Category: News

We are just over a week away from the launch of NBA 2K25, and over the past week the team at 2K has been slowly trickling out their top 100 players in the game.

Player ratings are always a hot topic of discussion, especially in basketball where it can be extremely difficult to quantify what certain players do well. The stars are pretty easy to get a handle on, as are shooters, but the guys whose best attributes are things other than scoring the ball can be tricky for a video game to get right. We see that in the top 100 ratings for NBA 2K25, as bucket-getters tend to get a boost (see: Cam Thomas) whereas a swiss-army knife type defender (Jaden McDaniels) doesn’t get quite the same love.

In any case, the top 100 is here, just in time to give NBA fans something to argue over in the dog days of the offseason.

100. Jaden McDaniels (80)
99. Keegan Murray (80)
98. Dereck Lively II (81)
97. Jalen Duren (81)
96. Nic Claxton (81)
95. Daniel Gafford (81)
94. Nikola Vucevic (81)
93. Isaiah Hartenstein (81)
92. Naz Reid (81)
91. Miles Bridges (81)
90. D’Angelo Russell (81)
89. Devin Vassell (81)
88. Chris Paul (81)
87. Andrew Nembhard (81)
86. RJ Barrett (81)
85. Klay Thompson (81)
84. Brandon Miller (81)
83. Austin Reaves (81)
82. Anfernee Simons (81)
81. Mike Conley (81)

80. Immanuel Quickley (81)
79. Cam Thomas (81)
78. Coby White (81)
77. Jonas Valanciunas (82)
76. Ivica Zubac (82)
75. Darius Garland (82)
74. Jerami Grant (82)
73. Herbert Jones (82)
72. Jalen Suggs (82)
71. Alex Caruso (82)
70. Josh Hart (82)
69. DeAndre Ayton (83)
68. Desmond Bane (83)
67. Michael Porter Jr. (83)
66. Kyle Kuzma (83)
65. Draymond Green (83)
64. Tyler Herro (83)
63. Zach LaVine (83)
62. Myles Turner (84)
61. Aaron Gordon (84)

60. CJ McCollum (84)
59. Jarrett Allen (84)
58. James Harden (84)
57. Fred VanVleet (84)
56. Jalen Green (84)
55. OG Anunoby (84)
54. Mikal Bridges (84)
53. Khris Middleton (85)
52. Bradley Beal (85)
51. Rudy Gobert (85)
50. Alperen Sengun (85)
49. Brandon Ingram (85)
48. Julius Randle (85)
47. Scottie Barnes (85)
46. Evan Mobley (86)
45. Dejounte Murray (86)
44. Derrick White (86)
43. Franz Wagner (86)
42. Jalen Williams (86)
41. Cade Cunningham (86)

40. Lauri Markkanen (86)
39. Jaren Jackson Jr. (87)
38. Jamal Murray (87)
37. Kristaps Porzingis (87)
36. Chet Holmgren (87)
35. DeMar DeRozan (87)
34. Jrue Holiday (87)
33. LaMelo Ball (87)
32. Karl-Anthony Towns (88)
31. Pascal Siakam (88)
30. Zion Williamson (88)
29. Domantas Sabonis (88)
28. De’Aaron Fox (88)
27. Bam Adebayo (88)
26. Tyrese Maxey (89)
25. Trae Young (89)
24. Paul George (89)
23. Paolo Banchero (89)
22. Jimmy Butler (89)
21. Damian Lillard (89)

20. Ja Morant (90)
19. Tyrese Haliburton (90)
18. Victor Wembanyama (91)
17. Kawhi Leonard (92)
16. Kyrie Irving (92)
15. Jaylen Brown (92)
14. Donovan Mitchell (92)
13. Jalen Brunson (93)
12. Devin Booker (93)
11. Anthony Edwards (93)

10. Anthony Davis (94)
9. Kevin Durant (94)
8. Jayson Tatum (95)
7. Stephen Curry (95)
6. LeBron James (95)
5. Joel Embiid (96)
4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (96)
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo (97)
2. Luka Doncic (97)
1. Nikola Jokic (97)

Last week, Coldplay’s never-ending, world-beating Music Of The Spheres World Tour arrived in Vienna, Austria. Ernst Happel Stadion was also where Taylor Swift was supposed to perform three of her The Eras Tour concerts, but all three were canceled after Austrian officials arrested two men allegedly plotting to carry out a terrorist attack at the venue. Coldplay’s Chris Martin and opener Maggie Rogers covered Swift’s “Love Story” in Vienna.

