Joel Embiid is finally a real NBA player

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

96 HOURS IN CHARLOTTE: My colleague Tyler Tynes spent a few days in Charlotte during the recent protests following the killing of Keith Lamont Scott by police. He talks to protestors about the absence of Michael Jordan and Cam Newton in the conversation. Go read it.

LINKED: The Knicks and Rockets linked their arms together during the national anthem on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Andre Iguodala speaks out on police violence.

YOU GUYS JOEL EMBIID AND DARIO SARIC PLAYED IN AN NBA GAME FOR THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS MIRACLES DO HAPPEN

SAY WHEN: The god Jackie MacMullan with a rather affecting piece on the players who don’t know they are retired until they just don’t get called by NBA teams anymore.

CLIMB ABOARD THE BANANA BOAT: The Ringer tells the tale of your favorite NBA superfriends with the Ballad of the Banana Boat Brotherhood.

PREVIEW FUN: Flannery and I are both very excited by the Timberwolves, but there’s still a learning curve ahead. We also dove deep into the weirdness of the Chicago Bulls. Here’s the Blog-a-Bull preview on Chicago and the Canis Hoopus preview on Minnesota.

O-H-I-O: Jamil Smith on the power of LeBron’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

SPARK IT UP: The L.A. Sparks finished off the Chicago Sky to claim their spot in the WNBA Finals, which begin on Sunday.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE: Zito Madu on the necessity of protecting the legacy of one’s heroes aka Zito Madu’s apologia for Kobe standom.

SURE: Jeff Hornacek is going to speed up the Triangle, which seems like a recipe for success.

INTRIGUING: A compelling case from Jared Dubin that not only is Chris Bosh an obvious Hall of Famer, but one of the most important players of his era.

IS HE WRONG? Jeff Van Gundy says that NBA players found guilty of felony domestic abuse charges should be suspended a year, and should be banned from the NBA upon a second felony conviction or plea.

LEAVE MELO ALONE, FRANK OCEAN! A defense of Carmelo Anthony.

HELP A SOLDIER SEE ELFRID PAYTON’S HAIR IN PERSON: Orlando Pinstriped Post has a cool ticket drive planned. You can help out from afar!

COLLEGE BASKETBLL PREVIEW: Hey, it’s Xavier!

BONUS SPORT: Elena Bergeron on Serena Williams in Fader. That’s an excellent recipe right there.

AND FINALLY: Every team has someone out there on Twitter who thinks they can win the championship. Believe!

Happy Wednesday. See you next time.