Golden State Warriors fans who wathed the team’s final regular-season game against the Los Angeles Clippers hoped they could secure their automatic playoff berth and face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
However, the team faltered against the visiting Clippers as they ran away with the win at the Chase Center. While Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler did everything to keep their automatic playoff spot over the Minnesota Timberwolves, LA proved to be too much as they didn’t have any defensive answer to James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.
A crushing loss that forces them to face either the Hosuton Rockets or Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round is not the ideal start to the Dubs’ postseason campaign. While there are intriguing narratives that could have changed the game’s complexion, Draymond Green admitted that his failure at one critical play cost the team dearly.
Green had a decent outing during Golden State’s 129-119 loss to the Clippers, finishing with 14 points, three boards, four assists, one steal, and two blocks.
However, Green’s big blunder happened late in the game. The Michigan State product had a chance to clinch the game if he made a wide-open layup. Whether it’s because of pressure or another factor, the four-time champion somehow missed a practice shot.
The forward understood the gravity of his mistake and instantly owned up to his shortcomings.
Per Fadeaway World’s Ishaan Bhattacharya:
Draymond Green: “I completely smoked a layup. And Buddy missed a shot.”
Reporter: “Was it the shot that you guys wanted?”
Draymond Green: “Yes. That was the play that was drawn up, we got the look, [Buddy] just missed it.”
It’s good that Green knows his botched shot cost the team the chance to face the Lakers in the first round. That type of accountability and leadership is vital for contenders that want to make a deep postseason run.
However, it’s hard for fans to keep giving him the pass when he’s already played in more high-pressure situations throughout his career. He needs to get his act together in the play-in tournament and the rest of the postseason if he wants to help Steph Curry secure their current era as one of the best in NBA history.
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Are NBA players underpaid? Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry argues yes. The greatest shooter in NBA history said Thursday on Complex’s “360 With Speedy” that because the league’s current CBA doesn’t allow for current players to invest in league and team equity, players are leaving money on the table. “I would say, yes, we are underpaid,” Curry admitted when asked, despite enormous salaries, if the players were getting short-changed, “because you wanna be able to participate in that rise [of equity].” “It’s a partnership with ownership, [and] it’s a partnership with the league,” the 37-year-old stressed, revealing that league salaries do not reflect players’ impact on team valuations. If anyone has the right to begrudge the current CBA on player participation in equity, it’s Curry. When drafted in 2009, the Warriors were worth $315 million. Current valuations in May of 2025 have the team at $9.4 billion, the most in the league. Curry’s been paid handsomely during his time in Golden State, and he doesn’t overlook it. “I know we’re blessed to be in a position where we’re playing basketball for a living, and these are the type of checks that people are earning,” he told Complex. However, when he signed his $62.6 million one-year extension in 2024 that would keep him in a Warriors’ jersey until 2027, many felt that no amount of money the franchise could offer him would represent his worth. Curry had an undeniable impact on the Warriors’ valuation increasing by nearly 3,000%. He’s benefited by being the most salaried player on the roster and plenty of endorsement deals. But is he getting his fair share? Something similar may happen with reigning NBA Finals MVP and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just signed the richest contract in league history with an average annual value of $71.25 million. According to Forbes, the Thunder’s valuation increased 20% from 2023 to 2024 and will likely take another jump after this year’s championship. Curry concedes that player participation in equity isn’t a simple concept and not all markets are created equal: “You got competitive advantage considerations…and want every market to have a fair chance, like I get all that.” He believes, however, that finding a solution is a “mutually beneficial proposition” for players, teams and the league. Even the most expensive people in the world need to find other investors to make owning an NBA team possible. The best example of Curry’s point is the Boston Celtics sale in March. The most-championed franchise in league history was sold to Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion, the largest ever sports franchise sale in North America at the time. Chisholm needed Rob Hale, Bruce Beal Jr., and private equity firm Sixth Street, to afford the purchase. Because team ownership is already a multi-investor operation, the league could potentially come to an agreement with the players by the next CBA negotiation at the end of the decade. If not, the league's best players will continue to simultaneously earn a ridiculous amount of money, and it will not be nearly enough.
