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Joel Quenneville's Future with the Anaheim Ducks, Enters 2026-27 Season on Expiring Contract

In one of the 2025 offseason’s biggest surprises, the Anaheim Ducks parted ways with then-head coach Greg Cronin after just two seasons on the job and improving by 21 points in the NHL standings between years one and two.

Less than one month later, the Ducks hired the second-winningest head coach in NHL history, Joel Quenneville, with a mandate to qualify for the 2026 playoffs. With Quenneville inserted behind the bench, the Ducks achieved their goal, improving from 80 points in 2024-25 to 92 in 2025-26 and finishing third in the Pacific Division.

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Anaheim won their opening round of the playoffs against the defending Western Conference Champion Edmonton Oilers in six games but were defeated in the second round by the eventual Conference Champion Vegas Golden Knights, again in six games.

After finishing among the final eight teams in the NHL playoffs, the Ducks are expected to build off their performance and continue their evolution into sustainable Cup contenders. With several of their young players having solidified themselves as NHL stars and foundational pieces, coupled with veteran experience on the roster, the Ducks’ contending window could be considered presently open.

The Ducks were unable to make many significant moves to improve the roster in the 2026 offseason due to sudden, unexpected salary cap constraints and parting with several key roster pieces such as Mason McTavish, Jacob Trouba, John Carlson, Radko Gudas, and Olen Zellweger.

Quenneville (67) will have his work cut out for him in the upcoming 2026-27 season to build on his club’s efforts from a year ago and return to the playoffs while continuing to develop the Ducks’ core and secondary young pieces.

An interesting wrinkle to Quenneville’s short tenure thus far in Anaheim is the fact that he’s now on an expiring contract, per reporting from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.

To Anaheim, Quenneville brought with him a resume that included 1768 games as an NHL head coach, 969 wins, three Stanley Cup rings, and (to some) a stained reputation due to his role in the scandal surrounding the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks.

He’ll be 68 years old when the 2026-27 season starts. The upcoming season will be his 27th as an NHL head coach, he’s now the second head coach in history to eclipse the 1000-win mark, and his reputation seems to have rebounded as much as it possibly could have. The questions now become: how much longer does he want to coach? And what more does he have to prove?

Quenneville brought the Ducks back to the playoffs on the backs of a young core that includes Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, Jackson LaCombe, and Lukas Dostal, and in theory, they’ll only continue to grow and improve. However, expectations of truly competing for a Stanley Cup seem multiple years down the road, beyond the length of Quenneville’s current contract, at least.

It’s clear Quenneville’s passion for the sport and coaching remains. To the Ducks locker room and bench, he’s brought an even-keeled demeanor throughout the highs and lows of an 82 (soon to be 84) game schedule, but he also outwardly displays fiery emotions behind the bench, “going to bat” for his players and pressing proper buttons when needed.

For the most part, he’s done well to nurture and guide his most talented young roster players, coaching them through and eventually erasing predictable mistakes while allowing them to grow and flourish on their own without fear of elongated time on the bench or healthy scratches. That area of his coaching prowess will continue to be ever-important in the upcoming season, where the Ducks will rely on an even greater influx of youth on the roster in prominent roles.

Quenneville has a lot left to give the Ducks organization and roster as their head coach, and with another successful season, it can be expected that a contract extension would be on the horizon. However, at the start of the 2026-27 season, he’ll be the second-oldest in the NHL, three years younger than Rick Bowness of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he’d be 69 years old at the start of his potential new contract. The Anaheim job seems to be his as long as he wants it, especially if he repeats or improves on the successes of a year ago.

The Ducks are in a position of luxury, as despite the ever-circulating NHL head coaching carousel, they maintained the services of their offense/power play assistant coach and one of the most sought-after candidates for the past two summers: Jay Woodcroft.

In less than three seasons as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, Woodcroft was let go after posting a 79-41-13 record and three NHL playoff series wins. With two seasons in the Ducks organization and a deep familiarity with the roster, Woodcroft seems the heir apparent if Quenneville were to call it a career or exit for greener pastures following the upcoming season.

The Hockey News ranked Quenneville as the NHL’s fifth-best current head coach, and the work he’s done to overhaul the systems, on-ice philosophy, and off-ice philosophy in Anaheim cannot be understated. His current contract is yet another layer to yet another all-important transition season for the Anaheim Ducks franchise in 2026-27.

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Connor Hellebuyck Ranking Only Adds to Jets' Uncertainty

Connor Hellebuyck has fallen one spot in the NHL Network’s annual ranking of the league’s top goaltenders.

But by the time the Winnipeg Jets open training camp in less than a month, where he ranks might be considerably less important than where he physically is.

Whether he will remain the Jets' No. 1 backstop much longer is the million-dollar question.

NHL Network unveiled its annual list of the league's top goaltenders this week, with Tampa Bay Lightning star Andrei Vasilevskiy overtaking Hellebuyck for the No. 1 position.

Photo by Charles LeClair/USA Today 
Photo by Charles LeClair/USA Today 

Hellebuyck, who topped the list one year ago, fell just one spot to second, ahead of Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin and Jeremy Swayman.

On its own, the change isn't particularly surprising.

Hellebuyck endured one of the most difficult statistical seasons of his NHL career in 2025-26, going 23-23-11 with a 2.86 goals-against average and career-worst .895 save percentage.

Vasilevskiy, meanwhile, captured his second Vezina Trophy after going 39-15-4 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .912 save percentage for Tampa Bay.

But Hellebuyck's placement at No. 2 is another reminder of the enormous question hanging over Winnipeg with training camp now less than a month away.

The Jets have one of the two best goaltenders in the NHL, according to NHL Network. They just don't know whether he'll be there when camp opens.

Hellebuyck's future has remained uncertain since Winnipeg's disappointing 2025-26 season came to an end.

The 33-year-old made no secret of his frustration following a year in which the Jets missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, just one season removed from winning the Presidents' Trophy.

