It has been a wild off-season in the NBA.

The latest rumblings came from Los Angeles and it was not the Lakers, who already added Anthony Davis to join LeBron James.

Steve Ballmer’s team added Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Now the Clippers are the favorites to win the NBA title.

Major League Baseball hit the All-Star break. Most of the division races are not close so fans will concentrate on the wild card. The NL Central has been the most competitive division.

If you want to define MENTAL TOUGHNESS and ability to perform on the big stage, just look at the USNWT as they win a fourth World Cup. Amazing that they have been undefeated in a record 17 World Cup matches.

Major League Baseball put on a show in London as the Yankees battled the Red Sox.

The Bronx Bombers had the hot bats, putting up 29 runs in sweeping the two-game series. DJ LaMahieu has been a legit AL MVP candidate and he remained on fire.

The NBA free agency period started. The Nets made big noise with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signing. The Celtics landed Kemba Walker. The Pelicans inked JJ Redick. Damian Lillard signed a supermax extension.

The Knicks lost out on several free agents, ouch.

Wow it is already a wild off-season.

While Zion Williamson dominated the NBA Draft, and a to of big names did not get called, the Yankees have been on fire in baseball.

Now that Didi Gregorius, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are all back, watch out. Guys like Cameron Maybin, Gio Urshela and DJ Lemehieu have stepped up and put the Yankees in great shape.

Aaron Boone and Brian Cahman have done great work this season despite many injuries. The Bronx Bombers look solid.

Here are some thoughts on the 2019 draft:

WINNERS

New Orleans. Starting with Zion Williamson, the Pelicans had a lot to gain. The Anthony Davis trade turned into a haul of draft picks. Adding a young, big talent in Jaxson Hayes will pay dividends in the long run. Nickel Alexander-Walker provides an outside scoring threat.

Atlanta. The tandem of DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish will help up front, adding defensive help. Bruno Fernando is a nice pickup in round two. If Reddish can consistently contribute, he will be a big plus.

Boston. Brad Stevens may lose Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier, so they stockpiled guards Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters. All three were stars on their college teams. Then add solid forward Grant Williams, the SEC Player of the Year and this is a nice group.

New York. RJ Barrett will be a star in the Big Apple. He can score, rebound, pass and defend. Iggy Brazdeikas has potential down the line.

Washington. A sleeper pick adding Rui Hachimura and Admiral Schofield. They also kept Brad Beal.

San Antonio. Luka Samanic was a factor in the combine. I love Keldon Johnson at 29 as a steal. Quanndary Weatherspoon is a nice second round choice.

Memphis. Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke will be instant impact players.

LOSERS

Houston. No picks in this draft.

EARLY SURPRISE

Cameron Johnson to Phoenix at 11. An experienced player and outstanding shooter with good range. Thought he would go around 20.

LATE SURPRISES

Nassir Little to Portland at 25. A lottery pick type of talent. Only averaged 18 minutes a game last season, he will blossom.

Keldon Johnson to San Antonio at 29. Spurs get another star late.

Bol Bol to Denver at 44. He has something to prove and you cannot teach height.

WHAT HAPPENED?

As usual, a number of early-entry players did not get picked. Teams stash foreign players and that cuts the number of youngsters chosen.

Think about some of these players who starred in college and did not hear their name called: Naz Reid from LSU, Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett of Syracuse, Shammorie Ponds of St. John’s, Moses Brown and Kris Wilkes of UCLA, Louis King of Oregon, Luguentz Dort of Arizona State, Jonta Porter of Missouri, Dedric Lawson of Kansas, and Zach Norvell of Gonzaga.

The NBA draft is Thursday and everyone has an opinion on what to expect.

 

I am excited because there is a lot of talent available. Zion Williamson will go number ne and the top three appears to be set. After that, it is a crapshoot.

 

Here are my projections of what I think should happen on Thursday. Enjoy the draft, baby!

 

1. New Orleans Zion Williamson, Duke
2. Memphis Ja Morant, Murray State
3. New York RJ Barrett, Duke
4. New Orleans DeAndre Hunter, Virginia
5. Cleveland Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
6. Phoenix Colby White, North Carolina
7. Chicago Cam Reddish, Duke
8. Atlanta Darius Garland, Vanderbilt
9. Washington Sekou Doumboya, Limonges
10. Atlanta Jaxson Hayes, Texas
11. Minnesota Nassir Little, North Carolina
12. Charlotte Romeo Langford, Indiana
13. Miami Kevin Porter Jr., USC
14. Boston Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
15. Detroit Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga
16. Orlando Keldon Johnson, Kentucky
17. Atlanta Goga Bitadze, Mega Bemax
18. Indiana Bol Bol, Oregon
19. San Antonio Mfiondu Kabengele, Florida State
20. Boston Tyler Herro, Kentucky
21. Oklahoma City PJ Washington, Kentucky
22. Boston KZ Okpala, Stanford
23. Memphis Matisse Thybulle, Washington
24. Philadelphia Carsen Edwards, Purdue
25. Portland Bruno Fernando, Maryland
26. Cleveland Nickel Walker-Alexander, Virginia Tech
27. Brooklyn Cameron Johnson, North Carolina
28. Golden State Daniel Gafford, Arkansas
29. San Antonio Naz Reid, LSU
30. Milwaukee Ty Jerome, Virginia

