Paolo Banchero has been spectacular to start the 2024-25 NBA season. The former No. 1 overall pick has looked like the face of the franchise the Orlando Magic have sought for years, which included a 50-point outing in a win over the Indiana Pacers earlier this week.
Unfortunately for the Magic, they’ll have to navigate at least the next month without their star forward. In a bit of news announced by Shams Charania of ESPN that the team confirmed not long after, Banchero suffered a torn oblique late in the team’s 102-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday evening, which will sideline him indefinitely, and he will not be evaluated again for 4-6 weeks.
“After undergoing further testing today in Cleveland, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been diagnosed with a torn right oblique, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today,” the team said in a statement. “Banchero will be out indefinitely and his return to play will depend on how he responds to treatment. He will be re-evaluated in four-to-six weeks. Banchero suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Orlando’s game at Chicago on Oct. 30.”
It’s hard to put into words just how big of a loss this is for Orlando, which had aspirations of building on last year’s fifth-place finish in the East. While it’ll be impossible to completely replace Banchero — who has averaged 29 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in 36.4 minutes per game this year — much will presumably be asked of Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs to carry the team in his absence.
With the fast-paced rush of new music releases these days, it’s no wonder fans so often get impatient to hear from their faves, pushing them online to “drop the album.” However, as the saying goes, you can’t rush greatness — and rising UK rapper Central Cee clearly fully believes that old adage, slowly building his groundswell of support stateside over the past few years.
Now, he’s finally ready to drop his debut album, and as a testament to his commitment to the profits of patience, he’s dubbed the premiere project Can’t Rush Greatness. Set for release on January 24th via Columbia Records. The announcement was preceded by the release of the single “Moi” featuring Raye, the Lil Baby collaboration “Band4Band,” and “I Will.”
He also debuted his new single, “One By One,” on COLORS, the popular YouTube performance show that has been instrumental in the rises of superstars such as Billie Eilish, Jorja Smith, and Doja Cat. According to the press release, the song won’t appear on “One By One,” but acknowledges its ethos, even quoting the title in the lyrics: “Can’t rush greatness, you gotta take your time, maintain it slowly.”
Can’t Rush Greatness is due on 1/24 via Columbia Records. You can find more information here.
Korean star G-Dragon has returned with a new single, “Power,” after departing his deal with YG Entertainment. The song is an upbeat anthem in which he vows to “prove ’em all wrong” and “shush all the comments,” while touting his philanthropy and quoting rap pioneer Nas, telling listeners, “The world is yours.” The video is an elaborate “oner” — a single, unbroken shot — following G-Dragon as he roams a television station, invading a colorful array of sets from a construction site to a newsroom to a subway train to spread his message. “Power” is the K-pop rapper’s first solo single since 2017. Along with the new song came the announcement of G-Dragon’s new US label partnership, which pairs Galaxy Corporation with independent label Empire.
For those unfamiliar with G-Dragon, the rapper-singer got his start as a member of K-pop band BIGBANG before breaking off to go solo in 2009 with Heartbreaker. He followed up in 2013 with Coup d’Etat, which made him the first K-pop act with multiple placements on the Billboard 200 chart. His career was put on hold in 2018 as a result of his mandatory military service, from which he was discharged in 2019, and in 2022, he reunited with his band for their first song in four years, “Still Life.” Since then, he’s said he’s been working on a new album, and with his new deal in place through Empire, he should be releasing it sometime in the near future.
The New York Jets keep holding on to any little bit of hope that they can turn their season around and reach the heights they aspired towards when the year began, and on Thursday Night Football this week, they had a chance to pick up a win against the Houston Texans, which are considered one of the up-and-coming teams in the AFC. Their defense had a good opening quarter, and after some difficult drives for the offense, it looked like they were able to finally get on the board when Malachi Corley took an end around in for a touchdown.
The problem: Even live, it looked like Corley might have pulled a DeSean Jackson and dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line. The bad news was that, yes, he did that. The considerably worse news was that because the ball rolled out of the back of the end zone, this became a touchback, and possession went to Houston.
All New York needed was for this to not roll out of the end zone and they would have gotten the ball at the spot where Corley dropped it, which was about two inches out of the end zone. But few things sum up this Jets season better than this, so in a way, this was the only possible outcome.
All those folks who spent the past couple of years calling Gunna a snitch and saying he sold out Young Thug will need to clean some egg off their faces. As part of his plea deal to secure his release, Thugger specifically asked Judge Paige Reece Whitaker to make an exception to his probation stipulation barring contact with his racketeering co-defendants: Gunna. While noting that Gunna is signed to Thug’s label, YSL Records, Thug’s attorney, Brian Steel, also reminded the court that the two frequently perform together. Thug also requested an exception for his brother Quantavious Grier, also known as Unfoonk, who is serving a nine-year sentence after accepting a plea deal of his own.
