Jeremy Sochan is leaving one NBA championship contender for another, hopeful he can provide a boost to his new team's postseason push
Sochan is expected to join the New York Knicks upon clearing waivers, according to multiple reports on Thursday, Feb. 12, after the San Antonio Spurs agreed to a contract buyout and parted ways with the No. 9 pick from the 2022 NBA Draft. The Spurs had been trying to trade him before the league's trade deadline last week.
Sochan had an expiring $7.1 million contract with San Antonio, but sought a bigger role after seeing his playing time drop significantly this season.
“We were all very aware of his desire to be in the rotation and given more of an opportunity, especially recently,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson told reporters, according to the San Antonio Express News. “We wanted to do right by him and make sure he had that opportunity before the year was over.”
ESPN reported Sochan picked the Knicks over nine other suiters, and his ballhandling and defensive capabilities will add another versatile option to the team's bench unit. The 6-foot-8 forward is expected to sign a league minimum deal for the rest of the season, according to multiple reports.
Sochan, 22, is averaging a career-low 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1 assist per game this season, but logged more than 11 points and 6 rebounds per contest the previous two years with San Antonio.
To the city of San Antonio... When I was drafted, I didn’t realize how quickly this would feel like home. I’ve moved around a lot throughout my life, and this is the longest I’ve been in the same place since I was 15 years old. Through the ups and downs, I learned a lot, kept… pic.twitter.com/DfToSiSqxn
The Knicks had their eyes on Jeremy Sochan before the trade deadline, to hear Knicks insider Ian Begley of SNY.tv tell it. New York toyed with the idea of a Guerschon Yabusele for Sochan trade, but realized that they could just get Sochan on the buyout market. Instead, New York wisely traded Yabusele to Chicago and then made a move to acquire Jose Alvarado.
Sochan, the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, was part of the Spurs rotation alongside Victor Wembanyama for his first couple of seasons. However, the combination of his shot and playmaking not progressing as the Spurs hoped, plus San Antonio adding forward and wing depth — Harrison Barnes, Carter Bryant, Julian Champagnie, Kelly Olynyk, Dylan Harper — led to Sochan being squeezed out of coach Mitch Johnson's rotation.
Sochan is a solid defender, but he averaged just 4.1 points per game this season while shooting 25.7% from 3-point range. For his career, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, shooting 28.8% from 3. Sochan will be behind OG Anunoby and Mohamed Diawara in the Knicks' power forward rotation, but he can provide depth and minutes.
Don't look now, but Nikola Jokic is back in the picture.
An afterthought in January when he missed 16 games with a left ankle sprain, the Serbian big man has risen to second on the NBA MVP Odds board thanks to an impressive 10-game stretch in which he has averaged 26.0 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game. His strong play has Denver back in the thick of the playoff hunt and has Jokic within striking distance of his fourth most valuable player trophy.
Jokic's reemergence has coincided with an injury to reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has seen his odds move from -380 to -140 while he deals with an abdominal strain that has sidelined him far longer than expected.
Our friends at bet365 have boosted Nickola Jokic's NBA MVP odds from +275 to +300. Act now while the value lasts.
Let's take a look at the latest NBA MVP odds below.
The last week has seen plenty of upheaval as Cade Cunningham has moved from +1400 to +500 and Victor Wembanyama has moved from +3000 to +1800. Conversely, Luka Doncic has dropped from +2000 to +3000 as late game execution issues and a pair of Laker defeats have taken the luster off his MVP campaign.
NBA MVP prediction
Bet
Odds
Bet Date
Units
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
+175
Oct. 28
1.0
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
+150
Dec. 1
1.0
Nikola Jokic
+300
Feb. 25
0.5
With voters increasingly sensitive to both team success and two-way impact, SGA has the cleanest path to an MVP narrative this season. He's the best player on a top-two team in the West, elite efficiency from all three levels, and offers real defensive bite at the point of attack. His game scales without drama as he can dominate in isolation or flow within movement-heavy actions, and he gets to the line a ton without forcing bad shots. If Oklahoma City’s depth keeps their net ratings gaudy when he sits, while his on/off still pops, he’ll own the “drives winning” storyline that tends to decide close MVP races.
