Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Bronny and Lebron James 

The Los Angeles Lakers select Bronny James with the 55th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

LeBron James can become teammates next season with his oldest son, Bronny, a dreamy development made possible by many collective efforts.

First, the other 29 teams had to curb any urge to select Bronny in the 2024 NBA Draft presented by State Farm, and all did.

Second, the Los Angeles Lakers, his father’s team since 2018, had to make that choice at No. 55, which was the easiest decision of the entire draft.

Third, LeBron James needed to last 21 years in the league to make this possible, and he carried his end of the deal with amazing results.

Fourth, Bronny James had to play well enough to be worthy, which he did, as a lauded high school guard whose only college season was curtailed, to a degree, by a congenital heart defect.

The future regarding the father’s durability and his son’s ability will be determined soon enough. What is undeniable is this — LeBron James has the chance to share the same NBA court and uniform with his son and create a heartwarming moment, or several, for himself, his family and his fans.

They become the league’s first active father and son duo, which represents a celebratory achievement in several ways. This has happened in other sports, most famously in baseball by Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr., along with Gordie Howe and sons in hockey.

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden warms up prior to the game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on April 12, 2024.

James Harden appeared to cement his future with the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday as NBA free agency opened around the league.

Harden planned to sign a two-year, $70 million deal with the Clippers, ESPN reported. Sources told The Athletic the deal included a player option for the second year.

The superstar guard forced his way out of the Philadelphia 76ers before the start of the 2023-24 season and was traded to Los Angeles.

He played in 72 games with the Clippers, averaging 16.6 points, 8.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Clippers were 51-31 on the year and finished fourth in the Western Conference. However, the Dallas Mavericks eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs.

Klay Thompson

The Splash Brothers era officially came to a close on Monday.

Klay Thompson is joining the Mavericks, leaving the Warriors after 11 seasons, four championships and five All-Star Game appearances.

It’s a major win for Dallas, which gets better and prevents the Lakers from securing the long-range sniper.

LeBron James was reportedly willing to take a pay cut for Los Angeles to land Thompson, and even spoke to him at the start of the free agency period on Sunday night, but the 34-year-old chose the Mavericks.

Thompson agreed to a three-year, $50 million deal with the Mavericks, ESPN reported.

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Superstar Jason Tatum holds championship trophy as the Boston Celtics win their 18th title.

     Boston stands alone atop the NBA with 18 championship banners, its latest capping a dominant season by blowing past Dallas in five games.

Jayson Tatum celebrates during the Boston Celtics’ Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals at TD Garden on Monday. The Celtics clinched their NBA record 18th championship. (Elsa/Getty Images)

     BOSTON — The Boston Celtics saw 16 years of accumulated playoff pressure lifted in one glorious instant.

     For the first four games of the NBA Finals, the Celtics couldn’t dial in their three-point offense. Open shots rimmed off; contested shots completely missed the rim. But shortly before halftime of Monday’s Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks, backup guard Payton Pritchard pulled up from behind midcourt and swished in a buzzer-beating heave.

     Pritchard had made little impact in the series, save for a similar heave in Game 2. When he stepped into his latest prayer, the TD Garden crowd rose in anticipation and then roared its approval. The Celtics, certain now that the night and season belonged to them, ran away from the Mavericks with a 106-88 victory to secure their record-setting 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Lakers, their chief rival.

      The title is Boston’s first since 2008 following Finals losses in 2010 and 2022. Jaylen Brown was named Finals MVP, receiving seven of the 11 media votes to beat out Jayson Tatum.

“I can’t even put into words the emotions,” Brown said. “I’m blessed and I’m grateful. My teammates were great. They allowed me to lead us on both ends of ball, and we just came out and performed on our home floor. [Finals MVP] could have gone to anybody. It could have gone to Jayson. I can’t talk enough about his selflessness and attitude. We did it together as a team, and that was the most important thing.”

Davis knocks out Martin in 8th round.

It was a knockout finish to an exciting night of fights from Las Vegas.

Gervonta Davis defended his WBA lightweight title against Frank Martin in the main event with a highlight reel knockout in the eighth round. Davis improves to 30-0, with 28 wins by knockout. Martin falls to 18-1, suffering the first defeat of his career.

Davis hadn’t fought since April of last year and had a typically slow start, as Martin won the majority of the rounds in the first half of the fight, countering well off of Davis’ pressure.

Davis began to heat up in the middle rounds and in round eight he caught Martin against the ropes with a big uppercut, dazing his opponent. Martin dropped his guard and Davis followed the uppercut with a huge left hook that sent Martin down for the count.

 Davis set for hefty payday with estimated earnings up to $25 million, while Martin expected to take home $3.25 million.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods has explained that the 2024 US Open ‘may or may not’ have been his final appearance in the prestigious tournament.

The golf legend, who has won the major championship three times, faced a tough battle at Pinehurst No. 2 earlier this week, describing it as a ‘war of attrition’.

Despite starting strong with a birdie on the first hole, Woods ended up with a disappointing four-over 74 by Thursday’s close.

Last Friday didn’t bring better fortunes for Woods, as critical putts refused to fall, including a particularly cruel one on the 15th that lipped out. Finishing with a 73, he stood seven-over for the event, missing the cut and dashing any hopes of a comeback, reports. Tiger made $10,000 after missing the cut.

Woods, whose last US Open victory was at Torrey Pines in 2008, left his future in the tournament uncertain. He expressed his frustration to the media. “It’s one of those things where in order to win a golf tournament, you have to make the cut,” Woods said.

“I can’t win the tournament from where I’m at, so it certainly is frustrating. I thought I played well enough to be up there in contention. It just didn’t work out.”

He added: “As far as my last Open Championship or U.S. Open Championship, I don’t know what that is. It may or may not be.”

Jordan Whitehead

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought back a familiar face in free agency this offseason, signing veteran safety Jordan Whitehead to a two-year deal.

Whitehead spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Bucs, then played for the New York Jets for the past two seasons.

He won’t be the only member of last year’s Jets defensive backfield coming to Tampa Bay this year, though, as cornerback Bryce Hall also signed with the Bucs this offseason on a one-year deal.

Hall recently spoke with the media during offseason workouts about his bond with Whitehead that developed in New York.