Category: Basketball

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.

• Done in a weekend - the $12.5bn LA Lakers sale that shocked the NBA

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%

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.

• Cooper Flagg Trains With Kyrie Irving Ahead of Second Season
• INTERVIEW: John Poulakidas on Shooting Mechanics, Fitting in w/Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg & More
• Cooper Flagg NBA patch reaches $3m bid but owner won’t sell one-of-one card
• “Been able to get in the gym with Kyrie this summer!”
• Flagg’s reflect on ‘super fun’ Family Feud experience
• Cooper Flagg Reveals 3 Things He’s Worked on Entering Second Season With Mavericks
• Mavericks Receive Encouraging Update On Dereck Lively II Heading Into Training Camp

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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.

PLAYER	SEASON	RPG
Paul Silas	1971	12.5
Neal Walk	1973	12.4
Charles Barkley	1993	12.2
Paul Silas	1972	11.9
Curtis Perry	1975	11.9
Shawn Marion	2006	11.8
Charles Barkley	1996	11.6
Shawn Marion	2005	11.3
Charles Barkley	1994	11.2
Charles Barkley	1995	11.1

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.

PLAYER	TEAM	SEASON	RPG
Wilt Chamberlain	GSW	1961	27.2
Bill Russell	BOS	1964	24.7
Wilt Chamberlain	PHI	1966	24.6
Jerry Lucas	SAC	1966	21.1
Wilt Chamberlain	LAL	1969	21.1
Bob Petit	ATL	1961	20.3
Walt Bellany	WAS	1962	19.0
Dennis Rodman	DET	1992	18.7
Mel Daniels	IND	1971	18.0
Moses Malone	HOU	1979	17.6
Dennis Rodman	SAS	1994	17.3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	MIL	1972	16.6
Dennis Rodman	CHI	1997	16.1
Walt Bellany	NYK	1966	16.0
Truck Robinson	UTA	1978	15.7
DeAndre Jordan	LAC	2018	15.2
Kevin Love	MIN	2011	15.2
Dwight Howard	ORL	2012	14.5
Bill Walton	POR	1977	14.4
Hassan Whiteside	MIA	2017	14.1
Nikola Jokic	DEN	2022	13.8
DeAndre Jordan	DAL	2019	13.7
Jayson Williams	BKN	1998	13.6
Spencer Haywood	OKC	1974	13.4
DeMarcus Cousin	NOP	2018	12.9
Paul Silas	PHX	1971	12.5
Jonas Valanciunas	MEM	2021	12.5
Dwight Howard	CHO	2018	12.5
Carlos Boozer	CLE	2004	11.4
Chris Bosh	TOR	2010	10.8

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 Suns have historically been a poor rebounding team.

Paul Silas' 12.5 RPG in 1971 ranks just 26th among franchise single-season rebounding leaders.

The franchise record for rebounds in a game? 77 on Dec. 10, 1969. Where does that rank in NBA history? 405th all-time. pic.twitter.com/0aRaWfHDXT

— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) August 4, 2026

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.

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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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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.”

Kyle Korver is a revered figured as part of the Atlanta Hawks franchise. During a 4.5 season career here, he was one of the most feared shooters in the league, helping the Hawks reach the Eastern Conference finals while being named an All-Star for the only time in his career in 2014-15.

After retiring from his playing career, he joined the Hawks front office as a director of player affairs and development in 2022. The next calendar year, he was promoted to the position of assistant general manager, a title he holds until this day.

But news broke on Monday that after four years in an executive role, Korver will be looking elsewhere in his career. This by word of Marc Stein of the Stein Line substack blog:

NEWS: Hawks assistant GM Kyle Korver is leaving the franchise after four years in Atlanta's front office, @TheSteinLine has learned.

I'm told Korver, who also had an All-Star season as a Hawk, parts on good terms and has expressed excitement about his next post-playing chapter. pic.twitter.com/XGnlXroJTZ

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 17, 2026

This was later confirmed by Brad Rowland of the Locked on Hawks podcast:

As Brad pointed out, the move means two top executives will have left this offseason, so the organization will have work to do in replacing their important contributions.

The NBA released its 2026-27 schedule, and multiple games will be played inside college arenas. Three games are scheduled to take place on college campuses, bringing NBA basketball to new cities and unique venues. The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets will play at Colorado’s CU Events Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers will play at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum, and the NBA Cup Final will be played inside Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The NBA Cup has been played in Las Vegas over the last few seasons, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wants to bring the league to iconic college basketball venues.

