Brighton have agreed a club record £46m deal with Tottenham Hotspur for Croatia defender Luka Vuskovic.
Brighton had two bids for Vuskovic turned down last month.
However, they have now reached an agreement over a transfer that is also subject to potential additional payments that could take the overall fee to £50m.
The 19-year-old will have a medical when Croatia’s World Cup campaign is over.
They play Portugal in a last-32 tie in the early hours of Friday morning UK time.
Born in Split, Vuskovic came through the academy at local club Hajduk, becoming the youngest player to feature in Croatia’s top flight when he was just 16 – and going on to become his club’s youngest goalscorer.
He agreed a deal with Tottenham in September 2023 that saw him join the club in 2025.
Although he is yet to make his Spurs debut, Vuskovic made 30 appearances on loan with German club Hamburg last season, scoring six goals in the Bundesliga, and is now one of the most highly rated young central defenders in Europe.
He will replace Jan Paul van Hecke in Fabian Hurzeler’s squad.
Ironically, Van Hecke is moving in the opposite direction after Tottenham agreed to pay £52m for the Netherlands international, who had a year left on his Brighton contract.
Questions surely will follow Dusty May as he leaps to the Dallas Mavericks after coaching Michigan to the NCAA national championship.
Can he provide blessed amnesia to the Mavericks faithful? Can he help them forget Luka Doncic and Nico Harrison and Anthony Davis and Jason Kidd? Can he allow them to peer into a future anchored by budding superstar Cooper Flagg without constantly checking the rearview mirror?
May, 49, was hired Tuesday as the Mavericks’ head coach,. He led Michigan to the pinnacle of March Madness last season and posted a 64-13 record in two years. He also coached Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four and a 60-13 record in the last two of his six seasons there.
“We set out to find a leader who embodies the values we want to define our organization,” Mavericks president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “Dusty has won at every stage of his career because of his ability to build. He develops players, creates accountability, and brings people together around a shared standard of excellence. His work ethic is extraordinary, and his teams consistently reflect his values.”
The list of high-profile college coaches who struggled to replicate their success in the NBA is daunting: Rick Pitino, John Calipari, John Beilein, Lon Kruger, Tim Floyd and Mike Montgomery immediately leap to mind.
Not only did May not coach or play in the NBA, he barely played in college. He was a 5-foot-10 point guard at NAIA Oakland City for one season before transferring to Indiana and serving as team manager under coach Bobby Knight.
But his arrival will divert attention from the past, from the hugely unpopular and disastrous trade of Doncic to the Lakers for Davis and spare parts on Feb. 1, 2025.
Mavericks fans staged a faux funeral complete with a casket a day later in front of the Dirk Nowitzki statue outside American Airlines Center. They booed Harrison — the general manager who engineered the deal — at every home game and chanted “Fire Nico.”
When Doncic returned as an opponent, Mavericks fans chanted “MVP” when the Laker shot free throws.
Harrison admitted to underestimating the backlash from fans but defended the trade, initially saying he had “no regrets.” By November, he was fired and updated his social media profile to “unemployed.”
Next to go was Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard who helped the Mavericks to their only NBA title as a player and to the NBA Finals as a coach. At the time, it wasn’t clear whether Kidd was an advocate of the Doncic deal or a victim of a front-office blunder. But Mark Cuban, the Mavericks’ former majority owner who currently owns 27% of the team, indicated March 31 during a podcast that Kidd was complicit.
“I think there was animosity between [Harrison] and some people on Luka’s team — his agent and some of the people around them,” Cuban said. “I don’t think they got along. I think there were issues.
“J-Kidd had coached Anthony Davis and was close to him, and Nico was close to AD since he was like 13 years old. So I think there was some confirmation bias as well. But that doesn’t justify our coach and our general manager to stand up and trade our best player.”
Doncic, 26, flourished in his first season in Los Angeles despite a late-season injury that kept him out of the playoffs. The shooting guard led the NBA with 33.5 points per game and he will be a franchise cornerstone. Davis played only 20 games with Dallas because of injuries and in February was traded to the Washington Wizards.
The makeover began when the Mavericks secured the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft despite having only a 1.8% chance of obtaining it through the lottery. They took Flagg, a forward from Duke who went on to lead Dallas with 21 points per game and was named rookie of the year.
