Category: Basketball

NEW YORK — Late in the night, there was a moment of honesty – vulnerability? – from Joel Embiid.

The Philadelphia 76ers locker room had all but cleared out, and Embiid was the last player fielding questions from an atypically large horde of reporters. With a 106-100 victory, the Sixers had just wrecked the coronation of the New York Knicks, who raised a banner here in Madison Square Garden for the first time in 53 years and who, prior to tipoff, had wedged championship rings the size of golf balls onto their fingers.

There were plenty of reasons why the 76ers won their regular season opener Tuesday, Oct. 20. But it was a small, in-game proposal from Embiid that proves the experiment that is the 76ers might just work.

Late in the second quarter, Embiid had picked up his third foul, which came during a four-minute span late in the period. So, at some point over halftime, Embiid told the 76ers coaches that it should be the newly-acquired LeBron James to guard Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, a six-time All-Star.

The Los Angeles Clippers will finally get on the court to open the 2026-27 NBA season, after an eventful offseason.

The Clippers will host the Sacramento Kings at the Intuit Dome in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

While there's a lot of uncertainty regarding what this season will look like for the Clippers, it raises the question: can the team salvage what is expected to be a nightmare season?

The organization appears to have fallen on hard times, having been a consistent playoff-contending team to one that likely will drop near the bottom of the Western Conference as a result of its offseason.

The league announced disciplinary action against the team in early September after an external law firm completed enough of its investigation and shared its findings with league commissioner Adam Silver.

The Clippers were fined $30 million and were told to forfeit five first-round draft picks (2029–2033). Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and two of the team’s executives were also suspended.

The Clippers also used the offseason to create a younger roster. The team traded Kawhi Leonard and moved on from Nicolas Batum (37) in free agency, while adding players such as Brandon Ingram (29) and Gradey Dick (22). The Clippers were one of the oldest teams in the league, with an average age of 33.2 years last season.

Ingram will not be available for the season opener, leaving coach Tyronn Lue with the task of figuring out how to get the most out of this team.

“We put in a lot of stuff offensively to see what works for this team and see what will stick and we scrapped a lot of it already,” Lue said. "We are just trying to see what works with this team. 

“We have some new players and guys in new positions, so we are just trying to see what works."

In the first game, Lue wants to get a better idea of what his team is good at and what he can still work on.

Figuring out what can work well could go a long way in determining how this season will play out.

The Luka Dončić era begins at Crypto.com Arena tonight.

The Slovenian superstar leads a new-look Los Angeles Lakers squad in their season opener against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

It's been a whirlwind offseason in L.A. marked on the basketball side by LeBron James' high profile departure and the ensuing roster overhaul that saw the Lakers add nine new faces, headlined by a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz to acquire Walker Kessler to be their center of the future. Off the court, a $12.5 billion sale to Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger – and the Buss family legal drama followed – dominated headlines with owner Mark Walter's ongoing federal investigation serving as the backdrop.

All of that will continue to develop as the season progresses. But none of it will matter when the ball goes up tonight.

Here are the three biggest storylines the Lakers face entering 2026-27:

Not the start we all had in mind.

Old habits die hard, and for the Boston Celtics, that habit is letting go of the rope once they’ve built themselves a comfortable lead. Two runs from the Detroit Pistons, one in the third and another 23-0 in the fourth, slammed the door on the Celtics and left us scratching our heads.

The Wheels Fell Off

The Celtics went into halftime with a 13-point lead. They’d created gaps in the defense, hit their shots, and played solid defense. The ball was moving, cutters were cutting, and everything seemed right in the world. Well, everything except for Jayson Tatum’s shooting, but we could overlook that because the team was up double digits, and he was putting in work elsewhere on the floor.

Yet, in the second half, everything changed. Detroit made defensive adjustments, primarily in how their help defense operated, and suddenly Boston’s ability to penetrate off the dribble vanished. Separation became hard to create, and touches in the paint began to dry up. The addition of former Celtic Javonte Green also swung momentum for the Pistons, as he turned into a human torch from deep.

Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta didn’t pay off, either. Boston was outworked on both ends of the glass. When shots were falling and the offense was clicking, rebounding seemed like something you could figure out on the fly. However, as the Celtics began to crumble under Detroit’s momentum, you found yourself begging them to take control of the boards and dictate the tempo.

Save for Paul George, who had himself a night, it’s hard to look at any other Celtics and say they played a solid game. Derrick White probably comes closest. For me, the ball stuck to Payton Pritchard too often, and Sam Hauser struggled when closing out on defense. Jordan Walsh was a passenger for most of the game, barring some boards, and neither Hugo Gonzalez nor (to a far lesser extent) Baylor Scheierman made the most of their minutes.

Boston will need more across the board.

I’m chalking it up to an early start, coupled with it being the first game of the season and the fact that the Pistons are a really good team.

Tatum Will Be Better

There’s no denying that this was a brutal shooting night for Tatum. No matter how you look at it, he struggled from start to finish with his shooting. Unfortunately, Tatum needed to perform in this game. It was the first meaningful outing for the Celtics since shipping out Jaylen Brown, and rightly or wrongly, fans were going to judge him much more harshly.

