One round of the playoffs down, two to go, and Shohei Ohtani still looks nothing like Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers have moved him around their lineup almost on a game-by-game basis, as if they’re looking for a place to hide him without embarrassing him. If they really believe that “it’s going to click for him” at some point, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the other night, they have a strange way of showing it.
Statistically, Ohtani was in an even worse place last October, as he batted .121 over an eight-game stretch early in the postseason. The Dodgers kept Ohtani in his customary leadoff spot and he blasted three home runs in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. He went on to homer three more times in the World Series. Sticking by Ohtani was an easy decision then, as the Dodgers were certain his problems were mechanical and not physical.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani reaches for his waist after taking a swing during an at-bat in the eighth inning in Game 3 of baseball’s National League Division Series as Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts kneels by the plate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
Ohtani could also be experiencing discomfort in other areas of his body.
Last month, before Ohtani was placed on the injured list, he was known to be dealing with discomfort in his hip and neck. This week, in his final at-bat in Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, he grabbed his lower back after fouling off a pitch.
No need to drop him any further than fourth or fifth in the lineup. No need to replace him as the starting designated hitter. No need to shut him down.
Keep running him out there – but not because manager Dave Roberts said that Ohtani is “going to come to life.” Ohtani last homered on Aug. 18, and it would be unrealistic to count on him to start launching balls into the stands again.
Here’s what Ohtani is doing: He’s reaching base.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (17) strikes out on a foul tip against the Atlanta Braves during the fourth inning of an MLB National League Division Series playoff game at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. Mike Zarrilli/UPI/Shutterstock
He was on base at least once in every one of the four games of the NLDS. In 16 plate appearances, he walked twice and got on base a total of five times.
That’s an incredibly low bar for a four-time MVP, but that’s not how Ohtani should be judged right now. Rather, he has to be evaluated as one of the team’s 26 active players.
For a pitching-dependent team that isn’t expected to score runs in bunches – they averaged 3.5 runs per game in the NLDS – Ohtani is contributing enough offensively. He might be missing hittable pitches and reaching for too many that are outside of the strike zone, but opposing pitchers continue to treat him with a certain level of respect. That’s worth something, and it would be naive to think replacing him with Josue De Paula would represent an upgrade.
In the series-clinching win over the Braves on Wednesday, Ohtani drew a second-inning walk against starter Tyler Mahle, then stole second base. A resulting errant throw by Braves catcher Sean Murphy allowed Ohtani to advance to third base, from which he was able to score when shortstop Maurico Dubón dropped a popup by Max Muncy in shallow left field.
The run tied the game, 1-1.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (17) advances to third base after an error by the Atlanta Braves during the second inning in Game 4 of a baseball National League Division Series in Atlanta, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. AP Photo/Colin Hubbard
If Ohtani hadn’t scored, the game would have taken on an entirely different feel, as the Dodgers would have spent the night chasing the Braves instead of attempting to just wear them down.
In the game before that, Ohtani reached base on a catcher’s interference call to load the bases against Chris Sale. The Dodgers failed to score that inning, as Miguel Rojas lined out for the third out, but the plate appearance was nonetheless productive in that it elevated Sale’s pitch count and stressed the former Cy Young Award winner.
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Sale, who pitched a complete-game shutout against the Dodgers in late August, was removed from the game after just five innings.
So, there’s nothing wrong with Friedman’s insistence that Ohtani will continue playing in the upcoming NLCS against the Brewers.
Whether Ohtani is hitting or not, the best version of the Dodgers’ lineup has him in it.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani celebrates winning Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Atlanta. AP Photo/Mike Stewart
And while he might be incapable of being a consistent threat in these playoffs, who’s to say he won’t run into a pitch in a critical moment?
At this point, his chances aren’t any worse than any of his potential replacements.
MILWAUKEE — Garrett Mitchell spent his first four major league seasons fighting through injuries, including a shoulder issue that prevented him from joining the Milwaukee Brewers’ playoff run last year.
Finally healthy for a full year, Mitchell is playing a vital role in the Brewers’ push for their first World Series title.
Mitchell, 28, was the best player on the field in Milwaukee’s NL Division Series title-clinching victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. He created an indelible moment in Brewers history in the eighth inning by catching a fly ball from Manny Machado at the center-field wall before it could reach the seats and become a tying homer.
The former UCLA star from Orange, California, is eager to help the Brewers in their NL Championship Series rematch with the the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who swept Milwaukee last year. The best-of-seven series starts Sunday night in Milwaukee.
“I think we have a different type of confidence and belief in ourselves together as a team,” Mitchell said as the Brewers celebrated the NLDS title. “It’s just like a quiet, subtle confidence. It’s not showboaty.”
One major difference in this rematch is that the Brewers have Mitchell in the lineup. Last year, Mitchell played just 25 games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
Mitchell never played more than 69 games any of his first four years in the majors as he dealt with a variety of injuries that included issues with his shoulder, oblique and finger.
The 145 regular-season games he appeared in for Milwaukee this season exceeded his combined total from 2022-25 (141). Mitchell hit .262 with a .354 on-base percentage, 11 homers, 65 RBIs and 14 steals.
In Milwaukee’s 3-1 Game 4 NLDS victory at San Diego, Mitchell went 2 for 4. He tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning before preserving the Brewers’ lead with his remarkable catch at the wall.
“He’s been phenomenal, and no one could have predicted this, either,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before the postseason. “When you’re looking at our team, maybe the reason we didn’t get picked early on to be as successful in the regular season was because the unknown about Mitchell. He had been injured for four years basically.”
Mitchell had shown glimpses in the past of what he could do when healthy.
He posted a 2.1 WAR (wins above replacement) while playing only 69 games in 2024. He hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning of a 5-3 Game 2 victory over the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card Series that year. He owns an .860 OPS in six career playoff games.
“Obviously everybody knew he was a super-talented player who could do everything on a baseball field,” Brewers designated hitter and captain Christian Yelich said. “I think people kind of got to see that this year with him being out there, what kind of contributions he’s made to our team.”
Mitchell has dealt with this kind of adversity before.
