Week 1 is in the books and it was a great week at that. Let's recap on previous week of games...
We began Thursday evening with none other than the defending champion Pistons and their banner ceremony. The Pistons faced off against the newely added Bulls, now lead by BOD member KMD.
Pistons 53 Bulls 44
The Pistons started out slow before Guard Kevin Marcinkoswki secured a couple steals that lead to back to back layups. Well balanced offense from the Pistons saw 4 players reach doiuble digits in the game leas by team GM Shawn Fischer (19). The Bulls came out strong jumping to an early lead but struggled down the stretch to hold on to it. Rookie Daryl Hanes got to the basket for the Bulls leading the charge for them in scoring (17).The Bulls are going to need to rely more on returning Guard Aidan "Clearwater" Brunner and GM KMD if they plan on getting into the win column this season.
The Pistons will face the Heat (1-0) this Sunday at 4PM.
The Bulls will face the Lakers (0-1) this Thursday at 730PM.
Grizzlies 80 Clippers 63
Game 2 featured the Clippers and the newely added Grizzlies. If you didn't know the name Jack Harper before Week 1, now you should. In his Grizzlies GM debut, Jack went absolutely nuclear leading the way for the Grizzlies (32). From the start of this game it was Jack Harper through and through, 1st round pick Matt Larusch made his summer league debut alongside Nashiem Harris to provide double digit scoring efforts in the teams win. The Clippers came into week one injured and only had 6 players available. Notable injuries include newely acquired Forward Ty Bailey from the Wolves and Brett "BB" Borowski from the Thunder. Nate "Magic" Hoellig needed help and I expect a healthy Clippers team will give him that help.
The Grizzlies will face the Wizards (0-1) this Sunday at 6PM.
The Clippers will face the Kings (1-0) this Sunday at 5PM.
Thunder 70 Rockets 66
The GAME OF THE WEEK was last Thursday and it did not disappoint. The Thunder, lead by Austin "AP" Peach and Tyler "TK" Kittinger went blow for blow with Derek Dorr, Al Hiam, and Jay Bergmann of the Rockets. A back and fourth battlle for 40 mins resulted in the seasons first Hardwood Classic. TK lit up the stat sheet in the 2H (25) to go along with a statline of 17 and 9A from AP. Jay Bergmann went on a personal 8-0 run to give the Rockets the lead halfway through the 2nd half before TK respoonded with back to back 3s. This game was close until former champ Zach Caito nailed a dagger 3 with under a minute left in the game. A late 3pt make by Al cut the final score to 4 but it wasn't enough as the Thunder get the huge W1 win.
The Thunder will face the Raptors (0-1) this Sunday at 4PM.
The Rockets will face the Sixers (1-0) this Sunday at 8PM.
Moving onto Day 2 of our 3 Day Week 1 special, AllPlay Athletics featured 5 more big opening season matchups.
Bobcats 78 Suns 64
Matchup 1 featured the Suns against the newly rebranded former Hornets, now Bobcats team. A culture change was what Cats GM Jake Nye was needed and in W1 we saw what kind of culture they're bringing to the table this season. This game started good, a lot of fast paced ball was being played and then it started. The takeover by the Cats. Coan Relyea and Rookie Eddie Cosggrove combined for 54 points and 24 rebounds, a duo that played fantastic. It can't get better than that right? Unfortunately for the rest of the league, it gets worse. Defending league MVP Eric "Ice Geis" Geisler will make his Bobcat debut in W2. A scary seen for any team the Cats have to face this season. On the other side, we saw a fast paced Suns team that only lacked interior size. The 3 guard combo of newly acquired Zach Garland (Sixers), Brady Gleason (Heat) and returning star Guard Jason "J-Mart" Martin look like they could be a real problem. Matteo Duennebacke led all Suns in scoring with 20 on the day.
The Bobcats will face the Mavs (1-0) this Sunday at 7PM.
The Suns will face the Sonics (0-1) this Sunday at 6PM.
Mavs 73 Wolves 70
Game 2/5 on the day was my personal favorite and it featured the Mavs and Wolves. Two teams with longevity in the APA. This one came down to the wire. The Mavs were my lock of the week coming in strong with reigning ROTY Aaron "Boog" Jones and Andy "The HandyMan" Strug. They made a huge draft day move acquiring Forward Ahmet Merzihic and drafted the best card dealer this side of the Buffalo River, Zak Ciezki. All this to get the Mavs a hopeful, deep playoff run this upcoming August. 29 from Boog and 21 from Strug is normally enough to get the job done, but Wolves Forward Jarmani Cooper had somehting else in mind as he was a problem scoing 27 for the Wolves. A couple big threes from Rookie Chris Bourne and Winter champ Jordan Ernest kept this Wolves team in it throughout the entirety of the game. The Mavs won by 3 but the Wolves had multiple shots with under 12 seconds left for a shot to tie it.
The Mavs will face the Bobcats (1-0) this Sunday at 7PM.
The Wolves will face the Nuggets (0-1) this Sunday at 7PM.
