Category: NBA

<div assetid="591176002" assettype="video"></div>

Nov. 3

Today in sports history

Today is Nov. 3. On this date in:

1899: Heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries defeated Tom Sharkey by decision after 25 punishing rounds at Coney Island, New York, in one of the era’s most celebrated title fights.

1962: Wilt Chamberlain scored 72 points for the San Francisco Warriors in a 127-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, producing the fourth-highest single-game total in NBA history at the time.

1968: Graham Hill won the season-ending Mexican Grand Prix and clinched his second Formula 1 world championship.

1974: Boston Bruins forward Johnny Bucyk collected two assists in a 10-1 victory over Minnesota and passed Bobby Hull as the highest-scoring left wing in NHL history.

1982: Randy Smith appeared in his 845th consecutive NBA game, surpassing Johnny “Red” Kerr’s league record; Smith ultimately extended the streak to 906 games.

1987: New York Rangers center Marcel Dionne became the second NHL player to reach 1,700 career points when he scored in a 5-3 loss to Calgary.

1989: Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Alexander Volkov became the first players from the Soviet Union to appear in NBA regular-season games.

1989: The expansion Minnesota Timberwolves played their first NBA game, losing 106-94 to the Seattle SuperSonics.

1995: The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies won their inaugural games, marking the regular-season debuts of the NBA’s first Canadian franchises since the Toronto Huskies folded in 1947.

1995: Kevin Garnett made his NBA debut for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a loss to Sacramento, beginning a Hall of Fame career.

1996: Kobe Bryant made his NBA debut at age 18, playing six minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 91-85 victory over Minnesota.

2007: Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour returned from retirement for one game and recorded his 1,500th appearance behind the New York Islanders’ bench as they rallied past Pittsburgh 3-2.

2008: The Detroit Pistons traded Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson in a blockbuster exchange of All-Star guards.

2010: Paul Pierce scored his 20,000th career point on a late-overtime free throw and helped the Boston Celtics defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-102.

2011: Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne signed a seven-year, $49 million contract extension on his 29th birthday, then made 35 saves in a 3-0 shutout of Phoenix.

2018: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves in a 3-0 victory over Carolina and became the 29th goalie in NHL history to record 50 career shutouts.

2023: The NBA began group play in its inaugural In-Season Tournament, later renamed the NBA Cup, with seven games and specially designed tournament courts.

— USA TODAY Network

This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, November 3

In the immediate aftermath of his team’s 2025-26 season ending, Lakers coach JJ Redick clearly and plainly laid out one of the biggest points of emphasis for 2026-27. 

“We clearly need to have a better overall season defensively,” Redick said in May. 

The critique was sensible.

The Lakers were coming off a regular season in which they ranked No. 18 defensively despite ranking No. 12 in the second half of the season.

“We had flashes of that,” Redick added. “I have said this numerous times: Our improvement defensively is a big credit to our staff, [assistant coaches] Bob [Beyer] and Greg [St. Jean], and the work they did in film and in walk-throughs. But we gotta do better defensively.”

And after their offseason roster reconstruction, the Lakers will be better defensively in 2026-27 than they were last season despite external narratives that state the contrary. 

The heart of their improved defense will come from the marquee addition of Walker Kessler, who already showed in his first four seasons in the NBA with the Jazz that he’s one of the league’s premier rim protectors. 

It’s universally accepted throughout the NBA that the Lakers should be a better rim protecting team (they finished second-to-last in defensive field goal percentage at the rim in 2025-26) with Kessler starting at center instead of Deandre Ayton.

But it’s been their perimeter defense that has been questioned.

Despite losing Marcus Smart, who was the team’s best defender last season, the Lakers actually improved their point-of-attack defense significantly. 

Smart may be a better perimeter defender than anyone currently on the Lakers, but the issue with last season’s team was the lack of strong perimeter defenders behind him. 

That won’t be an issue in 2026-27.

Not only did the Lakers keep their second- and third-best perimeter defenders from last season’s team in Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia, but Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams are all upgrades over most of the team’s perimeter defense options in 2025-26. 

They may not have the All-Defensive team caliber perimeter defender, but Redick will have more options at his disposal to build a credible defense in front of Kessler and around star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. 

The Lakers not only should have be at least an average defensive team, but they have the potential to be above average on that end of the floor for the first time in a few years.

Possession battle

A significant reason why the Lakers should be a better defensive team next season won’t just be because they’re better equipped to contain ball handlers.

Or even funnel plays to Kessler for him to shut down. 

It’ll also come from their improved ability to generate turnovers after being average in that area last season. 

Williams and Thybulle will be especially helpful in this area.

Thybulle’s 2 steals per game last season was tied for the second-most in the league with Hawks wing Dyson Daniels and Pistons wing Ausar Thompson among players who appeared in at least 20 regular season games despite averaging just 16 minutes.

He led the league in steals (4.5) and deflections (8.7) per 36 minutes in 2025–26 among players who appeared in at least 20 games.

Williams led the Nets in deflections per 36 minutes in 2024-25 (3.9) and 2025-26 (4.9), and averaged a career-high 1.4 steals last season.

And with Kessler on the backline, the Lakers will be able to afford to be more aggressive with their perimeter defenders compared to last season. 

The offensive rebounding from Kessler and Kevon Looney will also help generate more possessions for the Lakers.

Driving 

Another one of Redick’s desired areas of improvement was the collective ability to drive, dribble and pass.

With Doncic and Reaves still on the team, the Lakers are already starting from a great place. 

But the additions of Grimes, Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili will uplift the collective’s abilities to excel in these areas.

Losing LeBron James will hurt in these areas.

As should development from LaRavia and additions of Cameron Carr.

This offseason, new Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey turned lemons into fresh-squeezed lemonade. Not only did the Sixers flip Paul George for Jaylen Brown and sign LeBron James to a minimum contract, but they also rounded out their depth by splitting the non-taxpayer mid-level exception between Anfernee Simons and Dean Wade and spending part of their bi-annual exception on Ariel Hukporti.

As long as they have all three of Brown, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid on max contracts, the Sixers can’t be big offseason spenders. But the NBA’s latest salary-cap projection for the 2027-28 season could give them some unexpected financial wiggle room.

On Saturday, Fred Katz and John Hollinger of The Athletic reported that the latest cap projection jumped from the initial $174 million up to $176 million. The luxury-tax line is now projected to be $213 million instead of $211 million, and both the first and second aprons would increase by roughly $2 million as well.

That comes out to a roughly 6.7 percent increase, which still doesn’t fully cover the 8 percent annual raises in Embiid, Brown and Maxey contracts. But it’s better than the previous projection (5.5 percent), which could have put the Sixers into a tight financial bind next offseason.

If the $176 million projection holds—or even goes up further—the Sixers could start dreaming bigger about their free-agent plans in 2027.

Which MLE will the Sixers have?

Between Embiid, Brown, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe alone, the Sixers already have $180.1 million tied up in 2027-28. Add in Wade ($9.45 million) and Labaron Philon Jr. ($3.8 million), and they’re at roughly $193.3 million in guaranteed salary.

Simons has a $6.3 million player option for the 2027-28 season and LeBron has a $4.1 million player option. Both figure to decline those options, barring something catastrophic.

The Sixers also have relatively inexpensive team options on Justin Edwards ($2.6 million) and Adem Bona ($2.5 million). Edwards’ salary is almost identical to the projected minimum salary for 2027-28, while Bona’s is more than $100,000 below that. The Sixers therefore figure to pick up their team option on Bona, while Edwards’ roster spot may come down to how he performs this year and what other options they have next summer.

In the incredibly unlikely event that Simons and James both opt in and the Sixers pick up their options on both Edwards and Bona, they’d be at $208.8 million in total salary. That would leave them roughly $13.2 million below the projected $222.0 million first apron and $27.2 million below the $236 million second apron.

Every salary-cap exception increases by the same percentage as the salary cap itself. So, if the cap rises by roughly 6.7 percent in 2027-28, the non-taxpayer MLE will jump to around $16.05 million, while the taxpayer MLE will be about $6.5 million.

As the Sixers learned the hard way this past offseason, teams that spend the non-taxpayer MLE get hard-capped at the first apron. If Simons and LeBron both opt out, the Sixers would have enough room under the first apron to spend the full non-taxpayer MLE, but they’d have to remain mindful of leaving themselves enough spending power to fill out the rest of their roster with minimum deals.

The Sixers could spend some or all of their MLE to re-sign LeBron to repay him for the massive pay cut he took this season, provided he wants to keep playing in 2027-28. But if LeBron wants to maximize his chances of winning a fifth championship—or hopefully a sixth by that point—he’d re-sign on another minimum deal and allow the Sixers to spend their MLE elsewhere. It’d be even better if he took a one-year deal instead of a one-plus-one, so his cap hit would be around $2.6 million instead of above $4 million.

If LeBron is willing to take another minimum contract—or a 5 percent raise via his non-Bird rights—the Sixers could instead save their MLE for Simons if so desired. Otherwise, they could peruse the free-agent market and see whether anyone merited that type of payday. However, the first-apron hard cap could wind up costing them Hukporti and/or Dominick Barlow if they go that route.

The Sixers need to get through this season before they fully turn their attention free agency next year. We still have no idea what this team will look like, what it’s biggest needs are, if all of the main pieces will mesh, etc. It’s admittedly premature to look this far ahead at this juncture.