He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of nine. As he developed into the type of prospect capable of getting drafted in the first round, Mitchell remembers hearing questions about whether his status as a diabetic would impact how he would be able to handle the grind of a long baseball season.
“In my mind I took it more as kind of a sign of disrespect,” Mitchell said. “If you know the person, if you know the player, if you watch me play, that’s not the thing I think you worry about, because I’ve dealt with it for as long as I have.”
Mitchell grew up watching highlights of outfielder Sam Fuld, who played in the majors from 2007-15 while dealing with Type 1 diabetes. Yelich appreciated the opportunity to communicate with him while in high school.
Now he pays it forward by trying to set an example to other young athletes with similar health situations.
“I’m just trying to show no matter what obstacles are in your way and whatever’s thrown at you in your life, if you trust and believe in yourself, nothing can really stop you,” Mitchell said.
Shohei Ohtani is scuffling at the plate, and so far the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar is coming up mostly empty in the postseason.
After stumbling into the playoffs battling biceps and knee injuries, he was 2 for 13 (.154) with two walks, four strikeouts and one stolen base in their four-game NL Division Series win over the Atlanta Braves, to go with a .421 OPS and .154 slugging percentage.
Clearly not up to the four-time MVP’s standards.
“He’s a very good self-evaluator, a very extremely high competitor and expects a lot from himself,” manager Dave Roberts said this week.
As Ohtani goes, so go the Dodgers. They weren’t much better, hitting just .203 against Atlanta.
Ohtani was dropped to fifth in the order — his lowest as a Dodger — for Game 3 of the NLDS. He reached base twice — on a catcher’s interference and a walk. He moved up to the cleanup spot for Game 4. He had previously only started in the first or second spot.
Not postseason punishment, just tactical moves based on opposing pitching.
Some of Ohtani’s offensive slump can be traced to nagging injuries that limited him to just 139 games in the regular season. He went on the injured list, with right biceps and left knee issues, for the first time as a Dodger in September.
Ohtani has admitted he’s still not 100% healthy. At times, he doesn’t appear comfortable at the plate.
“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this,” he said through a translator last week. “I think that process is going to happen during the offseason when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”
However, health is only part of the equation. He’s been uncharacteristically aggressive swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone, something Roberts hopes he improves going into Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
“He can still do a better job of staying in the strike zone,” Roberts said. “It’s hard to have success when you’re out of the zone.”
Roberts has maintained unwavering trust in Ohtani and believes his bat will come to life as the Dodgers’ bid for a third consecutive World Series championship continues.
Bolstered by their pitching, the Dodgers are in the NLCS against the Brewers for the second straight year.
Ohtani led the Dodgers to a four-game sweep of Milwaukee last year, when the Brewers hit a measly .118 against Dodgers pitching.
He was 5 for 14 (.357) with three home runs, four walks and five strikeouts as NLCS MVP — all three homers came in a memorable Game 4 clinch in which he also struck out 10 as a pitcher. He had a 1.643 OPS and 1.143 slugging percentage.
Ohtani won’t be pitching this time because of his injuries, with his place in the rotation taken by two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow return.
Elite pitching can carry a team deep into the postseason, but poor hitting often leaves a team with a thin margin for error, especially when its biggest star is struggling.
“Hitting homers, slugging, it’s part of his hallmark in the batter’s box,” Roberts said. “He’s very in tune with what’s being said, what he hasn’t done.”
New York Knicks Team President Isiah Thomas speak to members of the media Thursday July 28, 2005 in Madison Square Garden. (Photo by Daniel J. Barry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re getting closer and closer to basketball, ladies and gentlemen. Can you smell it?
Preseason kicked off in South Philly on Monday, and the Knicks played a basketball game in the World’s Most Famous Arena for the first time since OG Anunoby’s Game 4 heroics last night. Before you know it, in 11 days time, a banner will be raised that carries the weight of 53 years of dread.
Speaking of those 53 years, it’s time to talk about the darkest days of that drought. The Patrick Ewing era ended with his bittersweet trade to the Seattle SuperSonics. The core that got you within an inch of glory in 1994 was gone, and the core that got to the 1999 NBA Finals wasn’t good enough to keep it going.
Before long, the team would be in the hands of an idiocracy that threatened to tank the franchise for good. By the time he was gone, the drought was over 30 years long and days like June 13, 2026, seemed more distant than ever.
Jeff Van Gundy Resigns (2001)
The post-Ewing era began in October 2000 and resulted in a 48-win team that fizzled out in the first round. That year’s deadline, the Knicks traded 2001 and 2002 first-round picks in separate deals for a solid young big in Othella Harrington and 35-year-old Mark Jackson in a reunion bid. Those picks became Jamaal Tinsley and Kareem Rush, which wasn’t much, but it’s the principle of trading the future for a fleeting present.
Going into 2001-02, the team continued to change. They bought out Larry Johnson just before the season after he agreed to retire due to his chronic back issues. The season started wobbly, but after a 5-8 start, the Knicks had rallied to win five of six after a double-digit victory in Milwaukee on December 4 and were heading home to play Indiana.
Three days after beating Milwaukee, head coach Jeff Van Gundy resigned. He had strongly considered stepping away in the offseason, but tried to grit things out in 2001-02. Just 19 games in, and after a heated practice where he felt his players weren’t playing with intensity, he quit. While the decision was made over the course of a few days, it hit the team and the public like a truck.
For those keeping track at home, here are the fates of the last four Knicks’ head coaches through 2001:
Rick Pitino (1987-89): resigned to go coach at Kentucky due to a dispute with the front office Stu Jackson (1989-91): fired midway through 1990-91 Pat Riley (1991-95): resigned to effectively become the franchise down in Miami Jeff Van Gundy (1995-01): resigned feeling burnt out.
How did the Knicks develop the LolKnicks label? Maybe this was the precursor.
Assistant coach Don Chaney, who had prior head coaching experience with the Clippers, Rockets, and Pistons, took over as the interim, but the bad vibes the team got from their coach resigning never went away, as the Knicks finished the year 20-43 and ended their 15-year playoff streak. Despite this, Chaney was retained for 2002-03.