Doncic has put up video-game numbers again, yet the bar for heliocentric guards keeps rising, and defensive skepticism plus any midseason usage management could ding his case.
By contrast, SGA’s steadiness, durability, and two-way credibility give him multiple avenues to “win” the discourse even if raw counting stats are a tick lower, especially if the Thunder post the league’s best record.
My late February wager on Nikola Jokic is a value play as he's simply too good to ignore at plus odds. The issue with Joker is that he must play at least 65 games to qualify for the award, so any additional missed time could kill his candidacy.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Nikola Jokic head-to-head
Player
PTS
REB
AST
STL
BLK
SGA
31.8
4.4
6.4
1.3
0.8
Jokic
28.8
12.5
10.5
1.4
0.8
It seems only fitting we have a two-horse race given Jokic's love for all things equine. Voters will have to ask themselves whether they prefer SGA's scoring and the Thunder's superior record or Jokic's overall brilliance and ability to stuff a box score.
📈 NBA odds over time
This year's MVP chase has been a heavyweight melee. Follow along all season as we update this graphic with contenders rising and falling.
The MVP award is one of the most prestigious honors in professional basketball—and one of the most debated. But how is the MVP actually chosen?
🗳️ MVP Voting Process
The MVP is determined by a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters from the U.S. and Canada, as well as a fan vote that counts as one ballot. Each voter selects five players, ranked from first to fifth place. The point system is as follows:
1st place vote: 10 points
2nd place: 7 points
3rd place: 5 points
4th place: 3 points
5th place: 1 point
The player with the highest total point tally at the end of voting is crowned NBA MVP.
📊 What Do Voters Consider?
While there's no official checklist, MVP voters typically weigh several key factors:
Individual statistics: Points, assists, rebounds, efficiency, advanced metrics like PER or Win Shares
Team success: MVPs are rarely chosen from losing teams and Top 3 seeds are the norm
Narrative and storyline: Voters often reward players overcoming adversity or carrying a franchise
Consistency and availability: Games played, durability, and clutch performance matter
👀 Voter Biases and Trends
Some unofficial trends also influence MVP outcomes:
“Voter fatigue”: Players who've already won may need to outperform their own past seasons to win again
New blood bias: Voters sometimes prefer rising stars over repeat winners
Position favoritism: Guards and forwards tend to dominate MVP voting, although that trend has been changing in recent years
📜NBA MVP betting history
A quick look at recent NBA MVPs and their opening odds.
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina men’s basketball’s superstar freshman forward, broke his left hand in a loss at Miami on Tuesday and will be out for a yet-to-be-determined period of time, the university announced on Thursday, Feb. 12.
Wilson suffered the injury in the first half of the 75-66 loss. X-rays taken during the game came back negative, which prompted him to return to the contest, but additional imaging that was done after the No. 13 Tar Heels returned to Chapel Hill, North Carolina revealed a fracture.
“The evaluation process is ongoing to determine the timetable for Wilson’s return,” North Carolina said in a statement.
Wilson has been one of the brightest stars in what has been widely hailed as one of the best freshmen classes in the sport’s recent history. The 6-foot-10 Atlanta native is averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game for North Carolina, which is 19-5 after a disappointing 2024-25 season in which it barely snuck into the NCAA Tournament field.
Wilson has been integral in that improvement. He has set North Carolina program records for scoring in double figures in each of his first 24 career games and for his 17 games with at least 20 points. He’s fourth in the ACC in scoring, third in rebounding and fifth in field goal percentage (at 57.8%).
The former five-star recruit is widely projected as one of the top five picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Three of North Carolina’s seven remaining regular-season games come against teams ranked in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll: No. 23 Louisville (on Feb. 23), No. 18 Clemson (March 3) and the rematch with No. 6 Duke (March 7), as well as a Feb. 17 game at an NC State team that’s receiving votes in the poll.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies released outfielder Nick Castellanos on Thursday after the team was unable to make a deal to trade him. Castellanos then revealed he was benched last season after bringing beer into the dugout during a game.