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff later acknowledged publicly that the Jets were willing to listen to trade offers for their longtime starter, although he stopped short of saying Hellebuyck had formally requested a trade.

The situation has gone relatively quiet since the NHL Draft and opening of free agency, but that shouldn't necessarily be mistaken for a resolution.

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman recently reported that there has been little movement on the Hellebuyck front of late, while maintaining his belief that the three-time Vezina Trophy winner will eventually be traded.

There also remains an expectation around the situation that Hellebuyck may not be present when the Jets gather for training camp next month.

That would turn what has largely been an offseason storyline into an immediate problem for Winnipeg.

The Jets have already provided themselves with some insurance in goal.

Winnipeg signed Stuart Skinner to a two-year, $7.5-million contract on July 1, giving the club an experienced NHL starter should Hellebuyck ultimately be moved. A move that Skinner surely wouldn't sign up for if he anticipated serving solely as Hellebuyck's backup (15-20 games a season maximum) for the next two years.

Oh, and Skinner also shares an agent with Hellebuyck and former Jets backup Eric Comrie. So he clearly has some inside info on the situation. 

Cheveldayoff has maintained that Hellebuyck's uncertain future was not the reason for Skinner's addition and, technically, there is nothing forcing Winnipeg into making a deal.

Hellebuyck has five years remaining on the seven-year, $59.5-million contract he signed with the Jets in October 2023.

That contractual control gives Winnipeg considerably more leverage than it had during the last round of Hellebuyck trade speculation three summers ago, when he was approaching unrestricted free agency.

But there is a difference between having contractual control and having certainty.

The Jets are coming off a 35-35-12 season in which they finished seventh in the Central Division. They have made changes around the edges of the roster this summer and have repeatedly maintained that the goal remains to win.

Doing so becomes considerably more difficult without Hellebuyck.

Even following the worst statistical season of his career, NHL Network still considers him the second-best goaltender in the sport. One year earlier, Hellebuyck captured both the Hart and Vezina trophies after a remarkable 2024-25 campaign.

Across his back-to-back Vezina-winning seasons, Hellebuyck went 84-31-7 with a 2.19 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.

That is not a player Winnipeg can simply subtract and expect to replace. It also justifies why Cheveldayoff can afford to remain patient.

If the Jets ultimately move their franchise goaltender, the return will need to help reshape a roster that still intends to compete. Winnipeg has long sought additional help among its top-six forwards, and a Hellebuyck trade represents its most significant opportunity to acquire an impact player (preferably a centreman) without entering a full-scale rebuild.

The difficulty is finding a team with the need, cap flexibility and assets required to make such a massive deal work.

For now, Hellebuyck remains a Winnipeg Jet. On paper, anyway.

NHL Network's latest ranking confirms that his standing among the game's elite hasn't disappeared after one down season.

Whether the No. 2 goaltender in hockey actually takes the ice with the Jets when training camp opens is another matter entirely.

But for those keeping score back home, Hellebuyck has been wearing his Winnipeg Jets branded practice gear while skating during the offseason back home in Michigan. And to no surprise his Lake of the Woods Sports Headquarters outdoors gear.

Does it mean anything substantial? No. But it doesn't scream, "I'm ditching this place forever," either.

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Buss trying to block siblings' sale of LA Lakers

Lakers president and controlling owner Jeanie Buss, attends a game between the Lakers and the Bucks at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to guide a team to an NBA championship in 2020 [Getty Images]

Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is trying to block her siblings' sale of her family's remaining stake in the NBA franchise.

Josh Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared, and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger agreed a deal last week to buy the controlling interest in one of the world's most iconic sports teams from Mark Walter for$12.5bn (£9.3bn).

Walter bought his share from the Buss family last year for about $10bn (£7.45bn) in a deal that ensured Jeanie remained as governor until 2030.

The Buss family, who have been either a primary or minority owner of the Lakers since 1979, released a statement on Monday saying they had voted to sell their remaining 17.8% stake to the incoming owners.

"We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction," the statement read.

"We love the Lakers, Lakers fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can."

However, Jeanie's lawyer has now said she plans to fight her siblings' plan to sell.

The Buss family trust comprises of Jerry Buss' six children, with Jeanie serving as the governor of the Lakers since her father's death in 2013.

Jeanie's lawyer Adam Streisand said in a letter to her five siblings that any vote for a sale "would be and is void" because her approval as one of three co-trustees, along with siblings Joey and Janie Buss, is needed for such a move.

"Co-trustees are bound to vote to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain controlling owner," the letter said, according to ESPN.

"Any attempt by the co-trustees to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.

"On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed 'vote' to sell the 17.8% stake."

Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in a $67.5m deal (£50m) in 1979 that included the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and a Los Angeles arena that is known as the Kia Forum.

After he died in 2013, ownership was passed to his six children before a deal was completed with Walter, who also owns a stake in the LA Dodgers with Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly.

The LA Lakers have 17 NBA titles - 11 of which were won under the ownership of the Buss family - one less than the record tally held by the Boston Celtics.

The deal involving Kushner comes after he was part of the recent controversy surrounding Fifa president Gianni Infantino and an aborted plan to sell off stakes in the governing body's competitions to private investors.

Thrive Eternal, an American venture capital firm founded by Kushner, was expected to lead the proposed investor group for the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal.

If it is approved by the NBA's board of governors next month, it will become the most expensive sports team sale ever reported - and Walter will have made a quick $2.5bn (£1.9bn) profit on his investment.

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44 Days Until Opening Night: The History Of Jersey #44

The Columbus Blue Jackets have 44 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today we look at the history of jersey #44. 

Let's take a look.

Rostislav Klesla - 2001-2004 - Klesla was drafted 4th overall in the 2000 NHL Draft.

Klesla's scouting report went like this: "Klesla is a very physical, defensive defenseman. Has solid hockey sense and positional skills. Doesn't score as many points as he possibly could. Also, he is rather prone to injury." Despite that last part about injuries, former GM Doug MacLean drafted Klesla at #4 anyway.