Emma Raducanu brought Naomi Osaka’s Washington Open campaign to an end with a performance full of confidence. Raducanu, enjoying her best form in some time, has looked sharp since crossing over from Wimbledon to the US hard courts and is now putting together a strong run on both sides of the draw. Her timing couldn’t be better, with the summer swing in full flow and eyes already turning towards Flushing Meadows later in August. For Osaka, though, this was another frustrating defeat by a player she might have expected to beat. In the aftermath, she was even asked whether it was worth facing Raducanu again anytime soon. Naomi Osaka shares thoughts on Emma Raducanu after defeat at Washington Open After the loss, Osaka took time to break down her performance and also spoke about what impressed her about Raducanu’s game. Starting with her own play, she mentioned: “I think honestly I have been working on my return a lot, and ironically I don’t think it was that bad today. I think she served quite well. I guess just keep working on that, working on my serve. I know it’s one of my biggest weapons. “Today the percentages were off, so hopefully improving that. Then I guess just baseline tennis. I feel like from the baseline, like, I was doing pretty well. I think there are certain situations where she got one more ball back and I was kind of just looking and waiting. So kind of getting more accustomed to being comfortable being aggressive. When asked how facing Raducanu compared to watching her previously, Osaka said: “Oh. So when I say I watched her, it might not have necessarily been her tennis. Might have been like interviews and stuff like that. “Yeah, I mean, I watched her in Wimbledon, but I think it is different playing someone in real life than playing them or seeing them on TV. “So I think for me, honestly, it was really good to get the experience, to feel how her ball is. Yeah, hopefully we meet again.” Naomi Osaka comments on her relationship with fellow players Osaka didn’t just talk about the match itself – she also shared how she’s been interacting with other players off the court. For example, the Japanese star was asked if she’d like to get to know Raducanu or other players better, to which she replied: “I mean, yes, but I don’t know. “I don’t know if I’m, like, I look scary or something, but I have been saying hi to everyone for the past year and a half since I have been back, and I think they still think I’m kind of like extremely introverted and/or have RBF. So we haven’t really, like, proceeded past the ‘Hi, how are you doing’ phase.” Osaka admitted she felt confused after her defeat to Raducanu, having played much better than the scoreline suggested. It’s Raducanu who moves forward into the quarter-finals while Osaka once again finds herself reflecting on what comes next.
After a crushing 12–5 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night, the New York Yankees made a pair of roster changes aimed at strengthening a bullpen that surrendered 10 earned runs in the loss. Right-handed reliever Scott Effross and infielder Jorbit Vivas were both optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, clearing space for immediate reinforcements. Effross, 31, bore the brunt of the damage late in the game. Entering in the ninth inning with the Yankees trailing 8–5, he gave up four runs on four hits, failing to record the shutdown frame the team desperately needed. His ERA ballooned from 5.59 to 8.44 after the outing. Across 11 appearances in 2025, Effross has allowed 10 runs on 16 hits in 10.2 innings, striking out six and walking three. The outing proved costly, both in the game and for his place on the roster. Vivas, 24, didn’t fare much better this season. Used sparingly, he appeared in 29 games while slashing .161/.266/.250 with one home run and five RBIs. He entered Friday’s game as a late substitution at third base and flew out in his lone plate appearance. In their place, the Yankees activated third baseman Ryan McMahon, acquired earlier in the day from the Colorado Rockies. The 30-year-old 2024 All-Star brings experience and a needed defensive upgrade to the hot corner. Through 100 games this season, McMahon is hitting .217 with a .314 on-base percentage and .403 slugging percentage, while adding 16 home runs and 35 RBIs. Discussing McMahon’s fit with the Yankees, Paul Goldschmidt celebrated the addition, noting how exciting he fits within New York’s defensive identity. “He’s a really good player, great defender,” Goldschmidt said of McMahon. “He’s a good hitter, and he’s going to help us.” Manager Aaron Boone confirmed that McMahon would be active for Saturday’s matchup against the Phillies. The Yankees, currently 56–47, trail the Phillies, who improved to 59–44 with Friday’s win. Boone also acknowledged the bullpen’s ongoing struggles. The relief corps entered Friday ranked 20th in the league with a 4.07 ERA and has been thinned by injuries to Mark Leiter Jr., Fernando Cruz, and Ryan Yarbrough. With Clarke Schmidt out for the season and Luis Gil still recovering, reinforcements are expected before the July 31 trade deadline. The Yankees are expected to call up a fresh arm Saturday morning. Whether that move stabilizes the bullpen or not, more changes could be imminent.