Next, they hired respected former Raptors executive Ujiri as team president. And now they have added May as coach. This week they will add two more promising players via the first round of the draft.
“I am honored to join the Dallas Mavericks organization,” May said in a statement. “This is one of the most respected franchises in professional sports, with passionate fans, a talented roster, and a clear commitment to building a championship organization.”
The franchise is trying to eliminate reminders while attempting to instill hope for the future.
“When you study [May’s] journey, you see someone who has earned every opportunity through preparation, discipline, humility, and an unwavering commitment to improvement,” Ujiri said. “We believe those qualities make him the right leader for the Dallas Mavericks.”
Meanwhile at Michigan, a loaded roster will report to interim coach Mike Boynton Jr., May’s top assistant and the head coach at Oklahoma State from 2019 to 2024. Players are allowed to enter the transfer portal for 15 days following a coaching change, so job one for Boynton will be to keep them from fleeing.
Luka Doncic could be involved in two championship bids this upcoming season.
The Lakers superstar and former Dallas Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson are leading an investor group that acquired a professional basketball team in Italy, it was announced Friday, with hopes that the franchise could become part of the NBA’s new European venture.
The group plans to move Vanoli Cremona, a team that plays in a northern Italian city about 60 miles southeast of Milan, to Rome, and submitted a bid for the club to join NBA Europe, making Doncic the first player to state his ambition to become part of the NBA’s expansion across the pond.
“I have dreamed about owning a team in Europe for a long time, to finally have this happen is amazing,” Doncic said in a statement. “Vanoli has a great history, and we are ready to take it to the next level in Rome. We have an amazing group of partners, and I really believe we can do something special for basketball in Italy and Europe.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said this year that the NBA is working with FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, to begin a stand-alone league in Europe. The league could begin as soon as October 2027 with up to 16 teams hosted in major cities in England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece and Turkey.
Rome and Milan are the top Italian targets to host NBA Europe teams. Rome, the Italian capital, has not had a Serie A team since 2020, when Virtus Roma ceased operations because of financial difficulties. Vanoli will begin playing in Rome for the 2026-27 season.
“Rome deserves world-class basketball, and we are excited to be bringing it back,” Nelson said in a statement. “Vanoli Cremona has a proud history, and we are committed to honoring that legacy as we build toward an exciting future in Rome. This city has been without top-flight basketball for too long. That changes now. We are bringing the resources, the expertise, and the passion to make this club a source of pride for Rome and for all Italy.”
Nelson, who is the lead investor and managing partner, was the general manager when the Mavericks traded for Doncic on draft night in 2018 and was the architect of Dallas’ 2011 NBA championship team led by German star Dirk Nowitzki. The investor group also includes Valerio Bianchini, a celebrated coach in the Italian league, and Rimantas Kaukėnas, a 17-year pro across European leagues.
The 27-year-old Doncic, who was born in Slovenia and started his professional career with Real Madrid in Spain, is part of a recent wave of international stars taking over the NBA. The last eight most valuable players have been born outside of the United States. Doncic finished fourth in MVP voting this year behind two-time winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is from Canada, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is from Serbia, and Victor Wembanyama, a 22-year-old Frenchman expected to dominate the league for years.
The NBA played two regular-season games in Europe this season, with the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic facing off in Berlin and London. Next season, Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will play in his home country against the New Orleans Pelicans and in Manchester, England.
Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where we’re not in Cancun just yet.
I fortunately have gotten some much-needed sleep during the week since the Lakers were eliminated, but NBA news never rests, especially during this pivotal offseason that could reshape the entire roster.
With almost half of the roster spots in flux, we’ll start with one player who we know will be back next season.
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Thuc Nhi Nguyen’s weekly newsletter.
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Luka Doncic fourth in MVP voting
He led the league in scoring but Luka Doncic finished a distant fourth in the most valuable player voting, which was announced Sunday before Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
While Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second consecutive MVP in a landslide, Doncic didn’t receive a first-place vote. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 939 total points and 83 first-place votes. Nikola Jokic was second (634 total points, 10 first-place votes) and Victor Wembanyama was third (569 points, five first-place votes). Doncic, who had 250 total points, only had one second-place vote, and even fifth-place finisher Cade Cunningham had two first-place votes that contributed to his 117-point total.
