From being a preseason favorite to hold aloft the Larry O’Brien hardware that goes to the National Basketball Association champion, the underachieving Los Angeles Lakers have struggled mightily to remain afloat in the West play-in standings at the All-Star break.
In NBA history, there have been three 50 points-or-more individual performances and seven triple-double games on Valentine’s Day.
These are (Manila time and in chronological order): Atlanta at New York (1 a.m.), Boston at Milwaukee (3:30 a.m.), Golden State at Phoenix (6 a.m.; head-to-head series tied at 1-1), Brooklyn vs. the LA Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena (9 a.m.), and Dallas at Utah (11:30 a.m.).
Some of the most prolific individual scoring performances in National Basketball Association history have come on Christmas Day.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, the NBA’s No. 1 overall selection in this year’s draft, finally made his NBA debut in a 110-103 home decision over the equally inept Orlando Magic.
![Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets [photo from Kyrie Irving Instagram]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screenshot_1067-400x200.png)
And now, Irving is one of 40 remaining NBA players (out of 450-plus) left unvaccinated, he contends that it is a private matter and he has every right to his own body, while not thinking the risk of infecting other people, his Brooklyn mates, team officials, and even his family members.
![Andrew Wiggins [Instagram photo: @22wiggins]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/200011383_302470004860265_362341092345977456_n-400x200.jpg)
Unvaccinated players like Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors) and Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets) stand to lose more than $300,000 a game if they are unable to play home games in their respective arenas due to the vaccine mandates in the cities of San Francisco and New York.
![NBA player Ben SImmons [Wikimedia Commons | Keith Allison]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1003px-Ben_Simmons_-_49176307818-400x200.jpg)
Renegade Ben Simmons has turned down a proposed meeting with his Philadelphia 76ers teammates in Los Angeles to thresh out the issues that has led to the Aussie playmaker’s decision to boycott training camp, which starts on Sept. 29 Manila time.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is just a few winks away from announcing its list of the 75 greatest players in league history to commemorate to its 75th anniversary season.
![Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. [photo: Keith Allison | Flickr]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Joel_Embiid_Ben_Simmons-400x200.jpg)
The Philadelphia 76ers have the option of withholding $8,250,984 from Benjamin David (Ben) Simmons’ $33 million salary for 2021-22 on October 1 (Oct. 2 in Philippine time) if the Aussie makes good on his threat to boycott NBA training camp that opens on September 29 Manila time.