I’m of the belief that trading Brown was the right call. Both for cap reasons and for building around one star. Tatum is the more complete player. If the front office has decided that one of the two needs to go, then Tatum was going to win that head-to-head. Would I have preferred to run it back with both? Of course. Still, it’s done, and we look forward.

However, for some fans, it’s not that cut-and-dry. So, when Tatum struggled, despite leading the team in shot attempts, it rubbed salt into a still-open wound.

The good news is, Tatum isn’t going to average 26.1% from the field. His shot will get better. He will grab more rebounds. Most importantly, though, he will grow into this new role.

None of that helped yesterday, when emotions were running high. We’ve watched Tatum long enough to know he grows into the season and slowly peaks around the All-Star break. Now, though, with Brown gone, Tatum has to step up earlier in the season. You can’t ask Paul George to shoulder so much of the offense all season.

Tatum will be better. Once he finds his footing, Boston’s offense should go to a totally different level. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait too long.

The Celtics Are Missing A Penetrator

When the Pistons shut down Boston’s offense for stretches of the second half, you could feel the shift. The Celtics are at their best when they’re getting into the paint, manipulating the defense and finding open shooters. Early in the game, the Celtics did this by manipulating the tagger before finding the open man — either on dribble-drive kickouts or swing passes.

Once the Pistons fixed their help scheme, the Celtics rarely got into the teeth of the defense. As such, Boston was trying to break Detroit down once they’d gotten set, and that led to some choppy possessions. Penetration made way for more perimeter screening actions, and they led to more contested jumpers. Shots that did come from two-point range were rarely at the rim hadn’t come via forcing rotations to the point where the Pistons had begun to bend.

After the game, I tweeted that we shouldn’t use Mike Conley. While I was serious about the idea that Conley could have settled the offense down in a short stretch, that wasn’t the tweet’s real aim. Instead, I wanted to point out that Boston didn’t add another guard they actually planned to include in the rotation, even though we all knew it was an area of concern heading into the summer.

Yesterday, the Celtics needed an extra player who could create off the bounce and get into the teeth of the defense. Someone who could penetrate and reliably make reads, be it scoring or playmaking. Both Pritchard and Tatum can fill that role, and they’ll likely thrive as the season progresses. Yet, when a defense is honing in, you need a wildcard. Right now, someone off the bench has to prove they can be that guy.

A Look To The Playbook

On a happier note, we did see some stuff from the Celtics offense that looks repeatable and impactful. One simple play that I was a fan of, was having Robinson slip out of a stagger screen to open up a lob pass for White.

What I liked about this play was that the setup was simple and the execution was repeatable.

The Celtics set up a stagger screen, with George as the first screener and Robinson as the second. As White came off Robinson’s screen, and John Collins looked to contain White should he turn the corner, Robinson rolled hard to the rim. With no one guarding the passing lane between White and Robinson, an easy lob pass ended in a quick two points.

Given the size Boston now has in the middle of the floor, I’m expecting to see a lot more of these quick-hitting, easy scoring plays as the season continues — especially when Tatum has found his rhythm.

It Wasn’t All Bad!

When your favorite team falls to defeat, despite holding such a sizeable lead, it’s easy to focus on the negatives. However, the Celtics also showed some good signs, especially early in the game. They’re much more active at forcing turnovers, which in turn is allowing them to get out in transition more. That high tempo will likely be sustained by what is hopefully a long, sustainable period of dominance on the glass, too.

If we’re talking about positive performances, we’ve also got to look at George. After a summer when Celtics fans were vocally dejected about his arrival, he quickly endeared himself. It’s unlikely what we saw from him last night will become the new normal, but knowing he’s got that in his locker will offer some comfort when you’re looking to someone for a quick bucket or two.

We’ve also got to credit the Celtics for how active their hands were in the passing lanes. They ended the night with 23 deflections. Also, it’s not like the team shot poorly all night. They walked away from the game having hit a steady 40.5% from deep on 17-of-42 shooting.

Once you factor in the spurts of solid defense and the way the Celtics looked on offense during the first half, there’s a lot to be excited about. They’ve just got to figure out how to keep hold of their leads, because while they might have a solid track record of eking out wins after being up double digits, too often they’re rolling the dice after letting things slip away.

Next up is the New York Knicks on Friday. It’s another tough test for the Celtics, and one that will undoubtedly highlight more areas the team needs to work on. That’s what the early part of the season is about. I’m not worried. I trust Mazzulla, the roster, and the rest of the coaching staff. Still, that doesn’t make losses like yesterday’s any easier to stomach.

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Folks, tonight marks a landmark moment for the Milwaukee Bucks: their first official game—against the revamped Washington Wizards—without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster in 13 years. 13 years. It’s been one hell of a ride—culminating in a title, of course—but all good things must come to an end. And as that era ends, another begins, starting tonight in the nation’s capital.

Preseason has come and gone—with the Bucks going 2-3 in their five games—so we now have a (somewhat) clearer idea of what to expect. We know Taylor Jenkins emphasises defensive intensity and rebounding as his main pillars, but with the team so new, there is still a lot to learn—and that’s the exciting part. Obviously, it’s a very young squad, so there will be some great moments and some not-so-great ones, but overall, if the vibes are good and the intentions are right, most fans will be content.