I celebrated my 80th birthday last week and the sport world celebrated several championships.

The Toronto Raptors beat injury-plagued Golden State to win the NBA title. Kawhi Leonard was brilliant. Guys like Pascal Siakam and Fred Van Vleet stepped up their games. Congrats to first-year head coach Nick Nurse on the championship.

I celebrated my 80th birthday and was treated to great sports action. 

Rafael Nadal continued to show his dominance on clay, winning his 12th French Open

Kawhi Leonard showed his greatness as the Raptors won twice at Golden State.

Rory McIlroy showed his greatness with a 61 to win easily in Canada.

Sir Winston won the last triple crown race of the year at the Belmont.

The Golden State Warriors showed heart on Sunday. The fought to a road win despite injuries to Key Thompson and Kevan Looney. They already were without Kevin Durant. The Finals are now tied 1-1.

The heavyweight boxing division has had several big names dominating. Deontay Wlder, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury were the three big names.

Fans wanted to see Wilder-Joshua or a rematch of Wilder-Fury, which was a wild draw.

So much for a Deontay Wilder-Anthony Joshua heavyweight mega-fight. Andy Ruiz Jr. shocked the world by beating the previously-unbeaten Joshua at Madison Square Garden. Back to the drawing board for the Brit.

Ruiz Jr. was like Buster Douglas against Mike Tyson. He came in as a huge underdog. He shook up the heavyweight division.

A night I will treasure, receiving the Sports Emmy Lifetime Achievement award. Thanks to my loving family, my second family at ESPN. I also want to thank so many special people, a la the late Scotty Connal and Jim Simpson for getting me started, Bob Ley in helping me in the studio and the Montag group for representing me.

Sarasota was the sports capital of the world on Friday night. The Dickie V gala raised millions of dollars for cancer research.

It was a a great night at the Gala. We raised over $4.3 million for kids battling cancer. Reaching our goal was an incredible feeling, and it is a year-long project. The event is top-shelf at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, and the grant money raised has made a big difference.

Each year I present the All-Courageous team, and you see the Dollars paying off, saving young lives. Over 14 years, we have totaled just under $30 million.

Thanks to our special honorees, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, former Alabama coach Avery Johnson and ESPN’s Chris Fowler. Also receiving the John Saunders courage awards were Lee Corson and Holly Rowe. A social grant was given in the name of courageous Purdue student Tyler Trent, who died of bone cancer in January.

Thanks to all of the guests in attendance. Over 77 celebrities came on their own dime to support the cause. This was a night I will always treasure.

The Kentucky Derby ended in so much controversy.

Maximum Security crossed the line first. Then two jockeys protested the race. Twenty minutes later, 65-1 shot Country House was awarded the Derby win.

It was one of the biggest upsets in the races history.

The NFL draft, the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs, baseball…a great sports weekend.

Kyler Murray went first overall to the Cardinals, not a surprise. Dwayne Haskins going 15th to the Redskins was a bit shocking.

The Warriors and Celtics were impressive Sunday, going out to 1-0 leads.

Carolina is a surprising 2-0 leader over the Islanders in their series.

The Rays saw Tyler Glasnow move to 5-0 with a win over the Red Sox.

We need your help! Join us in supporting the legacy of Tyler Trent and have your donation matched until my gala on May 10!

Donate at jimmyv.org/matchfortyler.

This is an exciting week as the NFL draft starts Thursday.

The Final Four is set and I cannot wait to go to Minnesota.

There are so many great storylines. Texas Tech, picked seventh in the preseason Big 12 poll, is going to its first Final Four. Chris Beard has done an incredible job leading the Red Raiders. Defense got them to Minnesota, stopping Michigan and Gonzaga.

Virginia made up for last year's disappointing first-round loss to UMBC. Tony Bennett is a class act who is making history. His father, Dick, led Wisconsin to the 2000 Final Four, meaning the Bennetts are the second father-son duo at the Final Four, joining John Thompson and JT III.