As he headed back to his office after the third practice of Green Bay Packers training camp, coach Matt LaFleur probably wasn’t very happy. With new starting center Elgton Jenkins missing practice, shotgun snaps were sometimes an adventure – though not to the extent of Thursday’s practice. There were too many turnovers. And there was too much contact for a noncontact practice. First, the contact. Cornerback Nate Hobbs was the primary culprit. Early in practice, Hobbs knocked receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the ground after a catch. Later, Wicks was open over the middle but was hit in the back by Hobbs, which forced an incompletion but earned Hobbs a conversation with LaFleur. “It happened twice today, but it’s all good,” Wicks said. “We’re football players at the end of the day. We’re going to have to take some hits but it’s cool. I’m good. … “Coach always stresses team first, so he always talks about keeping each other up. That’s the main thing in practice, especially with no pads on. But some stuff happened. It happens. I’ve just got to control emotions and go onto the next play.” For the most part, the offense played relatively clean football during the first two practices. However, on Friday: - Running back Josh Jacobs ran for a first down but had the ball punched out; it appeared Hobbs forced the fumble. Receiver Romeo Doubs was there for the recovery. - On the first play of a 2-minute drill, Malik Willis telegraphed a pass into the flat, which Kalen King almost intercepted. - One play later, Willis was intercepted, though that was due to incidental contact between receiver Julian Hicks and cornerback Carrington Valentine in which Hicks hit the turf and Valentine grabbed the pass. - On the second play of a 2-minute drill, Jordan Love’s pass into the flat was almost intercepted by Xavier McKinney. - On third down in the red zone of a 2-minute drill, with the offense only needing a field goal, Sean Clifford was almost intercepted in the end zone by cornerback Tyron Herring. - During a third-down period, Tucker Kraft caught a pass, split two defenders and picked up the first down, but Javon Bullard forced a fumble that was recovered by McKinney. - During the same third-down period, Willis threw one right to safety Zayne Anderson for an interception on the second-to-last play of the day. Physical mistakes will happen. The hits in a no-pads practice perhaps bothered LaFleur more than anything. As he said before the first practice, “When you don’t have pads on, I told the guys, if we lose one person, that hurts our football team. So, they’ve got to respect each other enough to be able to compete but within the guidelines of how you play football without pads. So, I think that’s always the challenge.” Jordan Love’s Day For a third consecutive day, Jordan Love’s completion percentage was significantly over 50 percent. On Friday, he was 12-of-17. The first two plays of the day showed the full arsenal. First, on play action, he rifled one to the left to Dontayvion Wicks for a gain of about 20. Next, he showed finesse and touch by dropping one over the linebackers to Romeo Doubs, who made a leaping catch for a gain of about 15. Love and the No. 1 offense got two shots in starters vs. starters 2-minute drills. On the first, Xavier McKinney almost made a tremendous interception when he jumped a pass to the flat to Tucker Kraft on second down and Love couldn’t run through the pressure of Kenny Clark and Lukas Van Ness for a sack. While that drive stalled, his second drive found the end zone. Starting once again from the 35 with 1:20 on the clock and one timeout, Love on third-and-5 connected with Kraft in the flat. McKinney quickly made the stop and the ball was initially ruled short of the first down before Kraft was credited for a 5-yard catch. After a checkdown to Emanuel Wilson gained 6, Keisean Nixon was beaten by a step but recovered to break up an underthrown deep shot to Romeo Doubs. That set up a third-and-4 from the defense’s 49 and set the stage for the next segment in the story. Play of the Day: Touchdown to Dontayvion Wicks Jordan Love took the snap and took a couple steps to his left before firing a bomb to Dontayvion Wicks, who