Unrivaled co-founder and player Napheesa Collier is giving $100,000 -- half of her prize money for winning the league's first one-on-one tournament -- to her training and performance staff and assistant coaches working with her team, the Lunar Owls, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Collier wanted to make sure she found a way to show appreciation to the staff members pouring hard work into her startup league, a source close to Unrivaled told ESPN. Through the first half of the season, Collier has made a point to continuously mention the personnel working with the players, calling them the "best in the world."

Almost immediately after she won the Unrivaled 1-on-1 Tournament title and the cash prize, she thought sharing it was the right thing to do.

Collier and Breanna Stewart founded the 3-on-3 Unrivaled league to give WNBA players an offseason alternative to playing overseas. Quickly, the amount of money and resources being poured into the league took center stage.

Unrivaled claims to be offering the highest average salary of any women's sports league. It also built a custom arena and practice and training facilities in Miami.

Many Unrivaled players believe what the league has done will have a direct impact on upcoming WNBA collective bargaining negotiations and has already played a role in how some players approached free agency -- finding teams that have these kinds of resources in their home markets.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. -- An unidentified New York Jets player was robbed at gunpoint Saturday morning near his New Jersey home after being followed home from New York City, a source confirmed to ESPN.

A witness saw a group of men exit a dark-colored SUV in the Windmill Pond neighborhood in Morristown and take money and personal items from two individuals in another car. No injuries were reported.

Among the items taken were jewelry and a watch. A neighbor told NBC New York one of the victims played for the Jets.

The victims were believed to be returning from a night out in Manhattan and were targeted by the group, according to the Morristown Department of Public Safety. Police are still investigating what is believed to be an isolated incident, according to a statement on the department's Facebook page.

The robbery comes on the heels of a string of seemingly orchestrated thefts involving the homes of several high-profile athletes. Members of a Chilean gang have been charged after allegedly stealing $3 million worth of goods from some of America's best-known athletes, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

The burglars in those instances bounced from city to city using cars they rented with fake IDs and burner phones. They would stake out their marks for extended periods before breaking into the homes by smashing or prying open sliding doors and would grab watches, designer bags, gold chains, rings and cash.

They were apprehended in part because of pictures they posted with some of the lucrative items.

New Miami quarterback Carson Beck and his girlfriend, Miami basketball player Hanna Cavinder, had their cars stolen during a home burglary Thursday night.

According to multiple media outlets, the Miami-Dade Sherriff's Office arrested Tykwon Deandre Anderson and charged him with burglary of an occupied dwelling while wearing a mask, grand theft and grand theft of a vehicle.

In the arrest report cited by multiple media outlets, Beck told deputies he and Cavinder were asleep when the theft happened. Beck had a Mercedes and Lamborghini stolen, while Cavinder had her Range Rover stolen. The report said Anderson and three others arrived at the home in a rented vehicle. Two of them jumped over a concrete fence to get to the driveway, where two of the cars were parked. They gained access to the Range Rover, found the garage door opener, then went into the home to take the keys to the other vehicles. Deputies found the Range Rover and Mercedes abandoned later in the day.

Beck transferred to Miami in January after spending the first four years of his career at Georgia, while Cavinder and her twin sister, Haley, both play for the Hurricanes. Hanna has played in 26 games this season, averaging 6.7 points per game.

Athletes, including NFL players Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Joe Burrow, have been the subject of high-profile burglaries in recent months.

NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints are hiring former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as their defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler.

Staley will be Saints coach Kellen Moore's third coordinator hire this week. Sources told ESPN the Saints are expected to hire Eagles quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier to be their offensive coordinator. They offered the special teams coordinator position to Phil Galiano, who was previously the Saints assistant special teams coordinator under Darren Rizzi.

Staley and Nussmeier both have previous ties to Moore and have been considered potential targets for the vacant positions for several weeks.

Moore was the Eagles offensive coordinator last season, and he and Nussmeier helped the team win Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP.

Nussmeier was an assistant coach under Moore when he was the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator from 2019-2022 and during his lone season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.

Staley, 42, was the Chargers head coach from 2021-2023 and hired Moore to be his offensive coordinator in his final season. He and Chargers general manager Tom Telesco were fired on Dec. 15, 2023 after a 5-9 start to the season and a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Staley spent the 2024 season as the San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach. Prior to his stint with the Chargers, he was the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator in 2020. The Rams led the league in scoring defense and total defense that season, finishing 10-6 before losing in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs.

PORTLAND -- Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team didn't get to its hotel in Portland until nearly 3 a.m. Thursday after flying from L.A. following its game against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.

