Former All-Star Joakim Noah Talks NBA Africa, Community Initiatives in Chicago and Fatherhood

Standing at the top of Powder Mountain in Utah on a Tuesday afternoon in mid-March, Joakim Noah is calling in for our scheduled Zoom interview while on a family vacation with his kids during spring break. You can see the ski goggles resting on his forehead, as he adjusts the phone in front of him while the sun beams in the background. He’ll only have his camera on for a little while before he opts to go off-camera, as he finds himself on the move. He’s so gracious that he happily puts his family vacation on hold for a few minutes just to hop on a call with us, as we rushed to send our latest issue to printers.

Even when he turns his camera off, and despite being in the middle of a vacation, you can hear the passion in Noah’s voice when he begins to excitedly talk about the different community initiatives he’s currently working on, whether in Chicago or in Africa. It’s been years since he’s hooped on an NBA court, but the enthusiasm the former NBA All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year was always known for remains intact.

SLAM: Are there any new passions or hobbies that you’ve found during retirement that maybe you did not discover during your playing years, or just didn’t have the time to dedicate to while in the NBA?

Joakim Noah: Well, I’m not gonna lie to you, I’m on the top of a mountain right now overlooking—I’m on a ski slope right now. I just did three hours of skiing with my kids. My nephew just came for the first time from Maui. It’s his first time seeing snow. When you’re playing basketball in the NBA, you’re not allowed to do things like [skiing]. You don’t want to put yourself in a position to get hurt. So, I’ve been picking up skiing, that’s a good one. And just being able to travel and take time and not being rushed into getting back in playing shape. It’s a different kind of training. [Now] you train for health. Training for health and training for championships are two completely different things. I think that my nervous system appreciates it.

SLAM: Where’s your skiing skill level?

JN: Skill level, I would say I’m not comfortable going down heavy duty stuff. I’m not going down any black slopes. Or even blue slopes. I’m very comfortable staying in the green. You know, that’s seven feet, 260 pounds going down the slope. That’s a different animal.

SLAM: What new business endeavors have you been getting into?

JN: Being able to be an investor in the NBA Africa league, the BAL, has been a real blessing, because I’ve been able to travel all around the continent and just really learn from the best in the business with [President of the Basketball Africa League] Amadou Gallo Fall and [NBA Deputy Commissioner] Mark Tatum. You know, taking a leadership role in NBA Africa, and just really starting from scratch on the continent, and just watching this league flourish. We just came back from South Africa. It was packed, it’s a different energy. And we’re just getting started on something that I’m really excited about.

SLAM: What is your ultimate goal with the BAL? Where do you see it in 10 years?

JN: My ultimate goal is when you see African kids, like, doing a tween-tween hesi, then you know that we did something right. You haven’t really seen the African kids do the hesi-hesi yet, and that’s coming!

SLAM: It sounds like there’s a lot of untapped basketball potential in Africa, plus also a business model structure to enable the league to flourish.

JN: There’s definitely a business model structure. But the continent is 54 different countries and the fastest growing youth population in the world. So, the math adds up. But it’s also understanding that when you’re playing in systems in America, you get to play in a beautiful gym, you have your school’s high school rival, you have your little girlfriend that’s coming to watch you play, mom and dad are coming to watch you play. Like, these are all things that places around the world don’t have. So, the problem with Africa is the lack of—this isn’t a sport that’s part of African culture. So, it’s really starting from scratch. And understanding that the issues are lack of infrastructure and lack of basketball education, even when it comes to refereeing, when it comes to coaching.

A lot of people are putting in the time and making long trips and teaching, [running] basketball and coaching clinics, clinics for the referees. Just to see how far the growth has come in the last five years is just astounding, but we still have a lot of work to do.

SLAM: How did you end up connecting with the BAL?

JN: I think, for me, it was having a relationship with the president of the BAL, Amadou Gallo Fall, who was a dear friend of mine throughout my career. Even though he was the guy who was a scout for the Dallas Mavericks, [and] I never played with the Mavericks, [he] was just somebody that I always connected with. And I think that that’s something that I realize now that I’m done playing. You realize that when basketball is over with, all you have in the end is just your relationships and your memories. So, I think that’s just important to sometimes [remember], there’s so much money involved, and it’s so easy to get caught up in the business. Just make sure that you go out on your terms, and that you make solid, solid relationships and solid bonds.

SLAM: Are there some non-basketball endeavors that you’re into that you might want to put on people’s radars?

JN: I think that most of the work that I’m doing right now is basketball-oriented. The other endeavor that I’m really excited about is this One City Basketball League that we created in Chicago. We’re working with 28 violence prevention groups all around the city and having at-risk youth playing basketball against each other, getting state funding and being able to build a basketball league that’s much bigger than basketball. We have financial literacy courses, job education, job training, and all this. Things are moving fast. I’m really excited with the development of our One City Basketball League. We’re doing special things. We’re really hoping to be able to grow it in other cities, and hopefully other guys around the League get inspired and want to do things in their neighborhoods. I really feel like the future of this league can be a national program. I think that’s very important in our communities in America.

SLAM: You mentioned fatherhood earlier. How has fatherhood changed you as a person after retirement? What is Joakim Noah, the father, like these days and what have you learned from your kids?

JN: It’s teaching me that it’s not about me, ever, especially when the kids are around you. When you’re playing, sometimes you feel like it’s about you, and the lights are on you. But my kids, I can be watching my favorite show on TV, and they’ll turn that right off [and] put on Moana. They don’t care.

SLAM: What do you think about the current state of basketball? What are some trends or things you like about the game today? And what are some things that you feel could be improved upon?

JN: Well, I think that the game is definitely more skilled. I think one through 15, even the guys who are just coming into the game, are just so good at basketball. I think that, obviously, the spacing is different. A lot of people are putting an emphasis on [saying that] there’s no defense and stuff like that, but I don’t think it’s the players’ fault. I think it’s just the way that the game is ref’d, the way that the game is, it’s completely different. They’re not letting you have any contact with guys. The game is a lot softer because that’s just the way the game is called. It’s just less physical. And I think it’s just putting a lot of pressure on the defense when you can’t use your hands, these are all things that were part of the game even 10 years ago that they’re not letting guys do anymore. So, I don’t think it’s a question of guys not wanting to play defense. I think it’s just the way it is officiated.