Klesla made his NHL debut in 2000 before he was sent back to Junior. He would come up in the next season and be there full-time. He would then go on to play in 515 games for the Jackets over the course of 10 seasons. On February 28, 2011, he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes and played the next four years. 

In 2014, he would return to his home country of Czechia and play the next two years for HC Oceláři Třinec. After a four-year break from playing to coach for HC Vítkovice, he would play a season in Czechia's fourth-tier league before finally retiring. 

Peter Sarno - 2006 - Sarno was drafted in the 6th round of the 1997 NHL Draft by Edmonton

Sarno played a single game for the Blue Jackets during the 2005-06 season. He also played 39 games for the Syracuse Crunch that season. 

After his year with Columbus, he left for Europe, where he would play until 2010. 

Aaron Johnson - 2003-07/2011-12 - Johnson was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Johnson played 172 games for the Jackets over two stints. Scouts said of Johnson was "A puck-moving defenseman, Johnson is a very good skater. Has good offensive instincts and can quarterback the power play. Can play a tough and physical game. Needs to improve his play in his own end."

During his time with Columbus, he also spent three years with the AHL Syracuse Crunch, where he had 73 points in those three seasons. 

In 2016, he left North America and signed on with Adler Mannheim of the DEL in Germany. He then left for England, where he played for the Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL. In 2021, he became a Player-Asst. Coach for a season.

He came back home to Columbus in 2021 and joined the Jackets as a Team Consultant. He's been the Team Relations Specialist for the Jackets for a few seasons now. 

Aaron Rome - 2008 - Rome was drafted by the LA Kings in the 2002 NHL Draft. 

Rome played 25 games over the course of two seasons for Columbus after being traded from the Ducks on November 15, 2007. He totaled 1 goal and 3 points. He spent most of his time in Syracuse that season, playing 41 games. Rome would leave for the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2009 as a free agent. Rome would retire in 2014. 

Rome went on to spend three seasons as a skills coach for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. 

Grant Clitsome - 2010 - Clitsome was drafted in the 9th round of the 2004 NHL Draft by the CBJ.

Clitsome played in 93 games and had 36 points for Columbus. In 2012, he was placed on waivers in order to be sent to Springfield of the AHL. But he was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets and would play the next three seasons for the Jets. 

He announced his retirement from professional hockey on June 1, 2016, after undergoing back surgery.

Justin Falk - 2015-2016 - Falk was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 4th round of the 2004 draft.

Falk played 29 games for the Blue Jackets and totaled 6 points.  On March 2, 2015, Falk requested a trade that sent him and a fifth-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jordan Leopold.  The following summer in 2016, he would sign with the Buffalo Sabres. 

After retiring in 2019, Falk went into coaching and is a scout for the Sabres.

Taylor Chorney - 2018 - Edmonton drafted Chorney in the second round of the 2005 draft.

Chorney would play a single game for Columbus after being picked up on waivers on February 21, 2018. After that one game, he left for Europe, where he played until 2021. He retired after the 2021 season. 

Vladislav Gavrikov - 2019-2022 - Gavrikov was drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 NHL Draft. 

Gavrikov played 256 games for the Jackets over 4 seasons. He totaled 15 goals and 73 points. Gavrikov is widely considered one of the best late-round picks to ever play for the Jackets, despite his short time in Columbus. He played great defense and would always seem to show up on the scoreboard. 

After he signed a three-year, $8.4 million contract extension with the Blue Jackets in November of 2020, former GM Jarmo Kekäläinen decided to trade Gavrikov to the LA Kings in March of 2023. A decision that a lot of CBJ fans hated and wondered why it happened. Kekäläinen knew Gavrikov was going to want a hefty raise and didn't want to pay him. 

Gavrikov signed a two-year extension with LA just a couple of months after the trade. In the summer of 2025, Gavrikov would get his big contract. He signed a 7-year, $49 million deal with the New York Rangers, which will take him into his mid-30s. 

Erik Gudbranson - 2023-2025 - Gudbranson was drafted 3rd overall in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers. 

Gudbranson is more than just a defenseman; he's a protector and intimidator. Gudbranson rarely fights but will when he has to. Mainly, he'll just stare at guys until they back down from him. 

Gudbranson just finished a 4-year deal he signed with Columbus back in July of 2022. He has played 201 games and has 46 points. Despite his final two seasons with Columbus being riddled with injuries, Gudbranson was re-signed to a one-year contract for the 26-27 season. 

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Could Connor Hellebuyck Be Next For EA NHL's 99 Club?

On Monday, exciting news dropped ahead of the release of the newest entry in the EA Sports NHL series, with NHL 27 set to arrive in early September.

The new game brings back several fan-favorite elements, including the return of GM Connected franchise mode, along with more detailed, customized arena presentations across all 32 NHL teams, meaning Canada Life Centre will finally look and feel more like the true home of the Winnipeg Jets.

The bigger headline, though, is that the NHL series is borrowing a concept from other EA Sports franchises like Madden and EA FC. NHL 27 is introducing a 99 Club, reserved for the handful of players considered the very best in the sport, distinguished by a perfect 99 overall rating.

EA announced the first member of that club on Monday with Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who becomes the first player in the history of the NHL video game series to carry a 99 overall.

The news kicked off plenty of speculation, including who might become the first player in Jets history to crack the 99 Club. McDavid is the first to join the list, but more additions are expected to follow, and it would make sense for Winnipeg's superstar goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, to be next in line. 

Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and a recent Olympic gold medalist, is coming off a season that fell well short of the standard he set in his back-to-back Vezina-winning campaigns. He finished 2025-26 with a 23-23-11 record, a 2.86 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage, a career-worst mark, while trade speculation followed him for much of the summer.

