MELBOURNE, Australia -- Madison Keys said breaking through at the Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title "means the world" after she defeated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three thrilling sets Saturday.

Keys, the 19th seed, was a big underdog coming into the clash with two-time reigning champion Sabalenka, but she produced her best tennis to win in two hours and two minutes 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

At 29, Keys becomes the second-oldest first-time women's winner of the tournament after China's Li Na broke through for her win in 2014 at 31.

The American started fast against Sabalenka, who struggled with her serve early. Two double faults helped gift Keys the opening game, and Keys held for 2-0 advantage.

While Sabalenka struggled on her serve, Keys flourished. Through two service games, she had landed all but one of her first serves to put pressure on Sabalenka, who was unable to win her way back to level and was instead broken again for a 4-1 Keys lead.

And while Keys had the chance to serve out the first set not long after, Sabalenka started to lift. She broke Keys, but the seeds of doubt didn't take root for the American, who broke back immediately. Another Sabalenka double fault -- her fourth of the set -- brought up break point and paved the way for Keys to take the first set 6-3 in just 35 minutes.

Sabalenka's four first-set double faults was her most in a single match in Melbourne, let alone in a set, while her lopsided return of just four winners and 13 unforced errors painted the picture of an uncharacteristically bad start for the Belarusian.

But Sabalenka's record coming back from a set down in Slams had been remarkable. Coming into the final, she was a staggering 10-1 in majors after losing the first set, well ahead of the next-best player in that time, Iga Swiatek, who boasts a 6-5 record.

After a quick bathroom break, three-time Slam winner Sabalenka reappeared, seemingly reenergized. Breezing through her first service game, Sabalenka converted on her third break-point chance of Keys' service game to lead 2-0.

Not long after, Keys gave up a second service game, and the reigning champion found herself up 4-1 and steaming toward taking the second set, eventually taking it 6-2 and sending it to a decider.

After exchanging 11 holds and with a tiebreaker looming large, the decisive moment of the third set -- and the match -- came with Sabalenka down 0-15 and serving to stay in the tournament at 5-6. Having already sent an off-balance forehand long, Sabalenka served wide and the American rattled off a huge backhand return winner to which Sabalenka could only grimace in frustration.

Sabalenka steadied momentarily for 15-30, but a forehand error into the net in the next point brought up two championship points for Keys. She sent one wide, but converted the second with a stunning inside-out forehand winner. Keys screamed in ecstasy as she secured her first Grand Slam title.

"I just kept telling myself, 'Be brave, go for it, just kind of lay it all out on the line.' At that point, no matter what happens, if I do that, then I can be proud of myself. It just made it a little bit easier," Keys said in her news conference.

It was her fifth three-set win at the tournament, the most in a single Australian Open since the Open era began. She knocked off four top-10 seeds (Sabalenka, Danielle Collins, Elena Rybakina and Swiatek) en route to the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. It's a feat tied only by Evonne Goolagong -- who presented Keys her trophy -- who defeated four top-10 seeds at Wimbledon in 1980.

"I really felt like going into each match that if I could just try to go out, play how I wanted to play, I was really just going to give myself the opportunity to try to win the match. I felt like not stressing about things that I couldn't control, I just felt like I was able to play a little bit more free," she said.

"I think there was a confidence in maybe not playing matches amazingly from start to finish and having some dips here and there, but being able to end on a really high note each time and figure out how to get back in matches, or how to close out a match really well ... I just slowly started continuing to build the confidence.

"I think part of it was that I never really got ahead of myself in each round. I never once thought about the next round until I was actually there. So, I think, yes, I believed that I could do it. I also think I did a good job of just focusing on the task at hand."

Keys mentioned she'd been using therapy as a way to unburden herself of expectations after years on the tour, and told ESPN that "letting go" of trying to win a major is what helped her succeed in Melbourne.

"I've done a lot of work to no longer need [winning a Grand Slam]. I really wanted it, but it's no longer the thing that was going to define me and, kind of letting go of that burden, I finally gave myself the ability to play for it," she said after the win.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka lamented her poor form in the first set, saying Keys managed to push her onto the back foot with powerful groundstrokes and assertive serving.

"I think she played super aggressive. It seemed like everything was going her way. I was just trying to put the ball back. Couldn't really play my aggressive tennis and didn't feel my serve that well. The return was off. Then in the second set I kind of got my rhythm back," Sabalenka said.

"She just played incredible. It seems like she was overhitting everything. The depths of the balls were really crazy. I was trying my best. Obviously [it] didn't work well."

Sabalenka also dismissed an unusual postmatch racket smash as "frustration," saying she needed to leave the arena briefly to compose herself before the ceremony.

"I was so close to [achieving] something crazy," she said. "When you're out there, you're fighting, but it seems like everything going not the way you really want to go. I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand there being disrespectful. I was just trying to let it go and be a good person, be respectful."

With the breakthrough major title, Keys moves up No. 7 in the world, which matches a career high she last achieved in 2016.

THIS PAST FALL, Dan Snyder had dinner in London with longtime associates. For only the second autumn since 1999, Snyder was not the owner of his beloved Washington football team.

He was not living the ups and downs of an NFL season, as he had done since his childhood in Maryland.

