After the Oklahoma City Thunder captured the Larry O'Brien trophy, the biggest lesson learned was about homegrown talent and patient decisions. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ascended into an MVP after an unorthodox developmental path. He headlined one of the greatest teams ever.

As most of a nearly yearlong arbitration process against Glen Taylor played out, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez didn’t comment publicly on the process that determined the future ownership of the Timberwolves and Lynx.

Alex Rodriguez remembers a very specific lesson that longtime New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner taught him over the years.