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

Hey Brew Hoop family… NBA basketball is officially back this week, and with a new coach and (basically) a new team, there is so much to monitor. One of the main things I’mwondering is how coach Taylor Jenkins approaches the preseason and what he hopes to accomplish. Jenkins could prioritise either of the following two options and be well within his rights to choose either one:

• Experimentation: Trying heaps of combinations to increase the chance of discovering who works well with who; using a large playbook to see which sets work and which don’t; throwing as many young guys in the deep end as possible to get their feet wet. However, you risk trying to achieve everything and end up achieving nothing.
• Continuity: Heavily use predetermined lineups you’re more sure you will use in the regular season, and stick with them until they operate the way you want; limited playbook and aim for quality over quantity. However, you may throw away the chance to test certain combinations and sets that may actually be your most effective.

In last night’s game, Jenkins did play 14 guys, but the rotation was tighter in the first half, so I guess he went with a bit of both. In any event, if you had to choose one option, which would you choose? Please share your rationale in the comments too.

The New York Knicks officially unofficially played basketball yesterday, and I can’t be happier about an opponent’s win.

As Russell said in his Scenes, we’ll give them belt when it counts, but for now, all I needed was some Orange and Blue hoops in my screen.

Here’s the latest from NYK world coming off Monday’s loss. Get well soon, Huk.

Mike Brown said he was bothered with the Knicks' lack of physicality in their preseason opener loss to the 76ers pic.twitter.com/ooACUyyDdK

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 6, 2026

Mike Brown

On playing everyone available in the preseason opener:

“Everybody’s been busting their behind in camp. Everybody’s good people, and it’s our first game. So I’m gonna play everybody. Twenty guys. Jose’s not playing.”

On the Knicks’ lack of physicality in the preseason loss to Philadelphia:

“Most of it, I was okay with (the performance). I just listed things that I saw that I know we can be better at. What bothers me is our lack of physicality throughout the ballgame, and that’s the whole roster, up and down. We weren’t great on the ball physically, and we weren’t great with our defensive positioning physically.

“That I’m concerned about, and I don’t wanna see it happen (again). The rest of the stuff, it’s coach-talk. It’s real, but it’s coach-talk that we’ll clean up watching film and all that stuff. I can’t help with the physicality. That they got to find it individually, which will then turn into collectively. That’s how you find minutes. That’s how you make the team. That’s how you contribute.”

On evaluating the Knicks’ options at center:

“I think just it’s just kind of gut feel. And then we’ll look at production because they’re gonna probably give us different levels of protection in different areas. Tony is just a really smart guy that has a great feel for the game, and when you watch him play, they’re not necessarily sexy, but he’s extremely efficient, and then there are times when it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, he kicked our ass [in the past].

“When you look at Wiseman, he’s younger, he’s a little more raw, he’s a vertical threat. He’s one of the best runners I’ve been around. You can see and feel his length and his athleticism and his potential.

“Then when you look at Drew, just a toughness about him, and you know what you’re gonna get, not tonight, but every fricking night that you go out there, ’cause he’s got a great feel, a great sense of toughness about him, and again, he’s not afraid to do anything against anybody, and his belief is at a pretty high level.

“So they’ll all initially bring something a little bit different, and we’ll just see, at the end of the day, if any of them, in terms of the center spot, fit well enough to be on our team.”

On Mikal Bridges attacking the rim:

“It’s great. He’s long, athletic and smart. He can finish at the rim. He’s capable of playing off of two feet and making a spray because he has a tremendous feel for the game.”

On creating more offensive opportunities for OG Anunoby:

“We have to try and put him in those positions a bit more, but he also has to have a good feel of what he wants and get to his spots. With him being in the system for a year, he’s got a better feel. … We also have a better feel on how to use him. I don’t call a lot of plays, and now he can find the small areas where he can be aggressive offensively. … His natural ability, especially with how hard he works, is showing.”

On wishing Ariel Hukporti a speedy recovery:

“We hope Ariel — whatever is wrong with him — he has a speedy recovery and he’s back on the floor. You hate to see anybody go down with an injury, but especially somebody who is a caliber person who Ariel is.”

On the 76ers’ roster and their status as an Eastern Conference contender:

“You look at their roster, man, it’s just loaded: multiple-time All-Star, multiple-time All-Star, multiple-time All-Star, MVP candidate, MVP candidate, MVP candidate. I remember back in the day, Pop said — when I was an assistant for him — there is a change from having two All-Stars on your team to having three. He brought it to our attention as a staff. He was like, you made at least three NBA All-Stars, and not just one-offs, but perennial All-Stars to go win a championship.

“And this is when we were going against Kobe [Bryant] and Shaq[uille O’Neal] and their [Lakers] team and all that.

“You look at this [Philly] team here, and they’ve got as many All-Stars or guys of that nature as they had in Miami when LeBron was down there. So they’re definitely a deep team, a talented team. Nick Nurse does a phenomenal job. He’s a championship-level coach, and they’re definitely going to be one of the teams that are contending in the East.

“In my opinion, it just got harder for everybody with the team that they assembled here.”

On LeBron James reaching his 24th NBA season:

“The first thing, I guess like year 24 is insane. It’s unheard of. It’s not human. People talk about Wemby being not human because of what he can do for his size. You got to throw LeBron in that category because of his durability and still doing it at the age that he has at a high level. It’s amazing to watch, but if there’s anybody that’s going to do it, he’s going to do it because even when he was young, he was really diligent about taking care of his body and he was not afraid to ask the vets, like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was one of the best in terms of taking care of his body, he was not afraid to ask him what he does daily and then follow his lead. So just an amazing, amazing run for one of the all-time greats.”

On the championship-level upgrade to his travel toiletries kit:

“Something has changed: This is kind of cool. So, our equipment guys are great, Kyle, Steve, Will, shout out to them. One of the best in the league, and they give me a toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash, and lotion, and all that. And they put it in my locker area, and they usually just carry it in a paper bag or a plastic bag.

“[Now] they put it in one of those travel things. And they set it really nice on my desk, and I go in there today, and these freaking guys, they made a travel case. Like this is where my lotion is. This is where the Kleenex goes. The two travel Listerines, the deodorant, and Sensodyne toothpaste in the back.

“And, it’s foam. It’s in a case, and not only that, you can’t see it, but right here, it says lotion. Right here, it says deodorant. So this is what championship level coaches get, right? I guarantee Nick [Nurse] has this s–t, too.”

Karl-Anthony Towns is not "anywhere close" to agreeing to an extension with the Knicks@IanBegley reports with more on the negotiations after Towns' public comments: pic.twitter.com/5H2ozpbTkE

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 5, 2026

Karl-Anthony Towns

On what he wants from a Knicks contract extension:

“Simply put, I want to do something that can keep the team together and that can work with the Knicks, but also values me. And none of those things have come close to happening.”

On wanting to be paid according to his value after winning a championship and not making concessions:

“No s–t, Sherlock. I just got a championship, you thought it’d be pretty easy… unless you guys think I got anything else to prove?”

On the outlook for reaching an extension before the regular season:

“It don’t look good. I mean in my experience, you just appreciate the moments right now and let it go where it goes.”

On how he is handling the lack of an extension:

“Best as anyone could.”

Jalen Brunson on the Knicks' preseason opener:

"It's a good first step. Not a great first step, but as long as we're making strides in the right direction, it's something to be happy about. Still a lot for us to learn and be better at early" pic.twitter.com/fFjwAL9SY5

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 6, 2026

Jalen Brunson

On the Knicks’ preseason opener:

“It’s a good first step. Not a great first step, but as long as we’re making strides in the right direction, it’s something to be happy about. Still a lot for us to learn and be better at early”

On Ariel Hukporti’s injury:

“Definitely heartbreaking. When I came back in the locker room, I went to go check on him. Sad to see. Obviously, we’ll pray for him.”

"It felt good just trying to contribute to the team"

– James Wiseman pic.twitter.com/uJ7PVbqNxW

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 6, 2026

James Wiseman

On his first game with the Knicks:

“It felt good just trying to contribute to the team”

.@ShamsCharania gives an update on Karl-Anthony Towns' potential contract extension with the Knicks 🏀 pic.twitter.com/3WKGJluSfl

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 5, 2026

Shams Charania

On Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart potentially becoming trade candidates if they remain unsigned:

“Josh Hart has already hinted that, as this gets closer to February, which is around the trade deadline.

