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Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Steven, who is the NFL’s Ja Morant? Steven Jackson: Oh, I don’t know about that one! I like Ja, he plays with a lot of passion. Obviously, there’s some things you’re probably looking into with that question… but I just think it’s about young people understanding the boundaries of wanting to “keep it real” and stay connected to things of the past, while looking at what your future could be. I don’t know if there’s truly a Ja Morant of the NFL; he’s one of a kind. It’s just a balance of knowing we all have to grow. It’s a tough thing, but you gotta go down that road by yourself—you can’t take everybody with you.
Nowinski cautions about rushing him back too soon. According to Nowinski, the 48-hour window isn’t necessarily a well-known marker in the latest neurological science, but rather more of a cautionary reflection of the NBA’s typical “every-other-day” game schedule. For example, the NFL doesn’t have a set time span in its revamped policy; instead, the league instituted a five-step return-to-play protocol that every concussed athlete must pass. “NBA players often return to full participation faster than we see, for example, in the NFL,” Nowinski said. “That’s in part because most NFL games are a week apart, and so they have a more gradual return to play. The league protocols are designed to fit the game schedule rather than necessarily what we think about in terms of managing long-term risks.”
The NBA has had a coach's challenge system since 2019, the NHL since 2015 and the NFL since 1999. "You're paid to get the plays right. You're paid to get them right," said Joey Crawford, who still works for the NBA to support officials. "So we train referees and they're very, very good. They're going to make mistakes. They are guys who miss a jump shot. Coach calls a timeout they shouldn't have called. It's all the same thing. We've got to watch. You're at the end of the game. The key is not to blow that whistle and guess. You got to know that it happened. Don't assume that it happened."
League sources tell The Stein Line that the most frequently whispered Dallas target from that category is actually former Golden State Warriors lead executive Bob Myers, who would naturally have Welts' strong backing after their successful years together with the Warriors. Yet Myers currently holds an extremely lucrative job as president for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment that calls for him to provide high-level consulting for all of the pro sports franchises in the HBSE portfolio. That includes the New Jersey Devils (NHL) and Crystal Palace Football Club (English Premier League) in addition to the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers … with Myers also part of the hierarchy with the Josh Harris-owned Washington Commanders (NFL).
Prosecutors said Ford allegedly used a phishing scam to obtain login credentials for Apple accounts belonging to NBA and NFL players through a two-pronged approach. He allegedly posed online as a well-known adult film star, offering to send sexually explicit videos to athletes, while simultaneously posing as an Apple customer support representative and asking victims via text message to provide usernames, passwords or multi-factor authentication codes to access the videos that the adult film star persona was trying to send. Dozens of victims were allegedly tricked into providing their account information, allowing Ford to obtain their credit and debit card data and spend thousands of dollars on personal items.
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Jeff Stotts: Cade Cunningham Injury Update: A pneumothorax (collapsed lung) is much more common in contact sports like the NFL but there have been several cases in the NBA including Gerald Wallace, CJ McCollum (2x), & Terrence Jones. Average time lost? 26 days (~10.8 games)
A Georgia man is accused of a fraud and sex trafficking scheme that involved the identity of an adult star to target professional athletes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia says Kwamaine Ford is charged with wire fraud, computer fraud, identify theft, sex trafficking and more. Investigators say Ford, of Buford, posed as a well known adult film star, offering to send explicit videos to NBA and NFL players. He is also accused of spoofing Apple customer service accounts to obtain usernames and passwords to supposedly access the videos.
The NBA has informed teams that it may launch a streaming hub for local broadcasts as soon as next season -- a year earlier than expected -- as a result of Main Street Sports Group’s impending demise in April, multiple sources told SBJ. While the exact format is still being ideated, those sources said the league is in talks with YouTube TV, DAZN, Amazon and ESPN and potentially others about housing local games for an aggregate of teams -- perhaps similar to an NFL Sunday Ticket -- depending on how many franchises opt in. Sources believe those streaming platforms would need the NBA to guarantee a certain threshold of teams before agreeing to any substantive deal, which industry insiders believe could be worth billions.
By continuing to deny the ABA its legacy, the NBA has fallen behind its major-league brethren in formally recognizing its own sport’s history. In April 2025, the NFL decided to officially incorporate records from the old All-America Football Conference into its record book. The former rival organization to the NFL, which was in existence from 1946 until 1949, spawned scores of Hall-of-Famers and introduced the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and an early version of the Baltimore Colts to pro football fans. All three franchises eventually entered the NFL.
This decision was a welcome step toward honoring the AAFC and the important legacy it bequeathed to pro football. At the same time, the NFL’s recent decision underscores the need for the NBA to take the same action regarding ABA statistics. Like the AAFC, a number of Hall of Famers got their start in the ABA, including Julius Erving, Dan Issel and Moses Malone. Just as the AAFC contributed to the development of pro football, the ABA greatly influenced pro basketball, helping popularize the dunk and 3-point shot, twin staples of the modern game.
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Perhaps the NBA’s clearest public rationale for excluding ABA statistics was given in 1982. A spokesperson explained that the NBA did not accept ABA records because: “In past instances where part of a league was absorbed into an existing league, such as the All-America [Football] Conference into the NFL, the same procedure was followed. The only situation in which this was different was the American Football League, where the entire league came in as a unit. This was not the case with the ABA, where only four teams came into the NBA.”
This statement was not even correct when it was made. Years before, MLB had absorbed a small number of teams from defunct baseball associations only later to recognize the records from those leagues in their entirety. Now, with the NFL’s recent decision to accept AAFC statistics, the wobbly plank purporting to hold up the NBA’s justification has collapsed entirely. The NBA’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge ABA records does not make sense. After all, the ABA boasted major-league talent. Indeed, the rival association won most of the 155 exhibition games played between the two entities.
When I spoke with Harden this afternoon and brought up the quarterback comparison, his eyes lit up. He did not just agree and he immediately identified the shared DNA between his role and the greats of the gridiron. When I asked him who in the NFL is also a system, he was quick to respond. “The greats,” James Harden told ScoopB.com. “You got Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes. Those are some of the greats with their playmaking. All those guys have decisions to make in every possession, other than a handoff, their passing. It’s a split second, so those are the guys that have to make a decision. I don’t even know how many times they pass the ball, but it’s difficult, it’s not easy. Some people that are really great decision makers, under pressure can think that fast, and some people just aren’t, so it’s a tough situation to be in. But the ones that are good at it, they excel.”
Metabilia, a company that partners with NFL and NBA teams to sell game-used and autographed memorabilia, uses tamper-proof stickers outfitted with a tiny epoxy disc containing diamond nanoparticles. "It's invisible to the normal eye, it's its own fingerprint," said Nicole Johnson, the co-founder of Metabilia. "It's indestructible." Another company, MatchWornShirt, partners with soccer clubs -- including Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan and Bayern Munich -- and a number of NBA teams to auction game-worn, signed jerseys to collectors, straight off players. The company uses a chip embedded in jerseys that uploads a digital certificate of authenticity and match-worn information to customers' cell phones.