This is an important week in the NBA as the 2020 trade deadline is on Thursday afternoon. Thus, following the deadline should be the last time there are any significant changes to the championship futures odds – barring major injury/suspension, etc., to a contender, of course.

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Perhaps it would be fitting for the Los Angeles Lakers to win their 17th NBA title come June, which would tie the Boston Celtics for most in league history. The Lakers haven’t won it all since 2010 when they were led by the legendary Kobe Bryant, who was named NBA Finals MVP for the second time in his career.

Of course, Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were tragically killed in a helicopter accident on January 26 in Los Angeles – barely 12 hours after Bryant was passed as the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer by current Laker LeBron James. Bryant’s death was felt all around the world, and obviously the most by the Laker organization. Kobe played 20 seasons with the Lakers and holds many significant team records. The Lakers, who could be extra motivated now to win a title for Kobe, are +250 title favorites.

Basketball fans, and the entire world, were shocked yesterday after learning that NBA legend Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash. Bryant was on his way to a youth basketball game when the chopper went down over Calabasas, California, killing the star, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. The death of Bryant, affectionately called The Black Mamba, impacts the game of basketball on a number of levels, as well as the sports community overall, and also hits home to Calvin Ayre.

Bryant first entered the NBA in 1996 when he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. Almost immediately, he was traded to the LA Lakers, where he spent the entirety of his long and successful 20-season career – five NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, 18 NBA All-Star appearances, 11 All-NBA First Team selections and more. When he retired in 2016, he was the third-highest regular-season scoring player in league history.

However, he was much more than a basketball phenom. Off the court, he founded the Kobe Bryant China Fund, which worked in conjunction with the Chinese government-backed Soong Ching Ling Foundation to bring education and health programs to China. He was also behind the Mamba Sports Academy in California, a center designed to provide a multi-sport training facility to young athletes. He was the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars, a non-profit organization that develops after-school programs for children across the US.

Bryant was also involved with the LA Lakers Youth Foundation (LALYF), which supports non-profit organizations. Calvin Ayre and the Calvin Ayre Foundation sponsored the LALYF twice, and Ayre has contributed directly to the organization, having worked directly with Bryant, Magic Johnson and others to help improve the quality of life of local children.

Many assume that one of the two Los Angeles teams will win the Western Conference, and it may well be that the Lakers or Clippers do just that. LeBron James’ Lakers are the +275 favorites to win the NBA title come June, while Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers are the +300 second-favorites. It would certainly be must-see TV if the Lakers and Clippers faced off in the Western Conference Finals.

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Let’s not forget about the Denver Nuggets, however. They are +1500. First off, injuries can happen. The Lakers’ Anthony Davis is very injury-prone, which could torpedo their title chances. Leonard and teammate Paul George also have been known to get hurt. Second, Denver probably has the deepest team in the West other than the Clippers. The Nuggets have one of the best players in the league in Nikola Jokic. He was first-team All-NBA last season at center, not the more-hyped Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.

There’s also talk that Denver could be the leading candidate to trade for Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love, a double-double machine. Neither the Lakers nor Clippers have cap space/assets to land Love, who is almost a sure thing to be dealt by the February 6 deadline. Love would fit the Nuggets perfectly as a stretch-four who could also play center when Jokic is getting a breather. Denver could trade the expiring contract of Paul Millsap (an expiring deal would appeal to the Cavs) and throw in a promising young player, of which the Nuggets have a few. A Big 3 of Jokic, Love and Jamal Murray would be a threat to win it all.

As the head of the most popular basketball league in the world, former NBA commissioner David Stern set in motion a number of activities that would see the league reach new heights on an international stage. He was in charge from 1984 to 2014 and worked tirelessly at advancing the game, helping turn it into a multibillion-dollar organization. However, all good things must come to an end. After suffering a brain hemorrhage three weeks ago, Stern passed away on New Year’s Day. He was 77 years old.