He was not presiding over the Commanders' rebuild, already on the cusp of a stunning turnaround, the kind of rise that Snyder lived for in a previous life: from 4-13 in 2023 to what would eventually be a 12-5 regular season and an underdog playoff run, culminating in an NFC Championship Game appearance Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

But now Snyder is a ghost: The new-look Commanders are not only led by first-time general manager Adam Peters, new head coach Dan Quinn and sensational rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, but they also have a new ownership group, led by Josh Harris and his Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

At the London dinner, Snyder, 60, was polite, if not subdued, and did things the associates had come to expect, such as ordering almost everything on the menu. Snyder said that he was enjoying a quiet existence, mostly in London. Life was better for his family, far from the controversies that had engulfed him and the team the past several years. Talk inevitably turned to the improving Commanders, already off to a strong start. When one associate returned to the United States, a colleague asked him the question that's been on the minds of many fans and league executives:

What's it like for Snyder, for years the most hated owner in sports, to watch the Commanders succeed without him?

"He f---ing hates it," Snyder's dinner companion told the colleague.

Neither Snyder nor any of his representatives responded to interview requests from ESPN. But according to league sources, team owners, sports executives, lawyers and others with knowledge of his current status, some of whom requested anonymity to discuss sensitive legal matters, Snyder has recast much of his life since he sold the Commanders under duress 19 months ago.

He has mostly lived in London, often surrounded by a security detail, or spent time on his superyacht. He is trying to sell his remaining U.S. real estate holdings and decided to give away a $35 million estate to the American Cancer Society after it sat unsold for months. Any business he conducts is from the U.K., where sources with firsthand knowledge say he has expressed interest in buying into a Premier League soccer club, although others who know him well doubt Snyder will ever own any professional sports team again.

What little remains for him in the United States includes a tangle of unresolved legal issues -- and the thoughts of what might have been if he had never sold the team.

SNYDER NEVER WANTED to sell, even after putting the Commanders up for sale. Few people outside the league, Harris' company, or the Commanders organization know that he tried desperately to blow up the sale at the last minute.

Snyder had been pressured into the sale by fellow owners who roundly hated him and league executives eager to see the franchise returned to its former glory -- and profitability. Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue recently told confidants that Snyder is "the worst owner in the history of the National Football League."

A source with direct knowledge said that, after months of negotiations with Harris, Snyder was imagining ways to keep his team. One idea, the source said, was to announce that he had years earlier given up alcohol, and to say that much of his alleged misbehavior over the years that caused so much league and fellow owner angst happened while he was drunk. Snyder also purposefully set a minimum price of $6 billion for the Commanders, knowing that few people, even among the ultrarich, could afford that price tag.

Despite Snyder's resistance, the sale process moved ahead, with Harris' group barely clearing the asking price. Harris needed to recruit approximately 20 limited partners.

Then, on July 20, 2023, shortly after owners approved the sale for a North American sports franchise record of $6.05 billion, the NFL gave Snyder another reason to be mad, fining him a record $60 million on the way out. A league investigation led by attorney Mary Jo White not only affirmed Snyder's alleged sexual harassment of a team employee but also concluded he had fostered a toxic workplace culture and that the Commanders had withheld revenue from the NFL. Sources said Snyder was infuriated that the fine dropped the amount just below the $6 billion he had insisted on from the beginning.

"There's no way I'm paying," Snyder told confidants about the league fine.

Suddenly, the sale's closing -- a supposed formality -- turned into an eleventh-hour drama, multiple sources with direct knowledge told ESPN. Snyder threatened to kill the deal by refusing to share his bank information, preventing Harris from wiring him the money. At 1 a.m. on July 21, Snyder and his wife were fielding phone calls from various executives and confidants, urging him to do what he'd pledged and let go of the team.

"I don't want to do this," Snyder told a confidant.

A rally celebrating Harris' ownership group was scheduled for later that day at the since-renamed FedEx Field.

But as 1 a.m. became 2 a.m., Snyder was refusing to hand over the stadium keys.

"I don't care!" Snyder said, according to sources with direct knowledge of what transpired in those hours. "It would be trespassing if anyone goes there. It's still mine!"

League executives didn't know what Snyder would do next but told Harris' group to be on call, ready to wire the funds if and when Snyder shared his bank information -- and before he could renege.

In the days leading up to the close, sources said, Dan and Tanya Snyder were pressed by confidants and friends, including Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, the three-time Super Bowl winner who supported Snyder even during the darkest times, to complete the deal out of love for the team and fans.

Associates reminded Snyder in those wee hours that the primary reason to sell was his family. The past few years of relentless revelations about bad behavior and questionable ethics, largely of Snyder's own doing, had taken a toll on his three children. Tanya reminded her husband that the sale would relieve their emotional distress. A confidant warned Snyder, "The only way your legacy gets worse is if you rip this back now."

Quiet minutes passed. Tanya said, "Dan, I know this is hard. This was a dream."

With that, Snyder relented. He gave the go-ahead to Jason Wright, then the Commanders' team president (he declined to comment for this story), to share the bank information so the Harris Group could wire the $6.05 billion. It was finally official: Harris and his fellow investors owned the Washington Commanders. The league had finally pushed out its most hated owner. The rally the next day at FedEx Field commenced as planned.

Months later, Tad Brown, CEO of HBSE, told confidants, "We don't get the Commanders if not for Joe Gibbs."