Even so, Hellebuyck has already proven he belongs in 99-overall territory, especially over the two seasons prior, when he won back-to-back Vezina Trophies. During that stretch, he went a combined 84-31-7, posted a 2.19 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage, and led all goaltenders in wins by a wide margin. 

If anyone joins the 99 Club after McDavid, there's a strong case that Hellebuyck will be the next name called.

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For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

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Why the Toronto Raptors must treat the NBA Cup like the playoffs

TORONTO, CANADA - NOVEMBER 21 : Kyshawn George (18) of Washington Wizards in action against Ja'Kobe Walter (14) of Toronto Raptors during the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors at the Scotiabank Arena on November 21, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images) | Anadolu via Getty Images

When the Toronto Raptors released their 2026-27 schedule, they also unveiled their NBA Cup schedule and opponents. Since the in-season tournament’s inception during the 2023-24 season, the Toronto Raptors’ track record has been – uninspiring.

To their credit, last year’s team managed to navigate itself into uncharted waters before running into its Big Apple kryptonite.

Raptors NBA Cup historic records:

  • 2023: 1-3
  • 2024: 1-3
  • 2025: 4-1 (lost to the New York Knicks 101-117 in the Knockout stage)

The Raptors’ newfound success in the tournament mirrors a change in perception, particularly with how players and fans view the NBA Cup. The tournament, which was initially met with relentless criticism, particularly during its launch, has slowly garnered credibility and respect. It helps that teams are using it to showcase their long-term ambitions.

It doesn’t get any better than when the New York Knicks played the San Antonio Spurs in the 2025 NBA Cup championship. The high-profile matchup ultimately foreshadowed the NBA Finals, both its participants and eventual winner. This means the 2026 NBA Cup championship has a bit of prestige now. There’s an expectation that the absolute best teams should be there fighting for the crown.

It’s not even about winning the title either. Simply being a participant in the tournament’s endgame sets teams up to be major players in the ensuing playoffs. In 2024, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell in the NBA Cup championship, but ultimately finished as the top seed in the Western Conference before defeating the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. Before that, the Pacers reached the 2023 NBA Cup championship and battled all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.

It’s clear: the NBA Cup is now a litmus test, and it’s something the Raptors must take seriously. If anything, it’ll help the front-office speed up its evaluation of the current roster. The window that Kawhi Leonard creates grants a genuine peek at a Larry O’Brien title that awaits on the other side, but it’s also a small opening that requires urgency.

This year’s group also sets the stage for a manageable road to the NBA Cup championship game. It’s arguably the least competitive collection of opponents, at least according to win percentage. Toronto shouldn’t have a problem dispatching the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. The Orlando Magic have a competitive team that could push the Raptors, but Leonard should push them over the top. The Detroit Pistons obviously present a problem, but if the Raptors are serious about a deep playoff run, then this will be a great opportunity to prove it.

Previous Records

  • 2023: Boston (57-25), Orlando (34-48), Chicago (40-42), Brooklyn (45-27) – 0.553 win%
  • 2024: Milwaukee (49-33), Detroit (14-68), Miami (46-36), Indiana (47-35) – 0.475 win%
  • 2025: Cleveland (64-18), Washington (18-64), Indiana (50-32), Atlanta, (40-42) – 0.524 win%
  • 2026: Pistons (60-22), Orlando (45-37), Milwaukee (32-50), Brooklyn (20-62) – 0.478 win%
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Filip Hallander “should be fine” for training camp, per Swedish interview

TORONTO, CANADA - NOVEMBER 03: Filip Hallander #11 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on November 03, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Penguins’ already stacked forward group could be getting even deeper with potential options. Filip Hallander lost most of the 2025-26 season due to a puck strike causing a blood clot in his leg. A translated Swedish interview (shoutout Reddit) gives an update for how he’s doing, titled “Hållander on the tough year: “I thought I’d be doing something else”. We ran it through a google translator so we won’t take every word for gospel, but one can kind of get the general point.

First, he suffered a blood clot in his leg. Then, something was discovered in one of his lungs. Now, Filip Hållander is back on the ice and opening up about the tough year he endured.

“Right then and there, I just felt: ‘Damn, maybe there won’t be any more hockey for me?'” he tells ST. Filip Hållander is back home training with Timrå IK, following a difficult season in the US with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Filip Hållander suffered a blood clot In November 2025, he received the news that he had a blood clot in his leg. He returned in February but managed only a few games in the AHL before being sidelined again.

“I played a few games and picked up some minor issues. We ran some new tests as a precaution. Some of the readings weren’t quite right, and they wanted to play it safe. So, I went back to Pittsburgh for more tests, and that’s when we found something in my lung,” says Hållander.

Exactly what was found in his lung remains unclear, but Filip Hållander feared his hockey career might be over. Today, the 26-year-old is back and 100 percent healthy. Now, he is aiming to secure a spot in the NHL this coming autumn.

“I have one final test when I get there, since I haven’t taken medication for a while, but after that, everything should be fine. Then there’s a month of hard training before camp starts. My goal is to earn a spot and be a key player. After everything I’ve been through this past year, I find it hard to imagine anyone more motivated than me to step out onto the ice,” Hållander says firmly.

This article also goes to give a little explanation for what happened last season. The blood clot treatment routine involves a 90-day cycle of blood thinner medication that takes a person out of a contact sport like hockey, but careful side-training can be conducted while on that treatment. When that first course of medicine was completed to treat the clot, Hallander was eventually cleared to go to Wilkes-Barre and play three games on a rehab stint in the AHL.

After that, Hallander came back from the AHL but quietly was phased down and the Penguins never had much of a substantive comment about his status. From this interview, it seems some complication in the lung was discovered. Obviously that’s never a good thing, and part of what has ended careers for players like Pascal Dupuis (and Chris Bosh in the NBA, though his condition wasn’t caused via injury). Hallander’s season was more or less quietly shutdown at that point with the emergence of the complication, we now have a little more information on exactly what it was.