“The temperature could rise if Karl-Anthony Towns and Hart himself are not extended. So far, these sides are not close.”

Mike Brown plays all the Knicks in camp except Jose Alvarado (knee contusion)

20 guys pic.twitter.com/qNv4dQ6w0H

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 6, 2026

No player in NBA history has ever played 24 seasons before. LeBron James is about to change that. James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in the most shocking move of the NBA summer to chase his fifth championship. He’s already the eighth oldest player in league history to start the season, and he’ll turn 42 years old in December. James has been remarkably durable throughout his career, but nagging injuries started to pop up during the end of his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers. As the Sixers go through training camp, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin detailed one injury James isn’t going to get over.

James has chronic arthritis in his left foot, according to McMenamin, which requires special attention from the Sixers’ medical staff. The superstar also dealt with sciatica in his lower back that caused him to miss a month last season, which is another area that continues to get treatment in Philly.

The Sixers might have the most dubious recent injury history in the NBA, though there are a few teams (the Pelicans, the Grizzlies) who would challenge that claim. Ben Simmons’ career fell apart at age-24 because of injuries after making three All-Star teams. Markelle Fultz’s career never got off the ground in part because of injuries after Philly made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft. Joel Embiid has dealt with seemingly hundreds of different maladies over the years. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as any Sixers fan will tell you.

James played 60 games last year, 70 and 71 games the two years before that, and 55 and 56 games the two years before that. How many will he play this season? LeBron no longer has to carry the scoring load for his team, and the Sixers should be well equipped offensively with Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey even when he and Embiid miss games. Philly could really use James’ signature playmaking component, but that’s more important in the playoffs than the regular season. The goal for the Sixers’ training staff will be to get LeBron in peak shape come playoff time. Can they do it?

It’s easy to imagine the frustration from Sixers fans if James deals with more injuries this year. Just remember: he’s about to 42, and he already has chronic arthritis in his foot. It’s remarkable that he was still so good in the first-round playoff series against the Rockets last season despite that, averaging 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game as he helped the Lakers advance without Luka Doncic.

LeBron made the NBA Finals in eight straight years the last time he was in the East. That was also nine years ago. James could still have some magic left in his body, but there’s no doubt the end is near. Having chronic arthritis is just one sign of that.

There are a few underrated stars in the NBA, but over the last few years, perhaps none have been more consistently overlooked than Jarrett Allen.

In his six seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Allen has averaged 14.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and just over one block per game. Last year, Allen averaged 15.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and just under one block per game. His shooting efficiency took a dip from the season before, but the Cavs remained a better product on the floor with Allen on it.

Then the Cavs traded for James Harden, one of the best pick-and-roll passers ever and a master at maximizing bigs. Regular season lineups with both Allen and Harden on the floor scored 122.7 points per 100 possessions (94th percentile). Prior to Harden, the most-used lineup with Allen was in the 55th percentile in points per 100 possessions. The two most common scapegoats for when things go wrong actually work the best when they are on the floor together.

Allen’s turnaround after the Harden trade cannot be ignored. He scored an additional seven more points per game and was consistently put in better offensive positions after the Cavs acquired the future Hall of Fame guard. That isn’t a coincidence — it is the standard for Harden with traditional bigs like Clint Capela and Ivica Zubac. The ceiling for Allen is unquestionably higher with Harden as the primary point guard. Now, the Cavs will get a full year (barring injury) of Harden as the tip of the spear on offense. Allen’s production on that end should, in theory, be better than ever.

On defense, the Cavs as a unit must be better. Allen didn’t have a bad season on that side of the ball, but his (and Evan Mobley’s) ability to defend at all levels is paramount for a team with small guards and less wing depth than before. Defensive metrics are hard to measure down to the individual player level, but Allen plays a big part in righting the ship on that end. The Cavs’ defense was in the 58th percentile with Allen on the floor, and slightly better in the half-court. There is room for improvement from everyone.

Despite traditionally being the public punching bag when the going gets tough, Allen has been a resolute force with a high floor. His impact transcends the box score, but his 40-point, 17-rebound effort last season doesn’t hurt either. The upcoming season figures to be a good one for the Cavs’ starting center, and they will need it if they want to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s debut season with the Atlanta Hawks was one that could only be described as resounding success. Embracing a larger role compared to the one he saw with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Alexander-Walker raised his scoring output 9.4 points to 20.8 points per game en route to winning the NBA’s Most Improve Player Award. From his scoring — on which the Hawks learned to depend on quickly — including fourth quarter takeovers, to his defensive intensity, Alexander-Walker established himself as one of the most important players of the 2025-26 Hawks.

It was the first time in Alexander-Walker’s career that he has taken on a much larger role, an adjustment that Alexander-Walker is better prepared for this season. Alexander-Walker scored the team’s most total points, while also playing the most minutes of all Hawks last season with 2603 minutes across 78 games.

“I think the recovery part (is important),” said Alexander-Walker when about his expected high minutes this season. “Doing just as much off the court as I do on the court has taken a leap of saying. I’m going to be more diligent with rest, I’m going to be more diligent with days on or days off… The best ability is availability, and now I’m learning and feeling what a high intensity season is with my minutes and the such.”

It was also a role, as described by Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, that wasn’t necessarily planned for originally but became what the team needed as the season unfolded.

“I think my expectation for Nickeil was a player who puts the team first and is going to compete, and we saw him do that night in, night out.” said Snyder. “He is one of the guys whose role consistently evolved throughout the course of the season. If you recall, the Nickeil we had in November evolved when we had some injuries, the Nickeil we had in December evolved when we had trades. I think Nickeil’s ability to find out what the team needs and to provide that I think is a calling card of his.”

While the postseason didn’t see Alexander-Walker replicate that regular season success, little changes in terms of his role going forward. Heading into his second season, while the Hawks have seen roster changes around the fringes, they will depend on Alexander-Walker’s play on both sides of the ball; to be a leader on both sides of the ball. The player that can take the opposing team’s best offensive wing, while also bearing a scoring burden that the Hawks need filled. Alexander-Walker scored the team’s most total points, while also playing the most minutes of all Hawks last season with 2603 minutes across 78 games.

When looking at Alexander-Walker’s shotchart from last season, there’s not a ton you’d look at and say that needs improving:

You can see Alexander-Walker’s preferred side shooting the ball, and if it isn’t above average, Alexander-Walker’s shooting slightly above or just below league average in many other zones. His corner shooting is excellent and far-exceeds league average shooting.

If you had to choose an area of the court that Alexander-Walker could improve upon, you could say you’d like to see his finishing at the rim creep above league average, and his shooting from the right-slot at a higher clip than 32.7%. This is nit-picking, to be frank, because if Alexander-Walker can replicate his shooting percentages from last season (including 39% from three on over eight attempts) it would be a successful season.

The key to Alexander-Walker’s continued success with the Hawks is being able to translate what he did in the regular season to the NBA playoffs. Against the Knicks, Alexander-Walker was limited to 13.7 points on 38% shooting from the field, one of the keys to the Hawks’ eventual defeat to the eventual champions in six games.

The 2026 playoffs were Alexander-Walker’s first taste of the postseason as a leading scorer, and has taken his lessons from that series going forward, and what he worked on over the summer.

“Just getting stronger, being a better playmaker,” said Alexander-Walker of what he worked on over the summer. “In the Knicks series they did good job when I was off-ball. How do I be better while being off-ball and facing top-locks and physicality and teams being up? I feel the game is slowing down for me even more, understanding how to be effective, almost in the sense of the art of war. Using the opponent’s pressure against them, using it to my advantage, sometimes allowing physicality and the different things I learned this summer to set the tone and not necessarily get side-tracked from what’s the most important thing. It can turn into an internal battle: you know you’re not at your best and the only thing you can think about is trying to be at your best. I’ve learned that it’s about trying to figure it out. Driving manual has taught me that. When you get caught on that hill, you’ve got to figure it out. The small things I’ve done this summer to help me mentally as well as skill: shooting off the dribble, getting to the paint, decision-making, getting comfortable in the mid-range as well.”

