ClutchPoints

It’s officially been 10 years since ClutchPoints was coined and I’m proud to say we have officially reached ONE BILLION impressions in a month 📈 Our mission continues to be the same as Day 1: For fans, by fans. This wouldn’t have been possible without the strong fan-first team here at ClutchPoints alongside our ClutchFam who have constantly supported and grown with us through the ever-evolving media landscape. Some of my favorite milestones: • In-person reporters at nearly every NBA/WNBA studium 🎤 • Media partnerships with FIBA / Courtside1891 to cover EuroBasket1891 (and beyond) 🏀 • Original long-series called ‘Off-Court Assist’ with State Farm highlighting individuals helping athletes off the court 🎥 • Original short-form Buzzer Beaters game show segments with McDonald's 🍔 • Lifetime 5 BILLION video views 📺 • HBCU Content Creator program growth including Campus Tours with Cricket Wireless 🦗 • Original exclusives with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trae Young, Tyrese Maxey, Chet Holmgren, Brock Purdy, Garrett Wilson, Travis Hunter, John Elway, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and so many more 🔥 Thanks for the feature Leo Zevin, Micah Zimmerman

“The Lakers are a sleeping giant,” a West executive said a year or so ago, when these rumors really started swirling. “It's pretty incredible they've been as successful as they've been as the league has grown around them. If they ever started actually investing in ways their competitors are, it's over.” https://lnkd.in/gxH6wuSE

In the heart of Norway, 19-years-old Gukesh sat across from a legend. This wasn’t just another game. This was Magnus Carlsen. The King. The guy who won 125 chess matches 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘸. Undefeated by Gukesh in classical chess. Until now. One mistake. That’s all Gukesh needed. And when it came? He didn’t blink. Gukesh had done what few dared to even dream: beat Magnus Carlsen in classical play. After the game, he didn’t gloat. He simply said, "It was a lucky day." But the truth is deeper. This isn’t luck. It's years of quiet sacrifice. Long nights. Missed parties. A boy growing into a master, move by move. His grandfather, watching from India, captured what the world was beginning to realize: "His aim is to become 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲." Carlsen slammed the table in frustration, and that's the moment that went viral (🎥: https://lnkd.in/gmRFwRBC). But don't let it take away from what the 19-year-old prodigy achieved. This moment belonged to Gukesh. The Pride of India. The Giant Slayer. The kid didn’t just shake the crown. He’s coming for it.

Inside the NBA is ending an iconic run. NY fans weren't the only ones glad the New York Knicks were able to extend their series against the Pacers to a Game 6. Fans not ready to let go of NBA on TNT were ecstatic as well. Most long-running TV shows can plan exactly how and when their series finale will air. But a live studio show covering sports in real-time? Not so much. Inside the NBA won't end until the Eastern Conference Finals conclude -- and we still don't know when that will be. But any bonus days of coverage we get at this point should be considered a gift, and an extra chance to say thank you to a one-of-its-kind sports show that quite literally changed the game for media coverage. The easy-going chemistry and repartee that Chuck, Ernie, Kenny, and Shaq enjoyed on set put us all at ease as we settled in to watch primetime hoops. Inside the NBA turned the studio-based, retired athlete-driven, analysis and commentary format on its head as it treated sports as a light and breezy, free-spirited affair to be enjoyed like ice cream. Lucky for us, the beloved cast and crew is staying in tact, and just taking their talents across the cable landscape over to ESPN next season. But it'll still represent a new era for basketball, so let's take a moment to give NBA on TNT its flowers. It's been quite a ride.

The Dallas Mavericks have won the NBA Draft Lottery! The basketball gods have smiled upon Mavs fans. Less than a year after they lost their former face of the franchise, They gain a new one. Nico Harrison said "defense wins championships", and they could get a generational defender to add to that culture.

Payton Pritchard has the heart of a lion. He wasn’t supposed to be the Boston Celtics’ leading scorer in a huge playoff game. But here we are. From trade rumors to winning Sixth Man of the Year, Pritchard has shown he’s built for the big moments. In Game 3, with Boston down by two, he stepped up big off the bench: 🔸23 points 🔸5 rebounds 🔸2 assists 🔸35 minutes He may be undersized, but you can’t measure grit, hustle, or heart. Give that man his flowers. He’s earned every bit of it.

Caitlin Clark vs. Paige Bueckers. It's the matchup everyone wants to see. The first matchup between Clark and Bueckers will be on June 27 in Dallas, and it's the hottest ticket in all of sports right now. Just take a look at these prices: 🤑 Upper deck general admission seats cost minimum $255 (Ticketmaster) 🤑 Average ticket price is $450 (Vivid Seats) 🤑 Cheapest courtside seats cost $1,008 (SeatGeek) If you buy from other third-party ticket brokers, premium tickets are going for more than $4,000. Add in service fees and taxes, a pair of tix could easily cost over $10,000. For more context of how insane ticket price are, in Luka's first game back to Dallas, the most expensive courtside seat sold was $3,000. To nobody's surprise, in the 28 years of the WNBA’s existence, no game has cost more - regular season, playoffs or Finals. Bueckers and Clark play 3 times this season, and you can already smell the WNBA's cash registers overheating

SGA and Jamal Murray were teammates last summer on Team Canada. Together, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, they reached the knockout stage - only to lose to Team France in the quarterfinal. At the Olympics, Murray averaged just 6 PPG. SGA averaged 21 PPG. SGA again put up better numbers in the NBA season that followed: Murray averaged 21.4 PPG. SGA averaged 32.7 PPG. Now, the 2 men who are trying to revitalize Team Canada are on opposite sides in the playoffs. And while they couldn't get Canada a medal at last year's Summer Games, each is now trying to get his team to the Larry O'Brien. And the 2 Canadian superstars stand in each other's way.

LeBron's career has now outlived Skype. The King's longevity is unfathomable at this point. Released in 2003 - the same year LeBron entered the NBA - Skype was, at one point, worth $8.5 billion in 2011 (via New York Post). But after 22 years, Microsoft is shutting it down. As for LeBron? In Year 22, he's still averaging 20 points a game and just played 70 games this season. There is one clear similarity between Skype and LeBron: Both of them were taken out this year by the work of "Teams." For Skype, "Teams" refers to Microsoft's video conferencing and workspace app that the company continuously innovates. In LeBron's case, that "team" would be the Minnesota Timberwolves, an up-and-coming squad led by a rising superstar. But unlike Skype, the roadblock is only temporary for LeBron... or is it? After being eliminated in the first round the past 2 years, and the Lakers acquiring Luka to eventually replace him, could we see LeBron follow in Skype's footsteps in the near future? 

Let’s goooo! Huge shoutout to Coach Kenny Atkinson for winning NBA Coach of the Year—and honestly, it couldn’t be more deserved. The way he turned things around in Cleveland this season was next-level. Atkinson brought out the best in everyone—young guys, vets, the whole squad. He kept it real, held everyone accountable, and made Cleveland a tough team to beat again. Coach of the Year feels right, but if you’ve been watching all season, you know he’s been THAT guy since the jump. Here’s to the beginning of something special in The Land.