A blood clot isn’t always a career-ender for high-level sport stars, players like Chris Kreider, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brock Boeser and Kimmo Timonen have gone onto enjoy long careers after dealing with the issue.

Hallander will hope to join that list, but boy it’s going to be a tough climb to get there based on numbers alone. Ironically it could take injuries (to teammates this time) to help clear the path for Hallander to get some NHL games this season. It’s a long year, the Penguins do tend to use a lot of forwards so it is likely Hallander will get a crack at playing time at some point during the season. It would be a great story if he comes all the way back.

This month period could be crunch time, Hallander will need a strong final month of the offseason to prepare. The numbers the Pens have mean there are limited spots right now for a ton of forwards in the realm of the Justin Brazeau, Hendrix Lapierre, Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes, Ville Koivunen level. In what could be good news for Hallander, as Kyle Dubas has said, the Penguins do like competition and they proved last year they would keep young players who earned it.

Last training camp broke with Ben Kindel, Harrison Brunicke and even Hallander himself on the NHL opening night roster with veterans veterans that didn’t quite have it in Danton Heinen, Valtteri Puustinen and Ryan Graves getting waived and sent to the AHL for the start of the year. The numbers alone make it an uphill climb, and Hallander’s performance to edge out similarly-skilled players is to be determined as well, but the team certainly wouldn’t be upset about another strong performer joining the ranks next month and helping to push the rest of the club to find our who the best bets to keep around will be.

After a tough and uncertain 2025-26, it could be seen as a victory enough that Hallander’s even back in the conversation.

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Former Canadiens Defenseman Still A Free Agent

Although it is the middle of August, there are still a good amount of unrestricted free agents (UFA) left. 

A former Montreal Canadiens defenseman is among them, as Jeff Petry is still not signed at this stage of the summer. 

Petry remaining a free agent comes after he split this past season between the Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild. In 67 games last season, he recorded nine assists, 65 blocks, and 66 hits. This was after he posted one goal and eight points in 44 games with the Detroit Red Wings in 2024-25.

Teams looking for more defensive depth and experience could consider taking a chance on Petry. He could be a serviceable pickup for an NHL club as an extra defenseman.

With that, it would be understandable if we saw Petry land a professional tryout (PTO) agreement with an NHL club before training camp. That is assuming that the 38-year-old blueliner wants to continue his career, of course. 

Petry spent eight of his 16 NHL seasons with the Canadiens, where he recorded 70 goals, 178 assists, 248 points, and 1,072 hits in 508 games. It will be interesting to see he can land a new home before the start of the season from here. 

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Cooper Flagg Update: Working Out With A Legend

Oct 6, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (left) and guard Kyrie Irving (right) look on during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickie's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Dallas Mavericks have had a real roller coaster ride over the last few years. First, there was the shocking trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

This did not go over well at all, leading to a near-revolt by Mavs fans.

Then, lightning struck, and Dallas won the lottery and drafted Duke’s Cooper Flagg. Coach Jason Kidd saw greatness in Flagg, and helped him to a superb rookie season, even in the absence of the All-Star point guard, and fellow member of the Brotherhood, Kyrie Irving, who missed last season while recovering from a knee injury.

Dallas hired Masai Ujiri, who fired Kidd and hired Michigan’s Dusty May, and the team set about rebuilding as much as possible, despite limited options.

And now, Irving is set to return, and that changes a lot of things, especially for Flagg.

The two have been working out this summer, and for Dallas, that should be exciting. Irving will obviously be the point guard, but with everything that Flagg learned last year, the Mavericks will functionally have two points.

From the team’s point of view, having these guys work together in the preseason is great. Assuming Dallas doesn’t trade Irving – there’s a solid argument for doing it, but the Mavericks have said that they aren’t interested – they’ll be the fulcrum of the team.

And now, Irving is picking up where Kidd left off, essentially tutoring Flagg on the finer points of NBA play.

With a new coach and up to nine new players, Dallas still has a lot of work to do, but there should be a lot of energy and excitement, and with Irving and Flagg as leaders, things are really looking up.

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One rebounding stat explains decades of Suns history

BALTIMORE, MD - 1969: Gus Johnson #25 of the Baltimore Bullets shoots against the Phoenix Suns during a game played circa 1969 at the Baltimore Coliseum in Baltimore, Maryland. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1969 NBAE (Photo by NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

We continue our journey through the Phoenix Suns archives, once again searching for statistical anomalies hidden throughout the organization’s 58-year history.

Two weeks ago, it was free throws. The Suns sit atop the all-time leaderboard with 61 made free throws in a regular-season game and rank second with 80 attempts. For good measure, we also noted that they are tied for first in free throws made in a playoff game with 57.

Today, we’re heading to the other end of the spectrum.

Make no mistake about it, the Phoenix Suns are not an organization with a long history of elite rebounders. If I asked you to name the top three rebounding seasons in franchise history based on rebounds per game, could you get all three right? Probably not. It’s something I wrote about three summers ago, and it remains true today. Among the NBA’s 30 teams, the Suns rank 25th in the highest single-season rebounding average in franchise history.

PLAYERSEASONRPG
Paul Silas197112.5
Neal Walk197312.4
Charles Barkley199312.2
Paul Silas197211.9
Curtis Perry197511.9
Shawn Marion200611.8
Charles Barkley199611.6
Shawn Marion200511.3
Charles Barkley199411.2
Charles Barkley199511.1

To find the game in which the Phoenix Suns grabbed the most rebounds in franchise history, you have to go all the way back to December 10, 1969, when they defeated the Baltimore Bullets, 137-107. This was before offensive and defensive rebounds were tracked separately, so only total rebounds were recorded. The Suns finished with 77 of them, led by franchise great Paul Silas, who corralled 16. Jim Fox added 15, Neal Walk had 13, and Connie Hawkins finished with 11.