SLAM: Is there one thing you didn’t get a chance to do or try, or maybe you just were
apprehensive about, during your playing days that you look back on now and regret not doing?

JN: I think that my mind would say that I wish that I had developed a three-point shot. I think that would have definitely helped. But, you know, at the time, I was a rolling big—you set screens and you roll, and that was my role. That’s just the way the game was played. And what I tell the young guys all the time is, it’s about being as effective as possible and trying to affect winning. And when your mindset is trying to score points for yourself, I think that takes away from the ultimate goal, which is to win the ball game. I don’t really talk about Xs and Os too much, I don’t talk about technique, because that was never my strength. My strength was always being as available as possible for my teammates and being a good teammate, and doing whatever it takes to help win a basketball game.


Photo via Getty Images.

The post Former All-Star Joakim Noah Talks NBA Africa, Community Initiatives in Chicago and Fatherhood appeared first on SLAM.

The Undeniable Realness of Jimmy Butler: Heat Star Talks Leadership, Staying True and the Playoffs

Shot on location at ZZ’s Club, Miami

Jimmy Butler is everywhere these days.

There he is at the US Open, serving as an honorary ball boy for an exhibition match between Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe. There he is in the new music video for Fall Out Boy’s “So Much (For) Stardust,” sporting his now-legendary “Emo Jimmy” look. There he is in ads for Hulu, Alo, State Farm and Hotels.com. There he is sampling products for BIGFACE, his budding coffee brand, and at the first-ever Reserve Cup, a padel competition that he helped bring to Miami. There he is at the Kaseya Center, soaring for lobs and knocking down threes.

And here he is at ZZ’s Club Miami, singing and dancing along to Lloyd’s “You,” breathing energy into the club’s swanky sports bar. He is, after all, five cups of coffee in, and it’s just 2:30 p.m. (he drinks 10-12 cups a day, by the way). A wide-ranging playlist booms through a handheld speaker—everything from “Let Me Love You” by Mario to “Jamming” by Bob Marley & the Wailers to “Loop Hole” by Tee Grizzley featuring 21 Savage. In between posing for photos, the Heat star snacks on sushi and sips an old fashioned.

Welcome to Jimmy Butler’s SLAM cover shoot, and welcome, more broadly, to his ever-growing universe, where you’re invited—err, encouraged—to be your authentic self at all times. To follow whatever passions you may have.

SLAM 249 featuring Jimmy Butler is available now. Shop here.

Butler is a man of many interests: coffee, wine, country music, tennis, padel, soccer (which he calls football), dominoes, spades, UNO, traveling—the list goes on. He is always up to something, always surrounded by family and friends. His house in Miami doesn’t even have TVs. Instead of binge-watching shows, Butler does things like chase tennis balls around Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, NY, because, well, it’s fun and he felt like doing it. He is currently working on his own country album; right now, it features 62 songs (!) and Butler, who has played a DJ Khaled-like role, is debating whether to hop on one.

“He loves to get into a whole bunch of stuff that you wouldn’t think he would enjoy doing,” says Butler’s teammate Caleb Martin. “He’s just super active, man, whether he’s doing something on an off day or meeting up with certain types of artists or playing dominoes or going to tennis matches. He’s definitely a dude full of surprises.”

Surprises like…starring in that aforementioned Fall Out Boy video in an all-purple cowboy outfit. 

“Anything to shake up anything on the internet and continually be myself, be happy and love my life and what I’m doing, I’m down,” Butler says. The video was shot over All-Star break and it dropped less than two weeks later. And yes, it shook up the internet.

Butler strikes a difficult balance: he doesn’t take life too seriously, but he is also extremely competitive. He cracks jokes, but often leaves people wondering…was that really a joke? 

“Don’t be fooled because you see me on TV or a commercial or a billboard, I do a lot of the same stuff y’all do,” he says, before adding with a grin, “I’m probably just better at it than all y’all…but I can’t help that.”

The truth (and irony) is, Butler engages in many extracurricular activities, such as tennis and songwriting, “to humble” himself. He wants to experience firsthand the challenges of other professions. Of course, he is also certain that if he keeps working at something, he will excel at it. He has a burning desire to be the best at everything he does. 

To win at everything he does. 

Take spades, for example. The Heat like to play on the team plane during long road trips. “When I say he does not lose, he does not lose,” forward Jamal Cain says. “Me and Haywood Highsmith beat him once and he was kind of shitty after that. I kind of saw it in his face. He’s very competitive. He does not like to lose.”

Or take dominoes, which might be the game Jimmy is best at (including the one he’s famous for). “He’s a top-five, top-10 dominoes player in the world,” claims Chris Brickley, Butler’s trainer. “I know this because he and [Colombian singer] J Balvin have flown in the top dominoes players in the world, like, world champions. And he’s beat them.”

“That’s some Jimmy shit,” Martin remarks with a laugh. He and his twin brother, Cody, are a rare duo that have actually beat Jimmy in dominoes. “And we ain’t played since,” Martin says. “On and off the court, he doesn’t like to lose. He’s ducking me, for sure. Ever since we played him, he tells me and my brother, ‘Y’all are The Funky Brothers.’ Me and Cody play funky, so it messes him up.”

Butler brings that same competitive mindset to his brand, BIGFACE, which he is very dedicated to building. Along with the BIGFACE team, he has visited Colombia and Ecuador on a quest to find the best coffee. He is even trying to master latte art and how to make the perfect cappuccino. 

“People can see this on the court as well—his dedication to something and to knowing everything there is to know about it translates from basketball to coffee,” says Britt Berg, Chief Operating Officer at BIGFACE. She and Butler text about coffee almost every day. 

