familiar with each other, just being connected over the summer.

I know Giannis’ game better than I did when I got here. I’m more familiar with Doc than when he got here. I’m more familiar with Khris and the rest of the guys on the team than when I first got here.

“So we don’t have to go through that process again this time. It’s just let’s keep the ball rolling and get down to business.”

The team is made up of experienced players leading alongside younger ones, which makes Rivers think about the Boston Celtics teams he coached in the past. Rivers won his only championship with Boston in 2008. “We were having this discussion as a staff, and I don’t want to compare any teams, and I made the comment this is the closest team that I’ve had to that Boston team,” Rivers said.

This year, the Bucks didn’t make as many big changes as last year when Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen left in the trade for Lillard. Milwaukee needs to fill the gap left by Malik Beasley, who signed with the Detroit Pistons after starting 77 games.

They added veteran players Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, and Delon Wright but lost Jae Crowder and Patrick Beverley. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis’ brother, is also off the team as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.

All the main players are back, and they’ve had time to get used to Rivers, who took the Bucks to Irvine, California, for training camp to help with team bonding.

“The vibe hasn’t been this good in years,” Portis said.

However, none of this will matter if the Bucks can’t stay healthy. Injuries have really hurt the team over the last three seasons.

A knee injury kept Middleton from playing in a second-round loss to Boston in 2022. Antetokounmpo missed two full games and most of a third in a first-round loss to Miami in 2023 due to a back problem, and he didn’t play at all in the first-round series against Indiana last year because of a calf strain.

Staying injury-free could be challenging for this team since they have some older players. Three key players are 33 or older: Middleton (33), Lillard (34), and 7-footer Brook Lopez (36). Antetokounmpo, who turns 30 on Dec. 6, plays with such intensity that he’s always at risk for injuries.

Even last season, the Bucks were often very strong when Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Middleton, and Lopez were all playing together. If the Bucks can develop the chemistry and health they missed last year, they could prove themselves as serious title contenders again.

“You hope with all your veterans, they all make this choice (that) it’s time, it’s time to focus on winning only,” Rivers said. “Because I always think with every team, it has to be the right time. And I really believe this is a group that is in that mental place. It’s time. Or, it’s time again, for some of them.”

One Jontay Porter was one too many for the NBA when it comes to sports betting.

The NBA has taken the lead among American professional sports leagues as it steps into the previously restricted area of sports betting while trying to maintain the integrity of the game. The league has created guidelines and an educational program to teach everyone from league officials to players, coaches, and support staff about the risks of breaking any rules.

Breaking these guidelines can lead to a lifetime ban.

“A lot of what is happening is a lack of awareness, a lack of sophistication, what is OK and what isn’t OK,” said Baird Fogel, a California attorney who works with the sports-betting industry. “To some people, it would seem kind of a given, but for a lot of folks … it is new territory.”

This became an expensive lesson for Porter when he was playing for the Toronto Raptors.

He received a lifetime ban in April for betting on games — including betting on the Raptors to lose — and sharing confidential information with gamblers.

To prevent more cases like this, the NBA collaborates with the National Basketball Players Association to prioritize education on sports betting.

Rookies participate in a session about sports-betting awareness as part of their required training, which also covers on- and off-court topics like managing finances and interacting with coaches, teammates, and the media.

Dalton Knecht, who was drafted 17th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers this year, stated that the league does a good job of keeping the issue straightforward.

“Personally, I don’t gamble,” Knecht said after a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. “I’m not going to go gamble. They talk about it. They’ll say, ‘You can’t bet stuff’ and all that. They keep it simple.”

But it’s not just new players. Everyone who wears NBA uniforms must participate in a yearly anti-betting session run by either the league or their team. If someone fails to attend without a valid excuse, they face a fine of $100,000.

League and team staff also go through similar training.

“Maintaining the integrity of our game is paramount and has been since long before sports betting was legalized across the United States,” the league said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We have a multi-faceted compliance and monitoring program …”. However, things can get complicated.

Fogel mentioned that part of the confusion comes from the professional relationships leagues and teams have with sports-betting companies, which can make it unclear what is acceptable and what is not.

After Commissioner Adam Silver wrote an op-ed in The New York Times almost 10 years ago supporting the legalization and regulation of sports betting, the NBA became the first major American professional sports league to sign a deal with a gambling company in 2018 when it partnered with MGM. The league also made FanDuel and DraftKings official sponsors in 2021.

Teams have their own agreements as well. For instance, the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics made a deal with FanDuel in May to sponsor a docuseries during their successful run to win their record 18th championship.

Leagues and teams are eager to take advantage of the large sums of money from these sponsorships while also ensuring that the perception of fair play in the games remains intact.

“So it’s getting harder, I think, for a player to tell what is wrong or right,” Fogel said.

Changing rules in different sports have also led to possible confusion.

Last year, the NCAA decided to consider several factors, like the amount of money on bets, when deciding what penalties to impose. The NCAA, the main governing body for college sports, also made it easier to reinstate players.

The NBA, along with the players’ union, has kept the same disciplinary rules that have been in place since shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed all states to legalize sports betting six years ago.

Now, 38 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized sports betting, and the NBA — like other leagues — is trying to keep up with these changes. Fogel mentioned that since each state has its own rules and regulations, this adds to the confusion about what is allowed.

“Look, we just went through a sea change in sports betting,” Fogel said. “These same organizations that are now embracing sponsorship deals with the Caesars and the MGMs of the world are the same ones that were on the other side of that Supreme Court decision in 2018, asking the Supreme Court not to legalize sports betting.