As for tonight, I think it will be a great measuring-stick game. The Wizards are improved, yes (I mean, they have to be to some degree, since they are actually trying to win basketball games now), but they are not the Thunder or the Spurs; this is a new team trying to integrate many different players who may have many different motivations. If the Bucks play selfless basketball and stick to the game plan, they can win.

The Task Ahead

There’s something poetic about the Bucks—a team just entering a rebuild—opening their season against the Wizards—a team just exiting a rebuild. And yeah, the Wizards have lost a lot since Will Dawkins and Michael Winger took over and declared that Washington would no longer be riding the hamster wheel of mediocrity. Dawkins and Winger cut the dead wood, went into full development mode, and attacked the draft (which, yes, included a mandate to tank, and tank hard).

Over the past three seasons, the Wizards have a combined 50-196 record. Woof. But of course, teams tank to put themselves in a position to draft franchise cornerstones, and the Wizards—while they did draft at two in 2024, taking a solid player (Alex Sarr) in a middling class—still hadn’t found theirs heading into last season. This made last season’s tank, ahead of what most experts labelled an elite draft class, one of the most important years in Wizards history. They lost their way to the league’s worst record (17-65) and finally got some lottery luck in a loaded class, drafting the precocious AJ Dybantsa—who is out tonight with an ankle injury—as the final piece of their rebuild.

But of course, Dybantsa isn’t the only major addition the Wizards made. This team has quickly become filled with stars of yesteryear. Washington traded for Trae Young midway through last season and, as I’ll get to, subsequently inked him to a gargantuan deal that will probably age like milk in the sun. Anthony Davis, I’m assured, now also plays for the Wizards. Heck, even Deandre Ayton is here! And of course, I can’t forget Bucks legend Khris Middleton, who returned to Washington after the Wizards dealt him to the Mavs—as part of the Anthony Davis trade, funnily enough—at last season’s deadline. Jokes aside, although these guys no longer live up to their once-lofty reputations, they are still good players who should be nothing but additive to Washington’s talented young core.

Injury Report

Bucks:

• Nate Ament: probable (ankle)

Wizards:

• AJ Dybantsa: out (ankle)
• Tristan Vukcevic: out (hip)
• Jamir Watkins: out (knee)

Player to Watch

Trae Young. Once a heralded star in the league, Young is looking to prove he’s still that guy after his stock dropped precipitously over the last few years—so much so that Atlanta dealt him to Washington for a bag of chips before they had to pay him. The Wizards, on the other hand, clearly believe in the 28-year-old a lot more than the Hawks did, given that they extended him on a fully guaranteed four-year deal worth $212m. Yikes. Regardless, Young—someone who has given the Bucks fits going all the way back to their title run—still has the potential to be a gamebreaker. Milwaukee’s defence needs to make him play in crowds and keep him out of the paint; if he tries to score one-on-one, the defence has done its job. Neutralising Young will also go a long way toward neutralising Anthony Davis.

Projected Starters

Game Details

Who: Milwaukee Bucks (0-0) vs. Washington (0-0).

When: 6:00 p.m. CDT.

Where: Capital One Arena—Washington, D.C.

Watch: MY24.

Listen: Check local listings.

Prescient Prediction

Some of us have been speculating (hoping) that Tyler Herro was taking it easy in the preseason and that he’d play with more vigour once the real thing started. Well, the real thing is here, and I’m going to stick my neck out and say he has a really good game. Maybe except for Bilal Coulibaly, the Wizards don’t really have defenders who can bother Herro, so I think this matchup gives him a chance to feast a little and announce himself as a Buck. I’m talking 27 points, five assists, efficient shooting.

On Monday, Spurs legend David Robinson joined Lauren Rosen and Sean Little on The Association. He spoke of the Spurs incredible 2025-2026 season, their return to the NBA Finals, and his experience watching the next generation of Spurs develop into championship contenders.

During the interview, The Admiral was asked about netting a historic quadruple-double. His 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks on February 17, 1994 was only the fourth recorded quadruple-double and the last time it occurred in the NBA. Over three decades later, Robinson feels that it is not a question of if Victor Wembanyama will join the list of players to tally the elusive statistic anomaly, but when.

There are also some great highlights of The Admiral in his heyday. You can never go wrong with the best of David Robinson.

I always love when Robinson speaks about the Spurs. He has such passion for the team and has really been through it all with the team. He is the foundation for so many wonderful aspects of the franchise, and the team’s ultimate ambassador.

Spurs dropped their first game, leaving them in dead last in the Western Conference with an 0-1 record. Hopefully just a humbling hot minute as the Spurs tweak the strategies that will best serve them over the long season.

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

Almost two months ago, we announced the release of our new app, which you can find here or by searching SB Nation in your neighborhood app store. The app is available in North America, and we’re working on Europe and the rest of the world as we speak!

Quite a few of you have downloaded it over the past seven weeks and have been using it, but because we were at the quietest part of the NBA offseason, it’s also entirely possible a few of you missed it!

The goal with this app was to make it easier to join the community, and specifically comment, read the comments, and make your own posts, as well as keeping all the community posts – articles on the front page, Feed posts from you – front and center. 

One of the most exciting new features is the game chat, which some of you may have already test-driven during the preseason. It makes it easier to follow along with the barrage of comments that come during games, and gets to the heart of why so many of you spend time in our community. Faster loading comments and notifications when someone replies to your comments and Feed posts are creating a more fun experience that you’re not going to find anywhere else. 