Snyder also identified Alexander-Walker’s focus on making those around him better.

“As you look at his game, he’s someone who embraces the opportunity to improve,” said Snyder. “I think that can take many different forms. When you embrace something, usually you have success doing it . That versatility he has as a player, and also as a teammate, I think is foundational part of our identity. Nickeil more than anybody, he’s lived it: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. His focus is on making the people around him better.”

Alexander-Walker will once again play a starring role on both sides of the ball on a team which hopes to make an automatic playoff berth and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with within the Eastern Conference…

Back from a week in paradise, the real work begins for the Golden State Warriors.

Their preseason trip to the north shore of Oahu featured five practices, one exhibition loss to the Clippers — and a traditional Hawaiian luau, complete with fire dancers and plenty of leis.

“Overall, a really good week in Hawaii,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Now we’ve got to build on it.”

They continue their preseason slate on the mainland Tuesday night when the Lakers visit Chase Center in the Warriors’ first game in front of their home fans since the end of last season.

Here are three things to keep an eye on:

Growing pains

Despite the luxurious destination — the Ritz-Carlton Turtle Bay — Draymond Green described this training camp as one of the most taxing he’s experienced under Kerr.

That’s because, in a sense, Kerr is trying to teach an old dog new tricks.

It’s not just Green, though the 36-year-old forward has arguably the biggest adjustment to make. The motion offense that was a staple of the Warriors’ golden years and typically featured Green or another center in the low post is gone in favor of a five-out system that stretches the floor.

Its debut in the 103-101 loss to the Clippers didn’t exactly get a ringing endorsement. The Warriors connected on only six of 33 attempts from deep and turned it over 16 times.

One detractor described the showing as “pretty nasty” and another said it was “a little funky.” Actually, that was feedback straight from the floor — speedy new point guard Brandon Williams and backcourt mate De’Anthony Melton, speaking to reporters after the game.

“Spacing, flow — all that stuff needs to improve,” Kerr said.

Green was asked if he could feel the difference in the amount of time he spent on the perimeter.

“I definitely feel it,” he said. “Whether I like it or not, it’s gonna happen.”

Steph Curry, who finished with 10 points in 12 minutes, said there’s been “clarity” on what they’re trying to do offensively. “It’s just, you need reps at it,” he said.

“It is hard to assess when you’re playing six-minute stretches. This is about reps, film, getting in shape and increasing the expectation of execution every preseason game we have.”

Yaxel’s debut

A new offensive system isn’t the only thing the Warriors are breaking in this preseason.

They have a new rookie who they are counting on to do big things right off the bat.

Fans will get their first in-person look at Yaxel Lendeborg, the 11th overall pick in the draft this past June, whose big personality and polished game have already made an impression.

Lendeborg was named Summer League MVP and since arriving in camp has earned high praise from Green, who was famously harsh on their last draft pick out of Michigan.

His preseason debut didn’t go so well, finishing with four points on 1-of-6 shooting in 19 minutes. Kerr specifically called him out for passing up a layup to try to make one more pass to Charles Bassey that turned into a steal and three points on the other end.

“We need Yaxel to have an aggressive scoring mentality,” Kerr said. “That’s something that we’re going to work with him on. Because he can make plays and he can score.”

Kerr said he believes the 24-year-old can be “our lead offensive threat” when Curry is resting.

“We don’t want anything passive,” Curry said. “We want him applying pressure on both ends of the floor but especially offensively. It’s not gonna be perfect. He’s gonna make mistakes. I think he hopefully can thrive off the fact that he can play through those.”

A new Podz

The prevailing opinion from those on the island seemed to be that one player was heads and tails the most improved from last season: Brandin Podziemski.

The fourth-year guard showed up with a new haircut and determination to take his game to the next level. Curry said that he was the “same player, same talent. Just looks like he’s in better shape. He looks like he’s a little stronger, little quicker.”

Like Lendeborg, however, his play didn’t live up to the hype in the preseason opener. Podziemski finished 2-of-10 from the floor — 1-of-4 from beyond the perimeter.

The Warriors will need both young players to step up to get where they want to go this season.

CHARLESTON — When Mike Conley was a little kid playing basketball, all he worried about was making sure that his 10-year-old teammates were having fun.

“I can remember being in elementary school, on little rec league teams where you had a mix of boys and girls, and I was doing my best to get all people involved,” Conley told CelticsBlog in an exclusive interview. “Like, I knew I might have been the best on the court and could score every time, but I was like, let me just make sure that he got a shot, or she got a shot, and just make sure that everybody was happy and having fun.”

Looking back, Conley is still not entirely sure why involving teammates was such a priority to his 10-year-old self. Part of it, he admits, was the result of how he was raised: both his mom and dad constantly hammered home the importance of caring for others.

“They really made it seem like the world is always bigger than you,” Conley said. “It’s not about you. Your time here is: how can you affect people in a positive way and change people’s lives? That’s been the mantra from day one.”

In any case, it’s no surprise that nearly 30 years later, Conley is widely heralded as one of the best teammates and sportsmen in basketball. He’s famously never been called for a technical foul. He’s won four NBA Sportsmanship Awards, the most of any player in NBA history. And he’s earned the league’s Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award twice, most recently in 2024 with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Leadership just comes naturally to him,” Joe Mazzulla said. “People flock to him.”

After years of it almost happening, Conley landed in Boston in July, signing a 1-year deal as a 38-year-old free agent. In part because they both hail from Indiana, Conley and Brad Stevens have known each other for a long time, and they’d gotten in contact almost every time the point guard was a free agent during his illustrious career.

But it just never worked out.

“The timing was never there,” Conley said. “And then, ironically enough, 20 years into it, the timing finally is right.”

And while Conley is not in his basketball prime, he arrives in Boston ready to bring the leadership and mentorship he’s become so well known for across the league.

“It’s part of the job at this stage of my career,” he said. “I understand it. I understand there’s going to be a lot of times where I don’t play. There’s going to be some times where I’m needed. There are other times where I’m just needed to be the voice for a big stretch of the season. Being comfortable with that, and being able to own that, is my role and my job.”

No one has benefitted more from his mentorship so far than Payton Pritchard

Since training camp began last week, Pritchard has spoken extensively about how helpful Conley has been for him. The two 6’1 guards share the same player development coach this season — God Shammgod Jr. — and they begin their practices with joint workouts. On off days, the two like to golf.

“He’s just reliable, and just a good dude,” Pritchard said. “He’s somebody you can always talk to and lean on.”

Pritchard’s presence in Boston was a draw for Conley, and something he made note of from the start.

“When I signed here, he was one guy I had pegged as like, hey, I’ve loved this game from afar,” Conley said. “If there’s anything I can do to help him, I will do it.”

Little did he know just how much Pritchard would want to be mentored by him.

“We’ve been working out ever since I set foot in Boston, every little micro detail,” Conley said. “He’s so easy to be around because he wants to learn; he asks a ton of questions, texts me at nighttime, and hits me early in the morning about something that he has an idea about.”

So, on Sunday night in Charleston, as the Celtics enjoyed a team dinner at their hotel, Pritchard peppered Conley with basketball questions.

“We’re just sitting there watching football, and he’s like, ‘So you think my pace is a little bit too fast? You think I should slow down on certain things?” Conley recalled.

The questions continued throughout the night.

“When do you feel like you were the best version of yourself?” Pritchard asked Conley.

“He was gauging what I was like at certain ages, and how I was at his age, at 28,” Conley said. “It’s just fun to be able to give information to somebody that really wants it.”

Mike Conley and Payton Pritchard are kicking off the morning with a joint workout here in Charleston https://t.co/yRZdqxdueDpic.twitter.com/LdC3BFq8qQ

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 4, 2026

Interestingly, Conley serves as a shining example that the future holds endless possibilities; he became the first player to be named an All-Star for the first time in his 14th NBA season or later, when he was an All-Star replacement in 2021 at age 34. So, he views Pritchard’s future as extremely bright.

And Pritchard relishes the chance to pick the veteran’s brain. He’s been asking him for advice on how to draw more fouls without becoming a flopper and how to be a better facilitator.

