People LOVE Power Rankings in sports. It’s pretty stupid. So, of course, I have MY Stupid Power Rankings. I take 10 things from the NBA and WNBA (or not) in the past week and rank them accordingly. You don’t like them? Make your own rankings!
It’s a little bit late; it is Monday night Eastern time by the time this got posted. But the rankings count from Monday night, Jan. 25, to Monday of daytime, February 1st. Let’s do it!
(PHOTO CREDIT: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
1) WNBA Free Agency is Hot!
This is important. If the men get a whole summer of drama in free agency, the women should get their own time, too! And it kicked off with a bang! I don’t know tampering rules go but Candace Parker had a blockbuster announcement: she was leaving the L.A. Sparks to sign with her hometown team, Chicago Sky. That puts Sky in immediate contention for the 2021 WNBA Championship.
There were other moves made, too. Like Aerial Powers going from Washington to Minnesota, Kayla McBride from Vegas is joining Powers up north, and Diana Taurasi deciding to stay with the only team she’s known her entire WNBA career, the Phoenix Mercury.
This is an exciting time to be a WNBA fan.
DAMIAN LILLARD WINS IT AT THE BUZZER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QmkwTgIByU
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 31, 2021
2) Dame Time in Chicago
The first of two miraculous five-point comebacks with about 10 seconds left. After Damian Lillard made a three, Gary Trent Jr. was able to tie up Zach LaVine and force the jump.
The Blazers won the ensuing tip. Dame scrambled for the ball and was able to get it off before the buzzer. I’m talking about this so you damn well knew what happened in that shot.
BEAL AND WESTBROOK.
UNREAL. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aMJfXTxWy7
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 1, 2021
3) Wizardry Against the Nets
The Wizards would follow it up the following day. Down by five with 12 seconds left, Bradley Beal made a three to cut that deficit. Then Garrison Matthews stole the inbounds pass and Russell Westbrook made the three afterwards.
Why is the Blazers higher in the countdown? Dame’s shot was a buzzerbeater while there were still seconds left in this situation.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Dwyer/AP.)
4) The Timeless Rivalry
Lakers vs Celtics didn’t disappoint yet again. And they finished with another close game that had Kemba Walker and Daniel Theis miss go-ahead shots. The Lakers came away with the duke.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Golden State Warriors.)
5) #ReporterKlay
Klay Thompson is so hilarious. Even when he’s trying not to be.
Just watch the video for pure entertainment.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Rassol/USA Today.)
6) Jimmy Butler Has Returned
Butler returned in time and put up 30-7-8. They won by one point against the Sacramento Kings but that’s good enough to stop the Heat’s five-game skid. Man, it’s been a rough go for the Eastern Conference champions but life should get a tad easier with their star player back.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nam Y. Huh/AP.)
7) Possible All-Star Weekend?
So the NBA is talking about a possible all-star weekend at Atlanta for the weekend of March 6-7. I don’t think it’s wise to have a potential superspreader of an event. Yes, I get it; we’re bored out of our minds. But their safety should come first before our entertainment.
It’s all talk right now. We’ll see if they’ll go through with this.
“Going through my career, it just feels like people keep quitting on me, but it’s a part of life and I embrace it.” -Victor Oladipo pic.twitter.com/hUXH5hxilG
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) January 29, 2021
8) Who Quit on Victor Oladipo?
This is such a weird statement. The Indiana Pacers reportedly still offered him a hefty extension that he turned down even though he’s been stricken with bad injury luck. Why would he imply that Indy quit on him? Because they dealt him? He turned down that big extension, dude.
For those uninitiated, @Giannis_An34 has now called @Divincenzo “White Chocolate” in back-to-back pressers.
I don’t know when a nickname becomes official, but this is definitely something to monitor.
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) January 28, 2021
9) There’s Only One White Chocolate in the NBA
We know that Jason Williams was well-known as White Chocolate in the NBA. So I’m not quite sure about Giannis Antetokounmpo calling Donte DiVincenzo that moniker.
Heck, White Donte is a FANTASTIC nickname.
Klay defending his teammates on the mic 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/xgTUxwcP36
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 31, 2021
10) Rodney McGruder Gets Picked on by Warriors
It’s bad enough that #ReporterKlay had to say it on local TV that McGruder might be out of the league. Draymond Green then had to pile on about McGruder in his postgame conference. Yikes. Not great for his reputation.
R.I.P. Sekou Smith. And not related to hoops but R.I.P. Dustin Diamond AKA Screech. He was part of my growing up even though it felt like he never got it together after Saved By The Bell: The New Class went off the air.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.