We also wanted to elevate the community’s contributions by putting your Feed posts inside one stream alongside all the other articles from the site. To that end, more people have seen your posts and more people have commented on them. In fact, we’ve set single-day commenting records three different times in the last several weeks. 

And if you prefer just reading our traditional front page articles, there’s an option at the top to do that.

So, thanks for making us part of your routine. If you haven’t checked it out, you can get the app for iOS or Android. And if you’re not an app user, that’s OK! We’re glad to have you following along in whatever way makes you most comfortable.

NBA fans, game day is better on the SB Nation app!

React to every crossover, alley-oop, and block alongside fellow basketball fans in real time.

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Download the SB Nation app on iOS or Android.

After licking their wounds from the lost series against the Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors fans have had to wait through the agonizing months of the Kawhi Leonard trade saga, all for what comes later today. The start of the 2026-27 NBA season.

The Raptors have been granted an interesting matchup to start off the campaign, against the new-look Chicago Bulls. Chicago, a stagnant franchise since their time led by (Raptors legend) DeMar DeRozan, has rebuilt their roster after getting rid of General Manager Marc Eversley, and VP of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas.

Led by guard duo Josh Giddey and Norman Powell (another Raptors legend), the Bulls have a very well-rounded starting 5, highlighted by the arrival of rookie Caleb Wilson. Wilson, out of UNC, is considered one of the drafts’ highest-value prospects.

A 6’10” power forward who averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 boards in college, Wilson looked like a stud in Summer League, averaging 23.5 points and 7.3 rebounds on 50-40 shooting. Scary stuff. Ricky O’Donnell’s profile of Wilson in SB Nation highlighted a few things that will be worth keeping an eye on.

O’Donnell highlights comparisons to Kevin Garnett, and a more offensively focused-less defensively focused version of the Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley. While there were then-concerns about Wilson’s ability to shoot, the forward averaged almost eight attempts from downtown, and made more than three of them nightly. However, Wilson weighs in at only 215 pounds, so someone like Scottie Barnes at 237 would have a meaningful advantage when guarding him.

The Raptors’ biggest leg up tonight is the absence of Nic Claxton, the Bulls’ starting centre. Having a weaker 5 means that Toronto’s biggest deficiency — lack of a high-impact big man — will be felt less on the defensive end, and give the Raptors opportunities for more good looks in the paint. RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes could have big nights, as both drive-heavy swingmen could take advantage of less opposition at the rim, paving way for some high scoring nights from the pair. Even Jakob Poeltl could put up some big numbers on the boards, matching up against 6’8”, 215 Jalen Smith extremely well.

Seeing what Barnes will do against Wilson will be exciting, as the two forwards, built in very different physical archetypes, will have to Duke it out lest Chicago give most of the Raptors a potential matchup issue. However, one of the other defensive matchups worth keeping an eye on will be that between guards Jamal Shead and Norman Powell. The All-Star is a threat from anywhere on the court, and the former Raptor will likely be walking into the arena with putting on a show for his old crowd on his mind.

Keeping Josh Giddey’s passing under control will also be a must. The point guard’s size is frustrating, and his defensive assignment might fall to someone like Ja’Kobe Walter , as both RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley could be hard pressed to keep up with the Australian.

Seeing what Kawhi Leonard looks like in the regular season will be interesting as well. Leonard is certainly capable of massive scoring outbursts, but whether or not he’ll put on a big show to start off the season, or take it easy and reserve energy, is not totally clear. Kawhi looking like a top-five offensive player tomorrow pushes the needle in the Raptors’ direction in a serious way, and this is a relatively low-pressure matchup with which to start off the season for him.

Keys to success for the Raptors will be managing both personnel and energy to maintain punishing defence on the Bulls, while getting as many shot attempts in the paint as possible. The Raptors can take this one if they defend wisely and don’t allow flamethrower Norm Powell to heat up.

This post is also where we’ll be running our game thread, a live chat to post about the game, chat, and socialize. We hope to see you there, either on the browser or in our app!

Game Information and Details

Game Time: 7:30 EDT

Watch On: Sportsnet

Injury Report

Raptors: Nate Bittle (Out – foot)

Bulls: Nic Claxton (Out – hamstring), Jordan Hawkins (Out – illness), Tobe Akawa (GTD – knee), Zach Collins (GTD – toe), Dailyn Swain (GTD – illness), Isaac Okoro (GTD – knee), Leonard Miller (GTD – right adductor strain)

Projected Lineups

Raptors: Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl

Bulls: Josh Giddey, Jalen Smith, Caleb Wilson, Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis

CJ McCollum happened to be one of the biggest additions for the Atlanta Hawks last season, and once he was inserted into the starting lineup, they became a top-tier team. They had the best net rating in the second half of the season, and it led them to the No. 6 seed and a playoff spot.

McCollum’s shot creation was a big key to the Hawks’ success, but it was evident after Game 3 of the first round that he needed more help in that department. They were able to do that in the offseason, and life may be easy for him coming into this season.

The good thing is that this will be another year for McCollum to build with the team, and having a full training camp under his belt should be beneficial.

“I got traded in January. I got here, met the team on a road trip, and kind of jumped right into the season, which was difficult, but I think I’m most excited about being able to go through a full training camp,” McCollum said at Media Day.