was running deep and to the right. With Xavier McKinney the closest defender, Wicks caught the ball near the goal line for a 49-yard touchdown. “We had to get down the field to win the competition,” Wicks said. “We called a play and I knew I had the post. I had a man on me. I released, ran full speed. I knew X was over the top, so I stemmed out a little bit and broke flat across. It was a runaway and J-Love gave me the ball, and I ran under it and that was all from there.” It was the first big win of the summer for the No. 1 offense. “It’s a lot of competition out there, a lot of good guys to go against,” Wicks said. “They always say iron sharpens iron, so going against them guys out there makes it easier for when you get in the game and going against some of the top players in the league. It gives you confidence. “It’s a real confidence boost doing it in practice and preparing for the games. We ain’t got a game till five weeks from here. We’re just trying to get better every day and stack the wins and stacking the chemistry. It’s always good to get some opportunities in practice and capitalizing on them. I think it gets you right and helps with that confidence and boosting that confidence for the games.” Player of the Day: Brandon McManus Kicker Brandon McManus turned 34 on Friday, and he celebrated with a superb display of field-goal kicking. The first 2-minute drive belonged to the No. 2s, which the defense won. The ball was moved forward to the defense’s 33-yard line for McManus to kick a 51-yard field goal, which he converted. After Jordan Love’s first 2-minute drive ended in a sack, the ball again was moved to the 33 for a 51-yard field goal. McManus kicked the ball and audibly reacted as if he had missed. The kick split the uprights, though. Next, Sean Clifford led the No. 3s into scoring position to set up McManus for a 33-yard field goal. After Jordan Love’s touchdown bomb to Wicks, McManus lined up for a 56-yard field goal. He made that one, too, with a few yards to spare. Next up was a field-goal period, with McManus converting from 40, 42 and 44 yards to run his training camp tally to 13-of-13. Packers Injury Updates New injuries: LG Aaron Banks (back), WR Savion Williams (concussion). “Just had a little back issue,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Banks. “Everything checked out all right. I would say it's going to be very day to day.” Old injuries: LB Quay Walker (ankle), receiver Christian Watson (knee), linebacker Collin Oliver (hamstring), running back Amar Johnson (hamstring) and offensive lineman John Williams (back) and center Elgton Jenkins (back). “My hopes are high, for sure,” Watson said. “Honestly, I’ve just been pushing as hard as I can and letting the training staff pull me back from doing stuff. But yeah, every time I’ve gotten to a new block, just getting through it really quick and feeling really good. I haven’t had any setbacks, so I’m just praying that continues.” Returning from injuries: Nobody. Packers Practice Highlights - On his first snap of the day, backup quarterback Malik Willis faked the handoff and ran to the right on a designed keeper. Picking up overpowering blocks by receiver Malik Heath and running back Chris Brooks, Heath sprinted to a significant gain. It will be interesting to see if the Packers have a package of plays for Willis. - On the next play, Willis completed a pass into the flat to Matthew Golden, though Brenton Cox might have had a sack in a live situation. - Speaking of Golden, a jet sweep didn’t go anywhere, due in part to Nate Hobbs’ work against the blockers, but an end-around did, as he took the handoff from Willis, turned on the jets and broke free up the left side. - Rookie seventh-round cornerback Micah Robinson had his first noteworthy play. Sean Clifford booted to his right and hit receiver Sam Brown, but Robinson was there instantly to limit the play to a minimal gain. - During the twos-vs.-twos 2-minute, Willis completed a pass to Mecole Hardman for 10 yards on the first play. After a 7-yard completion to Julian Hicks, Willis went deep to Hicks. Hicks might have gotten his feet tangled up with cornerback Carrington Valentine, who grabbed his second interception of the summer. - During the threes-vs.