TORONTO, CANADA - FEBRUARY 25: Dylan Harper #2 of the San Antonio Spurs drives to the net against RJ Barrett #9 of the Toronto Raptors during the first half at Scotiabank Arena on February 25, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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 Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Antonio Spurs found themselves down twelve to the Toronto Raptors. They kicked up the defensive intensity at the start of the fourth quarter, outscoring Toronto 32-17 in the final frame to secure the 110-107 victory. The Spurs nearly lost a free-throw battle down the stretch. The team went 13-23 from the line for the game, but made enough free throws to squeak out the win.
On a night when Victor Wembanyama was held quiet, the Spurs guards stepped up to carry the offensive load. Devin Vassell had 21 points while hitting 5 three-pointers, De’Aaron Fox had 20 points, including some clutch shots in the fourth quarter, and Dylan Harper had 15 points and 7 assists off the bench. Toronto had a similarly balanced offensive attack, with Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley leading the team with 20 points apiece.
With the win, the Spurs have won 10 straight games, with a record of 42-16. They’ll look to extend their winning streak against the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow night.
Observations
Wembanyama seemed frustrated the entire game. He had 12 points on 3-12 shooting, adding 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Raptors were incredibly physical with him, not letting him catch the ball inside and staying in front of him on the perimeter. He was incredibly impactful defensively, but just couldn’t shake free offensively.
Harper had one of his best games of the season. Despite Toronto’s physical pressure defense, he remained calm and played at his own pace. Defensively, he guarded with physicality and did a great job staying in front of Ingram in the fourth quarter.
The Spurs are one of the best teams in the NBA at holding teams from scoring off their turnovers. They allowed the Raptors to score 23 points off their 13 turnovers on Wednesday night. It was one of the main reasons that Toronto was able to build a big lead going into the fourth quarter.
Old friend Jakob Poeltl had a great game for the Raptors. He put up 15 points, 7 rebounds, and had 3 blocks. He was incredibly effective on Wembanyama. Late in the game, the Spurs’ superstar tried to get Poeltl in isolation, but couldn’t get around Toronto’s center. It was one of the more impressive defensive showings from an opposing big man this season.
With a Spurs win and an Oklahoma City Thunder loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, San Antonio is now two games back from the number one seed in the West. There is a very real chance that the Spurs can catch OKC for first place.
Fox hit a shot in the fourth quarter that made my mouth drop. With three seconds left on the shot clock, he fought through tough perimeter defense and found himself behind the backboard. He tossed up a lefty floater that swished in gently.
The latest man to attempt to improve the NBA's premier weekend is Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, who is ready to put some money up for All-Stars to compete in the highly-anticipated annual All-Star competitions.
Ishbia even said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday, Feb. 25, that he is willing to offer $1 million to the 2027 NBA dunk contest and 3-point contest winners.
He said he wants "to get the best guys" to participate during next year's All-Star Weekend, which will be held in Phoenix.
McAfee proposed that Ishbia put up $2 million, one for the winner and another one for a local charity.
"Done," Ishbia responded.
"We're hosting the All-Star Game in Phoenix next year..
Ishbia told McAfee that he will have a say in how to improve All-Star Weekend.
"Not the actual game part of it, like how they do East versus West, or World versus U.S., but I have a say in 'how do we get great players in it?" Ishbia said. "How do we make it a great event? How to make (the) fan experience phenomenal? We're gonna make it an amazing event."
McAfee challenged Ishbia to share the details, asking him to announce what he's planning for the dunk contest, and offered a proposal. Ishbia was all ears.
"You're gonna put a million dollars up for the winner and then a million dollar donation to a charity," McAfee said.
Ishbia quickly responded in excitement, "done" and added, "Let's get the best guys in it. Let’s make it awesome."
Will the NBA allow Mat Ishbia to pay players?
The idea proposed by McAfee and verbally agreed upon by Ishbia is illegal by NBA rules and regulations, according to ESPN.
Officials from the NBA league office and players' union told ESPN that Ishbia's generous donations would not "conform with the existing bonus structure."
Additionally, Ishbia did not consult the league office before making the offer, according to ESPN.
Ishbia remains motivated to find a way to get more stars into the events.
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Ebuka Okorie scored 34 points, his sixth 30-point game of the season, and Stanford rallied in the second half to defeat Pittsburgh 75-67 on Wednesday.
The Cardinal (17-11, 6-9 ACC) shot 50% from the field and overcame a 34-32 halftime deficit behind a 28-point second half from Okorie. He added six rebounds, six assists and three steals while going 9 for 9 from the free-throw line. Benny Gealer added 12 points, and Aidan Cammann finished with 11 as Stanford went a perfect 10-for-10 shooting at the line.