McCollum is the oldest player on the Hawks, and he’ll probably still be one of the most relied-on players on the Hawks. Though they’ve added some help in the creation department, and Jalen Johnson looks to have taken another step, McCollum is still set to have the ball in his hands most of the time.

Another area where McCollum seemed to have a good season with the Hawks is on defense. He was never known as the defensive type, but he did his job last season, and Quin Snyder has never been shy of letting everyone know.

“I think he was one of the guys who embraced the defensive mindset,“ Syder said at Media Day.

McCollum was in all of the closing lineups for the Hawks last season, but that may not be the case this time around. In the event that they do need stronger defense on the floor, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Dort took his place down the stretch in some games. At the same time, if the Hawks are still missing some juice on offense, McCollum will continue to be in those lineups.

It’ll also be interesting to see how Snyder plans on managing McCollum’s minutes this season, and if he plans to at all. At age 35, it wouldn’t hurt to have him under 30 minutes again, which is what he averaged in 41 games last season with the team.

McCollum might also find himself in a teacher role this season as well, lending a hand to Kingston Flemings in his rookie season.

It should be another solid season for the veteran guard, and he’ll have a big impact on their success.

DETROIT — If you didn’t know any better, you may have thought you were watching the Paul George of old.

In his Celtics debut at Little Caeser Arena, George shot lights-out, hitting three after three while the Celtics’ bench rejoiced. Most of the night, the 36-year-old looked like the best player on the floor, carrying the load offensively while taking on tough defensive assignments on the other end.

George erupted for 12 points in the second quarter, and followed that up with a 17-point third. In total, he finished opening night with 38 points, 5 steals, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, hitting 7 of 12 three-pointers and 12 of his 21 shot attempts.

George also set a new record for most points by a Celtics player in his debut, surpassing Kristaps Porzingis’s 30-point debut in 2023.

“He was unbelievable, just the confidence he played with,” said Jayson Tatum. “Obviously, made plays on defense, but just kind of getting to his spots, his ability to defend, and get on the run and be able to space the floor and attack certain matchups.”

George’s tremendous individual performance ended up not mattering; the Celtics blew a 22-point second-half lead, in large part due to a 23-0 Pistons fourth quarter run and a 15-point Duncan Robinson fourth quarter.

As such, George made clear that the final outcome soured the way he felt about his otherwise-spectactular debut.

“I’m not a moral victory guy, so it means nothing,” he said. “We lost. Just got to get ready for the next one.”

Still, though the Celtics’ demonstrated a litany of issues in the regular-season opener — they were outrebounded, for one — George’s performance was a significant bright spot, and a great way to turn the page on a couple of injury-riddled years.

Paul George has maintained all year: he’s the healthiest he’s been in years

George said he hasn’t felt this healthy since he was with the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2023-2024 season, and it showed.

“I was pretty healthy to finish my last year there, and then honestly, going to Philly, I just had a bad hyperextension that really set me back, and I couldn’t quite shake that one — it was an ongoing thing of my leg, my knee not feeling strong, and it was rough, right?” George said. “Because I was trying to rest, but I was also trying to be available for the team, and just couldn’t quite find the time to let it all come together.”

But, George has since made a full recovery, and he’s beginning to show the world what a difference full health makes on his ability to play on both ends.

“This summer was huge,” he said. “I had a great summer, had time off, and coming into this year, I knew it was going to be a big one. It was going to be a fun one, a great opportunity, and so I was just happy that I was able to attack this summer with working on my game, more so than rehabbing and working on my body.”

Still, despite the clean bill of health, George was candid in sharing that Celtics training camp marked a significant transition.

“It’s been a rough camp for me, I would say – just trying to figure out new concepts, new terms, new plays, playing off other guys, just finding rhythm within that,” he said Wednesday, adding that part of it was also just getting back into game shape.

“The camp legs were just heavy. I was winded a lot of times. So it was taking away the ability to kind of do things when I just felt a little heavy and sluggish, but I’m getting my wind back. I’m getting my legs back. I feel like I’m getting my pop back, and so that was kind of the difference-maker.”

George has credited his teammates for helping him adjust over the past few weeks, and for empowering him to have such a big debut.

“It was fun to watch,” Derrick White said. “Obviously, he got super hot and trying to find him in different ways. But everything, even defensively, causing turnovers and being disruptive, it was a lot of fun. He played a hell of a game.”

Mazzulla, who has praised George through training camp, said he appreciated how the veteran approached the opener.

“He made some great reads throughout the game,” Mazzulla said. “He was able to find advantages for himself and others and be aggressive, and we just have to continue that.”

As for George, he gave a lot of the credit to his teammates and coaches, who have instilled confidence in him since he arrived in Boston.

“Credit to these guys, though, they did an amazing job keeping me in the loop, making me feel a part of the team at all points throughout this process,” he said. “[Credit to] Joe for making you know the game easier for me, D-White, Payton, JT, all of those guys. The bigs freeing me up, all of them are collectively a part of me feeling confident and playing with rhythm out there.”

George, like the rest of the Celtics, will look closely at what went wrong in the 121-113 loss.

And, he won’t overreact in either direction.