However, front offices don’t only get to operate on a one-year timeline. The Sixers have undoubtedly begun planning ahead not only for next offseason, but for the next few years. In particular, circle your calendars for the summer of 2029, as the contracts for all four of Embiid, Maxey, Brown and Edgecombe are currently set to expire simultaneously then.

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that NBA business keeps booming and sends the cap even higher. Having three max players with 8 percent annual raises puts the Sixers in a tricky financial spot, so the more that the salary cap rises year-over-year, the better.

Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we look at Matisse Thybulle.

When Marcus Smart signed with the Houston Rockets over the summer, the Lakers lost more than just their best perimeter defender. They lost their defensive identity, spirit and chaos agent. 

Regardless of why Smart wasn’t retained, it was clear the Lakers had to find a way to replicate the tangible and intangible value he added. 

Walker Kessler being the interior anchor will go a long way, but to help shore up the perimeter, the Lakers will be betting on Matisse Thybulle being Smart’s proxy. As they did with Smart, the Lakers are adding Thybulle in hopes he stays healthy and rejuvenated while playing for a team with championship aspirations.  

The gamble, albeit mostly safe given Thybulle signed at the minimum, is one that could pay off huge, or one that forces the Lakers back on the market in search of help. 

What is his best-case scenario?

At the top of Thybulle’s priority list for a successful season is to be on the floor. 

Although his reputation of being injury-prone is probably overstated at this point, he has recently simply been unable to stay healthy. This is a major reason why he was even available at the price the Lakers paid. 

Thybulle has appeared in just a combined 45 games over the past two seasons. Fortunately, reports say he is fully healthy ahead of the new season. 

If that is the case and he can remain that way for the majority of the year, that could be a major development for the Lakers’ defensive upside. Because when he’s on the floor, there are few — if any — more disruptive players in the NBA.  

When comparing his activity to other wings, Thybulle has finished lower than the 98th percentile in steal percentage once, and never worse than the 92nd percentile in block percentage in his career.

Perhaps more important than Thybulle’s staggering disruption ability is the impact he has on his entire team’s defense. 

Last year, the Portland Trail Blazers were an incredible 11.1 points better defensively with him on the floor than off. They also forced teams to turn over the ball 6.4% more in those minutes as well (the best on/off differential in the league in that category). 

The other area Thybulle must prove proficient in if he hopes to bid for a major role is his 3-point shot. After early career struggles with his outside game, Thybulle has steadily improved. He has converted his chances at a 37% clip over the last three seasons. 

If he can keep defenses honest and help shore up the perimeter on the other end, a best-case outcome could see Thybulle have a Smart-type year that the Lakers need. 

What is his worst-case scenario?

If the key for a successful season for Thybulle is remaining healthy, the inverse is missing time again. 

Although early indications are that he’ll enter the year ready to go, history has shown there may be a higher likelihood of follow-up incidents occurring. If they do, and he misses significant time, Thybulle could end up being a wasted roster spot. 

Beyond health concerns, there is also a scenario where he experiences some defensive slippage after two years of lengthy absence. If his superpower is diminished at all, that could drastically impact his value. 

The same could be said about his aforementioned improved 3-point stroke. 

If he suffers any type of regression or is simply seen as a non-threat by the opposition, Thybulle could tumble down the depth chart. The prime example of this is Jarred Vanderbilt’s diminished role playing under JJ Redick. 

This could especially be the case with the number of wings who will all be vying for minutes already on the roster. All of whom are younger and may be hungrier to secure a future in Los Angeles than the 29-year-old. 

What is his most likely role on the team?

The safest outcome for Thybulle is likely somewhere in the middle. 

Even if there is some slippage or games missed baked into the contract, he still possesses the highest upside to be the 3-and-D answer the team needs to surround Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. 

If he doesn’t reach that ceiling, he still likely will be able to play a similar role as he did in Portland. Whether that’s him being the steady veteran who could mentor the young wings on and off the court or being trusted to defend the opposing team’s best backcourt players, Thybulle’s floor will be comfortably high as long as he can stay on it. 

All stats courtesy of Cleaning the Glass unless otherwise stated. You can follow Alex on Bluesky at @alexregla.bsky.social

The Bounce Newsletter  | This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.

The official meteorological end of summer is approaching. I felt a crispness in the air this weekend as I stepped outside and sighed, “Ahh, yes, basketball season is coming!” We’re almost there, y’all!

Tradeback Tuesday

How a small trade led to a big star in Cleveland

Did you know that Mo Williams and Jamario Moon led to Donovan Mitchell starring for the Cleveland Cavaliers? It’s true.

Back in February 2011, the Cavs traded Williams and Moon to the Clippers for what was left of Baron Davis and a 2011 first-round pick. That pick turned out to be No. 1 in the lottery, and the Cavs landed Kyrie Irving.

Irving played for the Cavs for six seasons, helping lure LeBron James back to The Land and win the 2016 NBA championship. But Irving saw the writing on the wall. He seemed to know LeBron wasn’t going to stick around past his 2018 free agency, and he wanted to test out his newfound winning knowledge with his own team.

Before the 2017-18 season, the Cavs traded Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, a 2018 first-rounder and a 2020 second. Out of those three players, Zizic played the most for the Cavs, logging 113 games over three seasons.

Thomas was moved before the 2018 trade deadline with Channing Frye and a first for Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson.

Crowder was also moved in a massive 2018 deadline deal that moved Rodney Hood and George Hill to Cleveland.

The big part of that original haul for Kyrie was the 2018 first. It came from Brooklyn, via the Celtics. It was the eighth pick in the 2018 lottery, and the Cavs selected Collin Sexton. And that helped lead the Cavs to Mitchell:

It’s unreal that the Cavs acquired Lauri Markkanen in 2021 for Nance and a 2023 second-round pick. The Bulls received Derrick Jones Jr. and a first that became Dailyn Swan this year. The Blazers received Nance. The Cavs eventually flipped Sexton, Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three firsts and two pick swaps for Mitchell.

Funny enough, the trades of Thomas and Crowder helped the Cavs acquire players they eventually flipped to absorb Jarrett Allen’s contract in the infamous three-team James Harden trade to Brooklyn in 2021. So moving on from Williams and Moon tipped over the first domino, which led to 40 percent of Cleveland’s current starting lineup.

The moral of the story? No trade is too small

The last 24

🏀 On the agenda. The NBA’s Board of Governors is meeting in New York. Among the big-ticket items: expansion, NBA Europe and fallout from the Clippers punishment. 

🇨🇦 Canadian-bound. Speaking of the Clippers, the Kawhi-to-Toronto trade is officially official.Leonard is heading to the Raptors.

👕 Fashion forward. What are some of the best NBA uniforms that need to make a comeback?Here’s a team-by-team breakdown.

🏀 New role. Longtime Bulls forward Taj Gibson has retired — as a player, at least.He’s joining Chicago’s coaching staff.

Sole sisters

As I was watching the FIBA World Cup games last week, particularly Team USA, I was struck by the number of players wearing their own signature shoes. Captain Breanna Stewart and newcomers Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were wearing red-and-white versions of their Pumas, Nikes and Reeboks, respectively.

Clyde Frazier was the first NBA player with a signature shoe when the Puma Clyde was released in 1973. Sheryl Swoopes, the first woman with a signature shoe, released the Air Swoopes in October 1995, nearly a year and a half before the WNBA’s inaugural season.

For decades, even after Swoopes’ sneaker debut, men’s hoops shoes were most popular. Michael Jordan’s Jordan Brand shoes are perhaps considered the gold standard of hoops shoes as casual fashion. Anthony Edwards and Ja Morant probably have two of the most socially popular men’s basketball shoes out right now.

But in the last five years or so, women’s basketball shoes have emerged right alongside the popularity of the WNBA. 

Players like A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Reese and Stewart have some of the most popular hoops shoes currently. I see them at games, and not just on the court fans are clamoring for as much women’s basketball player-related merchandise as possible and wearing whatever they can get their hands on. And, of course, Fever star Clark has a signature shoe on the way.

Sport crosses fashion on a daily basis, and sneaker culture is an extension of basketball culture. Players not only want to showcase their game, they want to do it in fly sneakers. It’s been really cool to see the women having a moment.

Stretch run

As the W returns after a two-week FIBA World Cup break, I got together with The Athletic’s women’s hoops expert, Annie Costabile, to look ahead at the playoffs and awards season. This is Part 1 of our Q&A; the second part, which will look at the future of the league beyond this season, will run soon.

The WNBA regular season concludes Sept. 24, and the playoffs begin Sept. 27.

Annie, with just a few games left, the playoff field is set. What playoff team is most intriguing to you? What about them stands out?

Annie: The Minnesota Lynx are the most intriguing team to me, which is maybe not the most exciting answer given that they’ve been the No. 1 team for most of the year. But the reason I’m dialed into this storyline is because of the history that’s on the table for the Lynx. They have a chance to become the first team in league history to win five WNBA titles. Doing so with Olivia Miles, who has captivated so many with her style of play but also her aura off the court, just feels special.

That being said, I think the Lynx and Miles looked more human heading into the FIBA World Cup break. So, it’s by no means going to be an easy road to the finals.