YOUNG THUG SPECIFICALLY ASKS TO BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE TO MAKE MUSIC WITH GUNNA pic.twitter.com/RFRl6M4TfQ
It was the plea deal accepted by Gunna that prompted suspicions that the younger rapper had “turned rat” on his mentor, with former collaborators like Lil Baby and Lil Durk deeming Gunna a snitch. Gunna addressed such accusations on his 2023 album A Gift & A Curse, while Young Thug’s father stood up for his son’s protégé, asserting that nothing he could say would harm Thug’s defense anyway. Thug’s request suggests that the two rappers are still on good terms — meaning that a follow-up to “Surf,” “Ski,” and “Pushin P” could be on the way soon.
Young Thug is soon to be a free man after more than two years in jail. The Atlanta trap mainstay has accepted a plea deal that will ensure his release, pleading no contest to charges of racketeering and other crimes. He has been sentenced to 15 years of probation.
R&B singer Mariah The Scientist, Thug’s girlfriend, reacted to the news in a text to WSBTV’s Michael Seiden, who contacted her for comment. She replied:
“Thank you God, thank you God. This is more than what we prayed for. We are so grateful, this is the greatest opportunity we’ve ever been presented with and we are so grateful. Thank you Judge Paige Whitaker for giving us the opportunity to move forward with our life! Thank you God. Thank you Brian Steel and Keith Adams and every attorney working on this case, tireless. THANK YOU! I cannot say it enough, I cannot repay you for this. You have changed our lives, Jeffery’s life and mine. Thank you to everyone who has been there for us, every fan, who believed in us and prayed for us.”
I just reached out to Young Thug’s girlfriend, Mariah the Scientist, and she texted me the following statement regarding what happened today in court:⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zGIrD2LRNn
Thug’s trial was the longest in Georgia history — and possibly, its most dramatic. Over the course of the past year, the case went through three judges, a criminal contempt charge for Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel, and a slew of delays. It also met enormous backlash for using lyrics as evidence in what some observers called a racist application of Georgia’s racketeering law.
Young Thug will at last be released from custody after accepting a plea deal in his racketeering case. According to Billboard, Thug agreed to plead “no contest” to racketeering and pled guilty to possession of drugs and firearms, and was sentenced to 15 years probation. He will serve no prison time; he was jailed for over two years as his trial dragged on, becoming the longest in Georgia state history.
Thug opted for a non-negotiated guilty plea after several days of closed-door negotiations with prosecutors. This allowed Judge Paige Reese Whitaker to determine the sentence herself after she found herself losing patience with the prosecutions’ antics. The trial, which didn’t even start in earnest until earlier this year, would have called nearly a hundred witnesses, and with just the first handful necessitating days of delays, stalled testimonies, secret ex parte meetings, a criminal contempt charge against the defense (since rescinded), and not just one, but two judges’ recusals, it’s probably fair to say that all parties involved were ready to get this thing over with.
The trial had already drawn heavy backlash for its application of Georgia’s state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and use of lyrics as evidence, which some observers criticized for racist motivations. Meanwhile, prosecutors wanted Thug sentenced to 25 years in prison, with another 20 on probation, accusing him of leading a criminal organization responsible for a wave of violent crime in the Atlanta area. The District Attorney’s office alleged that Thug’s record label, Young Stoner Life (YSL), was secretly a front for a street gang, Young Slime Life, with a list of violations including murder, attempted murder, robbery, assault, and distribution of drugs.
Several other co-defendants, including YSL rapper Yak Gotti, declined the plea deal, however; they will continue to stand trial for crimes including the alleged 2015 murder of a supposed rival gang leader, Donovan Thomas.
Silo, as a book series from Hugh Howey, unfurls through three expansive novels that grow progressively more ominous as the author reveals this world’s mysterious living arrangements. The narrative is complicated, and the story’s structure could have proved unwieldy to film, and although Apple TV+’s upcoming Neuromancer will soon take on the supposedly “unfilmable” challenge under the highest expectations, I previously feared the same for Silo.
Fortunately, those fears were unfounded because Showrunner Graham Yost (Justified, Slow Horses) clearly lived and breathed Howey’s creations while painstakingly building an extreme underground world. In the first season, the show introduced Rebecca Ferguson‘s Juliette, a brilliant, autistic, and no-nonsense mechanic was more essential to keeping the silo running than any other single person. To oversimplify what followed, Juliette was exiled during the most recent season finale with a cliffhanger ending revealing that Juliette discovers the existence of many more silos. Let’s sum up what has been revealed thus far about her next moves.
