Ben Simmons needed a team, any NBA team, willing to give him one more chance.
The Sacramento Kings needed a player, any player, to fill out a 2026-27 roster that, until Sept. 4, had not added a free agent from outside the organization this offseason.
In that way, the Kings always made sense as the landing spot for Simmons' NBA comeback attempt. Only a team searching for answers would think the 2016 No. 1 pick can still provide value after sitting out last season and dabbling in professional fishing. Only a desperate veteran would volunteer to join the current salary cap woes and lack of direction the Kings are enduring under current owner Vivek Ranadivé.
Simmons signed with the Kings on Friday, Sept. 4, according to multiple reports. This will be his 10th NBA season, but only his eighth playing in games as injuries and contract issues cost him two full seasons.
Here's why Simmons could revive his NBA career in Sacramento and why it still might not work:
Simmons is signing a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Kings, according to ESPN.
How Ben Simmons fits with the Kings
The Kings were one of the worst teams in the NBA last season because of their awkward roster. Sacramento has an odd mix of expensive veterans and overlapping young players with not enough salary cap space or positive assets to maneuver much from their current situation. But the version of Simmons that played in Brooklyn could help the Kings because of his defensive versatility.
The Kings have front court players like Domantas Sabonis and Maxime Raynaud with defensive limitations who could, in theory, benefit from being paired with Simmons for stretches on the court. They also have personnel suited for the up tempo style that suits Simmons' point-forward tendencies. He can leverage his strengths as a ball-handler and transition playmaker in relief of 2026 first-round pick Darius Acuff Jr. because the Kings don't need Simmons to be a primary offensive option.
If Simmons returns as something resembling the player who was twice named to the NBA's all-defensive team, the 6-foot-10 forward would become a useful role player even if his lack of outside shooting is a liability.
Simmons' health has been an issue since he entered the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and sat out his first season with a foot injury. He also sat out the entire 2021-22 NBA campaign due to a back injury and contract dispute. The 2024-25 season was the only campaign since then in which Simmons appeared in more than 50 games, as back and knee injuries repeatedly limited his availability.
Why Ben Simmons' shooting remains a concern
Though Simmons twice averaged more than 16 points per game early in his career with the 76ers, he is a notoriously poor (and hesitant) shooter from outside the paint. He's just 5 for 36 over seven seasons from 3-point range and his reluctance to shoot the ball when teams back off him defensively became a problem during Philadelphia's postseason runs. He shot a career-worst 52% from the floor on a career-low 4.4 attempts per game during his most recent NBA season with the Nets and Los Angeles Clippers in 2024-25.
Ben Simmons stats
Simmons has career averages of 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game over seven seasons. When he last played in the NBA over 51 combined games for the Nets and Los Angeles Clippers during the 2024-25 season, Simmons set career lows by averaging 5 points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds.
Simmons is a three-time NBA All-Star who won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and earned third team all-NBA honors for the 2019-20 season.
After a summer of crazy moves and unexpected turns across the NBA, the Pistons generally played it cool. But how do they stack up? The guys go spot by spot to rank the Eastern Conference, finding out where a lack of change has been misconstrued as a lack of improvement, or if the angst is legit! They also have a pity party for Clippers fans and their young players, and break down why Amen Thompson’s deal has no impact on Ausar Thompson’s potential deal.
We’ve got you covered for all this and more in this week’s episode!
Want to hear your voice on the Pindown? Call (313) 355-2717 and leave your question as a voicemail! The guys will play your message and answer your question on that week’s episode! All we ask is that you keep your questions to under 45 seconds.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 01: Kris Dunn #8 of the Los Angeles Clippers drives to the basket against Dillon Brooks #3 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center on February 01, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the Phoenix Suns’ first preseason game a little more than a month away, there hasn’t been much to talk about when it comes to the team lately. And that’s a good thing.
I’m a fan of no drama. I’d much rather operate silently in the background than constantly find myself at the forefront of the conversation. If you gave me the choice between being a ninja, a knight, or a pirate, I’m choosing ninja every time. They’re quiet. They get the job done. They don’t seek fanfare, and half the time you don’t even know they’re there. The Suns have operated more like pirates in the recent past. Loud moves. Swashbuckling around. Stumbling through the season. That’s not the way to be.
There is plenty of drama happening around the NBA, though, and much of it is coming at the expense of the Los Angeles Clippers, who have been penalized for salary cap circumvention. They’ve lost five first-round picks beginning in 2029, which is crippling for any franchise.
And as a Phoenix Suns fan, you can’t help but ask one simple question: Which situation would you rather be in, the Suns or the Clippers? To me, the answer is easy. I’d much rather be in the situation where the organization has a top-20 player, an established culture, draft assets even if they don’t fully control all of them, and plenty of young, exciting talent waiting in the wings
Some people are contrary simply for the sake of being contrary, and I think this is a horrible take. Saying the Suns are asset-poor in any real capacity feels like being contrarian for the sake of it.
The reason the Clippers are in a far worse position than Phoenix is that they are severely limited in their ability to build. Draft picks provide two different avenues for roster construction. The first is obvious. You use them after a bad season, add young talent, and hope your developmental program can turn those players into meaningful contributors. That’s what the Clippers are hoping for after trading Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers and acquiring the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft. Keaton Wagler represents someone they hope can develop into a star. The problem is that it becomes much harder to build around that kind of player without future draft assets.
That leads to the second function of draft picks. They can be used in trades to add more talent and fortify the roster. We know that all too well in Phoenix, as the Suns gave up numerous picks in deals for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. The Clippers no longer have that flexibility because they don’t own first-round picks from 2029 through 2033. Meanwhile, the Suns, even if they don’t fully control all of their own picks in upcoming years, still possess first-round picks. They still have assets that can be included in trades, even if many of them are heavily swapped. There is a massive difference between having compromised draft capital and having none at all.