-threes 2-minute, Sean Clifford got the offense into scoring position. The big play came on the second snap, when Robinson was flagged for pass interference. The penalty was for 29 yards, which was where the ball landed and not where the penalty occurred. Regardless, completions to Cornelius Johnson and Sam Brown were stopped for short gains by Bo Melton and Jamon Johnson, respectively. On third-and-2, Clifford connected with Hicks for 8 yards and a first down to the 15 with 24 seconds remaining. The defense held, though. Clifford had to throw it away on first down and his deep corner route to tight end Ben Sims was caught just out of bounds. On third-and-10, rookie corner Tyron Herring dropped an interception in the end zone. Brandon McManus booted a 33-yard field goal. - Undrafted rookie safety Jonathan Baldwin had his first two noteworthy plays. Early in practice, he stopped a toss to running back Jalen White. Later, during a third-down period, he made a leaping pass breakup. - Keisean Nixon has had a superb start to camp. Romeo Doubs beat him for a sliding catch on a pass from Jordan Love; it was probably the only completion he’s allowed in three days. - For the second consecutive day, center Trey Hill was removed from the lineup for a moment because of a bad snap. - Practice ended with the offense facing second-and-11 (give or take) before a pre-scripted third-and-long. Love was 3-of-3 passing in this period. On third-and-9, Tucker Kraft took a short pass for a first down but Javon Bullard forced a fumble. Next, Love completed a checkdown to Josh Jacobs before hitting Kraft at the sideline on third-and-6 for the first down. Also in that period, Valentine broke up Malik Willis’ 50/50 ball to Matthew Golden on third-and-9, Baldwin broke up Sean Clifford’s pass to Hicks on third-and-8, Zayne Andeson dropped an interception on a pass to Golden on third-and-7 and Herring broke up Taylor Elgersma’s pass to Sam Brown on third-and-7. Added together, the defense won 5-of-6. Packers Lineup Notes - With Elgton Jenkins and Aaron Banks dealing with back injuries, Green Bay’s No. 1 line consisted of Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Jordan Morgan at left guard, Sean Rhyan at center, Jacob Monk at right guard and Zach Tom at right tackle. Monk played some center; Rhyan played some right guard. - The No. 2 line frequently was Anthony Belton at left tackle, Donovan Jennings at left guard, Trey Hill at center, Travis Glover at right guard and Kadeem Telfort at right tackle. - Through three days, the preferred secondary remains Nate Hobbs and Keisean Nixon at cornerback, Javon Bullard in the slot, and Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams at safety. - Kalen King, a seventh-round pick last year who spent all of his rookie season on the practice squad, did get a bit of time with the No. 1 defense as the slot mixed in with Nixon, Hobbs, McKinney and Williams. - Sticking with the secondary, this frequently was the No. 2 group: Carrington Valentine and Kamal Hadden at corner, King in the slot, and Zayne Anderson and Kitan Oladapo at safety. Packers Training Camp Schedule After Tuesday’s workouts and three consecutive days of practice, the players will not practice on Saturday. The Packers will get back to work on Sunday and Monday, with both practices starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday’s practice will be in full pads. Quote of the Day Friday marked Mark Murphy’s final practice as team president and CEO. The moment practice ended, Murphy walked off the field, just as he’d done hundreds of times during his tenure. As he reached Armed Forces Drive, he was surrounded by fans saying thank you, good-bye and asking for autographs. What sticks out about Murphy to coach Matt LaFleur? “For me personally, just the opportunity, and the support that he's given us to allow us to do not only our job, but look at all the resources that the organization has invested back into this team. It's pretty incredible. I've never been a part of anything like this. I mean, the facilities are first class. I would say, how we travel, how we just conduct and operate on a daily basis, has been nothing short of first class.”