The first part of the Celtics sale is expected to take place officially later this summer, pending league approval.

Of the 19,502 cities, towns and villages in the United States, Oklahoma City is larger than 19,482 of them. Said differently, about 300 million Americans live in cities smaller than Oklahoma City and Indianapolis,

NBA commissioner Adam Silver isn’t buying into the idea that the NBA Finals between the OKC Thunder and Indianapolis Pacers lacks “star power.”

Silver's announcement sounds promising after the poor reception to the tournament structure applied to this year's All-Star Game. Whatever the format of the game, Silver's decision to pivot to a format with a global identity appropriately accommodates their media partner's broadcast plans for the Milano Cortina Games in Northeast Italy.

This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Win your regional today. We begin this morning with a narrative you’ll hear parroted across all channels of sports media: This NBA Finals matchup is a TV ratings nightmare.