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Sports Illustrated has named Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry as its 2022 Sportsperson of the Year.

Another dominant season, another ring, and another Sportsperson of the Year award for @StephenCurry30: https://t.co/6kVLcy7Znx pic.twitter.com/9mgq9HPtke

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 6, 2022

Curry capped the 2021-22 season with his fourth NBA title after averaging 25.5 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game.

He saved his best work for the NBA Finals, where he posted 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists en route to a six-game win over the Boston Celtics.

The NBA Finals MVP notably amassed 43 points and 10 rebounds in Game 4 before closing out the C's with a 34-point outing in Game 6.

It was a tremendous comeback for Curry and the Warriors, who were just two seasons removed from finishing a league-worst 15-50 in 2019-20. Curry missed all but five games that year due to a broken left hand.

He returned to form in 2020-21, dropping an NBA- and career-high 32.0 points per game and earning All-NBA First Team honors. However, the Warriors did not make the playoffs after falling to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament.

The Warriors found their groove again in 2021-22, however, winning 53 games and largely cruising through the Western Conference playoffs before taking out the Celtics.

Curry's resume now includes eight All-Star Game appearances, two scoring titles, two NBA MVP awards, eight All-NBA team honors and a pair of FIBA World Cup gold medals, among other accolades. He was also named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Off the court, Curry earned his degree from Davidson, where he starred for three years before jumping to the NBA in 2009.

He and his wife, Ayesha Curry, have also continued their charitable efforts in a variety of fields, per Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated.

"Since 2019, the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation he and Ayesha founded has served more than 25 million meals to food-insecure children, spent $2.5 million on literacy-focused grants and distributed 500,000 books, according to Curry’s representatives. He has also provided seed funding for men’s and women’s golf teams at Howard University, a historically Black school, and started the Underrated Golf Tour, a junior circuit designed to make the game more inclusive. He is co-chair of Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote initiative."

Curry has continued his dominance this season with 30.0 points, 7.0 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Warriors.

Brooklyn Nets point guard Ben Simmons plans to return to the court when his team takes on the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Simmons has missed the past three games—and will also miss Wednesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets—because of knee soreness and a calf strain.

"I'm excited where I'm at right now," Simmons said Tuesday, via ESPN's Nick Friedell. "So I'm looking for Friday to get back on the court."

The team said on Nov. 30 that the 26-year-old was diagnosed with a left lateral upper calf strain and would miss at least the next three games. At the time, he had already missed six contests because of knee soreness.

Simmons was forced to exit Brooklyn's win over the Orlando Magic on Nov. 28 with what was thought to be the same knee issue, but an MRI scan revealed it was his calf.

This most recent stint on the sidelines came at a time when Simmons seemed to be getting back into a groove after struggling to find his form at the start of the season. He had put together a run of six straight games in which he scored in double figures. Prior to that, he started the year with nine consecutive games with under 10 points.

Through his 17 appearances this season, he has averaged 8.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists. He's not yet back to the player he was before missing the entirety of 2021-22 because of a need to address his mental health and a back injury that required offseason surgery. But he appeared to be getting more comfortable the last time he was on the court.

When healthy, Simmons can be a key part of the Nets' quest for playoff contention thanks to his defense and playmaking skills.

Luka Doncic is carrying a Herculean load every night for the Dallas Mavericks, but coach Jason Kidd is worried about the long-term sustainability of his workload.

“For 82 games, it’s no way that he can play at this level, the usage is just way too high,” Kidd told Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill. “No one can. You know, the things that we ask him to do on the offensive end and then asked him to defend on the other end. It’s a lot.”

Doncic is leading the NBA at 33.4 points per game while also adding 8.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists per night. His usage rate is third in the NBA behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, who have both been playing much of the season without their top costars (Khris Middleton and James Harden, respectively).

It's likely Antetokounmpo and Embiid will see their usage rates lower to more sustainable levels as the regular season progresses.

Doncic? He's playing with the roster he's got.

The Mavericks have done a largely dreadful job of surrounding Doncic with talent over the course of his career. Arguably the best teammate Doncic has played with has been Jalen Brunson, a non-All-Star point guard who Dallas allowed to walk this offseason because the front office botched contract extension negotiations.

Dallas is paying Tim Hardaway Jr. $19.6 million this season to shoot 36.3 percent from the floor. Hardaway is under contract through the 2024-25 season and is owed $34.1 million over the next two years.

Dāvis Bertāns is collecting $16 million this season and has played a grand total of 64 minutes. He's also under contract through 2024-25 and is owed $33 million for the next two seasons.

Reggie Bullock is shooting 29.9 percent and making $10 million. The Mavs will have to pay him $5.5 million next season to get him off the books.

This is a 25-win roster being propped into relevance by Doncic's brilliance. It's an abject failure of the front office, one that Kidd correctly notes leaves him unable to even allow his star a quick breather.

“We got to get them help and we got to look to see how we can do that,” Kidd told Yahoo Sports. “His minutes are extremely high. You try to hold him [on the bench] but a lot of times you gotta bring him back early just to get back in the game.”