Trading A Lottery Pick For Antonio McDyess (2002)
The Knicks weren’t ready to give up on the core of Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston, so they did what bad franchises do: they traded a lottery pick for a middling veteran.
At No. 7, the Knicks were making their highest selection since 1986. It was an opportunity to select someone who could be part of the franchise’s future. You can’t throw away these opportunities.
They selected Nenê, a star Brazilian prospect who’d grow into an uber-reliable veteran forward for the next 17 years. He never played a game for the Knicks and was soon traded with Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson, for Antonio McDyess, a 28-year-old All-NBA and Olympic gold medalist forward on the Nuggets. In a vacuum, it made a ton of sense to trade for a 20-10 forward to pair with two on-ball scorers in Sprewell and Houston.
There was just one issue. He wasn’t healthy.
McDyess missed 72 games in 2001-02 due to a partial tear in his patellar tendon and a moderate MCL sprain. He returned in March and looked terrible, but the Knicks deemed his medicals good enough to trade their first lottery pick in 16 years for him.
Then, during a preseason game in October 2002, McDyess broke his patella bone on a putback dunk. He would undergo another surgery and miss the entire season.
In April 2003, a re-imaging showed it wasn’t healing properly, and he required bone-grafting surgery, which added more time to the recovery. Doctors looking back believed he had an undiscovered stress fracture in the patellar bone that shattered during the preseason, which sounds like a major oversight by the medical team.
He finally made his Knicks debut on December 1, 2003, but only played a total of 18 games before being included in yet another disastrous trade for the team that was made by…
The Hiring of Isiah Thomas (2003)
*sigh*
On December 22, 2003, James Dolan fired Scott Layden and replaced him with his good ol’ buddy Isiah Thomas, a former playoff foe with the Detroit Pistons, as President of Basketball Operations.
Thomas was coming off a middling head coaching tenure in Indiana from 2001-03. His only front office experience was four years as part owner and executive vice president of the expansion Toronto Raptors from 1994-98. Former players in executive roles don’t usually go well, but at least for now, what’s the worst that can happen?
What do you mean it didn’t even take two weeks for him to mess something up?
The Stephon Marbury Trade (2004)
We’re an interesting fanbase. There are guys who were great here who are on our shit list forever. There are guys who were bad here that are welcomed back with open arms.
There are even guys who had bad tenures, caused a ton of drama in the orange and blue, and went out on bad terms, yet we love them. I guess that’s what happens when you made your own brand and were born and raised in Brooklyn like Starbury was.
On January 5, 2004, the Knicks cut bait on McDyess and traded him with Howard Eisley, Maciej Lampe, Milos Vujanic, two first-round picks, and the team’s longest-tenured player, Charlie Ward, to the Phoenix Suns for Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway, and Cezary Trybanksi.
While there was intrigue in the former Magic superstar, Hardaway was 32 and was a shell of himself. The real prize was the New York native Marbury, a 26-year-old offensive dynamo who had made two All-Star and All-NBA teams in the last four seasons. It seemed like a match made in heaven.
Unfortunately, as we’ll get into later, drama followed Marbury everywhere in his homecoming and it soon affected his on-court play. The Knicks became a circus in the mid-2000s and he was right in the middle of it.
They wouldn’t be bitten by any of the players they traded away, but maybe they could’ve used the picks. The 2004 first landed at No. 16, and while Kirk Snyder was nothing crazy, both Josh and J.R. Smith were on the board. Trading the 2010 pick was even more asinine, and predictably, it landed in the lottery at No. 9 and became Gordon Hayward. Not your cup of tea? Paul George went 10th.
Isiah Thomas had a bad habit of trading future for present and having it blow up in his face every time.
Coaching Turmoil (2004-08)
In an eight-season span, the Knicks had seven head coaches. They had five in a four-season span from 2004-08.
There were a lot of reasons the 2000s Knicks were a comedy, but this was one of the main plot lines.
We begin with the holdover, Don Chaney. After a vote of confidence for 2002-03, the McDyess injury just unraveled the season from the start, and they went 37-45. The following year, they stumbled out to a 7-16 start and never recovered.
On January 12, 2004, despite rallying from a 15-point deficit to force OT, the Knicks dropped to 15-24 in a loss to Dallas. The crowd was chanting “Fire Chaney” at the Garden. They got their wish, just two hours before the next game began on the 14th. With such quick timing, Herb Williams became the temporary interim coach before giving way to Hall of Fame player and 1979 NBA champion coach Lenny Wilkens the following day.
The mess of how Chaney was fired is a whole different story. Wilkens stabilized the Knicks and got them to 39-43 and a playoff spot, but they were swept with swiftness by the New Jersey Nets. A new season with a fresh face in Jamal Crawford brought about expectations, but a disastrous 1-9 stretch in January prompted yet another Knicks coach to resign exactly one year and one week after taking the job on January 22, 2005. Another coach burnt out, huh.
Herb Williams was tasked with being a real interim coach this time, but could do little as a flawed roster sank to 33-49. That offseason, Dolan and Isiah went big fish hunting.
The top candidate was nine-time champion coach and former Knick Phil Jackson, who was ready to get back into coaching after taking 2004-05 off from the Lakers. The pursuit got serious, with face-to-face meetings even occurring between Isaiah and Phil. But as we’ll soon learn, incompetence isn’t attractive to smart people. Jackson went back to Kobe and won two more titles, but he’ll be back in New York soon enough.
Their second prize wasn’t so bad, though. Just over a year after he won a title with the Pistons in 2004, Larry Brown was let loose after Detroit grew tired of his flirtations elsewhere. The Knicks pounced, hiring him to the richest contract in NBA coaching history at five years and $50 million. 10 years after being spurned by Pat Riley for half as much, the Knicks made their move.
He was fired one year later. We’ll get to it in a bit, but the Knicks were historically awful in 2005-06 and it cost Brown his job, despite having $40 million left on his contract. Dolan would only have to pay $18.5 million of it, but it’s still a disaster.