Knicks 78 Nets 66
The Rookie of the week is none other than Knicks Forward Kalon "KD" Kimble. KD got busy in the paint this past weekend scoring all 42 of his points from inside the arc. He got what he wanted, when he wanted, where he wanted. The Nets had no answer for Kimble with the absence of first round pick Kavon "Unc" Rogers. The Nets needed to see more out of Veteran Guard Conor Foley. He missed what are normally easy routine shots. Nick Reeb had the best game for the Knicks posting a 24 point double-double and Darius Embry added 14. Nets GM Brian "BG" Gonser made his return to action for the first time since the 2023 season. This Knicks team looked good from start to finish. Excited what head coach Nicc Johnson and team GM Richie Sotero will bring to the summer league in their debut season.
The Knicks will face the Magic (0-1) this Thursday at 830PM.
The Nets will face the Spurs (1-0) this Thursday at 630PM.
Heat 77 Raptors 67
Game 4 of 5 featured another pair of returning APA teams in the Heat and Raptors as well as a well deserved crashout from Raptors Forward Mike Ludwig. What led to the crashout? How about 17 a piece from Heat keepers Jemery Clark and Ryan Merz to go with 26 from Rookie Jeriah "BPD" Williams. BPD also was the first to officially throw down an in-game dunk in the 2025 season this game. This game was not a blowout however and the Raptors battled until the end behind Grabar's 32 point night. The Raptors will need to step it up and keep their emotions under control if they plan on being a playoff team this upcoming August. Shoutout Brody Kamuda, he balled out in his season opener (10p, 1 assist, 1 stl, 3 boards, 1 day of fun)!
The Heat will face the Pistons (1-0) this Sunday at 4PM.
The Raptors will face the Thunder (1-0) this Sunday at 4PM.
Bucks 70 Nuggets 56
This last game shocked me quite a bit. The Bucks put B2A on the Nuggets. Prime MVP Jack Bickerstaff (29) looked fantastic in his Buck's debut coming fresh off the trade from the Lakers. Reigning 6Man Winner Nolan Edwards couldn't miss (21), Gavin "Most Improved" Borrello put the clamps on the Nuggets guards, it was just an all around great team performance from the Bucks in their season opener. Other than Nuggets Rookie Guard Devon Darrell and Center Charlie "No Cap" Sobieraski, the Nuggets struggled to find the bottom of the nylon throughout the game even being down as much as 20 at one point. I'm hopeful for a Nuggets bounce back but what a great first game Bucks.
The Bucks will face the Celtics (1-0) this Sunday at 5PM.
The Nuggets will face the Wolves (0-1) this Sunday at 7PM.
Our final day of games was Sunday 5/18 and it featured 4 fantastic matchups throughout the course of the afternoon.
"Come off the pick and roll, shift the hips, jab cross...LEFTY FLOATER!" - Jack Bernstein
He and the Celtics did just that this past Sunday afternoon in their dismantling of the Wizards. 28 in the contest for Bernstein to go with 19 from Nani Rivera which helped them get out to and hold a big lead throughout the game. AJ Turner showed up late for the Wizards but wasted no time in efforts to get the Wiz onto the board with back to back quick buckets. He finished the contest with 16. I expect Gualla to clean it up this week or things could get ugly early over in that Wizard locker room.
The Celtics will face the Bucks (1-0) this Sunday at 5PM
The Wizards will face the Grizzlies (1-0) this Sunday at 6PM
Spurs 60 Magic 59
Number 2 made his debut before Number 1 and people are talking. Sean Weisansal took the league quickly with a first half double-double which included a run of 4 straight 3s. He also secured 15 rebounds for his team. This game had its moments for sure. New GM Pat Hart hit a pair of 3s early on, first round lottery pick Tyree Coble added a double-double, and rookie Danny Emma put up double digit numbers as well. This game came down to the wire and the Spurs were able to hold onto the win after grabbing a last second free throw shot rebound as the clock would go on to expire.
The Spurs will face the Nets (0-1) this Thursday at 630PM
The Magic will face the Knicks (1-0) this Thursday at 830PM
Sixers 51 Lakers 43
This game stunk. Not because the Lakers lost, but it was just a bad game if you were expecting points and highlights. Lots of missed shots, lots of rebounds. Only 2 players scored in double digits this game and that's Tommy Michael from the Lakers (15) and John Borton from the Sixers (10). The Lakers had a 2 point halftime lead and were up 38-31 midway through the second half and then the Sixers went on a run to gain the lead. The Sixers called a time out to short a Laker run which cut the Sixers lead to 4 and then would hold on down the stretch for the win.
The Sixers will face the Rockets (0-1) this Sunday at 8PM
The Lakers will face the Bulls (0-1) this Thursday at 730PM
Kings 71 Sonics 54
The W1 finale of our 3 day slate and we saved Mario Quattrucci for last. Mario had 4 days of warmups going into this matchup, getitng shots at every dead ball opportunity he had over the prior 11 games. His efforts paid off as he went on to score 21 of his teams 71 points. The King of Kings however was Summer Rookie Malikye Ridgeway who displayed his wicked athleticism securing the leagues first triple-double (24-12R-10A). Kings World Center Mike Borton clogged the lane on defense and also got himself a double-double for the day. The Sonics were lead by UhnderDowg Roy Wallace who will need to have big games for his team throughout the season. He had a 15 and 15 game and Rookie TaKeylo Burts had 15 of his own.
The W2 slate begings this Thursday, May 22nd LIVE from IFS Basketball with 3 games followed up with 9 games this Sunday, May 25th for the first time ever, from St. Francis High School. Tune in on the Twitch or come watch in person!