Pitt (10-18, 3-12) was led by Cameron Corhen's 22 points and eight rebounds, while Barry Dunning Jr. added 19 points on four 3-pointers.
Pitt built a 63-57 advantage with 7:08 remaining before Stanford answered with a decisive stretch. Okorie scored nine points during an 11-1 run that gave the Cardinal a 68-64 lead with 3:27 left, including back-to-back 3-pointers.
The Panthers cut the deficit to four on a Dunning 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining, but Stanford responded with a tip-in by Cammann and closed the game at the free-throw line, holding Pitt without a field goal over the final three minutes.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Cardinal.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk and Rasmus Sandin ended long goal droughts and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Wednesday night, their fifth win in their last six games.
The Capitals now have 42 goals from defensemen this season, the second most in the NHL behind Columbus.
Aliaksei Protas scored an empty-netter for Washington with 26 seconds to play when the Flyers had a six-on-four for his 20th goal of the season, and Logan Thompson made 23 saves. Protas also had an assist.
Noah Cates scored for Philadelphia 29 seconds into the third period, his first goal in 19 games, and Dan Vladar made 26 stops as the Flyers lost for the sixth time in their last seven games to fall further out of playoff position.
After a scoreless first period, Sandin scored his third goal of the season and his first since Nov. 13 with 6:08 to play in the second. With an assist on the goal, Jakob Chychrun now has 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in his last eight games.
Cates tipped in a shot by Travis Sanheim early in the third to tie it at 1-1, but van Riemsdyk scored his second of the season with 5:52 to play to put Washington on top to stay. It was his first goal since Oct. 25, a span of 38 games.
The Capitals played without forward and Canadian Olympian Tom Wilson, who missed the game with an illness.
Up next
Flyers: Visit the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Gia Cooke scored 19 points, Jordan Harrison added 16 and No. 17 West Virginia pulled away from UCF in the third quarter for a 74-62 victory on Wednesday night.
UCF led 27-25 at the break, but West Virginia outscored the Knights 31-9 in the third quarter for a 20-point advantage heading into the final period. Harrison scored eight points, Cooke added seven and Sydney Shaw chipped in with six. The Mountaineers hit all three of their 3-pointers and shot 76.5% (13 of 17) from the field in the third.
Cooke shot 6 of 16 overall, and Harrison was 6 of 7 from the floor. Cooke made four 3-pointers, and Shaw scored all nine of her points from behind the arc. Carter McCray and Kierra Wheeler each added 12 points for West Virginia (23-6, 13-4 Big 12).
Khyala Ngodu scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead UCF (10-18, 2-15), which has lost 10 straight.
West Virginia shot 52% overall while UCF hit 51%, but the Mountaineers made 7 of 15 from long range while the Knights missed all six of their attempts from distance. West Virginia also scored 22 points off 22 UCF turnovers.
The Mountaineers dominated the season's first meeting with a 106-56 win. It was the most points scored in a conference game in program history.
Up next
West Virginia hosts Cincinnati on Sunday in a regular-season finale.
BOSTON (AP) — Fred Payne scored 23 points and Aidan Shaw tipped in a miss with 0.5 seconds remaining as Boston College snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 68-67 victory over Wake Forest on Wednesday night.
Boston College took a 64-56 lead with 1:42 remaining but the Eagles would not make another field goal until Shaw's game-winner.
Juke Harris gave Wake Forest its first lead of the second half with 18.8 seconds left in the game after back-to-back 3-pointers following a Boston College turnover.
Then Boston College worked the clock down before Payne drove into the lane for a shot that hit high off the glass and rolled off the rim. But Shaw, who averages 4.1 points per game, skied for the rebound and put it home.
It was the first win for Boston College (10-18, 3-12 ACC) since topping Pittsburgh 65-62 on Jan. 21.
Shaw finished with 11 points and Boden Kapke had 13 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double this season, for the Eagles.
Harris finished with a career-high 38 points for Wake Forest (14-14, 5-10). Harris was 12 of 19 from the field, including 6 of 12 from distance, while the rest of his teammates combined to go 10-of-43 overall.
Harris scored 16 points in the opening 13 minutes of the game, including six straight overall, to give Wake Forest a 21-15 lead. The Demon Deacons led 29-22 at the break despite shooting 10 of 33 (30%) from the field.
Boston College started the second half on a 14-1 run, with 11 points from Payne, to take its first lead since it was 13-11. The Eagles went 1 of 15 from 3-point range in the first half before starting 4 of 5 after the break.
The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday before being moved a day later due to a winter storm.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Oluchi Okananwa scored 25 points, surpassing 1,200 career points in the process, and No. 14 Maryland defeated Northwestern 79-57 on Wednesday night.