Phoenix grabbed 76 rebounds against the Seattle SuperSonics in March 1972 and reached 75 a couple of times in 1971. What’s interesting is that 29 of the 30 best rebounding games in franchise history occurred between 1968 and 1973. The lone exception came in December 1988, when the Suns grabbed 70 against the Denver Nuggets.

Yes, the NBA was much different back then. It still shows that the Suns haven’t been an elite rebounding team in more than 50 years. That’s right. If you rank every franchise by its highest single-season rebounding average, the Phoenix Suns come in 26th, thanks to Paul Silas’s performance in 1971.

PLAYERTEAMSEASONRPG
Wilt ChamberlainGSW196127.2
Bill RussellBOS196424.7
Wilt ChamberlainPHI196624.6
Jerry LucasSAC196621.1
Wilt ChamberlainLAL196921.1
Bob PetitATL196120.3
Walt BellanyWAS196219.0
Dennis RodmanDET199218.7
Mel DanielsIND197118.0
Moses MaloneHOU197917.6
Dennis RodmanSAS199417.3
Kareem Abdul-JabbarMIL197216.6
Dennis RodmanCHI199716.1
Walt BellanyNYK196616.0
Truck RobinsonUTA197815.7
DeAndre JordanLAC201815.2
Kevin LoveMIN201115.2
Dwight HowardORL201214.5
Bill WaltonPOR197714.4
Hassan WhitesideMIA201714.1
Nikola JokicDEN202213.8
DeAndre JordanDAL201913.7
Jayson WilliamsBKN199813.6
Spencer HaywoodOKC197413.4
DeMarcus CousinNOP201812.9
Paul SilasPHX197112.5
Jonas ValanciunasMEM202112.5
Dwight HowardCHO201812.5
Carlos BoozerCLE200411.4
Chris BoshTOR201010.8

That isn’t necessarily the statistical anomaly, though. What further fortifies the point is where the best rebounding game in Suns history ranks among every game ever played. The NBA record is 112 rebounds, set by the Boston Celtics on Christmas Eve in 1960. Bill Russell grabbed 29 himself.

So where do the Suns land? Their franchise record of 77 rebounds ranks 405th all time. Take that in for a second. There have been 404 games in which a team grabbed more rebounds than the best rebounding performance in Phoenix Suns history. Point fortified.

The anomaly isn’t that the Suns once grabbed 77 rebounds in a game. It’s that 77 stands as their best ever. For a franchise that has existed for nearly six decades, the absence of dominant rebounding seasons is almost as remarkable as any individual record. Some organizations become known for defense, others for shooting or star power. Historically, rebounding has never been part of the Suns’ identity, and the numbers tell that story better than any memory ever could.

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Who should start for the Bucks at point guard?

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 9: Ryan Rollins #13 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Kevin Porter Jr. #7 of the Milwaukee Bucks talk during the game against the Orlando Magic on February 9, 2026 at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

Welcome to Volume I of our “Choose Your Own Adventure” starter series, where we explore the Milwaukee Bucks’ options at each position. Read along, make your choice, and share your pick in the comments—if you dare!

As we all know, the Bucks are stacked—overflowing—with guards, but don’t necessarily have many point guards, which could be an issue for a bunch of guys who have no continuity with each other. This group in particular—with it being so young and new—will sorely need guys who can control the pace, get the team into the right sets, and not turn it over. There are interesting cases to be made both for and against basically all of the candidates in terms of how well they will be able to perform not only the role of a guard, but a point guard.

Then again, you can make a case that the classic “point guard” is a position that either doesn’t exist or isn’t valued anymore, and that actually, it is better to have an abundance of combo guards who can pass-dribble-shoot; you know, the jack-of-all-trades type of guys. For this exercise, though, I will narrow this down to who I believe can perform “point guard duties” the best.

Go on to OPTION 1.

1. The ice man: Ryan Rollins

Rollins would be most people’s first choice for who should be the Bucks’ starting point guard on opening night—dude’s just a baller, man. While he definitely profiles as more of a combo guard, there is a certain equilibrium of competence in all facets of the game that I feel a player has to reach for them to start—he’s reached that and then some. To my earlier point, Rollins really typifies what the modern point guard has become in the NBA as a guy who, first and foremost, is a threat to shoot and score, which then opens up his ability to pass.

Of course, the argument against Rollins starting at point guard is that he turns it over too much—2.6 per contest last season—but I think that comes with the territory considering how much of an offensive load he had/has to undertake. Like, don’t get me wrong, he has to clean it up, but if that’s his sole focus, it could inadvertently zap the rest of his game. And finally, you at least have to consider that if the Bucks want Rollins—who is surely going to opt out of his player option next summer and become a free agent—to stick around, I’m not sure bringing him off the bench sends the greatest message.

If you need someone with a steady hand, choose Rollins. If not, turn to OPTION 2.

2. The Boy Wonder: Tyler Herro

Herro is, of course, the other guard who most folks would presume starts alongside Rollins. And like Rollins, he too is certainly no traditional point guard. To me, while Herro can handle the ball and be a primary option, he possesses fewer point guard attributes than Rollins. Now, Herro did turn it over less than Rollins last year (1.9 to 2.7), so that’s a feather in his cap, but he also recorded fewer assists (4.1 to 5.6), while both had virtually the same usage (right around 25%).

But for the sake of this exercise, let’s say the Bucks do trade Rollins in a deal for Peyton Watson—which I’m not advocating for, to be clear—and you wanted to make Herro the starting point guard, then you’d have to really simplify the offence and remove layers. If not, I think Herro is clearly behind Rollins in the pecking order, and he can be a scoring guard, which seems like the role that suits him best anyway.

If you can take a punch, choose Herro. If not, turn to OPTION 3.

3. The divisive one: Kevin Porter Jr.

Assuming Kevin Porter Jr. is actually on the team by the time camp starts, he looms as a smoky to start at PG. You see, KPJ is much more of a natural passer than Rollins and Herro. I alluded to neither of those aforementioned players being “wired to pass” and make instinctive reads; well, Porter can make those reads. He can come off a pick-and-roll, draw the low man as his big rolls to the rim, and hit the opposite corner. He can eyebrow fake to the corner and hit the roller. I mean, 7.4 assists to 2.9 turnovers per game last year isn’t nothing.