“As somebody that’s looked up to Mike, [I ask him] how he thinks of the game and how he was able to create his shots and create shots for his teammates and maybe handle playing the point guard position, momentum swings,” Pritchard said. “He’s been in a lot of great environments, great playoff series. How was he able to kill in those moments and dominate the game?”

Conley has grown as a teammate throughout his career

While it was always Conley’s natural instinct to be a good teammate, he feels it’s only become easier with the years.

“When you’re 18, you’re in a room full of 25, 30-year-old guys, and you’re just trying to find your way as an individual,” Conley said. “You’re trying to learn from them as much as you can, and take the back seat, and take your bumps and bruises along the way. And when your time comes, when you’re given more on your plate, when you’re given more responsibility, you take those lessons that you learned from your vets, lessons that you learned from your coaches, and the stuff you’ve instilled throughout your life, and apply it.”

As such, in Year 20 as a pro, he feels poised to lead, even in a locker room filled with NBA champions like Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser.

Not every aspect of leadership and teamwork came naturally; Conley did not enjoy calling out his teammates early in his career, but over time he came to accept that it was an important part of his role. As his reputation as a good teammate and leader grew, he felt empowered to speak up, even when it wasn’t always comfortable.

“If there’s a guy who’s got bad body language, I’ll approach them like, ‘Man, this isn’t how we want to be seen. This isn’t our culture. This isn’t how we react.’”

And if he sees teammates disrespecting one another or communicating in a way that isn’t productive, he’ll weigh in.

“I’m big on how people address certain people,” Conley said. “Not everybody can be addressed the same way, just the way they emotionally are set up. So, just trying to balance that; being able to step in and say what I need to say, when I need to say it.”

Joe Mazzulla has already observed Conley exhibiting the same caretaking instincts he had as a kid.

“He’s constantly coming into the building, worrying about others and not thinking of himself,” he said. “It says a lot about him. He comes in very present: how can he help the team?”

Luka Garza is intimately familiar with Conley’s impact in a locker room; the two were teammates on the Minnesota Timberwolves for three seasons.

“He’s the best,” Garza said. “He’s able to connect with every guy on the team. He has just a rare skill, but also just is the same, man. Every day, he shows up with a consistent, positive energy.”

Conley is also instilling a sense of perspective in his younger Celtics teammates

It’s only been a few months, and game action hasn’t even begun, but Conley is already wildly impressed by what he’s experiencing in Boston. He’s not thrown off by the fact that he’s a few months older than Joe Mazzulla — he already experienced that when coached by Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy

“I’ve learned a lot, actually, just from being here for a month — from Joe, from the staff, from the culture, the way things are run here,” he said. “It’s a lot. It’s very unique, a very unique place.”

And, as he acclimates, he finds himself constantly hammering home to his younger teammates just how good they have it in Boston.

“I’m telling these guys, I’ve been a lot of places, and you’re not going to find much better than what you have here, as far as the coaches, the way they work, the facilities, the healthcare, all the things that are intertwined in there,” he said. “So, I’m really impressed and excited to spend a year here.”

Jordan Walsh has been among those who have appreciated Conley’s presence.

“He’s an all-around great guy who tries to take mentoring to another level,” Walsh said. 

Walsh laughed as he remembered another aspect of Conley’s presence he appreciates: “Then, of course, there’s the occasional ‘I’m 40. I’m ready for this sub,’” he said. “That’s great as well.”

There’s a world where Conley lands in Boston years ago, when he was still among the best point guards in the game. He can’t help thinking about that scenario sometimes.

“Obviously, I wish it happened earlier,” Conley said. “But hey, I’m grateful for every stop I’ve had, and grateful to be here.”

“It’s been a long time coming.”

The Dallas Mavericks ended up with the 6’7” 20-year-old Sergio De Larrea on draft night following not one, but two trades. He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers, traded to the New York Knicks, and landed with the Mavericks in a series of trades that, to this day, I can’t comprehend. He joins a Dallas team in desperate need at the point guard position after spending the last two seasons with Valencia, of EuroLeague, where his role grew each year.

He joins a talented and crowded Mavericks team, though one missing table-setters. After a strong NBA Summer League performance and flashes of great play in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, De Larrea will have a chance to make an impact on a team in Dallas that hopes to take a huge leap forward this season.

Big Question

For a rookie on a busy Dallas roster, this is simple: where do De Larrea’s minutes come from? For the sake of argument, let’s assume Dereck Lively is out to start the season. These are the players who should get minutes before Sergio: Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Max Christie, Naji Marshall, Morez Johnson Jr., Zaccharie Risacher, and Santi Aldama.

If you can do some math, that puts De Larrea firmly in the 9-10-11th man list and that’s by me, random writer, not the Dallas coaching staff.

However, I think if Dallas hopes to compete down the stretch and make a run at a spot in the Play-In Tournament, he needs to be getting regular situational minutes. The NBA is a league where you learn by doing, and that means playing time.

Best Case Scenario

There are two here, depending on how one decides to read the prompt. The best-case scenario for De Larrea individually is that injuries force him out of the frying pan and into the fire. I have no means of justifying this take yet, but I firmly believe this is the type of player who will produce and improve rapidly if put immediately into the fire of an NBA game. But the scenario in which De Larrea is getting consistent minutes is also one where the Mavs are likely having a rough go at things.

For the Mavericks, the best-case scenario is that they’re able to win regularly enough while putting him into game action at times when it most benefits what they want him to learn. While I know the coaching staff would agree the feet-first approach might be best, the team has a crowded roster with veterans, and this means De Larrea is going to have to earn his minutes.

The most realistic best-case scenario is somewhere in the middle of these two. Kyrie Irving playing 65 games would mean fewer minutes for Sergio, but I also expect Irving to give Dallas 50 games, and anything else is a bonus. That leaves many, many minutes for someone who can run the offense.

Worst Case Scenario

If De Larrea has a lackluster rookie campaign, it will also relate back to minutes. The only real concern I have is if he cannot pick up what the coaching staff has in store for the team on either end of the floor. Lucky for us, that seems very unlikely, and it’s believed that the coaching staff and front office are very confident in the Spaniard.

Or an injury. Sergio’s body type is thin, and the NBA is a punishing, relentless experience. But all rookies are skinny comparably, so this is much ado about nothing.

But perhaps I am being too positive for once.

Season Goal

Let’s get crazy: Sergio De Larrea makes an All Rookie team! It’s going to be hard with this class, but I believe in him.

Overall

I am putting too much stock in De Larrea. But I can’t help it; Dallas has Cooper Flagg and it’s time to get this show on the road for the future. Most of these other guys won’t be on the team in three years. Don’t believe me? Kyrie Irving is the longest-tenured Dallas Maverick (I am not counting Dwight Powell until he’s on the actual roster). Things change fast in the NBA, and a guard like De Larrea is it for me. He can shoot it from deep, he’s tall, and he seems unafraid. You can go to battle with that.

For the past 6 months, every conversation regarding the deep bench of the Utah Jazz has been defined by 1 phrase – “You can’t put too much weight on it”. There is truth to this – the end of a regular season defined by egregious tanking isn’t a perfect equivalent for meaningful basketball, and the Summer League is oftentimes more akin in quality to a televised pick-up game than to the best basketball league in the world. This saying has persisted into October; how much weight should we really put on the fourth quarter of a preseason contest?

While there is validity in being cautious in our evaluations of players in contexts where the lights aren’t shining quite as brightly as they do in the thick of the year, I need to push back a little bit – we need to place weight on something. Even if our limited exposure with these players comes in situations that are not perfect, 1-to-1 comparisons with meaningful NBA games, I believe we are taking a bit of an analytical cop-out to refrain from any evaluation and projection based on what we can see from the months of April to October. Summer League isn’t perfect, and preseason isn’t much better, but they both provide clues on what we can expect from a player when suddenly, they are thrown into the deep end of winning-time.

