NBA

Anyone who watched the game won’t forget it for a long time. Thompson – the former Washington State star – and Curry went back and forth, stealing each other’s signature celebrations and draining a combined 11 3-pointers. Curry stole the show at the end, hitting the night-night after rainbowing the game-sealing 3 and then screaming into the cameras.

DALLAS – Last season, Jalen Suggs earned a spot on the NBA All-Defensive second team, reinforcing what anyone who has watched him play knew: The former Gonzaga standout excels at defense.

Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert, former Gonzaga teammates taken 10 picks apart in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, on Monday were rewarded with hefty pay raises when they agreed to rookie contract extensions.

When the NBA season opens Tuesday, it will launch with subtle shifts rather than seismic changes.

Why would a return of pro basketball to Seattle make any difference to a region that lost its lukewarm embrace with the team the first time around? Easy. Spokane – aka Hooptown USA – is literally a basketball hotbed now.

DALLAS – Jaylen Wells is new to the topsy-turvy world of professional basketball, but the former Washington State sharpshooter – who was a second-round pick (39th overall) for Memphis in the 2024 NBA draft – is adjusting well to his new surroundings.

DALLAS – Three-hundred-eighty-seven days.

When the NBA opens on Tuesday, it's likely to be the start of a season where there's finally clarity around the league's expansion plans and ultimately how Seattle falls into the mix. Maybe. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has hinted for several years that expansion is coming. 

Klay Thompson’s nerves got the best of him in the four days leading up to his preseason debut for the Dallas Mavericks.

The Denver Nuggets exercised the team’s third-year option on former Gonzaga standout Julian Strawther’s rookie contract. The 6-foot-7 wing will earn $2.55 million this season and is slotted at nearly $2.7 million in 2025-26.

About the Globe Trotter series: The Spokesman-Review connected periodically with Gonzaga coach Mark Few to highlight his on- and off-court experiences as an assistant coach with the U.S. Olympic basketball team. This is the final installment of the series.

Killian Tillie’s next stop in professional basketball apparently will be overseas. The former Gonzaga forward has signed with Unicaja Malaga in Spain, according to Eurobasket.com.

Stephen Curry knew what he was in for when he joined the Team USA men's basketball team. The NBA superstar who had won four NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors, with six NBA Finals appearances in all along the way, spent the better part of the last decade facing the kind of pressure that not many of his contemporaries have known. But joining national team, the one that bears the weight of the four consecutive gold medals and the 2004 team before them that earned eternal infamy by settling for bronze, was different.

Stephen Curry exploded for 36 points, Joel Embiid lived up to his potential in the middle of Team USA’s star-studded lineup and the Americans overcame extraordinary odds to defeat Serbia 95-91 on Thursday and reach the Olympic gold-medal round.

You know how you can tell that Team USA coach Steve Kerr is serious about the Americans getting their act together – like, together – before it's too late in their all-or-nothing pursuit of Olympic gold?

The lead-up to the Summer Olympics reminds Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few, an assistant with Team USA, of the day or two before the NCAA Tournament. Arrive at the host city, check out game and practice venues, take care of media obligations and prepare for upcoming games – except all this is taking place in France, where the opening ceremonies will be held Friday.

Former Gonzaga guard Andrew Nembhard, who came up big in Indiana’s surprising postseason run to the Eastern Conference finals, is getting a big reward.

About the Globe Trotter series: The Spokesman-Review is planning to connect periodically with Gonzaga coach Mark Few to highlight his on- and off-court experience as an assistant coach with the U.S. Olympic basketball team.

Gonzaga and UCLA will resume their interesting non-conference rivalry in December each of the next two seasons. The West Coast powers agreed to a two-game series back in May. The dates are now set for the matchups: Dec. 28th at the new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and Dec. 13, 2025, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, according to a Gonzaga release.