Outraged with how things were going, Dolan hired Isiah Thomas himself to be the head coach in 2006-07 as a last stand. It’s certainly a bold move to give the executive destroying your franchise a promotion to also serving as head coach, but there’s a reason nobody likes this guy.
Progress was technically made when the Knicks started 29-34 in 2006-07, prompting the ever-wise Dolan to extend Thomas. Of course, the Knicks finished 4-15, but they had already made their bed. A disastrous 23-win year the following year finally saw Thomas fired from both roles, as Donnie Walsh took over the front office and Mike D’Antoni was hired as head coach.
Signing Jerome James (2005)
On August 2, 2005, Isiah signed Jerome James, the starting center from the SuperSonics, to a five-year, $30 million contract after his outstanding 2005 playoff run, where he averaged 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds across 11 games. Despite not being much of a scorer, his breakout motivated the Knicks to give him a deal that, in modern-day terms, is like giving a player five years and $100 million.
It was quite a leap of faith. In his last season in Seattle, he averaged 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds. His per-36 fouls per game were literally 7.6. Outside of 11 playoff games, he was not a starting-caliber player, let alone worth the salary. Expectations were high, hence the commercial above.
As a Knick, James played a total of 90 games across five seasons. All but four of them came in the first two.
He was out of shape for his first training camp. His work ethic was abysmal, and Larry Brown frequently punished him for it. In 2007-08, he was limited to just two games due to foot surgery and a severe knee issue that was described as his body rejecting the screws in his knee from an ACL surgery in 1999. That’s totally normal.
He finally got back to being able to play in December 2008, but he was just very out of shape. His body was a complete mess. After playing six minutes on December 19, his career was over. He ruptured his Achilles in practice a month later, was traded to Chicago a month after that, and never played in the NBA again.
It’s a historically awful contract, one that no Knicks fan has evaded hearing about, no matter the age.
The Eddy Curry Trade (2005)
Two months after getting James, Isiah doubled down on big men and got a disgruntled Eddy Curry from the Bulls in exchange for Jermaine Jackson, Mike Sweetney, Tim Thomas, a 2006 1st, a 2007 pick swap, and second-round picks in 2007 and 2009.
He was a fine player in Chicago, one who was worth a decent salary and averaged 16 points and five rebounds at the end of his rookie contract. Putting aside the fact that he was seven feet tall and grabbed way fewer rebounds than an average center, it’s a fine guy to trade for.
But that much? In a sign-and-trade? And you give him $60 million over six years to make the 23-year-old the sixth-highest-paid center in basketball? After seeing the Bulls drag their feet on an extension because of an irregular heartbeat? Seriously?
The players they gave up weren’t a big deal. Jermaine Jackson never played for the Bulls. Mike Sweetney replaced Curry as the starting center and was much worse before being out of the league by 2008. Tim Thomas played just three games as a Bull before being cut.
It’s the picks. It’s always the damn picks with Isiah.
The Knicks won just 33 games the year before. They added Curry, Jerome James, Nate Robinson, and rookies Channing Frye and David Lee, and hired the man who won a title with a Pistons team that was better than the sum of its parts two years prior. They made a gamble that it would all work.
It didn’t. At all. They won just 23 games. They had the second-worst record in basketball, and they’d get nothing for it. The Bulls got the No. 2 pick in the draft and had future All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge fall into their lap. Now, they messed that up by sending him to Portland for Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa, but the point remains.
The following year, the Knicks won just 33 games. The Bulls won a bunch more, exercising the swap and taking the No. 9 pick, which became future Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah.
The two top picks traded for Curry became two of the best big men of their generation. The second picks didn’t result in much, but the Bulls traded the 2007 2nd for Thabo Sefolosha and the 2009 2nd in a weird future swap with Portland, but the damage remains.
As for Curry on the Knicks, he had a great 2006-07, averaging 19.5 points and seven rebounds. After that, with four years left on his contract, he played a total of 69 more games as a Knick as he battled injuries, his weight, and a bad work ethic. Complete, franchise-altering disaster.
Literally Everything About The 2005-06 Season
The disastrous acquisitions of Jerome James and Eddy Curry shot the Knicks’ payroll to a league-high $124 million for 2005-06. Dolan was deep in the luxury tax for a team he expected to be a contender in the Eastern Conference. A Hall of Fame coach with this much talent around him can’t fail.
It did. The Knicks lost a franchise-record 59 games. They were over $62 million into the luxury tax and were one of the worst teams in basketball. Channing Frye, a rookie on that team, openly called it the most dysfunctional team he had ever been a part of.
A large part of that was Coach Brown himself. The team had 40 different starting lineups, and Frye said they “didn’t even know who was starting with 30 minutes left on the clock”. He tried to undercut Isiah’s role in the front office. He tried to mold players into his rigid way, even though the roster was completely antithetical to it.
The hiring of Brown was bizarre in and of itself. He had clashed with Marbury, the team’s clear star, during the disastrous 2004 Summer Olympics. He’s a defensive coach on a team with a dozen bad defenders. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. His quotes in the media, while honest, were easy soundbites that ate him and the team alive.
The season was lost by the trade deadline, so the Knicks thankfully didn’t try any all-in moves. You still got some bizarre ones, like trading for 33-year-old Jalen Rose and trading disgruntled second-year player Trevor Ariza and Penny (who had played 41 total games in the last two seasons) for Steve Francis, a rapidly regressing former superstar with a bloated contract. It’s truly incredible how they keep doing this to themselves.
By the end of the year, there were six different five-game losing streaks, a 10-game losing streak, and a nine-game losing streak. They decided to pull the plug on Brown before the season ended, yet didn’t fire him immediately. They kept him in charge for two months, made him go through pre-draft interviews and workouts, and then fired him days before the 2006 NBA Draft. All the while Dolan and Isiah ignored his requests for a meeting, presumably about his status.
Speaking of Isiah, he was sued in January 2006 by Anucha Browne Sanders, the team’s former senior vice president of marketing and business operations, for being fired after reporting sexual harassment by the team president. In the midst of this, somehow, through player testimony, we learned that Starbury had sex with an intern who worked for Sanders in 2005 after a group outing at a strip club.
