Worldwide Sports News

Tuesday’s NBA Cup Championship between the Knicks and the Spurs is the highlight of the NBA schedule this week. Yet, Monday already provided some talking points after an entertaining previous week. There’s still a lot to follow before the Holiday arrives, and plenty of players to discuss.

Let's get into it.

2025-26 Fantasy Basketball Top 200 Rankings: Paul George continues his ascent

While Joel Embiid’s return has been huge for fantasy basketball, so has Paul George’s.

• Raphielle Johnson,

STOCK UP

Paul George — SG/SF/PF, Sixers

PG-13 may very well be back. How back? Well, the accomplished veteran wing has tallied at least 20 points in three of his last four games, including a recent 35-point performance in which he went 7-of-10 from beyond the arc and led the Sixers in scoring. George has also been solid as a passer, leading to solid fantasy production recently, despite the stocks not being there. But arguably, the most important stat to stress is that he’s logged at least 30 minutes in each of the last four games. We’ll just need his body to hold up a little bit longer before getting overly optimistic about his ceiling going forward. Nonetheless, he’s currently healthy and has looked here in December. Stock up.

Kyle Kuzma — SF/PF, Bucks

Now may be an ideal time to make a move for Kuzma. With Giannis Antetokounmpo missing games, Kuzma has been more aggressive in looking for shots during his time on the floor — he’s landed double-digit field goal attempts in each of the last games and scored 13 or more in all of them. His most productive outing of those four games was a 31-point performance against the Celtics when he went 13-of-17 from the field. Although it’s unlikely he’ll consistently display that level of shooting efficiency on such high volume, the score-first approach from him for a team currently down its top scorer should continue to yield good scoring production and high upside.

Bub Carrington — PG, SG, Wizards

Over the last three appearances, Carrington is averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 assists in 38.0 minutes per game. He flirted with double-doubles in two of the games and was aggressive in his approach to the three-point shot. With the Wizards unlikely to turn their season around on a wins-and-losses basis, it’s logical to expect they'll allow the young players to get in as many reps as possible. And if these recent three games are a sign of things to come, it may be worth adding Carrington from the free agency pool now — he’s got some upside and has recently shown he’s capable of some monster stat lines.

Fantasy Basketball Week 9 Schedule Primer: Gearing up for the pre-Christmas rush

The end of the Emirates NBA Cup means the back end of Week 9 will be loaded with games.

• Raphielle Johnson,

STOCK DOWN

Kel’el Ware — PF/C, Heat

Ware hasn’t scored in double figures in five of his last six games and has only secured double-digit rebounds in two of them. Such minimal production of late should be both concerning and frustrating for fantasy managers after seeing the sophomore center go for 15.9 points and 15.1 rebounds per game over an eight-game stretch earlier this season, which included three straight 20-point, 14-rebound double-doubles. He came off the bench in the most recent couple of games, including one with both Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro healthy and starting alongside Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins. If Miami is set on going away from the double-bigs look to begin games, Ware could continue to see fewer opportunities to produce.

Pat Spencer — PG/SG, Warriors

The NBA is an unpredictable league. On the heels of a five-game stretch in which Spencer averaged 15.2 points and 4.6 assists, and made three starts, he was relegated to the bench in Sunday’s loss to the Trail Blazers and logged just seven minutes of action. With so many proven players on the Warriors’ roster and the team currently owning a below-.500 record, the cut in playing time, at least for a game, isn’t totally shocking. But as we’ve seen with other Warriors like Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and Quinten Post, role and nightly rotation minutes aren’t consistent. Spencer could have more moments, but it’s difficult to have an idea of when or for how long.

Jimmy Butler — SG/SF/PF, Warriors

More on the Warriors: they could really use another guy to consistently put the ball in the basket, not named Stephen Curry. Butler had been that guy briefly to begin the season, averaging 21.7 points per game in October. But he dropped down to 19.5 in November, and is currently sitting at 14.0 points per game through four December contests — he’s taking fewer shots and free throws each passing month. The good news for fantasy managers who roster Butler is that even with the scoring production slowing, he’s still rebounding, tallying assists, and collecting steals to put forth solid fantasy production. Still, we want more. The Warriors need more.

LAS VEGAS — The NBA Cup is not the NBA Finals. It is, however, something more than just a regular season game — putting half a million dollars per player on the line will have that effect.

Yes, Knicks or Spurs players want to grab that bag. However, they also see the Cup as a stepping stone to where they want to be next May and June.

"I think history is kind of showing that if you can make it to this Cup, then you can win a championship," San Antonio's De'Aaron Fox said.

Last season, Oklahoma City lost in the NBA Cup championship game but went on to win the NBA title in June. The Lakers, who won the inaugural tournament in 2023, did so with essentially the same core that won the NBA title three years before. Los Angeles beat an Indiana team that advanced to the NBA Finals last season.

The stepping-stone analogy particularly resonated with a young Spurs team looking to grow into a contender.

"It's a high-stakes game that both teams are going to be very invested in winning," San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama said. "It just shows that we are preparing and we will pass the next step for more significant games in the playoffs. This is a complicated explanation, but it's as simple as that: As competitors, we want to win every game, and this one brings something new on the table, so we want to win it even more."

"Being able to have this, obviously it's not going to be the exact same, but you get a little glimpse of what it could be like playing in the Playoffs and the different officiating," Fox said. "No matter how much they say they don't officiate the games differently in the playoffs, we all have eyes, and we can see it. But being able to play in as many of those games, it definitely helps you come playoff time."