Speaking of potential Rookie of the Year Miles, a lot of people didn’t have her in their top three, and her talent seemed to catch quite a few fans by surprise. Could you have predicted that she would be the front-runner before the season began? 

Annie: From the beginning, I was saying she should be the No. 1 pick. The way coaches and GMs were describing her IQ and court vision, plus her scoring ability and pro demeanor, I just thought that all-encompassing skill set is so rare. However, I did NOT think she would be in the MVP conversation. I did not think she would have the Lynx atop the league standings without reigning MVP contender Napheesa Collier. She has exceeded all expectations.

We all know once the postseason begins, anything can happen. What player can be the sleeper/X factor on the playoff teams?

Annie: Hmm, good question. I think there are a lot of different names I could use to answer this question, but the one that’s immediately jumping out is Leonie Fiebich. The New York Liberty have had a lackluster season. They came into the year with title expectations and are instead tied for sixth in the league standings with just four games remaining in the regular season.

But when they’re at their best, Fiebich is at her best. We saw that in their game against the Indiana Fever on Aug. 22. I still think the Liberty can make a deep playoff run. Fiebich will have a big hand in it if they do.

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell has helped lead the franchise to its best year in more than a decade. Mitchell leads the Fever in scoring, averaging 25 points along with 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals. She signed a one-year, $1.4 million supermax ahead of the 2026 season. Do you see Mitchell re-signing with the Fever or going somewhere else next year?

Annie: Kelsey has always been super forthcoming about the importance of playing close to family. Hers is Cincinnati, which is less than two hours from Indianapolis. But at the end of the day, money talks, and the Fever are going to have a lot to figure out with the accelerators to Clark’s contract under the WNBA’s new EPIC provision. Aliyah Boston is set to receive the supermax in 2027, tightening the Fever’s pockets even further.

I don’t say any of that to say the Fever can’t pay Mitchell; they’re just going to have to do some cap gymnastics to make it all work. 

All of that to say, it’s too early for me to speculate. My gut keeps flip-flopping between the Fever figuring it out and Mitchell leaving because they can’t.

Reigning league MVP A’ja Wilson withdrew from the Team USA World Cup squad just days ahead of the competition for rest. With the news came much conversation about Wilson and her value and contributions to both the national team and her own team, the Las Vegas Aces. What are the chances Wilson repeats for a history-making fifth MVP?

Annie: I think voter fatigue is a real thing, and this year there is a pool of candidates that have made the conversation all the more interesting. But none of them are as impactful on both ends of the floor as A’ja. In fact, the one player who makes the best argument for being the best all-around player is Stewart, and she’s largely faded from the conversation because of what players like Miles, Clark and Mitchell are doing on offense.

The last four games of the regular season stand to impact the final vote. As of now, my vote belongs to Wilson, but I’m not ready to say it’s final.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

NBA, WNBA, The Bounce

2026 The Athletic Media Company

Paul George addresses negative reaction to Jaylen Brown trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Paul George is well aware of how Boston Celtics fans feel about him essentially replacing Jaylen Brown as a result of the team’s shocking offseason trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.

On July 1, the NBA world was stunned as the C’s shipped Brown to their storied rival in exchange for George, two first-round draft picks, and two second-round picks. Boston’s move was heavily scrutinized and considered lopsided in Philly’s favor, largely because of George’s contract ($52.9M in 2026-27, $56.6M player option for 2027-28) and age (36). George has also missed significant time over the last few seasons due to injuries.

As for Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP became one of Boston’s most beloved athletes during his 10 years in the city. He was a perennial All-Star for the C’s and a pillar in the community with numerous charitable contributions, including his 7uice Foundation.

The Celtics’ decision to part ways with Brown upset many within the fanbase. On Tuesday, George empathized with those who reacted negatively to the deal.

“Listen, I understand the circumstances. I understand how huge JB was not only for the organization, but here in the city,” George said during his introductory press conference with Boston. ” So, I didn’t take it personal. To be honest, they should have a relationship emotionally to that trade. But my job here is to kind of come into a great opportunity for me. Obviously, the last two years have been rough just with injuries. But for myself personally, I feel great again. I feel like I’ve turned that corner of dealing with injuries and now, kind of reestablishing myself from a physical standpoint again. And with that, I can carry it over to the court.

“Again, no personal feelings towards the initial — how it (was) received here in Boston. To be honest, it’s fair, but just one foot in front of the other. Hopefully, with how we start this year, they understand this is a new team and something that they can be proud of.”

George added that while he isn’t necessarily trying to replace Brown, he believes he still can play a key role on a championship-caliber team.

“It’s fair to live with that emotion, given what JB stood for and what he brought, and the history. He was a part of raising a banner and winning a championship here,” he said.

“But it’s a new group, a new opportunity. I think you’re getting someone that’s ready to not fill the shoes or fill the void of JB, but I think from a personal standpoint, I think I can come in and kind of still keep us in that contention and give us a chance to win.”

A nine-time All-Star, George showed upon returning to the Sixers last season that he still has something left in the tank. He averaged 21.9 points in 10 regular-season games after rejoining Philly in March, then torched the Celtics from 3-point range (22-40) in their first-round playoff series. He’s still a legitimate scoring threat despite his age.

That said, George’s knows his role with the new-look C’s. He’ll look to complement Jayson Tatum, who will be counted on to play at an MVP level in his first full season since his Achilles tear.

“We have a superstar and that’s JT,” George said. “I’m not here to not necessarily steal the shine or try to reinvent who I am. I’m here to help JT, and he’s the guy. I’ve played alongside another superstar wing, and we coexisted beautifully.”

George was referring to his four seasons spent alongside Kawhi Leonard on the Los Angeles Clippers. During that time, the duo made one Western Conference Finals appearance (2020-21).

Even without Brown, the Celtics will have bigger aspirations this upcoming season. They’re still considered a favorite in the Eastern Conference, though the loaded Sixers will remain a serious threat after knocking them out in the first round.

Watch George’s full press conference below:

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Chad Baker-Mazara via his representation.

Former Southern California men's basketball guard Chad Baker-Mazara has filed a lawsuit against USC and coach Eric Musselman regarding his abrupt and bizarre exit from the program.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Sept. 14 and first reported by the California Post, alleges Musselman removed Baker-Mazara from the team after the Trojans were eliminated from NCAA tournament contention to avoid paying the remainder of his NIL contract.

The complaint also alleges Musselman directed racially charged remarks at Baker-Mazara following a Feb. 28 loss to Nebraska, the fifth of eight straight losses to end the season.

REQUIRED READING: From USC’s leading scorer to gone overnight. Chad Baker-Mazara tells his side of story

Baker-Mazara is suing for breach of contract, conversion and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.

"The decision to remove the student-athlete from the men's basketball roster was based on a number of considerations, none having to do with race. We look forward to defeating this action in court," a USC spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.

The lawsuit alleges USC has not paid the remainder of the promised NIL earnings. Baker-Mazara claims the Trojans terminated his NIL agreements with the program the day after he was removed from the roster, stating he had violated a "morals clause."

"I gave everything I had to USC. I played through injuries, showed up for my teammates every day, and honored my commitments. Filing this lawsuit was not an easy decision, but I believe it is important to stand up for what you were promised and what you are owed," Baker-Mazara said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports through a representative.

"I am proud of what I accomplished throughout my college career, and I remained focused on my professional basketball career, my family, and the opportunities ahead. I look forward to letting the fact speak for themselves through the legal process."

Baker-Mazara, who transferred from Auburn to USC before the 2025-26 season, sustained an injury while blocking a shot in the opening minutes of the second half against Nebraska on Feb. 28. That was his final play and game in a Trojans uniform: USC announced Baker-Mazara was no longer with the team the following day.

"My body was telling me, 'No, buddy. As bad as you want to play, it’s a no-go,'" Baker-Mazara told USA TODAY Sports' Andres Soto in June.

Per The Athletic, the lawsuit claims USC's NIL collective told Baker-Mazara’s representatives on Feb. 13 — two weeks before he was kicked off the team — that the originally missed February payment would be forthcoming. Then, on Feb. 24, before USC's crosstown rivalry game vs. UCLA, Baker-Mazara’s representatives were told the cutoff date to process the February NIL payment had passed and that it would be included with the March one.

Baker-Mazara went undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft. He averaged 18.5 points and shot 44.4% from the field in 26 games last season for the Trojans.

REQUIRED READING: Former Purdue basketball star Trey Kaufman-Renn can return to college for sixth season

The lawsuit also touches on a locker room incident after the Trojans' loss to the Cornhuskers in which Baker-Mazara claimed Musselman "lost his mind." It states that, after Baker-Mazara attempted to address his teammates in the locker room, Musselman erupted and said, "You shut the (expletive) up! You are one of the worst teammates anyone can ever have!"

Per the California Post, Baker-Mazara asked Musselman if he wanted him to leave as he did not "understand this animosity." Musselman's response to that, according to the lawsuit, was: "Yes, leave! Go back to the (expletive) Dominican Republic! Nobody wants you here!! (Expletive) you!"

"The words 'Go back to the (expletive) Dominican Republic' are generally understood by persons of color in the United States originating from the Dominican Republic — and were in fact taken by Baker-Mazara — to be racist and discriminatory, akin to telling an African-American to ‘go back to Africa,'" the lawsuit stated, per The California Post.