In October 2007, the court ordered MSG to pay Sanders damages of $11.5 million.
What a disaster. And they didn’t even have their pick because of Eddy f’ing Curry.
Knicks-Nuggets Brawl (2006)
Isiah became head coach that October. Just two months later, the Knicks welcomed Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets to Madison Square Garden on December 16. In the final two minutes of what would become a blowout loss that dropped them to 9-17, Melo was still in the game for Denver.
Isiah told him from the sideline that he shouldn’t be in the game anymore and not to go near the basket. Many believe what happened next was ordered by Isiah himself, even if the ensuing brawl wasn’t the intended consequence.
Mardy Collins fouled J.R. Smith hard on a fast break, prompting a scuffle that got much of the two teams involved. Melo came in and put his hands on Jared Jeffries, but things didn’t truly get out of hand until Nate Robinson swung at J.R., prompting the future Sixth Man of the Year to charge and tackle the three-time Dunk Contest winner.
An utter melee ensued, one in which Melo tossed Channing Frye to the ground as people tried to break up J.R. and Robinson. Just as things seemed to be calming down, Melo then snuck Collins with a right hook and backed away as Jeffries looked like Isaiah Stewart trying to get his lick back.
All 10 players on the court were ejected, and punishments would soon come. Melo would be suspended for 15 games; J.R. and Robinson would both be suspended for 10, and smaller suspensions would come for Collins (6), Jeffries (4), and even a one-game suspension each for Nenê and Jerome James, who both left the bench.
This happening just two years after the Malice in the Palace was a disaster for David Stern and the NBA, which was trying to clean up the league’s act. A big press storm followed the brawl, one that clouded over the team in the coming weeks. As if they couldn’t get worse PR in the national media, Francis used the race card in response to the media coverage. All in a day’s work for this clown show of an organization.
Stephon Marbury Stokes The Final Flames of Drama (2009)
Isiah’s reign of terror mercifully ended in April 2008, but the mess he gave to Donnie Walsh was so deeply entrenched that it was going to take a while to dig out of it. The ultimate goal? Cleaning the cap sheet for the stacked 2010 free agency class.
While on a road trip just 12 games into the 2008-09 season, Walsh shipped out Mardy Collins, Zach Randolph, and Jamal Crawford in a pair of trades just before a game against the Bucks in Milwaukee, which prompted the team to have an extremely short bench that night.
By the trade deadline, Walsh somehow got Chicago to take Jerome James (along with Tim Thomas and Anthony Roberson) for Larry Hughes, while also swapping out Malik Rose for Chris Wilcox. All of these moves helped clean a rough cap sheet, and he did it without trading future assets.
While this was the overarching storyline of a rebuilding year, the drama continued with the end of Starbury in New York.
He was playing out the final year of a four-year, $73 million extension and, while not being a total hindrance due to its expiring nature, his drama was hurting a team that was trying to turn the page from his disastrous era as the team’s face.
He came to blows with Isiah early in their final season together in 2007-08, but a new era quieted rumors of the two sides splitting early. Yet, the signing of Chris Duhon clearly showed D’Antoni had other plans at the lead guard spot. When the new kid on the block won the starting job, Marbury, who had played just 24 games the year prior, refused to play.
The first 10 games of the year, he didn’t dress despite being fully healthy. After a wash of trades, he legally had to dress that night in Milwaukee, but D’Antoni was open to more than just him being a body on the bench. With J Crossover gone, D’Antoni offered real playing time for Marbury, over 30 minutes a night. At this point, with the city having turned against their once-hometown hero, Marbury refused and was later suspended after dogging D’Antoni in the media. He’d never play another game as a Knick.
The second-highest-paid player in basketball was banned from practices and from sitting with the team on the bench by early December. He’d spend the next three months in exile from a team that was trying to see what it had in a young core of Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Duhon.
The buyout finally came on February 24, allowing Marbury to sign and play down the stretch for the Celtics. Somehow, someway, he’s a beloved face on Alumni Row 17 years later as a proud Knick after how awful his tenure was.
One Pick Away From Steph (2009)
Heading into the 2009 NBA Draft, the Knicks had a clear target with the No. 8 pick.
D’Antoni, the architect of the Seven Seconds or Less offense in Phoenix, wanted the skinny point guard from Davidson, Wardell Stephen Curry.
His family, most importantly his father Dell, wanted him to be a Knick.
As he’d later recount on a podcast with his son, Dell flat-out told Don Nelson that he didn’t want Steph to be taken No. 7 by the Warriors. Dell wanted his son to play in the Mecca. Unfortunately for him and the Knicks, there was no real leverage the Curry’s had, prompting the Warriors to just pick him anyway.
The Knicks were left to go with their backup option, Arizona forward Jordan Hill. They could’ve selected USC guard DeMar DeRozan or any number of guys who’d go on to be in the league for the next decade, but they picked Hill.
Despite selecting him No. 8 overall, he played just 24 games as a little-used bench player before being sent in a salary dump at the 2010 trade deadline.
The Tracy McGrady Trade (2010)
Jordan Hill wasn’t good, but they picked him between Steph Curry and DeMar DeRozan in June 2009. It’s ridiculous to give up on this guy that quickly, and it says a lot about the front office’s drafting ability and thought process. Jeffries and Hughes were okay role players. None of these guys would come back to bite you.
The Knicks were so desperate to offload salary that they shipped their 2009 lottery pick, a 2012 first, and a 2011 pick swap that would not convey just to get rid of both Hughes and Jeffries’ salary figures for the following season. In the modern day, getting a 31-year-old who spent his 20s as one of the league’s most dynamic scorers would be a jackpot, but T-Mac didn’t have nearly as much longevity as some of the stars do now.
Neither McGrady nor Sergio Rodriguez played for the Knicks past April 2010. McGrady, particularly, played abysmally in 24 starts down the stretch and had to settle for a veteran minimum with the Pistons that summer.
It was the final step to unlocking over $32 million in cap space, more than enough to get one of the major prizes in free agency. If they were shrewd enough, they could even get two!
