Luka Doncic heads to the Lakers and Anthony Davis goes to the Mavs in blockbuster trade
Luka Doncic has been traded by the reigning Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. The deal was announced Sunday after trade talks that took place over about a month and were kept extremely tight-lipped. Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris are headed to the Lakers, while Davis and Max Christie are going to Dallas. The Utah Jazz also are involved in the deal. The trade may come at a serious price for Doncic, who now can’t sign a five-year supermax extension this summer that could have been worth around $345 million.
Doncic releases emotional farewell message to Dallas after trade sends him to Lakers
Luka Doncic released an emotional farewell to Dallas on the same day a trade sending him from the Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in a swap for fellow All-NBA player Anthony Davis was finalized. Doncic said in a letter to the city Sunday that he “wanted so badly to bring you a championship” and that he thought he’d spend his career in Dallas.
De’Aaron Fox to join Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio as part of 3-team trade, AP sources say
Victor Wembanyama has a new point guard. De’Aaron Fox is on his way out of Sacramento and headed to San Antonio. Fox is one of the centerpieces of a three-team trade agreed to by three teams. The deal sends Zach LaVine from Chicago to Sacramento, Zach Collins from San Antonio to Chicago and Kevin Huerter from the Kings to the Bulls. That’s according to two people with knowledge of the discussions who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has yet to be approved by the league.
Rory McIlroy overpowers Pebble Beach and wins in a runaway
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Rory McIlroy brought some life to a sleepy start to the PGA Tour season. Combine his appeal with the glorious views of Pebble Beach, and he delivered a command performance. McIlroy won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am by two shots with a 66. He pulled away from a pack of contenders with two birdies early on the back nine. And then he effectively sealed it by smashing a drive and hitting 7-iron to 25 feet for eagle on the par-5 14th. McIlroy won for the 27th time on the PGA Tour. Shane Lowry birdied the 18th to finish second.
Iowa honors Caitlin Clark by retiring her number and hanging it in the rafters
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark wasn’t back in her home arena to play a game. Still, the “butterflies,” the former Iowa guard said, were quite similar. Clark returned to Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday to have her jersey number 22 retired in a ceremony after the Hawkeyes’ 76-67 win over No. 4 USC, one season after she completed her historic college career. The jersey retirement concluded Clark’s chapter with the Hawkeyes, where she became college basketball’s all-time leading scorer while leading Iowa to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA national championship game the last two seasons.
Eagles and Chiefs arrive in New Orleans for Super Bowl week
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs have landed in New Orleans for Super Bowl week. They exited their planes in sunshine and temperatures in the 60s on Sunday afternoon, a week before their matchup on Feb. 9. Players and staff made their way down moveable staircases from their planes to buses awaiting them on the tarmac without much fanfare. Then they quickly rolled off in convoys bound for for their downtown hotels. Most Eagles players and staff wore black sweatsuits with a “Super Bowl LIX” logo across the chest.
Celtics rally from 26-point deficit to top 76ers 118-110
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and the Boston Celtics rallied from a 26-point deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-110. Tatum added 11 assists and seven rebounds. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and six assists. Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points and Derrick White added 17. Tyrese Maxey scored 23 points in the first half to help put the 76ers up by 23 at the break. Maxey finished with 34 points, his fifth straight 30-point game and 14th consecutive game of 28 or more. Kelly Oubre had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Philadelphia.
Once the plucky underdog, the Kansas City Chiefs have become the NFL juggernaut fans love to hate
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Not long ago, the Kansas City Chiefs were the plucky underdog that hadn’t been to the Super Bowl in five decades. But times have certainly changed around the NFL. Next week, the Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the big game, trying to win the Lombardi Trophy for a record third consecutive year. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and even coach Andy Reid are showing up everywhere, whether it be television advertisements, made-for-TV events or even game shows. The result of the success and the oversaturation is this: That one-time underdog is suddenly the NFL juggernaut that NFL fans love to hate.
Fans at Raptors game continue trend of booing US national anthem at pro sporting events in Canada
TORONTO (AP) — Fans at a Toronto Raptors game have continued an emerging trend of booing the American national anthem at pro sporting events in Canada. Fans of the NBA’s lone Canadian franchise booed the anthem Sunday after similar reactions broke out Saturday night at NHL games in Ottawa, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta. Those instances happened hours after U.S. President Donald Trump made his threat of import tariffs on America’s northern neighbor a reality. Trump declared an economic emergency in order to place taxes of 25% on imports from Canada. U.S. national anthem boos in Canada are rare, but not unheard of especially when tied to world events.