"Coach Musselman’s outburst was a direct attack on Baker-Mazara’s national origin and Dominican heritage, made from a position of authority and power by the head coach of the team, in front of all of Baker-Mazara’s teammates. The tirade was unprovoked, vicious, and discriminatory."

REQUIRED READING: Protect College Sports Act nears Senate vote. Why not everyone wants it passed

Speaking to USA TODAY Sports in that exclusive interview in June, Baker-Mazara said he was unable to comment on the specifics of the locker room discussion due to pending litigation. Former Trojans guard Ryan Cornish corroborated USC forward Terrance Williams II's retelling of events to USA TODAY Sports, saying "people's emotions flared up" but that it never went beyond the normal emotions that come with playing the game.

"It was all healthy though," Williams told USA TODAY Sports. "It wasn’t nothing negative."

Baker-Mazara told USA TODAY Sports he still has not heard from Musselman since the day he was removed from the team.

"It’s really hurtful. Because I thought I had a strong enough relationship that we could just sit down and talk about anything. At least that’s what it was throughout the whole year," Baker-Mazara told USA TODAY Sports. "... Me and him didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but at the end of the day, I feel like we had a strong enough relationship, or nothing bad enough happened, to where I should’ve been dismissed from the team."

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chad Baker-Mazara alleges Eric Musselman racist 'tirade,' unpaid NIL from USC in lawsuit

Nike unveils new NBA ‘Specter' uniforms for historic franchises: See them here originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Another year, another new set of NBA uniforms.

Nike and the NBA unveiled a fresh batch of jerseys for the upcoming 2026-27 season, plus a collection of merchandise that went on sale Tuesday.

The new “Specter” threads will be for eight of the league’s most historic franchises. They’ll be worn for select games along with the usual Association, Icon, Statement and City editions.

The teams with new uniforms include the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.

Here’s a look at each jersey, which were shown off at the Nike “End of Ordinary” Fashion Show:

Boston Celtics

Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

Los Angeles Lakers

Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

Golden State Warriors

Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

New York Knicks

Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

Philadelphia 76ers

Sacramento Kings

Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

Detroit Pistons

Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

Atlanta Hawks

Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images

As you might have seen, a little while back, we put out a call for new writers. Well, we’re thrilled to finally be able to introduce you to them all. And what better way to do so than by giving them the mic, err, floor, err…

Enjoy their wordsmithery!

---

Nate O.

Hey folks! I’m Nate, and we previously may have talked on here while I was “Knuckles”. Definitely excited to keep the conversations going with our corner of the Bucks and NBA fanbase here at Brew Hoop! I grew up in the Milwaukee area and have been an avid Bucks and Brewers fan my whole life. I can remember going to watch both teams with my dad and brother and family, and then eventually my friends and now my wife, whom I was able to convert to both fandoms. My love of the Bucks runs deep: the Ray Allen trade still stings, l blast out “FEAR THE DEER” texts like its 2010, (a bigger deal back when the family plan came with 100 texts per month) and like many of you steadily rode the highs of the last decade and are excited/anxious/intrigued to see what comes next. I will aim to cover the team with my love of Milwaukee sports in mind and really cannot wait to kick the season off! Excited to enjoy another season of Bucks basketball and have the opportunity to do so here at Brew Hoop with Jack, Zac, the new writers, and all of you!

Editor’s note: Technically, you’ve already been introduced to Nate—but you might’ve had your beer goggles on and need the “next day” reminder.

Aiden Fermaner

Hey Bucks fans! My name is Aiden, and I’m super excited to be joining the Brew Hoop team. Basketball has been my whole life for as long as I can remember, and the Bucks have been at the centre of it since 2014. I’m from Melbourne, Australia and recently started my own personal blog, bucksdownunder.com. I wanted to use my blog to connect with other Bucks fans around the world, and at the same time I also had the opportunity to join Brew Hoop. I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity and to be a part of this amazing community!

Owen Jury

What’s going on, Bucks fans! New to the staff over here at Brew Hoop, but in no way am I new to the Bucks fandom. I’ve been a Wisconsin sports fan for my entire life, and I attribute Brandon Knight of all people to sparking my love for basketball and the Bucks specifically. The first-ever sports game I went to happened to be one in which Knight hit a go-ahead shot at the end of regulation. Fast forward to today, and I have committed myself to covering and analyzing the sport of basketball. My roots lie within my personal Substack that I started to cover the NBA Draft, which helped land me a gig at a Mizzou (the school I attend) school newspaper covering men’s basketball. From there, I was able to make some connections and find my way onto the Sports Illustrated staff covering the Washington Wizards, which, as I’m sure you could imagine, was a riveting eight-month experience. Throughout that entire process, I stayed up to date covering the draft, which in turn landed me a gig at the Draftstack and eventually No Ceilings. Somewhere along the way, I found myself interviewing for Badger of Honor as well, covering all things Wisconsin sports—which has been nothing short of a great time. Now, as part of the crew over here, I can flash my fandom for my favorite team, hopefully providing some insight along the way. Super excited to get things moving!

Dax Ruplinger

What’s up, Bucks faithful! I’m beyond excited to be joining the Brew Hoop staff in covering our young but promising Bucks squad! Growing up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I was born into the Packer family. However, my Bucks fandom also began at a young age. At nine years old, I watched the Bucks select a young Blue Devil named Jabari Parker, and the rest was history. While Jabari didn’t become the future I’d dreamed of (there’s still time, I swear), I suppose the 2021 Finals did enough to keep me around. Jokes aside, I can’t wait to kick off my rookie season with Brew Hoop’s vets and new writers! Hopefully, Brayden Burries, Nate Ament and I can provide the future for the Bucks community that Jabari sadly couldn’t.

---

Please join us in welcoming our new staff! We’re really looking forward to reading their work, which you’ll start seeing as part of the Ranking the Roster series. Stay tuned.

As this series has tackled, the Sixers did pretty well on the two-way market in the 2025 offseason. Jabari Walker, along with Dominick Barlow, was picked up and eventually given a standard contract by the Sixers. Last season Walker played 64 games and started six of them. He averaged 11 minutes a game and put up 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.

He shot 45% from the field and 33% from three on 1.5 attempts per game. The highlight of his season was a 22-point outburst against the Utah Jazz in early March. Back under contract for another year in Philadelphia, Walker finds himself in a similar situation to last season and that is on the fringes of the rotation.

Nagging injuries to forwards like Paul George and Trendon Watford helped keep Walker steadily in the mix, even though he didn’t feel like he was the most trusted reserve by Nick Nurse. Walker’s best skill is one that’s been sorely needed on this team for several years now: defensive rebounding.

Walker has always posted a strong rebounding rate on that end of the floor and last year was no different as he posted a defensive rebounding rate at 32.5%. For as splashy of an offseason as the Sixers had, the only big they brought in, Ariel Hukporti, had a poor rebounding season in his limited time last year. It’s always good to have someone on the bench who can just grab a board.

That impact on the offensive glass isn’t felt quite as much, which is unfortunate, but Walker’s 3.3% offensive rebounding rate still puts him the 66th percentile across the league. He isn’t the fleetest of foot, which can make it tough to find the right spot defensively. At 6-foot-10, he can only challenge big centers so much vertically, and he can have trouble staying with certain forwards.

With that being said, Walker’s been a capable innings eater at times who is also now someone who can occasionally step out and hit an open three. Neither the volume or percentage are anything to write home about, but his big game against the Jazz, as well his 38.9% three-point percentage in his final season in Portland, show proof of concept. His shot is something the team does believe in and encourages him to keep shooting. He at least gives you the idea of a stretch-five in certain matchups, another look the Sixers haven’t had a ton of in the Joel Embiid era.

Walker will also again coming into this season motivated to keep his spot. On top the perpetual drive to earn the next contract, only $250,000 of Walker’s $2.5 million dollar salary is guaranteed before Jan. 15. The Sixers of course have an open roster spot, but have to wait until December to be able to use it while not going over the first apron.

If, for some reason, the Sixers really need to sign someone before then, Walker’s non-guaranteed deal is the only contract that could make that work. Knock on wood, but something would have to go really, really terrible for the Sixers to feel that desperate just to clear up another veteran’s minimum spot.

The Sixers have also already taken measures to be able to retain Walker while adding the veterans they did bring in this summer. The team attached a second-round draft pick to be able to trade Johni Broome away, allowing the Sixers to sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. That felt like a pretty clear message that the Sixers do value Walker for the time being.

These additions, especially now that Dean Wade will be coming off the bench, may have pushed Walker even further down on the depth chart. At the same time, there are just as many concerns about the playability of both true backup centers on the roster in Hukporti and Adem Bona. As rim-running pogo sticks, they are certainly a different look. Once again this season, Walker’s minutes may not come consistently, but he should get some chances to earn them.

Using the latest release in the NBA2K franchise to simulate Mavericks Year Two scenarios for Cooper Flagg? It can get weird. And I’m talking Nathan Fielder movie trailer — compelling weird.

We all know how Flagg’s rookie year went — incredible for the individual, slow-moving car crash for the team.

With NBA 2K27 finally out, it seemed like a good time to do some projections on what comes next. Originally, I was going to do a five-year projection — until Cooper’s Year 2 fully pulled me in, heart first.

First off: I didn’t alter any settings or change anything that would make the Mavericks any better than what NBA 2K created them to be. No trades. No roster moves. Nothing. I let the computer cook.