So, taking into account all of the knowledge we have gathered from the past 6 months, which of the deep-bench players has the best odds to elevate themselves from that rank and become a rotation player? I will be defining “deep-bench player” as the 5 players that the Jazz rolled out during the fourth quarter during their first preseason game against the Nuggets. Sure, it’s likely that one of Josh Green and Josh Okogie are out of the primary 10 man rotation to start the year, but their more established nature in the league goes against the purpose of this exercise. Instead, our goal today is to uncover which diamond-in-the-rough, overlooked player will take the leap this year into that “established” tier that Green and Okogie already populate.

5. Tamar Bates

I like Tamar Bates. I think he plays hard, moves with NBA-level fluidity, and has some league-ready skills (the stand-still shooting is absolutely legit, and I’ve been impressed with his point-of-attack defense). However, more than anyone else in this ranking, Bates is facing an uphill battle towards claiming consistent minutes due to the constraints of the position that he plays. The Utah Jazz love shooting guards. They love shooting guards so much that we have (depending on your positional classifications) up to 4 guys who are all probably best suited for the backup shooting guard position. Some will, by necessity, play more as the bench small forward, but nevertheless, the Jazz’s abundance of riches at this position really limits Tamar’s upward mobility. Not only will he have to play the best basketball of his life, but he’ll probably need multiple options above him to get injured and maybe another one to play extraordinarily poorly. It doesn’t help that Bates is entirely position-locked; he’s too short and slender to play the three, and he’s never flashed the playmaking chops to be considered a point guard. Bates is fun, and I expect him to be a key contributor on the SLC Stars, but for the time being, it is likely wisest to expect to remain simmering in developmental juices than to make a rapid rise into the team’s young core.

4. Harrison Ingram

I wish it was more likely for Ingram to obtain minutes, because he so exceptionally fills a few major, anticipated gaps in the skillset of this team. Ingram is a decidedly funky player, dribbling to the the beat of his own drum. For a comparison to past Jazz players, Joe Ingles and Kyle Anderson are the most applicable – Ingram falls into the lineage of heftier forwards who lack in burst but make up for it with wit and ball skills. Those ball skills could be immensely helpful on a team desperately lacking forwards who can competently pass and dribble; Hardy would be able to coach up some interesting plays for a 235 pound forward who averaged nearly 5 assists per game during his last G-League season, and who functioned at times as a guard in college. His rebounding talents are also sorely needed – he’s got a genuine nose for the ball, evidenced by his nearly 11 rebounds per game over his G-League career. There is, in theory, a spot in the rotation for a dribbling, passing, rebounding power forward.

However, Harrison is not without his faults. To start, the shooting improvement that some predicted after his junior season at UNC where he made 38.5% of his three pointers has not actualized. In the G-League, he has been poor from both behind the three point and free throw lines. Additionally, while he is a good positional defender off of the ball, he’s a bit of a tweener when defending the ball handler. Ingram was hurt more than most by the people in charge of measurements at the combine – in college, he was reported to be 6’8, and now is listed at 6’5. He’s got a solid enough wingspan, but is simply giving up too much height to guard the bigger forwards, and cannot move his heavy frame quick enough to stick with the smaller ones. This doesn’t mean that I think he’s a negative defender; in fact, I think his headiness keeps him as a potentially solid positive at that end. However, defense likely won’t be the skill that gets him on to the court until he becomes substantially more versatile. I want to believe in Ingram’s upward mobility this season, because big and smart and talented forwards are high-upside bets (less so now that he’s 23, to be sure), but when his deficiencies are taken into account in combination with who he’d have to pass to gain minutes, playing time with the A-Team this season seems unlikely.

3. Trey Alexander

While I prefer Bates and Ingram to Alexander in a vacuum, the path for Trey to regular minutes is significantly less murky. To start, Trey plays a position that the Jazz are one injury away from suddenly looking quite lackluster. There isn’t potential for Trey to play his way over Isaiah Collier, but if Collier or Keyonte were to go down with an injury for a extended period of time, the lack of ballhandlers on the team almost necessitates a role for Alexander (or a trade for Kris Dunn). Would those minutes be successful? No, probably not, but it doesn’t hurt that Trey has played any amount of NBA minutes before, which cannot be said for Bates. His 228 total career minutes isn’t much, but I would guess that some of the quickest growth for a player comes in those first few hundred minutes, so it is still a point in Trey’s favor.

For those more unaware with Alexander’s game, he is best defined as a jack-of-all-trades type point guard. He’s a good shooter, but his percentages fluctuated in college. He’s a solid passer, but not solid enough for him to be tasked as a point guard for most of his NBA career up to this point (though, by his junior year at Creighton, he was solidly a point guard, and that has continued into the G-League). He’s quick but rarely blows by players, he defends but rarely locks up. The strongest tool in his arsenal isn’t any one skill, but rather his size – being ok at everything is a lot more palatable as a 6’5 guard than a 6’2 one. Additionally, he has been legitimately productive at the G-League level; across nearly 50 games over 2 years, he’s putting up averages of 25/5/7 on respectable shooting splits. There’s a chance that he’s ironed out the creases in his game present while he was at Creighton and that he is now simply an improved all-around player. I haven’t quite seen anything in his (albeit very, very short) Jazz career that makes me change my collegiate evaluation of Alexander, but his combo of size, production, and position give him a real chance to jump to consistent minutes. I’d prefer a midseason trade if injuries occur, but Alexander’s minutes ceiling is high.

2. Mo Bamba

I was contemplating whether Bamba deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as these other 4 players. He’s played in nearly 7 times the amount of games as the rest of the list put together and he’s bounced around the league for nearly a decade. However, if the criteria is being “established”, I think Bamba has yet to hit that bar, even if he is a fairly well known commodity. To his credit, he has not stopped scratching and clawing and fighting his way to NBA success (7 teams in 8 seasons!), and I think there is a very possible world where, this season, his hard work finally lands him a real role on a good team. Bamba has been in-and-out of the Jazz system a number of times, which gives him a certain level of comfort with the scheme and staff that the newcomers lack, and he seems ready to adopt a leadership role.

Mo Bamba says his main goal is to be a communicator for this Jazz team with all of the young guys. Says he will be there to steady the ship when guys get down.

Also says that he can still learn from Nurkic, JJJ, and Lauri.#TakeNote | @kslsportshttps://t.co/CE9uxvaZBG

— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) September 28, 2026

When you consider the fact that Jusuf Nurkic has played an average of 52 games per season through his 12 game, there is a very possible hole to be filled at the center position at some point during the year, and it’s not like Jaxson Hayes is some insurmountable hurdle at the backup center position either. We have 3 centers on the roster (I would really prefer to see Flip and JJJ almost entirely at the 4), and one of them is Bamba – he is boosted on this list by virtue of that alone. However, and maybe I’ve fallen victim to one of the classic blunders, I still have some belief in Bamba becoming a semi-valuable NBA player, regardless of his place on Utah’s center ladder. He’s big and he’s hitting threes and, in theory, he’s only become more comfortable defending the pick and roll as his career has progressed. I don’t ever want him starting, but I trust him to eat minutes as a bench big, assuming the rest of that bench lineup is consistently competent. However, even if consistent minutes aren’t in the cards for him this year, Bamba’s attitude may allow him to provide value from a deep-bench role.

1. Blake Hinson

While Hinson doesn’t have the easiest positionally path to playing time (that would go either the point guard or center on this list), but he occupies the top spot due purely to his overwhelming talent advantage. I’ve had to look hard to find the reasons that the rest of this list may end up deserving minutes by the end of the year, but with Hinson, it’s easy – the Jazz seem to have really found something with him. It all starts with his shooting, where he is legitimately dynamic. Off the catch or off of movement, from a few feet out closer to the line, open or contested, Hinson is knockdown from just about anywhere. I love the combination between his frame and verticality on the jump shot – he has a similar build to Bojan Bogdanovic, but instead of the 2 inch leap that accompanied Bogie’s shots, Hinson soars over contests when it’s his turn to fire away. I’m not sure how valid the reports are that Blake lost 22 pounds over the offseason, but he does look to be in better shape, which can only improve his effectiveness at both ends. Moments like this certainly can’t hurt his standing in coach’s eyes, either –

Blake Hinson: "I can help however. I can go get coffee. I can maybe make a shot. I can talk to somebody. I can watch your dog. I just want to be a part of the program." pic.twitter.com/fpoDgcUQtQ

— dan c. (@danclayt0n) October 5, 2026

Like the rest of the list, Hinson’s case for minutes likely is intertwined with injuries. However, I think that Hinson is the only option here who could, feasibly, earn minutes based of being too good to leave on the bench. The path based on merit would take one of two forms – if Ace is at the backup power forward, it would take Blake beating out Brice, Svi, Okogie, and Green for the backup small forward. If Ace is at the three, then Blake has to best Kyle Filipowski (the difference between the two scenario is mainly technical – Blake would really be beating all of those players in either of them due to the versatility of the positions). It’s not likely, to be sure, but if Hinson is shooting 43% from three and crashing the boards with ferocity, he may be able to play a winning, necessary role better than the alternative options, even if those options are better all around players. This still may not be the year for Hinson – I like him, but he likely isn’t more conducive to winning basketball than Josh Okogie right now. Still, he is the member on this list that I am most confident in my desire to return in future seasons. Shooting and size and heart like that don’t come by every day, so let’s make sure that Blake remains part of the program.