Hilton Coliseum is one of the best venues in college basketball, and it will be packed for the preseason game on Oct. 7.The Pacers will head to Ames, Iowa, for a Tyrese Haliburton homecoming. Haliburton played for the Cyclones for two seasons before declaring for the NBA Draft following his 2019-20 sophomore season. He was a Second-Team All-Big 12 selection and was selected No. 12 overall by the Kings after averaging 15.2 points per game.

The Denver Nuggets should also attract people living in Boulder who would like to attend an NBA game. University of Colorado graduates and residents of Boulder will likely fill the 11,064-seat arena.

The NBA has an opportunity to capitalize on this idea and continue bringing NBA games to college arenas. The State Farm Center would be a great place to host a Bulls, Timberwolves, Bucks, Wizards or Clippers game. Champaign residents would get the opportunity to see their in-state NBA team or a former Illini play at the next level in their backyard.

The Bulls and Timberwolves are scheduled to play a preseason game on Friday, Oct. 16, and that would be the perfect opportunity for an NBA game to come to the State Farm Center. Many people in Champaign are Bulls fans, while the Timberwolves have two iconic former Illini in Ayo Dosunmu and Terrence Shannon Jr.

Dosunmu was traded to the Timberwolves last season and is expected to have a major role on the team next season. Shannon Jr. has not played as much at the NBA level, but he should have an increased role next season.

Ayo and TSJ could return to the arena where their jerseys hang in the rafters to play against Caleb Wilson and the Bulls. The game would likely sell out and give a preseason matchup some extra juice that it otherwise might not have.

Over the past few weeks, San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has been publicly calling to include a vote on the November ballot concerning the city’s $489 million financial contribution toward the new downtown arena. The arena, predominantly designed to house the San Antonio Spurs, has previously been through a vote which locked in a majority of the funding.

In a 5-6 decision, the San Antonio City Council voted against adding the measure to the November ballot.

“I’m having a little bit of déjà vu because I feel like this room was built exactly the same way — two sides, Aug. 21 last year — and we were litigating this exact same discussion, and nothing has changed, actually, about this deal,” said Dr. Sukh Kaur, District 1 Councilwoman.

After the vote, RC Buford, CEO, Spurs Sports & Entertainment, released this statement on behalf of the Spurs Organization:

“Today’s decision allows San Antonio to move forward on a path that was established through years of work, public discussion, City and County action and last year’s vote. We can now turn our full attention to delivering on that shared vision and the transformational opportunity ahead for our city.

We are grateful to the community, business and civic leaders, Spurs fans and residents who have taken the time to learn the facts and make their voices heard. There is still a great deal of work ahead, and we are ready for it. We remain committed to working alongside our public and community partners to deliver a downtown arena and district that strengthens San Antonio for generations to come.”

Although the groundbreaking is scheduled for 2027 and the completion is still many months away, it appears as though the attempts to adjust or possibly derail the project have been thwarted, at least for now.

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The Dallas Mavericks have contacted 10-game mini-plan season-ticket holders from a year ago in hopes of retaining them for the 2026-27 season, but it appears the team is trying to sneak something shady into these plans.

Buyers, beware. There’s now one more reason not to trust the Adelson-Dumont Regime. It’s just gaffe after sham after controversy with these people.

They’re trying to sneak a preseason game into at least some of the 10-game plans this year.

Here’s a screenshot of the four 10-game options from a year ago.

You’ll notice that the earliest game date across the four plans was the Oct. 22 season-opener against the San Antonio Spurs, listed as part of the 3-Point Plan. Compare that with what’s referred to as the Weekend Plan for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

As you’ll see in the screenshot above, they’re trying to fit a little baseline runner behind your defense here by squeezing in the Oct. 16 preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Mini-plans for the 2026-27 season are not yet available to the general public, according to the team website. The site still encourages us all to sign up to become a “Mavs Insider” to find out when the ticket packs go on sale.

But one frustrated fan took to Reddit on Thursday to decry the practice of including a preseason date in with nine regular-season games and calling it a “10-game ticket pack,” like no one would notice the difference.

“What makes this interesting is the Mavericks’ current Club Maverick Terms and Conditions specifically define
‘Game Ticket’ as a ticket to a regular-season game. So we purchase a 10-game plan, and one of the 10 tickets they assigned me is preseason; it seems pretty reasonable to ask why I’m not receiving 10 regular-season ‘Game Tickets’ as their own terms define them,“ the fan said.

