The first two days of the 2025 NFL draft were dominated by what didn’t happen – namely the free fall of University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, a presumed first-round pick, and the intense scrutiny and reaction from traditional and social media that followed.

Sanders’ plight was exacerbated Friday – Rounds 2 and 3 passed that night without his selection – when he also received a prank phone call that he initially thought to be from general manager Mickey Loomis of the New Orleans Saints, a team then believed to have interest in Sanders. (Loomis actually chose Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round with the 40th overall pick.)

Sunday afternoon, the identity of one of the pranksters was confirmed – necessitating a surprise apology from yet another NFL club which employs the caller’s father as its defensive coordinator.

The Atlanta Falcons released a statement, which read: ‘Earlier in the week, Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call. Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or any facets of the prank and was made aware of the above only after the fact. 

‘The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family, who we have been in contact with to apologize to, as well as facilitate an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family.

‘We have also been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office.

‘We are thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.’

Jax Ulbrich issued a statement of his own apologizing to Sanders, calling his actions ‘completely inexcusable, embarrassing and shameful.’ Jax Ulbrich also claimed to have spoken on the phone with Sanders and thanked him for taking the call.

The NFL has been investigating the matter since the incident occurred and has been in contact with the Falcons.

Sanders, a son of Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders, was eventually drafted Saturday in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. His wait sparked intense debate about why NFL teams were passing on him, speculation running amok about his pre-draft interviews, his famous father’s role and – in the simplest terms – his talent level and where it should appropriately slot him, though few draft observers prognosticated him to go any later than the second round.

The debate reached a heated level on ESPN’s air Saturday afternoon, when longtime draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., an ardent supporter of Shedeur Sanders’ abilities, blasted the NFL.

Friday’s prank call began with Sanders answering his phone and saying, ‘What’s going on?’

He then put the call on speaker phone for those gathered around to hear at his draft party in Texas.

“This is Mickey Loomis here, of the Saints,’ the voice on the other end says.

The prankster told Sanders: ‘It’s been a long wait, man. We’re gonna take you with our next pick right here, man.’

Sanders replied: ‘Yes sir, let’s be legendary.’

The prank continued, ‘But you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer. Sorry about that.’

The phone call ended and Sanders is seen saying, ‘What does that mean?’

Later Friday night, after the third round finished with him still on the board, Sanders posted on X: ‘Thank you GOD for EVERYTHING.’

Jeff Ulbrich spent 10 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers. He retired following the 2009 campaign and immediately moved into the coaching ranks as an assistant and steadily climbed the ladder. He was hired by the Falcons in January after spending most of last season as the New York Jets’ interim head coach.

Shedeur Sanders’ brother, former Colorado safety Shilo Sanders, went undrafted but agreed to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent Saturday evening.

All NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.

Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Barnett, who played guard in both of the New York Knicks’ NBA championship seasons, has died, the team announced Sunday. He was 88.

Barnett died in his sleep overnight at an assisted living facility in Largo, Florida, according to multiple media reports.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024 as a player and as a three-time All-America for Tennessee A&I (now Tennessee State) teams that won three consecutive NAIA championships (1957-59) —the first HBCU program to win a national title in basketball.

‘Throughout his illustrious career, Dick Barnett embodied everything it meant to be a New York Knick, both on and off the court,’ the Knicks said in a statement. ‘He left a positive impact on everyone he encountered and this organization is incredibly fortunate to have him be such an integral part of its history. His jersey will forever hang in the rafters of Madison Square Garden, and his play throughout his career will forever be a part of Knicks fans memories.’

The Knicks won NBA crowns in 1970 and 1973 with large contributions from Barnett, a 6-foot-4 all-around player known for his unique ‘fall back, baby’ shooting style. His legs flew backward when the left-hander shot jumpers.

It worked for the native of Gary, Indiana, who was selected by the Syracuse Nationals with the fifth overall pick of the 1959 NBA draft.

He played for Syracuse for two seasons (1959-61) and one season for the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League (1961-62). He returned to the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers (1962-65) and finished his 14-year career with the Knicks (1965-74).

An All-Star in the 1967-68 season, Barnett averaged 15.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 29.8 minutes in 971 NBA regular-season games. He also averaged 15.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 27.3 minutes in 102 playoff games.

It couldn’t have gone much worse for the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

After suffering a 129-103 loss to the Pacers in Game 4 at Fiserv Forum, the Bucks will head to Indiana facing elimination in the first round of the NBA playoffs for the third consecutive season.

There isn’t much time for Bucks head coach Doc Rivers to ponder season-saving solutions. Game 5 is at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday.

The Bucks played without Lillard when he had a blood clot that kept him out a month before returning for Game 2 of this series.

Kevin Porter Jr. provides some hope

If there was any bright spot for the Bucks it was the play of backup guard Kevin Porter Jr.

Lillard left the game with just under six minutes left in the first quarter with a non-contact leg injury. Porter was thrust into a larger role and finished with 23 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo carrying a heavy burden

Giannis Antetokounmpo came into the game averaging 35.7 points and 14 rebounds per game in the series.

He struggled in the first half with eight points on 3-for-10 shooting. But he still finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.