The Suns also have tradable assets. If they ever decided to move off Devin Booker, they would get a haul in return. Who on the Clippers is going to bring back that kind of value? Darius Garland? Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be opposed to the Suns trading for him, but nobody is giving up four first-round picks for Garland. Booker could absolutely command that kind of return on the open market.
Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges? All of those players could most likely bring back some combination of draft compensation or quality players in return. How much do you think the Clippers are getting for Brook Lopez or Derrick Jones Jr.?
The Clippers are trying to build around a young core, but the Suns have one too. The difference is that Phoenix has given itself multiple ways to continue building around that youth, while the Clippers have far fewer options because of the draft capital they no longer possess.
Then there’s the free agency component. You can make the argument that Los Angeles, by itself, is always going to attract talent. I’m not going to argue with you there. There are business opportunities and ventures outside of basketball that make the city appealing, although that kind of arrangement is what got the Clippers in trouble to begin with.
Culturally, though, I think Phoenix is in a far better place. This is an organization that, despite never winning a championship, has an owner who is engaged, inspired, and willing to do what it takes to win while operating within the rules. The Suns have the fifth-best winning percentage in NBA history. The Clippers? They’ve been a black hole since moving from Buffalo to San Diego and then from San Diego to Los Angeles. They’ve never reached the Finals and have historically been one of the league’s punching bags. They have the 28th winning percentage all-time. In short? The Los Angeles Clippers are the Arizona Cardinals of the NBA. So yeah, I think the advantage goes to Phoenix.
It’s silly that I’m even sitting here defending why the Suns are in a better situation than the Clippers. It feels like a ridiculous exercise. But if that’s what Sam Quinn of CBS Sports believes, then feel free to believe it. To me, it puts his take into one of two categories. Either he wrote it to generate clicks, in which case, congratulations, it worked. Or he genuinely believes it. And if he genuinely believes the Clippers are in a better position than the Suns, then I honestly don’t trust his perception of basketball.
Maybe the Suns aren’t sitting on a treasure chest of assets. Nobody is arguing that. But there’s a massive difference between having limitations and having your future confiscated. Phoenix has Booker, tradable contracts, young talent, first-round picks, and an organizational culture that finally appears stable. The Clippers have fewer avenues available to fix whatever comes next. So call me biased. Call me a Suns homer. That’s fine. But if I’m choosing which ship I want to be on moving forward, I’m taking the one that still has a rudder.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 14: Cameron Carr #43 of the Los Angeles Lakers talks to the media after the game against the LA Clippers on July 14, 2026 at the Thomas & Mack Center 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 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we look at Cameron Carr.
If you rule out Dalton Knecht’s hot start in his rookie campaign before petering out pretty rapidly, the last time the Lakers got notable production from their first round draft pick was…Lonzo Ball in 2017.
In fairness, they’ve traded a number of those picks, either for Anthony Davis or Dennis Schröder or Luka Dončić or when acquiring or dealing away Russell Westbrook. But going nearly a decade without any real impact from a first round pick is putting the team behind the eight ball, especially in comparison with the likes of the Spurs and Thunder built on the back of lots of first round picks.
Fans have been yearning for a young player to get excited about, so when Cameron Carr showed out this summer, it built up a lot of excitement and anticipation. He showed an ability to score at multiple levels and is a high-flyer, qualities that would get any fanbase excited.
With the Lakers shifting to a younger, more athletic version of the team this offseason, Carr feels like a natural fit. But how quickly can he make an impact?
What is his best-case scenario?
In Summer League, Carr’s off-ball scoring stood out as one of the skills that could translate most quickly to the NBA. He was able to knock down threes coming around screens on the perimeter, connect on mid-range jumpers on pindown screens or get to the rim on curls to the basket.
With one of Luka or Austin Reaves basically a lock to be on the floor, Carr is unlikely to be on the ball much. If he can continue to be a high-level scorer off the ball, though, then he’s going to find minutes. While the Lakers have many guards on the roster, none have the skill set as a scorer that Carr does, which should very well lead to him getting time on the floor.
If he can knock down shots consistently and provide a threat all over the floor that opponents have to be aware of, then he’s going to be in the rotation. The more he’s able to be impactful offensively, the more leeway he’ll get defensively, too.
He has the length to be a chaos creator on that end. If he can do enough of that while learning how to be a consistent defender on that end as well, then it’ll also help keep him on the floor.
What is his worst-case scenario?
What if he’s just Dalton Knecht 2.0? It feels harsh to say about Knecht, but considering how far he’s fallen, it’s hard to deny it.
Knecht has always struggled defensively, but made up for it by being a flamethrower on offense. When those shots stopped falling, his minutes dropped and, now, he’s reduced to garbage time cameos.
As with basically any rookie, he’s going to be a bad defender from the jump. But if he can’t improve on that end, similar to Knecht’s struggles, then it might be déjà vu all over again.
For him to go down that track, though, it would also require his offense to disappear. Given the variety of ways he can score, it feels less likely for that to happen, or at least not in the same way it did for Knecht. Instead, it might come in the way of his indecision or hesitation about when to shoot, drive, or pass.
In short, he looks like a rookie overwhelmed by bigger, faster and stronger players in the NBA.
What is his most likely role on the team?
Carr impressed enough in Summer League that it’s hard not to envision him getting a shot. That being said, the team is full of guards and Carr is going to have to distinguish himself from the pack.
As mentioned, he has the skill set to do that, but he still has to produce. Whether by way of a bigger rotation this season or stepping up when players miss time, Carr is going to get chances. He’ll likely be on the edge of the rotation to start the season.
Whether he bucks the trend of a decade of Lakers first round picks will be up to him.
INGLEWOOD, CA - APRIL 26: Ben Simmons #25 of the LA Clippers looks on during Round One, Game Four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets on April 26, 2025 at Intuit Dome 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Earlier this offseason, Ben Simmons hinted that he was eyeing a return to the NBA after taking the 2025-26 season off. He told Clay Skipper of Men’s Health that he didn’t “have a plan on where” he would sign, before adding, “Maybe I’ll go back to Philly.”