He or she goes on:

“Do you think we are so feeble-minded we will accept a cheapo preseason game so they can sell the high dollar weekend games? There are SEVERAL weekend games not included (Spurs Saturday 10/24, Rockets Friday 10/30 or 1/31, Pistons Friday 1/29, LAKERS Sunday 2/28).”

This apparently happened once before, leading up to the 2022-23 season, more than a year before the Adelsons took over. Back in 2022, Mavericks 10-game plan holders had a preseason game included in their package, which raised the same issue regarding the definition of a “game ticket.” The Mavericks ultimately replaced the preseason game with a regular-season game.

Are they trying the same thing again?

I chatted with the Redditor who raised the issue in direct messages on the site. He or she has not identified themselves but after asking several questions, I’m confident that’s exactly what’s going on here. He or she told me that at this point, for renewal at least, there is no option for picking and choosing the games buyers want as part of their 10-game plan unless the buyer pays full individual-game ticket price for all 10. The plans are the plans.

My guess is that the team will likely have to once again reverse course and replace the preseason game in the “Weekend Plan” and any other plans they try to sneak a preseason game into based on the team’s own definition of what a “game ticket” is.

They’re not only being nefarious here — they’re too incompetent to cover their nefarious bases.

A 10-game plan for an NBA team comes at no small cost. Depending on where your seats are, one seat can cost up to $600 for upper-level seats, as much as $1,300 for mid-level seating or $2,500 or more for lower-level seating. To just demand that planholders accept 9/10 of what they pay for and thank the team for the opportunity to attend these games is ownership malpractice. Just scummy behavior.

The only way these people will learn is if the fanbase revolts with their wallets, and I have little to no faith that rich people in Dallas will do anything but look the other way on this. Prove me wrong.

There have been other rumors circulating on Facebook that this year’s “3-Point Plan” also includes a preseason game, but I was unable to substantiate those at this time. I have a message out to Mavericks ticket sales, but at this point, how can they expect the discerning fan to support them when they continue to show us this level of disdain?

Julius Erving had a bit of a rough start to his professional career. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, but signed contracts with the Atlanta Hawks and the ABA’s Virginia Squires.

The first dispute was settled by the NBA: his draft rights belonged to Milwaukee, and the Hawks were out of luck. The second dispute was settled by the courts: he had to play for the Squires.

This was really too bad, because if he had played for Milwaukee, he would have suited up with Oscar Robertson and a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, while in Atlanta, he would have teamed up with an equally young Pistol Pete Maravich.

It’s rather mind-boggling either way you look at it, but the idea of Maravich having Erving to pass to in the open court is simply incredible.

He did just fine in the ABA, of course, revolutionizing the game to the point where he was the main factor behind the 1976 ABA-NBA merger.

Well, other than money, of course, which the ABA greatly lacked. Nonetheless, the greatest show in basketball was in the upstart league, and the NBA could not abide that.

When he arrived as a Squires rookie, Erving – there’s no other way to put this – freaked people out. It was like young Elvis Presley in the 1950s: no one had ever seen anything like that before, and that includes the people who knew Erving at UMass, who were stunned at the transformation.

Erving later said that he felt liberated when he turned pro and could let his talent and imagination run wild.

This video explores that glorious era.

It didn’t last long, at least not for the Squires. Money woes forced them trade Ervng to his hometown New York Nets for $750,000, and with the Nets, he went from being a curiosity in Norfolk to the most glittering star in the Big Apple.

In other words, he was a Net when he truly became a legend.

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This is a stretch to say, but is the offseason melting into the preseason quicker than we expected? If we’re to base our judgement exclusively on having two of these posts published in a span of just three days, not so much! On to some links and notes!

• In case you missed it, now we know the Knicks’ five-game preseason schedule, which includes a trip out of the US of A.
• The Knicks’ repeat bid would put them in increasingly rare company, and Michael Zeno has the breakdown covered. Per Zeno, New York already broke one historical pattern last season by becoming only the second champion since 1978 to win without receiving a single MVP vote. So… do you believe?
• Mike D’Antoni and Amar’e Stoudemire were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, a little more than two months after the Knicks won their first championship in 53 years.
• Stoudemire reflected on becoming the star who helped make New York relevant again when few players wanted to come.

“New York, the Garden, there’s nothing like it… before I got there, no one else wanted to go to New York. So that’s why I was like, ‘The Knicks are back, and we’re gonna do this.’”