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2025-26 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
This MVP discussion was one of the most competitive in recent memory. A fourth-place finish, especially without a single first-place nod, doesn’t quite do justice to how productive Doncic’s season was. He averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Despite playing without Doncic for the last month, the Lakers maintained a top-four seed in the competitive Western Conference and won 50 games for the second consecutive year. It was just the fourth time in the last 20 years that the league’s scoring champion didn’t receive a first-place MVP vote.
Some of the MVP race comes down to campaigning. Wembanyama, along with stellar play, repeatedly made his case during interviews. Doncic brushed off any chances to do the same.
Doncic preferred to let his play speak, but the message didn’t quite get through. During one of the most magical Marches in league history, Doncic dropped from second in NBA.com’s MVP ladder to fourth.
The season-ending hamstring injury on April 2 didn’t give him a chance to restate his case.
The more disappointing effect of the injury was that Doncic was not close to returning in time for the postseason, where he watched from the sideline as the Lakers got swept by the Thunder.
“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said last week in his exit interview immediately after the season-ending loss. “I know some people wanted me back, but obviously I wasn’t close to clearing. … If I could be out there, I would be, 100%. Everybody in that room knows that. But it was very tough. Like I said, this is the best time to play basketball. I was sad not to be able to help my team.”
Doncic said he will not play for the Slovenian national team this summer while he prioritizes time with his daughters and recovering. His second daughter Olivia was born in December, and Doncic, who missed two games to be present for the birth, quietly managed a custody battle during the season after he and his former fiancee split.
The last 15 months have been tumultuous for Doncic, but he grew as a leader for the Lakers, coach JJ Redick said, specifically in his dedication to building off-court relationships with teammates after the shocking trade that brought him to L.A. left him in a daze for months.
“I don’t think we got the best version of Luka, the person, [last year],” Redick said. “He was great, but he was phenomenal this year as a teammate and a leader. And obviously, as a player, the guy had a tier one season relative to the rest of the league.”
Still first in the Lakers’ hearts
Will Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton be back with the Lakers next season?
(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
Doncic took his role as a leader so seriously last season that it started during free agency when he placed recruiting calls to Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton. With both players facing player options to return, Doncic didn’t commit to trying to woo anyone back.
“We’ll see,” Doncic said. “Can’t tell you nothing.”
Most of the Lakers’ roster could change next season, but Doncic is still at the center of every decision. General manager Rob Pelinka said it’s an “ongoing collaborative process” with Doncic regarding any offseason moves.
Pelinka said the roster will be “retrofitted” around Doncic. It wasn’t that long ago that a superstar still in his prime fell in the franchise’s lap, which shook up every existing blueprint. The new archetype are three-and-D players and rim-running centers.
Ayton was supposed to be a solution at center when he signed last year. When asked how he is approaching his player option, Ayton said after the season-ending game that he hadn’t made a decision yet, but that he had enjoyed his time with the organization thus far.
“It’s purple and gold, that’s about it,” said Ayton, who was the No. 1 pick in the same draft in which Doncic went third. “Just being honored and happy to be on this platform. And another chance, and all of that. There’s great players I learned [from] here.”
Ayton flashed his potential. He was a force during the first-round playoff win over Houston. The Lakers needed him in that series and he delivered. But he also acknowledged that it was “a very humbling experience” being on a team that did not need him to score, instead asking him to primarily rebound and defend the rim with consistency.
Considering that Ayton is coming off career-lows in points (12.5), rebounds (eight) and minutes (27.2) per game, it might be hard for him to command a better salary than the $8.1-million option he has on the table.
Smart can opt into $5.4 million. The 32-year-old could decline the player option with hopes of securing a long-term contract, whether with the Lakers or elsewhere, after he proved he could still be an effective defensive spark plug and offensive shot-maker. Had a late-season right ankle injury not lingered so long, Smart, who played only 62 regular-season games, could have been in the conversation for an all-defensive team nod.
The Lakers need strong defensive players around Doncic and Austin Reaves if the duo reunite as the team’s backcourt of the future. The chemistry on and off the court between the guards was one of the highlights of the season and a reason to be hopeful that it could work in the future.
Doncic called playing with Reaves and LeBron James “an unbelievable experience.” Pelinka said at his end-of-season news conference that Reaves has expressed interest in returning to the Lakers. James’ future is more uncertain: Pelinka said the team will give James space to decide on his own, although he “would love” to have the NBA’s all-time leading scorer back.