He is not going back to Philly. Instead, he agreed to a one-year, veteran-minimum contract with the Sacramento Kings on Friday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
So, why did the Sixers let the Kings beat them to the punch? Aside from, well, you know…
Ben Simmons on passing up a dunk vs. the Hawks in Game 7 of the 2021 East Semis:
"I wasn't hitting my sh*t, so motherf*cker, you knock it down! I just gave it to somebody [Matisse Thybulle] who was shooting a higher percentage free throw at the time."
For one, they didn’t have the money to sign Simmons—or almost anyone else, for that matter.
The Sixers hard-capped themselves at the $209.0 million first apron in basically every possible way this offseason. After their flood of offseason moves, they’re roughly $1.8 million below that line at the moment.
Since Simmons is signing a one-year, veteran-minimum deal, he’ll have a cap hit of only $2.4 million—the same as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope—despite earning $3.5 million in actual salary. Still, signing him would have pushed the Sixers roughly $600,000 above the first apron, so they would have needed to clear some salary first.
Even if the Sixers did have the financial wiggle room to sign Simmons, though, it’s hard to imagine that’s how they would have spent their last open roster spot.
Since his infamous blunder against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Simmons has played a total of 108 games over the past half-decade. The Sixers already have one gigantic injury question mark in Joel Embiid. The last thing they need is to fill their last open roster spot with an even bigger one.
While the Sixers could use another rangy defensive forward, it’s unclear whether Simmons is still the type of defender who earned a pair of All-Defense first-team nods earlier in his career. We haven’t seen that version of him in a half-decade.
The Sixers used Simmons as an oversized point guard back in his heyday, but in case you weren’t aware, they landed another jumbo playmaker this offseason. Some guy named LeBron James? He’s apparently pretty good. Still need to watch the tape to confirm.
Between James, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and even rookie Labaron Philon Jr., the Sixers suddenly have more ball-handling and playmaking than they’ve had in years. Heading into the season, backup center looks like their biggest question mark. That may be the best use of their remaining open roster spot once we get into the season.
We also still have no idea what this year’s Sixers will look like—and more importantly, what their strengths and weaknesses will be. They should be a dynamo in transition, and they have the talent on paper to boast one of the league’s best offenses, but that’s all theoretical right now. As Jaylen Brown would say, they need to roll the ball out to figure out what their biggest needs are.
Once they’ve had a few months to suss that out, they can look to address those holes either at the trade deadline or on the buyout market. As weird as this is to say, they could be one of the premier destinations for ring-chasers later this year. They might have their pick of the litter on the in-season free-agent market. Would it be worth giving that up in the hopes that Simmons isn’t broken anymore?
If Simmons stays healthy and looks like his former self, perhaps the Sixers revisit acquiring him at the trade deadline. Jabari Walker and/or Justin Edwards are easy salary matches, if so. But for now, they’ll just have to watch from afar to see how Simmons’ comeback tour goes in Sacramento.
Godspeed, Kings fans. You’re always welcome to take refuge here.
Simmons stepped away from the NBA last season and purchased a controlling share in the South Florida Sails Angling Club, which is a part of the Sport Fishing Championship.
Simmons, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, flamed out with the 76ers and Nets while dealing with a number of injuries and mental hurdles.
Ben Simmons signs with the Kings. Noah K. Murray-NY Post
The 30-year-old played played 18 games with the Clippers at the end of the 2024-’25 season, averaging three points, four rebounds and three assists per game in a limited bench role.
Simmons now adds a veteran presence to a rebuilding Kings team that went 22-60 last season and drafted Darius Acuff Jr. out of Arkansas with the No. 7 pick in the draft.
It will be interesting to see if a year away from the sport will help Simmons the shooting issues that plagued him in his career — often seeming unwilling to shoot anything beyond a layup.
He certainly seemed to enjoy his time fishihing.
“It’s a very niche sport,” he told Andscape. “And if you don’t know, you don’t know. But once you experience it and get out there and see what it’s about, you’re kind of in awe of what the sport is. And that’s just something I’ve always been interested in in terms of the sport of fishing.
“The technique. And there’s so much to it that people just don’t understand. These guys are fishing on million-dollar vessels, and they’re out for days at a time. So, it’s tedious and gritty, but a lot of fun. It’s one of those worlds where you just got to kind of experience it, get into it and see what it’s about.”
Sacramento was looking for a veteran point guard to back up and mentor rookie Darius Acuff. They have their guy, and it's an eyebrow-raising choice:
Ben Simmons.
Simmons agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Kings, which is the veteran minimum, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. It's not yet clear whether this contract is fully guaranteed.
Simmons, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and a three-time All-Star, did not play in the NBA last season — he was focused more on deep sea fishing, even buying a controlling stake in the South Florida Sails of the Sport Fishing Championship. He went through a mini-camp with the Austrailian national team this summer, and while he looked good in social media workouts that is almost an annual tradition with him that has had little bearing on the regular season.
Simmons last played in the NBA in the 2024-25 season, splitting time between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. In 18 games with the Clippers, he played solid defense and showed he could run the offense for a stretch, even if he didn't put up counting stats of note (2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 16.4 minutes per game) or score much from outside the paint. He was not part of Tyronn Lue's playoff rotation, but he looked like he might be a decent veteran backup point guard.
Which is what the Kings were looking for. Sacramento also is betting on Simmons staying healthy. Simmons has dealt with back issues since the 2021-22 season, missed considerable time because of it, and has undergone a couple of surgeries to help relieve the issue. He was largely healthy with the Nets and Clippers a couple of seasons ago.
Sacramento had talked to Russell Westbrook about returning in a backup role, but he chose to retire instead. The Kings also had conversations with Victor Oladipo, and there are veteran point guards available, such as Gabe Vincent and Cameron Payne.
