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The Best of the Day: January 5th, 2021
See the best of the day in sports from January 5, 2021 including DeVonta Smith winning the Heisman, the NBA's 3-point revolution, and more!
Roll Bama Roll
The ‘Best of the Day’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the most significant stories, highlights, and facts going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened on 1/5 here.
College Football’s (MVP) Heisman Trophy was awarded Tuesday night with Alabama’s DeVonta Smith taking home the prestigious award. Smith had a dominant 2020 season, leading the country in a number of categories. Smith, along with teammate Jaylen Waddle, will likely be the third and fourth WRs selected in the first round from Alabama in the 2020 and 2021 NFL Drafts, further solidifying Bama as a NFL talent pool. Also, five NBA games took place on Tuesday, with four of them coming down to the wire. These games showcased the continued 3-point revolution, as the Spurs tied the franchise record for 3PM while Portland broke their record for attempts in a game.
Here is the best of the day from January 5, 2021:
Likely 2021 top-10 pick WR DeVonta Smith won the CFB Heisman Award
Alabama WR DeVonta Smith earned college football’s most prestigious award when he received the Heisman Trophy Tuesday night. Smith, likely a top-10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, finished ahead of second place vote-getter Trevor Lawrence, the consensus top prospect. Rounding out the top four were two other potential first round picks at QB in Smith’s teammate at Alabama, Mac Jones, and Florida’s Kyle Trask. Smith is just the fourth WR ever and the first since 1991 to win the Heisman Trophy. He is also the third Alabama player to win the award, joining standout NFL RBs Mark Ingram and current back-to-back rushing champ Derrick Henry.
Smith, Alabama’s all-time leading receiver in yards (3,750) and touchdowns (43), was flat-out dominant this season. He led the nation in receptions (105), yards (1,641), and receiving touchdowns (20) in just 12 games. What makes Smith’s play even more special is that fellow WR and likely first round pick Jaylen Waddle went down midway through the year with a season-ending ankle injury. He has had to shoulder an even bigger load as the clear-cut No.1 WR with defenses scheming up specifically for him in the pass game. Smith will be just the latest elite NFL WR prospect to come out of Bama, who’s recent history in producing WRs is second-to-none.
And the Heisman goes to ...
— ESPN (@espn) January 6, 2021
🏆 DeVonta Smith 🏆
(📍 @NissanUSA) pic.twitter.com/S6s4K8sQwc
DeVonta Smith is the first WR to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 🔥 pic.twitter.com/faIk6BDJc2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 6, 2021
To recap Alabama’s receiving core in 2019:
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 6, 2021
DeVonta Smith: Heisman winner.
Jerry Jeudy: Biletnikoff winner.
Henry Ruggs: 12th overall pick.
Jaylen Waddle: Projected 1st rounder
WOW. JUST WOW. pic.twitter.com/GKPYiCvLpC
Since 2007, only three non-QB players have won the Heisman Trophy:
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 6, 2021
Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, and DeVonta Smith.
All played under Nick Saban at Alabama. pic.twitter.com/JlelY4m5wa
Related: Stories of the Day
The NBA’s 3-point revolution is only going to continue rising
Steph Curry and the splash brother Warriors changed the game of basketball over the last decade. Their offensive strategy was simple: three points are worth more than two, so why not focus on taking more three-point shots. This led to Daryl Morey’s Rockets to take this one step further, basically eliminating the two-point jumper from their game. That team set the NBA record when they attempted 70 three-pointers in a game last season.
This year, this emphasis on the three-pointer is only increasing. On Tuesday, Gregg Popovich’s Spurs tied a franchise-record with 20 made threes in their victory over the Clippers, while Terry Stotts’ Trail Blazers set their own franchise record with 51 three-pointers attempted. Patty Mills made eight huge threes for the Spurs, while CJ McCollum attempted 14 for the Blazers. NBA scores are increasing, and more threes are being attempted than ever before. Expect this trend to only continue in the future as analytics become a bigger part of the game.
Portland Trail Blazers attempted a franchise record 51 3PA in their loss to Chicago on Tuesday night pic.twitter.com/FHsHFY4hbe
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) January 6, 2021
The Spurs tie a franchise record for most three-pointers in a single game with 20 threes tonight.
— Noah Magaro-George (@N_Magaro) January 6, 2021
This comes after draining a season-low six triples in their first blowout loss of the year two nights ago.
Related: NBA Takeaways of the Day
The pass & the dunk were worthy of the top spot
.@KyrieIrving goes behind the back to @_bigjayy_ who THROWS. DOWN.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 6, 2021
🎥 @MaimonidesMC Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/DlcuRdbseS
Related: NBA Highlights | Brooklyn Nets Highlights
C Nikola Jokic, DEN (v.MIN): 35 PTS (12-20 FG | 1-1 3PT), 6 AST, 15 REB, 1 BLK, 3 STL, 4 TO
#PlayerOfTheDay (1/5/21) - C Nikola Jokic, DEN
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) January 6, 2021
THE FACTS:
- 2nd ever w/ 150 PTS/75 REB/75 AST through 7 GP
- 1st game without double-digit AST this season
- 1st non-guard to start a season w/ 6 GP of 10+ AST
- Leads the NBA in 2020-21 with 11.9 APG https://t.co/iTRl0C8vgz
Related: Players of the Day
Chicago Bulls (111) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (108)
BULLS (+396; $9.60) d. @BLAZERS (-396; $11.02) 111-108 [CHI +9.5 | u232.5]
Related: Games of the Day
NBA Game Reviews: January 5, 2021 by Noah Camras
Four of the five NBA games came down to the wire, including LAL defeating MEM with LeBron taking over late
The King & LaVine iced the game, major comebacks occurred in multiple matchups, and the Joker defied the odds once again ⬇️ https://t.co/4MzFwwXMI6
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) January 6, 2021
Related: Latest PSO Posts
FULL ARTICLE: Most Significant Sports History on January 5th
🗓 This Day in Stats, 1962: Wilt Chamberlain begins an NBA record streak of 47 consecutive complete games. pic.twitter.com/bgfF8j6oIk
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 5, 2018
YEARS: 1962 & 1983
SIGNIFICANCE: Wilt Chamberlain began his streak of 47 straight complete GP AND Julius Erving did his baseline cradle dunk
Related: Significant Sports History
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