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| Axios Sports |
| By Kendall Baker · May 18, 2022 |
| 👋 Good morning! Luka Dončić and the Mavericks (+5) visit Steph Curry and the Warriors tonight on TNT (9pm ET). Who ya got? Today's word count: 1,779 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... |
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| 1 big thing: 🏀 The Warriors dynasty |
 Data: Basketball Reference; Table: Kavya Beheraj/Axios The Warriors enter the West Finals tonight in search of their sixth championship berth in the past eight seasons, and their 22nd playoff series win in their last 10, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write. Why it matters: After two injury-plagued down years, the Dubs' dynasty is still very much alive. In fact, they're just the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 21 playoff series in a 10-season span. - 1980s Lakers: 31 series wins (1980-89)
- 1990s Bulls: 30 (1989-98)
- 1980s Celtics: 25 (1980-89)
- 2000s Lakers: 23 (2000-09)
- 2000s Spurs: 23 (1999-2008)
- 1960s Celtics: 22 (1960-69)
- 2010–2020s Warriors: 21 and counting (2013-22)
The big picture: The Warriors are unique among the teams listed above due to their multiple reinventions over the course of this 10-year run. - Five of the dynasties never missed the playoffs and had clear identities: The Showtime Lakers, the Jordan Bulls, the Bird Celtics, the Duncan-Pop Spurs and the Russell Celtics.
- The 2000s Lakers were different, learning on the fly what it meant to be Kobe's team after Shaq left in 2004. They missed the playoffs in 2005 before rising again.
- Then there's the Warriors, who have cycled through so many eras it's hard to believe it's been just 10 years. Not only did they miss the playoffs twice — they were so bad they landed the No. 1 pick.
Zoom out: The core trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green has persisted throughout Golden State's run, but little else has stayed the same — not even the team's home city. - Upstarts (2013–14): The dynasty began in Green's (and Harrison Barnes') rookie year, when Curry and Thompson were both under 25. Andre Iguodala joined in year two.
- Juggernaut (2014–16): Behind Curry's consecutive MVPs and new coach Steve Kerr's calming presence, Golden State won a title and rattled off an absurd 140-24 record.
- Durant (2016–19): That historically great team added Kevin Durant, which didn't seem fair. Though moments of "whose team is this?" surfaced, they won two more titles.
- Bottomed out (2019–20): With Durant gone and Curry and Thompson injured, they finished dead last (15-50) in their first season in San Francisco with a roster full of fringe NBA players.
- New life (2020–22): Jordan Poole's breakout, Andrew Wiggins' ascension to All-Star, Thompson's return and Curry's continued brilliance have the Dubs back on top.
The bottom line: The "Splash Brother" Warriors are one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. They're also one-of-a-kind, with a rags to riches to rags (briefly) to riches (again) story unlike any other. |
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| 2. ⚾️ MLB history: Coastal elites |
 Data: MLB; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios Entering Tuesday, both New York teams and both Los Angeles teams were all in first place for the first time in MLB history. Update: The Angels lost to the Rangers on Tuesday to fall out of a tie for first in the AL West. So maybe take a screenshot and sell it on eBay — we've never seen this before and we may never see it again. |
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| 3. 🏳️🌈 32 years later: Daniels makes history |
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| Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios |
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| Jake Daniels made history this week for publicly coming out as gay, but another soccer player's actions served as a reminder of why such announcements are so rare, Jeff writes. Driving the news: Daniels, a 17-year-old forward for English club Blackpool, came out on Monday, becoming the first active, openly gay male soccer player in the U.K. since Justin Fashanu in 1990. "I am only 17 but I am clear that this is what I want to do, and if ... other people look at me and feel maybe they can do it as well, that would be brilliant." — Daniels The backdrop: Just two days earlier, PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye skipped the team's game against Montpellier after refusing to wear a rainbow-themed jersey meant to highlight discrimination against the LGBT community. - Gueye missed the same game last year as well, though that absence was attributed to a stomach issue.
- PSG is owned by the Qatari state and Gueye is from Senegal, both countries where homosexuality is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The big picture: Homophobia is widespread in soccer, which is the most popular sport in the world and thus encapsulates many different countries and cultures. - Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, which will host this year's World Cup. There have already been reports of hotels refusing to let gay couples book a room.
- The Mexican national team was punished last year by FIFA for its fans' continued use of homophobic slurs.
- Robbie Rogers played in MLS as an openly gay man from 2013 through 2017, but only after leaving England for fear of how they would treat him.