The Kings have decided to go with Simmons. It's an interesting choice, and not necessarily a bad one.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 18: Miles McBride speaks onstage during "Knicks Film School" podcast the Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 18, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images for Fanatics) | Getty Images for Fanatics
Miles “Deuce” McBride arrived in New York as the 36th pick in the 2021 draft, a short-ish, square-jawed defender with a shaky jump shot. The inconsistent three-ball never worried Tom Thibodeau. The grizzled skipper loved watching a 6’2” guard stalk ballhandlers the length of the court, the basketball equivalent of a German shepherd harassing a cockapoo.
Eventually, the offense came around. Deuce put in plenty of reps with Westchester, waited behind veteran guards on the MSG depth chart and spent marathon hours in the gym rebuilding his jumper. His three-point shooting went from his greatest liability to one of his greatest strengths, rising from 25% on 1.7 attempts per game as a rookie to 41% on 6.6 attempts during the championship season. His playing time increased accordingly. Although still primarily a reserve, he went from nine minutes per game to 26.
When RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were traded to the Raptors, Leon Rose’s next order of business was locking down the promising McBride, who had so far been buried on the bench. On the day of the trade, December 30, 2023, the former West Virginia Mountaineer, then 23, agreed to a three-year, $13 million fully guaranteed contract extension. The front-loaded deal began the following season and runs through 2026–27, with his salary decreasing each year.
Deuce significantly outperformed it. He stepped into a larger rotation role, improved his efficiency, contributed as a two-way guard and posted career highs in points, minutes and assists. He became a reliable sparkplug off the bench and an occasional starter (43 so far). Better still, his contract provided the Knicks with roster flexibility under the league’s salary-cap and apron restrictions. Recent estimates have placed his market value at $10 million to $12 million per year, if not higher, while his actual cap hits remained remarkably low: approximately $4.7 million in 2024–25, $4.3 million in 2025–26 and less than $4 million in 2026–27.
McBride further proved his value during the championship run, playing through lingering pain after February hernia surgery sidelined him for roughly two months. He described the sensation as “like someone stabbing your groin, hip and ab at the same time,” yet still played anyway.
Now all that wonderful success may carry Deuce out of New York. Stefan Bondy reports in the New York Post that McBride, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart are eligible for extensions and remain unsigned. McBride’s situation is the most eyebrow-raising of the three. He did not sign before the August 11 soft deadline, after which an extension would prevent the Knicks from trading him during the season. Bondy considers a new deal unlikely and highlights McBride as perhaps the Knicks’ best expendable trade asset.
McBride has a favorable expiring contract, and the Knicks have more guards than available minutes. They also have needs that may become more urgent as the season unfolds. New York acquired Andre Drummond to back up Towns, but Drummond is on the other side of 30, with considerable mileage after a career spent wrestling NBA bigs. If Rose & Co. decide they need another center or a different kind of rotation player, they have limited ways to make a meaningful midseason move. Trading Deuce may provide the cleanest path.
With Mitchell Robinson gone, McBride is the longest-tenured Knick. He is also among the few remaining players whom the organization drafted and developed. When done well, player development creates value, and the best proof of that value is when another team craves what you produced. Which teams might be interested? Off the top of the dome: the Hornets, Grizzlies, Clippers, Nets, and Suns. If none of them has a big man the Knicks want, we already know Leon is capable of roping in a third team that does.
Nobody in the P&T bullpen wants to see Deuce go. He fits the exact profile of a player we love: gritty, team-first, defensively minded, willing to play through pain, and committed to improving year after year. Ideally, that kind of player remains a Knick for life, followed by a chair at MSG Network or a front-office position. But who knows what the Knicks’ situation at center will be around the midseason trade deadline? If this is Deuce’s last ride, let’s appreciate it.
Draymond Green has strong opinions on how the NBA handled its biggest offseason scandal — and he’s genuinely relieved about how it turned out for Kawhi Leonard.
The NBA announced severe penalties against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday following a nearly yearlong investigation into salary cap circumvention involving Leonard. The league found the organization had improperly facilitated off-court endorsement deals between Leonard and four companies doing business with the team — Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance — most notably a $28 million “no-show job” deal with Aspiration, a sustainability startup that has since collapsed into bankruptcy amid federal fraud charges against its co-founder.
The Clippers were fined $30 million, the largest penalty in NBA history, and will forfeit five first-round draft picks from 2029 through 2033. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended one year from all league and team activities for “knowingly” helping Leonard pursue those opportunities. In contrast, team president Gillian Zucker was suspended a year without pay, and basketball operations president Lawrence Frank was suspended six months. Leonard himself was ordered to pay $700,000 for violations tied to the conduct of his business manager — his uncle, Dennis Robertson — but was not suspended.
“Kawhi Leonard has to pay $700,000, essentially in restitution for what happened in the deal,” Green said. “And Kawhi came out and said, ‘I didn’t know anything about this,’ and I’m taking his word for it.”
Green’s reasoning centered specifically on Daktronics — one of the four companies actually named in the investigation, and a business whose scoreboards appear in arenas across the league.
“Daktronics is a real company,” Green said. “If you got a deal coming in from Daktronics, you’re not running to your representation like, ‘How do I get this?’ I know that’s a very reputable company. Looking in any arena, they’re probably doing the scoreboard. I’m taking Kawhi’s word for what it is, and I’m happy the team got the bulk of the penalty and not Kawhi.”
Green then widened his critique to the league’s broader compensation structure.
“Why is there a salary cap? Why are guys being prevented from making money from team sponsors or league sponsors?” Green said. “We talk about being in a league that’s player-centric, player-focused, player-driven – and here’s a situation where a guy can make 20 to 30 extra million dollars, and we’re like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re in trouble.’ I’m happy Kawhi didn’t get the bulk of this punishment. I think that is absolutely beautiful.”
Green’s broader point about the salary cap is a conversation the league will keep having. But it’s worth separating that debate from what actually triggered this investigation. This was not a story about restrictive policy preventing players from earning outside income — it was a franchise found to have orchestrated a scheme through a company that turned out to be fraudulent, run by a co-founder now serving 14 years in federal prison for defrauding investors of more than $248 million.