The team wanted the situation resolved before its first full-squad workout at spring training, which is Monday.
Castellanos was benched last season after he made what Phillies manager Rob Thomson described as “ an inappropriate comment ” after he was pulled for a defensive replacement. Castellanos said in September that communication with Thomson had been “ questionable, at least in my experience.”
On Thursday, Castellanos posted a hand-written note on social media explaining an incident in Miami that preceded his benching. He said he brought beer into the dugout after being taken out of a game and complained to Thomson about team rules. He said teammates took the beer away before he drank any.
Afterward, he went into the office with Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
“We aired out our differences and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me,” Castellanos said, adding that he was benched the next game as punishment.
Castellanos, who turns 34 on March 4, hit .250 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs in 147 games for the NL East champions last year. He was going into the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract, but Dombrowski said Monday the Phillies were talking to other teams about him.
Adolis García is expected to replace Castellanos in right field after he signed a $10 million, one-year contract with Philadelphia in December.
Dec 25, 2024; New York, New York, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) takes his position during a free throw attempt in the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
That didn’t take long. Less than 24 hours after the Spurs waived forward Jeremy Sochan, ESPN’s Shams Charania is reporting he to sign with one of many potential suitors: the New York Knicks. The Knicks were the main team listed as a potential trade partner for Sochan before the trade deadline, but talks reportedly stalled because the Spurs did not want to give up any draft picks or take on Guerschon Yabusele’s player option for next season. Now, with cleared cap space, the Knicks get him without giving up anything, and the Spurs keep all their draft capital and still have clean books for this summer.
Free agent forward Jeremy Sochan plans to sign with the New York Knicks after he clears waivers, his agent Deirunas Visockas of Gersh Sports tells ESPN. Sochan had 10 interested suitors after being released from the Spurs on Wednesday and landed on the Knicks as his new team. pic.twitter.com/F2dVt3ivEx
It was a sad ending to what started as a great relationship between draft pick and city. Sochan immediately became a fan favorite with his funny personality, silly antics, and hardnosed style of play on the court, especially on defense. He stayed consistent through his first three season despite battling injuries and playing out of positions, but he fell out of the rotation this season as other players’ strengths (especially on offense) became bigger assets than his defense while the team improved overall.
The breakup kind of reminds of Malik Rose back in 2005. He was a beloved fan favorite, but the Spurs needed more size at center to compete with bigger teams for a championship, and he was traded for Nazr Mohammed. Fans hated it and even booed Gregg Popovich at the next game, but it was the right move in the long term and was soon forgiven as they went on to win the championship that year. I know fans are similarly upset with Mitch Johnson for how things turned out, but sometimes you just have to make basketball decisions, even if they aren’t the most popular ones.
To this day, Rose is still beloved in San Antonio and frequents the city and team events often, and maybe someday that will be the case with Sochan as well. On his way out, he sent a message to Spurs fans on social media:
To the city of San Antonio… When I was drafted, I didn’t realize how quickly this would feel like home. I’ve moved around a lot throughout my life, and this is the longest I’ve been in the same place since I was 15 years old. Through the ups and downs, I learned a lot, kept… pic.twitter.com/DfToSiSqxn
To the city of San Antonio… When I was drafted, I didn’t realize how quickly this would feel like home. I’ve moved around a lot throughout my life, and this is the longest I’ve been in the same place since I was 15 years old. Through the ups and downs, I learned a lot, kept growing, and always stayed true to myself. This community and the fans embraced me from day one! It’s bigger than basketball and I’m forever grateful. I’ll always have love for San Antonio! Everything happens for a reason & time will tell…
Now I’m sad all over again. Thank you for everything, Jeremy. It took almost no time to endear yourself to the city of San Antonio and Spurs fans. And for one last time, as the old saying goes: Once a Spur, always a Spur. Good luck wherever your career takes you.
Send in your questions now for this week’s episode of The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast to discuss everything Pistons. Submit your question to the comments section here or on X/Twitter to @TheRealWesD3 and/or @blakesilverman.