“There are good days, and there are bad days,” he said. “I’m always even-keeled. I won’t get too high on this. It’s a long season. It’s more so about being consistent for these guys.”

The last name of iconic Lakers centers is placed above their number on a wall at the team’s practice facility. Centers who have dominated the NBA on their way to the Hall of Fame.

Each day at practice, new Lakers center Walker Kessler has cast his eyes toward the wall, marveling at those names and numbers, unable to look away from a group of big men who left an indelible mark on the sport of basketball.

“Yup, they got some bigs up there, some great bigs,” Kessler said.

He chuckled.

There is Gasol (16), Mikan (99), Abdul-Jabbar (33), Chamberlain (13) and O’Neal (34).

“You know, obviously, there’s a certain legacy that comes with being a Laker big,” said Kessler, who wears No. 14. “But honestly, it’s just what an opportunity this is to play for a franchise that has had just historic bigs. I think that Lakers fans, when their bigs are at that level, they fall in love with them. So, what an opportunity.”

Starting with George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal to Pau Gasol, all of them have won championships playing for the Lakers and all of them have had their jerseys retired by the franchise.

Kessler is the next center in line, the next big man who will try to live up to those lofty standards.

Surely, Kessler was asked, he has to feel some inherent pressure to follow in the footsteps of that majestic group, starting Wednesday night when the Lakers open the regular season at Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors.

“I think it depends on how you look at it,” Kessler said. “If you do look at it as an approach of, ‘Oh my gosh, I got to perform this certain way.’ But, I think it’s twofold. With pressure or with opportunity comes somewhat a level of pressure. But to focus on the opportunity and being grateful for the ability to be in that position, you know?

“If I talked to my 8-year-old self telling me, ‘Hey, you’re going to be the starting Lakers center,’ it puts it in perspective. So what an opportunity. I’m just so grateful to God. I mean, it’s fantastic.”

Pressure is something Kessler feels equipped to handle, even while acknowledging that the stakes are high and that all the noise about the high price the team paid to acquire him only increased the volume.

The Lakers got Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal in which L.A. sent two first-round draft picks and two first-round draft swaps for him. Then the Lakers gave Kessler a four-year, $130-million deal.

Read more:Luka Doncic, JJ Redick believe revamped Lakers can contend for an NBA title

“I think I try to put pressure on myself because at the end of the day, it is a sport and I play my best version of myself when I go out there and compete every night and just play with joy,” Kessler said. “I think pressure kind of steals that. So for me, again, it’s just focusing on the opportunity. The Lakers’ fan base is obviously a massive global presence, so to have a chance to have that backing is pretty exciting.”

After meeting Kessler and having several conversations with him, Lakers coach JJ Redick has no worries about that pressure.

Besides, Redick is part of Kessler’s support system.

“Well, I think he wants to embrace that. I think that’s why he wanted to be a Laker,” Redick said. “And why he wanted to be here was because of the fact that there are stakes every single night when you wear a Lakers uniform. We’ve had a number of conversations.… We had a long conversation the other day about it. I think the awareness is there, how you navigate that early on and how you navigate that in your first year. There’s no way to predict that because you’ve never dealt with it before.

“But he’s got great support around him. … I’m here to help him. We’re all here to support him. All these guys that haven’t gone through it, there’s nothing like it. And I think they all want to embrace it. They all have a chip on their shoulder about it. They want to make Lakers fans proud, and I know they will.”

Luka Doncic wanted Kessler on his team.

Redick wanted Kessler on his team.

Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka wanted Kessler on his team.

At 7-foot-2, active and mobile, they all felt he was the perfect fit to play alongside Doncic. Kessler is the lob threat, rim-runner, screen-setter and defender Doncic has thrived with in the past when leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

“It’s extremely humbling,” Kessler said. “Again, just so grateful to have a franchise that’s this historic to show that they want you and show that they value you. And then having Luka, arguably the greatest player in the league right now, saying that he wants me specifically. … Yeah, just very, very grateful.”

An injured shoulder limited Kessler to only five games last season with the Jazz.

And, he’s only started in 125 out of the 201 games he has played in over his first four seasons in the NBA.

But over that time, Kessler displayed his skill set, averaging 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 assists a game.

Many around the NBA think Doncic can unleash even more out of Kessler, and that’s why the superstar guard wanted him on the Lakers.

“I’m very excited,” Doncic said. “Obviously [I was] kind of involved, not signing him but there was a lot of communication with Rob and JJ about him, so I’m very excited to just share the floor with him.”

Kessler said his love for the game of basketball grew so much after he was forced to miss 77 games last season recovering from having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

He’s ready to show Lakers fans his worth.

“I’m fully healthy. I feel fantastic body-wise,” Kessler said. “The only thing, like I was saying before, is kind of the rust and kind of getting back into the game feel in a sense. The NBA, you’re playing against the best players in the world. You’re not going to your local YMCA.”

Basketball runs in his family.

His dad Chad, brother, Houston and uncle, Alec, all played basketball at Georgia. His dad was drafted by the Clippers and his uncle played for the Miami Heat.

Read more:What we learned from the Lakers' preseason games and training camp

Somehow, Walker ended up going to Auburn. Nevertheless, his family is always around for advice.