With Stern at the helm, the NBA added seven new teams and two brand new leagues. The G League, previously known as the NBA Development League, was founded in 2001 and the WNBA – the Women’s NBA – was founded in 1996 with its inaugural season held the following year. He was continuously been singled out as the man who made the NBA an international household brand.

Current commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement about Stern’s passing, “For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action. He was a mentor and one of my dearest friends. We spent countless hours in the office, at arenas and on planes wherever the game would take us. Like every NBA legend, David had extraordinary talents, but with him it was always about the fundamentals — preparation, attention to detail, and hard work.”

He added, “Every member of the NBA family is the beneficiary of David’s vision, generosity and inspiration. Our deepest condolences go out to David’s wife, Dianne, their sons, Andrew and Eric, and their extended family, and we share our grief with everyone whose life was touched by him.”

The marquee day on the NBA’s annual regular-season schedule is not opening night or the final day of the season but Christmas Day. That’s when the league draws its best ratings – there are no other major live sporting events in the USA on the holiday this year – and often draws its top betting action. Some fans believe the NBA should push the start of every regular season back to Christmas like it did during the 2011-12 lockout season.

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The first game on the slate, with all of them nationally televised, is Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors at noon ET. It’s only the second time in franchise history that the Raptors play on the holiday (no doubt reward for winning last year’s NBA title), while the Celtics usually do. Toronto is a bit banged-up right now so is a 2.5-point home underdog despite being on an 8-0 SU and ATS streak at home against Boston. The Dinos lost the first meeting this season 112-106 in Boston way back on October 25.

At 2:30 p.m. ET, it’s the Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers, the two teams most consider the best this season in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks are playing like that with the NBA’s best record and Giannis Antetokounmpo playing better than he did in his 2018-19 MVP season. The 76ers are excellent at home this year but very shaky on the road. Philadelphia is a 3-point underdog, and it’s the first meeting of the season between these clubs.

Perhaps it was the league’s way of trying to get back at the Houston Rockets for creating a huge rift between it and China, but NBA refs, for one reason or another, completely dropped the ball in a recent game between the Rockets and another Texas team, the San Antonio Spurs. It was a blatant miscue on the part of the officiating crew that even a fan in the nosebleed seats could have called better. What will go down as one of the biggest ref blunders of the season has everyone crying foul, and sportsbook FanDuel making amends where it doesn’t need to. The company has announced that it will issue refunds as a gesture of customer loyalty over the refs’ mistake.

It’s difficult not to tell when the basketball goes through the net, especially as the result of a slam dunk. However, when Rockets point guard James Harden slammed it home against the Spurs, the refs believed it bounced out, not in, and denied him the two points he was rightfully owed. With that denial, a chain of events would be set in motion that would lead to the Rockets losing by two points in double overtime.

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni was livid when the call was made and tried to challenge the decision, only to be told, in certain words, sorry for your loss. After the game was over, an NBA ref team reviewed the video and acknowledged that Harden had, in fact, scored the points. The Rockets have already sent a formal request to the league in order to have a decision made about how to handle the situation and want to either be awarded the win or have the final almost eight minutes of the contest replayed.

FanDuel didn’t waste any time jumping in and helping to ease the sting. Kevin Hennessy, the company’s director of publicity, issued a statement explaining that the sportsbook is issuing refunds and said, “The FanDuel Sportsbook believes it was ‘HARDen Luck,’ when a dunk by James Harden was mistakenly ruled an unsuccessful field goal in regular time and the Rockets wound up losing 135-133 in double overtime.”

The National Basketball Association’s embrace of sports betting shows no sign of letting up, following new partnerships at both the league and team level.

On Monday, online gambling operator Kindred Group announced that its flagship Unibet brand had signed on as the NBA’s latest Authorized Sports Betting Operator. The deal will allow Unibet’s US-facing operations the right to use NBA trademarks across its online and mobile betting platforms, as well as gaining access to proprietary NBA data for in-play wagering purposes.

Manuel Stan, senior VP of Kindred’s US division, said his outfit “shares the NBA’s view on a legal and sustainable sports betting market, which makes this partnership a perfect match.” As with similar deals of this nature, the cost Kindred paid the NBA for this match remains a closely guarded secret.