Join us live on Saturday afternoon for the show where we’ll recap this week’s games as we head into the All-Star break. Forty whole wins before the break, how are we feeling? What did you make of the suspensions to Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren? Too harsh or just right? What are you looking for from Cade Cunningham and Duren during All-Star festivities?
Plus, The Pindown has a phone line where you can leave a message and hear your voice on the show. Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message around 45 seconds or less so we can fit everyone into the show.
The podcast will be uploaded to all audio platforms the following morning.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10: Jake LaRavia #12 of the Los Angeles Lakers gets the loose ball in front of De'aaron Fox #4 of the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Crypto.com Arena on February 10, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Add it all up, and you get a 2-2 week and a team that needs some rest and time away from the game before the most important stretch of the season.
Luckily, the Lakers have the All-Star break coming up. Hopefully, they use it to reset and get healthy so they can finish the season strong.
5 things I liked and didn’t like
1. Failing the test
The Lakers competed hard against the Thunder, but still lost 119-110. It was a harsh reminder that even when they are playing hard, they don’t measure up to the cream of the crop in the NBA.As mentioned before, LeBron put it bluntly after the game, saying that OKC was a championship team and LA is not.
Lebron on the Thunder:
"You want me to compare us to them? That's a championship team right there we're not. We can't sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That's why they won a championship" 👀 pic.twitter.com/j59NF4uAcS
With 53 games played, the Lakers are as good as their record states. At 32-21, the Lakers are not a great team and dreams of a championship this season are just that.
2. Luka’s injury
It may be up for debate how good the Lakers can be this season, but the one thing that’s clear is they need Luka healthy to maximize their chances of success.
Which is why Luka injuring his hamstring against the Sixers was such a bummer. He’s now missed four straight games, and it is very much up in the air whether he plays at the All-Star Game.
If he keeps missing games, it could also make him ineligible for All-NBA and other NBA awards. After being ruled out against the Mavs, Luka can only miss five more games the rest of this season.
It would be a shame if Luka loses his All-NBA spot due to a few injuries, but those are the rules, at least for now.
Kennard ended the game with 10 points, going 4-7 from the field and knocking down a pair of threes. LA went on to beat Golden State and will continue to benefit from Kennard’s ability to make 49% of his 3-point attempts.
The trade to acquire Kennard may not rock the NBA world, but it was an improvement on the margins that in no way jeopardizes their future. So, while the move might be sexy, it sure was sensible and the Lakers are a better team for it.
4. Austin Reaves is back
Reaves missed 19 games due to a calf strain, but he returned this week, and boy was he missed. He’s been on a minutes restriction and has come off the bench, but was marvelous against the Sixers.
It was a vintage Reaves performance featuring jaw-dropping 3-pointers, incredible playmaking near the rim and some gaudy production mixed in with his unmistakable charm.
Reaves scored 35 points in the win and reminded everyone just how good he is.
5. Lakers still need a center
When the Lakers signed Deandre Ayton, the thought was that they got the center they needed, upgrading from Jaxson Hayes. Well, Ayton might be better, but he’s not good enough.
He is averaging 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists, which are all career lows. Recently, it’s become commonplace for him to sit out during the fourth quarter of games, and with injuries keeping him out of contests, it’s not looking like he is the long-term fix for the five spot in LA.
Ayton will have to do for now, but another change will be necessary in the summer.
Stat of the Week
This week’s stat is 30, the number of assists LeBron had across the Lakers’ three games this week.
As the season has progressed, LeBron has gotten better. An aspect of his game that’s been much sharper is his passing. This is also the first time LeBron has been LA’s assist leader for three consecutive games since early April of last year.
Luka, as the team’s primary ballhandler, will often be dominant in this category, but James still has the vision and basketball IQ to put his teammates in advantageous scenarios. And this week, no Lakers were moving the ball better.
Play of the Week
Not all threes are created equal. The one Reaves hit in the fourth against the Sixers was sensational.
The play started with LeBron driving to the paint. As James got near the rim, Joel Embiid helped, and Trendon Watford dropped down to cover Jarred Vanderbilt, freeing up Maxi Kleber.