Despite Snyder's protests about the $60 million fine, it was paid July 21 "as part of the overall transaction," a league official confirmed.

"The fine was a condition of the sale and was included in the resolution that was voted upon and approved by the full membership," the official said.

A spokesman for HBSE declined to comment on the sale, citing a nondisclosure agreement signed by the two sides.

THOUGH DAN SNYDER held tight to the end, Dan and Tanya Snyder had been quietly planning their second act for months. Less than three weeks after announcing on Nov. 2, 2022, that they intended to sell the Commanders, the Snyders established a company to operate in England and Wales. The document established a new company, dubbed "Snyder UK Investments Limited," but it also signaled the Snyders' future intentions. On the documents setting up the company, Snyder, and Tanya, then the co-CEO of the Commanders, were asked where they "usually" reside.

They both answered: England.

London made sense as the place for the Snyders to envision their post-Commanders life together. The United Kingdom holds a special place in Snyder's heart. His late father, Gerald, who was an author and freelance writer for National Geographic and United Press International, held a dual U.S.-U.K. citizenship. At the age of 12, Dan Snyder moved from Silver Spring, Maryland, to Henley-on-Thames, outside London, as his father researched and wrote a book on the Loch Ness Monster. For two years, the family lived in the U.K. and Snyder attended a private school. It was then that Snyder became a devout Anglophile who today adores London's history, culture and nightlife, associates said.

Snyder left the United States with a raft of legal action against him or the team during his tenure, including expected subpoenas from federal and civil lawsuits, investigations by multiple attorneys general and a two-year-old FBI and IRS inquiry into the Commanders' finances.

Since November 2022, federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia, have been investigating deceptive business practices alleged in an April 2022 letter that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent to the Federal Trade Commission.

A federal grand jury was impaneled, team financial records were subpoenaed, and several former team executives met with prosecutors, sources with firsthand knowledge told ESPN. No indictments have been returned. President Donald Trump this week appointed a new interim U.S. attorney for the district, and the future of the inquiry will be up to him. Snyder has been a loyal supporter of Trump, including writing a $1 million check to the president's 2017 inaugural committee.

Snyder also is the central figure in a federal lawsuit filed a year ago by one of his former minority partners against Bank of America, the bank that Snyder owed a debt of nearly $1 billion when he sold the team. In the lawsuit, a Tampa, Florida, billionaire and former minority partner of the Commanders, Robert Rothman, alleged that Bank of America conspired with the NFL and Snyder to force him and two other minority partners to sell their stake in the Commanders back to Snyder in 2021 at a valuation roughly half of the $6.05 billion Snyder was ultimately paid.

The lawsuit, which does not name Snyder as a defendant, alleges that Bank of America turned "a blind eye" to "financial red flags" raised by Snyder's management of the team, including his alleged failure to pay the partners a share of the profits and his increasing reliance on team debt to finance his lavish lifestyle.

The centerpiece of Rothman's lawsuit is Bank of America's December 2018 approval of the franchise's $55 million credit line taken out by Snyder without his minority partners' knowledge or required approval. The bank allowed Snyder to draw $38 million in March 2019 from the credit line "without verifying Snyder had obtained board approval," the lawsuit states.

A Bank of America spokesman has said the bank "will vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations."

A federal judge has given permission for Rothman's lawyers to begin to seek discovery on some of the claims in the original suit, which could include seeking sworn testimony of Snyder and NFL executives, including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

"Our complaint clearly alleges my client, Bob Rothman, lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of Bank of America's actions," attorney Brian Kopp said. "In the process, the bank overloaded Dan Snyder with debt, knowing that he would have to sell the team. Even though he made a lot of money selling the team, I suspect that Dan Snyder feels that he got squeezed by the bank."

Practically, Snyder's relocation to London marked the beginning of his estrangement from some of his American friends and longtime associates, including nearly everyone connected with the NFL, according to several sources who speak with members of Snyder's inner circle. During his 24 years at the helm of the Washington football team, Snyder's closest ally among NFL owners was Jerry Jones, who told ESPN recently that he has not spoken with Snyder since he sold the team.

But bridges were burning long before the move. In October 2022, ESPN reported that Snyder told close associates that he had dug up dirt on Goodell and fellow NFL owners, including Jones, and told a close associate he would use it to "blow up" those who forced him to sell. "They can't f--- with me," Snyder said privately.

When it came to Snyder's nearly quarter-century partnership with the NFL, Jones said simply, "It was time for a divorce."

WHEN HE'S IN London -- and not aboard his 305-foot superyacht, the $180 million Lady S, which was docked this month off Harlingen in the Netherlands -- Snyder has filled some of his days visiting Westminster pubs and restaurants, a source with firsthand knowledge says. The pubs are within walking distance of the luxury hotel where he's been living while a condo he bought is being renovated, the source says. On other days, the source says, he visits the Chelsea office where his U.K.-based investment firm is housed.

It's unclear how Snyder has invested the $6.05 billion windfall he received for the team he bought for $800 million in May 1999. On documents detailing his investment firm's holdings, the Snyders list 1 million in assets.