Martin and Rogers double-dipped for their final show at Ernst Happel Stadion on Sunday, August 25. Rogers joined Martin for yet another Swift cover — this time, “The 1” from Folklore.

Someone named Neil on X (formerly Twitter) captured the moment with this video. Martin played the piano while harmonizing with Rogers, and what appeared to be two Coldplay-Swiftie crossover fans sat beside Martin.

Last Wednesday, August 21, Swift publicly addressed her canceled Vienna shows for the first time with a lengthy Instagram caption. She wrote, in part, that she had chosen to remain silent until she completed her European leg because “my priority was finishing our European tour safely.”

“Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows,” Swift wrote.

Read her full statement here.

Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for one of the year’s most critically-admired films. Directed by Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez is a crime musical starring Zoe Saldaña as a lawyer in Mexico who is hire by a cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) to help fake her death so that she can finally embrace her true gender identity. The film, which earned an 11-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, also stars Selena Gomez.

“I was very nervous because this is a project that is unlike anything I’ve ever done before,” the singer and Only Murders In The Building star told The Hollywood Reporter. “Even though I have such a small part, it’s such a big and special project that I feel so lucky that I was able to be a part of it. I felt better after the premiere, less nervous.”

You can watch the teaser above.

The female leads of Emilia Pérez — Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz, Zoe Saldaña, and Gomez — shared Best Actress at Cannes, with Gascón also becoming the first trans performer to win the award at the festival. “Women together — that’s something we wanted to honor when we made this award,” Barbie director and 2024 Cannes jury president Greta Gerwig said of the split honor. “Each of them is a standout, but together transcendent.”

Emilia Pérez comes to select theaters on November 1 and begins streaming on Netflix on November 13.

Last Friday, August 23, BTS’ Suga appeared before Seoul police related to his license being revoked due to allegedly driving an electric scooter while drunk earlier this month. According to Reuters, Suga stated he will “sincerely participate in the investigation.”

Suga’s sincerity carried over into his handwritten note posted to WeVerse and translated by Billboard, as seen below:

“I would like to apologize again to you with shame. I deeply apologize for the disappointment and hurt of my misbehavior to my fans and everyone who loves me. I’ve made a big mistake, forgetting the responsibility to repay you with actions worthy of the love I’ve received.

[…]

It’s all my fault. My carelessness is giving everyone who cares about me a hard time. I will try not to do anything wrong again and live with repentance. Due to this incident, I have greatly damaged the precious memories I made with the members and fans and put a lot of pressure on the name of the BTS. I feel so sorry and painful that it’s hard to express because it’s causing damage to the members and the team. I’m sorry that the members who always trusted me have a hard time because of me. And I know the disappointment that the fans who supported and supported me must have felt.”

[…]

I just feel sorry for the fans who have always given me too much love… I know that it is difficult to heal the wounds and disappointments that my fans have received with any words, so I regret it deeply and reflect on it with a heavy heart every day. Once again, I sincerely apologize to the fans who were hurt by me. We will receive criticism and reprimand as well as future dispositions. Finally, once again, I sincerely apologize for causing a social stir and disappointing many people.”

Suga also admitted to his “mistake of riding an electric scooter on the sidewalk after drinking” on August 6.

As relayed by Billboard, “BTS’ label BigHit also shared a pair of statements on Weverse at the time, noting that Suga was wearing a helmet and had only traveled about 500 meters before falling down while parking the scooter.”

Brat has been one of the year’s biggest hits so far, and it sounds like there’s potentially more where that came from.

In a new Vulture interview, Charli XCX said there’s a “full-length other project” that may be on the way. She wouldn’t call it a remix album but said, “It’s definitely in the bratosphere, so to speak.” The story also notes that Charli was recently in the studio with Bon Iver and Danielle Haim.