The short-handed Bucks couldn’t keep up with the go-go Pacers, who were led by Tyrese Haliburton (17 points and 15 assists) and Myles Turner (23 points).

Jayson Tatum collected game highs of 37 points and 14 rebounds to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 107-98 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday in Game 4 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

The second-seeded Celtics made 30 of their 32 free-throw attempts in the victory, which gave Boston a 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven series.

Orlando tied the score at 91 on a Wendell Carter Jr. putback with 4:18 to play, but the reigning NBA champions seized control by scoring 10 of the next 11 points.

Four of Boston’s five starters scored at least 18 points. Jaylen Brown had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Kristaps Porzingis tossed in 19 points and Derrick White finished with 18.

Paolo Banchero led seventh-seeded Orlando by scoring 31 points. Franz Wagner added 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Carter finished with nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Cory Joseph (12) and Anthony Black (10) were the other Magic players who scored in double figures.

Boston’s Jrue Holiday missed his second straight game in the series with a hamstring strain. Boston’s reserves were limited to six points, all from Sam Hauser.

The Celtics were 9 of 31 on 3-point attempts (29 percent). Orlando was 8 of 30 from behind the 3-point arc (26.7 percent).

Boston led 32-29 after one quarter and stretched its lead to nine, 42-33, with 7:46 left in the second. Orlando went in front 48-46 on a Banchero layup with 3:17 remaining in the first half. The Celtics finished the quarter on a 7-0 run and had a 53-48 halftime lead.

Orlando edged Boston 27-26 in the third quarter, which left Boston with a 79-75 advantage entering the final 12 minutes. Brown scored 11 of his 21 points in the third.

The Celtics can advance if they win Game 5 on Tuesday night in Boston.

Game 4 of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Los Angeles Lakers series was fantastic.

Especially offensively with Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle and Los Angeles’ Luka Doncic and LeBron James combining for 133 points – 43 from Edwards, 25 from Randle, 38 from Doncic and 27 from James.

The back-and-forth contest ended with the sixth-seeded Timberwolves taking Game 4 116-113 and taking a 3-1 lead against the third-seeded Lakers in their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Edwards’ two free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining – after Minnesota challenged a call and won, putting Edwards on the line – put the Timberwolves up 116-113, and Lakers guard Austin Reaves missed a 3-pointer to end the game.

Just 13 teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit, and it hasn’t happened since 2020 when Denver did it twice. The Lakers’ attempt to extend the series starts with Game 5 Wednesday in Los Angeles (10 p.m. ET, TNT).

Anthony Edwards’ star continues to rise and shine

For all the talk about the next “face of the NBA,” Edwards meets the requirement. He’s an elite talent. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, U.S. men’s basketball and Golden State coach Steve Kerr said, “As he continues to learn how to use (his talent) and be efficient in his play, he will be unguardable.”

He possesses the charismatic smile, the confidence and the humor. He’s in commercials (and yes, it would be nice if he limited his fines from the league office.)

Edwards put together one of his finest playoff performances, scoring a game-high 43 points on 12-for-23 shooting, including 5-for-10 on 3-pointers and 14-for-17 on free throws, and adding nine rebounds and six assists.

The talent and efficiency that Kerr mentioned was all there in Game 4. Edwards had 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves eliminated a 10-point deficit to start the fourth.

“You could see it in his eyes that he was going to bring it home,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch told reporters.

Lakers’ roster flaws exposed

Lakers coach JJ Redick mentioned the lack of rim protection after losing Game 3. Starting center Jaxson Hayes played just four minutes as the Lakers’ lack of versatility was exposed in Game 4.

It was Los Angeles’ best offensive game of the series (40% on 19 made 3-pointers and stellar production from James and Doncic). Yet, it wasn’t enough even though Rui Hachimura scored 23 points and Reaves added 17.

Take away shooting stats from James and Doncic, the Lakers were just 18-for-43 from the field (41.9%). Four Lakers played at least 40 minutes, including 46 minutes, 14 seconds from James and 45 minutes, 49 seconds from Doncic. The Lakers simply can’t go many minutes without either one on the court.

Minnesota’s bench outscored Los Angeles’ 25-6, and Dorian Finney-Smith, who played 41 minutes, was the only Lakers reserve to score.

Saving the coach’s challenge for the right time

Finch could’ve used his coach’s challenge long before 10 seconds remained in the fourth quarter. But he saved it. Saved it for just the right time.

With the Timberwolves leading 114-113 and in possession of the basketball, Edwards drove toward the rim. James swatted at the basketball, and it went out of bounds off of Edwards – Lakers ball, the refs ruled.

However, Finch still had his challenge available, and he used it, knowing that under review, the referees could call a foul on James. That’s what happened, sending Edwards to the free throw line for two foul shots, which he made.

Finch used his coach’s challenge 74 times this season and was successful 46 times (62.2% rate) – in the middle of the pack. A coach gets one challenge, and if they get that correct, they get one more in a game.

Each team has a behind-the-bench assistant coach who helps the head coach determine if a challenge should be made. For the Timberwolves, that’s Jeff Newton who has worked in the NBA for the past 12 seasons and had a stint as a head coach in the G League.

Finch and Newton made it work at the right time.