• D’Antoni, meanwhile, used his speech to remember another famous Knicks chapter: Linsanity.

“Jeremy, he was on a 10-day contract and close to being released. But my assistants, Kenny Atkinson, Dan D’Antoni and Phil Weber, kept telling me, just give him a chance. Boy, were they right.”

• Karl-Anthony Towns got another ring this summer.
• Mitchell Robinson sounds pretty happy about his move to Boston, and lobster is a reason why.
• Losing Ariel Hukporti to Philadelphia continues to look more significant as the Knicks search for a third center, SI’s Isaiah De Los Santos believes.
• Opening Night against Philadelphia is already looking absurdly expensive, with the cheapest tickets ranging from $1,881 to $1,970. No need to mention the game is on pace to become the most expensive opener in NBA history.
• Charles Oakley is not treating the latest dismissal of his lawsuit against Madison Square Garden as the end after a federal judge dismissed the case for a third time.
• The NBA publicly pushed back hard against an ESPN report regarding the Kawhi Leonard-Clippers investigation.

“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.” — NBA spokesman Mike Bass.

• The Lakers’ latest ownership drama is getting messier. Sister blog Silver Screen and Roll has you covered, if you want a laugh.
• Enes Kanter Freedom continues his announced attempt to play in the WNBA, has officially declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft, and now he’s also proclaimed himself the next No. 1 overall pick. Not only that, Enes has promised to dunk on Angel Reese, who he says is “the Paul George” of the W.

Caitlin Clark LAUGHING at Angel Reese after she missed a layup for the win 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/5Js8RijGUi

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) August 16, 2026

The Boston Celtics did not glide smoothly down from the Russell years; they fell off a cliff.

They wrapped up the 1969/70 season with a 34-48 record under rookie coach Tommy Heinsohn.

Playoffs? The Celtics missed them for the first time in twenty years.

The following year, Boston improved to 44-38, but still missed the playoffs.

Things were looking up, however.

By the third year of the Post-Russell era, the Celtics were 56 game winners, and they advanced as far as the Eastern Conference Finals on the back of second year players Dave Cowens and JoJo White, third year player Don Chaney, and veteran players John Havlicek and Don Nelson.

The Celtics lost the Eastern Conference Finals to the Knicks in a gentleman’s sweep of five games in 1972.

In 1973, the Celtics won a franchise record 68 games and added another veteran contributor in Paul Silas, but lost to the Knicks in a seven game affair that saw the green and white claw their way back from a 3-1 deficit, only to fall, at home, to the eventual champs.

Regular Season

1974 saw the Celtics win 56 games again, but, tellingly, their longest losing streak during the regular season was just two games. They started the season hot, running out to a 16-3 record, and were on pace for 60+ wins at the All-Star break. Things slowed down a bit in the second half of the season, but Boston’s record was still good enough for first place in the Atlantic Division and the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Looking at the season-long tallies, the Celtics were good, but not elite—they didn’t lead the league in points per game, points per 100 possessions, or, on the opposite end of the court, points allowed per game or per 100 possessions. Despite having a reputation for running the court under Heinsohn, the Celtics were only 5^th of 17 in terms of pace. Their net rating was only the third best in the league; they were behind the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks, who were playing in the absolutely stacked Midwestern Division—the NBA had four 50 game winning teams in the 1973/74 season, and three of them were in the four team Midwestern division.

Any prognosticator with a decent head on his shoulders would’ve given the title to the Milwaukee Bucks, who came out of the league’s toughest division, bar none, and were led a young center who was already an absolute force to be reckoned with: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Eastern Playoffs

Boston’s first round opponent was the Buffalo Braves, a recent expansion franchise led by Bob McAdoo, whose 30.6 points per game average was the best in the league. The team also had Ernie DiGregorio, who would win Rookie of the Year honors and a future Hall-of-Famer in Jack Ramsey calling shots from the bench. All of which suggested that, despite their 42-40 record, the Braves were going to be a ‘tough out’

At this time, playoffs within the conference alternated home and road, and through the first five games, home court held sway. Buffalo was playing to a packed house in the cavernous Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, where they won game two by ten points and game four by two.

Buffalo outscored Boston by three in the second quarter of game four to take a 51-48 halftime lead. Boston won the third by five points, setting up a barn-burner of a fourth quarter, with each team recording game-high point totals.