Meanwhile, the piece also includes quotes on Charli from Taylor Swift and “Guess” partner Billie Eilish. Swift said, “I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off.” Eilish called Charli the “coolest b*tch I know” and said, “I’m just so honored to have been a part of Brat Summer.”

She also talked about her relationship with Atlantic Records, saying, “I’ve always been … interpreted as difficult. I have a high standard, and I don’t think they’re right always. And I’m not willing to do something just because they think it’s right. They don’t know what’s best for me and my career, you know? I don’t suffer bullsh*tters, you know? There are a lot of bullsh*tters in the music industry. There really, really are.”

Find the full feature here.

For decades, sneaker companies have used their sponsorship of college athletics to create a pipeline to get young athletes into their gear, hoping to carry on that partnership once they are at the professional level. However, with college athletes now able to sign endorsement deals, there are avenues for a player to sign with a different brand if they want.

On Monday, we saw that happen with the biggest name in men’s college basketball this season, as incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg (the expected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft) was announced as the new face of New Balance’s basketball division (video here). It’s a huge get for New Balance, as the brand has put together an impressive lineup in their return to the hoops space in recent years, headlined by Kawhi Leonard, Tyrese Maxey, and Jamal Murray, but Flagg gives them a potential young superstar to build their brand around.

As Flagg explained to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, signing with New Balance was a nod to his Maine roots.

“The connection with New Balance as a family company and a company with Maine roots means a lot to me,” Flagg told ESPN. “That makes this really different and special. My mom used to go to the tent sale for back-to-school shopping there when we were kids. That really aligns the brand with my roots. It’s a perfect fit.”

Flagg is still expected to wear Nike on the court at Duke (although, it is possible some player will challenge that rule at some point in the not too distant future), but off the court he will rock New Balance and then move to wearing their basketball line once he’s in the league in 2025.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Sabrina Carpenter continue her summer success and Jessie Reyez link up with an icon. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Sabrina Carpenter — “Taste”

As one of 2024 biggest stars, Sabrina Carpenter didn’t exactly need help generating excitement around her new album, Short N’ Sweet. A “Taste” video in which she kills and kisses Jenna Ortega didn’t hurt, though.

Coldplay, Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna, and Tini — “We Pray”

Coldplay haven’t historically been huge on features, although they’ve had more of them in recent years. Last week’s epic “We Pray” is especially notable on that front, as it sees the band teaming up with Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna, and Tini.

Jessie Reyez — “Ridin” Feat. Lil Wayne

Wayne has been a rap icon for years now, and Reyez managed to lock up a feature from him on “Ridin.” The sexually charged tune is built on a head-bobbing groove, and Wayne and Reyez turn out to be a perfect pair for the track.

Mk.gee — “Lonely Fight”

Mk.gee is heading out on a North American tour in a week, and he’ll have at least one new song to play on the dates. Actually, fans already know this one, as “Lonely Fight” is a live favorite that now has an official release.

Cash Cobain — “Act Like”

Cobain’s ascent continues with the release of his debut album, Play Cash Cobain. As Uproxx’s Aaron Williams notes, album highlight “Act Like” is “an inquisitive plea to a lover, based on a sample of R&B star Tyrese Gibson’s 2002 hit ‘How You Gonna Act Like That..’”

Doechii — “Boom Bap”

Doechii is having fun on “Boom Bap,” a two-minute tune that features everything from scatting to blowing raspberries. Doechii’s TDE debut Alligator Bites Never Heal is shaping up to be a project to keep an eye on.

Fontaines DC — “In The Modern World”

Dublin rockers Fontaines DC have been stars in their native Ireland for the past half-decade, and they’ve had momentum stateside, too. Their new album Romance and songs like the anthemic “In The Modern World” should help continue the push.

Yaeji — “Booboo”

For her first new song of 2024, Yaeji went back to 2017: Last week’s “Booboo” actually interpolates her own “Raingurl” and shows Yaeji’s renewed appreciation for dance music.