Favorite thing I ate this week
Pho with rare beef and beef balls from Pho Show in Culver City.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
I was playing hurt the last few days of the season. I sniffled, sneezed and hand-sanitized my way through Game 4 and the end-of-season news conference with Pelinka and Redick then scooped up the ultimate sick day dinner: pho.
The pho tai bo vien (rare beef and beef ball pho) from Culver City’s Pho Show didn’t heal me completely, but it sure helped. I basically slept for three straight days after the Lakers’ season ended. Now between the remaining playoff games across the league, I’ll be catching up on TV shows, reuniting with the friends I neglected for months and enjoying my rent.
But if his hamstring allowed their offensive engine to drive, the offense might not be humming. But the Lakers could probably keep it running.
They might not be keeping pace, but with the league’s leading scorer contributing, the gap wouldn’t be a year wide by every game’s end.
The Lakers really miss Doncic. Duh.
But it’s not only because, without him, they’re stuck reliving a recurring nightmare; in all three games, the Lakers have played Oklahoma City tough in the first half, including taking the lead into halftime in Games 2 and 3, only for it to be yanked away.
It’s also because they’re also losing data points on the scoreboard going into a pivotal offseason.
This whole Western Conference semifinal series against these defending champions has been a lose-lose proposition for the Lakers, who are now down 3-0 and staring into the elimination abyss in Game 4 on Monday.
But throw in the 33.5 points per game Doncic averaged this season, and the Lakers don’t get outscored by a combined 54 points after halftime.
Calculate for Doncic’s career 30.9 points per playoff game, and let’s assume their high-water mark would surely eclipse Saturday’s tally in their 131-108 Game 3 loss at Crypto.com Arena.
For whatever that’s worth.
Which is little compared to what else the Lakers miss with Doncic on the bench, nursing the Grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered on April 2 in Oklahoma City.
Lakers forward LeBron James, sliding backward across the baseline, looks for a foul call on a missed layup during Game 3 against the Thunder.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
For the Lakers, this end-of-the-road series is most valuable as an evaluation period for next season. It’s a barometer reading: You are here. The Thunder are there.
The goal now is to build a team around Doncic that could conceivably keep pace with Oklahoma City, and so they’re evaluating who will help do that if they come along for the ride next year.
But the Lakers are doing these playoff measurements without Doncic on the court. They’re test-driving the wrong car toward vacation.
Doncic can expect a postcard in the mail: Wish you were there.
So does he, of course.
“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said between Games 1 and 2, standing with his hands in his pockets, pained to report that he wasn’t close to returning, five weeks into his eight-week return-to-work timeline.
“I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I wanna do is play basketball, especially this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing. I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough, to, just to sit and watch them play.”
He got to see the Lakers upset the Houston Rockets in a six-game, first-round series without him and, for four games, Austin Reaves — who is averaging 18.7 points and shooting 40% from the floor and 25% from three-point range this series, having become a higher priority of the Thunder’s physical defense without having to deal with Doncic.
On Saturday, Doncic had to watch another lead — and with it, another opportunity to steal a game — disappear as if by a cruel magic trick. As time wore down, Doncic sat on the bench next to Reaves, staring blankly, hands folded in his lap, like so many Lakers fans at the arena.
The Lakers’ latest deflating loss could have used Doncic’s energy,his showmanship, his fire. He’s among the league-leaders in that, too.
“Look, yeah, when you have the league’s leading scorer out there – if he was – it definitely changes the dynamic of a team,” said guard Luke Kennard, who scored 13 of his series-high 18 points in the first half Saturday.
“Obviously, we miss him. And we know he’s working his butt off right now [to return to play] … but yeah, I mean, he would definitely change it for us. But right now, he’s not.”
Kennard is right, of course. Things would be different if Doncic was out there dealing.
Not that different.
But the Lakers at least wouldn’t be running out of gas so far from getting home every game, and they’d also have a better idea of how much farther they have to go.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an initial eight-week timeline for his return.
Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.
“I’m just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”
Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma injections with hopes of helping his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.
Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.
Lakers star Austin Reaves shoots in front of Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso, right, during the Lakers’ Game 1 playoff loss Tuesday.
(Kyle Phillips / Associated Press)
From Bill Plaschke: It was the best opportunity for the potential free agent to begin earning the $241-million contract the Lakers were expected to offer this summer, the best chance for the April-cursed guard to escape his playoff demons and paint the Lakers’ future with a max masterpiece.