One of Snyder's post-Commanders' investments backfired in a high-profile way. Snyder invested $6 million in a film titled "The Apprentice" through Kinematics, an upstart production company run by his 29-year-old son-in-law, Mark Rapaport. The film tells the story of Trump's early years under the mentorship of lawyer and fixer Roy Cohn. When he made the investment, Snyder assumed the film would depict Trump positively, a source with firsthand knowledge told ESPN. But last February, Snyder screened the film with Rapaport at an island home and, the source said, became enraged by the decidedly negative portrait. The film was shelved until Kinematics finally sold off its stake last summer, and the filmmakers searched months for a U.S. distributor. In October, "The Apprentice" was released in the United States to box-office failure but critical acclaim and, this week, Academy Award nominations for actors Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.

Within months of closing on the Commanders sale, the Snyders listed for sale their Potomac, Maryland, estate, known as "River House," overlooking the Potomac River. The 30,000-square-foot mansion, the Snyders' main residence since 2001, was listed for $49 million, but after it sat unsold, the Snyders slashed its price to $35 million. Still, there were no buyers.

Finally, in March, the Snyders donated the estate to the American Cancer Society. It was the largest gift in the organization's 110-year history; the organization has still not sold the estate. It's now listed at $29.9 million. The Snyders will be able to use the $18.5 million appraised value as a tax write-off. They've also listed for sale their Virginia estate, not far from George Washington's Mount Vernon. The asking price is $60 million, but it remains vacant and unsold.

According to sources in London sports circles, Snyder in recent months has shopped for a piece of a soccer team, preferably in the Premier League, where exponential growth in team valuations rivals the NFL. A source close to the Premier League acknowledged hearing of Snyder's interest in a club but said no formal move has been made. "I keep hearing he wants another act as a team owner -- the Premier League is his dream," said another source who was briefed on Snyder's Premier League fandom and keen interest in an ownership stake.

Such a move would be "an act of redemption," the source said. "He could maybe prove people wrong by getting a Premier League team. ... He could reinvent himself there because he can't do it here. He literally can't."

But other sources close to Snyder and in the Premier League believe he would never buy into a soccer club or any other professional sports team, for that matter. The reason isn't because of finances, or prestige, or even baggage.

"He isn't a fan of other sports," one source said. "He's a fan of the [Commanders]. That was the biggest thing."

At the age of 6, Snyder attended his first Washington home game with his father, who scraped together enough money for two tickets. Snyder was hooked. "For him, it wasn't somebody losing a team. This was different. He loved that team."

IN THE MONTHS after the associates dined with Snyder in London, Washington's season continued its stunning rise to the NFC title game, led by Jayden Daniels, the type of superstar quarterback who Snyder for years contended might save him from being forced to sell the team.

And D.C. has rallied around its team in ways it hasn't for decades -- since its last Super Bowl win after the 1991 season -- and in ways Washington rarely rallies around anything.

In late December, after years of lobbying by Jason Wright and other Commanders executives, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to transfer the site of the team's former home, RFK Stadium, to Washington, D.C., paving the way for a long-awaited new stadium. Suddenly it's cool again to be a Washington football fan.

Even the former team employees who accused Snyder of fostering a toxic workplace have joined in, starting a text chain to discuss the turnaround with each other.

"Karma is real," said Melanie Coburn, the former team cheerleader and marketing director who testified about the team to Congress. "For years, we endured the dysfunction and toxicity at the organization under Dan Snyder and blamed all the losses on the dark cloud he brought over the team. Turns out, we were right."

Snyder's outlook has evolved. There's still anger, and he remains "in denial" about what led to his ouster, said a person close to his inner circle. But there's also something else: "Sadness -- for himself," that person said. "It's killing him. ... It's devastating for him."

But even from across the pond, Snyder's specter still hovers over the team. After Washington upset Tampa Bay in the wild-card round, its first playoff victory since Jan. 7, 2006, Josh Harris and limited partner Magic Johnson stood outside the locker room, surrounded by exuberant family members and cameras. Johnson put his right arm around Harris and spoke into the microphones.

"What does it take?" Johnson said. "New vision, new owner with a strategy, picking the right people ... and then, we all step out of the way and let them do their jobs."

"Talent, culture and people," Harris said.

Neither man mentioned Dan Snyder's name. There was no need.

Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham are senior writers for ESPN. Reach them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

IT'S LATE IN the evening on Jan. 15, and Tony Parker is walking down a hall at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. The sleeves of his mauve bomber jacket rolled up, he stops every few steps to soak in adulation from fans paying homage to the greatest player in French basketball history.

The Hall of Fame point guard and four-time NBA champion represents the past for both the San Antonio Spurs and the country of France.

Just a few feet down the hall, Victor Wembanyama -- the present and future of the franchise, French basketball and possibly the entire NBA -- waits for second-half instructions in the locker room after blocking eight shots in helping San Antonio build a 63-51 halftime lead over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The lead doesn't last, as Wembanyama and the Spurs fall victim to their inexperience and lose by 14. Two nights later, they again lose at home to the Grizzlies -- this time without star guard Ja Morant -- by 28.

Still, the 21-year-old's faith in the Spurs franchise remains as solid as ever, despite a 22-win rookie campaign and the club's most recent struggles -- losers of six of their past seven games -- headed into the 2025 NBA Paris Games, which will tip off Thursday against the Indiana Pacers.