Whether Leonard genuinely did not know of any of it, as Green believes, might be true. But the system that got exploited here wasn’t an unfair cap on player earnings — it was a rule meant to keep 30 different ownership groups playing by the same terms, and one team found a way around it.
26 August 2026, North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne: A bumblebee flies into the flower of a dahlia at Flora. Photo: Oliver Berg/dpa (Photo by Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images)
I thought I had a ton of content to include in the notes, then realized there were just a handful of bullet points to it, so I needed to wait a few days to pad it further. Maybe we’re not so close to the new season as I initially thought.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has his own answer to the “King of New York” debate.
Jalen Brunson, however, wants absolutely no part of that.
“Imagine I get on this call with you, right? I’m like, ‘Yo, no king of New York’s here,’ whatever, whatever. You guys are going to look like, ‘What the f**k, this dude is so self-centered.’”
NYP’s Stefan Bondy believes Josh Hart and the Knicks remain on track to stay together long term, even if an extension does not happen immediately. He thinks, however, Karl-Anthony Towns’ next contract could become one of the Knicks’ biggest financial decisions. Meanwhile, Bondy sees Deuce McBride as an increasingly likely trade asset.
Jalen Brunson already has an eye on life after basketball.
“I would coach high school or the pros. I would not want to coach college.”
Julius Randle says he has no bitterness about watching the Knicks win a championship after his departure. Never stop liking Jules, fellas.
Josh Hart surely knows who won the Mikal Bridges trade.
Miles McBride brought the Larry O’Brien Trophy back to his old high school community. Deuuuuuuuuce!!!
Jose Alvarado is aiming significantly higher than simply remaining a useful Knicks reserve, hunting for that 6MOY award next season.
“I still haven’t done what I wanted to do with my career. I got a lot of goals that I want to push for and this is probably going to be the most hard-working summer I probably put in. I want to be in the conversation of Sixth Man of the Year one day. Obviously I got to work, obviously situations where the minutes, consistency and stuff like that is always going to be a problem because I know I’m never going to pass the eye test. If you look at me, I’m not the most tallest, most athletic to the NBA world. So I just know going into a room, I got to be the most out-working person, hardest-working person and the rest will take care of itself.”
The Knicks are still looking for a third center, and SI’s Joseph Randazzo floated Chris Boucher as a possible veteran option.
Believe it or not, OG Anunoby is headed to network television.
Jordan Clarkson has apparently been officially friend-zoned by Bebe Rexha. In a busy week for JC, he also crossed paths with rising tennis star Alex Eala at the U.S. Open, with the two bonding over their Filipino heritage.
Philadelphia keeps signing superstars, the latest being 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall.
Kevin Durant has a clear post-playing-career ambition already in mind: running Team USA.
The Los Angeles Clippers got handed arguably the worst punishment in NBA history for salary cap circumvention, fined millions of dollars as well as losing consecutive first round draft picks. Beginning in 2029, the Clippers will forfeit their top draft picks until 2033, leaving the NBA draft with less draft selections than normal. And Warriors star Draymond Green does not agree with how the draft pick forfeiture is being handled.
Green offered a proposal for what the league should do with the lost draft picks on his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show.” And he is all for making sure that the picks go to different teams so that the number of draft selections stays the same, giving incoming prospects the same opportunity to hear their names called.
“Here’s one thing I will say,” Green said. “Usually in these situations where draft picks get snatched, you look up and it’s just 29 first round picks. I think the NBA needs to do something about that. And I think the NBA needs to do something about that for a few reasons. Number one, it’s not fair to guys who have the opportunity to be one of 60 and then all of a sudden teams lose three picks somewhere in the 30 team system and you get three picks snatched and then there’s 57 draft picks this year.
“That’s not fair to three guys who can possibly get their name called, who’ve worked their whole lives for an opportunity at being one of 60. I think that sucks for guys who have worked their ass off. I think it sucks for the NBA as a whole. I think at some point the NBA has to figure out a system where when a pick gets snatched, maybe it goes into a lottery to certain teams. Maybe you can do something to where those picks didn’t go somewhere else. But just getting rid of the picks as a whole, I don’t think that’s fair, I don’t think that’s great for the NBA. You want 60 draft picks… I think those picks should go elsewhere… .”
The investigation into the Clippers began in September 2025 after a journalist reported that Kawhi Leonard and a company called Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. — a company that went bankrupt the same year– were involved in an endorsement deal that could have broken NBA rules.
The Clippers maintained they did nothing wrong, but after the league investigation wrapped up, they found the team guilty and handed down a harsh punishment that included a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer from all league and team activities, a $30 million fine and the stripped draft picks. As for Leonard, a trade back to the Toronto Raptors was halted during the investigation.
Green’s proposal hasn’t been discussed in any capacity but is interesting because it would allow the league to continue normally while still punishing the Clippers for their wrongdoings. And while there is no indication yet that Green’s thought will be taken seriously, it is an interesting one that could benefit the NBA.
Green is entering his 14th season, both in the NBA and with Golden State, and while his podcasting career is going strong, he is eager to continue playing at a high level and lead the Warriors back to the postseason. A four-time NBA champion, Green hopes he can win at least one more ring before riding off into the sunset.
Barring a catastrophe, the Houston Rockets will make the playoffs in 2026-27.
Making the playoffs is no longer enough.
If they don’t win a series this year, they’ll need major systemic changes. It isn’t even up for debate. It might start with firing Ime Udoka, but that’s actually my next article.
(In the industry, that’s called a plug).
For now, let’s drink a half-full glass of optimism juice. The Rockets certainly have the talent to advance to (at least) the second round. After the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, they should be able to beat anybody in a playoff series (although the newly formed Timberwolves would like a word, and Jokic is still a Nugget…anyway, optimism).
Here are three keys to a successful 2026-27 season
1. Improved Shooting
As was the parlance in the 1990s, no duh.
