NBA legend Willis Reed dies at 80

'It has to stop' - NBA's Okogie makes powerful statement after Wright killing

Tennis legend Federer auctions £1m of memorabilia for charity

A Turkish shoemaker has been making specially-designed shoes for star athletes with giant feet at his shoe shop in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul on Friday. Oncel Kalkan, who has been working in Istanbul for 41 years, designs dress shoes for athletes from all over the world, mostly NBA stars with big feet who struggle to find the right size.

He's 93 years old, but he's as fast as he ever was. After retiring from taxi driving, Ryuji Urabe gave up his driver's license, sit in the cockpit and became a YouTube sensation after his grandson started sharing online videos of grandpa racing in fancy sports cars.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

Bucks fans were seen in front of the official team shop outside the home stadium of the Milwaukee Bucks Fiserv Forum on Wednesday in downtown Milwaukee after their side won the NBA title the previous night. The Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA championship in 50 years with some fans having waited their whole lives to see the team.

Brazilian football legend Pele publishes a video on Instagram where he is seen working out in a hospital in Sao Paulo. The star had undergone surgery earlier in the month to remove a suspected colon tumor and was transferred back to an intensive care unit after suffering breathing difficulties. "By cycling like this, I'll be back at Santos (football club) soon, don't you think?" he wrote in the social media post.

Three sisters of Diego Maradona - Claudia Nora 'Cali' Maradona, Ana Estela Maradona and Rita Mabel 'Kitty' Maradona - were summoned to testify as witnesses Wednesday at the office of Argentine prosecutors, who are investigating the cause of the soccer star's death, the judicial sources told EFE.

U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the Milwaukee Bucks at the White House after their victory in the 2021 NBA Finals.

Widely recognized as having revolutionized American musical theater, Sondheim was best known for "West Side Story" and "Sweeney Todd." Frank Sinatra and Judy Collins sang versions of his hit song, "Send in the Clowns."

Enes Kanter Freedom is a Turkish-born basketball player who is now a US citizen and plays for the Boston Celtics. He is also a human rights activist. In an interview with FRANCE 24, Freedom criticised billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk for opening a Tesla showroom in China's Xinjiang region, where the minority Uighurs are persecuted. He also accused Nike – the NBA's main sponsor – of "modern slavery" in China. Ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Freedom called on athletes to make their voices heard, saying the diplomatic boycott was "good but not enough".

Brazilian soccer great Pele has returned to hospital for new chemotherapy sessions, sports website ESPN reported on Thursday. The former soccer star will undergo new exams to find other possible cancer spots, ESPN said. It said Pele was in stable condition and could leave hospital on Thursday.