These Knicks have more playoff experience — they were in the Eastern Conference Finals last season — but also see the Cup as a path forward.

"I think the Cup is big for us just for the energy it brings to our team…" Karl-Anthony Towns said, adding that the energy and winning foster belief this team will need in the postseason. "I think it brings great energy to the team, great mojo to the team. It also brings that feeling of winning. No matter if it's the Cup, NBA Finals, winning any game, when you get that feeling of winning, it's addictive. Obviously, I want us to have that mindset where we're addicted to the next championship if we can win this one."

Can Knicks stop Wemby? Can the Spurs stop Brunson?

As for the game itself, Wembanyama's return against the Thunder in the semifinals changed the dynamics. While the Spurs' speedy guards — De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper — can all get downhill and touch the paint, Wemby adds another dynamic.

"You're not going to be able to guard a guy like that one-on-one," Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "You try to put length, size, physicality at the point of attack when it comes to him, but it's got to be five guys guarding the basketball at all times… But we have some pretty good defenders with length, and hopefully they can, at the point of attack, try to make it as difficult as possible with him, knowing that they have help behind them."

The Spurs have their own defensive challenge in slowing Jalen Brunson. San Antonio is loaded with long defensive wings who are strong at the point of attack, but so did Orlando in the semifinals, and Brunson dropped 40. In the quarterfinals, it was Toronto with their long, rangy defenders, and Brunson dropped 35 on them.

What might be the story in this game is the Knicks' 3-point shooting. Under Brown, the Knicks get 37.4% of their points from beyond the arc, ranking in the top 10 in the league. With Wemby patrolling the paint, New York may need those threes coming over the top of the defense to win this one.

Towns said the key for the Knicks is to keep doing what got them to this point—and to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

"Everything for us is about execution," Towns said. "I think that's what's made us really good recently playing basketball is our execution. So we've just got to go out there and find a way to do that for 48 minutes."

If they do, if they win the NBA Cup, it's something to build on.

LAS VEGAS — The NBA Cup is not the NBA Finals. It is, however, something more than just a regular season game — putting half a million dollars per player on the line will have that effect.

Yes, Knicks or Spurs players want to grab that bag. However, they also see the Cup as a stepping stone to where they want to be next May and June.

"I think history is kind of showing that if you can make it to this Cup, then you can win a championship," San Antonio's De'Aaron Fox said.

Last season, Oklahoma City lost in the NBA Cup championship game but went on to win the NBA title in June. The Lakers, who won the inaugural tournament in 2023, did so with essentially the same core that won the NBA title three years before. Los Angeles beat an Indiana team that advanced to the NBA Finals last season.

The stepping-stone analogy particularly resonated with a young Spurs team looking to grow into a contender.

"It's a high-stakes game that both teams are going to be very invested in winning," San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama said. "It just shows that we are preparing and we will pass the next step for more significant games in the playoffs. This is a complicated explanation, but it's as simple as that: As competitors, we want to win every game, and this one brings something new on the table, so we want to win it even more."

"Being able to have this, obviously it's not going to be the exact same, but you get a little glimpse of what it could be like playing in the Playoffs and the different officiating," Fox said. "No matter how much they say they don't officiate the games differently in the playoffs, we all have eyes, and we can see it. But being able to play in as many of those games, it definitely helps you come playoff time."

These Knicks have more playoff experience — they were in the Eastern Conference Finals last season — but also see the Cup as a path forward.

"I think the Cup is big for us just for the energy it brings to our team…" Karl-Anthony Towns said, adding that the energy and winning foster belief this team will need in the postseason. "I think it brings great energy to the team, great mojo to the team. It also brings that feeling of winning. No matter if it's the Cup, NBA Finals, winning any game, when you get that feeling of winning, it's addictive. Obviously, I want us to have that mindset where we're addicted to the next championship if we can win this one."

Can Knicks stop Wemby? Can the Spurs stop Brunson?

As for the game itself, Wembanyama's return against the Thunder in the semifinals changed the dynamics. While the Spurs' speedy guards — De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper — can all get downhill and touch the paint, Wemby adds another dynamic.

"You're not going to be able to guard a guy like that one-on-one," Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "You try to put length, size, physicality at the point of attack when it comes to him, but it's got to be five guys guarding the basketball at all times… But we have some pretty good defenders with length, and hopefully they can, at the point of attack, try to make it as difficult as possible with him, knowing that they have help behind them."

The Spurs have their own defensive challenge in slowing Jalen Brunson. San Antonio is loaded with long defensive wings who are strong at the point of attack, but so did Orlando in the semifinals, and Brunson dropped 40. In the quarterfinals, it was Toronto with their long, rangy defenders, and Brunson dropped 35 on them.

What might be the story in this game is the Knicks' 3-point shooting. Under Brown, the Knicks get 37.4% of their points from beyond the arc, ranking in the top 10 in the league. With Wemby patrolling the paint, New York may need those threes coming over the top of the defense to win this one.

Towns said the key for the Knicks is to keep doing what got them to this point—and to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

"Everything for us is about execution," Towns said. "I think that's what's made us really good recently playing basketball is our execution. So we've just got to go out there and find a way to do that for 48 minutes."

If they do, if they win the NBA Cup, it's something to build on.