It’s less about accuracy and more about volume. The Rockets were 10th in three-point percentage in 2025-26 (36.4%), but 28th in threes attempted per game (31.5). If they’d taken one three all year and hit it, they’d have shot a historic 100.0% from three-point range.
Fred VanVleet, who shot 7.7 threes per game in 2024-25, will help. More would be nice. Expanding Reed Sheppard’s role could suffice, but that’s at odds with VanVleet getting his shots up, and with Marcus Smart in the fold…well, we’ll see what happens.
Could Alperen Sengun get one more up per game, and ideally start hitting more? Amen Thompson is too far from a “credible shooter” to even wishcast.
It would be optimal if Kevin Durant would slightly adjust his shooting profile, but that’s unlikely. He’s been the perfect shot creator, in a vacuum, for his entire, illustrious career. He now finds himself on a team that needs fewer mid-range shots and more threes, but he’s a pretty old dog to expect a new trick from.
Wherever the Rockets find more threes, they need more threes.
2. Veteran Health
This one is also obvious.
They’re all obvious, OK? There’s no hidden blade. The Rockets are arguably the best rebounding team ever. They’re a top-end defensive team. They need better shooting; they need luck, and they need one more equally obvious thing that’s going to be the third key.
(In the literary world, that’s what we call poor foreshadowing because everyone knew it was coming anyway).
Last year, Durant was available for a remarkable 78 games. Then, he was largely unavailable in the playoffs when it mattered. That sure was annoying.
VanVleet infamously suited up for 0 contests. Can he play back-to-backs? Can Steven Adams?
Does any of it matter if the young guys can’t step up?
3. A Breakout Season
Sengun still has not put together a season where he maximized his impact on both ends of the floor. As I recently covered, neither has Amen Thompson.
With Thompson’s fresh extension, those two now account for roughly 40% of the team’s cap space. So, they’re the obvious breakout candidates:
But they’re not the only ones.
Some of us have long suspected that Jabari Smith Jr. could be a late bloomer. This would be a good year to bloom. A Reed Sheppard who isn’t wearing a “right this way, gentleman” T-shirt on defense could change the team.
Even Tari Eason has demonstrated more of an ability to get to his midrange jumper than some fans have given him credit for (although, if he could just return to his previous defensive impact, that would be good enough).
Generally speaking, the obvious route would be for one of Thompson or Sengun to step up from “fringe All-Star” to “fringe All-NBA”. If Smith Jr. could make a leap from “fringe starter” to “fringe All-Star”, that would also be impactful, and so forth. The Rockets need their veterans to stay healthy, but they’ll only go as far as the young guys can carry them:
As soon as we saw that Ben Simmons was returning to the NBA, one thought came to mind:
FREAKING STATS!!!
Simmons, who just turned 30 in July, has had one of the strangest careers in NBA history, with an unprecedented first four seasons followed by injuries, mediocrity and inconsistency. He’s always been either really, really good or really, really bad. The good part of his career was so good that despite the last few years, his overall numbers are still remarkable.
Which is why we’re here!
So here we go with 10 Ben Simmons stats you won’t find anywhere else!
1. Ben Simmons had 32 triple doubles in his first 300 career games, and only three players have had more in their first 300 games, and all three are legends: Oscar Robertson (109), Luka Dončić (54) and Magic Johnson (52). Charles Barkley had the next-most among 76ers in their first 300 games with six. Overall, Simmons’ 33 career triple doubles are 14th-most in NBA history.
2. With career averages of 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game, Simmons is one of only six players in NBA history to average 13 points, 7.0 points and 7.0 assists per game. The others: Dončić, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Robertson and Nikola Jokić.
3. Only Simmons, Jokić and James also averaged 13, 7 and 7 and more than half a block per game. Only Johnson, James and Simmons averaged 13, 7, 7 and at least 1.5 steals. So in NBA history only Simmons and James have averaged 13 points, 7.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game
4. Simmons is the 2nd-youngest player in NBA history to score 4,000 points with 2,000 rebounds and 2,000 assists. He reached the last of those milestones – assists – on March 25, 2001, in a win over the Lakers at Staples Center at the age of 24 years, 240 days. Dončić reached all three milestones before turning 23.
5. Simmons is one of only four players in NBA history to shoot over 55 percent in his career but below 14 percent from 3-point range (minimum 30 3-point attempts). Simmons is a career 55.8 percent shooter but 13.9 percent from 3. The others are former 76er Montrezl Harrell, Mason Plumlee and Bo Outlaw.
6. In 2018, Simmons became only the second rookie in NBA history to average at least 8.0 assists, 8.0 rebounds and the first since Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson with the Cincinnati Royals in 1961. Simmons averaged 15.8 points, 8.2 assists and 8.0 rebounds, and 57 years earlier Robertson averaged 30.5 points, 9.7 assists and 10.1 rebounds per game. But Simmons shot 55 percent from the field and Robertson just 47 percent, so Simmons to this day is the only rookie ever to average 15 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game and shoot over 50 percent from the field. The only other 76er to do that at any point in his career is Wilt Chamberlain in 1968, with 24.3 points, 23.8 rebounds (!) and 8.6 assists per game and 60 percent from the field.
7. In Simmons’ first four seasons with the 76ers, he averaged at least 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and shot at least 54 percent from the field. Every other 76er in franchise history combined has had two such seasons – Wilt Chamberlain in 1967 and in 1968. The only other NBA player with four consecutive seasons reaching those plateaus is Jokić, who has done it six straight years since 2021.
8. With career posteason averages of 12.2 points, 6.6 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game and 57 percent from the field, Simmons is the only player in history over 12, 6 and 6 and 55 percent in the playoffs. The only other player to average 12 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and shoot over 50 percent in the postseason is Jokić (27.4, 7.7, 12.4, 52 percent).
9. Since leaving the 76ers after the 2022 season, Simmons has averaged just 5.9 points in 108 games with the Celtics and Clippers but 5.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. He’s the only player in NBA history to average over 5 ½ rebounds and assists in any 108-game span while still averaging below 6.0 points per game.