"The organization has proven over and over they're willing and they're doing the right things," Wembanyama said Friday after the Spurs' 140-112 loss. "The most important thing is trust and also communication. It's a balance and the will [between both parties] to keep that balance over the years. This is what's going to pay off."

During the predraft process, in which Wembanyama was not only considered the consensus No. 1 pick but a generational prospect, he professed on multiple occasions that San Antonio was exactly where he wanted to be.

He had good reason, given San Antonio's track record for prioritizing international scouting, its three-decade run of developing stars from all over the world, including France, and the five NBA titles and 22 straight postseason berths dotting a multiple-era dynasty that remains unrivaled in modern NBA history.

So, when the time came for the Spurs to make their selection in the 2023 NBA draft, dreams became reality.

"The greatest thing I could have asked for," Wembanyama said. "The greatest franchise, the greatest team, the greatest culture, the greatest fans."

Parker, for his part, experienced somewhat of a different dynamic: selected by the Spurs with the 28th pick in 2001, at a time when taking a French point guard in the NBA draft was unheard of.

Fellow Frenchman Boris Diaw, who won the 2000 FIBA Under-18 Championship alongside Parker and captured an NBA title with San Antonio in 2014, told a story at Parker's jersey retirement ceremony with the Spurs in 2019 that encapsulates the atmosphere Wembanyama is experiencing now.

Diaw recalled that while he hadn't yet become an NBA player, Parker -- the then-19-year-old Spurs rookie -- invited him to coach Gregg Popovich's home for Christmas dinner.

Diaw found it odd, he said, that a coach of Popovich's stature would ask his first-year guard over for a meal on Christmas, and odder still that the rookie could invite his own guests. During that dinner, the story went, somewhere in between the main course and dessert, Parker and Popovich disappeared.

"I go look around the house," Diaw said. "Then I see Pop doing film with Tony about the game the night before. Pop was yelling at Tony.

"And I'm like, 'Wow.' So, in the same night, you could have the family setting, all the loving and care, and at the same time caring about making Tony a better player on Christmas night. That's when I knew Tony was in good hands and that his career was going to be great."

More than two decades later, that culture remains -- for this next generation.

THE CURRENT NBA landscape features a record-tying 14 French players, including two Spurs in Wembanyama and Sidy Cissoko, the 44th pick of the 2023 draft.

The 2024 draft marked the first time three players from the same country outside of the United States were selected in the top 10 in France's Zaccharie Risacher, Alexandre Sarr and Tidjane Salaun. Teams picked up a record four French players in the first round and five overall.

"Every time I go to a city, I'm like, 'Oh man, there's a French guy,'" said Washington Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly, the seventh pick in 2023 and Wembanyama's former teammate on France's Metropolitans 92. "It's like we really did something."

Popovich and the Spurs saw this day coming and the longtime coach expressed as much prior to suffering a mild stroke in November that has kept him away from the team. Over the years, the Spurs' roster has featured a total of seven Frenchmen, including three (Parker, Diaw and Nando De Colo, who was traded to the Toronto Raptors in February 2014) on the 2013-14 squad that ultimately hoisted San Antonio's most recent Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.

Having majored in Soviet studies at the Air Force Academy, Popovich speaks Russian and Serbian, and he played on military basketball teams that took him all over Europe. Popovich saw firsthand the talent his European counterparts possessed.

So, when Popovich entered the NBA in the late 1980s as an assistant coach, he was surprised the league hadn't fully tapped into the European talent pool. Popovich recalled seeing Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson when he traveled to scout the European championships in Cologne, Germany, thinking he was in precisely the right place to uncover talent.

"There was a prejudice [against European players]," Popovich told ESPN. "A little hesitancy because they wouldn't play defense, won't assimilate, they won't like it here. We'd played against some of these guys, and they were awesome. So, I knew they were out there. They were everywhere."

Now, some 30 years later, opening-night rosters featured 125 international players from 43 countries.

Brett Brown has been with the Spurs organization for a decade, over two stints, serving as an assistant coach from 2007 to 2013 before returning in 2022. He recalls a dinner years ago that made him realize the extent to which foreign-born players had become mainstays of NBA rosters -- and why.

"I'm sitting at a dinner table with Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills, Sean Marks, Manu Ginobili and me," Brown told ESPN. "I look around and there's Argentina, there's France, New Zealand, Brazil, there's Australia. They're heavyweights on the global basketball scene, stars outside of the country. I think they see the world and the sport just from a much wider lens. They really sort of see things differently."

IT WASN'T EASY for Parker. There were plenty of instances when, as a rookie, he would stand in the showers after practices -- ones in which he had endured some type of verbal lashing -- with tears welling in his eyes. He wondered if he would ever be able to satisfy the famously hard-driving Popovich, even though Parker had been named the Spurs' starting point guard just five games into his first season.

"I make the joke, but it's true," Popovich said. "I should've been arrested for abuse [for] the things I did to that kid."

Regardless, Parker found a home over 17 years with the Spurs en route to setting a franchise record for assists (6,829) and earning top-five rankings in games played (1,198), scoring (18,943 points) and steals (1,032).

Parker, a six-time All-Star and member of four All-NBA teams, became the first European to win NBA Finals MVP (2007).

"During training camp and the first couple of games, I was really tough on him, gave him a lot of things to think about, a lot of things to do," Popovich said. "And he showed he had the fortitude and courage to do this. I gave him the ball and said, 'This is yours. Figure it out.'"

