Basketball
Joel Embiid, the underdog villain who redeemed himself for Team USA
The villain emerges rescued from the hustle and bustle of Paris. Joel Embiidan outlaw to the passionate and patriotic French people, a traitor to them who has tarnished the honor of defending France through his elections. united states of americaHe celebrated his victory, repeatedly showing off his Olympic gold medal to an angry crowd at the medal ceremony, and got his first taste of what it meant to win.
Another Honor LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. It was Embiid’s first. His raucous feud with the French and the endless spectacle of the center adding fuel to the fire partially overshadowed a key need he had to fulfill, and has fulfilled: his first title.
Joel Embiid was the 2023 MVP. 30 yearsNot only did they fail to achieve collective success, they didn’t even come close. Philadelphia 76ers Embiid hasn’t made it past the conference semifinals since 2001, partly because he embodies the fatal playoff injury affliction of every Pennsylvania product since then.
It was a parade of failures, mainly due to the interior, which prevented it from performing to its full potential. The decisive moment He remains a star with an asterisk, a star who performs phenomenally in the regular season but falls apart in the playoffs. Al Horford The 2023 playoff second-round matchup and subsequent disciplinary action PJ Tucker This remains one of Embiid’s most defining playoff moments due to his reserved nature, but repeated injuries at crucial moments also played a role.
But the Cameroonian’s lasting image in Paris, apart from his feud with the French people, will be the determination with which he attacked. Nikola Jokic In a tough semi-final duel against Serbia (95-91). In a round with such a traumatic name for him, in this case the round before the Finals, Joel Embiid unleashed his MVP character and talent against the incumbent team in the most delicate moment for the United States in the tournament.
Like a ruthless competitor, Embiid attacked Jokic multiple times in the fourth quarter. 4 fouls, All the pressure was on the anchor who carried the Serbian performance for much of the game. Knowing what such a fight would mean to him, Team USA’s teammates set the scene so Embiid could get alone with the Nuggets star. An intimate duel between the MVPs, with the Sixers star undressed. Joker.
African player signed in semi-final 19 pointsIn 26 minutes, he shot 8-for-11 from the field, 2-for-3 triples, had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block, but the stat that really showed him moving forward was his 7 points in that crucial quarter. Embiid has always been criticized for his inexplicable resignations in key moments, but he showed guts and efficiency in the interior.
His 26 minutes in the match was a sign of his improvement throughout the tournament. Pick and Roll That was a problem for the U.S. at one point against a dynamic team like Serbia. It didn’t go any further than that, with Embiid playing just 11 minutes in his debut against the Balkan team. The 66ers star left Paris with notable averages of 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1 steal and a PIR of 12 in 16 minutes of action.
His shooting efficiency was also notable, as he shot an impressive 57% from the field. Triple: 54%Embiid didn’t make a ton of plays from the perimeter (2.2 attempts per game), but the center made defenders who chose to float him pay the price. He was a particularly sharp weapon to punish. Zone 2-3 Team USA found that by using the resources of a shooting center to get around a first line that is typically made up of smaller players.
This performance deserves even more praise considering Embiid has never played under FIBA rules and it was a complicated adjustment. 2023 MVP He had trouble finding his groove at first amid the amount of contact allowed by FIBA, but the U.S. saw his game stall out as the interior attacked the post, while Paris saw Embiid abandon the post to focus on mid-range shots that were very difficult to defend between his size and jump shot.
His effective screening has helped Team USA and Steve Kerr I had no hesitation in putting him in the starting quintet except for the game against South Sudan, The dizzying pace of the African team left the centre in difficulty, leading the American coach to bench his Cameroonian for tactical reasons.
The center finally got to taste victory, but even after such a different fortune, his perspective remains the same. Red sugar syrup The hatred will follow him for the rest of his life. Moreover, Embiid has further enhanced his unhappy reputation by feuding with the raucous French public. He said in an interview: Athletic in front of Olympic He expected a hostile environment, but he wasn’t going to let it bother him.
There was no impact in terms of performance, but Joel Embiid declared all-out war on the French fans from the very first moment, constantly responding with gestures and setting up a farcical climax ahead. Puerto RicoWith 15 seconds left in the game and the ball in the hands of the Cameroonian, Embiid gestured to the crowd for more whistles and ended the moment with a missed shot from the middle of the court, thus imposing a non-basketball code: the honor of not having the winning team take the final possession.