Now, none of this means KPJ is a more valuable player than those two. He is way less lineup-malleable because of his shooting concerns—both from an efficiency standpoint and a “that was a really dumb shot” standpoint. He’s also way worse at controlling pace and tempo. Overall, Porter’s game needs to be catered to for it to sing, and that is why I’d bet against him starting.

There is no fence with Porter, so if you’re on his side, pick him. If not, turn to OPTION 4.

4. The haggle point: Kasparas Jakucionis

OK, coming off a poor Summer League outing, Jakucionis is clearly the rank outsider in this race. I mean, the 20-year-old first needs to prove he can play consistent minutes and find his niche as an NBA player. But from what he showed in college and from what you hear, I’d bet on him finding that niche in the near future. And think about it: when stacking Jakucionis’ game—or the idealised version of it—up against these other three names, is there not a pretty realistic chance that he actually has the best chance to thrive as a point guard out of all of them?

Maybe not this season, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that in a year or two, Jakucionis is locked in as the Bucks’ point guard of the future. Sure, he lacks explosion, but he showed advanced passing chops at Illinois. On top of that, he’s got a nice stroke and great size, which should allow him to hold up on defence. The template of a productive starting point guard is there—he just doesn’t have the runs on the board as of yet.

If you refuse to leave without getting what you want, choose Jakucionis.

QUICK! Make a decision, you’re near the end! If you don’t like these options and have a point to prove to the contrary, pull a rabbit out of your hat and tell us who it is in the comments.

THE END

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Poll: Will AJ Dybantsa win Rookie of the Year?

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 15: (EDITORS NOTE: Tonal effects have been applied to this image) AJ Dybansta #4 of the Washington Wizards poses for a portrait during the 2026 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at UNLV on July 15, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Washington Wizards fans and fans across the country.

In this week’s survey, we ask whether you think AJ Dybantsa will be the 2026-27 NBA Rookie of the Year. Vote in our survey below!


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PensBurgh Top-25 Under 25: No. 9 Mikhail Ilyin

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2026/02/18: Mikhail Ilyin (99) of Severstal Hockey Club seen in action during the Hockey match, Kontinental Hockey League 2025/2026 between SKA Saint Petersburg and Severstal Cherepovets at the Ice Sports Palace. Final score SKA Saint Petersburg 2 : 3 Severstal Cherepovets. (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Russian winger Mikhail Ilyin climbs into the Top 10 ahead his fourth year with the Penguins organization as PensBurgh’s annual Top 25 Under 25 countdown continues.

Catch up on the previous entries for this year:

Pensburgh Top 25 Under 25: Graduates and Departed players in 2025
Top 25 Under 25: The best of the rest
#25: Chase Pietila, D
#24: Ryan Miller
#23: Finn Harding
#22: Peyton Kettles
#21: Zam Plante
#21: Brady Peddle
#20: Melvin Fernstrom
#19: Tanner Howe
#18: Tomas Galvas
#17: Pierce Mbuyi
#16: Jake Livanavage
#15: Owen Pickering
#14: Tristan Broz
#13: Avery Hayes
#12: Ville Koivunen
#11: Hendrix Lapierre
#10: Markus Ruck

#9: Mikhail Ilyin, RW/LW

2025 Ranking: No. 14

Age: 21 (February 15, 2005)

Acquired Via: 2023 NHL Draft, 5th round, 142nd overall

Height/Weight: 6’3”, 191 pounds

Elite Prospects resume:

Ilyin is the top remaining player in Dubas’ first draft with the Penguins back in 2023 now that Brayden Yager and Emil Pieniniemi are no longer with the organization.

After seeing his ice time and production steadily increase over his three full seasons in the KHL, Ilyin got his first chance to make a major impact in North America during Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s playoff run.

Ilyin signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins last May before rejoining the Severstal Cherepovets, for which he recorded a career-high 14 goals and 44 points through 68 games in Russia’s top league.

He was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after Severstal was eliminated from the first round of the KHL playoffs.

Ilyin contributed in his AHL debut with a secondary assist on Atley Calvert’s goal against the Bridgeport Islanders.

He recorded seven points (one goal, six assists) in his first seven Calder Cup Playoff games.

Often while playing on a line with Tristen Broz and Ville Koivunen, Ilyin went on to tie Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty for second in the team scoring race with nine points (two goals, seven assists) across 15 playoff games.

His playmaking and speed were evident while setting up some key goals for his teammates during the Baby Penguins’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Ilyin, who turned 21 in February, already established himself as one of the most productive young wingers in the KHL.

Ranking as one of Wilkes/Barre’s top playmakers during the team’s postseason run indicated he could be ready to make a full-time move to the AHL next season.

As McGroarty told King Jemison of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Ilyin during Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s playoff run, “He makes plays that I don’t even see when I’m watching from the bench.”

Penguins assistant general manager Jason Spezza said last year the organization expected Ilyin to come to the AHL in 2026, although director of player development Tom Kostopolous noted around the same time Ilyin would need to work on his skating first.

That improvement was seemingly visible in Wilkes/Barre’s playoff run, during which Ilyin was at times one of the fastest players on the ice.

There isn’t a clear path to Ilyin making a jump to the NHL in the near future because of the Penguins’ logjam at forward.

After signing Koivunen to an eight-year deal, the Penguins currently don’t have any immediate spots available for roster hopefuls like McGroarty, Broz, Avery Hayes or Ilyin.

Whether the Penguins make any more moves this offseason will impact the likelihood any of these AHL forwards get called up to the NHL at the start of the season. Until then, Ilyin could expect to start the second campaign of his entry-level deal in Wilkes/Barre.

