No. 1 pick cites Spears in run-in
San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama said he believed Britney Spears grabbed him from behind as he was walking into a restaurant at a Las Vegas casino, and that the security detail he was with pushed the pop star away.
Wembanyama said he wasn’t told that Spears was the person who grabbed him until hours later, and that he never actually saw her.
Spears, who filed a report with Las Vegas police, said in posts on Twitter and Instagram that the run-in was “super embarrassing,” and denied grabbing Wembanyama, saying she only “tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention” to “congratulate him on his success” as the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Spears said, “His security then backhanded me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face.”
Damian Lillard’s agent confirmed the star’s wish to be traded to the Miami Heat and said he hoped the Portland Trail Blazers could engage with the Heat on steps toward a deal in the coming days.
WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are starting a new women’s basketball league to give top players another option to play in the U.S. in the offseason once the league’s prioritization rules go into effect next year.
The new league, which is called Unrivaled, will run from January through March and have 30 of the top women’s players playing on six teams, playing a threeon-three and one-on-one format at a custom-built soundstage in Miami.
The hope is to raise enough funding to pay players roughly what they make during the WNBA season to help offset the money they'd be losing out on by not playing overseas in the offseason.
The Indiana Pacers agreed with All-Star guard
Tyrese Haliburton on a fiveyear maximum contract that could pay a franchise record $260 million. Haliburton’s new deal keeps him with Indiana through 202829 . ... USA Basketball formally unveiled its 12-player World Cup roster, with no changes to the group that made commitments in recent weeks: Haliburton; the Lakers’ Austin Reaves; New York Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart; Brooklyn Nets teammates Mikal Bridges and
Cam Johnson; Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic; Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves; Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans;
Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies; Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz and
Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks . ... The Golden State Warriors finalized their trade with the Washington Wizards for guard
Chris Paul, sending forward
Patrick Baldwin Jr. and
guards Jordan Poole and
Ryan Rollins to Washington along with a pair of draft picks. The Wizards will receive a 2027 second-round selection and a 2030 firstround choice, the team announced.