Of course, his relatable statements have also helped him to attract slander and ridicule. For example, he said before the Olympics that an injury prevented him from taking part in the greatest debate of all time.
While it’s true that Joel Embiid has had bad luck in the playoffs with consistent physical issues, it’s equally true that his physical style of play is far superior to Embiid’s. Nikola Jokicthey will expose you to it too.
There has been some internal frustration from the Philadelphia 76ers, who are doing all they can to not ask too much of Embiid and at the same time corral him as much as possible in the never-ending process of reclaiming championship glory that will never come.
Daryl Morey He’s putting a lot of effort into making the Sixers “the best team in the East,” as the prominent executive suggested, this summer. All of Pennsylvania brought it. Paul George As per Embiid’s request, the team has a strong cast of secondary players including Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson, as well as Andre Drummond and recently drafted Adem Bona to bolster the reserve center role with experience and youth. Aday Mara At UCLA.
Remember the unstoppable rise to stardom Tyrese Maxey He promises a long-term base differential that Ben Simmons and James Harden have never been able to match. At just 23 years old, Maxey won the Most Valuable Player award last season.
On top of that, Nick Nurse He also helps ease the burden on Embiid and Philadelphia’s coach, who took charge last year to help the African develop his role as a player. assistant Like Jokic, the Cameroonian also scored headers and set a new personal best with an average of 5.6 assists. Joel Embiid has already learned how to win. The question is, Forever.
Source: Mundo Deportivo
I have been working as a sports journalist for about 6 years now. I currently work as an author at Sportish, which is a sports news website. I mainly cover sports news and I love writing about all aspects of the sport. I also have experience working as a broadcast journalist, so I have some great insights into how sport is reported and presented.
Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic He escaped serious injury, Serbian publication Meridian Sport reported.
Jokic appears to be in good condition, and preliminary data suggests the knee was hyperextended without serious damage.
At the same time, there is no official update from the club at the moment. It was previously reported that Jokic would need to undergo a full examination of his left knee on Tuesday, December 30.
Nikola injured his left knee in the final seconds of the first half of the game against Miami (123:147). He was seen limping on his way to the dressing room and did not return to the field after a long break.
Nikola Jokic went down with an apparent leg injury against the Heat. pic.twitter.com/4kPf9HAOt8
— Sports Center (@SporMerkezi) December 30, 2025
Source: Sport UA
Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.
True, his team was left without a victory.
Over the past year, fans have become accustomed to news about records coming from overseas. Until recently, their main supplier was hockey player Alexander Ovechkin. But in the 2025/26 season, successes in the NBA were added to the achievements of our athletes in the NHL. This became possible thanks to the play of Yegor Demin, who again played a great match the day before with the Brooklyn Nets.
If the Russian does not slow down, then in the future, like Ovechkin, he has every chance to go down in the history of North American sports.
On the way to a dream
Russian representation in the NBA has always been more modest than in the NHL. And even with certain achievements, and Timofey Mozgov and Alexander Kaun, by the way, became league champions, the thought does not arise to compare the successes of Russian hockey players and basketball players overseas. How many American basketball fans now remember Sergei Monya, Yaroslav Korolev, Pavel Podkolzin?
Only Andrei Kirilenko stands out from the general background – the Russian forward played in the NBA for quite a long time. I even once went to an all-star game, where I played side by side with people like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Allen Iverson. But how many star matches did our hockey players have overseas?
With all due respect to the AK-47 game, he still does not reach the level of a North American basketball legend. Time will tell whether Yegor Demin, who powerfully broke into the NBA at the age of 19, will be able to write his name into history. But for now, the Brooklyn Nets basketball player is doing everything possible to make his dream come true.
Prolific newcomer
Kirilenko was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA draft as the 24th pick, and Brooklyn took Demin eighth. But these were still advances, which have so far been fully justified. The newcomer regularly appears on the court, and with the exception of the first couple of weeks of the season, in the starting lineup. At the same time, Egor is not just serving his number: in the last six matches he scored at least 14 points, in two cases he reached the 20 point mark.