The last word from Daniels, who signed a professional contract with Blackpool and made his club debut earlier this month: "Of course I am aware that there will be a reaction to this and some of it will be homophobic, maybe in a stadium and on social media. It's an easy thing for people to target." "The way I see it is that I am playing football and they are shouting stuff at me, but they are paying to watch me play football and I am living my life and making money from it. So shout what you want, it's not going to make a difference." 🎥 Watch: Daniels interview (YouTube) |
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| 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| 🏈 XFL on Disney: When the XFL relaunches in 2023, all games will air on ESPN, ABC and FX. It's the first sports rights deal for FX since Disney acquired the network in 2019. 🍺 $19 for a beer: The concession prices at this week's PGA Championship are quite expensive: $18 Michelob Ultra, $19 Stella Artois, $13 glass of wine, $19 cocktails. I am outraged, and so is Justin Thomas. 🏀 Griner update: NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he is working "side by side" with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to try to bring Brittney Griner home. ⚽️ Liverpool wins: The Reds squeaked past Southampton, 2-1, to move within a point of Manchester City entering the final weekend of the Premier League season. 🎬 Casting LeBron: Oregon basketball commit Marquis Cook will play LeBron James in the upcoming film adaptation of the "Shooting Stars" book James co-wrote with Buzz Bissinger. |
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| 5. 🏀 Playoff Jimmy strikes again |
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| Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images |
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| Some players live for the postseason, when the stakes are highest and the lights are brightest. Jimmy Butler is one of those players. Driving the news: Butler was masterful on Tuesday night in Miami, scoring 41 points to lead the Heat past the Celtics, 118-107, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. - Butler scored 27 in the second half as Miami came back from down three at halftime and filled the stat sheet: 41 points (12-19 FG), nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in 41 minutes.
- The only other players to have 40-5-5-4 playoff games: LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird.
What they're saying: "Jimmy Butler is an elite competitor," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "There's a lot of guys in this league that are playing basketball. He's competing to win. That's a totally different thing." "I like physicality. I want to run into people and see who falls down first, who's gonna quit first. That's the style of basketball I like to play and so do they. I went 0-for-2 from three tonight — I want to go 0-for-0 next game because I just want to keep banging into people." — Butler The bottom line: Butler has five 40-point games as a member of the Heat. All five have come in the playoffs. |
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| 6. 🏈 College football rethinks scheduling |
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| Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios |
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| The NCAA Division I Council is expected to pass a measure today that would provide more flexibility for conferences as they build their football schedules, Jeff writes. Why it matters: As it stands, conferences must either be split into divisions or play a round-robin schedule in order to hold a championship game. That requirement would be eliminated if today's vote passes. State of play: The ACC is already mulling a model that would scrap divisions entirely and ensure that its 14 teams play each other at least once both home and away every four years. Under the current model, that takes 12 years. - Each ACC team's eight-game conference schedule would comprise three matchups against permanent opponents (think: rivals), plus a rotating schedule against the other 10 (five one year, five the next).
- This would also guarantee that the two best teams meet in the conference championship game every year, rather than a weaker division winner sneaking in.
What to watch: The Big Ten is considering similar changes and more conferences could follow — though some leaders favor waiting until the College Football Playoff makes a decision on expansion. "I'd hate for us to make a round of changes now and then the CFP ... makes a change and then we have to make another round of changes." — Illinois AD Josh Whitman, via The Athletic (subscription) |
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| 7. 🌎 The world in photos |
| Photo: Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images DENVER — Josh Manson's first career playoff goal lifted the Avalanche past the Blues, 3-2 (OT), in Game 1 of their second-round series. Colorado has now won eight straight playoff games against St. Louis. - Elsewhere: The Lightning beat the Panthers, 4-1, in Game 1 of the Battle of Florida.
Photo: Luca Bettini/AFP via Getty Images JESI, Italy — Eritrea's Biniam Girmay on Tuesday became the first Black African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage, winning the 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia. - Update: An accident with a prosecco cork while celebrating his victory has forced Girmay to pull out of the race.
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola warms up before his start last week. Photo: Abbie Parr/Getty Images SEATTLE — Awesome shot. |
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| 8. 📺 Watchlist: Into the belly of the beast |
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| Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images |
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| The Rangers visit the Hurricanes tonight (7pm ET, ESPN) as the Metropolitan Division rivals begin their first-ever best-of-seven series. - The Canes are limiting ticket sales to buyers in North Carolina, South Carolina and southern Virginia in an attempt to maximize home-ice advantage.
- Rangers fans will have to pay a premium on the secondary market to gain entry to PNC Arena. 49ers fans had to do the same thing for this year's NFC title game against the Rams in L.A.
More to watch: |
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| 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |
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| Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley with NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum. Photo: Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images |
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| The Magic won Tuesday's NBA draft lottery for the fourth time in franchise history. - Question: Who were their previous three No. 1 selections?
- Hint: One was traded for Penny Hardaway on draft night.
Answer at the bottom. |
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| 10. ⚾️ 1 fan thing: Two balls, one inning |
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| Screenshot: TBS |
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| Catching a home run during an MLB game is a bucket list item for most baseball fans. On Tuesday, one fan caught two — in the same inning!!! Context: The Astros hit a record five home runs off Nathan Eovaldi as part of a nine-run second inning at Fenway Park. Houston won 13-4. |
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| A message from Axios |
| Get smarter, faster on Cryptocurrencies |
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| Axios Crypto brings you daily updates on the most consequential trends in cryptocurrency and the blockchain Subscribe for free |
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| Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Click here to see the future" Baker Trivia answer: Shaquille O'Neal in 1992, Chris Webber in 1993 (traded for Hardaway), Dwight Howard in 2004 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |
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