I hit “Sim Regular Season” and waited for the first stop.

The NBA Cup was over — and guess who won?

That’s right, Mavs fans. Dallas hangs its first Cup banner in this simulation.

And who might be the Cup MVP, you ask?

Ooof. Those 3-point numbers.

But I can’t deny the results.

As I continued the sim, I had to deny somewhere between 25 and 30 trade offers for Kyrie Irving, but especially with the early success, I felt like we had to let the team ride it out. No meddling. No panic. We were staying the course.

Next stop: the All-Star Game.

I located Cooper in the Rising Stars Game, where he dropped 25 points, but he didn’t make the actual All-Star Game. Which, honestly, reminded me of everything I find dumb about the All-Star Game in the first place.

So I kept simming.

I noticed the wins were beginning to pile up, but I wanted to let the season play out before checking the standings.

And then, at the end of the regular season, there the little Mavericks sat:

The No. 2 seed in the West.

No end-of-season awards for Flagg, but Naji Marshall was named Sixth Man of the Year. Flagg, meanwhile, averaged a solid 22 points per game and pushed his 3-point percentage up to 35% — respectable considering he was launching eight attempts from deep per game.

Then came the playoffs.

First matchup: the Denver Nuggets.

And somehow — amazingly — the Mavericks pulled it out in seven games.

A successful season. I would have taken that result 10 out of 10 times.

But Round 2 was against our dear friends, the San Antonio Cowboy Accessories.

I braced myself for the inevitable disappointment.

Instead, the Mavs beat them in six.

At this point, I started to really believe.

I started imagining what I would do if this were happening in real life. Would I survive the glee? Would my body be physically capable of processing this much unexpected joy?

And then came the question I probably shouldn’t have allowed myself to ask:

Could my digital Mavericks make it to the Fake NBA Finals?

The Western Conference Finals wasn’t even against the Thunder. They had already been bounced in Round 2.

Instead, it was the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And suddenly, this wasn’t just a fun little NBA 2K experiment anymore.

So let me ask: Would you consider this a successful season?

A No. 2 seed in the West. A first-ever NBA Cup. Cooper averaging 22 points a game and shooting 35% from three. A playoff series win over Denver. Beating the Spurs in six. Naji Marshall winning Sixth Man of the Year.

At what point does this go beyond “successful” and into “wildest dreams” territory? The playoff berth? The first-round win?

But for now, the Mavericks were staring down the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, with the Thunder already gone. Ultimately, the Mavs bowed out in five games after Digital Flagg picked up an injury in Game 2 of the Fake WCF.

If this happened in real life — if Cooper’s second season actually played out this way — what would you do?

Would you be thrilled and call the season a massive success regardless of what happens next? Would you start believing this team is actually ready to contend? Or would you be sitting there, like me, thinking, wait a minute… are we really two wins away from the NBA Finals?

Because at this point, I wasn’t simulating the rest of the season to see what happened.

I was simulating because I needed to know. And because this offseason will not end.

After being drafted and stashed, then going on to win MVP and, for the second year in a row, the Top Prospect Award in Serbia’s Adriatic League, the Milwaukee Bucks committed to Bogoljub Markovic early this offseason, signing him to a four-year, $9.3m rookie contract. 

The timing was both right and wrong. Markovic does have talent (more on that in a moment), plays a position of need, and, at just 21 years old, fits the Bucks’ current timeline. So, if he’s ever going to become an NBA player, now, while the Bucks have no pressure to win, is the time to find out. On the other hand, signing Markovic so early in the offseason undoubtedly contributed to the Bucks’ roster logjam, leaving them in the position they are now, needing to trim two players without many appealing pathways to do so. In hindsight, waiting until after his Summer League evaluation would’ve retained at least some roster flexibility. But I digress; Markovic is here—at least for now. 

In Summer League, Markovic put up decent counting stats: 8.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.2 SPG, 1.0 BPG, and 1.2 TPG, to go along with .381/.364/.667 shooting splits. He had some moments too, including a 16-point, eight-rebound showing against the Phoenix Suns. But he also went MIA for stretches—or even entire games, like the 1/9 stinker against the Philadelphia 76ers to wrap up SL play. In the end, his play earned him a C- on our official Summer League report card.

Offensively, Markovic has some chops. He’s a gifted passer who can create from the high and low post and, under the right circumstances, even off the dribble. He’s more explosive than you’d think too—no, I’m not going to call his athleticism “sneaky”—able to quickly flush home dunks. He’s also a capable shooter, though he needs to improve his consistency to become a legitimate floor-spacing big in the NBA. This, it seems, is his most likely avenue to a real NBA role. 

On the defensive end, it’s a different story. If Markovic was a cricket bat, he’d be applauded for his defensive stroke play—how vertical he is. Unfortunately, he’s a basketballer and he’s just far too upright as a defender to make much of an impact. Like a cricket bat, he’s also still far too thin and narrow, meaning he’s too easily pushed around. He’ll get some boards and blocks by nature of his length, but he’s no deterrent at the rim and gives up far too many second chance opportunities. Put it this way, Markovic is strictly a four and should only ever see minutes at the five in blowouts. 

Looking ahead, a successful season for Markovic would be one in which he hits the gym, hard, and polishes the stroke enough to earn semi-consistent court time; 40 games at about 10 minutes per would mean he’s made significant strides. Anything more would be a bonus. 

---

With Markovic snicking one to slips and on his way back to the changerooms, which Buck will be next to join him?

Editor’s Note: Today is a perfect day to announce the debut of another one of Canis’ very own, JetAllen! Jet Helmbrecht is introducing a series of articles called the “What If” Wolves, beginning all the way back with the beginning. You are in for a treat!

You can also say hello to Jet on BlueSky @coachjet!

Volume One: Let’s Begin

$32.5 million dollars.

That was the purchase price of an NBA expansion team in 1987.

Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson put some dough together to bring a pro basketball team back to Minnesota. We all know the story of the Minneapolis Lakers leaving town for greener pastures in Los Angeles way back in 1960. Some people even know about the Muskies and Pipers that played in the ABA. But finally, thanks to “Harv and Marv”, the NBA would be coming back to Minnesota.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were born.

For those of you who don’t know, the Minnesota Timberwolves, or the Wolves, or the T-Wolves (please don’t use this one) have not always been the cream of the NBA crop. They’ve been teams that were not that talented, with poor decision-making, and flat-out illegal transactions by the front office that have kept the Wolves near the bottom of the standings for most of the team’s history.

I am going to break some of these issues down and offer an alternative history. Basically, this is what I would have done instead. Obviously, almost every instance of me changing history would have led to a championship… Who are you to doubt me?

This series is purely for entertainment purposes. Try not to take things too seriously, and we should have some fun. With that being said, let’s get started with the creation of the team and the first season.

Franchise Creation

Like I stated before, Harv and Marv, the original owners of the Timberwolves, put up $32.5 million dollars to purchase an expansion team. Considering what the NBA expansion fee is today ($7-10 billion), this was a bargain.

Harv and Marv would still need to find a permanent place to play, hire front office staff, and field a team. But there were more pressing items that needed to be dealt with, namely, finding a team name.

The “Minnesota NBA Team” decided that they would leave the naming up to the great people of Minnesota. I’m sure you can guess how that went. A “Name the Team” contest was sent out to the masses. 6,076 entries came back with 1,284 different names. There was a group of current NBA team names submitted. The Cavaliers (Cleveland), Kings (Sacramento), Hawks (Atlanta), Mavericks (Dallas), Pacers (Indiana), Warriors (Golden State), Nets (New Jersey at the time), Bucks (Milwaukee), and of course the Lakers (Los Angeles).

None of these names would be selected or approved by the NBA, even though the Lakers should be in Minnesota. I’ve never even heard of a lake in Los Angeles, outside of an Andrew Garfield movie.

Anyways, a slew of cold-weather nicknames were submitted, like the Frost, the Chill, Tornadoes, the Blizzard, the Snowdrift, and the Abominable Snowmen. I’ve never been a fan of the non-plural nicknames or team names that, to me, are nonsense. Team names like the Miami HEAT, Orlando Magic, and especially (I know I will get hate for this) the Minnesota Wild.

What the hell is a “a Wild”?

There were Minnesota state-specific mascot names like the Loons (which would become the name of the Minnesota Major League Soccer team), Mallards, Mosquitoes (of course), Gnats, Bullheads, Walleyes, Minnows, Oofdahs (or Uffdas depending on your Scandinavian heritage), and my favorite, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (now a minor league baseball team).

All the entries were cut down to the two most popular, the Timberwolves and Polars. These names were then sent to the 842 city councils throughout Minnesota for their votes. The Timberwolves were the runaway winner (again, what is “a Polar”?).

With the name selected, a logo and uniforms would be next. Mark Thompson designed the first logo: a majestic wolf looking off into the distance, which we now refer to as “Old Shep”. What is he looking at? Maybe prey of some kind. Maybe he is looking at a Wild or a Polar. It’s really not important; this logo is classic and still my preferred logo out of all that the team has had.

The Timberwolves made a deal to play their inaugural season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. 10-year-old me thought this was the most magical place in the entire world (I didn’t get out much back then). This was a smart choice for many reasons.

