Starting 5: Hall of Fame welcomes class of 2024

When your cousin and one of the game’s original high-flyers welcome you to basketball immortality.

THE LINEUP 🏀
What’s inside today’s edition?
Entering The Hall: Hear from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of ‘24
Capturing The Moment: 13 of our favorite photos and GIFs from Sunday’s enshrinement
Preseason Roundup: KAT beat his former squad to lead a six-game Sunday
Pulling Even: NY closes out Game 2 to even the W Finals, setting up huge Game 3
What’s Ahead: A five-game night opens the final week of the preseason
BUT FIRST … ⏰
The final week of preseason preparations begins…

An NBA TV doubleheader highlights a five-game slate of preseason games, beginning with the Sixers visiting the Hawks (7:30 ET) followed by the Clippers hosting the Mavs (10:30 ET) in a first round Playoff rematch.
1. QUOTABLES: HALL OF FAME SPEECHES

Sunday’s Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony delivered laughter, tears, stories and poetry from the 13 inductees who took the stage and recalled the unique journeys that led them all to the birthplace of the game in Springfield, Mass. | Watch every speech here
“The NBA franchise that loves me like family finally found me… Detroit” [pause to put shades on] “What up doe … If you know, you know. Look at my big man [Hall of Famer Ben Wallace seated on stage] we always in sync, he got ’em on too.”

“Contributor to the game of basketball. That is you in every single sense and that will live on forever.”
2. CAPTURING 13 MOMENTS FOR 13 HALL OF FAMERS
The cameras were rolling as 13 inductees were welcomed to the Hall on Sunday. Here are 13 of our favorite images from the night.
3. KAT WINS WOLVES REUNION ON A SIX-GAME SUNDAY

Knicks 115, Wolves 110: Just 11 days removed from a blockbuster trade sending him from Minnesota to New York, Karl-Anthony Towns got a win over his former squad at his new home.
From
to
, the love between the former teammates was clear to see

Heat 101, Pelicans 99: Up 20 in the 3rd quarter, the Heat needed a pair of Pelle Larrson free throws with seven seconds left to secure the win in a game filled with must-see dunks, including Bam skying over everyone above and Zion’s tough catch and finish.
Blazers 105, Kings 85: Scoot Henderson (17 pts, 7 ast) and rookie Donovan Clingan (10 pts, 10 reb) led the Blazers to their first preseason win, while the Kings dropped to 0-3.

Celtics 115, Raptors 111: With Boston’s usual starting five out, Lonnie Walker IV (20 pts, 4 3s), Payton Pritchard (19 pts, 9 ast, 5 3s) and Drew Peterson (23 pts, 3 3s) combined for 62 points to keep the Celtics unbeaten in preseason (4-0).
Suns 118, Nuggets 114: Phoenix rested its starters, but still came out with a win behind a combined 40 points from Ryan Dunn (20 pts with 6 3s) and Monte Morris (20 pts, 7 ast). Denver is still seeking its first preseason win despite a near triple-double from Nikola Jokic (21 pts, 14 reb, 9 ast).
Warriors 111, Pistons 93: Even with all-time 3-point king Steph Curry on the bench, the Warriors hit 18 3s to improve to 4-0 in the preseason. Moses Moody (14 pts) led six Warriors in double figures and five with at least two 3s, while Detroit’s Jaden Ivey led all scorers with 19 points.
4. LIBERTY PULL AWAY LATE, EVEN WNBA FINALS 1-1

In many ways, Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA Finals played out as a carbon copy of Game 1.
to pull within five points multiple times
But there was one key difference – the final 3:23 of both games.
New York led by 2 with 3:23 left, but this time it was the Liberty that went on a 12-0 run, closing the game with
and the series tied at 1-1

Stewie & Laney: Breanna Stewart (21 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk) had a stat-stuffing game for the ages, while Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points with four 3-pointers, including the corner 3 that ignited NY’s game-closing run after Minnesota had cut the lead to two points.
Stewart became the fourth player to post at least 20 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast and 5 stl in a Playoff game – joining Sheryl Swoopes (2002), Tamika Catchings (2009) and Alyssa Thomas (2019) – with only Stewie and AT doing it in the Finals
Speaking of legends, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (16 pts, 8 reb, 4 stl) passed Chelsea Gray, Cappie Pondexter and A’ja Wilson for the fourth-most points scored (227) in a single postseason. With at least two more games to play, can Phee reach the top of this list?
The series shifts to Minnesota for the next two games, beginning with the pivotal Game 3 on Wednesday (8 ET, ESPN). Since the WNBA went to a best-of-five Finals in 2005, the winner of Game 3 in a series tied 1-1 goes on to win the series 71.4% (10-4) of the time.
5. FINAL WEEK OF SEASON PREP BEGINS

The 2024-25 regular season tips off in just eight days. That gives teams one week to finalize their rosters (deadline is Monday, Oct. 21 at 5 ET) and get their squads ready for the 82-game marathon that lies ahead.
The last five days of preseason action begins tonight with a five-game slate, headlined by an NBA TV doubleheader.
Dallas’ first step toward the 2024 NBA Finals was a first round matchup with the Clippers, which the Mavs won in six games after LA had eliminated Dallas in 2020 and 2021. Luka Doncic (calf) and P.J. Washington (hip) are not expected to make their preseason debuts