BIGFACE is set to open its first brick-and-mortar shop in Miami later this year, a milestone that Jimmy is eagerly awaiting. “When I’m not practicing, when I’m not with my kids, when I’m not in a game, I can tell you where I’m gonna be, and that’s in this coffee shop, meeting all the fans of myself and of coffee,” he says. “Because I do love coffee, I do want to bring the best coffee to Miami. I don’t think there’s a spot like that here yet, and I want the first BIGFACE café to be that, so that’s where I’m gonna be. And we need that. Miami needs that…along with a championship!”

Ah, yes. We should probably talk a bit about basketball. It’s mid-March when we shoot this cover—or, as Butler calls it, “that time.”

Allow him to elaborate: “It’s the time where people really gotta think about going up against the Miami Heat and myself. I know what I’m capable of. I know what my squad is capable of. And don’t nobody want to see us in a seven-game series anyways. We know that.”

We do.

Miami finished eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 46-36 record. But, then again, the Heat entered last year’s playoffs as the No. 8 seed before going on an epic run to the Finals. In 2019-20, the League’s bubble season, Miami reached the Finals as the No. 5 seed.

“Nobody can tell you anything right now,” Jimmy says. “There are three things that you gotta have in order to win a championship: you’ve gotta be playing your best basketball at the right time, you gotta be healthy, and you gotta be lucky. That’s just the way that it is. So can’t nobody tell right now who’s going to have all three of those things.”

Butler quietly had another stellar year, posting 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game and shooting a career-high 41.4 percent from behind the arc. Don’t expect him to be launching more threes in the postseason, though. “I just don’t like shooting threes because I want to run into you,” he says. “I want to hit somebody. You can’t hit nobody if you shoot threes. I want to see who’s going to quit first. I’m gonna keep running in there, I’m gonna hit you, and I’m gonna hit you again, and I’m gonna hit you again, and we’re gonna see who’s gonna quit.”

That sounds like something the fabled and fearless “Playoff Jimmy” would say, doesn’t it? Only thing is, Butler continues to deny that Playoff Jimmy exists. 

“That’s not a thing for the hundredth time,” he insists. “Playoff Jimmy is not a thing. Emo Jimmy, thing. Football Jimmy, thing. Tennis Jimmy, thing. Daddy Jimmy, thing. Zaddy Jimmy, thing. But Playoff Jimmy, not so much.”

OK, fair enough. But worth noting: over a four-season stretch, Butler has led Miami to the Eastern Conference Finals three times and to the Finals twice, averaging 24.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals through 64 playoff games. During the 2020 Finals, he registered two triple-doubles, including just the third 40-point triple-double in Finals history. In Game 6 of the 2022 ECF, he hung 47 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals on the Celtics to force a Game 7 (one of four 40-plus-point performances he had that postseason). He set a franchise playoff record with 56 points in Game 4 of last season’s first-round series against the top-seeded Bucks, then followed it up with 42 points in Game 5 as his team pulled off one of the biggest upsets ever. 

Butler will admit that things “ramp up a notch” this time of year. Amid the last few weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs, he and Brickley start working out the night before every single game. They study the defense Miami is about to face and try to replicate the exact situations Butler will find himself in. What spots on the floor will be open? What shots will be available? What switches might occur? Butler’s basketball IQ is “probably the highest IQ out of any player I’ve worked with,” says Brickley.

Martin, who has been with the Heat since 2021, notices a “mental shift” in Jimmy as the playoffs loom. “I think him having the experience of going through this phase so many times, he knows how to time stuff up with his body, and then [there’s] the mental part of it, too, him just being so steady mentally,” Martin explains. “He’s very strategic. He knows when it’s time to ramp up. He knows what games probably hurt more than others or whatever the case is. Everything he does, he thinks about.”

The added reps in the gym help, as does Butler’s very calculated approach. But if there’s one reason to believe Playoff Jimmy is real, and that other teams should fear his impending arrival, it’s this: Jimmy Butler is fully confident in who he is and what he’s capable of. There’s a comfort in that, a peace. Any feelings of self-doubt and pressure are gone. He doesn’t care one bit what others think about him—what others predict he and his team will or won’t do.

That type of confidence has a way of rubbing off on the people around him: friends, colleagues, teammates. 

“When you have a leader like that, it gives you a sense of confidence in your abilities and what you’re doing,” says Berg.

“The first thing I noticed with Jimmy, he’s very comfortable being in his skin. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him,” Cain adds. “Seeing how he carried himself and how confident and comfortable he was in his skin only made me more comfortable being who I am.”

Cain remembers one game day when he and other members of the Heat huddled up to pray before taking the court, as was their ritual, and requested that Jimmy turn down the music he was blasting. “Y’all need to be praying to me!” Butler responded. “He said it in a joking manner, but just the fact that that was the first thing on his mind, I was like, Wow, this is Jimmy in a nutshell,” Cain recalls with a chuckle.

It’s no coincidence that Butler describes the Heat as being “overly confident in a good way.” In large part, that identity stems from him. Despite the ups and downs of the regular season, Butler has no doubt that his team has what it takes to make another deep playoff run. 

Why? 

“We just have a different way of going about things,” he says. “Our coaching staff cares and they’re constantly studying how we can make everybody on our roster stick to their strong suits and stay away from the weak points of their games. Ownership cares—they’re at every practice, they’re on the plane. We’re talking to one another. We really fuck with one another, which is a good thing. And, um…” 

He pauses for a moment and flashes a sly smile. 

“I’m on the team. So, I’m taking my chances every time.” 


Portraits by Alex Subers

The post The Undeniable Realness of Jimmy Butler: Heat Star Talks Leadership, Staying True and the Playoffs appeared first on SLAM.