Buffalo was clinging to a two point lead with just 15 seconds to go when Jim McMillan lost the ball to Havlicek and Cowens; Cowens converted the steal into a game-tying basket with just nine seconds left. In a dog’s breakfast of a play that was drawn up by Ramsey and blown up by Hondo attempting to draw a charge, the ball bounced out to Bob McAdoo who had scored 15 of the Braves 30 points thus far in the quarter. His fifteen footer missed, but Jim McMillan was there to tip it in as time expired. The game was a classic with 28 ties and nine lead changes, but it went the wrong way for the Celtics and their fans. Bob McAdoo’s 44 points was almost as high as the 46 points notched by Boston’s two leading scorers, Havlicek and Don Nelson (22 and 24 respectively).

Game five saw Boston hold on for a three point win, giving them a 3-2 advantage that they brought home with a game six win. That game six win was a nailbiter that probably shouldn’t have been. Legendary Globe reporter and columnist Bob Ryan called it “another one of those Celtics down-the-stretch specials,” explaining, “the Bostonians build up a lead in the fourth quarter and try to protect it by giving the other team 437 chances to get back in the game.”

The Celtics nearly squandered a nine point lead in the closeout game. With a 104-100 lead and twenty seconds on the clock the Celtics had two clumsy turnovers turn into four points by Bob McAdoo, tying the game. Unfortunately for McAdoo on the final possession of the game, he blocked a Havlicek shot, but fell victim to a pump fake by JoJo White that sent him to the line where he calmly delivered the winning margin with two free throws.

From this point, it might have been expected that the Celtics would face an extreme test in the next round, as they faced off against the defending champs and the team which had eliminated them in the conference finals each of the past two years.

As it turned out, the Knicks were no match for the Celtics. Boston outscored the Knicks by 50 in a five game matchup where their closest margin of victory was seven points.

That set up a Finals contest against, to no one’s surprise, the Milwaukee Bucks.

NBA Finals

The Bucks had cruised to the Finals with an 8-1 record over the first two rounds, and an average margin of victory of 14.67 points.

The Celtics were not the odds-on favorite to win this matchup. Heck, even Bill Russell, by then the head coach of the Seattle Supersonics, picked the Bucks to win.

But Bob Ryan saw things a bit differently. Before the series started, Ryan noted that the Bucks were pretty much a one-man show, and predicted that the Celtics would win in six.

Ryan noted that the Celtics were excellent at applying full-court pressure to the other team’s ballhandler, and with the Bucks relying on an aging Oscar Robertson, the Celtics figured to take him out of the picture, leaving everything on the shoulders of Kareem.

And Kareem was so good at this point in his career, that they dang near pulled it off.

Game one was a cakewalk, as the Celtics cruised to a 16 point first quarter lead and spent the rest of the game playing keep away from the Bucks, with the final score coming to 98-83. Kareem scored 35 points, which was almost as much as the Bucks’ next four highest scoring players combined (12, 12, 6, 6), as the Celtics strategy of putting everything on Kareem’s shoulders paid off in the opener.

Game two was an overtime classic. Boston came into the fourth quarter with an eleven point deficit. They closed it and had two chances to steal two games from the Bucks in their home arena, only to have a shot by Cowens blocked by Jabbar with eleven seconds to go. Hondo’s shot with three seconds to go off the rebound of Kareem’s block, missed the mark as well.

In overtime, the Celtics, exhausted by the effort required to come back, were outscored 15-6 as the Bucks ran away with it.

Game three went to Boston, as the Celtics once again notched a double-digit victory with a 95-83 final score. Cowens stopped trying to challenge Kareem in the paint and used his skills as an outside shooter to tally 30 points. Boston’s full court press, as predicted by the Globe’s Bob Ryan, was crucial, with the Celtics forcing eleven turnovers in the first quarter alone and 27 for the game.

Game four went Milwaukee’s way as Kareem scored 34 points and the Bucks tied the series 2-2 off an 89-97 final score.

While the Bucks may have been dismayed that they were tied with the Celtics, they at least held home court advantage for the remainder of the series.

That advantage lasted right up until the tipoff of game five. Kareem scored 37 points in the contest, which was a series high for both teams, but Boston held a 20-15 advantage after the first quarter, and they won every succeeding quarter except the second, on their way to a 96-87 victory. The Celtics now had a chance to close out the heavily favored Bucks at home in game six.

Things didn’t quite work out that way, but the game was an instant classic just the same.

As had happened earlier in the series, Cowens got into foul trouble, picking up three early in the game, and the Bucks built a lead that was as high as twelve points in the first half. The C’s entered the fourth quarter down six, but Boston fought their way back, with Hondo hitting a jumper from the right side that tied the game at 86 with less than a minute to go. When Boston forced a 24 second violation on the following possession, the game headed into overtime.