How would you change this list? Which are you most excited for? Comment below!

The first half against Detroit showed exactly what the Phoenix Suns want to be. They were physical, had active hands, excelled on the offensive glass and in transition, and their second effort and defensive pressure were omnipresent. The Suns looked crisp to start the preseason and it was sure good to see basketball once again.

The second and third units showed the other side of that equation in the second half, where ball security and young players processing the game under pressure are going to come with a learning curve. The execution deteriorated quickly, the turnovers piled up, and the Suns fell into prolonged scoring droughts. Yes, they made a game of it late, because that is what Suns basketball is. They never quit, never succumb, and never stop. It’s part of the culture, and even with players who most likely won’t make the roster, you witnessed it.

In short? The starters built the house, constructing a 19-point lead, and the kids spent the third quarter lighting it on fire. Such is preseason basketball. Such are the ebbs and flows of learning how to play together and adjusting to new roles. Because that’s a significant part of what this preseason is about for many of these players. For somebody like Koa Peat, he’s learning what the NBA game looks like and what the speed feels like, all while trying to understand and embrace a role that is new to him.

So while the Suns walked out of Little Caesars Arena with a loss in their pocket, it’s only a loss if you don’t learn from it. And seeing as this was the first day of school, there’s plenty of opportunity to keep learning. Let’s just avoid the matches, eh?

Bright Side Baller Nominees

Preseason Game 1 against the Pistons. Here are your nominees:

Devin Booker
13 points (4-of-7, 1-of-4 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, +18 +/-

Dillon Brooks
11 points (4-of-7, 2-of-4 3PT), 2 rebounds, 0 turnovers, +18 +/-

Miles Bridges
8 points (3-of-8, 1-of-3 3PT), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, +9 +/-

Jordan Goodwin
7 points (3-of-6, 1-of-2 3PT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 turnover, +5 +/-

Collin Gillespie
8 points (3-of-3, 2-of-2 3PT), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, +6 +/-

Jalen Green
11 points (3-of-6, 1-of-4 3PT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, +10 +/-

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Your first Bright Side Baller vote of the season. So it begins…

As we’ve discussed at length, a lot went wrong for the Milwaukee Bucks a season ago: injuries, Doc Rivers, underperformance, Doc Rivers, trade drama, Doc Rivers… Did I mention Doc Rivers? Yet, amid all the toxicity, there was a positive storyline to latch onto: Ryan Rollins’ breakout season.

After joining the Bucks on a two-way deal at the 2023-24 All-Star break and then making his debut on this list ahead of the 2024-25 season (where he was ranked 17th), Rollins has made tremendous strides. In fact, going from a two-way contract player to one of the main pieces of an NBA roster is nothing short of astounding. But it’s more than just that.

With Damian Lillard gone prior to last season and Kevin Porter Jr. injured on opening night, Rollins was inserted into the starting lineup and stayed there for most games, starting in 67/74 contests. He took full advantage of the opportunity too, setting career highs in nearly every statistical category: 17.3 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 4.6 RPG, while playing 32.1 (!) minutes per night.

Beyond the statistical jumps, the eye test also showed Rollins’ remarkable improvement. He became a solid secondary and even primary creator when Giannis and/or KPJ were injured. He could attack downhill, create his own shot, and pass well. The advanced stats back it up too. According to Cleaning the Glass, just 40% of Rollins’ made baskets were assisted, while only 18% of his made mid-range shots were assisted. As for his passing, his assist rate jumped 10 percentage points, from 16.3% to 26.3%, moving him from the 6th to the 42nd percentile.

While Rollins provided a lot on offence a year ago, he was also one of the few plus defenders on the roster. According to NBA.com, Rollins defended the third-most shots per game on the Bucks at 11.5 (most among the guards) and forced players to shoot just 45.2% when he guarded them—fifth-best for Milwaukee. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that Rollins made the Bucks a better defensive team when he was on the floor; with Rollins teams scored 5.8 fewer points per possession (91st percentile) and had a 3% lower effective field goal percentage (90th percentile). Any way you slice it, Rollins was Milwaukee’s most impactful player for most of the season, behind Giannis—and you could argue he was more impactful because he played more than twice as many games as Giannis.

Beyond his play on the court, Rollins also has the right mentality—especially for this Bucks team. He’s as tough as nails (as Jack wrote last year), having dealt with shoulder issues throughout much of his Bucks tenure, but has tried to gut through injury and stay available as much as possible. And make no mistake, Rollins will be called upon to step up even more this year—not just as a player, but also as a leader. Time will tell if he’s truly ready for that.

Of course, the key task for the Bucks moving forward will be keeping Rollins around. He’s in the second year of a three-year, $12m deal, but the final year is a player option. If Rollins has another season anything like last year, he’ll surely decline that option and look for a much bigger payday. Ultimately, we’ll see what the future holds, but I imagine Jon Horst will do what is necessary to keep a 24-year-old in a Bucks uniform.

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No poll this time. Congratulations to Tyler Herro for winning this year’s Ranking the Roster series in his debut year in the Cream City! We’ll see if he’ll be back next year to repeat.

The Big Ten finally ended its men's basketball national title drought thanks to Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines. May left for the NBA, so the throne is vacant. Can in-state rival Michigan State take the crown?

We polled writers within the USA TODAY Network who cover Big Ten schools for their preseason predictions, all-conference teams and preseason awards ahead of Big Ten media days, which run Oct. 8 in Rosemont, Illinois.

It was a two-horse for the top spot between Michigan State and Illinois, with the Spartans edging it out by one point (280-279).

Jeremy Fears Jr. was selected as preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and was the only unanimous All-Big Ten pick. Here's a look at how our writers think the 2026-27 season will shake out in the Big Ten:

From court to campout: Tom Izzo gets early peek at Michigan State basketball

Big Ten basketball preseason poll, predicted order of finish

1. Michigan State
2. Illinois
3. Michigan
4. UCLA
5. Nebraska
6. Purdue
7. USC
8. Ohio State
9. Indiana
10. Iowa
11. Wisconsin
12. Maryland
13. Minnesota
14. Oregon
15. Washington
16. Northwestern
17. Rutgers
18. Penn State

2026-27 preseason All-Big Ten basketball team

FIRST TEAM

* denotes unanimous selection

• Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State*
• Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska
• David Mirkovic, Illinois
• Elliot Cadeau, Michigan
• Nolan Winter, Wisconsin

SECOND TEAM

• Trey McKenney, Michigan
• Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois
• John Mobley Jr., Ohio State
• Pharrel Payne, Maryland
• Rodney Rice, USC

Also receiving votes (listed by vote count): Coen Carr, Michigan State; Markus Burton, Indiana; Aiden Sherrell, Indiana; Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois; Nikola Kusturica, UCLA; Trent Perry, UCLA; KJ Lewis, USC; Tariq Francis, Rutgers; Stefan Vaaks, Illinois; Alijah Arenas, USC; Daniel Jacobsen, Purdue; Braden Frager, Nebraska; C.J. Cox, Purdue; Cade Tyson, Minnesota; Omer Mayer, Purdue; Eric Dailey Jr., UCLA; Jaylen Petty, UCLA; Anthony Thompson, Ohio State; JP Estrella, Michigan; Jacob Cofie, USC.