First, the dome was awesome. I remember the first time I went to the dome to see a Minnesota Vikings game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The atmosphere was electric; the Vikings won, Boomer Esiason got booed, and when we left, I got expelled from the building by a huge gust of wind that always happened when exiting the Metrodome (Factor in that I was maybe 50 pounds at the time… I flew).

No matter if you were prepared for the wind or not, it always took you by surprise.

The dome was huge as well. Somehow, the Timberwolves set an NBA record for single-season attendance in their first year. 1,072,572 people attended Wolves games that year. The only negative of holding games at the dome was the men’s bathroom trough. If you don’t know what that is, basically a giant urinal that a bunch of guys use at the same time.

Think of what a horse drinks water from. Now, instead of horses, imagine dudes expelling all the beer that they drank while cheering on their favorite team. Even worse, now picture me standing maybe at 3 feet tall, and where my eye line would have been while trying to go to the bathroom. Get rid of those troughs, and we are good to go.

I read once that those troughs were auctioned off. One of the troughs was sold for $375! What are you going to do with that thing?

Former University of Minnesota Coach Bill Musselman was named the first Head Coach for the Timberwolves. Musselman may have seemed to some as a hometown discount type of pick, but he had some recent success that made him a decent candidate. He left the University of Minnesota with a .683 winning percentage, including a Big Ten Championship in 1972.

The 1972 team included future NBA players Jim Brewer and Ron Behagen, and, most bafflingly, Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who averaged 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Before being named Head Coach of the Timberwolves, Musselman won four straight titles in the Continental Basketball Association (Tampa Bay Thrillers twice, Rapid City Thrillers, and the Albany Patroons).

The Wolves’ new coach shared personnel decisions with Director of Player Personnel Bill McKinney and CEO Bob Stein.

So, it is no coincidence that several of the Albany Patroons players, including Tony Campbell, Sidney Lowe, Tod Murphy, and Scott Brooks, played for the early Timberwolves teams. We’ll keep them in place, why not?

The First Drafts and Free Agency

Because the Timberwolves were/are an expansion team, they have zero players at this point in time. The Wolves and the Orlando Magic, being the other expansion team in 1989, would take turns selecting up to 12 players from an existing pool of NBA players.

Only one player could be selected from an existing team, and each team had several players that were “protected” and could not be selected.

So, no Michael Jordan on the Wolves.

There was a coin toss to see which team would select first in the expansion draft or have the higher pick in the regular NBA Draft. The Magic won the coin toss and elected to have the first pick in the Expansion Draft, allowing the Timberwolves to have the higher draft pick in the NBA Draft (#10 overall).

Orlando chose power forward Sidney Green from the New York Knicks. The Timberwolves, with their first selection, made their first front office blunder.

The Wolves drafted power forward Rick Mahorn from the Detroit Pistons. Great pick, right? Mahorn was a quality role player with trade value and on-court strengths. Wrong! Mahorn refused to go to the Timberwolves.

There are no take-backs in the draft, so the Wolves end up trading Mahorn to the Philadelphia 76ers for a first-round draft pick (Don’t get excited. The pick was used on Gerald Glass.) and two second-round picks. A whole lot of nothing. The rest of the draft wasn’t much better. Here are the Timberwolves selections:

1. Rick Mahorn PF Detroit Pistons
2. Tyrone Corbin SF Phoenix Suns
3. Steve Johnson C Portland Trailblazers
4. Brad Lohaus PF/C Sacramento Kings
5. David Rivers PG LA Lakers
6. Mark Davis SF Milwaukee Bucks
7. Scott Roth SF San Antonio Spurs
8. Shelton Jones PF Philadelphia 76ers
9. Eric White SF LA Clippers
10. Maurice Martin SG Denver Nuggets
11. Gunther Behnke C Cleveland Cavaliers

Any names ring a bell? Maybe three? Yeah, it’s not good. Mahorn refused to play for an expansion team. Mark Davis was selected only because the Bucks gave the Wolves a second-round pick to take him off their books. Only four of the players selected played for the Wolves that first year, and only Ty Corbin played for more than one season for the team. Hell, Gunther Behnke never even played for one second in the NBA!

There were a bunch of players who were left unprotected who could have been drafted. Now I know that contract/salary concerns may have kept these players from being selected, but these are the picks I would have made for the “What If” Wolves:

1. Tyrone Corbin SF Phoenix Suns
2. Terry Catledge PF Washington Bullets
3. Scott Skiles PG Indiana Pacers
4. Tony Campbell SG/SF LA Lakers
5. Jerome Lane PF Denver Nuggets
6. Brad Lohaus PF/C Sacramento Kings
7. Larry Krystkowiak PF/C Milwaukee Bucks
8. Dennis Johnson PG Boston Celtics
9. Vinnie Johnson SG/PG Detroit Pistons
10. David Wingate SF/SG Philadelphia 76ers
11. Caldwell Jones C/PF Portland Trailblazers
12. No pick. This guy wasn’t going to play anyways.

So here is my thinking: try to at least draft players that may want to play for the team (thanks for nothing, Mahorn), milk as much talent out of the older players as possible, and draft players that can maybe play a bit.

The toughest decision was drafting Tyrone Corbin instead of Spud Webb. Spud Webb was my favorite player growing up because I was always the shortest kid in my class. I thought that if Spud could dunk at his height (5’7”), I should be able to as well when I grew up (5’8”).

I did manage to dunk (Twice!), but I had to catch the ball off the bounce and kind of smoosh it into the hoop. It wasn’t pretty, but I say it counts. Expansion draft complete! We have 80% of our roster set.

For the NBA Draft, the Timberwolves started a long tradition of messing up royally with their first pick at 10th overall.

Minnesota also had two picks in the second round, the 34^th and 38^th overall picks. When this draft took place, I was 12 years old. Not really the basketball nerd that I would become. But even in my early fandom, I knew who I wanted the Timberwolves to draft: Tim Hardaway.

The only reason why I wanted them to draft Hardaway was due to a short clip that discussed his signature move, the “UTEP Two-Step”. The UTEPTS (acronyms were long back then) was a simple but very effective crossover move that allowed Hardaway easy access to the bucket. That was the only reason I wanted the Wolves to draft him.

Seriously, the only reason.

When Minnesota instead selected Pooh Richardson out of UCLA, this 12-year-old GM was ticked. How could the Timberwolves betray me already? At the time, it really wasn’t that big of a deal, but I do remember a local paper headline that read “Who is Pooh?” or something along those lines.

Tim Hardaway even thought that he would go to the Wolves at 10. Hardaway started to fall a bit and was eventually selected by the Golden State Warriors. But why the slip in the draft? Well, Golden State Head Coach Don Nelson was telling the other teams ahead of the Warriors that Hardaway had bum knees and would most likely be out of the league in four years.

Sneaky coach.

Tim Hardaway would go on to be a multiple-time NBA All-Star, Olympic medalist, and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. I should have been named the GM at 12.

After Pooh Richardson at 10, the Wolves drafted center Gary Leonard from Missouri at pick 34 and wing Doug West from Villanova at pick 38. Leonard would only play a total of 31 games in the NBA. However, Doug West was one of the fan-favorite players on the early Timberwolves teams. He played 12 seasons in the NBA, nine of them with the Wolves.

West was a hard worker, a decent dunker, and didn’t have much of a jump shot. Fun guy to watch. I hope this won’t sound like slander.

So, who did the Timberwolves miss out on? Well, All-Stars like Shawn Kemp, Mookie Blaylock, Dana Barros, Cliff Robinson (RIP), B.J. Armstrong, and Vlade Divac were all selected later on.

The “What if” Wolves should have drafted Tim Hardaway at #10. Easy choice for me. The second round is where we get a bit tricky. I would try to package picks 34 and 38 to try to move up for pick 26 from the Lakers. I think that would have been good enough value for the Los Angeles to accept that trade.

Besides, they stole our team back in 1960; they owe us.

With the 26^th pick, I would take Vlade Divac, same as what the Lakers did. The real reason to draft Divac is to trade him down the line to the Charlotte Hornets for the first-round draft pick that became Kobe Bryant, but he’ll be a decent center in the meantime.

The rest of the roster was filled out by adding some key players through free agency. The Wolves were able to agree to contracts with forwards Sam Mitchell, Tony Campbell, Tod Murphy, and Donald Royal, with point guard Sidney Lowe.

Here was the first roster for the Minnesota T-IF-berwolves:

PG	SG	SF	PF	C
Pooh Richardson	Tony Campbell	Tyrone Corbin	Sam Mitchell	Tod Murphy
Sidney Lowe	Doug West	Scott Roth	Brad Lohaus	Randy Breuer
		Donald Royal	Brad Sellers	Gary Leonard
		Adrian Branch		Steve Johnson

Tony Campbell led the team by scoring 23.2 points per game. Forward Tyrone Corbin led in rebounds at 7.4 per game, and the rookie Pooh Richardson led the team with 6.8 assists per game.

Overall, the team finished dead last in points per game with 95.2, second worst defense in the league, giving up 99.4 points per game. Not exactly world beaters. A decent start? Maybe, but most likely not.

Based on my alternate timeline, the Timberwolves would have drafted a future Hall of Fame player and a solid piece we can trade later. Plus, the fans would have been able to watch Vinnie Johnson cook off the bench, watch the last games of Dennis Johnson’s great career, and witness the team miss a lot of threes (The real Wolves shot 73 for 294 on 3-point shots, 24.8%!).

