CGTN Sports Talk

Unlike other top football clubs in Europe, Bayern Munich did not spend on the transfer market like it's Black Friday – landing Marcel Sabitzer from Red Bull Leipzig was already their most eye-catching move.

Instead, the Bundesliga giants extended contracts with their key players like Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala, maintaining almost the same squad for the new season under new manager Julian Nagelsmann.

Nagelsmann brought new style to Allianz Arena and put Leroy Sane, Bayern's most important purchase last season, in a more comfortable position of the left wing. Meanwhile, some of the key players, like Thomas Muller, will have to deal with the changes in both their roles in the team and their positions on the field.

Signing Rajon Rondo to a one-year minimum deal both added to the Los Angeles Lakers' treasure trove of experience and made the team even older. By now, half of the league's oldest guys are with the purple and gold, including their commander LeBron James, who will turn 37 in less than four months.

Such an old roster means the Lakers will be more experienced and probably play smarter on the court, but they are likely to be slower and more vulnerable to injuries as well. Having given up almost all future assets in the past three years, the team must win now. The question is, can those old legs still carry them victory?

One of the reasons people love watching basketball is the buzzer beating moment. What's more exciting than seeing a guy making the shot in the last second of the game and save the day?

The following are seven of the best choices for clutch time shooting in NBA history:

Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard.

Who is your choice?

Real Madrid started again to chase Kylian Mbappe while the transfer market is only days from closing. Real's first bid of 160-million euros (about $188.1 million) was turned down by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). However, reports claimed that the French club will change its mind for 200 million euros (about $235 million).

It has been no secret that Mbappe wants to leave PSG, but the question is why. Though he is a very promising young man, Mbappe has not shown the potential of the level of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. Winning three Ligue 1 titles is not the best proof for dominance. Neither is winning the FIFA World Cup because Mbappe was not the leader or the best-performing player of the French national team.

The Tokyo Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5 with over 4,000 athletes from all over the world competing in 526 medal events of 22 sports. Most of the disciplines in the Paralympic Games are similar to their counterparts in the Olympics but have more specified classifications based on the level of impairment of the participants, but the Paralympics also has unique sports, such as five-aside football, boccia and goalball.

Seventy-five-year-old Gerd Muller, one of the greatest strikers in football history, passed away on Sunday. After winning almost all the titles he could, the legendary German scorer left a series of records at both the national team and the club level.

When Muller was playing, he did not have the most all-round skills or the most dazzling dribbles. Most of his work on the field was to appear in the correct location and send the ball into the net in the most efficient way. Muller made it seem so easy, but no one ever matched him doing what he did.

Lionel Messi said goodbye to Barcelona at a press conference at the Camp Nou on Sunday after scoring 672 goals in 778 appearances and winning a total of 34 trophies for the team.

Although it has been only days since Barca and Messi announced and confirmed his departure, problems have been there for a long time and finally led to this unpleasant situation between the two sides.

Messi said joining Paris Saint-Germain was a possibility but at 34, he does not have many options left considering his age, salary and the timing of Barca's announcement.

The Tokyo Olympics came to an end on Sunday after more than two weeks of competitions. Team USA and Team China finished first and second, respectively, in the medal count.

Both sides carried on their dominance in certain events – diving and table tennis for China, basketball for USA – and had some regrets as well – women's volleyball for China, athletics for USA. But most importantly, both achieved breakthroughs in new areas, namely athletics for China.

It did not take long for most NBA teams and players to reach agreements on contract extension, sign-and-trade, and other deals.

The Golden State Warriors extended the contract of Stephen Curry by another four years for $215 million.

The Miami Heat gave Jimmy Butler a four-year, $184-million extension and acquired Kyle Lowry on a three-year, $90-million deal via sign-and-trade.

The Chicago Bulls built their "Big 3" of Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan, who joined on a three-year, $85-million contract via sign-and-trade. Signing Lonzo Ball to a four-year, $85-million contract also made an eye-catching move.

The Phoenix Suns decided to reward Chris Paul's contribution last season with a four-year, $120-million new deal.

The Atlanta Hawks made a generous example of how much it takes to keep your best young men: five years, $207 million for Trae Young, and five years, $125 million for John Collins.

The Milwaukee Bucks won their second NBA Championship in franchise history after Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in Game 6 of the Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

The 26-year-old Greek Freak was named the Finals MVP after averaging 35.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, five assists and 1.8 blocks in the series. He became the third player in NBA history to have regular season MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Award under his name. The first two are Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.

All three beat the Suns in the playoffs on their way to the throne – Jordan in 1993, Olajuwon in 1994 and 1995, Antetokounmpo in 2021.