The Reunion of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo

We were all moving kinda slowly. There were some friends of friends who’d heard we were bringing Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo to this gym in Connecticut. A small group of people popped up asking for photos and for autographs. The guys were cool about it. They smiled, they listened, they signed. There was no real sense of urgency, which was fine with us. Comfortability is a big key to what we do. We like when players are feeling free. It was Donte who first made the move to switch into his uniform. He broke from the group of people to ask about a bathroom. All of a sudden, Jalen was by his side, grabbing Donte’s jersey from the chair it was hanging on. Jalen quickly took off his shirt and threw on his teammate’s jersey. He made his way back to the group, laughing alongside everyone else when they realized what was happening. That’s when we realized what was happening. 

These guys are friends. 

Sounds obvious, right? For sure. Easy to acknowledge it sounds obvious. But SLAM is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We’ve been around NBA players for a while now. We’ve seen that a ton of them are colleagues, not friends. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. These guys spend months on the road together. Their team responsibilities pull them away from their families. So most players keep it cordial with each other, but in the same way that you leave your work environment, they do, too. 

We’re not here to burst any bubbles. You should still believe in Santa Claus. Hell, hopefully one day the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot finally emerge. But we regret to inform you that most NBA players don’t kick it with each other outside of practice, even if they make it seem so when they’re in public. 

That’s why the genuine laughter of this trio, all three of them former Villanova Wildcats, was a much welcomed surprise. They seem to be friends off the court. There’s a ton of history between them, which we will get into. But you just never know what’s for the internet and what’s for real. 

SLAM 249 featuring the Knicks is available now. Get your copy here.

Josh pulled up first. He was early. He and one of his agency reps sat in the corner of the gym, with windows displaying the amazing manicured lawns outside the gym. It was the first day of March and the sun was reminding us it existed after a long winter. Finely-kept evergreen trees couldn’t block the natural light, so Josh, with his perfect braids and fresh white Ralphie tee, was illuminated. 

He deserves some of the spotlight. He’s the one who does the dirty work for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. Deflections, switches, backside call-outs all fall under his list of responsibilities. He also plays a lot of minutes. Like, a lot. As we go to press, he’s averaging 41 minutes a game over his last 22 contests. He even played the entire 48 against the Golden State Warriors on March 18. Hart’s role increased when the Knicks suffered injuries to two of their best players; he was called on to essentially be a 6-4 power forward. He has to get bruised up down low, fly around on rotations, jet back down to the paint and then grab rebounds. Over that same 22-game stretch, he pulled down an average of 11.3 boards a contest, way up from his career average of 6.5. Recently, his rebounding numbers have been major. In a stretch from late February to mid-March, he’s had one game of 18 rebounds and two with 19. And to make those two 19-board moments even more impressive, they were both part of triple-double performances. Triple-doubles are portraits of desire and technique—they require reading the game on a serious level. Hart has had five triple-doubles in his seven-year career. They’ve all happened in this current season. 

Hart’s a serious competitor on the court, which, according to Brunson, is the only time he’s ever serious at all. The two were roommates at Villanova and know each other very, very well. For example, Hart knows that Brunson’s favorite childhood player was Steve Nash. Brunson can counter that knowledge by adding that Mike and Ike is Hart’s favorite candy. Brunson, who was named an All-Star this season, says plainly that besides being about his business in basketball, Hart loves to joke around. There’s no arguing from Hart. In fact, Brunson and Hart only communicate in one way throughout the entire shoot.  

Brunson and DiVincenzo arrived together at the gym in Connecticut. It was starting to get dark when they walked in. No more individual spotlight on Hart. Instead, the three of them were the center of attention. Right from the jump, Brunson and Hart speak to each other through veiled inside jokes and outright insults. Sly smiles followed everything they said. Whenever Hart did or said something ridiculous, Brunson would look around helplessly, praying somebody else noticed the insanity. DiVincenzo, the youngest of the trio, consistently cracked up with laughter no matter what. 

DiVincenzo has had a winding road since making it to the League in 2018. The Bucks picked him 17th overall, but he didn’t get a ton of burn in that first season. To go from the height of winning the 2018 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player to only appearing in 27 games (a nagging heel injury can be blamed, too) is a fall off that would take the heart of most. That speed bump, however, gave us the first look at DiVincenzo’s resiliency. He came back the next season, played 66 games and averaged 9.2 ppg. The following season, he started every game he appeared in and upped his points average yet again. He would have been a huge part of the Bucks’ NBA Finals-winning group if not for an ankle injury that needed to be surgically repaired. 

Still, he has a ring. 

The Bucks traded him to the Kings in February ’22, where he suited up in only 25 games for then-coach Alvin Gentry. His next stop, the Warriors, reminded the NBA of how he plays when healthy. More resiliency. After fighting back from injury, he showed that he can run the 1 or play the 2. The Dubs had him dishing the ball to their Hall of Fame shooting duo. They had him filling the slots on cuts. He was one of the very few guards in the NBA allowed to crash the offensive glass (in this age of otherworldly athleticism and aerial acrobats, most teams prefer to send guys back for transition defense). When given the opportunity, he showed the ability to create his own shot off the bounce. 

He’s doing all of that now for the Knicks. This season, his three ball goes down nearly 40 percent of the time, above the League average. He has four games of more than 30 points this year, too. He had never had a 30-point game in his NBA career before this season. In his last 21 games, he’s going for 20.8 per. Big jump. Big, big jump. 

As most basketball players know, being on the same team as your friends usually increases production. There’s a foundational layer of trust that underlies everything when hooping with the bros. A portion of the stresses that come from playing with strangers get replaced by the fun of running around with your boys. Taking crazy shots or throwing stupid passes are usually followed by choice words from teammates. But sometimes those bad shots or wild passes result in strokes of genius. Genius is more likely to happen with brothers than it is with strangers, when people trust in those choices, when you really know the guy who has something to say after those shots and passes. And defensively, that trust shows up in the form of big rotational swings—a gamble in the passing lane getting covered by that dude who really enjoys Mike and Ike. 

Playing alongside friends is a treat. Winning alongside friends is a special privilege from the basketball heavens. 

These guys won together on the biggest collegiate stage. 