Parker did just that.

"French basketball is Tony," Diaw said. "Tony is French basketball. There is no way you can talk about French basketball without the name of Tony coming up."

It almost didn't. If Popovich had his way initially, perhaps France wouldn't currently be the most represented European country in the NBA for each of the past 18 seasons.

Parker's first workout with the Spurs left Popovich with the impression the Frenchman was "too soft" to excel in San Antonio. Parker took part in a private predraft workout with the Spurs in Chicago against former front office employee Lance Blanks, who dominated from start to finish.

Parker's dispassionate reaction afterward made matters worse.

Popovich was done and wanted to move on. But Sam Presti, current executive vice president and general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, wouldn't let him. Presti was working for the Spurs in the scouting department under current San Antonio CEO R.C. Buford and had spent extensive time prior to the 2001 draft studying Parker's game. After Popovich explained why he felt Parker wouldn't fit in San Antonio, Presti cut up a videotape addressing each of the coach's concerns.

It convinced Popovich to grant Parker one more workout. The Frenchman excelled.

"R.C. was ahead of his time," Parker said during his jersey retirement ceremony. "Him and Sam Presti. You took a gamble on me. I was terrible in my first workout with the Spurs. Pop didn't want to hear about Tony Parker. He was like, 'I'm done. I want another point guard.' And R.C., man, you kept talking to Pop, kept showing him the videos. I'm so lucky you gave me a second workout and I was able to show you I wanted to be a Spurs point guard."

For Wembanyama, the stakes are even higher in leading a franchise beginning its next evolution, fresh off opening a new, $500 million training facility with plans to build a new downtown arena. While Parker started the international movement in San Antonio, the Spurs need Wembanyama to carry it into a new generation -- one, once again, of sustained dominance.

TWO DAYS AFTER he was drafted, Wembanyama sat at a dais in San Antonio, the latest international phenom to tantalize the NBA and the latest French prospect to don the black and silver Spurs uniforms.

Next to him stood a 58-inch-tall Lego replica of the Eiffel Tower.

It took a team staffer 15 hours to build the 10,001-piece set, which a Spurs executive purchased the prior winter for $629.99 not knowing the club would wind up drafting Wembanyama No. 1 months later -- and unaware of the Frenchman's love for Lego sets.

The organization admittedly first started fantasizing about drafting Wembanyama four years before it pulled the trigger on the selection.

"It's amazing," said Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year who grew up in Saint-Quentin, France. "It's great for all the people that paved the way, the first ones, the first generation like Tony [Parker], Boris [Diaw]. All these guys showed Americans, showed the NBA, they could dominate in this league and be great players in this league coming from Europe. Now, we have kids that are not scared about dreaming about the NBA. All the kids that are courageous enough to dream about that can have role models they can look up to and then try to follow their path."

While five players from France landed on rosters after the 2024 draft, four more -- Nolan Traore, Noa Essengue, Joan Beringer and Noah Penda -- should figure prominently in the 2025 draft.

"We love basketball," the Wizards' Coulibaly said. "At first it was soccer. Then to see all the greats like TP, Boris Diaw, all these guys getting rings and everything. It was like, 'Oh man, I want to do this too.'"

Wembanyama said he believes there's even more room to grow for his country, especially on the international stage. He played on the French squad that fell to Team USA in the gold medal game at the Paris Olympics in August.

"It's something I'm very proud to be a part of, these waves of players coming," Wembanyama said. "But I think we're not there yet. What we lack right now is international titles for French basketball. This is a great adventure. But French basketball is not near its full potential right now."

Neither is he.

Still, he is confident in San Antonio's plan to build a winner around him for the long haul.

"I'm confident with the group we have, the people in the organization and the people I've been on board [with since] day one," Wembanyama said. "We know this season it is not going to be a straight line. It's going to be ups and downs. This is not easy. We're not going to go 82-0 in a season. We're going to have losing streaks. But I'm very confident in the will that my guys have.

"The long term is never being questioned."

The 2025 NBA Rivals Week concludes Saturday with four exciting matchups, including a 2024 Finals rematch between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.

After a dominant return to France, which included a 30-point, five-rebound outing against the Indiana Pacers, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will face off again against Tyrese Haliburton & Co. in a rematch in Paris.

Team USA Olympic teammates LeBron James and Stephen Curry will go head-to-head for the second time this season as the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors duel in a Western Conference battle.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Denver Nuggets in a rematch of last season's exciting Western Conference semifinals that saw Anthony Edwards get the best of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic in a Game 7 thriller.

Are these rivalries in the making a preview to the postseason? Which superstars will take over this weekend? Our NBA insiders answer the biggest questions surrounding these eight teams, plus the best bet for all four matchups.

Indiana Pacers vs. San Antonio Spurs, noon ET (ESPN)

What is behind the Pacers' recent surge, and can they hold onto it for the postseason?

Although the Pacers are playing slower than last season (currently ranked seventh after finishing second in pace last season), their speed and pace covers up deficiencies on the defensive end. Make no mistake, though. Indiana has improved defensively, playing what coach Rick Carlisle has called "a demanding style" that has the team looking poised for another trip to the Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers own a record of 14-5 since Dec. 13, and four of those losses came against contenders such as Oklahoma City, Boston, Milwaukee and Cleveland. If they sustain the improved level of play on defense, the Pacers have a chance to ride that momentum into the playoffs.