PG	SG	SF	PF	C
Tim Hardaway	Tony Campbell	Tyrone Corbin	Terry Catledge	Vlade Divac
Scott Skiles	Vinnie Johnson	David Wingate	Jerome Lane	Brad Lohaus
Dennis Johnson			Larry Krystkowiak	Caldwell Jones

The actual Timberwolves finished with a record of 22-60. My “What If” Wolves could have been 40-42, at least I think so.

Maybe it’s ridiculous to use my one pass to go back in time to fix the least consequential era in Wolves history, but that’s not important. Everyone has something they want to change in this franchise’s history, from the Steph Curry draft in 2009, to the idiotic abandonment of Chauncey Billups in 2002.

Me? I just think this whole expansion business was a missed opportunity.

Suns’ fans have been fortunate to enjoy a great history of radio and television coverage. For the last 25 years, Kevin Ray has built his chapter of this legacy with the TV crew and now starts his tenth year as our eyes and ears during games.

In a video interview Friday, I asked him a range of questions about his best memories, how they prepare for the season and individual broadcasts, that day’s breaking Mark Williams news, this year’s team, and yes, even the “BoomRoom”, his patented signature call for special dunks. For what it’s worth, he’s an even “better dude” in person than what you already see on television. Responsive, thorough, willing to spend the time, and sending more thoughts back that evening. Enjoy his stories below.

Broadcasting Memories and Process

There’s been a lot of high points on the court. But what’s one that’s special to you that’s maybe not the obvious one?

Kevin Ray: Oh, there’s a handful, aside from that magical run to the Finals. Getting to call Booker’s scoring mark a few years ago in Portland certainly sits right up there at the top for me as a broadcaster, on any sport or any team, when you have those moments, those milestone and historical moments, it’s something that we all aspire to be a part of.

Unfortunately, on the local TV side, we don’t get to do playoff basketball anymore. So those kinds of moments become even more significant because, and we’ve talked about this in the industry for a number of years now, it is the one true downside of doing local TV.  You don’t get a chance to do the biggest games and potentially call the biggest moments in a franchise’s history. When those kinds of moments and situations come up and develop, you really lean into them more so than ever before.

Getting to call that game with Book, setting the scoring mark. Also, his game-winner in the Bubble will certainly stand out for a number of reasons. One, just because of what it meant for the team, but the unique situation that we were in: broadcasting remotely, and we were doing the games in as unique a setup, and every team experienced it.

But we were in the old Suns Athletic Club, which is just there adjacent to the arena. We had multiple kinds of broadcast setups with the pregame setup. EJ and I were calling basically from, we kind of laughed, like a janitor’s closet. They were trying to set it up and soundproof it as much as possible, so we’re doing that game broadcast from this little room and trying to pull in and create the kind of energy that you might experience if you’re a sold-out arena. Those are two that definitely stand out.

You’re the eyes and ears to so many fans. With the NBA League Pass, you play that role for 29 other teams’ fans too. Given that responsibility, can you walk through some of the things you do to prepare for both the season and then for individual broadcasts?

Kevin Ray: It’s really kind of a matter of paying attention to the draft, depending on who they draft, how many draft picks they’ve got. I will typically try to watch some of the Summer League games just to get kind of an early page on players and get a feel.

And then you start paying attention to NBA free agency. And even if your team doesn’t appear to be in the market in NBA free agency, I always pay close attention to it just based on who’s going where, so you can kind of get an early thumbnail of, like, okay, this guy is moving from this team. For instance, LeBron James going from the Lakers: we would encounter LeBron four or five times a season, sometimes six, because we played them twice in the preseason a couple years, and then you’d face them four times in the regular season, and now, here we are, we’ll see LeBron only twice, with only one of those being in the Valley. So always pay close attention to NBA free agency, and any kind of injury news that may pop up.

I will also go back and will typically try and review some game broadcasts from the previous year as we get closer to this season. I like to go back and rewatch some of our broadcasts and just kind of pick up on things, anything that I’ve missed, anything that I wanted to improve upon. It also provides an opportunity for me to sit down with our directors and producers if there’s an idea that might pop into our head for an endgame element that we might incorporate or something in the pregame. I will often do that.

And then, that kind of leads up to the season in training camp, and then as far as the game broadcast goes, it’s pretty much the same, although it will vary from time to time, depending on if we’re on the road. Let’s say we’ve arrived in a city at 2AM, and you’ve got a game that night. It’s a back-to-back situation. Your prep is kind of tweaked in that regard. I’ll start, depending on the schedule again, semi-prepping the night before. Let’s say the opponent that we’re playing is playing the night before. I will jump on NBA League Pass and try to watch that game if the schedule allows. That gives me live action that I can reference.

Then typically, the morning of the game, I’ll get up, and first thing I typically do is try to read through some of the stories, like you guys put out there on the Bright Side of the Sun.

I’ll try to go into any of the different platforms that might have game previews or specific stories written for the Suns, a specific player, the matchup, and then I’ll do the same thing for the opponent, whether you’re going to their local newspaper, or it is often the case, so many teams have different platforms available where you’re able to get content.

The stats are readily available to anybody and everybody. You can get all the stats that you want. So, for me, I really try to find off-court news, notes, anything that can personalize a player for the fan. Because I think that goes a long way in finding out who this guy is as a person, and kind of reminding the fans as well. You can highlight how well-rounded they are, and you maybe find a story about, “Wow, this is how he spends his offseason; he’s working on the New York Stock Exchange”, things like that. I think those are important little notes and nuggets that, for me, I enjoy being able to share with the fans because that’s the kind of stuff that isn’t always something that the fans have time to go find. It’s just something that they can kind of file away and get a better understanding of who this player is, what their mental makeup is, and maybe why they’re so important to their team, aside from the fact that they’re a 20-point scorer.

I tell people, I prep right up until tip time, basically. And we have these devices; I can go on Twitter, I can go on Instagram, because you will oftentimes get those little late tips and nuggets that a beat reporter may have just sent out. So that becomes part of my prep as well.

And then beyond those stories, then it’s a matter of putting together my game boards, and those boards consist of the Suns roster, all the stats there, same thing for the opponent. I do have a service that I use. In fact, it’s a service that, I would say, probably 80% of the guys in the league use it and it’s the old adage, ‘work smarter, not harder’. And it’s a company, and basically what they do is they will put together your game board with the player’s name, height, weight, a lot of the, as I call it, the minutiae, that can take a lot of time. And if you’ve got to do that every single game.

They will provide the template and format, and then they will also customize it for you. If there’s specific things that you want on those game boards, they’ll plug that in for you. And then I will typically get those midday, and then at that point, I can download them, and I can then start editing myself so that I can add some of those stories and notes and any stats that they may not have gotten put on the board. And some of those, I’ll type in my computer. Other times, I’ll handwrite them in, and then print them off, and that’s what I use to do each game.

It’s all kind of customized. Every broadcaster is a little different on how they do their boards. For me, I’m a big color guy, so that’s why I will highlight things, and the names and numbers will be in a certain color. I might have their season stats in red. Once I get those boards done, then it’s a matter of sitting down and looking at them and going over them because much of it you try to commit to memory so that you’re not constantly looking down in the course of the game. Because at the speed the game is played, you don’t really have that much time. It’s just kind of a quick reference. You know where that note is on Dillon Brooks, and those are the things that I try to process throughout the course of the day, so that when I get to the arena, it’s more top of mind than it is looking down and specifically reading.

We get into a situation where there’s a dead ball or a free throw, and that gives me a time to look down and say, “Okay, yeah, this next trip, I want to make sure I bring this up.” Or, “At some point here in the first quarter, I want to make sure that I get that.”

I know there’s the announcement that Eddie Johnson is taking a step back this season. How do you make that seem so seamless from one color commentator to another?

Kevin Ray: Yeah, it really comes down to my broadcast partners, like our entire broadcast team, our director, producer, our graphics people; we have been really fortunate and blessed to have really the same crew for 25 years. Even going back to when I first started doing the pregame and postgame show, we are probably one of the few teams in the league that has not had a massive amount of turnover. And that in itself goes such a long way in what I feel like gets brought out in the broadcast to where the fans just feel comfortable, right? It’s like your favorite pair of jeans or your favorite shoes. They just feel different. They feel right versus anything else.

I worked with Annie on Phoenix Mercury broadcasts, and she is a dear friend. Same thing with EJ. I’ve worked with EJ in one capacity or another now for 25 years. Then a handful of other broadcasters that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with. And so, we really do just have a tight-knit group. It is a group that we take our work serious, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We have the ability to laugh with one another and laugh at ourselves a little bit. I think that setting, that kind of family camaraderie that we’ve been able to build, I take a lot of pride in being able to convey that in our broadcasts. And I think it’s one of the reasons why I do feel like I’ve been able to kind of work seamlessly with any of the new partners that I’ve had.

Is there a funny story that’s shareable, but not widely known?

Kevin Ray: As you know, EJ and I like to go with one another from time to time. And there was one time — I think it was after a game — we oftentimes get meals served there on the plane. EJ had on one of his fine Italian shirts, and I don’t recall what the meal was, but I do remember pulling out one of the linen napkins, and I tucked it into his collar. So that he would not make any kind of a mess. And the flight attendant and some of our crew got a pretty good laugh out of it.