LeBron saw this and kicked it to Maxi, but so did VJ Edgecombe as he rotated out to the wing, forcing a pass to Austin. The problem was that Reaves had just one second to get his shot off and was closer to the logo than the 3-point line.
Luckily, none of that made a difference, as he knocked down the deep three to give LA the lead.
The Sixers played solid defense, but Reaves was just too good for it to matter.
Once Reaves starts, the Lakers will be able to field the best lineup possible, and his career year can pick up where it left off in December when he was fully healthy.
I prefer the basketball far more than the drama that comes with it, but even I must admit I can’t look away from something as spicy as the Jonathan Kuminga-Warriors saga. Was Kuminga good enough to warrant all this attention? No. But was it entertaining to hear just how bad the breakup in Golden State was? Absolutely.
He knew management wanted to ding him for missing a team-requested event and alert him that someone around him was taking too much food from the family room. The gripes between player and organization, as multiple sources said, had become “petty” in the fifth year of a relationship many believed should’ve ended years before.
Kerr never had much success reaching Kuminga on a deeper level, typically one of his coaching superpowers. He’d given him handwritten notes, sent long text messages, tried to connect. But Kuminga rarely reciprocated. Kuminga normally responded dispassionately and sporadically.
Klay Thompson and Mychal Thompson are one of the great father-son NBA duos in NBA history. In this feature, we learn more about them and how a father who never shot threes raised one who is among the best to ever do it.
In a brief interview, Klay told The Athletic it was his dad who taught him how to shoot. Whether he was young and too small to shoot from over his head, or as he matured into a teenager and young adult, Klay was taught to start his workouts under the basket and gradually step back, keeping his elbows in with each shot.
Mychal, meanwhile, insists his son learned all on his own. Klay came to be such a great shooter, and he is unarguably in the rarest of company when it comes to knocking down 3s.
But Klay’s dad is also in exclusive company among NBA players.
Representing one of the greatest ironies in league history, Mychal Thompson, father of one of the greatest 3-point shooters ever, is one of a handful of players to have played at least one full NBA season and made only one 3 since the league instituted the 3-point line in October 1979.
NEW YORK (AP) — Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended for one game without pay by the NBA after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
The league made the announcement on Thursday.
According to NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended for one game after receiving their 16th technical foul. Brooks will miss another game for every two additional technicals he receives this season.
Brooks will miss the Suns' game against the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 19.
The 30-year-old Brooks is in the midst of a breakout year in his first season with the Suns. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game and his brash personality has been a driving force for the team's surprising 32-23 record.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 19: Amari Bailey #24 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket during the game against the Houston Rockets during the 2025 NBA Summer League game on July 19, 2025 at the Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
On Christmas Eve, Baylor sent shockwaves around NCAA by signing 7-foot center James Nnaji, the No. 31 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft who never actually signed an NBA contract. His rights were originally owned by the Detroit Pistons before getting moved to Charlotte. But Nnaji spent time overseas in Spain and, most recently, played with Merkezefendi in Turkey.
However, that opened floodgates for an unprecedented situation: Players who have declared for the NBA Draft … returning back to play college basketball?! Charles Bediako, a 2023 undraftee, soon followed, joining Alabama.
This epidemic even bled into the Mountain West, with former UCLA guard Amari Bailey — who has played 10 NBA games with the Hornets after being a second-round pick in 2023 — scheduled his first recruiting visit to Grand Canyon, even though he will need to receive a waiver granted by the NCAA.
In Bediako’s case, a Tuscaloosa judge recently denied his eligibility. So the NCAA has some guard rails as to who it’s letting in, and evidently shoving out.
But it’s still a big problem, where players are still toeing the line and attempting to revive their careers in an NIL-centric entity.
There are simple solutions to this issue:
For one, the NCAA will have to collectively bargain this eligibility crisis — as well as employ and enforce a modicum of NIL guardrails. When there’s no structure, all direction is lost. And when all direction is lost, all bets are off.
Therein lies the problem: There’s zero leadership. NCAA president Charlie Baker’s just a figurehead. Until there’s real leadership, these problems will persist.