10. When Simmons plays his first game with Sacramento after playing for the 76ers, Nets and Clippers, he’ll be the first overall No. 1 pick to play for four teams since former teammate Markelle Fultz, who the 76ers selected No. 1 in 2017, a year after Simmons. Fultz has played for the 76ers, Magic, Kings and Raptors.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 4: Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Balmer before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Intuit Dome on February 4, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Wally Skalij/Getty Images) 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. | Getty Images
In case you missed it (or were sitting under a rock for the last couple of days) the Clippers got hammered by the league with penalties stemming from their circumvention dance with Kawhi Leonard and his uncle.
I’m sure that most of you also realized that the Celtics have a Clippers pick in 2028. But there are complicated provisions related to where the pick lands, swaps with other teams, and it just makes my head hurt to think through the different variations.
With all that said, the clearest explanation I saw on this comes from BRobb at MassLive.
Celtics get a 2028 first-round lottery pick via swap from PHI/LAC if:
The Clippers’ pick lands between 1 and 16 and/or Sixers’ pick lands between 1 and 8. Celtics would get the higher of these picks in this scenario via a swap with their own pick.
Celtics get a 2028 first-round pick outright from Clippers if:
The Clippers pick falls between 17 and 30 and Sixers pick falls between 9 and 30. In that scenario, Celtics get the Clippers pick outright without having to swap their own.
There are flow charts and percentage tables out there if you are interested. But I’ll find it hard to follow all the math until we at least get into next offseason and see what the Clippers end up doing.
So the bottom line is that we should be doing something that we would do normally: Rooting against the Sixers and Clippers. I guess I don’t have any specific dislike of the Clippers, more of a sad pity for their fans. But in this case the team dug the hole with their own aspirational shovels.
It will be interesting to see how the Clippers navigate the next couple of years. I’ve seen some suggest that they should lean into taking on bad contracts (for the cost of other people’s draft picks). Balmer is banned from the team for a year, but his money is still limitless, so they could just pay their way through this. But it will still be very hard without all those draft picks.
Anyway, the Celtics have an asset in that 2028 pick and it seems to have gotten a bit better because of all this. Now we wait and see what Brad Stevens intends to do with that asset.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 30: Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics speaks to the media after Game Six of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 30, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics 106-93. 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 Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dallas Mavericks now have five Europeans on their roster, and the NBA is getting increasingly more international and influenced by the European style of play.
After primarily focusing on the European perspective in part I and part II, it’s time to take a look at this topic from the other side in part III: the American perspective, and one European NBA coach.
Toni Canyameras, a reporter for the Spanish sports media Mundo Deportivo, covers the NBA from Toronto and has the unique perspective of a European reporter on the ground.
In collaboration with Toni Canyameras, who has been asking multiple current and former NBA coaches about their view on this exact topic through the last few seasons, we dive into how the coaches on the floor view this.
It seems fitting to start with the first European head coach in the NBA who led a team an entire season and who is the first European coach to lead an NBA team to the playoffs. That’s of course Toronto Raptors head coach – and Serbian – Darko Rajakovic, who took over in Toronto in 2023.
Last season, Toni Canyameras asked him why Serbia produces so many great players – like Nikola Jokic. His answer can be used to help explain European success on a bigger scale, as well. This is what he said:
“Serbia has a huge basketball tradition. It’s a country that has had a lot of success over the last decades and the last half century. Basketball is the number one sport in the country, there is a lot of pride, a lot of pressure when you play for the Serbian national team.”
“Serbia is a small country with only 6 million people. So many great players come from there, because basketball is so special, means so much to people – and all the kids grow up watching the stars back in the day: Djordjevic, Divac, Bodiroga… and now watching Nikola Jokic, Bogdanovic and all the young players in the league,” Rajakovic said.
In Serbia, they can’t afford to waste talent, he points out, making the development of every single player a focus.
“Player development there is very important because it is a small country. We don’t have talent to waste, so every kid shows up to play basketball being short or tall, being skinny or not skinny. We are trying to maximize every single kid that wants to play basketball and I think that helps coaches to maximize potential.”
🏀 🇷🇸 The #NBA season is approaching and the nice pregame quotes of Rajakovic, too
👉🏽 Like this reflection on why Serbia produces players like Jokic
“Basketball means so much. Player development is important because is a small country and there’s no talent to waste” pic.twitter.com/HtZuKFlzjz
This insight gives a great perspective into what seems to be the more effective developmental system of Europe. The smaller talent pool in general may not be a downside all the time at all, but could serve as a way to help find the unique strengths of every talented player rather than try to make everyone fit into a box.
If nothing else, the European boom, the European NBA revolution – or if you will, the increasing dominance of European players in the National Basketball Association (of America), does not stem from having the most athletic or explosive players – and focusing on developing that type and skillset.
Because in order to compete, Europeans had to stand out in other ways. Ahmet Melik Subaşı, Turkish basketball executive and author of part II of this series, touched on that in his piece.
“In tactical terms, they either had to develop superior systems that would allow them to play the game more efficiently with less effort and despite having lower physical standards, or they had to develop players whose fundamental skills were so exceptional that they could compensate for the physical gap – players capable of creating magic with the ball,” he pointed out in part II.
Former Blazers coach Chauncey Billups agrees. Back in 2024, he said that the gap between Europe and the US had closed – exactly because Europe has a better player development system, teaching players how to play modern basketball:
“I do think that the gap has closed. I can tell you the difference. In the United States, when we grow up learning the game, we grow up learning skills, dribbling moves, we love highlight reels, shooting.”
“I think that in international basketball, they learn how to play modern basketball from a very young age, when to drop back, how to get off screens, how to handle the pick and roll, how to read the game properly. We aren’t taught that, so international players have an advantage over us because they are taught the game the right way.”