But I think traveling as much as we do together, and experiencing some of those long days and early morning arrivals, we have weathered a lot as a group, and that story just kind of speaks to how close all of us are.

This Year’s Team

Switching to the team on the court, we recently found out Mark Williams would be out for significant time. Any initial thoughts on this and the team?

Kevin Ray: Yeah, it’s unfortunate. You like to think you can get through an offseason without any hiccups. I think what it shows is just a reminder to the fans that, even though the training camp is still a few weeks away, that these guys are constantly working on their craft. They’re trying to get better. And so, in one regard, you love the fact that Mark was working; it was in a scrimmage. You hate the fact that it results in injury, but I’d rather see the injury in that type of situation versus he was vacationing and something happened.

It doesn’t make it any less impactful, but it just, again, kind of underscores they’re putting in work, and sometimes injuries happen in practice. You don’t get to pick when an injury occurs. So, it will certainly be felt.

I think what it does is puts Man Man (Khaman Maluach) in a position to now…and look, I think two months ago, we were all asking, “Well, gosh, Man Man looked so good in Summer League, right?” And I’ve had a chance to be around him a couple times now in the offseason. I’ve seen the muscle that he’s put on. I’ve seen the work that he’s put in. I heard about some of the work that he’s put in and the improvement. And so, two months ago, everybody was asking, “Well, gosh, how are they going to get him on the floor? How are they going to balance the minutes between he and Mark and Oso?”

Well, life has a funny way of kind of opening a door in this case for Man Man to now potentially, most likely, be the starting center. And you hope that he is ready both physically, but more importantly, mentally, and what you have to look at it as now is the team, the fans, is that we’ve all seen the flashes; we’ve seen the promise with this young man. Well, now you’ve got a chance to really jump on the launching pad and absolutely take off.

And so, I’m always an optimist by nature. I try to look at things, glass half full versus glass half empty. You go from being upset and disappointed for Mark. It’s another setback for him and one that, unfortunately, doesn’t look like it’s gonna be a quick return just based on that kind of injury.

Then you shift your focus to Man Man and say, okay, all right, young fellow, go get it done. Go, go take that next step. Go make that leap. And if you can, it creates a different level of excitement.

I do look for Book to take a step forward. Not that he took a step back last year, but the last few years we have asked Book to do so many different things. And knock on wood, with a healthy Jalen Green and Connie Gillespie back, my hope is that we’ll see Book more in his natural position, which is that off-guard coming off screens, pin-downs, where he could really put opponents in the torture chamber. I want for Book to take a step forward this year, especially this three-point shooting. It was a little bit of a struggle last season.

Boom Room Suite

I see your ‘Boom Room’ sign right behind you. If you were to treat the Boom Room as a penthouse and it could house three inhabitants this year, who do you think they are and who’s knocking on the door?

Kevin Ray: I love that question. I’ve never had anybody phrase a question as it relates to the Boom Room quite like that. So kudos to you. I love that!

I got to put our guy Book in there. I mean, Book’s got the penthouse in the Boom Room. What gets a Boom Room call is typically with a big dunk. Something like that on somebody else’s head, on an opponent’s head. But with Book, we’ve seen him bring the boom, which gets him first-class entrance into the Boom Room, just because of the types of plays that he makes.

I think with the news that we just got, it does open a spot for Man Man. We’ve seen him a couple of times take guys to the Boom Room. So, I’m gonna say Man Man is in there. I don’t think you cannot put Dillon Brooks in the Boom Room, right? Just because of everything that Dillon does, even before it took off, with the stare, that glare down at the opponent’s bench before tip-off.

To me, the guy that is not only knocking on the door, but has a chance, I think, to knock the door down is Rasheer. Here’s a guy — talk about seeing a guy just absolutely blow up in front of you — seeing how big he’s gotten in the offseason, knowing his skill set and freakish athleticism, I think for sure has got a chance to absolutely knock that door down and be a longtime resident in the boom room.

After the interview, Kevin messaged me to add Oso Ighodaro and Miles Bridges to those waiting in the hallway. My personal Boom Room of three would have Jalen Green, Oso, and Miles, with Dillon playing the role of doorman.

The Wrap

Many of us, due to geography or budget, depend on the local and/or NBA League Pass broadcasts to follow the Suns. Every game, viewers spend 200+ hours with Kevin and the crew each year; that’s more than 10 days’ worth of waking hours! It’s energizing to hear the professionalism and energy invested. Let’s hope that one of these seasons (soon) we’re all on that championship flight with KRay as our pilot.

Take a quick look at FanDuel’s listed odds for the Eastern Conference Champion and you’ll see the defending-champion New York Knicks there at +340. After them, you have the Philadelphia 76ers (+400), Boston Celtics (+500), Detroit Pistons (+850), and Cleveland Cavaliers (+900) rounding out the top five. 

However, there is one team missing from that top five that may just be better than all of those championship hopefuls, and that is the Toronto Raptors, who currently sit at sixth-place in the Eastern Conference title race at +950 (an implied probability of 9.5%). If you ask me, this is a gross underestimation of their abilities, and the basketball world is going to rue the day they counted out the Raptors.

There’s a reason SB Nation considers Toronto a top-5 championship contender in the entire league entering the season. Now that they have finally officially landed Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors all the pieces necessary to be a darkhorse for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Why the Raptors are so good 

I may be as bullish as anyone I know on the Raptors, but it’s hard not to be after seeing the unique way they were able to improve their team this offseason.

Let me explain. The Raptors and Pistons are not too dissimilar in the sense that they were both elite defensive teams (Raptors were 5th in defensive rating, Pistons were second), lead by their top five picks from the 2021 NBA Draft (Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham), who were using this offseason to find ways to get over the hump offensively (15th in offensive rating, 10th). 

For the Pistons, they had to go about this in a very orthodox way. Additions like Isaiah Joe, John Collins, and Ebuka Okorie helped improve their offense. But to get these guys they got rid of Isaiah Stewart (arguably the team’s second-best per minute defender), Tobias Harris (a metronomic veteran presence), and Caris LeVert (67th percentile Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes). Simply put, they improved their offense, but had to take a hit on defense to do so.

The Raptors’ big offseason acquisition (which looks like it won’t be getting rescinded by the league front office) involved trading Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and first/second round draft capital in exchange for two-time NBA champion Kawhi Leonard. 

Dick, while still a promising player in my opinion, hardly factored into head coach Darko Rajakovic’s rotation last season (averaging just 14 minutes per game), so his loss won’t really be felt. That means that from an on-court perspective, the Raptors swapped Ingram for Leonard – a player who is not only a far superior offensive player, but a marginally better defender as well. 

Not only is Leonard an upgrade on both ends of the floor, but he is also an easier fit alongside other high-usage players. Last season, the Raptors were better with Scottie Barnes on the floor on his own than they were when he shared the floor with Ingram. Meanwhile, the 2018-19 Raptors were better with Leonard and Pascal Siakam (a player with similar offensive shortcomings to Barnes) on the floor together than they were when just one of them was on the court. 

The Raptors’ other marquee edition was Allen Graves, who they took with the 19th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. I’m not going to pretend to be some draft aficionado, but everything I’ve seen from Graves thus far screams immediate two-way impact player. At the very least, he certainly doesn’t tilt their team one way or the other.

Allen Graves…

The analytics darling of the 2026 NBA Draft. 6'9, 7'0 wing. Crazy STL% and BLK%. Soft touch. Elite offensive rebounder. Can shoot it. Never turns it over. Plays a hyper-efficient brand of basketball. pic.twitter.com/jE0z6vXfezhttps://t.co/TewtChUvCr

— Basketball University (@UofBasketball) June 1, 2026

Unlike the Pistons, the Raptors were able to build upon their weakness while also avoiding diminishing from their strength. This is without noting that, even with the 35-year-old Leonard, the Raptors are still fairly young. If Rajakovic’s head is in the same place as mine, it’ll mean that the other four players in Toronto’s starting lineup (Barnes, Collin-Murray Boyles, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett) will all be 27 years old or younger. Then, off the bench they’ll have Graves, Jamal Shead, and Ja’Kobe Walter (all of whom are under 24); plus Jakob Poeltl and Kyle Anderson there to provide some much-needed veteran experience. Tons of room for in-house improvement, but also enough steadiness to survive the rigors of the NBA season.

Yes, all of this hinges on Leonard’s health, which, before last season, was as reliable as a restroom soap dispenser. Prior to 2025-26, Leonard had only played over 60 games once since the last time he called Air Canada home. But is that any more risky than the Celtics relying on Jayson Tatum and Paul George, or a playstyle that keeps leading to upsets in the playoffs? Is it more risky than the 76ers starting a lineup with a 42-year-old, the basketball analytics equivalent of a flat Earther, and Joel Embiid (who has an even more checkered availability history than Leonard)? What about a Cavaliers team with three non-shooters in their opening five and two guards with durability concerns and a huge target hovering over them on defense? Is it riskier than that? I don’t think so. 

All the teams favored over the Raptors have some glaring holes (heck, even the Knicks have to overcome the loss of Mitchell Robinson). On paper, the Raptors have the fewest flaws of any Eastern Conference team. And in the playoffs, the team that comes out alive is usually the one with the least amount of weaknesses.