Hart was a junior by the time DiVincenzo and Brunson got to Nova. Though DiVincenzo didn’t play much in that 2015-16 season, Hart and Brunson were two of the Wildcats’ leaders. Along with Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono, they guided the Wildcats to the 2016 national championship. They conquered close games, raced back from big deficits and survived the gauntlet together. Together is the key here. 

It’s a fact that the bonds we as humans form get deepened by stressful environments and heightened situations. When you’re 18-21 years old and the entire nation is watching your every step, giving you all their opinions, placing their hopes on your shoulders, that’s a stressful environment and a heightened situation. 

Then when Hart was playing for the Lakers in 2018, Brunson and DiVincenzo won the natty again. More stressful environments and heightened situations. 

So, of course these guys are actually friends. Their bond began in college, where young minds are shaped and formed without nationally-televised basketball games. Add in the games on TV, the thousands of screaming fans, the legacy of a Hall of Fame coach and that would’ve made for a deeper bond together. Now fast forward a few years and add the layer of Madison Square Garden, the generations-deep Knicks fandom and the pressure of possibly playing in May or June…that’s a lifelong bond. 

The three of them hit the bathroom together to change into their uniforms at our shoot. When they come back to the gym, Brunson’s no longer wearing DiVincenzo’s jersey. But they’re all still laughing. And they continue laughing. Hart is the ringleader. Brunson is the seemingly-innocent-but-actually- devilish instigator. And DiVincenzo uncontrollably laughs at it all. 

None of this happens without Brunson, by the way. He’s the All-Star, he’s the Knicks’ best player. He’s their floor general. He’s their clutch scorer. He’s the heartbeat of the Garden. All the numbers point to this being his best season yet. Those numbers actually become redundant because they all make it clear that he’s an elite player. One number, however, sums it up. Five

He’s fifth in the NBA in scoring, as of this writing. 

Nobody thought that the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 Draft would one day lead the Knicks’ franchise revival, be an All-Star or be near the top of the League in scoring. But the game is easy when playing with friends. 

Especially with friends who love to compete. All three of these guys are physical. They hustle hard. Hart hits the glass, DiVincenzo recovers from injury after injury and Brunson goes down into the land of trees despite his height. They relish the big moments. They love the challenge. It’s obvious they love playing together because they play together

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke about them after a big road win over the Golden State Warriors in March.

“Josh’s role expanded,” Thibs said at his postgame press conference. “Donte’s role expanded. And Jalen just keeps rolling. It’s a team, and that’s what we prioritize. We want guys to sacrifice and put the team first, but there has to be that belief. I think when your best players have that belief, then your entire team ends up having that belief.”

Even when they’re making fun of each other and laughing at each other, they do it together. After about an hour in front of our cameras in that Connecticut gym, they leave, together. 


Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The Reunion of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo

We were all moving kinda slowly. There were some friends of friends who’d heard we were bringing Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo to this gym in Connecticut. A small group of people popped up asking for photos and for autographs. The guys were cool about it. They smiled, they listened, they signed. There was no real sense of urgency, which was fine with us. Comfortability is a big key to what we do. We like when players are feeling free. It was Donte who first made the move to switch into his uniform. He broke from the group of people to ask about a bathroom. All of a sudden, Jalen was by his side, grabbing Donte’s jersey from the chair it was hanging on. Jalen quickly took off his shirt and threw on his teammate’s jersey. He made his way back to the group, laughing alongside everyone else when they realized what was happening. That’s when we realized what was happening. 

These guys are friends. 

Sounds obvious, right? For sure. Easy to acknowledge it sounds obvious. But SLAM is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We’ve been around NBA players for a while now. We’ve seen that a ton of them are colleagues, not friends. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. These guys spend months on the road together. Their team responsibilities pull them away from their families. So most players keep it cordial with each other, but in the same way that you leave your work environment, they do, too. 

We’re not here to burst any bubbles. You should still believe in Santa Claus. Hell, hopefully one day the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot finally emerge. But we regret to inform you that most NBA players don’t kick it with each other outside of practice, even if they make it seem so when they’re in public. 

That’s why the genuine laughter of this trio, all three of them former Villanova Wildcats, was a much welcomed surprise. They seem to be friends off the court. There’s a ton of history between them, which we will get into. But you just never know what’s for the internet and what’s for real. 

SLAM 249 featuring the Knicks is available now. Get your copy here.

Josh pulled up first. He was early. He and one of his agency reps sat in the corner of the gym, with windows displaying the amazing manicured lawns outside the gym. It was the first day of March and the sun was reminding us it existed after a long winter. Finely-kept evergreen trees couldn’t block the natural light, so Josh, with his perfect braids and fresh white Ralphie tee, was illuminated. 

He deserves some of the spotlight. He’s the one who does the dirty work for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. Deflections, switches, backside call-outs all fall under his list of responsibilities. He also plays a lot of minutes. Like, a lot. As we go to press, he’s averaging 41 minutes a game over his last 22 contests. He even played the entire 48 against the Golden State Warriors on March 18. Hart’s role increased when the Knicks suffered injuries to two of their best players; he was called on to essentially be a 6-4 power forward. He has to get bruised up down low, fly around on rotations, jet back down to the paint and then grab rebounds. Over that same 22-game stretch, he pulled down an average of 11.3 boards a contest, way up from his career average of 6.5. Recently, his rebounding numbers have been major. In a stretch from late February to mid-March, he’s had one game of 18 rebounds and two with 19. And to make those two 19-board moments even more impressive, they were both part of triple-double performances. Triple-doubles are portraits of desire and technique—they require reading the game on a serious level. Hart has had five triple-doubles in his seven-year career. They’ve all happened in this current season. 

Hart’s a serious competitor on the court, which, according to Brunson, is the only time he’s ever serious at all. The two were roommates at Villanova and know each other very, very well. For example, Hart knows that Brunson’s favorite childhood player was Steve Nash. Brunson can counter that knowledge by adding that Mike and Ike is Hart’s favorite candy. Brunson, who was named an All-Star this season, says plainly that besides being about his business in basketball, Hart loves to joke around. There’s no arguing from Hart. In fact, Brunson and Hart only communicate in one way throughout the entire shoot.  