A few of the immediate solutions should be fairly straightforward:
Don’t allow any player back in the NCAA if they declare for the NBA Draft past the college (if they’re in college) or the international deadline
Those dates are two separate dates; Last year’s, for example, the Early Entry deadline for collegiate athletes was May 28, while it was June 15 for international players.
That automatically makes players who were drafted (Nnaji), players who have signed NBA contracts and, thus, who have played NBA games automatically ineligible to return to the NCAA.
If players — like Bailey or Nnaji — are allowed to go through that process while still returning to the NCAA, those Early Entrant deadlines mean absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. And thus, an incredibly poor precedent is set.
Bailey should not be allowed to return to the NCAA; if you exhaust your eligibility in any way, you shouldn’t be given a second-chance just because your NBA career momentarily flamed out. The same applies to should Nnaji, who literally heard his name called on draft night before playing twice in Summer League.
The NCAA set up some guard rails regarding Bediako. But that’s not enough, and any gray area will likely have to be collectively bargained in the near future. At the end of the day, the NCAA can run, but it can’t hide.
The Jazz are giving NBA fans plenty of reason to tank — sorry, we meant think — that perhaps there are ulterior motives for why they shut down the superstar they just acquired.
Jaren Jackson Jr., who played 48 games with the Grizzlies before being traded to Utah earlier this month, has been shut down for the rest of the season due to upcoming surgery to remove a pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) growth in his left knee, the team announced Thursday.
He is expected to make a fully recovery and be cleared far in advance of training camp, per ESPN.
Jaren Jackson Jr.’s season is over. AP
As you can imagine, this caused many folks to roll their eyes since the Jazz have little reason to be competitive for the remainder of the season.
They have a top-eight protected pick for what is considered a deep 2026 NBA Draft, and they own the sixth-worst record entering Thursday.
The Jazz still split the two games, and coach Will Hardy said he had no plans to reinsert them.
Utah is not the only team to be tanking, with the Pacers, Wizards and Kings’ tactics causing some frustration, but Utah isn’t doing much to be beat the allegations.
Jaren Jackson Jr. will be watching games from the bench going forward. NBAE via Getty Images
Jackson played in three games with the team before being shut down, and the Jazz said they discovered the growth during a post-trade MRI exam.
He averaged 24.0 minutes — down from the 30.7 he averaged with the Grizzlies — along with 22.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while guiding the Jazz to a 2-1 record in his two appearances.
Jackson tallied 23 points in 22 minutes in Wednesday’s 121-93 win over the Kings.
“You just have to make an impact when you’re in the game,” Jackson said, according to ESPN. “That’s what you have to focus on. If you focus on when you’re not out there, you’re gonna struggle as a player.”
Earlier this week, ESPN released its post-trade-deadline updated power rankings. Houston came in at the number seven spot, slipping one spot from their previously held sixth spot. This puts Houston behind the Thunder, Spurs, and Nuggets in the Western Conference and behind the Pistons, Knicks, and Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
NBA.com cited Houston’s very close win versus the Pacers and two consecutive home losses (Feb 4 versus Boston and February 5 versus Charlotte) as a reason for the demotion in the rankings. Additonally, the inactivity at the trade deadline also played a part as fans and media alike were left confused. Despite this, head coach Ime Udoka and General Manager Rafael Stone still feel confident in this team despite the lack of a traditional starting point guard.
Houston likely would have been ranked lower if not for their win Saturday versus the OKC Thunder, a game where Alperen Sengun had his second tripple-double of the season, and Tari Eason had his best performance of the season, scoring 26 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.
Looking at the stats, the ranking does make sense. Houston ranks ninth in offensive rating at 117.1 and fourth in defense rating at 112.0, according to NBA.com. Houston also still ranks first in offensive rebound percentage, but that may change with the absence of center Steven Adams for the remainder of the season.