The badly outmanned and heavily underdog Lakers generally played well enough and smart enough to hang with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series at Paycom Center.
All except for you-know-who.
In their 108-90 loss, Austin Reaves was arguably the difference.
Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers in the first inning against the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
From Maddie Lee: Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow felt his back spasm on a warmup pitch ahead of the bottom of the second inning Wednesday. He threw another to test it. No luck. Bending at the waist was too hard to pitch through the discomfort. He motioned to the dugout.
Glasnow threw just one inning in the Dodgers’ 12-2 rout of the Astros before exiting with what the Dodgers called lower back pain.
“It kind of just gives out,” Glasnow said of the recurring injury. “I’ve gotten it since high school. Being tall, I guess. I get it a couple times a year. … Once it feels better, it feels better. It shouldn’t be too long.”
Last September, Glasnow was scratched from a start against the Orioles with back tightness, but he went on to pitch three days later. In 2024, he spent two weeks on the IL over the All-Star break with a back injury.
Ducks forward Leo Carlsson celebrates after scoring in the third period of a 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night.
(John Locher / Associated Press)
From Kevin Baxter: Before the Ducks had even checked out of their hotel Wednesday for the short bus ride to T-Mobile Arena for Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series, the Las Vegas sports books had made the hometown Golden Knights heavy favorites.
That proved to be a poor bet a couple of hours later when the Ducks rolled to a 3-1 victory, evening the best-of-seven playoff series at 1-1. The second-round series resumes Friday at Honda Center.
The Ducks’ goals came from Beckett Sennecke in the second period and Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins in the third. Harkins’ goal, into an empty net, was the exclamation point on the win. Jack Eichel scored Vegas’ only goal on a power play in the final seconds, denying goaltender Lukas Dostal and the Ducks their first shutout of the season.
From Bill Shaikin: I walked around a street fair in Irvine over the weekend, checking out the crowd while waiting for my daughter’s dance team to perform. We were a few short miles from Angel Stadium, but you wouldn’t have known it: lots of people wearing Dodgers caps, someone wearing a Shohei Ohtani cap, someone else wearing an Ohtani jersey, someone else wearing a Clayton Kershaw jersey, a dog wearing a Dodgers bandana, and people repping the Padres, Giants, Athletics and Yankees.
After 25 minutes, someone walked by in an Angels cap.
If the passion wanes, apathy can set in. I wondered if that is where the Angels might find themselves now, with a slice of their fan base finding a more enjoyable way to spend its summers than watching one losing season after another, and with the shadow of baseball’s best team extending ever more securely into Orange County.
The Angels won a series for the first time since April 10-12 at Cincinnati. The Angels (15-23) are 2-7-2 in series this season.
D’Arnaud’s 396-foot shot off Noah Schultz (2-2), the backup catcher’s first homer of the season, kicked off a five-run second inning for the Halos. After Bryce Teodosio doubled on a ball that got past right fielder Jarred Kelenic, Zach Neto hit a stand-up RBI triple.
Valdez had given up 10 runs, including back-to-back solo home runs in the previous two at-bats, when Story batted in the top of the fourth inning on Tuesday at Comerica Park.
What happened next wasn’t intentional — at least that’s what Valdez said after the Tigers’ 10-3 loss.
Not everybody believes him. Valdez has received a six-game suspension and a fine for an undisclosed amount after hitting Story in the back with a 94-mph fastball with the first pitch of the at-bat, MLB announced Wednesday. The suspension will begin that night in the Red Sox-Tigers series finale, unless Valdez appeals.
Tina Charles, the WNBA’s leader in career rebounds and double-doubles, has retired after 14 seasons.
(Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
From Tracy Brown: Former WNBA MVP Tina Charles has retired after 14 seasons in the league.
“Today, I officially announce my retirement from basketball,” the eight-time All Star wrote in a post shared across her social media accounts Tuesday. “This game gave me everything and I’ll miss it deeply.”
The veteran center — the No. 1 overall draft pick selected by the Connecticut Sun in 2010 — played for six WNBA franchises over the course of her career, including a lengthy stint with the New York Liberty. Named the league MVP during her 2012 campaign, Charles is the WNBA’s leader in career rebounds (4,262), double-doubles (201) and made field goals (3,364), as well as second on the list for career points (8,396) behind Diana Taurasi.