Brunson and DiVincenzo arrived together at the gym in Connecticut. It was starting to get dark when they walked in. No more individual spotlight on Hart. Instead, the three of them were the center of attention. Right from the jump, Brunson and Hart speak to each other through veiled inside jokes and outright insults. Sly smiles followed everything they said. Whenever Hart did or said something ridiculous, Brunson would look around helplessly, praying somebody else noticed the insanity. DiVincenzo, the youngest of the trio, consistently cracked up with laughter no matter what. 

DiVincenzo has had a winding road since making it to the League in 2018. The Bucks picked him 17th overall, but he didn’t get a ton of burn in that first season. To go from the height of winning the 2018 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player to only appearing in 27 games (a nagging heel injury can be blamed, too) is a fall off that would take the heart of most. That speed bump, however, gave us the first look at DiVincenzo’s resiliency. He came back the next season, played 66 games and averaged 9.2 ppg. The following season, he started every game he appeared in and upped his points average yet again. He would have been a huge part of the Bucks’ NBA Finals-winning group if not for an ankle injury that needed to be surgically repaired. 

Still, he has a ring. 

The Bucks traded him to the Kings in February ’22, where he suited up in only 25 games for then-coach Alvin Gentry. His next stop, the Warriors, reminded the NBA of how he plays when healthy. More resiliency. After fighting back from injury, he showed that he can run the 1 or play the 2. The Dubs had him dishing the ball to their Hall of Fame shooting duo. They had him filling the slots on cuts. He was one of the very few guards in the NBA allowed to crash the offensive glass (in this age of otherworldly athleticism and aerial acrobats, most teams prefer to send guys back for transition defense). When given the opportunity, he showed the ability to create his own shot off the bounce. 

He’s doing all of that now for the Knicks. This season, his three ball goes down nearly 40 percent of the time, above the League average. He has four games of more than 30 points this year, too. He had never had a 30-point game in his NBA career before this season. In his last 21 games, he’s going for 20.8 per. Big jump. Big, big jump. 

As most basketball players know, being on the same team as your friends usually increases production. There’s a foundational layer of trust that underlies everything when hooping with the bros. A portion of the stresses that come from playing with strangers get replaced by the fun of running around with your boys. Taking crazy shots or throwing stupid passes are usually followed by choice words from teammates. But sometimes those bad shots or wild passes result in strokes of genius. Genius is more likely to happen with brothers than it is with strangers, when people trust in those choices, when you really know the guy who has something to say after those shots and passes. And defensively, that trust shows up in the form of big rotational swings—a gamble in the passing lane getting covered by that dude who really enjoys Mike and Ike. 

Playing alongside friends is a treat. Winning alongside friends is a special privilege from the basketball heavens. 

These guys won together on the biggest collegiate stage. 

Hart was a junior by the time DiVincenzo and Brunson got to Nova. Though DiVincenzo didn’t play much in that 2015-16 season, Hart and Brunson were two of the Wildcats’ leaders. Along with Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono, they guided the Wildcats to the 2016 national championship. They conquered close games, raced back from big deficits and survived the gauntlet together. Together is the key here. 

It’s a fact that the bonds we as humans form get deepened by stressful environments and heightened situations. When you’re 18-21 years old and the entire nation is watching your every step, giving you all their opinions, placing their hopes on your shoulders, that’s a stressful environment and a heightened situation. 

Then when Hart was playing for the Lakers in 2018, Brunson and DiVincenzo won the natty again. More stressful environments and heightened situations. 

So, of course these guys are actually friends. Their bond began in college, where young minds are shaped and formed without nationally-televised basketball games. Add in the games on TV, the thousands of screaming fans, the legacy of a Hall of Fame coach and that would’ve made for a deeper bond together. Now fast forward a few years and add the layer of Madison Square Garden, the generations-deep Knicks fandom and the pressure of possibly playing in May or June…that’s a lifelong bond. 

The three of them hit the bathroom together to change into their uniforms at our shoot. When they come back to the gym, Brunson’s no longer wearing DiVincenzo’s jersey. But they’re all still laughing. And they continue laughing. Hart is the ringleader. Brunson is the seemingly-innocent-but-actually- devilish instigator. And DiVincenzo uncontrollably laughs at it all. 

None of this happens without Brunson, by the way. He’s the All-Star, he’s the Knicks’ best player. He’s their floor general. He’s their clutch scorer. He’s the heartbeat of the Garden. All the numbers point to this being his best season yet. Those numbers actually become redundant because they all make it clear that he’s an elite player. One number, however, sums it up. Five

He’s fifth in the NBA in scoring, as of this writing. 

Nobody thought that the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 Draft would one day lead the Knicks’ franchise revival, be an All-Star or be near the top of the League in scoring. But the game is easy when playing with friends. 

Especially with friends who love to compete. All three of these guys are physical. They hustle hard. Hart hits the glass, DiVincenzo recovers from injury after injury and Brunson goes down into the land of trees despite his height. They relish the big moments. They love the challenge. It’s obvious they love playing together because they play together

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke about them after a big road win over the Golden State Warriors in March.

“Josh’s role expanded,” Thibs said at his postgame press conference. “Donte’s role expanded. And Jalen just keeps rolling. It’s a team, and that’s what we prioritize. We want guys to sacrifice and put the team first, but there has to be that belief. I think when your best players have that belief, then your entire team ends up having that belief.”

Even when they’re making fun of each other and laughing at each other, they do it together. After about an hour in front of our cameras in that Connecticut gym, they leave, together. 


Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The Reunion of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo

We were all moving kinda slowly. There were some friends of friends who’d heard we were bringing Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo to this gym in Connecticut. A small group of people popped up asking for photos and for autographs. The guys were cool about it. They smiled, they listened, they signed. There was no real sense of urgency, which was fine with us. Comfortability is a big key to what we do. We like when players are feeling free. It was Donte who first made the move to switch into his uniform. He broke from the group of people to ask about a bathroom. All of a sudden, Jalen was by his side, grabbing Donte’s jersey from the chair it was hanging on. Jalen quickly took off his shirt and threw on his teammate’s jersey. He made his way back to the group, laughing alongside everyone else when they realized what was happening. That’s when we realized what was happening. 