Some of the names available? Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson, the list went on and on.
But there was one real prize.
The Disastrous Pitch To LeBron (2010)
In another life, the 2010-11 Knicks have Steph Curry and LeBron James. Think about that for just a quick second.
We conclude Part III of our story by recounting the failed pursuit of a 25-year-old LeBron James, the consensus best player in basketball who was seriously considering leaving his hometown of Cleveland for greener pastures as an international superstar.
That stardom, naturally, prompted him to take a meeting with the Knicks on July 1, 2010. Now, he also took meetings with teams like the Bulls, Nets, Clippers, Cavs, and the Miami Heat, but they got him in the building, and that’s what mattered.
Bill Simmons (whose credibility isn’t a slam dunk) said in 2020 that, going into free agency, New York was his first choice. Despite everything we just talked about in the previous decade, the generation-defining superstar was ready to turn this organization around if the meeting went well.
By all accounts, it was a disaster. “Dolan was Dolan,” Simmons said on his podcast, and the entire pitch was based on LeBron using the city to upgrade his stardom. There was no concrete structure for winning, just marketing.
The centerpiece of the meeting, which was so bad that the Knicks weren’t granted a second one, was the following video that was lost media for over a decade until residential deep diver Pablo Torre found it in 2024:
Outside of the opening skit of a “deleted scene” in The Sopranos (which was shot multiple times for Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to be shown in their meetings!!!!), it is completely impersonal. It’s just a bunch of names, some more problematic than others, pitching New York to… somebody.
On July 8, LeBron signed with Miami after a pitch from old friend Pat Riley that was, you know, about winning. Almost like that’s why he’d leave Cleveland in the first place.
The Knicks settled for Amare, a great signing that looked awesome after his first season and initial pairing with Carmelo Anthony via trade, but later turned into another mess of a deal as he dealt with injuries.
The LeBron pursuit encompasses the rot that the organization had. Isiah was gone; they found stability in the coaching staff, but there was still James Dolan in the middle of it. As long as he had his fingerprints on the operations, the 37-year drought was going to continue.
After 13 NHL seasons, former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Dumba has announced his retirement from professional hockey.
Dumba spent the final season of his professional career with the Penguins organization in 2025-26. In 11 games with Pittsburgh during this past campaign, he posted one goal, three points, 16 hits, and a minus-5 rating.
Dumba also played in 27 AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season after clearing waivers. During them, he posted six goals, 14 assists, 20 points, and 43 penalty minutes in 27 games.
Following the AHL club's regular season, Dumba mutually terminated his contract with the Penguins. Now, after his Penguins tenure, the right-shot defenseman has called it career.
While Dumba had a tough finish to his NHL career, he still had a strong one overall. In 748 career NHL games split between the Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, and Penguins, he posted 85 goals, 176 assists, 261 points, 558 penalty minutes, and 1,104 hits.
Matt Dumba is officially hanging up his skates after 748 NHL career games. Wishing the former blue liner and 2019-20 King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner the best of luck in his retirement! pic.twitter.com/oDSI5vGDw7
The QPR goalkeeper Pierce Charles made a stunning double save from a Jarrod Bowen penalty in stoppage time to secure a 1-1 draw at West Ham. The 21-year-old, who kept four clean sheets and saved a penalty for Northern Ireland over the international break, pulled off more heroics to deny the Hammers top spot in the Championship.
Bowen had already equalised for West Ham, cancelling out a hugely controversial first-half penalty from Nicolas Madsen. But the Hammers captain saw his spot-kick saved and Charles then somehow pushed the rebound from Arne Engels on to the crossbar.
He played in a career-high 82 regular season games – one of the league’s 18 Iron Men in 2025-26 – started more than half (43) of the regular season and nearly played as many minutes last season (2,061) as he did in the previous four seasons of his NBA career combined (2,569).
The two-year, $12 million contract signed with the Lakers during the 2025 offseason was looking like a steal for the franchise for the first half of the season.
But then LaRavia started slumping.
His perimeter shot went from reliable to suspect, with the Pasadena, CA native shooting 26.2% on 3-pointers during the final 23 games of the regular season.
Jake LaRavia (12) has regained confidence in his jump shot. NBAE via Getty Images
LaRavia’s offensive aggression dipped along with his shooting percentages.
And after being a focal point in the rotation the entire season, his playing time in the playoffs diminished, including receiving a pair of DNP-CD’s (did not play – coach’s decision) in the Lakers’ final two playoff games of their second-round sweep to the Thunder.
“This summer was a summer reflection and intentionality for me,” LaRavia said. “The second half of the season last season was not the way that I intended it to go. You hit mental lapses in the season. I hit a mental lapse last season and I wasn’t able to shake back from it. And as a professional athlete, that can happen, but when you play on this stage, that can’t happen. So this summer, a lot of it was just mental reflection for me and working on that side of the game.
“The other thing was just working on my jump shot because that was the biggest thing. I’m going to come out every game, I’m going to play hard. I’m going to play defense. I’m going to crash and I’m going to rebound. But consistency with the shooting was a very big thing for me.”
Jake LaRavia continues to bring defensive hustle, along with his tweaked shooting form. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
LaRavia’s reflections, which include daily journaling, are paying off during the Lakers’ preseason, with the 2022 first-round pick being one of the more consistent performers.
After Thursday’s win over the Kings, LaRavia’s averaging 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists so far during preseason.
Most impressively, he’s shooting 53.8% (7-of-13) on 3s so far after making tweaks to his jump shot. He has worked with Lakers coach JJ Redick, one of the best shooters in NBA history, and assistant coach Beau Levesque on his form during the summer.
“Jake had a really nice base and foundation to shoot with, so it wasn’t like he was completely revamping his shot,” Redick said. “It was small tweaks. And ultimately the tweaks don’t matter if they don’t give you confidence. And so I feel like he’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence right now, and he feels confident in his shot.”
The hope is that LaRavia will maintain his confidence even when the results aren’t in his favor.
The 24-year-old understands he’ll have shooting slumps.