In the next regular season game, the first basketball player in the league with the letter “e” on his uniform scored 23 points in the match against Golden State. Demin managed not only to repeat his best result, but also set a Brooklyn record for three-pointers among newcomers – seven accurate hits from behind the arc. True, the Russian team still lost with a score of 107:120, but in the context of the personal success of our basketball player overseas, this is a secondary issue.
Of course, to achieve sporting greatness, Egor needs to spend more than one season at this level, but at least a dozen and a half. Demin, with 275 points in the NBA, did not even reach the results of Sergei Karasev (287), although he can do this in the next game. And then new landmarks will appear: Viktor Khryapa (643), Alexey Shved (1349), Timofey Mozgov (3072) and, of course, Andrey Kirilenko (9431). When the Russian surpasses the results of the AK-47, then we can talk about an established star in the NBA. In the meantime, we can only wish our basketball player not to lower his demands on himself and avoid serious injuries.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has been writing for a news website since 2015. My work primarily focuses on sports news, but I have also written about other topics such as technology and the arts. I have an extensive background in journalism, having worked as a reporter for a local newspaper before moving to a news website.
11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.
Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.
The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.
The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.
San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.
Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.
Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.
Toronto beat Orlando at home.
Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.
Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.
NBA. Regular season, December 30
Miami – Denver – 147:123 (41:29, 22:34, 47:36, 37:24)
Miami: Powell (25), Weir (19 + 9 rebounds), Wiggins (19 + 6 assists), Adebayo (13 + 10 rebounds), Mitchell (10 + 9 assists) – start; Jovic (22), Jaques (20 + 11 assists), Smith (11), Larsson (3), Fontecchio (3), Johnson (2), Yakucionis (0), Gardner (0).
Denver: Jokic (21 + 8 assists), J. Murray (20 + 11 assists), Hardaway (16), Jones (16), Watson (11) – start; B. Brown (15), Valanciunas (6), Holmes (4), Strother (4), Nnaji (4), Pickett (2), Jones (2), Tyson (2).
San Antonio – Cleveland – 101:113 (26:25, 29:24, 23:27, 23:37)
San Antonio: Vembanyama (26 + 14 rebounds), Castle (15 + 8 assists + 5 losses), Fox (14), Vassell (7), Barnes (3) – start; Harper (11), Cornet (10 + 9 rebounds), K. Johnson (8), Shempeni (7), Brian (0).
cleveland: Allen (27 + 10 rebounds), E. Mobley (16 + 7 rebounds), Garland (15 + 11 assists), Mitchell (10 + 7 assists), Wade (10) – start; Hunter (11 + 9 rebounds), Tyson (11), Tomlin (6), Merrill (5), Porter (2).
Toronto – Orlando – 107:106 (18:29, 36:36, 30:29, 23:12)
toronto: Ingram (17 + 9 rebounds), Barnes (13 + 11 rebounds), Mamukelashvili (13), Agbadzhi (10), Quickley (4) – start; Shed (19), Dick (15), Walter (10 + 7 rebounds), Murray-Boyles (4 + 12 rebounds), Bettle (2), Bamba (0).
Orlando’s: Black (27), Banchero (23 + 15 rebounds + 10 assists), Bane (18), Jones (10), Carter (9) – start; Richardson (7), da Silva (6), Kane (3), Bitadze (2), Penda (1), Isaac (0).
Washington – Phoenix – 101:115 (23:22, 31:39, 25:26, 22:28)
washington: Johnson (24), McCollum (17), Coulibaly (13 + 7 rebounds), Watkins (3), Sarr (2) – start; Shempeny (11), Carrington (10), Riley (10), Bagley (7+7 rebounds), Brenham (4), Johnson (0), Hill (0).
Phoenix: Brooks (26), Gillespie (25 + 6 assists), Booker (22), O’Neal (15), Igodaro (6 + 10 rebounds) – starter; Goodwin (14 + 7 rebounds), Livers (3), Buey (2), Richards (2 + 9 rebounds), Hayes-Davis (0), Fleming (0), Maluach (0).
Charlotte-Milwaukee-113:123 (26:25, 40:38, 23:32, 24:28)
Charlotte: Miller (31 + 8 rebounds), Ball (26 + 7 assists + 6 losses), Diabate (14 + 9 rebounds), Bridges (3), James (0) – start; Sexton (16 + 8 assists), Green (10), McNeely (7), Hall (3), Hall (3 + 11 rebounds), Mann (0).