Plot
To kick things off on a fun note, Apple TV+ posted a video of Ferguson acknowledging that she and the writers are very aware of those Silo fan theories. She addresses several here, including the “Common’s Leather Jacket” situation: “Dude, I don’t know, I’ve asked the same question.”
On more concrete notes, viewers will recall that the first season saw Juliette recruited as her silo’s mayor, and it wasn’t long before Bernard (Tim Robbins) and Sims (Common) put a target on her back. Bernard, of course, wanted that power, and Juliette’s curiosity and tendency to dig too deep into the silo’s mysterious history (including a murder case) didn’t help matters. Bernard had expected her to die like every other person who went outside, but to his horror, Juliette not only refused to ritualistically “clean” (the show did issue an ominous teaser with a message from the Order: “In the case of failed cleaning, prepare for war) but disappeared over the hillside. And we began to see how Bernard was losing his sh*t while Juliette began to seek new shelter.
A new trailer confirms that Bernard will, in fact, learn that silo occupants are figuring out that Juliette is still alive despite his attempts to brainwash everybody. Additionally, Yost recently told Entertainment Weekly that Juliette survived due to Martha Walker (Harriet Walter)’s contributions to the cleaning suit, and the season premiere will see Juliette pulling out the “engineering” stops “to stay alive.” Along the way, the episode will show us past efforts of those that went outside to stay alive, which will lead Juliette to “follow the trail of bodies that will lead her into a dead silo.”
“There’s the beginnings of a call for rebellion, because Juliette went over the hill, so maybe it’s safe outside. And yet what we saw over in the other silo is what can happen if the rebellion goes wrong and all the people died, so that’s the basic tension of the season.”
A new preview clip reveals that Juliette’s apparent survival (from an inside-the-silo POV) is causing an uprising that might drive Barnard nuts. Good.
From there, the season will split into dueling stories between Juliette’s home silo and the one where she is taking refuge.
As potentially complicated as dueling settings sound, this is actually a simpler structure than Howey’s second book, Shift, and it sounds like Yost and Apple TV+ could be splitting that book into two seasons, although that is a mere guess on my part. This would jibe with Ferguson previously telling Collider that Apple TV+ has a four-season plan for the show:
“I believe that the show has an ending, and I know when that is. So that’s the answer. You will find out when the show is done. To be honest, I don’t think it’s a secret. The books are the books. It’s three books, and the three books are divided into four seasons. So I believe, unless any Apple person is gonna jump on, I think we’re absolutely fine with saying Season 1, we’ve done. Season 2 is shot and coming out, and we’re now looking at green-lighting Seasons 3 and 4. And I think we would film them maybe together, and that would be the end.”
Before that happens, however, the below character will surface, and those are Steve Zahn’s unfriendly-looking eyes:
Apple TV+
Readers will know exactly what’s up with Solo, but to avoid spoilers, Zahn and Ferguson have simply revealed to Variety that he is a “scary and weird” dude. And I will tease that whatever you might be envisioning from Solo (as a visual), you aren’t expecting what will materialize onscreen.
Cast
Steve Zahn has indeed arrived to portray Solo, one of the best characters of the Hugh Howey book series. Rebecca Ferguson will be back in both expansive and claustrophobic confines as Juliette, and Common’s infuriating wardrobe stable will be back on Sims’ bod. Additionally, Harriet Walter returns as Martha Walker with Tim Robbins as Barnard.
Additional Silo cast members include Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, Billy Postlethwaite, Alexandria Riley, Caitlin Zoz, Shane McRae, Rick Gomez, Remmie Milner, and Clare Perkins.
Release Date
A ten-episode season begins on Friday, November 15, 2024 with weekly drops through January 17, 2025.
Trailer
This first full second season trailer shows the drama unfolding in two silos.
Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. This week is Halloween, which means the glut of gimmicky Halloween-themed releases is finally behind us! Now we can get back to the sneakers that are worthy of being worn year-round.
Unfortunately, that means we’ve only got one month of the sneaker year left before the big brands shift away from new releases and start unloading their lesser backlog. That means there is a chance that the year’s best sneaker may release in the next four weeks, but… we’re not holding our breath.
But enough doomsaying, let’s dive into the best sneakers of this week!
The Air Flightposite is back in its original colorway! The sneaker features a holographic iridescent design in a mix of black and metallic gold with a zip-up shroud and stretchy inner sleeve that is designed to contort with your movement.
If you’re looking for a court-ready sneaker that is oozing Y2K-era vibes, this is the sneaker for you.
The Nike Air Flightposite Black and Metallic Gold is out now for a retail price of $240. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
The Devin Booker Book 1 is getting its first Halloween-themed sneaker! Let’s hope this becomes a new yearly tradition.