It’s the nature of an 82-game regular season.
But the hope is that the physical, and mental, changes will yield more consistent results for LaRavia outside of when he is or isn’t making shots.
“One thing that kind of changed for me this year was focusing more on the input rather than the output,” LaRavis said.
“So not really focused on my makes or my misses, but am I doing everything in my control to give myself the best opportunity to make the shot? So as far as the output goes, I’m not really concerned about how many shots I’m making right now because at some point I’m gonna also miss shots. But as long as the input stays the same, then I’ll be consistent.”
But the Dodgers playoff legend refused to reveal the identity of said player. Instead, Muncy discussed a detail that shocked him about the now-viral video.
“I’m not gonna tell you who it was. I know who it was, but I’m not gonna tell you,” Muncy said.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) celebrates after defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the NLDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Muncy asked Foul Territory’s AJ Pierzynski about the player’s fashion choice, beyond his bare butt.
“So, on that note, jockstraps with no sliders underneath?” Muncy said.
“That, to me, is one of the weirdest things about that is there’s no sliders underneath. This got way off topic real quick. Sorry about that one.”
Max Muncy is well aware of whose cheeks were out before the Dodgers started popping bottles… pic.twitter.com/GmE6EU65yJ
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani, right, celebrates winning Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. AP Photo/Mike StewartLos Angeles Dodgers players celebrate winning Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series. AP Photo/Mike Stewart
The Dodgers celebrated their NLDS victory over the Braves on Wednesday night, but their biggest task lies ahead. The NLCS matchup between the Dodgers and Brewers is slated to be one for the ages as both teams are deep in every facet.
Muncy is expected to play a big role for the Dodgers as the team chases its third consecutive World Series title. Against the Braves, Muncy hit his 19th postseason home run for the Dodgers, a franchise record.
Who is the Lakers’ biggest X-factor outside of their Big 3?
There are nine new players.
We know Luka Dončić is an offensive wizard who’s a top-four NBA player. We know Austin Reaves is a borderline All-Star. We know Walker Kessler is an elite rebounder and rim protector who’s ready to run through a wall for the Lakers.
Luka Doncic (77) of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after scoring during the first half at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Corey Sipkin for NY Post
But we also know that the best teams in the league are deep.
We know that if the Lakers are going to make any noise in the playoffs, they need a cadre of fresh legs. They need guys who are willing to star in their roles.
So, who’s the team’s dark horse? Who’s the unsuspecting player who could make a major difference?
It could be Sandro Mamukelashvili, a playmaking forward who’s already putting his stamp on the team. He’s a great scorer. He can fill in the slack when Doncic or Reaves needs a rest.
It could be Matisse Thybulle, who’s a talented wing stopper and is going to be looked at to fill the hole Marcus Smart left behind.
It could be Jake LaRavia, who’s apparently made leaps this offseason as a defender and scorer.
It could be any number of guys, ranging from the young and athletic Adou Thiero, to the 3&D-skilled Quentin Grimes, to the three-level scorer Collin Sexton.
But there’s one name that keeps coming up. Everyone mentions him. Everyone has been struck by him.
Ziaire Williams has surpassed everyone’s expectations in training camp.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Ziaire Williams speaks to the media during media day Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in El Segundo, Calif. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Heading into this season, the Lakers have been lacking one apparent thing: an athletic and high-flying perimeter defender.
Williams fits that bill. And he’s looking for a fresh start. That could be a powerful combination.
The 25-year-old Williams is entering his sixth season and is now playing for his third team following being selected as the 10th overall pick by the Grizzlies in the 2021 draft.
Williams has a 6-foot-10 wingspan. He’s physical. He’s scrappy.
The 6-9 forward’s defensive skills shined at moments during his last two seasons with the Nets, who failed to reach the postseason. But the tanking Nets only won 46 combined games the last two years. That doesn’t exactly inspire lockdown defense.
Things will be different with the Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Ziaire Williams (11) plays defense during an NBA preseason game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, Monday, October 5, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
They need his skill set. Doncic wants to win his first championship. The 17-time championship Lakers are tired of not getting past the second round of the playoffs the last three seasons.
Williams fits the bill. If he can be a pillar of stability in his role for the Lakers, he could help propel them to another level. He needs to be aggressive. He needs to transform into the athletic perimeter disruptor they desperately need.
He has quick hands. He has good timing. And now he’ll have protection behind him, with Kessler patrolling the paint down low. He can take risks. He can take gambles.
So far, training camp brought the best out of Williams.
Austin Reaves (15) of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates during Game 3 of the second round of the NBA playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, May 9, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Lakers coach JJ Redick even had to modify a recent practice because things became so physical. Guys are competing for the final two starting spots. They’re eager to prove themselves to their new coach.
“It was a dogfight, but that’s how it’s supposed to be,” Williams said Oct. 1, flashing a smile. “Guys competing. It was good, though.”
Williams said “there’s not really anything I’m not comfortable with” on the defensive end, something that’s music to the Lakers’ ears.
The Lakers need someone who’s young, hungry, athletic and willing to take on the challenge of guarding some of the league’s top wings.
Williams has shown glimmers of his potential.
Now he needs to show consistency.
If he can star in his role, the Lakers’ ceiling gets even higher.
Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares was absent from Friday's practice in Las Vegas for personal reasons. He travelled back home to be with his family for the birth of his fourth child, Tucker, head coach Jim Hiller revealed.
With that terrific news for the Tavares family, it also means that the 36-year-old won't be available for the Maple Leafs when they head to Denver and take on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
It'll be a big loss for Toronto in terms of the role that Tavares supplied in the lineup. He's scored a goal and three assists in his first five games and is averaging 17:10 of ice time per game so far.
As he's predominantly been the second-line center for his entire tenure with the team since joining in 2018-19, there is an opportunity for others on the roster.