What will it take for the Spurs to break into the top six in the West?

San Antonio isn't far out of contention, but a couple of issues have plagued the Spurs. Offensively, San Antonio gets caught up playing the opponent's game (a product of lapses on defense), which can lead to devastating outcomes like we saw in three straight losses before Thursday's win over Indiana in Paris. Lack of communication defensively remains a major issue. The Spurs keep saying they can no longer use youth as an excuse for uneven performances, and prospects for moving up in the West won't improve until San Antonio gains a level of consistency in those areas.

With one game down, Victor Wembanyama's homecoming is___?

Shaping up to be the huge success that Wembanyama and the Spurs hoped for. Wembanyama wanted to shine in his native France, and he did just that Thursday in producing his seventh game with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. In just his second NBA season, Wembanyama already ranks among the top six all time in such games. Most importantly, San Antonio secured a win propelled by a strong collective shooting night in which the Spurs demonstrated they can deal with fast-paced teams like the Pacers.

-- Michael C. Wright

Best bet: Victor Wembanyama under 33.5 points and assists (-125)

Wembanyama dropped 30 points and dished out six assists in his first NBA game on French soil Thursday night. But he's gone under this line in eight of his past 10 games. The Pacers aren't pushovers defensively this season, especially against centers. I expect Indiana to do a much better job of containing Wemby on Saturday. -- Eric Moody

Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, 3 p.m. (ABC, ESPN+)

Are Westbrook and Jokic the duo to lead the Nuggets into the playoffs?

Russell Westbrook has been an awesome story this season, a former MVP who has bounced around the league in recent years. He's thriving alongside Jokic, averaging 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.6 assists as a starter. It appears increasingly likely that Westbrook will remain in the starting lineup -- Denver is 17-3 when he starts with Jokic -- but the Nuggets aren't relying on Westbrook to be a costar. The payroll makes that clear: Westbrook is on a veteran's minimum deal, while Jamal Murray signed a four-year, $208 million maximum extension before the season. "We did that as an organization because we believe in him," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Murray scored a season-high 45 points in a Jan. 14 win in Dallas, swatting at criticism stemming from the guard's slow start this season. In case anyone forgot, Malone noted that Murray starred during the Nuggets' 2023 championship run. Murray has averaged 20.7 points and 5.9 assists with a 57.8% true shooting percentage since the start December. If he keeps up that kind of production, the Nuggets will be contenders.

What is the biggest factor holding back the Wolves this season?

Minnesota has a terrible tendency to get stuck in the mud offensively down the stretch of games. The Timberwolves' 29 clutch games (within five points in the last five minutes) lead the league -- many of those because seemingly comfortable leads crumbled late in contests -- and rank 28th in clutch offensive efficiency (98.5 points per 100 possessions). This is where Anthony Edwards has the most room to grow. He ranks last in the league in clutch plus-minus (minus-49) in large part because Edwards relies far too much on hero ball despite often being double-teamed. He has attempted the most clutch field goals (64) and 3-pointers (37) but is shooting only 39.1% from the floor and 27.0% from long range in those situations.

Edwards or Jokic: Which superstar takes over this game?

Jokic is always the best bet to take over a game because he can dominate in so many different ways. He has more triple-doubles through three quarters of games this season (14) than any other team has. This is a three-time MVP in the midst of his best statistical season, averaging career highs in scoring (30.1 points), assists (9.9) and steals (1.9), as well as the second most rebounds (13.2) of his career. Jokic is one of the league's leading scorers and often completely controls stretches of contests without attempting a shot.

-- Tim MacMahon

Best bet: Denver Nuggets -4.5 (-105)

The Nuggets are firing on all cylinders, especially with how Nikola Jokic has been playing lately. Denver is 8-1 over their past nine games and has also covered the spread in eight of those matchups. If Jokic continues to dominate and his teammates knock down their shots, the Nuggets have a great chance to take care of business. They'll need to protect the rim, control the boards and limit turnovers to cover against the Timberwolves. The Nuggets are 6-0 against the spread in their six road games. -- Moody

Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks, 5:30 p.m. (ABC, ESPN+)

Can the Celtics catch the Cavs for the East's top seed? Do they need to?

Boston will not be catching Cleveland for the top seed in the East -- and won't be worried about it.

The Celtics sit 5.5 games behind the Cavs in the East standings, and going into Thursday's game were projected to finish eight games back, according to ESPN's Basketball Power Index. It isn't realistic to expect Boston to make up that kind of deficit over the back half of the campaign, especially if you factor in the Celtics' recent middling record (9-8 since Dec. 23) and taking extremely precautionary measures by resting their players throughout the season.

Ironically, the Celtics are reminiscent of the LeBron James-led Cavaliers from 2015 to 2018. Those teams were never bothered about having the top seed in the conference -- they only had it in one of those four seasons -- and always believed they would be fine winning a road playoff series. As the defending champions, the Celtics believe they can take down the Cavaliers in a series that begins in Cleveland. Boston will instead prioritize health down the stretch.

What will be the biggest hurdle for the Mavericks to get back to the postseason?