Foxing — “Hell 99”

“1999 / Stuck until the end / Suffer ’til the end / Masochistic trend / Carson MTV / Bizkit NYE / F*ck f*ck f*ck.” What a way to start a song, and that’s just what Foxing did on their in-your-face single “Hell 99.”

Illuminati Hotties — “Sleeping In”

Sarah Tudzin has proven to be a real Swiss Army knife, whether she’s producing an engineering for a host of recognizable artists or doing her own thing as Illuminati Hotties. Her new album Power is out now, and “Sleeping In” is a charming look at adapting when it’s worth it.

Bruce Springsteen is a billionaire, according to Forbes. Jeremy Allen White is preparing to portray Springsteen in Deliver Me From Nowhere, a forthcoming Springsteen biopic. In other words, Springsteen exudes legendary status, and nobody would blame him for walking off into the sunset.

But Bruce Springsteen made it explicitly clear that he does not want to walk off into the sunset.

“We’ve been around for fifty f*cking years, and we ain’t quitting!” Springsteen told the crowd at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 23, according to this video circulated by Consequence. “We ain’t doing no farewell tour bullsh*t. Jesus Christ! No farewell tour for The E Street Band! Hell no. Farewell to what? Thousands of people screaming your name? Yeah, I wanna quit that! That’s it. That’s all it takes. I ain’t going anywhere.”

Springsteen and The E Street Band’s commitment to completing their ongoing world tour cannot be questioned. Last year, several dates had to be postponed to allow Springsteen to recover from peptic ulcer disease. The rescheduled dates picked back up this March.

Springsteen and The E Street Band will next play at Nationals Park in Washington, DC on September 7 and Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland on September 13.

Lizzo has been flying relatively under the radar ever since she started facing harassment lawsuits in 2023. It seems she’s perfectly content with this mode of being and is actively enjoying the break.

In an Instagram post shared yesterday (August 25), Lizzo shared a video of herself enjoying rain in a swimsuit and wrote, “I’m taking a gap year & protecting my peace.”

Indeed, Lizzo seems to have been prioritizing her mental health lately. In May, she wrote, “I’m the happiest I’ve been in 10 months. The strange thing about depression is you don’t know you’re in it until you’re out of it. I’m definitely not all the way as carefree as I used to be.. But the dark cloud that followed me every day is finally clearing up. My smile reaches my eyes again and that’s a win. I thought my album was finished.. but I gotta get some of these good vibes off in a banger real quick. Thanks for your patience.”

She also responded to being referenced in South Park, saying, “That’s crazy. I just feel like, ‘Damn. I’m really that b*tch.’ I’m really that b*tch. I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a f*ck to the point where these men in Colorado know who the f*ck I am. And put it on their cartoon, that’s been around for 25 years. I’m really that b*tch. And I showed y’all how to not give a f*ck and I’m going to keep showing y’all not to give a f*ck.”

Jenna Ortega has an Instagram account, but no Twitter. The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress deleted it years ago after a “terrifying” experience where she was sent pornographic images of herself when she was a minor.

In an interview with the New York Times, Ortega was asked for her thoughts on A.I. “I hate A.I. I mean, here’s the thing: A.I. could be used for incredible things. I think I saw something the other day where they were saying that artificial intelligence was able to detect breast cancer four years before it progressed. That’s beautiful. Let’s keep it to that,” she said. “Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No. It’s terrifying. It’s corrupt. It’s wrong.”

Ortega shared that the first DM she ever opened when she was 12 “was an unsolicited photo of a man’s genitals, and that was just the beginning of what was to come. I used to have that Twitter account and I was told that, ‘Oh, you got to do it, you got to build your image.’ I ended up deleting it about two, three years ago because the influx after [Wednesday] had come out — these absurd images and photos, and I already was in a confused state that I just deleted it.” She added, “It made me feel uncomfortable… I couldn’t say anything without seeing something like that. So one day I just woke up, and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t need this anymore.’ So I dropped it.”

Ortega previously discussed the dangers of social media as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series. “Social media, what it does to anyone our age, it’s such a comparing game. It almost influences bandwagon mentality,” she said. “It’s very manipulative.”

(Via the New York Times)