Category Archives: Portland Trail Blazers

‘One of a kind’ NBA champion and broadcaster Bill Walton dies at 71

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  • Center won championships with Portland and Boston
  • Walton became a popular broadcaster after playing career

Hall of fame basketball star and two-time NBA champion Bill Walton has died of cancer at the age of 71, the NBA announced on Monday.

“Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.”

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NBA joined by MLB teams in boycott to protest police shooting of Jacob Blake

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  • Bucks’ home of Milwaukee is close to site of shooting
  • George Hill says team is ‘tired of killings and injustice’
  • MLB and WNBA teams also boycott in solidarity

On an extraordinary day for the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, leading the NBA to reschedule all other Wednesday night playoff games.

Milwaukee’s baseball team, the Brewers, also confirmed they would not play their game scheduled for Wednesday evening.

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US senator asks Canada to protect Erdoğan critic Kanter during NBA finals

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  • Trail Blazers player is an opponent of Turkish president
  • Blazers could travel to play Toronto Raptors in finals

The NBA playoffs have been swept up in diplomatic drama, with US senator Ron Wyden expressing concern for the safety of Portland Trail Blazers player Enes Kanter if his team play the Toronto Raptors in the NBA finals.

Kanter is a fierce critic of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling him the “Hitler of our Century”. The Turkish authorities in turn have accused Kanter of having links with an armed group behind a failed coup in the country in 2016. Last year, Kanter missed a trip to London with his then team the New York Knicks, saying he feared he could be “killed by Turkish spies”.

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