Basketball Intelligence For 7/12/25

The day's best news and reporting.

THE BASKETBALL INTELLIGENCE NETWORK

WNBA

Game 20: Golden State Valkyries at Las Vegas Aces, 1:00 PM PDT.
Eric Apricot, Valkyrie Nation

What Caitlin Clark learned from Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson on the path to stardom
Elise Devlin, The Athletic

Tracking WNBA MVP race, awards: Who are the front-runners?
ESPN

WNBA MVP Power Rankings 2025: A new candidate enters
Emmy Spersud, Fansided

Storm Earn Bounce Back 79-65 Win
Jeff Brown, Storm Chaser WNBA Journal

What is the WNBA's season midpoint, why does it matter, and what might happen before we hit it?
Richard Cohen, Her Hoops Stats

TEAM NEWS

BOS: Hugo Gonzalez showcased what mattered most in Celtics' Summer League debut
Bobby Krivitsky, Hardwood Houdini

BOS: Jordan Walsh steps up for Celtics, top pick Hugo Gonzalez impressive, and other thoughts on Las Vegas Summer League opening win vs. Grizzlies
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe

BKN: Egor Demin already knows he won’t be only a traditional point guard for Nets
Brain Lewis, New York Post

CHI: Noa Essengue shows more lows than highs in Chicago Bulls summer league debut: ‘I need to improve everything’
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune

DAL: Uneven performance aside, Cooper Flagg’s NBA debut showed he has the ‘it’ factor
David Aldridge, The Athletic

GSW: Unlike last year, Warriors bring a green group to Las Vegas and get smoked in opener
Sam Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle

Last year’s summer league Warriors were led (at first) by Podziemski and Jackson-Davis a few months following rookie seasons in which they both played sizable roles. After shutdowns amid satisfactory showings, Knox (a former lottery pick with six seasons of NBA experience), then-two-way signee Pat Spencer and Rowe would lead.

This year’s group lacks such experience — Podziemski and Jackson-Davis finished last season as starters while Knox and Spencer garnered standard contracts and Rowe earned a two-way from Santa Cruz — as only Rowe and Isaiah Mobley (one game) among rostered summer leaguers played last year in the NBA.

HOU: Rockets’ Reed Sheppard ‘getting better and better every day’ with prominent summer league role
Kelly Iko, The Athletic

IND: Myles Turner bids farewell to Pacers and fans after 10 seasons in Indianapolis
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files With Scott Agness

IND: On Isaiah Jackson picking up where he limped off
Caitlin Cooper, Basketball, She Wrote

LAC: Despite injury, Kobe Brown showcases his potential for Clippers in Summer League win
Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times

LAL: 3 Lakers Summer League sleepers who could actually make the roster
Ian Levy, Fansided

Remaining Team News and Leaguewide for paid subscribers