It is unclear what will happen after the All-Star Break, as Houston will hopefully get some much-deserved rest. If you want to catch your Houston Rockets during All-Star weekend, make sure to tune into Peacock for Friday’s events along with NBA League Pass, and NBC for Saturday and Sunday’s events. Reed Sheppard will be competing Friday in the Rising Stars game, and Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant will be competing Sunday in the All-Star game, with Sengun playing on Team World and Durant on Team USA
Dec 2, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) reacts after scoring a three point basket during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
The Spurs’ reach at All-Star weekend keeps getting wider. With Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out with a calf strain, Commissioner Adam Silver has selected Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox as his injury replacement. In one of the quirks from this USA vs. World format, Fox will replace Norman Powell on Team Stars, and Norman Powell will be moved to Team World to replace Giannis thanks to his Jamaican roots.
San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2026 NBA All-Star Game (Sunday, 2/15, 5pm/et, NBC & Peacock). Fox will join USA Stripes, while Miami Heat guard Norman… pic.twitter.com/Pn98bB69p5
This will be Fox’s second All-Star appearance and first since 2022-23, when he made it as a Sacramento King. This season, he has averaged 19.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 45 games. After questions about his fit in the offseason, he has done a wonderful job of finding a balance between dominating and deferring, knowing when to feed the hot hand and when to take over himself, especially in the clutch.
Joining Fox in the All-Star game will be Victor Wembanyama as a starter for Team World and Mitch Johnson (who just yesterday spoke out about the Spurs only have one All-Star despite having the third best record in the league) as the coach of Team Stripes. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper will be representing the Spurs in the Rising Stars Challenge, and Harper will join his father and brother — Ron Harper, Sr. and Jr., respectively — in the Shooting Stars Challenge. Finally, Carter Bryant will be in the Slam Dunk Contest. The only event the Spurs are not represented in is the Three-Point Contest.
All-Star weekend will take place this weekend at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. You can check out the entire schedule here. Rising Stars will be on Friday, February 13 beginning at 8:00 PM CT on ESPN. Saturday will feature Shooting Stars starting at 4:00 PM CT, followed by the 3-point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest, and finally the All-Star Game on Sunday, beginning at 4:00 PM CT.
Congrats to Fox, and even though it’s as an injury replacement, it’s more than deserved!
The Knicks are completing their roster with an athletic prospect for frontcourt depth.
Jeremy Sochan, a 22-year-old forward, is signing with the team for the remainder of the season, league sources confirm, a move the team believes will provide athletic insurance for their push to the NBA Finals.
At 6-foot-8 and a former ninth-overall pick, Sochan was considered a top prospect while starting as a 2023 All-Rookie selection for the Spurs and carving out an important role during his first three NBA seasons. But Sochan fell out of favor with the team this season, at least partially because of the emergence of rookie forward Carter Bryant, and was waived Wednesday — opening the door for his Knicks arrival.
Jeremy Sochan Getty Images
A league source said Sochan is expected to arrive in New York on Monday and will be available for the first game after the All-Star break, which is Thursday at home against the Pistons. The idea of playing for a contender with veteran leadership was an important factor toward choosing the Knicks, per a league source.
The hope is that he provides two-way depth on the wing and frontcourt.
However, there are questions of why it didn’t work in San Antonio. A league source familiar with the situation explained Sochan was neither good enough as a shooter or defender this season, and expressed skepticism the Baylor product would figure it out.
The Knicks certainly believe he will. They targeted Sochan before the trade deadline last week but couldn’t convince the Spurs to take Guerschon Yabusele in exchange.
And in the end, it worked for team president Leon Rose.
Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) drives in against Dallas Mavericks guard AJ Johnson. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Knicks essentially swapped out Yabusele for Jose Alvarado, largely because Yabusele surprisingly agreed to drop his $5.8 million player option for next season. There’s speculation that Yabusele, who is from France, has already secured a lucrative deal overseas, offsetting at least some of the money he gave up to facilitate a trade away from the Knicks.
Shedding Yabusele for Alvarado freed up enough cap space for the Knicks to immediately sign a free agent, which Thursday became Sochan on a minimum contract.
Born in Oklahoma to a Polish mother, Sochan became the youngest member of Poland’s national team during the 2022 EuroBasket qualifiers. He showed early promise with the Spurs — along with colorful hair dye choices — and averaged over 11 points in each of his first three seasons, starting in 149 of his first 184 appearances.