Just hours after Golden Tempo returned to the racetrack at Keeneland for the first time since his victory Saturday at Churchill Downs, DeVaux posted a statement on X.
Second round All times Pacific at Oklahoma City 108, Lakers 90 (box score) Thursday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Saturday at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ABC Monday at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., Prime Video *Wednesday at Oklahoma City, TBD *Saturday, May 16 at Lakers, TBD *Monday, May 18 at Oklahoma City, TBD *- if necessary
Ducks playoffs schedule
Second round All times Pacific at Vegas 3, Ducks 1 (summary) Ducks 3, at Vegas 1 (summary) Friday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO MAX Sunday at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., ESPN *Tuesday at Vegas, TBD, ESPN *Thursday, May 14 at Ducks, TBD, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX *Saturday, May 16 at Vegas, TBA, ABC or ESPN *-if necessary
This day in sports history
1938 — Lawrin, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, wins the Kentucky Derby by one length over Dauber.
1945 — Branch Rickey announces formation of the US Negro Baseball League.
1951 — International Olympic committee allows Russia to participate in 1952 Olympics.
1955 — Swaps, ridden by Willie Shoemaker, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths over Nashua.
1969 — 2nd ABA championship: Oakland Oaks beat Indiana Pacers, 4 games to 1.
1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers win their first NBA championship with a 114-100 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 5.
1977 — Heavily favored Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, wins the Kentucky Derby by 1 3/4 lengths over Run Dusty Run.
1982 — A federal jury rules the NFL violated antitrust laws when it unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the Oakland Raiders from moving to Los Angeles.
1986 — 30th European Cup: Steaua Bucuresti beats Barcelona (0-0, 2-0 on penalties) at Seville.
1988 — Winning Colors, ridden by Gary Stevens, leads from start to finish to win the Kentucky Derby by a neck, becoming the first roan and the third filly to win the race.
1989 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan hits an 18-foot shot over the outstretched fingertips of Craig Ehlo to give the Bulls a 101-100 victory in the deciding Game 5 of their 1989 Eastern Conference first round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
1993 — Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 100th and 101st playoff goals in a 7-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
1994 — The Denver Nuggets, with a 98-94 overtime win against the No. 1-seeded Seattle SuperSonics, become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to win a series. The Nuggets come back from an 0-2 deficit in the best-of-5 series.
1995 — Reggie Miller scores eight points in the last 16 seconds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 107-105 win over the New York Knicks in the second-round opener of the NBA playoffs.
2005 — Giacomo, a 50-1 shot, wins the Kentucky Derby, running down a game Afleet Alex in the final strides and generating a huge payoff. Closing Argument, a 70-1 shot, finishes second with Afleet Alex third.
2005 — Dallas’ 116-76 victory over Houston is the most lopsided Game 7 score in NBA history. The Mavericks are the third team in playoff history to win a seven-game series after losing the first two games at home.
2010 — Before a record hockey crowd of 77,803, the U.S. loses to Germany 2-1 in the opening game of the world hockey championships. Felix Schutz scores the winning goal 21 seconds into overtime at Veltins Arena, ordinarily the home of the Schalke soccer team.
2014 — Russell Westbrook has a triple-double, Kevin Durant falls one assist short and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-101 to tie their Western Conference semifinal series at one win apiece. Westbrook has 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Durant has 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists before leaving the game with 1:21 remaining.
2016 — Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/4 lengths, improving to 8-0 in his career as the fourth consecutive favorite to win the race. Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist finished in 2:01.31. The 3-year-old colt became the eighth unbeaten winner in the race’s 142-year history.
2017 — Bradley Beal scores 29 points and Washington Wizards used a 26-0 third-quarter run to beat the Boston Celtics 121-102 to tie the second-round series at two games apiece. John Wall, who adds 27 points and 12 assists, has seven points, three assists and two steals during the third-quarter spree.
2021 — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Wade Miley no-hits Cleveland Indians, 3-0 at Progressive Field, Cleveland.
Compiled by the Associated Press.
Until next time…
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With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an inital eight-week timeline for his return.
Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.
But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.
“I’m just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”
Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections with hopes to help his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.
Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.
Doncic had dutifully cheered from the bench during the playoff games, offering as much advice to his teammates as he can.
“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said of the injury. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough just to see and watch them play.”