Health. Dereck Lively II is out for two to three months with an ankle fracture. Luka Doncic has been out for several weeks with a calf strain. Kyrie Irving is dealing with a nagging back issue -- a concerning problem for any player, but particularly for a smaller guard who has had a terrific season and turns 33 in March.

Dallas had seven players sit out Thursday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, including four of its top seven projected rotation players in Doncic, Lively, Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall. A full-strength roster is hard to sustain over any length of time, but the Mavericks have gone 5-11 since Doncic left the lineup.

This 2024 NBA Finals rematch will be ___?

Underwhelming, if for no other reason than Doncic's injury robs the game of its luster, coupled with Boston's average play over the past few weeks. Outside of Oklahoma City, the Mavs still have arguably the highest upside of any team in the West and also are possibly the best bet to prevent the Thunder from making their first NBA Finals appearance since 2012.

When this game was put on the schedule, the hope was that all of the stars on would go toe-to-toe. Doncic being hurt keeps that from happening.

-- Tim Bontemps

Best bet: Mavericks +8.5 (-110)

The Celtics haven't won more than three straight games in almost two months. Boston is 2-6 against the spread in their past eight games and has struggled to cover all season. As heavy road favorites this season, the Celtics are just 13-19-1 against the spread when favored by at least eight points. Even without Luka Doncic, I believe the Mavericks will keep this game closer than expected. -- Moody

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors, 8:30 p.m. (ABC, ESPN+)

What will be the biggest factor for the Lakers to hold onto contention in the West?

L.A. hit the halfway mark of the season as the No. 6 seed in the West -- which, if the season ended today, would come with an automatic playoff bid and allow the Lakers to avoid the play-in tournament for the first time since 2020. Any sense of satisfaction already would be premature though. "We have to have to get the mindset of not trying to hold this spot, but get better," Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said Thursday. "Trying to get third, or something like that. We can't just hold this spot and try to rely on other teams to lose." Hachimura's answer echoes Lakers coach JJ Redick's constant message to his team about being process-oriented and having a growth mindset. If the Lakers learn from their first-half mistakes to become a better team, they will have a shot. If they don't, as Hachimura mentioned, it won't matter if they avoid the play-in or not.

What do the Warriors need to do in the coming weeks to get back into the playoff picture?

With losses in six of their past 10 games -- including blowing an 18-point lead in a disappointing defeat against the Sacramento Kings this week -- these are tenuous times for the franchise. To begin a turnaround, the Warriors must find a way to score beyond Stephen Curry because the more Golden State's role players struggle with inconsistency, the more teams are able to clamp down on Curry. The Warriors are 20th in offensive efficiency -- averaging 111.3 points per 100 possessions -- and while they are 11th in defense, still have a negative net rating. Dennis Schroder, the team's in-season addition, hasn't had the impact they were hoping, averaging 10.4 points on 35.9% (28.6% from 3).

LeBron vs. Curry: Which superstar will show out in their second matchup of the regular season?

Why not both? Curry and James were equally superb in their first meeting this season on Christmas Day, with James posting 31 points and 10 assists to edge the Warrior star's 38-point performance in a two-point win for L.A. The two all-time greats have been getting the best out of one another for more than a decade, and that should continue as we witness what could be only a handful of matchups left.

-- Dave McMenamin

Best bet: Over 219.5 (-105)

The Lakers and Warriors always put on a show in San Francisco, and these matchups tend to light up the scoreboard. Four of the Warriors' past five games have hit the over, and the total has gone over in five of their past six home games against the Lakers. We can expect another high-scoring battle in this one. -- Moody

British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell says it will be a "bit different" watching the Six Nations unfold this year instead of leading the Ireland team.

The 49-year-old Englishman has guided Ireland to back-to-back Six Nations titles but is taking a sabbatical from the role to coach the Lions in this summer's tour to Australia.

"I'll be intrigued to watch from the sidelines - it will be a bit different for me, watching the Six Nations from the sidelines," Farrell told RTE.

"Not just that, [there's] the big games in Europe, the URC and Premiership etc. Good luck to everyone"

Simon Easterby has taken over from Farrell as interim head coach as Ireland bid for third straight Six Nations triumph.

Farrell succeeds Warren Gatland as Lions head coach after serving as his assistant for the 2013 and 2017 series.

He will prepare the Lions for 10 games, including an opening Test against Argentina in Dublin and ending with a three-Test series against Australia in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Farrell added that he is solely focused on selecting the right team for the Lions.

"It's always the job of a head coach - everyone always asks about the difficult decisions to be made, but it's my job to do the right thing by the team.

"And the team I'm going to be coaching in the summer is the British and Irish Lions."

Alex King will not be part of Warren Gatland's 2025 Six Nations backroom team with Rob Howley taking over the attack coach role for the tournament.

King, 50, was appointed by Wales head coach Warren Gatland in December 2022 after Stephen Jones departed.

King has been in his position for two Six Nations campaigns and a 2023 World Cup when Wales reached the quarter-finals.

He will not be involved in the coaching team for this tournament with no official reason given by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for King's absence as former Wales attack coach Howley takes over his previous role.

Gatland's coaching team has been revamped with scrum specialist Adam Jones joining Wales' backroom staff on a secondment from Harlequins.

Psychology and human performance specialist Andy McCann has also been appointed for the tournament, while Mike Forshaw and Neil Jenkins will continue in their defence and skills roles.