Overtime was tight, with both teams scoring just four points apiece. Milwaukee was up two, 88-90, when a Don Chaney steal led to Havlicek missing a shot and then making another after he snagged his own rebound.

The second overtime was as loose as the first overtime was tight. Over just four minutes of play, the two teams combined for 23 points. Havlicek, who had been instrumental in getting the Celtics this far, scored nine of the team’s eleven points in this period.

It was almost enough.

Dave Cowens fouled out and the Bucks pushed to a 100-99 lead. With less than 24 seconds left and Heinsohn desperately trying to get a time out called, Havlicek came through again, arcing a jump shot through the net for a 101-100 lead. But there was still a little bit of game left—just enough for Kareem to turn a skyhook into a 102-101 advantage. It was good enough, and the Celtics were headed back to Milwaukee and a do-or-die game seven.

In the decisive game of the series, Tommy Heinsohn made a major adjustment to his defensive strategy.

This was no longer a seven game series in which it would be difficult for Kareem to carry the Bucks to victory.

This was a single 48 minute contest, and one which could hinge on the play of just one man.

Heinsohn’s solution was to throw the kitchen sink at him.

With Cowens getting into foul trouble twice in the series already, Heinsohn wanted anyone and everyone within hooting distance of Kareem’s height to cover him—and Kareem found himself double and even triple-teamed during the course of the game.

The result was a 26 point outing from Kareem, which was more than offset by Cowens’ 28 points, as the Boston center, relieved of some of his defensive duties by the heavy Celtics coverage of his counterpart, was able to play with more energy on offense.

The Celtics were never challenged in game seven, as they cruised to a 15 point victory on Milwaukee’s home court.

Turning Point

The turning point was Heinsohn’s strategy of concentrating nearly all the team’s defensive effort on Kareem in game seven. Kareem was held to a series low with 26 points, and looked, if not exactly human, closer to human than he’d looked up to that point. Bob Ryan’s take on the Bucks as a one-man team was more or less justified, as the rest of the Bucks struggled to score. The next leading scorers after Kareem were Mickey Davis with 15 and Bob Dandridge with 14. In fact, the difference between the two teams basically came down to the Celtics putting one more player in double figures than Milwaukee.

It Wasn’t Over Until…

The Celtics continued their tradition of winning game sevens. Russell was, famously, 10-0 in these games, and the Celtics proudly carried on the  tradition of playing up to the moment in these winner-take-all contests.

When the dust settled, the Celtics had won their first championship since Russell had hung up his sneakers, and the first of Tommy Heinsohn’s career as a coach.

Banner Years continues tomorrow with the Greatest Game and the Celtics’ path to Banner 13.

According to his agent, George Langberg, guard Sean Pedulla and the Houston Rockets have reached an agreement on a two-way contract.

Pedulla, 23, joins Quadir Copeland and Tristen Newton as Houston’s final available two-way position. Players can play for both an NBA team and its G League affiliate under two-way contracts.

After four seasons in college—three with Virginia Tech and one with Mississippi—Pedulla was not selected in the 2025 draft. In February, he signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Clippers after succeeding with Portland’s G League club, the Rip City Remix. He was named G League Rookie of the Year after finishing the season with an average of 20.3 points and 4.5 assists on effective shooting.

The 6-foot-1 guard doesn’t appear to have a clear route to playing in the NBA the following season. Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and Fred VanVleet are Houston’s return guards. In addition, the Rockets acquired Bruce Thornton with the 31st pick in the 2026 draft and Marcus Smart in free agency. Houston has made a few attempts at smaller guards (Thornton is listed at six feet), who are mostly known for their scoring prowess, with Thornton and Pedulla.

Pedulla will be the Rockets’ third two-way slot after Houston signed Quadir Copeland to a new two-way contract last month and carried over Tristen Newton from the 2025–2026 season on a two-year, two-way contract.

With this additon, the Rockets will have 19 players under contract after the signing is finalized, leaving two spots available on their 21-man offseason roster. Twelve players now have fully guaranteed standard contracts, two have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed salary, two have Exhibit 10 arrangements, and Newton and Copeland have two-way agreements.

With all that said, how do you all feel about the signing? Do you expect Pedulla to see any playing time? Let us know, and make sure to check back at The DreamShake for more Houston Rockets basketball news.