These guys are friends. 

Sounds obvious, right? For sure. Easy to acknowledge it sounds obvious. But SLAM is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We’ve been around NBA players for a while now. We’ve seen that a ton of them are colleagues, not friends. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. These guys spend months on the road together. Their team responsibilities pull them away from their families. So most players keep it cordial with each other, but in the same way that you leave your work environment, they do, too. 

We’re not here to burst any bubbles. You should still believe in Santa Claus. Hell, hopefully one day the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot finally emerge. But we regret to inform you that most NBA players don’t kick it with each other outside of practice, even if they make it seem so when they’re in public. 

That’s why the genuine laughter of this trio, all three of them former Villanova Wildcats, was a much welcomed surprise. They seem to be friends off the court. There’s a ton of history between them, which we will get into. But you just never know what’s for the internet and what’s for real. 

SLAM 249 featuring the Knicks is available now. Get your copy here.

Josh pulled up first. He was early. He and one of his agency reps sat in the corner of the gym, with windows displaying the amazing manicured lawns outside the gym. It was the first day of March and the sun was reminding us it existed after a long winter. Finely-kept evergreen trees couldn’t block the natural light, so Josh, with his perfect braids and fresh white Ralphie tee, was illuminated. 

He deserves some of the spotlight. He’s the one who does the dirty work for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. Deflections, switches, backside call-outs all fall under his list of responsibilities. He also plays a lot of minutes. Like, a lot. As we go to press, he’s averaging 41 minutes a game over his last 22 contests. He even played the entire 48 against the Golden State Warriors on March 18. Hart’s role increased when the Knicks suffered injuries to two of their best players; he was called on to essentially be a 6-4 power forward. He has to get bruised up down low, fly around on rotations, jet back down to the paint and then grab rebounds. Over that same 22-game stretch, he pulled down an average of 11.3 boards a contest, way up from his career average of 6.5. Recently, his rebounding numbers have been major. In a stretch from late February to mid-March, he’s had one game of 18 rebounds and two with 19. And to make those two 19-board moments even more impressive, they were both part of triple-double performances. Triple-doubles are portraits of desire and technique—they require reading the game on a serious level. Hart has had five triple-doubles in his seven-year career. They’ve all happened in this current season. 

Hart’s a serious competitor on the court, which, according to Brunson, is the only time he’s ever serious at all. The two were roommates at Villanova and know each other very, very well. For example, Hart knows that Brunson’s favorite childhood player was Steve Nash. Brunson can counter that knowledge by adding that Mike and Ike is Hart’s favorite candy. Brunson, who was named an All-Star this season, says plainly that besides being about his business in basketball, Hart loves to joke around. There’s no arguing from Hart. In fact, Brunson and Hart only communicate in one way throughout the entire shoot.  

Brunson and DiVincenzo arrived together at the gym in Connecticut. It was starting to get dark when they walked in. No more individual spotlight on Hart. Instead, the three of them were the center of attention. Right from the jump, Brunson and Hart speak to each other through veiled inside jokes and outright insults. Sly smiles followed everything they said. Whenever Hart did or said something ridiculous, Brunson would look around helplessly, praying somebody else noticed the insanity. DiVincenzo, the youngest of the trio, consistently cracked up with laughter no matter what. 

DiVincenzo has had a winding road since making it to the League in 2018. The Bucks picked him 17th overall, but he didn’t get a ton of burn in that first season. To go from the height of winning the 2018 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player to only appearing in 27 games (a nagging heel injury can be blamed, too) is a fall off that would take the heart of most. That speed bump, however, gave us the first look at DiVincenzo’s resiliency. He came back the next season, played 66 games and averaged 9.2 ppg. The following season, he started every game he appeared in and upped his points average yet again. He would have been a huge part of the Bucks’ NBA Finals-winning group if not for an ankle injury that needed to be surgically repaired. 

Still, he has a ring. 

The Bucks traded him to the Kings in February ’22, where he suited up in only 25 games for then-coach Alvin Gentry. His next stop, the Warriors, reminded the NBA of how he plays when healthy. More resiliency. After fighting back from injury, he showed that he can run the 1 or play the 2. The Dubs had him dishing the ball to their Hall of Fame shooting duo. They had him filling the slots on cuts. He was one of the very few guards in the NBA allowed to crash the offensive glass (in this age of otherworldly athleticism and aerial acrobats, most teams prefer to send guys back for transition defense). When given the opportunity, he showed the ability to create his own shot off the bounce. 

He’s doing all of that now for the Knicks. This season, his three ball goes down nearly 40 percent of the time, above the League average. He has four games of more than 30 points this year, too. He had never had a 30-point game in his NBA career before this season. In his last 21 games, he’s going for 20.8 per. Big jump. Big, big jump. 

As most basketball players know, being on the same team as your friends usually increases production. There’s a foundational layer of trust that underlies everything when hooping with the bros. A portion of the stresses that come from playing with strangers get replaced by the fun of running around with your boys. Taking crazy shots or throwing stupid passes are usually followed by choice words from teammates. But sometimes those bad shots or wild passes result in strokes of genius. Genius is more likely to happen with brothers than it is with strangers, when people trust in those choices, when you really know the guy who has something to say after those shots and passes. And defensively, that trust shows up in the form of big rotational swings—a gamble in the passing lane getting covered by that dude who really enjoys Mike and Ike. 

Playing alongside friends is a treat. Winning alongside friends is a special privilege from the basketball heavens. 

These guys won together on the biggest collegiate stage. 

Hart was a junior by the time DiVincenzo and Brunson got to Nova. Though DiVincenzo didn’t play much in that 2015-16 season, Hart and Brunson were two of the Wildcats’ leaders. Along with Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono, they guided the Wildcats to the 2016 national championship. They conquered close games, raced back from big deficits and survived the gauntlet together. Together is the key here. 