“It’s understandable that there’s a lot of confusion, and the best way to overcome that is through education and training.”

When the moment finally came, after many knee surgeries and a tough rehab, Lonzo Ball raised his right arm and blew a kiss to the cheering crowd.

Fans stood up as the announcement rang out in the arena: “Checking in for the Chicago Bulls! No. 2! Lonzo Ball!” This was a moment almost three years in the making.

Ball made his long-awaited return, scoring 10 points in 15 minutes during the Bulls’ 125-123 preseason win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The point guard also recorded an assist, a steal, and a block in his first game since January 14, 2022.

“It felt a lot better playing than watching, I’ll say that much,” he said. “I can’t even really put into words how I felt out there.”

Ball, who turns 27 on October 27, had a cartilage and meniscus transplant in his left knee last year after several previous procedures didn’t work. He felt he “was moving great” and the knee didn’t trouble him “at all.”

Ball received a loud ovation when he came in for Josh Giddey after a timeout in the first quarter. He quickly made an impact by hitting an open 3-pointer from the left corner, assisted by a driving Nikola Vucevic, with 5:25 left in the period, which drew another huge cheer from the crowd.

“Just blessed, man,” Ball said. “There were a lot of people that helped me get here, not just myself. Just to see the crowd and all the love I get from the city, man, you cannot replicate that in any type of way. And it’s real.”

Several players showed their support and respect for Ball in the team’s postgame meeting. Coby White presented him with the game ball, and LaVine handed Ball a jersey that seemed to be signed by the team.

The Bulls have one more exhibition game against Cleveland on Friday before starting the season at New Orleans on October 23. Ball said he will “for sure” play against the Cavaliers. He will begin the season with a minutes restriction and won’t play on back-to-back game days.

The Bulls had Ball on a 16-minute limit against Minnesota. They planned for him to play two roughly four-minute stretches in each half. However, after nearly six minutes in the third quarter, he sat out for the rest of the game.

“I just give him a lot of credit,” coach Billy Donovan said. “It was probably a lot, coming back after being out for 2 1/2 years. You’re playing your first game. I know it’s not the regular season yet, but still, for him to get out in an NBA game — I know he’s put a lot of work in to get himself ready for this moment.”

The Bulls are still figuring out how much activity will cause soreness for Ball, not to mention how his knee will react during games. Chicago also has a crowded backcourt, with Coby White coming off a strong season and Giddey joining the team after a trade from Oklahoma City.

Ball’s time in Chicago began positively after a sign-and-trade deal with New Orleans before the 2021-22 season. He averaged 13 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 42.3% on three-pointers over 35 games before facing setbacks.

The Bulls initially thought Ball had a minor meniscus injury, but it turned out to be much more serious.

Ball had a cartilage transplant in March 2023, his third surgery on the knee in just over a year. He revealed on his podcast last May that the surgery was more complicated.

Ball said he received a new meniscus along with the cartilage transplant. He also had a bone allograft, which means the replacement bone came from another person. Ball explained that the problems dated back to when he tore his meniscus in 2018 while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.

LeBron James stood on the court next to his son Bronny and couldn’t help but look at him to appreciate the moment. They wore matching Los Angeles Lakers jerseys with “James” and “James Jr.” stitched in large purple letters on their backs.

“It was like the matrix or something,” LeBron said afterward. “It just didn’t feel real.”

The Lakers helped the 39-year-old LeBron achieve a long-time dream of playing alongside his son when they drafted Bronny with the 55th overall pick in June. This made them the first father-son pair to play in an NBA game together during a preseason matchup on Oct. 6.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka described the draft pick as “magical,” but the organization faced criticism over whether Bronny would have received this chance if his father wasn’t one of the greatest players in the game.

These concerns, while met with excitement for the James family, sparked renewed discussions about nepotism in sports and how influential figures use their power, highlighting the stigma around children following in the footsteps of successful parents or relatives.

“There’s always going to be people who are saying that things are nepotism,” said Alice Leppert, an associate professor of media and communication studies at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. “There’s going to be some cynical assumption that strings were pulled and that things are not fair.”

That viewpoint often comes from people wanting to believe in a meritocracy, Leppert explained, which is a system where individuals gain success based on their abilities rather than wealth or social status.

“In general, we don’t live in a meritocracy,” Leppert added. “We want to live in a meritocracy, and that’s why we get these sorts of debates.”

For centuries, children born into wealthy and powerful families have inherited businesses, fame, and ample resources for success, which is a clear example of power in Hollywood, politics, and sports.

Critics of nepotism argue that those without the same access to resources—like producers and directors in the entertainment industry, or scouts and training facilities in sports—are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to opportunities.

Others wonder why this practice, which is deeply rooted in society, is even being discussed.

“I don’t want to hear these charges, people talking about nepotism,” former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said during the NBA draft. “The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership level, front offices, coaching. I don’t want to hear it all of a sudden because Bronny James’ father plays for the Lakers. It is rampant in this league.”

In NBA history, there have been about 100 cases of players entering the league after their fathers played. These young men joined the league after their fathers’ careers ended and include Stephen and Dell Curry, Kobe and Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, Bill and Luke Walton, among others.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein will be out for at least a month after suffering a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand during a preseason game in Denver.

The Thunder announced on Thursday that Hartenstein, who got injured in Tuesday’s game, will be re-evaluated in five to six weeks.

The Thunder signed the 7-foot, 250-pound Hartenstein as a free agent in the offseason to improve their rebounding and add some size, which was two of their weaknesses last season when they secured the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He averaged 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists last season with the New York Knicks.