Hiller decided to bump up Nick Paul to the second-line center position, with Easton Cowan and William Nylander as the left and right wingers, respectively. That left a third line with Gavin McKenna, Colton Sissons and Bo Groulx, and Zack MacEwen, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime on the fourth line. The first line remains the same as in the game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
"I'm just thankful for the depth that we have in the center position," Hiller said after practice. "I think (Paul's) played really well this year. We've really liked him together with Sissons. Whether it's been McKenna or Cowan, they've been solid defensively and been a dangerous offensive line. So, I think both he and Sissons, they're solid two-way players, but there's offense there too. So, playing with Nylander and Cowan, I think that can be a good offensive line as well."
Though Paul is getting a likely short-lived promotion in the absence of Tavares on that second line, he doesn't intend to change his style of play very much.
"I think I just play the same way," Paul said. "Obviously, when plays are there to be made, obviously make them, but for me it's just hard forecheck, turn pucks over and get into their hands and in around the net. So nothing really changes from my game."
Paul has spent some time with Cowan, as they've shared the third line together for a considerable amount of time in this young season, but with Nylander is a different story. At any rate, Nylander thought their first look together at practice went well.
"I think it was clicking pretty good," Nylander said of his line at practice. "I haven't played with (Paul) yet, but I know what he's done in Tampa. I've seen him in the first couple of games here with us. I love the way he plays the game. I think it'll be a lot of fun."
Nylander nodded at Paul's competitiveness and ability to play on both sides of the puck effectively. "A very dependent guy," he said about Paul.
In Paul's first five games, the 31-year-old has put up one goal and one assist, scoring his goal against the Golden Knights, nicking the puck off his shin pad from a Darren Raddysh one-timer.
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Speaking in an episode of “The Zach Lowe Show” that published Thursday, Oct. 8, Haliburton addressed the origin of the rift, which came during the 2025 in-season tournament, which has since been rebranded to the NBA Cup.
It was then that Haliburton hit a big 3-pointer late in a game against the Bucks and then mocked Lillard’s long-time “Dame Time” celebration, by looking at his wrist, mimicking looking at a watch.
“Do I regret it? No, because it was obviously a lot of fun for our organization, and the run we went on in the in-season tournament was a lot of fun,” Haliburton told Lowe. “It just added to it, so it was fun.
“I think what I do regret more than anything is what me and Dame's relationship has become. Because he was a guy who checked on me a lot, early in my career, especially when I got traded. We talked a lot, and I got his permission to be announced as the letter O, because that's his thing."
Haliburton, the No. 12 overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft to the Kings, was traded midway through his second season when Sacramento shipped him to the Pacers.
The two players have shared several links; both ruptured their Achilles tendons during the 2025 NBA Playoffs and both missed the entire 2025-26 NBA seasons. And both have battled throughout their careers, most notably during Lillard’s two seasons in Milwaukee, from 2023-25.
The Pacers and Bucks, who are Central Division rivals, produced several fiery games in which tempers flared; the Pacers eliminated Milwaukee in consecutive postseasons while Lillard was there.
"I would love to have a conversation, because I just think it became more than it ever needed to be," Haliburton added, referencing the "Dame Time" celebration. "A miscommunication. Put it on me. I was young. In the moment, I was having fun with it, but it was probably a little much, and whatever happened from there happened.
"But he's a guy who I have looked up to the majority of my life," Haliburton said. "Part of the reason I wear (jersey number) 0 is Damian Lillard. He's a guy I would love to at least be more cordial with again, but it's love, for sure."
This continued with a story NBA insider Zach Lowe shared during an episode of his podcast that was released on Thursday night.
“I have a good Kings story for you… I heard this about a week ago; I’ve called up people who can verify it. It has been verified. They went out to [a] fancy training dinner, team, the whole team, the staff, everything. And at the dinner, Vivek Ranadivé spoke, and he kind of turned the dinner into a roast of lots of people in the room, telling them all the ways in which they have been failing as players, coaches, executives, whatever,” Lowe said.
NBA insider Zach Lowe sharing a story about the Sacramento Kings. (X/@ZachLowe_NBA).
“And I checked with the Kings, and they confirmed the gist of what I would say. Some people were alarmed and were like, ‘This is not going over the way you intended.’ Some people thought, ‘I get what he’s doing. He’s using the fact that we’ve become a media punchline to motivate us,'” he continued.
“He’s not saying, ‘I, Vivek Ranadivé, believe these things about you. But here’s what people say about you. Prove us wrong. But it was described to me as a prolonged roast that landed with some of the audience, and some of the audience not as much.”
Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein, right, smiles as he talks with Sacramento Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive, left, and Kings assistant general manager Mike Bratz after a pre-draft workout with the Kings in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, June 11, 2015. AP
It would be interesting to hear about this “prolonged roast” from Kings players, particularly the ones who didn’t take kindly to whatever Ranadivé (who has been a Kings owner since 2013) had to say.
Sacramento Kings forward Leaky Black (19) gets poked in the eye by Los Angeles Lakers forward Adou Thiero (1) as he goes for a rebound during the second half of a game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, Oct. 8, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Perhaps not having his dad in the Lakers’ locker room will free Bronny up to showcase more of his personality. It definitely freed him up to showcase his singing voice, which was shown during a Sports Illustrated video clip of the Lakers’ team trip to Slovenia.
Bronny James of the Los Angeles Lakers stands on the court during the second half of a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Getty Images
The 22-year-old Lakers guard was climbing into a golf cart and belted out, “I just can’t wait to be king!” which is the title of a song from Disney’s “The Lion King.”
Clips of Bronny’s singing have gone viral on social media, and fans are pointing out the lyric’s irony, given LeBron’s “King James” nickname.
Bronny still has a long ways to go before living up to his father’s “King” moniker. After all, he averaged 2.9 points over 8.9 minutes per game during the Lakers’ campaign last season.
But Bronny should have more of a defined role on Los Angeles’ roster this season, in part because his father’s 33.2 minutes per game must be taken by somebody after LeBron joined the 76ers in free agency.
LeBron James of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 8, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Lakers fans would love if Bronny was able to turn these song lyrics he was singing into the truth.
Bronny James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during a game against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Oct. 8, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Australia’s latest selection gamble has come under fire after another shaky batting display against South Africa, with Pat Cummins’ call to embrace the “grind” again put to the test.