It’s a fact that the bonds we as humans form get deepened by stressful environments and heightened situations. When you’re 18-21 years old and the entire nation is watching your every step, giving you all their opinions, placing their hopes on your shoulders, that’s a stressful environment and a heightened situation. 

Then when Hart was playing for the Lakers in 2018, Brunson and DiVincenzo won the natty again. More stressful environments and heightened situations. 

So, of course these guys are actually friends. Their bond began in college, where young minds are shaped and formed without nationally-televised basketball games. Add in the games on TV, the thousands of screaming fans, the legacy of a Hall of Fame coach and that would’ve made for a deeper bond together. Now fast forward a few years and add the layer of Madison Square Garden, the generations-deep Knicks fandom and the pressure of possibly playing in May or June…that’s a lifelong bond. 

The three of them hit the bathroom together to change into their uniforms at our shoot. When they come back to the gym, Brunson’s no longer wearing DiVincenzo’s jersey. But they’re all still laughing. And they continue laughing. Hart is the ringleader. Brunson is the seemingly-innocent-but-actually- devilish instigator. And DiVincenzo uncontrollably laughs at it all. 

None of this happens without Brunson, by the way. He’s the All-Star, he’s the Knicks’ best player. He’s their floor general. He’s their clutch scorer. He’s the heartbeat of the Garden. All the numbers point to this being his best season yet. Those numbers actually become redundant because they all make it clear that he’s an elite player. One number, however, sums it up. Five

He’s fifth in the NBA in scoring, as of this writing. 

Nobody thought that the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 Draft would one day lead the Knicks’ franchise revival, be an All-Star or be near the top of the League in scoring. But the game is easy when playing with friends. 

Especially with friends who love to compete. All three of these guys are physical. They hustle hard. Hart hits the glass, DiVincenzo recovers from injury after injury and Brunson goes down into the land of trees despite his height. They relish the big moments. They love the challenge. It’s obvious they love playing together because they play together

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke about them after a big road win over the Golden State Warriors in March.

“Josh’s role expanded,” Thibs said at his postgame press conference. “Donte’s role expanded. And Jalen just keeps rolling. It’s a team, and that’s what we prioritize. We want guys to sacrifice and put the team first, but there has to be that belief. I think when your best players have that belief, then your entire team ends up having that belief.”

Even when they’re making fun of each other and laughing at each other, they do it together. After about an hour in front of our cameras in that Connecticut gym, they leave, together. 


Portraits by Marcus Stevens.

The post The Reunion of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo appeared first on SLAM.

No. 2 Ranked Senior Joyce Edwards Talks All-Around Game, Dawn Staley and Her Future at South Carolina

Joyce Edwards hasn’t even suited up for the South Carolina Gamecocks yet, but she already knows what she wants to achieve at the next level. The Camden (SC) High School star—and the No. 2-ranked player in the class of 2024—is a versatile, 6-2 forward who can knock down shots, finish at the rim, block shots on the defensive end and put up big time numbers. In the state championship game, she had a monster double-double of 27 points and 20 rebounds, as well as 6 blocks, to help lead the Bulldogs to their second consecutive 3-A state title.

But for Edwards, this is just the beginning. 

“When I go to South Carolina, my main goal is to just get on the floor, be a defensive player—because you can’t get on the floor without defense—and then sculpting my offense to be what the team needs,” she says. “I’m not coming in looking to be, like, the star player and none of that. I’m just trying to come in and do what the team needs and fit into my role.” 

She’s set to join a program that’s synonymous with winning. By the time we go to press, South Carolina has just posted back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, won its second SEC Tournament championship in a row, and is gearing up for March Madness as the No. 1 seed. It’s that prestige—as well as the legacy of Dawn Staley, now in her 16th season since taking over the program in ’08—that led Edwards to commit to the Gamecocks in the first place. After narrowing down her top three schools to SC, LSU and Clemson, Edwards was contemplating signing later in the signing period, and it was Dawn who she felt truly respected her decision.

“The way Dawn responded was completely different from everybody else. She was like, OK, why do you feel this way? I feel like it was really just the coaching. What Dawn said just hit me a little bit different than every other coach.” 

Over the years, Dawn has molded future WNBA legends, from the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston to A’ja Wilson, a two-time WNBA champion and the 2023 Finals MVP, whom Edwards had a chance to meet when South Carolina beat Maryland this past November. Wilson even gave her some advice.

“[She] was talking about how when she came into South Carolina, and they had her starting,” Edwards recalls of their conversation, “and she came out the next game and did whatever she had to do. I feel like her transition from being more of a role player at SC to her having to be that more dominant player in the paint and take them to the national championship. Just the whole process and her mentality throughout and the progression she had through that, that’s one of the biggest things that I took away from it.” 

Edwards sees similarities in their games, too, and says her dad often compares her to Wilson. “Obviously, she’s left-handed, but she has the middy in the bag. She can drive, she can face up, she posts up. All those things that she does—obviously, I’m not doing it [at] as high a level as her—but I’m doing a lot of similar things at my age.” 

As she wraps up her senior year at Camden—Edwards also plays soccer, which she says has helped with her conditioning and footwork on the court—she’s already looking forward to the opportunities that await just 40 minutes away in Columbia. 

“I feel like for some players, it could definitely be intimidating,” she says. “But then I just remember that I play my best when I’m going against and playing with great players in practice and stuff like that. I feel like at South Carolina, with the competition I’ll be playing against in practice, like, these are WNBA legends. These people are about to go to the League and do great things. Going up against them in practice will just make me better, and hopefully when I show up in a game, I think I’ll be really prepared.”  


Deyscha Smith is an Associate Editor at SLAM. Follow her on Instagram and X, @deyschasmith.

Portraits by Kai McNeil. Follow him on Instagram, @thekaimac.

The post No. 2 Ranked Senior Joyce Edwards Talks All-Around Game, Dawn Staley and Her Future at South Carolina appeared first on SLAM.