But there wasn’t much growth on his 3-point shot — he’s shooting just 25.7 percent from deep this season — and he reportedly desired an opportunity for more playing time.
When the Knicks are healthy, there aren’t many minutes available — at least not the 25-plus that Sochan averaged his first three seasons in San Antonio. New York has OG Anunoby and Josh Hart eating up the most among the forwards, with Mitchell Robinson and rookie Mo Diawara as the frontcourt backups.
But there is room for another big forward, especially when there are injuries involved. Anunoby, for instance, has missed four consecutive games with a toe injury, which pushed Diawara into a larger role while averaging 21.5 minutes during that stretch before the All-Star break.
Diawara has been tremendous in his 3-and-D role — better than most expected from a second-round rookie — but Sochan does carry more experience with greater ballhandling capabilities. He also further removes disappointing first-round pick Pacôme Dadiet from the possibility of playing.
With that said, it’s hard to imagine Diawara being supplanted in the rotation while he’s stacking up such positive performances. The Frenchman has nailed treys at a 41.3 percent clip this season.
“He’s young, he’s raw, he needs the experience. But he’s someone who’s good defensively. And he’s an even better shooter than I thought,” Hart said Wednesday about Diawara, who had just scored 14 points with five boards in a blowout win over the Sixers. “I always thought it looked good, but now it’s going in. Being able to get him in the pocket, he’s a good decision maker in the pocket, athletic, can finish at the rim, get guys involved. So I love where he’s at. He’s continuing to work. I think he can be really good.”
Sochan also has upside. He’s just two years older than Diawara with three more years of NBA experience. His addition gives the Knicks a full roster of 15 players with standard contracts and a new look in the frontcourt.
This isn't a surprise, Giannis Antetokounmpo has missed the last eight Milwaukee Bucks games with a strained calf. However, he had hoped to make it back for the All-Star Game in Los Angeles and play for the World Team, where fans had voted him a starter.
It's officially not happening, Antetokounmpo has been ruled out for the All-Star Game. San Antonio guard De'Aaron Fox has been named as his replacement, the league announced.
Fox will play for the USA Stars team. Because Antetokounmpo was to play for the World Team, Miami's Norman Powell, who has ties to Jamaica, has been moved to the World Team.
This is Fox's second All-Star Game appearance. He is averaging 19.4 points and 6.3 assists per game for the Spurs, who sit as the No. 2 seed in the West. Fox will join Victor Wembanyama and coach Mitch Johnson in representing the Spurs during All-Star weekend.
Antetokounmpo was the third player voted a starter by fans, but is now out of the All-Star Game due to injuries, joining Stephen Curry (knee) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain).
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game tips off at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 15, on both NBC and Peacock.
All-Star Game format
This year, the NBA All-Star Game returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock — and it falls right in the middle of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. That was a perfect setup for the first-of-its-kind All-Star Game format, a USA vs. World showdown that fans and players have been asking for.
The 24 All-Star players have been divided into three teams, two USA teams — USA Stripes and USA Stars — and one World Team. Those three teams will compete in a round-robin tournament of four 12-minute games, each team playing at least two games.
At the end of the round-robin, the two top teams will play a championship game (the fourth 12-minute game of the day) for the title. (If there is a tie, it comes down to point differential.)
The 75th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. Eastern, an earlier time than in previous years, leading into more coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Every moment of All-Star Weekend — the Rising Stars challenge on Friday. (Feb. 13), All-Star Saturday Night with the 3-Point Contest and Dunk Contest (Feb. 14), as well as the All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15 — will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
The 75th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. Eastern, a time earlier than in previous years, leading into more coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones.
Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Nikola Jokic
Cade Cunningham
Victor Wembanyama
Jaylen Brown
Luka Doncic
Donovan Mitchell
Anthony Edwards
Jalen Brunson
Tyrese Maxey
Denver Nuggets
Philadelphia 76ers
Milwaukee Bucks
Houston Rockets
Golden State Warriors