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Why Doc Rivers’ Hall of Fame induction felt so important

SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 15: Inductee Doc Rivers speaks to the audience during the 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Symphony Hall on August 15, 2026 in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen feud felt so distant and settled that the announcement that they would introduce their 2008 championship head coach Doc Rivers at his Hall of Fame induction didn’t immediately stand out as significant. That’s until the visuals of them arriving, joining together and sitting in a row behind Rivers emerged from the ceremony over the weekend. That’ll last forever, along with the lasting memory of the four as Celtics champions.

“It’s everything. I wouldn’t be here without Boston, without coming to Boston, without Danny Ainge believing in my coaching from the start,” Rivers told CLNS Media/CelticsBlog in Connecticut on Friday.

“There’s no way I would be here. Kevin and Paul and Ray and all those guys. Listen, you see all these great teams being put together and most people don’t win with them. You need guys to buy in, and I had the greatest group, those guys in particular, they were the Big Three, they bought into me and I really believe that’s why we had such quick success. When that all got together, people said we’re gonna have to wait a year and then you’ll have a chance. None of them believed that and neither did I.”

As inevitable as Saturday’s reunion felt following the thawing of the rift between Garnett and Allen in particular which began when Allen attended Garnett’s Celtics jersey retirement in 2022, the likelihood of them all returning to Boston feeling so connected to the Celtics and each other wasn’t certain before that.

Rivers’ own Boston exit didn’t happen cleanly before up-and-down stints between the Clippers and the 76ers, where he battled the Celtics head-on in the playoffs. We all remember Rivers and Daryl Morey’s lament over the 2023 playoff officiating trying to gain favor going into Game 7. A controversial rise to the head coaching position in Milwaukee after that marked the end of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era there. Rivers, whose coaching record became more scrutinized in recent years, always found love in his return to Boston.

The same goes for Pierce, who’s faced personal challenges and a castoff from the ESPN spotlight across the last decade. He found his way home after traveling through Brooklyn, Washington and LA when Joe Mazzulla began prioritizing having Celtics legends around the team more regularly early in his coaching tenure.

Garnett, whose legacy splits between Minnesota and Boston, will receive a long overdue ceremony to retire his Wolves uniform this season when the Celtics visit on Feb. 28. Debate remains about retiring Allen’s No. 20 in Boston, since worn by Gordon Hayward, Jabari Parker, Mo Wagner and JD Davison, but few critique his Celtics credentials anymore. The TD Garden crowd showered Allen in adoration during a BYU-UConn game there last fall before telling CLNS he doesn’t think about the jersey retirement anymore.

Nonetheless, Saturday’s reunion seemed to put all that individual history aside. “It was a goal, I could tell you that,” Rivers told CLNS/CelticsBlog. “I’m a big believer, and I’m gonna say this in my speech, but I think when you win it, you do have a blood transfusion. You should be together for life. Those three in particular have had their ups-and-downs, and the fact that they all three agreed to be together on the stage and have dropped the BS, is the way I’d like to put it, is just absolutely amazing. It may be my last great coaching feat, getting them together, but it wasn’t hard. That’s what was so shocking. All three of them, immediately, I called separately, and they all were quick to be added.”

Rivers focused on relationships in his speech, the bond that 2008 team shared beginning with an expletive-laced reaction by Garnett to their preseason duck boat ride starting at 8 a.m., where they manifested the championship. He continued to reflect on the importance of the training camp in Rome and how it created chemistry early.

Rivers managed the Big Three feud, his own up-and-down relationship with Rajon Rondo, who also attended on Saturday after spending recent seasons on Rivers’ Milwaukee coaching staff and increased scrutiny of his coaching record through playoff disappointments with the Clippers, 76ers and Bucks. Yet he put the spiel about about his excuses, which have become infamous, aside to focus on the people around him. His coaching staffs which included Tom Thibodeau and Sam Cassell in attendance, his wife, children and brother Grady, who emotionally sat on camera while Rivers neared tears remembering their late parents. De’Andre Jordan and James Harden also attended the ceremony.

That, more than any coaching feat, gained Rivers the endearment that expanded far beyond the basketball world. His famous voice, massive personality and spirited outspokenness on social issues made him an American icon as much as a basketball one. He became one of the league’s leading voices through the George Floyd protests, the Bubble and Kobe Bryant’s death. Rivers’ final trip as a head coach to Boston this spring fittingly featured his passionate defense of his criticism of ICE.

“Back to basketball,” he quipped after the back-and-forth with a reporter about the subject. “But life is more important, as you guys know.”

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place at Symphony Hall in Springfield, a tiny downtown with the Hall at its heart. Watching Harden stroll down a side street to shock and applause, women’s basketball royalty lining the sidewalk and Garnett walking out of the 2,600-seat venue like he, Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade were leaving a high school graduation was a basketball dream. These figures, Joey Crawford among them, helped shape 2000s basketball and anyone who grew up watching them.

They’re now history, Carmelo Anthony headlining last year’s class and Rivers predicting Rondo will join one soon. It struck me for a moment what the venue, with a sparse group of reporters present and many empty seats in the balcony, would look like when LeBron James enters one day.

Amar’e Stoudamire also entered the Hall of Saturday, as did Mike D’Antoni, Elena Delle Donne, the 1996 US Women’s national team that featured Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie. Mark Few, Chamique Holdsclaw and Candace Parker also received inductions, Parker and Rivers sharing their love for their native Chicago throughout the weekend. The list raised annual debates about the standard for reaching Springfield, but when the memories began flowing and the magnitude of what some of the names meant to the game, and the feeling around it, nobody complained in attendance.

And the huddle Pierce, Garnett, Allen and Rivers shared after will live forever.

“My mom was right, I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” Rivers wrapped. “Ubuntu.”

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Premier League 2026-27 preview No 14: Liverpool

Andoni Iraola has his hands full – replacing Mo Salah and restoring faith at Anfield – and will hope big name investors bring stability not disharmony

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 4th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 5th

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