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Afternoon Edition

April 14, 2025

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The Luka Dončić trade may be the most stunning sports deal in history. But after being moved to the Lakers, the superstar’s fame skyrocketed—and he’s now the first international player to lead the NBA in jersey sales.

— Colin Salao [[link removed]] and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Luka Dončić Jerseys Jump From 8th to 1st After Lakers Trade [[link removed]]

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The numbers show that NBA fans rallied around Luka Dončić following one of the most shocking trades in league history [[link removed]].

Dončić finished the season with the NBA’s most popular jersey, the league and the National Basketball Players Association announced Monday. Dončić was eighth on the jersey sales list when the NBA released the numbers for the first half of the 2024–2025 season [[link removed]] on Jan. 24. A week later, he was traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers.

Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Jayson Tatum were the next three players on the list, respectively. The trio held the top spots for the first half of this year and all of last season, when Dončić finished sixth [[link removed]]. The Slovenian star jumped all of them following the trade.

The blockbuster deal catapulted Dončić into the spotlight, especially after he missed 22 games between Christmas Day and his Lakers debut on Feb. 10. The 26-year-old also became a sympathetic figure for fans, especially after it became more apparent that he was blindsided by the Mavericks.

“He was never gonna leave,” Hawks star Trae Young tweeted [[link removed]], in response to a video of Dončić crying as he watched a tribute video played during his return to Dallas [[link removed]] on Wednesday.

Dončić’s jersey sales also benefited from joining the Lakers, one of the most famous franchises in professional sports. The Lakers finished this season No. 1 among all teams in merchandise sales, the NBA and NBPA also announced Monday. The Lakers were second in the first half of the season behind the defending-champion Celtics.

The Lakers were also involved in some of the most-watched games of the year, including the top-rated Christmas Day game against the Warriors [[link removed]] (7.6 million viewers). Dončić’s first game against Dallas on Feb. 25 drew 2.5 million viewers on TNT [[link removed]], the most-watched game on cable outside of opening day and Christmas.

The Mavericks jumped up from seventh in the first half of the season to sixth in merchandise sales following the trade. However, none of their players cracked the individual list, including Anthony Davis, the key piece the team received in return for Dončić.

While Davis did not make last year’s top-10 list even while on the Lakers, it didn’t help that he injured his calf during his first game in Dallas and has played just nine games for the Mavericks this season.

SPONSORED BY JUST INGREDIENTS

Bryce Harper’s New Game: Clean Living

Bryce Harper is stepping off the field and into the wellness space with a new partnership [[link removed]] alongside health brand Just Ingredients. Known for his precision and performance, the two-time MLB MVP found alignment in the company’s commitment to real ingredients and NSF Certified for Sport® products.

Founded by Karalynne Call, Just Ingredients has grown from a personal mission into a trusted name in clean nutrition—now backed by athletes and teams across major sports. Harper’s move reflects a broader shift toward longevity, transparency, and intentional living.

Read how this partnership is redefining performance and wellness [[link removed]].

Trump’s FCC Pick Shakes Up Sports Cable, Owners Are Watching [[link removed]]

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The recent YES Network–Comcast carriage dispute has provided a new and potentially powerful wrinkle to the sports media landscape: the influence of the Trump White House.

As the Yankees-led regional sports network and the No. 2 U.S. cable carrier recently reached a distribution deal [[link removed]], it was hardly coincidental that a subsequent statement [[link removed]] from team president Randy Levine and longtime Trump ally led an extensive list of thanks with ones to U.S. President Donald Trump and “especially” FCC chairman Brendan Carr. It was Trump who appointed Carr to that role, and the FCC played a sizable role in the YES Network–Comcast battle, with the commission publicly urging the sides to reach an agreement—which they then did.

Other RSNs appear to have quickly taken note of that dynamic. Just days after that pact, White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf met with Carr. Reinsdorf also leads the new Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) that has been at odds with Comcast [[link removed]] since its debut last fall [[link removed]], particularly over the company’s attempt to place the network on a higher and more expensive cable tier—just as it has with nearly two dozen other RSNs. The YES Network was able to resist that tiering effort, at least for now, a fate that CHSN would certainly like to emulate.

Carr publicly posted a picture [[link removed]] of his meeting with Reinsdorf and said he “enjoyed the discussion!” The commission has not since made any public comment on CHSN’s negotiation with Comcast, but it will bear close watching whether Carr weighs in to help promote an agreement. The meeting, however, arrived just days after Reinsdorf’s son, Michael, also the Bulls’ president, appeared at a Crain’s forum and accused Comcast of “bad faith” and “discriminatory” negotiation.

More Media Scrutiny

The FCC is also directly involved in another matter with large implications in sports media. Skydance’s attempted $8 billion merger of CBS Sports parent company Paramount, in the works since last summer, remains in limbo [[link removed]] awaiting regulatory approval, though Paramount recently expressed confidence [[link removed]] in closing the deal by late June.

Trump, however, is still in litigation with CBS News regarding an interview with 2024 Democratic presidential challenger Kamala Harris, a situation likely factoring into that Skydance regulatory process. He took a new and extended broadside at the network late Sunday after the most recent episode of 60 Minutes, calling on Carr to punish the network.

“They should lose their [broadcast] license!,” Trump posted. “Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission, as headed by its highly respected chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this.”