“My dad and brother are some of my biggest supporters. They’re incredible,” Kessler said. “They didn’t put pressure on me to go one way or the other way. My dad even texts me after every game. Yeah, before the game, after the game, my brother, we talk all the time. So they’re fantastic.”

When asked what he likes to do when he’s just chilling, Kessler laughed.

“Getting to the real stuff now,” he said, smiling.

One thing that stood out was that Kessler said he likes to play board games, particularly Catan.

Is he as competitive playing Catan as he is when he plays basketball?

“What do you think? I’m a psychopath,” Kessler said, laughing. “So are my buddies, though. It’s a good time. We sometimes get a little heated, but it’s good though. It’s all in fun. So, yeah, Lakers fans should know that I’m competitive. Very competitive.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

One Possession: C's must play harder, smarter after collapse vs. Pistons originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

NBA Games don’t typically boil down to just one possession. But one possession can often tell the story of a game. This is “One Possession,” a recurring series where we highlight one notable sequence from every Celtics game during the 2026-27 season.

The Boston Celtics carved out a pretty clear identity last season: Play harder and smarter than the opponent, and try to dominate the margins. They piled up a bunch of wins because of it.

That’s the road map again this year, even with a new-look roster, but the Celtics lost their way at times in the season-opener in Detroit.

Boston built a 23-point second-half lead (72-50 after a Paul George 3-pointer with 8:32 to play in the third quarter), but the Pistons surged within a single possession later in that frame. The Celtics pushed their lead back to 12 early in the fourth frame and led 99-89 with 8:19 to play after a Derrick White 3-pointer.

Then the wheels came off. 

Not only did the Pistons embark on an improbable 23-0 run, they needed little more than two minutes to erase that double-digit deficit and pull ahead 101-99. Both Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser endured avoidable 3-shot fouls on Duncan Robinson early in the fourth quarter, further fueling Detroit’s offensive eruption, but it was often bad offense that led to poor defense for the Celtics.

Which sets the table for today’s possession. After watching the Pistons shuffle ahead, the Celtics desperately needed something to settle them down. Derrick White produced a live-ball turnover, but Boston lacked numbers in transition and the play quickly devolved into a Jayson Tatum isolation.

Despite drawing three defenders as he dribbled from beyond the arc, and despite having not made a 3-pointer on a day in which he would finish 0-for-7 from distance, Tatum elected to pull up with Detroit big man Jalen Duren leaping to contest.

The shot — which the NBA’s tracking gave just a 34.4 percent expected field goal percentage — rattled out, and things went from bad to worse.

Duren beat all the Celtics down the floor, got away with a little push off as Tatum tried to seal him off, and Ausar Thompson lobbed the ball over the top from the other end of the floor for a Duren and-one layup.

The Celtics didn’t work hard enough to generate good shots during Detroit’s run. Boston most certainly did not work hard enough to get back on defense and generate the stops that could have led to easier opportunities in transition. And in the span of less than four minutes, the Celtics went from up double digits to down 10 with 4:27 to play.

Fumbling away a big lead while poor offense leads to bad defense is not an unfamiliar storyline for the Celtics, who have routinely struggled to salt away games with what should be a comfortable cushion in recent seasons. The team has typically been able to catch itself despite making things interesting.

On Tuesday, Boston could not. 

The maddening part is that Boston’s entire identity is built on being the harder-playing team. And yet in key spots, the effort was lacking. The Celtics didn’t run with White in transition, Tatum settled for a low-percentage pull-up as the offense went cold, and Mitchell Robinson was too slow getting back on defense as Duren got the and-one.

The Celtics pulled Robinson in favor of Neemias Queta after Duren’s bucket. Players said after the game that communication and effort need to be better all around. 

Boston had uncharacteristic turnovers early that complicated matters. The fouls chasing Robinson beyond the 3-point arc in the fourth quarter might have been even more maddening. The Celtics didn’t dominate the margins the way they did throughout the preseason and allowed Detroit to be the more physical team overall.

The Celtics have to work harder for better possessions. They have to work harder to generate stops, especially when the other team has momentum. Boston didn’t work hard enough to maintain its identity in Detroit.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings' training camp and preseason are officially behind us, and the 2026-27 regular season is set to start again.

There's excitement surrounding the team in California's capital for their upcoming season following a tumultuous 2025-26 that saw injuries and losses pile up. In turn, it resulted in one of the worst seasons in Kings history since moving to Sacramento in 1985, finishing 22-60.

But now they have a clean slate. 0-0. It's a new day. There's a newfound energy that fills the Kings' practice facility at Golden 1 Center. And a reason to be hopeful that the Kings won't be as bad as they were in the previous year.

"Everyone's excited," Domantas Sabonis told USA TODAY. "There was a lot of guys who were hurt. A lot of guys that didn't play above like 20 games. So just being out there. Everyone's happy to be out there, you know go out there and do what you love."

Sabonis appeared in just 19 games with a torn left meniscus injury, Keegan Murray only played 23 games mostly due to an ankle injury. Zach LaVine missed half the season with a right pinky injury. All three have reported to camp healthy, ready to compete. Second-year center Maxime Raynaud did have a setback with a right knee injury in a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors, but he'll be reevaluated in a week.

They recently lost newly signed former All-Star Ben Simmons after he sustained a torn Achilles injury that is believed to be a season-ending injury for Simmons.

