Basketball Intelligence For 7/30/25
The day's best basketball news and reporting.
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
‘It’s a sigh of relief’: Chris Paul’s return to Los Angeles more than a Clippers reunion
Marc J. Spears, Andscape
WNBA
Veronica Burton
Chris Gunther, Charting Hoops
She is posting an assist percentage of 33%, meaning when she is on the floor a full one-third of the field goals made by her teammates come off her passes. That is third best in the entire league,⁵ only behind Alyssa Thomas (an MVP candidate) and Courtney Williams (who has the advantage of passing to the MVP front runner, Napheesa Collier). In absolute terms, that works out to 5.3 assists per game or 9.6 per 100 possessions, which is fourth in the W. And that’s despite passing to teammates who collectively score the fourth least points per game on the second-to-last FG% and 3P%. Surround her with better catch-and-shoot players, and her assist numbers will only go up.
The Stop and Pop: Weekly Update July 23rd-July 29th
Jarrett L. Spence, The Stop And Pop
Game 25 wrap: (no spoilers in title for early games)
Eric Apricot, Valkyrie Nation
The Ever Growing Legend of Allisha Gray
Chaunte’l Powell, No Cap Space
Can Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier have it all?
Kendra Andrews, ESPN
WNBA Power Rankings: Sparks, Valkyries headed in opposite directions
Michael Voepel, ESPN
How masked veteran Tiffany Hayes has breathed life into the Valkyries’ inaugural season
Marcus Thompson II, The Athletic
TEAM NEWS
ATL: Expectations keep building in Atlanta with national media buzz
Sam Allred, Soaring Down South
ATL: A strange new feeling in Atlanta
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
BOS: Celtics Summer League Playbook: Chest Actions
Adam Taylor, The Celtics Chronicle
BOS: Celtics move quickly to sign several Summer League standouts
Bobby Krivitsky, Hardwood Houdini
BKN: What I’m hearing about Cam Thomas’ restricted free agency with the Nets
Fred Katz, The Athletic
The one consistency in responses for the 23-year-old Thomas was short-term contracts. For instance, compare his results to those of Grimes. People in this poll were more willing to give Thomas a higher average annual value ($16.7 million for Thomas compared to $14.7 million for Grimes), but they were more comfortable handing Grimes total money ($47.7 million guaranteed for Grimes compared to $42.7 million guaranteed for Thomas).
BKN: Nets' Egor Demin still has question marks after solid summer league
Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire
CLE: Darius Garland’s absence forces Cavs’ rotation puzzle: Who will start at point guard on opening night?
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com
DEN: Cam Johnson will help take Nuggets' offense to a different level
Ben Handler, Nugg Love
NYK: 25 for 25: A Trio of Point Guards
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School
OKC: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander report card: OKC Thunder guard turned in all-time season
Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman
OKC: Evaluating the OKC Thunder's Offseason
Michael Stamps, SI.com