The advantage the other way around, mostly focused on individual skills and athleticism, is not enough by itself anymore, according to Billups:
“We have an advantage because individually, we are very gifted. You see players like the Joker (Nikola Jokic) or Luka (Doncic). These guys can’t beat me in a one-legged race or jump higher than me, but nobody in the NBA can defend them because they play mentally, with their heads, and their skill level evens things out. It’s a dynamic combination.”
This dynamic combination of European skill and IQ has led to the international players winning the NBA MVP since 2019, and Europeans receiving all but the last two (which went to another international: Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander). On top of that, the top three finalists for MVP have consistently been Europeans, as well, with players like Slovenian Luka Doncic, Serbian Nikola Jokic, and Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo being repeat offenders, with Frenchman Victor Wembanyama entering the race last year.
But how are these players, along with a long list of European NBA players able to continue this dominance in the best league in the world without some of the athletic and individual gifts – which Billups mentions?
Basketball IQ is one thing that keeps recurring in the NBA coaches’ answers. Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla tends to agree:
“You study some trends, things they do there, and it shows they have really smart players and coaches. I like the development system they have from kids to adults. They play with the same shot clock, they understand how to read the game, they do things faster at a younger age, which develops decision-making and basketball IQ,” Mazzulla said in 2024.
But things have also changed in the way Americans develop young players, longtime NBA coach Steve Clifford told Toni Canyameras. Clifford says he doesn’t think the American players’ basketball IQ is being developed in the same way as it used to be:
“My conclusion about basketball in my country is this: kids come into the league right after college games. Their shot creation, dribbling skills, and shooting accuracy are better than ever; they’re better with the ball, but their basketball IQ isn’t even close to what it used to be. Their understanding of how to work as a team offensively and defensively isn’t even close to what it used to be, because they don’t use the best coaches,” he said.
He makes the point that American players generally aren’t spending enough time playing college basketball, which is where you find some of the best US coaches.
“There aren’t high school coaches like there used to be. We have phenomenal college coaches, but the players aren’t even there for a year, just seven months. They don’t get the benefit of playing four years for Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski, longtime Duke head coach). We’re getting kids who don’t know about basketball, how to play. Their shot creation and accuracy are phenomenal, but their basketball IQ is nonexistent.”
Their basketball IQ is nonexistent. A powerful – albeit painful – sentence that may encapsulate a lot of the reasons why Europeans have taken the lead on how to develop players and dominate the game.
But Clifford isn’t done:
“Europeans, in most countries, learn when they are 13 or 14 years old. They go to these academies and are taught to play 3×3, 4×4, they are taught how to help each other, so there is a clear difference.”
He doesn’t have a lot of faith in American development catching up any time soon, however:
“Frankly, I don’t think it’s going to change. The United States is a money-making machine and there’s no way the teaching will go back.”
Doc Rivers, in 2025 when he was still the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, talked about the shortage of American centers and why European centers are playing bigger roles on NBA teams, generally:
“I just think they don’t have an AAU. And I hate to say that, I think AAU can serve a better purpose for us. But the European kids practice a lot, they practice on fundamentals. They spend hours in the gym practicing, where the US kids play games and they don’t practice on fundamentals and skills,” he told Toni Canyameras, which echoes the point multiple Europeans made in Part I of this series.
“I think right now we’re in the middle of having to change that and if we don’t change that, we’re going to continue to be outplayed,” Doc Rivers said.
It is worth noting that the narrative of Europeans being “soft” and not as physical as the Americans, which was prevalent a decade or two ago, seems to have disappeared.
It turns out that in the most physical position – the five center position – Europeans are outplaying the Americans, as Doc Rivers touches on. Almost all of the big men, who play significant roles on NBA teams at this point in time, are Europeans.
Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively could be an exception, if he can manage to stay healthy. We saw him play up against Wembanyama in his rookie season, and he has a lot of what it takes to make a real impact. In 2024, I wrote a piece touching on exactly that, where I called Lively’s skillset a great sign for the future of the American big man.
But not all NBA coaches buy into the viewpoint that the Europeans are ahead of the Americans.
Toni Canyameras asked Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder back in 2024, what he saw as the differences between the American player development system and the European system:
“I don’t think there’s a huge difference between what we have here and in Europe, but there are certainly some differences. I think here, when we think about development, we always think about 1-on-1 and 2-on-2. The fact that in Europe they’re trained in a 5-on-5 system means you could say they’re taught how to play with other people through passing. There are some things that carry over to the United States and things we can learn from,” Snyder said.
And when you ask Europeans what the difference is between the two styles, that’s exactly what they respond. Playing through passing, sharing the ball, team basketball versus individualism.
Could that mean that Europe has closed the gap by playing their own style, as other coaches have implied?
Former NBA coach Monty Williams was not so sure. Toni Canyameras asked him this question based on the results in the last World Cup tournaments.
“That question has come up a lot, and I truly believe the world has improved, but I’m not going to say the gap is closed because we’ve never seen our best talent in these particular World Cup tournaments. It’s a difficult question, and I don’t want to sound disrespectful. I’ve seen the spirit of those teams. I’ve been in the corridor with our guys, listening to their music, and other teams singing their anthems, preparing for the matches. I understand how important it is for every country we face there.”
National team success is one way to gauge dominance. Here, Germany and Spain won the last two World Cup tournaments. Another is the nationality of the players topping the MVP ladder and other awards.
Basketball is a competition where the best team wins. Not the best player, or the one with the best highlight reel. There’s no way around the fact that individualism doesn’t serve anyone in a team sport – and it doesn’t create a winning mentality or team success.
And it looks like we’re seeing the brunt of that mindset right now. If and when the American developmental system and players change the focus to become more team-oriented again, Europeans will lose some of their edge. If they manage to get back to teaching players how to develop their basketball IQ early on, Europeans will have to level up again.
And for all of us, who love the competition of team sports, this is a great race to witness. The race to greatness will sharpen both sides and result in the very best basketball possible. And that should be the aim above all else – to get to witness the very best by the very best.
Thank you to Toni Canyameras for quotes, links and collaboration.