Milwaukee: Y. Antetokounmpo (24 + 7 assists), Turner (23 + 4 blocked shots), Porter (15 + 11 assists), Rollins (13), Green (5) – start; Portis (25), Trent (9), Kuzma (6), G. Harris (3), Sims (0).
Brooklyn – Golden State – 107:120 (30:28, 27:31, 28:30, 22:31)
Brooklyn: Porter (27 + 9 rebounds), Demin (23), Claxton (15 + 9 rebounds), Clowney (11), Mann (4) – start; Thomas (13), Traore (9), Sharpe (3), Powell (2), Wolfe (0).
Golden State: Curry (27), Butler (21), Dr. Green (7), Moody (4), Post (3) – start; Jackson-Davis (11), Payton II (10), Melton (10 + 8 rebounds), Richard (10), Podziemski (7), Hield (6), Spencer (4), Santos (0).
New Orleans – New York – 125:130 (41:37, 34:35, 28:24, 22:34)
New Orleans: Williamson (32), Bay (26 + 6 assists), Murphy (21), Quinn (7 + 9 rebounds + 6 assists), Fiers (4) – start; Poole (26), Peavey (3), Hawkins (2), Missy (2), Looney (2 + 9 rebounds).
new York: Brunson (28 + 10 assists), Anunoby (23 + 11 rebounds), Diawara (18), Towns (12 + 12 rebounds), Bridges (6 + 10 assists) – start; McBride (14), Yabusele (9), Clarkson (9), Kolek (7), McCullar (2), Jamison (2), Hookporty (0).
Oklahoma – Atlanta – 140:129 (35:38, 35:36, 43:29, 27:26)
Oklahoma: Gilgeous-Alexander (39 + 6 assists), Holmgren (24 + 9 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (20 + 9 rebounds + 7 assists), Wallace (17 + 7 rebounds), Dort (6) – start; Caruso (16 + 9 rebounds), Mitchell (10), Carlson (6), Wiggins (2), Joe (0), K. Williams (0).
of Atlanta: Alexander-Walker (30), Okongwu (26 + 14 rebounds + 6 assists), Krejci (18), Daniels (13 + 7 assists), Risache (12) – start; Kennard (12), Wallace (9), Newell (9), Gueye (0).
Houston – Indiana – 126:119 (30:25, 36:23, 39:30, 21:41)
Houston: Durant (30), Smith (21 + 10 rebounds), Thompson (20 + 8 rebounds + 7 assists), Eason (13 + 8 rebounds), Adams (8) – start; Sheppard (13), Finney-Smith (6), Capela (6+7 rebounds), Okogie (3), Davison (2), Tate (2), Green (2), A. Holiday (0).
indiana: Siakam (23), Maturin (14), Nembhard (11), Furphy (9), Huff (8) – start; Nesmith (14), Walker (12), Jackson (7), McConnell (6), Peter (6), Jones (4), Potter (3 + 6 assists), Thompson (2), Bradley (0).
Chicago – Minnesota – 101:136 (23:21, 27:34, 28:40, 23:41)
Chicago: Vucevic (23), Buzelis (13), Giddy (11), Okoro (4), White (0) – start; Smith (12), Jones (11), Dosunmu (10 + 7 assists), Herter (8), Williams (7), Phillips (2), Carter (0), Terry (0).
Minnesota: Edwards (23), Randle (17 + 14 assists), DiVincenzo (12), Gobert (9 + 10 rebounds + 4 blocks), McDaniels (7) – start; Reed (33 + 7 rebounds), Hyland (12), Clark (11), Dillingham (5), Miller (3), Juzeng (2), Conley (2), Beranger (0).
Portland – Dallas – 125:122 (42:29, 33:34, 22:30, 28:29)
Portland: Avdija (27 + 9 rebounds + 11 assists + 8 losses), Sharpe (24), Klingin (18 + 11 rebounds), Kamara (9), Sissoko (6) – start; Love (24), Ruper (9), R. Williams (8 + 8 rebounds), Yang Hansen (0).
dallas: Christie (25), Gafford (17 + 10 rebounds), Flagg (15 + 7 assists + 5 turnovers), Washington (8), Nembhard (0 + 6 assists) – start; Williams (22), Marshall (17), Thompson (14), Powell (2), Caleb Martin (2).
tournament tables
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
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