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🚨 Headlines
🏀 Historic comeback: The Thunder made NBA playoff history by overcoming a 26-point halftime deficit to beat the Grizzlies 114-108 and take a 3-0 series lead. Memphis had a 29-point lead in the second quarter before Ja Morant exited with a hip injury.
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🏒 Another OT victory: Simon Benoit scored on a slap shot to give the Maple Leafs their second consecutive overtime win against the Senators, taking a 3-0 lead in the “Battle of Ontario.”
💰 $7M jersey: Kobe Bryant’s first game-worn NBA jersey sold for $7 million at Sotheby’s, making it the second most expensive piece of NBA memorabilia ever sold. The most expensive remains Michael Jordan’s jersey from Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals, sold for $10.1 million.
🏀 Mobley wins DPOY: Evan Mobley of the Cavaliers named NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, beating out Dyson Daniels of the Hawks and Draymond Green of the Warriors.
⛳️ Golf leaderboard: PGA Tour rookies Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo set a tournament record with a score of 58 (-14) at the Zurich Classic, the only team event on the Tour; Haeran Ryu and Yan Liu are tied for the lead at the Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the season with a score of -7.
🏈 NFL Draft: Round 1 recap
(Yahoo Sports)
The 2025 NFL Draft kicked off with Miami QB Cam Ward going first overall to the Titans. The Jaguars then traded up to the second pick to select Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who is expected to play both wide receiver and cornerback.
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Draft notes: Seven of the first 12 picks were linemen, with four on the offense and three on defense. Only two quarterbacks were selected, Ward and Jaxson Dart, after six were taken in the top 12 last year.
Analysis:
Still available: Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders went undrafted, a surprise given his talent. He is among the top prospects available in Round 2, along with Marshall EDGE Mike Green and Michigan CB Will Johnson.
🧀 A beautiful sight: 205,000 fans flocked to Lambeau for the first-round festivities, almost double the population of Green Bay (~106,000).
🏀 The stat that predicts MVP winners
(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads all NBA players in LEBRON, a key metric that often predicts the MVP winner.
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What is LEBRON? This metric, developed by BBall Index, is named after LeBron James and stands for Luck-adjusted player Estimate using a Box prior Regularized ON-off.
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LEBRON estimates a player’s value per 100 possessions compared to the league average, with zero being average. This season, the top 25 players out of 565 ranged from SGA at 6.73 to LeBron at 2.27.
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LEBRON considers various factors to reflect a player’s on-court impact, including their role on the team. For instance, SGA is a Star, Shot Creator, and Helper, while Nikola Jokić is a Star, Post Scorer, and Mobile Big.
Significant metric: The LEBRON leader has won the MVP award in 13 of the last 15 seasons, suggesting Gilgeous-Alexander is in a strong position to win this year.
The exceptions were Derrick Rose in 2011 and Joel Embiid in 2023.
⚽️ The Premier League’s expanding U.S. footprint
Burnley supporters celebrate their club’s promotion. (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The Premier League is home to the wealthiest soccer clubs in the world, with a growing American ownership presence. Next season, Leeds United and Burnley will join nine other American-owned teams in the league.
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New members: Leeds United (owned by 49ers Enterprises) and Burnley (owned by ALK Capital) have secured promotion to the Premier League. They will join clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, all owned by Americans.
More to come: Nine Championship teams are vying for the final promotion spot to the Premier League, with the playoff games determining the last team to join the top flight.
In the realm of English soccer, four out of the nine teams are under American ownership: Sheffield United, Millwall, West Brom, and Swansea City. This trend highlights the increasing Americanization of the sport in England.
On a different note, Colorado Avalanche’s captain, Gabriel Landeskog, made a triumphant return to the ice after a 1,032-day hiatus due to knee injuries. Despite the team’s loss in Game 3, Landeskog’s impact was felt with his team-leading six hits. Fans welcomed him back with roaring chants of “Landy! Landy!” as he took the ice, creating an emotional moment for the 32-year-old Swede.
As the NBA and NHL playoffs continue this weekend with multiple games scheduled, sports enthusiasts have a plethora of options to indulge in their favorite sports. Additionally, various other sports events like the NFL Draft, Golf tournaments, MLB games, NASCAR races, and soccer matches are set to entertain fans over the weekend.
For NFL draft enthusiasts, a trivia question about quarterbacks selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the past eight drafts is posed, leading to a fun challenge. The answer, including notable names like Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Joe Burrow, is revealed at the end of the article.
To stay updated on all sporting events and news, the Yahoo Sports app is recommended as a comprehensive companion. With expert analysis, live discussion feeds, and real-time updates on draft picks, the app ensures a seamless and engaging sports experience for users.
Overall, this edition of Yahoo Sports AM provides a diverse range of sports content, keeping readers informed and entertained with the latest updates and insights from the world of sports. following sentence:
She couldn’t believe how quickly time had passed.