Big Ten basketball preseason Player of the Year

Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State

Fears averaged 15.2 points and a league-leading 9.4 assists per game last season on way to a first-team All-Big Ten selection. He landed on numerous All-America teams last year and enters the 2026-27 season on shortlists for national player of the year.

Also receiving votes: David Mirkovic, Illinois; Trey McKenney, Michigan.

Big Ten basketball preseason Newcomer of the Year (non-freshman)

Stefan Vaaks, Illinois

Brad Underwood sure does love him some European. This 6-7 Estonian transfer from Providence averaged 15.8 points per game last season and led the Big East with 91 made 3s (at a 35% clip). The Illini lost their top 3-point shooters from last season (Keaton Wagler and Ben Humrichous), so Vaaks fills a key void.

Also receiving votes: Markus Burton, Indiana; KJ Lewis, USC; Aiden Sherrell, Indiana; Jaylen Petty, UCLA; Moustapha Thiam, Michigan.

Big Ten basketball preseason Freshman of the Year

Anthony Thompson, Ohio State

A top-10 national recruit, Thompson is the highest-ranked Buckeyes recruit since Jared Sullinger in 2010 and the program's first McDonald's All American since D'Angelo Russell in 2014. The 6-9 Ohio native has a 7-3 wingspan averaged 24.9 points and 7.9 rebounds and has range that extends to the 3-point arc.

Also receiving votes: Nikola Kusturica, UCLA; Christian Collins, USC; Quentin Coleman, Illinois; Bab Oladotun, Maryland.

Poll participants: Nathan Baird (IndyStar), John Steppe (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), Tyler Tachman (Des Moines Register), Connor Earegood (Detroit News), Adam Jardy (Columbus Dispatch), Zach Osterman (IndyStar), Jordan Mendoza (USA TODAY), Sam King (Lafayette Journal & Courier), Jerry Carino (Asbury Park Press), Chris Solari (Detroit Free Press), Graham Couch (Lansing State Journal), Michael Niziolek (Bloomington Herald-Times), Tony Garcia (Detroit Free Press), Chad Leistikow (Des Moines Register), John Leuzzi (USA TODAY Network), Craig Meyer (USA TODAY Network).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan State or Illinois? Big Ten basketball preseason poll reveals razor-thin favorite

Day 168.

I started keeping track after waking up inside CelticsBlog writer Grant Burfeind’s body several months ago. I figured a precise timeline would be useful if we ever figured out how to reverse this.

Then I decided against reversing it.

“I think I’m going to stay in this new life for as long as I can,” I wrote back in April.

In retrospect, my Sixers soul probably just hadn’t spent enough time inside Grant to become active. Curses can have an incubation period. Nobody tells you that during a body swap!

When I wrote my last article in Grant’s body, the Celtics had just beaten the Sixers by 32 points in Game 1. Jaylen Brown was still in Boston. LeBron James lived safely across the country. I had escaped Philadelphia sports misery and landed inside a devilishly handsome Celtics writer with only mild lower-back pain.

By Game 4, Boston led 3-1. The swap was looking and feeling great.

Then I covered Game 5 at TD Garden and watched the Sixers stay alive from press row, a very professional place to experience the first symptom of a spiritual emergency. I took notes and tried not to stare too long at the Philadelphia celebration happening below me.

For Game 6, I went to a Boston pub in the Jaylen Brown jersey I had just bought. Philadelphia won again. A man beside me said, “they’ll take care of it at home,” like he was confirming a dinner reservation.

For Game 7, I was back inside the Garden with a credential, watching my former team become the first in NBA history to erase a 3-1 deficit against the Celtics.

Somewhere in Philadelphia, Vinny, my longtime neighbor, was probably dancing on a parked car. My landlord Joey had likely converted the laundry room into a members-only playoff lounge. My cousin Bobby’s favorite call-in show must’ve been fielding proposals to rename Broad Street to Edgecombe Avenue.

Back in Boston, I was supposed to be writing about how the Celtics lost three straight. I had a theory, but I wasn’t sure Jeff would publish it.

What if I was the problem?

Maybe Philadelphia’s misery never belonged to the teams. Maybe decades of anxiety and misplaced trade-machine confidence had attached themselves to my soul and followed me into Grant’s bloodstream. Meanwhile, the real Grant was trapped inside my old body in Philadelphia. What if Celtics luck had traveled with him?

I tried to dismiss it. Teams have come back from 3-1 before. None had ever done it to the Celtics, a detail I buried beneath the Mike’s Pastry boxes piling up in Grant’s kitchen. But one historic collapse could be an accident, right?

The curse gets ambitious

Then, on July 1 around dinner time, a flurry of expletives rose through the floorboards from the apartment below.

I grabbed my phone.

Jaylen Brown had been traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The room tilted. Grant’s Jaylen bobblehead nodded from the shelf like he knew this was coming. I turned it toward the wall. It kept nodding, which I understand is how bobbleheads work. I still felt personally attacked.

Philadelphia got Jaylen Brown. Boston got Paul George, draft picks and a group therapy exercise centered around the word “optionality.”

Then the Sixers went on to add LeBron James. Because of course they did.

I leave Philadelphia for six months, and the franchise assembles Maxey, Brown, LeBron and Embiid. Meanwhile, all I got during my time there was a confetti cannon malfunction, burner accounts and the chance to believe Markelle Fultz would rediscover his jumper.

Vinny must be unbearable. Joey has probably added “championship proximity” to the list of fees beneath our lease. Bobby may already be painting the parade route directly onto Broad Street Edgecombe Avenue.

I considered contacting Grant. The swap had involved Twitter, lightning and an argument with a Celtics fan. Recreating two would be easy. The lightning required research. I paused my fifth consecutive viewing of Back to the Future, leaving Doc Brown dangling from the clock tower, to read what Jaylen Brown had said at Sixers training camp.

He explained that he was learning a new defensive vocabulary and needed to “download” his brain into a different algorithm. Tyrese Maxey said he had to reprogram his mind after years of viewing Brown as the enemy.

Jaylen Brown on learning the team's new defensive terminology and system. "Whole new system, whole new calls. I gotta download my brain, different algorithm, to make sure I'm not calling the wrong stuff because the names are different." pic.twitter.com/6xxq7M8r57

— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) October 1, 2026

Then Brown completed the conversion.

“I guess what everybody always says around here,” Brown said. “Trust the process.”

Three months. That is how long it took Philadelphia to get Jaylen Brown to say “trust the process.”

I spent years saying those words, mainly to myself in the mirror through tears and a forced smile. Jaylen had been there for one fiscal quarter and was already quoting from the Book of Hinkie. He spent a decade helping Boston beat the Process into powder. Now he was distributing pamphlets.

Then, in his Sixers preseason debut, Brown scored 22 points in 17 turnover-free minutes. By the time his third three went in, I was Matthew McConaughey behind the bookshelf in Interstellar, desperately trying to send my April self one message through spacetime: AVOID LIGHTNING.

At this point, calling it a curse felt less like superstition and more like basic pattern recognition. I opened seventeen browser tabs devoted to indoor lightning generation and local electrical codes.

Unfortunately, the Celtics might still be good

Over the next few days, however, something strange began happening around me.

Nothing.

Celtics fans were still optimistic. Optimistic! At a time like this!

Nobody enjoyed watching Brown leave, and even the trade’s defenders needed a long inhale before saying “financial flexibility.” But the city had not collapsed. My neighbor had convinced himself George was about to have his healthiest season in years. The kid down the street discussed Chris Cenac Jr.’s ceiling like she had conducted his pre-draft workout. A man on the T asked why I wasn’t higher on Hugo González. I hadn’t said anything about Hugo González. Apparently, that was the problem.

Tatum was back. Derrick White was ready to rebound. Payton Pritchard looked primed for another leap.

Joe Mazzulla, of course, wasn’t ready to join the preseason group hug. As Noa Dalzell reported from Charleston, he offered the kind of disclaimer usually omitted from team-building exercises.

“Every team you lead is the most together team right now,” Mazzulla said. “Because we haven’t traveled. No one’s gotten benched. No one’s been on a losing streak. No one’s gotten blamed in the media. No one’s had to go stand in the corner for 10 minutes and not get the ball.”

