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Hey, it’s Zach Harper! I’m back from Europe! Big thanks to Jason Jones for writing killer editions of The Bounce in my absence. We know the season is right around the corner because social media is let us know that Ben Simmons is working and ready 🙄
City or 💩-y?
New city unions tank for Cooper Flagg
Maybe jersey designs are just broken in general. I remember not loving what Adidas did with the NBA uniforms, especially when they tried to make wearable (sleeve) jerseys. When the NBA uniform contract went to Nike, I got excited. Nike generally has good ideas for uniforms — just look at some of the cool things they’ve done with the University of Oregon! But in the age of statement, icon, and whatever other jersey names they can come up with instead of saying “home and away,” we’ve seen some real wrestling designs.
The latest look at the City Edition jerseys for next season has left many of us saturated with disappointment. Of the 30 fierce peaks revealed this week, I might argue five of them are in “I don’t mind it” to “these are legitimately good” territory. Here are the five I can accept/enjoy (courtesy of NiceKicks):
On a scale of 1-10, I’d give the 76ers a 9.5, the Grizzlies a 9, the Spurs a 9.5, the Jazz an 8 (we’ve seen it before, but it distracts from the bad modern jerseys) and the Blazers a solid 7, maybe 7.5. San Antonio and Philadelphia absolutely nailed their designs. I love the concept of what Memphis is going for here. I’ve always thought Portland had one of the best looks on the court, so this is pretty close, even though it’s a little uninspired. Now, let’s get to the ones I hate the most!
I’m not here to argue with you if they like them. I hate them. The Celtics get 0/10 for channeling the Seahawks, highlight Jazz and the Timberwolves into one jersey. There is a way to make a great H-Town jersey. This is not, Houston (1/10 for you). The Pelicans continue to struggle with their jerseys (2/10), and the Lakers have no idea what they’re doing here (1/10, and it would be less offensive to go back to MPLS jerseys at this point). Also, the Wizards (1/10) channels some sinister script like a tattoo shop in 2009.
Here are the remaining jersey grades/roasts:
Final thought: I don’t care about the deeper meaning of certain designs or colors used. Evil is evil. 🤝
Worst summer ever?
Does it feel like the Celtics won the title?
Remember when the Celtics dominated the 2023-24 season, marched through the playoffs, cruised to the championship and got their long-awaited validation? Everything in that sentence seems to have happened besides for the validation part. The Celtics really had the weirdest championship summer I can ever remember. It only gets weirder as their title defense approaches.
Last week, the New York Post reported that the Celtics are being sold because Wyc Grousbeck’s father is not happy with the team’s loss of money. I don’t know if it’s true, but it added up to the strangest summer possible for a dominant team. Here’s the timeline from the title:
I’m really confused at how unsatisfying this summer seems to be for the Celtics. At this rate, there will be a typo in the banner on opening night.
WNBA Finals
What to know when regular season ends
Today is the final day of the 2024 WNBA regular season, and we’ve got plenty of drama building up as we head into a very important playoff stretch. The playoffs begin on Sunday, and these are the big tickets to know heading into the final regular-season action.
- Expansion! The city of Portland will receive the 15th active WNBA squad in 2026. The team will make its debut alongside Toronto that season. And we have the Golden State Valkyries starting in 2025. Congratulations to the Rose City for joining the W!
- Final points clinched: The Liberty and Lynx are 🔒at No. 1 and No. 2. The Sun keep the No. 3 seed if they beat the Sky. They will drop to 4 with a loss and an Aces win over the Wings. The Storm, Fever and Mercury are your 5, 6 and 7, respectively.
- Seed #8 ready: If the Dream beat the Liberty tonight, they take the #8 seed. If the Dream loses and the mystics win, they take the number 8 seed. If the Dream loses, the Mystics lose to the Fever, and the Sky beat the Suns, then Chicago gets the #8 seed. I’m 65 percent sure I did the equalizations correctly here.
- Aces looking for a 3-peat: No one has won three straight WNBA titles since the Comets won four straight from 1997–2000, the first four titles in league history.
- Perhaps it is the time of the Freedom: If the Liberty win tonight, they will have the second most wins in a season ever and the fifth best winning percentage in league history. Is this their year for a title run?
- The Fever is dangerous: Caitlin Clark’s team has won 13 of 20 since starting 7-12. Could Clark continue the hype with some postseason upsets?
- Sheryl Swoopes doesn’t like the Caitlin Clark effect: We get quite the library of Swoopes quotes downplaying the Clark experience. Recently, she said CC’s averages of 19.5 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds are good but not overwhelming. We thrive on hate!
- A’ja Wilson is the best in the world: She runs away with the league MVP for her third such award in seven seasons. She set the single-season scoring record. Dropped 1,000 points in a season for the first time in W history. Don’t bet against her and watch to see how her tweets match up with Bam Adebayo’s tweets. 👀
Bounce Passes
Shout out to Fred Katz moving from the Knicks hit to national writing. Shout out to Josh Hart supporting Fred. Shout out to James Edwards III going from the Pistons to a Knicks beat.
Will Giannis-Dame’s pick-and-roll be unstoppable next season?
ok, LeBron James is just messing with usright? 👏Well done.
Most clicked in Monday’s newsletter: Is this last dance for the Timberwolves?
(Top photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images )