The prospect of playing the Trail Blazers on the road on the second night of a back-to-back with Luka Doncic out to manage his left calf injury and LeBron James questionable because of a left foot and ankle injury was daunting to Redick.

Then again, maybe Redick should have counted on James delivering the way he has done throughout his 22-year career after the 40-year-old Lakers star dropped 40 points to lead L.A. to a 110-102 win.

"He really just defies anything that's normal," Redick said. "And not just the physical feats and the plays. It's the mentality. ... He's a billionaire, and he's playing on the second night of a back-to-back at 40 after 22 years with every fricking record and every accolade. ... It's like, he's amazing to coach. ... He sets the standard for how you're supposed to approach this craft."

James, when asked about his motivation to continue pushing his body through the rigorous NBA schedule when he has already accomplished nearly everything imaginable in the sport, pointed to passing on that standard to his son, Lakers rookie Bronny James.

"I still love the game, and I still got a lot to give to the game, to give to my teammates, to give to this league for while I'm here," James said. "I don't have much time left. So, while I'm here today in this time, I'm going to try to give what I got when I'm out on the floor.

"So, why? It's the love of the game and I have an opportunity now to show my son the ranks of how to be a professional in this league. And to be along [with] him every single day, that's a treat."

It was James' second time reaching 40 points since his 40th birthday in December, making him the only player in NBA history with multiple 40-point games at age 40 or older. The Lakers are 2-0 in those games.

James did it Thursday while playing in the 1,542nd regular-season game of his career, passing Vince Carter for No. 3 on the all-time list.

He also tied a career high with 11 turnovers, the third time in his career he has committed double-digit miscues. His teams are, surprisingly, undefeated in those games, too, going 3-0.

Redick said the Lakers played with a proper edge, winning their game with effort while overcoming a 9-for-32 (28.1%) shooting night from 3-point range, a bunch of turnovers and Doncic's absence.

"There's actually only one cheat code in the NBA, and that's playing hard," Redick said. "If you play hard every night, you have a chance to win. If you don't play hard every night, you're probably going to lose."

James agreed.

"That's the best way to play in this league," he said. "The best way to compete in this league is to play hard. You can get through a lot of games if you're able to just play hard. You're able to cover up for a lot of mistakes. We had 24 turnovers for 31 points. I had half of those. ... It definitely makes up for it when you're able to cover for one other and you're able to play hard. It's going to help us win a lot of ballgames."

Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who had 32 points and seven assists and made several key defensive plays down the stretch, said he was excited to hear that James was going to play against Charlotte and Portland after he missed the All-Star Game because of his left foot and ankle injury. James' mere presence gave Reaves confidence in L.A.'s chances.

"He really doesn't have anything else to prove," Reaves said. "And if people say he does, then they're [Michael] Jordan fans."

PHILADELPHIA -- After the Philadelphia 76ers were routed on their home court by their rivals, the Boston Celtics, to open the second half of the season Thursday night, a dejected Joel Embiid said he needs to "fix the problem" in his left knee to return to his All-Star form.

Embiid didn't look like himself Thursday night, scoring 15 points on just 3-for-9 shooting from the field in 27 minutes. The nine shot attempts were Embiid's fewest in a game this season in which he didn't leave early because of an injury or ejection.

The issues with Embiid's knee, combined with a foot sprain, have caused him to play in just 18 of 55 games for the Sixers (20-35), who remain tied for the sixth-worst record in the NBA after the Brooklyn Nets also lost.

"The way I was playing a year ago is not the way I'm playing right now," Embiid said after a 124-104 loss to Boston. "It sucks. ... I probably need to fix the problem, and then I'll be back at that level. But it's hard to have trust when you're not yourself."

Embiid played so poorly despite having more than a week off due to the All-Star break, adding to the concern. He said the time off helped "a little bit," but he still wasn't himself.

"I'm OK," he said. "Still managing it. Got to keep going and hope for the best."

The Celtics (40-16), winners of eight of their past nine games, made 11 of their first 16 3-pointers and scored 72 points in the first half. They reached 100 points after three quarters.

Boston looked like a team preparing for a deep playoff run and hoping to defend its title. The Sixers looked like a team that will struggle to make the play-in tournament, and likely won't be a factor in the playoffs.

The Sixers are also dealing with the health struggles of Paul George, who confirmed last week's report from ESPN's Shams Charania that he has been getting pain-killing injections to allow him to play in recent weeks.

"I'm hanging in there," said George, who had 17 points in 29 minutes Thursday. "I'm just trying to give this team everything I have.

"The report is true. I'm taking some sorts of medicines to kind of, I guess, play through pain. But yeah, I'm going to try to give everything I got."