This spooky take on the Book 1 features a black suede upper, Clay Orange accents, and glow-in-the-dark details for ultimate nighttime visibility. All of that alone would’ve made for a dope sneaker that works in every season, but to really drive the Halloween theme home, the sneaker features an exposed-stitched Swoosh that blends into the upper.
It’s the only outright creepy detail on the sneaker, and while we welcome to Halloween theme, we kind of think the sneaker would’ve looked better without it. Either way, overall this is a cool take on the Book 1.
The Nike Book 1 Leather Halloween is out now for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
If you’re digging the iridescent design of the Flightposite but like a sneaker that’s a bit more retro and less, well, weird, than the Air Max 90 Black and Dark Russet is for you.
The Black and Dark Russet features a synthetic leather upper in a mix of red, green, copper, and pewter, riding atop the iconic Max Air cushioning with TPU accents throughout. Despite its retro look, the colorway manages to make the sneaker look slightly futuristic. Like a late ‘80s version of what the year 2000 might look like.
The Nike Air Max 90 Black and Dark Russet is set to drop on October 31st at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
As we’ve entered the fourth quarter of the year, New Balance has been relatively quiet, so this new dropout of the premium Made in USA line is very welcome for us hardcore NB-heads.
The 990v6 Dark Ember features an off-white mesh upper with red and black suede and synthetic overlays, reflective accents, a TPU back tab, and an ENCAP midsole. It’s nothing new or particularly radical from New Balance, but it looks great, and most times that’s all you need to get sneakerheads hyped.
The New Balance Made in USA 990v6 Dark Ember is set to drop on October 31st at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $199.99. Pick up a pair at New Balance.
This week might be light on big, high profile sneakers, but that doesn’t mean its completely devoid of a good ‘ol brand collaboration. Minimalist design house JJJJound has linked up with ASICS for the GT-2160, a sneaker that combines JJJJound’s aesthetics with design details from Asics’ 2010s’ GT-2000.
The sneaker features a mesh upper with grey overlays, reflective details — including reflective mesh — and a segmented midsole, with two different color options. In terms of which colorway we think is best, it’s kind of a toss-up. We like the stealthy quality of the black pair, but the white offers a really nice pop of contrast on the tongue and heel.
That means that no matter what colorway you end up being able to cop, you’re going to feel like a winner because the core design is so strong.
The JJJJound x ASICS GT-2160 is set to drop on October 31st for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair exclusively at the JJJJound website.
You can always count on Jordan to drop a great sneaker week-to-week, but this week’s Jordan 14 is a bit of a surprise. Lately, the double-digit Jordans haven’t been getting as much attention as the single-digit, so it’s great to see the 14 get love from Nike.
The Black Toe is one of the silhouette’s most iconic colorways. It features a mix of white, black, and Varsity Red premium leather with a low-profile cut, and a Jumpman logo at the collar.
The Air Jordan 14 Black Toe is set to drop on November 2nd at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $210. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club
The Dodgers have won the World Series! What better where to show your Dodger pride than with this LA-branded Dunk? Of course, Nike didn’t know LA would win when they announced this sneaker, and had they lost, this shoe would’ve served as a sad consolation prize. But now, it feels like a trophy!
The Pale Ivory and Baltic Blue features a canvas upper with leather panels, a cloudy midsole, and breezy splashes of blue. The sneaker looks like a straight-up cloud, and we love it for that. And no, I’m not just saying that because I’m from LA.
The Nike Dunk Low Pale Ivory and Baltic Blue is set to drop on November 2nd at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $125. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.
NikeNike
Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.
The Indiana Pacers got off to a bit of a bumpy start to the 2024-25 NBA season, as the team found itself on a 3-game losing streak before knocking off the Boston Celtics in overtime on Wednesday night. It’s not ideal for a team that has aspirations of making it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, but it’s still very early in the season, and as we saw last year, when this team gets hot, they can take it to anyone.
Their best player to this point has been Pascal Siakam, who has looked like the exact sort of star forward the team envisioned when they acquired him midway through last season and especially after they handed him a lucrative contract extension this summer. And with the Pacers having an off night on Thursday before a matchup with the Pelicans in New Orleans on Friday, Siakam decided to have a little fun away from the court by dressing up for Halloween as Andre 3000 in the video for “Hey Ya!”
It is an absolutely fantastic costume, but Siakam wanted to take things a step farther. Not only did he dress up like 3 Stacks, he actually recreated a portion of the iconic music video.
Halloween isn’t necessarily a competition among NBA players or anything like that, but it is always fun to see the lengths guys will go to in order to have the most elaborate costume. I think we can safely say that, as of this point, Siakam has set the bar pretty high for the best costume in the league this year.
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