That sounded suspiciously reasonable.

The Celtics haven’t proved anything yet. Neither have the Sixers. Beneath all the offseason noise, both teams are 0-0.

For Boston to succeed, George has to stay healthy. Tatum has to look like himself. Boston must replace what Brown provided. Still, the Celtics won 56 games last season while spending most of it without Tatum. White and Pritchard remain, and the younger guys are starting to look like players Mazzulla can wholeheartedly trust.

This was an irritating discovery. I had assumed Celtics fans were confident because nothing truly bad ever happened to them. Now several bad things had happened, and they were walking around like the Celtics had merely chosen a higher difficulty setting.

Boston had given them plenty of reasons to be miserable this summer. They were excited anyway. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d let Philadelphia off that easily.

The 76ers just had the offseason I used to sketch on napkins after my second drink. Part of me is desperate to get home, but another part remembers what being a Sixers fan does to the human brain.

New players only give Philadelphia fresh material. The first time Embiid puts his hands on his knees to catch his breath, someone will announce that he spent the summer doing nothing. A missed Brown rotation will become evidence of a chemistry problem. LeBron will leave an empty seat between himself and a teammate, and by halftime Sixers Twitter will have decided he wants that guy traded for Bronny.

Give us the greatest roster ever assembled and we’ll still wait for the ceiling to cave in. We may even start arguing about which player caused it before anything has actually fallen.

I looked at the weather app still open on my phone. Was I really trying to get struck by lightning so I could go back to worrying about Joel Embiid’s conditioning?

I closed it, along with every tab answering “Can a lightning bolt be manufactured safely indoors?”

Grant, if you are reading this in Philadelphia, cancel the trip to the clock tower. I hope you kept my fish alive. The plants in your place looked doomed before any of this became my responsibility, so that’s on you.

I hope you enjoyed the celebrations after the 3-1 comeback. I remain furious that you got Jaylen Brown and LeBron the moment I left town. If Philadelphia wins a championship while I am trapped inside a CelticsBlog writer, I will pursue every available legal remedy.

But the Celtics might still be good. Worse, I think I want to find out.

I’m not saying I’m never going back. I have learned my lesson about saying things like that.

For now, I’m staying on this side.

I still think the Nuggets will be good.

I do not know if they are as good as the name recognition makes them seem.

Jokić is so dominant that it is easy to overlook how questionable the rest of the roster looks, and this offseason did not really fix any of the things I was worried about.

Denver Nuggets: Over/Under 47.5 wins

Over: -130
Under: +105
To win NBA Championship: +2500
To win Western Conference: +1300
To win Northwest Division: +900

Last season: 54-28, third in the West, lost in the first round

Key additions: DeMar DeRozan, Marvin Bagley III, Alpha Diallo, Trevon Brazile, Bryce Hopkins, Lonnie Walker IV
Key losses: Peyton Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown, Jonas Valančiūnas

My outlook on Denver is pretty bleak compared to what the name recognition suggests. They did not fix the bench. If anything, I think they made it worse.

Peyton Watson is the loss that bothers me most. He gave them size, athleticism, and defense off the bench, and Denver sent him to Cleveland after failing to work out a long-term solution. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown are gone too, meaning a second unit that was already a problem lost multiple players who could actually be trusted.

And I do not think the replacements make a ton of sense around Jokić. DeRozan is still good, but he is 37, lives in the midrange, and needs the ball. Denver already has Murray and Jokić creating most of the offense, and putting another non-volume three-point shooter around Jokić is not exactly how I would be trying to maximize him. Bagley is another weird one. He can score and rebound, but he doesn’t space the floor and isn’t the kind of defensive center who gives Denver a completely different look behind Jokić.

The Christian Braun problem is still there too. Denver gave him a huge extension before last season, then watched his production fall from 15.4 points on 39.7 percent from three in 2024-25 to 12.0 points and 30.1 percent from three last year. He also missed almost half the season. The Nuggets are basically betting that he just becomes the previous version of himself again.

Then there is Gordon. He is incredibly important to everything Denver does, but he dealt with hamstring problems throughout last season and then had calf tightness in the playoffs. At 31, I do not think you can just assume he suddenly plays 75 healthy games. That matters because this roster is not deep enough to absorb injuries the way better teams can.

Oklahoma City is still loaded. San Antonio is ridiculous. Minnesota is good. Houston is good. Even Portland is getting better. Denver plays in one of the toughest divisions and conferences in basketball.

Jokić will win them a ton of games on his own. That is why I am not projecting some collapse. But 45 or 46 wins, a playoff spot, and another season where Jokić covers up a lot of structural problems feels completely realistic. At plus money, that is enough for me to understand the under. But 45 or 46 wins, a playoff spot, and another year where Jokić masks a lot of structural issues feels completely realistic. At plus money, I can understand the under.

Prediction: Under 47.5 wins (+105)

The new-look Philadelphia 76ers kicked off their preseason Monday night hosting the New York Knicks.

Well… sort of the new-look Sixers. As there tends to be for preseason, there were a number of absences, some more major than others. Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, Anfernee Simons, Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona all missed the opening contest. Important to note though that Simons (muscle tightness), Barlow (back) and Bona (foot sprain) were the only ones out dealing with actual injury, according to Nick Nurse.

But that still left plenty of players to get early glimpses of in the Sixers’ preseason debut, which Philly won 120-97 (if you for some reason care about preseason game scores). Let’s watch some highlights and talk about it.

Jaylen Brown: good at basketball

First player reel of the 2026-27 Sixers (pre)season goes to Jaylen Brown, who looked absolutely dominant offensively on the floor tonight.

22 PTS (8-13 FG, 3-5 3PT), 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK in 16:51 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jQkuTtQVCp

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 6, 2026

Brown looked absolutely dominant in his time out on the floor in the first half of this one, racking up 22 quick points in the first half (16:51 played) and showcasing an array of his skills from footwork in isolation to finishing at the rim to long-range shooting and his midrange pull-up.

To put it simply, he looked like the player that anyone who has watched the Celtics in recent history knows he is. He took the rest of the night off, deservedly so.

VJ Edgecombe looking like VJ Edgecombe, but better

VJ Edgecombe looks like an improved, stronger version of the player we got to know in his rookie season. Some shooting inconsistency, but good buckets and great assists fill his reel from tonight's preseason matchup.

12 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST 📽️👇 pic.twitter.com/CN7udGOnVe

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 6, 2026

There was already so much to like about Edgecombe after his excellent debut NBA season, but now he only seems to have gotten better — and stronger. The young guard still uses his footwork, not necessarily his strength and size, to get right through opposing defenses, but his noticeable bulk-up over the offseason has given him increased body control finishing in the air through contact. That was something that was a bit difficult for him in year one. His confidence leading an offense and as a passing guard looks to have improved over the summer as well, with Edgecombe making a number of really nice assists in this one.

Sure, it’s just preseason — the disclaimer we have to make for all of these observations — but VJ is playing with a ton of confidence and it’s not hard to see why.

(His night was also done at halftime.)

Jabari Walker doing a lot of things right

Last player reel for the night is a quick one for Jabari Walker, who really impressed me tonight with his long-range shooting and aggressive/effective rebounding.

11 PTS (4-9 FG, 3-5 3PT), 11 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK 👇 pic.twitter.com/dxnHAzB3D8

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 6, 2026

Throughout this one, Walker was looking like a very viable small-ball five — no small task when pitted against Karl-Anthony Towns. Getting in the correct positioning to come up with rebounds on both ends (11 boards) combined with some very smooth shooting from long range (3-for-5 3PT) made for an impressive outing from Walker that has definitely earned him a closer watch as we continue through this preseason campaign.

Catch up on the whole game

In case you missed this one, here’s the full reel of highlights from throughout the contest. One game down, many to go! Welcome to the 2026-27 season.

In case you missed the Sixers preseason opener, here's the full highlights from the win vs. Knicks.

No LeBron, Embiid or Maxey tonight… but we got plenty of Jaylen Brown, Edgecombe and more to fill the reel! 👇 pic.twitter.com/R3bFHvmj8G

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 6, 2026