Cooper Flagg’s Impact Looms Large as NBA Draft Lottery Odds Set [[link removed]]

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The NBA season wrapped up Sunday and the playoffs are right around the corner. However, there will be attention paid to the teams missing the postseason that are vying for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft—and the right to select Cooper Flagg.

While the Duke freshman isn’t held in the same regard as 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, he is still considered a franchise-altering star. As the most-hyped American prospect since 2019 No. 1 pick Zion Williamson (and possibly since Anthony Davis in 2012), Flagg would provide a boost in brand and sponsorship appeal.

Feeling Lucky?

Here are the odds of the bottom 10 teams for the No. 1 pick now that the 2024–2025 regular season has ended:

Jazz, Wizards, Hornets: 14% Pelicans: 12.5% Sixers: 10.5% Nets: 9% Raptors: 7.5% Spurs: 6% Rockets (via Suns): 3.8% Blazers: 3.7%

There are still four spots in the lottery up for grabs due to the Play-In Tournament that starts Tuesday. The four teams that miss the playoffs following the tournament will get the last four spots in the lottery, which comes with No. 1 pick odds that range from 0.5% to 2%.

Intriguing Landing Spots

Three of the four franchises with the best lottery odds aren’t considered big markets, but they each have a recent All-Star on their roster to pair with Flagg that would bring attention to their cities next season (Utah: Lauri Markkanen; Charlotte: LaMelo Ball; New Orleans: Zion Williamson).

As for Washington, acquiring the 18-year-old could supercharge owner Ted Leonsis’s plan of turning the DMV into a “supercity,” [[link removed]] especially considering the Commanders, their NFL counterparts, were rejuvenated after they drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels last year.

There are several teams that could, assuming health, allow Flagg to compete in the playoffs immediately—and that would likely help NBA ratings, given the high-profile pairings. That includes Philadelphia with 2023 MVP Joel Embiid and San Antonio with Wembanyama.

Toronto is also a noteworthy possibility, particularly the irony of one of the best U.S. prospects in a decade playing for a team based in Canada. Flagg, however, would be close to his home state of Maine.

The No. 2-seeded Rockets and post-Luka Dončić Mavericks could also land Flagg, though their odds of winning the lottery are less than 5%. (Dallas could also advance through the Play-In Tournament and miss the lottery.) However, there have been recent examples of long-shots winning the No. 1 pick, including last year with the Hawks, who made the 2024 Play-In Tournament and had a 3% chance of winning the lottery.

STATUS REPORT Three Up, One Down

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Sutter Health Park ⬇ The temporary home in Sacramento for the A’s, already facing a series of operational challenges [[link removed]], grappled with yet another one when a medical cart broke down Saturday during a game against the Mets and had to be pushed off the field. The Mets’ broadcast crew on SNY lambasted the situation [[link removed]] on air, calling it “something out of Keystone Cops.”

Unrivaled ⬆ The 3-on-3 professional basketball league is signing Paige Bueckers to a three-year deal, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports on Sunday, the eve of the 2025 WNBA draft, where she is expected to be selected No. 1. ESPN first reported the story [[link removed]]. Bueckers’s deal will be worth $350,000 in her first year, more than the full four-year deal [[link removed]] she is expected to receive in the WNBA.

Kyler Gordon ⬆ The Bears agreed to a three-year, $40 million extension [[link removed]] with the cornerback Sunday, according to ESPN. The deal includes $31.25 million in guaranteed money. The $13.3 million average annual value makes Gordon the NFL’s highest-paid slot corner.

World Baseball Classic ⬆ The international baseball tournament, organized by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, will get a major star boost next year as Yankees slugger Aaron Judge will captain the U.S. team in 2026. While the WBC has already featured many of MLB’s biggest stars in prior iterations, including Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and Mookie Betts, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player had not previously competed.

SPONSORED BY JUST INGREDIENTS

Bryce Harper’s Secret Ingredient

Just Ingredients [[link removed]] is excited to announce two-time MLB National League MVP Bryce Harper as a brand ambassador. Harper’s dedication to health, performance, and family aligns perfectly with Just Ingredients’ mission of providing real, effective, and transparently sourced products.

“As a professional athlete, I’m always mindful of what I put into my body. Just Ingredients stands out for its commitment to using ingredients that truly support health. I’m thrilled to partner with a brand I trust and help inspire others to prioritize their wellness,” said Harper.

“Our partnership with Bryce is about more than just promoting products—it’s about educating and empowering people,” said Just Ingredients founder and CEO Karalynne Call. “We want to help individuals make informed decisions about the products they use, and how those decisions can lead to better health [[link removed]].”

Conversation Starters Watch [[link removed]] Jim Nantz’s call on CBS of Rory McIlroy’s winning moment at The Masters. Holywood Golf Club, McIlroy’s club in Northern Ireland, stayed up past midnight local time to celebrate his career grand slam. Check it out [[link removed]]. Nike dropped an ad to honor McIlroy for securing his first Green Jacket. Take a look [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Explosive Brett Favre Netflix Doc Is Cautionary Tale of Fame [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]A documentary featuring Jenn Sterger pulls back the curtain on Favre’s misdeeds. The Apron Era Has Nearly Killed the NBA Contract Bonus [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Chris Paul’s bonuses earned Sunday make him a rarity. Bank Says Sports Betting Could Weather Tariff Storm [[link removed]]by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]]Lower tax revenues could encourage more states to legalize sports betting. Advertise [[link removed]] Honors [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]]

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