NBA News: Sunday, April 2nd, 2023

NBA Playoff races continue to heat up throughout the league, but most of those spots could be claimed this weekend. While those races are attracting plenty of attention, there are some other things taking place throughout the league as well. 

A new labor agreement was signed this past week, and the Basketball Hall of Fame also announced the newest class. Here are a couple of big news stories from the NBA world over the last few days. 

NBA, NBPA Reach Agreement

The threat of a potential work stoppage was enough to get the NBA and NBPA to agree on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement. That deal was signed on Friday night, just before the deadline that was put in place. 

This new deal still has to be ratified by owners and players, and that should be taking place over the next few weeks. This agreement won’t go into effect until the 2023-24 season, and there won’t be a ton of big changes coming. 

One issue that was brought up during negotiations was the minimum age requirement that was in place, but that discussion ended. Most of the talks centered on league spending, and the new agreement will have a huge impact on how many players can be signed. 

The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers have continued to fly past the luxury tax, and the new agreement will put a stop to that. NBA owners wanted a hard salary cap put in place, but the NBPA was able to get that taken away as it introduced a different plan.

Another major change in the new CBA is that players will have to play in at least 65 games in order to be eligible to win postseason awards. There will also be an in-season tournament in place beginning in 2023-24, and more details will emerge in the coming months. 

Hall of Fame Class Announced

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the newest class, and it’s loaded with some NBA legends. The new class will be enshrined on August 11 and 12 in a couple of different ceremonies.

Longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is one of the headliners in this class, and he has ties to many other members of the class. Joining Popovich will be his longtime player Tony Parker. 

Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki will also be enshrined in August, and they will continue the trend of some terrific international talent. Both Gasol and Nowitzki were clear Hall of Fame players that also had terrific international careers outside of the NBA. 

Dwayne Wade and Becky Hammon are two other headliners in this class and seemed to be an easy choice for the Hall of Fame. Wade had a career that was loaded with championships and Hammon has done excellent work in the NBA and the WNBA. 

While the Hall of Fame typically focuses on and celebrates players the most, there are other members that will get the call in August. Longtime Purdue Boilermakers head coach Gene Keady is among those that will be included in the celebration.

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All Media on this page by Associated Press.