To date, the NBA’s ever-growing gaming partnership roster includes DraftKings, FanDuel, MGM Resorts, The Stars Group (TSG), William Hill, Australian operators Tabcorp and TSG’s BetEasy, Française des Jeux, Codere and Supermatch. The NBA has also prepped its own virtual sports betting product with Highlight Games.

The NBA officially puts the 2018/19 season in the rearview mirror on Thursday night in Brooklyn with the 2019 draft. Expect a very busy night in terms of trades – we’ve already seen the New Orleans Pelicans send superstar Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers for three young players and three draft picks. One of those picks is No. 4 overall on Thursday.

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Because that trade can’t be made official until the new league year early next month, whomever the Lakers take at No. 4 overall will actually be for the Pelicans … unless the Pels have arranged their own trade of that pick, and they are shopping it.

There aren’t expected to be any surprises in the first three picks. New Orleans will take its Davis replacement at No. 1 overall in Duke forward Zion Williamson, who is considered by many the best prospect to enter the NBA since Davis was picked No. 1 overall in 2012.

The NBA officially puts the 2018/19 season in the rearview mirror on Thursday night in Brooklyn with the 2019 draft. Expect a very busy night in terms of trades – we’ve already seen the New Orleans Pelicans send superstar Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers for three young players and three draft picks. One of those picks is No. 4 overall on Thursday.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Because that trade can’t be made official until the new league year early next month, whomever the Lakers take at No. 4 overall will actually be for the Pelicans … unless the Pels have arranged their own trade of that pick, and they are shopping it.

There aren’t expected to be any surprises in the first three picks. New Orleans will take its Davis replacement at No. 1 overall in Duke forward Zion Williamson, who is considered by many the best prospect to enter the NBA since Davis was picked No. 1 overall in 2012.

For the first time since 2016, we have a Game 6 in the NBA Finals. The series between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors returns to Oakland on Thursday night with the Dubs as 2.5-point favorites as they look to even things up at 3-3. If they do, Game 7 would be back in Toronto on Sunday night.

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There are almost too many storylines to talk about in the wake of a dramatic Game 5. It all starts with Kevin Durant. He finally returned from a calf injury suffered in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals and looked terrific in scoring 11 points (3-for-3 from deep) in 12 minutes. The Warriors’ offense was at a different level with KD in the lineup and it was easy to see the Dubs all of sudden rallying from a 3-1 series deficit to win their third straight NBA title.

However, Durant went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon in the second quarter without contact, which not only ends his NBA Finals and potentially his Warriors career but also puts his 2019/20 season in jeopardy. Oh, and it changes this summer’s free-agent market in a big way. Obviously, the thinking now is that Durant returned too soon from his calf injury and that led to the Achilles injury. It was heartbreaking to watch, even if you root against the Warriors.

Basketball great Shaquille O’Neal’s ties to online sports betting operator BetOnline has earned a rebuke from the National Basketball Association.

Since 2015, Shaq has produced an extremely popular podcast titled The BIG Podcast with Shaq, which is distributed by podcast network PodcastOne. One of the BIG show’s top sponsors is Antigua-based online sportsbook BetOnline, but that relationship is set to end now that the NBA has finally clued in to the deal.

Bookies.com reported Monday that NBA officials had become aware of the connection after ads appeared listing BetOnline as a ‘presenting sponsor’ of the BIG podcast. While the BIG show’s online promos continue to display BetOnline links, an NBA official confirmed that the league had conducted an investigation which revealed that Antigua (shock!) was not one of the 50 US states and thus BetOnline’s connection to BIG would have to end.

(For the record, the legality of Antigua-licensed online betting operators serving US customers has been upheld by multiple rulings at the World Trade Organization. The unwillingness of the US government to acknowledge these defeats doesn’t make them any less valid, particularly when the US has repeatedly applied its own domestic laws on an extraterritorial basis.)