After Thursday's loss, Tyrese Maxey said the team's issues come down to effort and trust.

Everything for the 76ers, though, begins and ends with Embiid, who was on pace to be the second player -- and the only one since Wilt Chamberlain 60 years ago -- to average more than a point per minute in a season. That version of him, though, currently doesn't exist.

In the meantime, Embiid said he can still make a positive impact, even if he knows he is capable of more.

"I'm not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn't mean I still can't have a lot of impact on the game," Embiid said. "Just me being out there, I think, helps a lot. My presence, my ability to attract double-teams, get guys more shots.

"It's just tough because you know you can do so much more. But there's no excuses. It's just the way it is. You just have to find ways to figure it out and get better."

TAMPA, Fla. -- The New York Yankees' facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.

In a statement announcing the decision, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow "well-groomed beards" effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976. The modification does not address the organization's policy on hair length, which stipulates that uniformed personnel are not allowed to grow hair below their collar.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Steinbrenner said adjusting the mandate had been on his mind over the years. He emphasized the possibility of losing out on acquiring players because of the facial hair restrictions as a significant reason to make a change that registers as seismic for the franchise.

"If I ever found out that a player we wanted to acquire to make us better, to get us a championship, did not want to be here and, if he had the ability, would not come here because of that policy, as important as it is to that generation, that would be very, very concerning," Steinbrenner said. "And I'm fairly convinced that that's a real concern."

Steinbrenner said he spoke with several players, past and present, including Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton individually Monday to hear their opinions on the matter. He noted that not all of them were for the change.

"I did make the decision that the policy that was in place was outdated and given how important it is to that generation, and given that it is a norm in this world today, that it was somewhat unreasonable," Steinbrenner said. "So I made the change."

Sitting next to Steinbrenner, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who has worked for the organization since 1986, said he supported the accommodation.

"It's time. It's not an easy decision for Hal Steinbrenner to make," Cashman said. "Like every decision he makes, he makes it with a lot of information before he ultimately gets there. We're like a gigantic naval battle cruiser. It takes a little while to turn."

Steinbrenner informed the team of the change during a team meeting Friday morning. He said a policy defining what is considered "well-groomed" would be announced as early as the end of the day.

"The only information we were offered, from Cash, was that we're not trying to look like 'Duck Dynasty,'" said Cole, who often wore a beard pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros before signing with the Yankees. "No diss against 'Duck Dynasty.' They're grinding in the woods all the time. You don't really have another option. But that was the only clarification we got so far."

George Steinbrenner, who had a military background as lieutenant in the Air Force, implemented grooming policy because he thought regulating players' appearance would instill discipline. The rules were codified before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache, and not allowing them to grow hair past their collars. Hal Steinbrenner kept the codes in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in November 2008. George Steinbrenner died less than three years later.

"Winning was the most important thing to my father," Hal Steinbrenner said. "All we're trying to do every offseason, right, is put ourselves in the best position to get a player that we're trying to get. And if something like this would detract from that, lessen our chances, I don't know, I think he might be a little more apt to do the change that I did than people think because it was about winning."

Players, even those known for their facial hair in previous stops, overwhelmingly obliged with the grooming order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason. But a few pushed the limits, and others have flatly declined to join the organization because of the policies in place.

In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merrill for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.

In 2013, coming off winning the American League Cy Young Award, David Price, then with the Tampa Bay Rays, declared he would not consider signing with the Yankees when he hit free agency as long as the edict remained in place. Later that year, All-Star closer Brian Wilson, then the best reliever on the free agent market, refused to engage in talks with the Yankees because he didn't want to shave his trademark jet black beard.

Cashman on Friday remembered that CC Sabathia, a Hall of Fame inductee this year, was initially hesitant about joining the Yankees before the 2009 season because he didn't want to shave before the team convinced him with a eight-year, $180 million contract. The general manager noted there have been instances where draft prospects communicate they'd rather not go to the Yankees because of the mandate. This offseason, he said, the policy was an issue for a player the team pursued as a non-roster invitee for spring training.

Earlier this month, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported to spring training despondent about having to shave his beard. He kept the beard when he reported to George M. Steinbrenner Field for his spring training physical before showing up with a mustache for the team's first workout the next day. A week later, however, Williams sported a light beard for the team's photo day.

On the other end of the spectrum, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp this spring with their new teams sporting full beards. Their old teammates now have the option to grow one in pinstripes.

"I think it's appropriate," Cole said. "Makes sense. It still embodies our look and our neatness but allows for some individual freedom and a few less razor burns."