The Kings' offseason wasn't very busy; it did have some moments. It was highlighted by the retirement of Russell Westbrook, a contract buyout for DeMar DeRozan and their 2026 draft class featuring No. 7 overall pick Darius Acuff Jr.

With their offseason acquisitions and multiple players returning from last year, there's good reason why the Kings won't be as terrible as they were in the previous year, despite the considerable loss of Ben Simmons. Here's what the Kings need in the 2026-27 season:

Starry Sixers show substance, defensive tools in opening win over Knicks  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The opening weeks of this Sixers season were always destined to be about flashes, hints and promise. 

They loaded up on marquee names over the summer and had no expectations of immediate brilliance. Indeed, the Sixers’ shooters misfired for much of Tuesday night’s season opener at Madison Square Garden. Tyrese Maxey was the only Sixer to hit the 20-point mark, scoring 28. 

His team still snatched a 106-100 win over the defending champion Knicks. And it wasn’t all about the stars shimmering. The Sixers defended hard and well, plowed through rough patches, and displayed the enhanced versatility that had head coach Nick Nurse so excited about the team’s two-way potential at training camp.

“We’re still new to each other,” LeBron James said after posting 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. “We had some turnovers that were kind of unforced. We had some moments with an open look and we didn’t take it. That will happen early in the season. As we continue to build our offensive sets, our defensive sets, we will have some bumps in the road at times. 

“But I think tonight we had those bumps in the road against a good team and we were able to use what happened previously to make those adjustments. Tonight we knew we gave them some pick-sixes in the first half and we gave them offensive rebounds. … We cleaned that up in the second half and that’s the sign of a good team.”

Following a 19-point Sixers debut, Jaylen Brown agreed that the team hasn’t yet advanced past “just figuring it out.”

“We’re not even at the tip of the iceberg in terms of chemistry, understanding ourselves on the floor, understanding our spacing,” Brown said. “We’re still at the very early stages of what we can possibly be. So it’s a good sign that we can win while still being in that early stage.” 

None of the Sixers’ flaws in the opener raised serious alarm bells.

They were a tad thin on the second unit — only Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played double-digit minutes off the bench — but both of those players drilled vital three-pointers in the second half. The Sixers will have useful manpower once Dean Wade (left ankle sprain) and Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction) are available. 

Joel Embiid shot just 4 for 15 from the field and lost a handful of his individual battles with former teammate Andre Drummond in the first half. However, Embiid played far better than a 13-point, 11-rebound outing might indicate. He had three blocks, two steals and nimble, hustling sequences that made it natural to remember his defensive peak.

Embiid doesn’t think those days are behind him. The 32-year-old big man has three All-Defensive team selections on his future Hall of Famer résumé, the last of which came in the 2020-21 season. 

“I think this year is going to be back to All-Defensive team like in the past,” he said. “Felt good. Moving great and felt like I was all over the place. … Defensively, I think a lot of it falls on me. If I want to be All-Defense like I used to be, that changes everything for our team. If I can play that way every single night, which I will, it changes everything.”

Embiid’s defensive contributions also included a proposed mid-game matchup adjustment. 

He thought James should defend Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, enabling Embiid to serve in more of a roaming role and worry less about fouls. 

“I suggested it to the guys,” Embiid said. “I had three fouls and I just felt like the way they were calling it … I was just being honest. I wasn’t going to be as aggressive as I should be on defense, having three fouls. I wanted to stay on the floor and I thought we should do that. 

“He was great. That’s another big body that can guard the post. PJ Tucker was the last one we had that could do that, that could switch off and guard those bigger guys in the post. Last year we had (Paul George) and P.G. did a great job, but he’s a little light. Having Bron … we did that in the Olympics. We’ve done that in the past. That’s a good thing to change a little bit.”

On a glitz and glamour type of night at the Garden that featured the Knicks’ pregame championship banner ceremony and celebrities around every corner, the Sixers showed they have some real substance. 

“Lot of fun,” Maxey said. “Very competitive. I’ve been saying it all training camp and you saw it tonight. Extremely competitive on both ends of the floor.”

The home fans will pack Xfinity Mobile Arena to see the show Thursday night. The Sixers will meet the Cavaliers in their home opener.

“Listen, it’s one game,” Nurse said. “I’m really happy to come here and get a win. They’re a hell of a team. When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll probably forget about it and start getting ready for Cleveland.”

Duke fans were understandably dazzled by the precocious and highly athletic play of freshman Deron Rippey, as he led Duke to a dominant win over Tennessee. You have to be mindful of the hype this early, but it’s inevitable that he’s going to get a lot of comparisons. We talked about his game having elements of Johnny Dawkins, Jason Williams, and Allen Iverson.

Rippey’s not really built like Dawkins or Williams. Dawkins was, and is, incredibly lean. Williams was explosive and muscular.

He’s somewhat closer to Iverson. Like Iverson, Rippey is deceptively strong. He debuted a much shorter hairstyle against Tennessee, which made his lean, muscular build much more apparent, and you saw an ability to maneuver in very tight spaces like Iverson. AI’s been retired since 2013, so a lot of people have forgotten how great he was in his prime. Here’s a reminder.

We don’t know if Rippey will ever get close to this, much less consistently, but on Tuesday night, we got a pretty good idea of his potential, and it’s considerable.

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