Doncic has given no indication he's unhappy at this point, but it would be fair to wonder if Dallas will be the location of the next disgruntled NBA superstar looking to find a better situation.

Having lost six of their last seven games and fallen to 10th place in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards could have some big decisions to make looking ahead to the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 9.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Kyle Kuzma has caught the attention of several teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns, if Washington decides to move on from the 27-year-old forward.

There have been rumblings about widespread interest in Kuzma for some time. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on his podcast last week (starts at 47:40 mark) that executives on opposing teams have heard "they're trying to get Kuzma out of Washington."

Charania reported last month the Suns have expressed interest in multiple forwards, including Kuzma, Harrison Barnes and KJ Martin.

Phoenix continues to be in the market for another shooter as it explores trades involving Jae Crowder.

The Hawks have a potential trade chip to dangle in front of Washington if they want to go after Kuzma. John Collins has seemingly been on the block for years, but he remains in Atlanta for the time being.

According to Charania, the Wizards "have shown interest" in Collins and they "seriously discussed a potential deal" for the 25-year-old last offseason.

Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard told Charania that Kuzma "has so much more room to grow" as a player and "we’re really excited for his future growth here."

Kuzma's contract pays him $13 million this season and includes a $13 million player option for 2023-24. He is averaging career highs in scoring average (20.6 points per game), rebounds (7.7) and assists (3.6) in 23 starts.

This marks the second consecutive season the Wizards have fallen off after a hot start. They were 10-3 through 13 games in 2021-22 but finished 25-44 over their final 69 games to miss the playoffs.

Washington was 10-7 after a 106-102 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 20. The team is now 11-13 overall in the midst of its recent rough stretch.

The Wizards haven't made the playoffs in three of the previous four seasons. They haven't won a postseason series since the 2016-17 season.

It's important to have dreams.

When they were examining all of their options and devising ways to strengthen their squad in a major way, the Los Angeles Lakers apparently threw out a surprising name: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on The Ringer's Real Ones podcast (via Silver Screen & Roll) the Lakers thought SGA might be attainable if the Oklahoma City Thunder "completely tank." He dismissed the idea as a "dream" for Los Angeles.

"Don’t get too excited. It’s not happening," Amick said. "I wrote something about it a couple of weeks ago and, boy, did I hear about it from the Thunder."

In November, Amick spoke to an NBA front-office executive who said, "You keep hearing that Shai is frustrated with the losing." Because of that, the 24-year-old may not be untouchable in the event the Thunder reset the clock on their rebuild.

Gilgeous-Alexander is only in the first year of the five-year, $179.3 million extension he signed with Oklahoma City, and the team is just 1.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Sure, the Thunder could command a king's ransom for the dynamic guard, who's averaging 31.3 points, 6.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game, but it's hard to see why they would want to do that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNDokgcEmJM

The notion is even more of a long shot when you add the Lakers to the equation because they don't have the assets to make a straight-up swap. Two first-round picks, Russell Westbrook and whatever else won't get it done for a player with Gilgeous-Alexander's age, production and contract situation.

Bleacher Report's Dan Favale included SGA among the group he dismissed as candidates when rumors surfaced the Lakers were targeting an unnamed mystery star:

Consider this your bi-hourly reminder that Gilgeous-Alexander, who currently ranks as one of the seven top MVP candidates, is the Thunder's timeline and shouldn't be up for grabs. It also wouldn't matter if he was, because OKC could get so much more for him than what the Lakers can currently peddle.

Maybe Gilgeous-Alexander will return to L.A. and don purple and gold at some point down the road. But it won't be anytime soon.

A Los Angeles Lakers championship ring from the 1999-2000 season is on the auction block, but the previous owner might be a surprise.

According to TMZ Sports, the ring was issued to the late founder of Playboy magazine Hugh Hefner. Late Lakers owner Jerry Buss was a longtime friend of Hefner, who died in 2017 at the age of 91.

The 14-karat gold ring with brilliant-cut diamonds was designed to the same specifications as those issued to the players after the Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in six games. The ring is available for bidding through SCP Auctions:

Hugh Hefner's 2000 Lakers championship 14K gold ring given to him by former team owner Jerry Buss is shining in our 2022 Fall Premier 🤩

Current Bid: $8,250

BID HERE: https://t.co/ZJzuetqIv8#LakeShow #NBA #whodoyoucollect pic.twitter.com/AM01Rz9ugZ

— SCP Auctions (@SCPAuctions) November 30, 2022

Hefner's last name is also engraved on one side of the ring, along with the inscriptions of the Lakers' regular season record (67-15) and playoff record (15-8) from the 1999-2000 season. The original Lakers presentation box will be included, and a letter of authenticity from the Hefner family will come with the ring as part of the auction.

The Lakers' win over the Pacers in 2000 kicked off the franchise's run of back-to-back-to-back championships. The famed Los Angeles squad, headlined by Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, remains the last team to three-peat in the NBA.

Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young raised eyebrows after his surprising absence from Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets, but he was in no mood to discuss the situation on Monday.

After Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that an exchange between Young and head coach Nate McMillan led to him being away from the team during a 117-109 victory, the two-time All-Star is not happy how that information got out. While speaking to reporters on Monday, he declined to explain his side of the story and instead lamented on his annoyance at the matter being made public.

"We're all grown men here, and sometimes we don't always agree," Young said. "It's unfortunate that private situations and private conversations get out to the public, but I guess that's the world we live in now. But I'm just focused on basketball and focused on helping my team win, and that's what I've got to get to refocusing on."

When questioned further about his absence from the game, Young sternly said, "A private matter needs to stay private."

"You don't know the full story. ...A private matter needs to stay private"

Trae Young got into it with this reporter 😳

(via @ZachkleinWSB)pic.twitter.com/jVA6jlhjPd

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 5, 2022

Charania and Amick reported Sunday that McMillan presented Young with an ultimatum to either come off the bench or not show up to the arena at all after he wanted to miss the pregame shootaround to focus on treatment for his injured right shoulder.

Young, who was planning to make a decision later in the day after treatment, chose not to play and was listed as out with shoulder soreness.

The 24-year-old didn't face any disciplinary action from the team and returned to practice on Sunday. McMillan described the situation as "just a miscommunication." However, the report from Charania and Amick indicated a deeper issue within the franchise, stating there were "multiple team meetings early this season to resolve various conflicts."

Atlanta sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference at 13-10, but it has struggled to maintain consistency through the early part of the season.

With Young returning to the lineup on Monday, the Hawks will be going for their third straight win when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder (10-13).

For Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, LeBron James' 2016 NBA Finals triumph tipped the scales in his favor in the NBA GOAT conversation.

On UNINTERRUPTED's Throwing Bones, Green made the point that James "was the best player in the NBA by his third season" and maintained that level almost every year since. He added that Jordan "didn't beat the greatest team ever assembled," seemingly a reference to the Cleveland Cavaliers taking down the 73-win Warriors in 2016.

Draymond says it’s LeBron over Michael Jordan 👁️

(via @uninterrupted) pic.twitter.com/gPGeVriOZb

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 5, 2022

While Jordan would probably be the prevailing pick for the greatest ever, the 2016 Finals was probably the one moment more than any other that James seriously challenged MJ for the title.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Jordan was sold on making The Last Dance on the same day the Cavs had their championship parade. Maybe it's purely a coincidence, but you get the sense His Airness sensed the implications of LeBron's third title and saw The Last Dance as his rebuttal.

But Green's comments underline how there will almost certainly never be a consensus regarding the NBA's GOAT.

Ja Morant is getting his signature shoe.

Nike reportedly will be working with the Memphis Grizzlies' star point guard on a signature line of sneakers after dropping Kyrie Irving on Monday, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium:

Memphis Grizzlies All-NBA star Ja Morant is in line to receive a new signature shoe at Nike in the near future, industry sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The parties have been working on this for several months. https://t.co/RzKf9JEIf1

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 5, 2022

Morant, 23, has emerged as one of the NBA's brightest young stars since being drafted No. 2 overall by Memphis in 2019. He's shown improvement every season and has been superb in the 2022-23 campaign, averaging 28.5 points, 7.5 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.

He's also one of the most exciting and explosive players to watch in the NBA, with an impressive highlight reel of astonishing finishes in his young career.

That makes him highly marketable, so getting a signature shoe seemed like an inevitability. The end of Irving's relationship with Nike potentially accelerated the process.

Irving, 30, had one of Nike's most popular signature shoe lines over the years, but the company suspended him on Nov. 4 after he amplified an antisemitic film on social media. After Irving refused to denounce antisemitism and apologize for his actions on more than one occasion while speaking with reporters, Nike took action, and Irving was suspended as well by the Nets.

"At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism," the company said in a statement at the time. "We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone."

Irving is now a sneaker free agent, a fact he didn't seem to be lamenting on social media Monday:

pic.twitter.com/XwLDw6nhmS

— Kyrie🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) December 5, 2022

It remains to be seen if Irving will land another shoe or apparel deal and whether his actions surrounding his promotion of the antisemitic film will affect his appeal for those companies.

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis doesn't worry about outside opinions.

"I don't get into the ratings or rankings. That's not my job," Davis said, per Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports. "I don't care about any of that. It's my job to help this team get wins and compete for championships. And we're on track to having a complete team and putting everything together to be able to compete."

Fans and experts have been critical of Davis' play over the past two seasons, with his numbers dropping and injuries limiting him to only 76 total games. He missed the All-Star Game last year for the first time since his rookie year in 2012-13, while our NBA staff listed him as the No. 17 overall player heading into the 2022-23 season.

The 29-year-old is now proving doubters wrong after a hot start to the year. He's averaging 28.6 points, 2.4 blocks and a league-high 12.8 rebounds per game.

After scoring 44 points in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Davis exploded for 55 points and 17 rebounds in Sunday's win over the Washington Wizards.

Los Angeles has won eight of its last 10 games after a 2-10 start to the year.

Though Davis might not care about what critics think about him, it might be time to adjust expectations for both him and the Lakers this season.