Okananwa, one of four 1,000-point scorers on Maryland's roster, now has 1,213 career points. The 17.4 points per game scorer has 51 points in the past two games.
Northwestern was within eight points in the middle of the third quarter before Okananwa and Kyndal Walker each scored six points in a 12-2 run that gave the Terrapins a 63-45 lead heading to the final period.
The lead reached 24 points four times in the fourth quarter.
Maryland (23-6, 11-6 Big Ten) turned Northwestern’s 21 turnovers into 24 points. The Terps committed only six turnovers, leading to two points for Northwestern.
Among Maryland's starters, Yarden Garzon scored 11 points, Addi Mack added 10 points and Saylor Poffenbarger grabbed 13 rebounds to reach 1,000 for her career. Walker scored 10 points off the bench.
Grace Sullivan scored 23 points for Northwestern (8-20, 2-15).
Okananwa scored eight points in the first quarter and Maryland led 20-14 after one. A 12-3 run in the second quarter helped push the lead to 15 points and the Terrapins went on to lead 44-31 at halftime.
Maryland leads the series with Northwestern 16-1 and has won the last eight games.
Up next
Maryland: Visits No. 8 Michigan on Saturday in a regular-season finale.
Northwestern: The regular season ends at home against Purdue on Sunday.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Marta Suarez scored a career-high 32 points, and No. 11 TCU used a dominant third quarter to defeat Cincinnati 83-70 on Wednesday, clinching at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
With the win, defending Big 12 champion TCU secured no worse than a share of the league title entering Sunday’s regular-season finale against No. 18 Baylor. The Horned Frogs also became the first program to repeat as Big 12 champions within three seasons of finishing last.
The Horned Frogs (26-4, 14-3 Big 12) trailed 29-23 at halftime before taking control with a decisive stretch out of the break. TCU outscored Cincinnati 35-14 in the third quarter, turning a six-point deficit into a 58-43 lead entering the fourth.
Suarez, who entered the game averaging 16.5 points, fueled the surge as TCU opened the period on a 20-3 run to build its first double-digit lead at 43-32 with 4:40 remaining in the quarter. Donovyn Hunter added 16 points, and Olivia Miles finished with 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Horned Frogs shot 45% from the field and made 11 3-pointers.
Cincinnati (11-18, 6-11) was led by Mya Perry's 27 points, while Caliyah DeVillasee added 20 and Reagan Jackson scored 12. The Bearcats shot 35% from the floor and could not cut the deficit below double digits in the final period.
Up Next
TCU: hosts No. 18 Baylor on Sunday in a regular-season finale.
Cincinnati: travels to No. 17 West Virginia on Sunday for its finale regular-season matchup.
Don’t worry – we’ll all get through this one together.
After a tight game in Indiana and a dicey last-minute flight to Brooklyn, the Dallas Mavericks head back home to host the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. Your feelings about this matchup depends entirely on your current operating theory of the Mavericks: if you’re team tank, this is a nail-biter, one of several dice-rolls that will have a material impact on Dallas’ lottery odds in the coming offseason. If you’re team let’s-get-out-there-and-try-our-best, this is likely a breezy contest, as few teams in the Association have the moxie to truly out-bad this Kings squad.
As you might have guessed, Sacramento comes into town scraping the bottom of the barrel. They’re 13-46 at the time of writing, and likely to be 13-47 after a matchup against the Houston Rockets Wednesday night. That’s enough for #30 across the entire league. If that isn’t sufficient to convince you, they’re also on the second night of a back-to-back, and they’ve won only four road games the entire season. But hey – they beat a struggling Memphis Grizzlies team a few nights ago. Maybe we can call that momentum?
On the flip side, Dallas (21-36) has found something that – if you squint hard enough – looks like footing. They closed out strong enough against the Pacers on Sunday to beat them 134-130, and they thoroughly handled the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday 123-114. If they beat the Kings tomorrow evening, that would make three solid wins in a row after a nasty 10-game skid. Again, there’s an argument to be made that this is a bad thing, if you’re team tank. But this Dallas roster fights hard just about every right, so you can be sure they’ll show up at the American Airlines Center ready to play.
Here are three storylines to watch going to the final Dallas-Sacramento matchup this season.
As goes the three-ball (and the turnovers), so goes the game
It’s no secret that Dallas is a bad three-point shooting team. This has been the case the entire season, and while the Anthony Davis trade was welcome in many (so many) ways, the Mavericks didn’t see much relief in this area. This means that they need all of the shooting they can find – typically, this comes from Max Christie (who is in a bit of a slump right now) and Klay Thompson, but anyone is welcome to join the party.
Since the all-star break, Dallas has done okay enough behind the line, shooting a reasonable 39.3% in the Indiana win and a slightly-less-reasonable 34.8% in the Brooklyn win. Against Sacramento, they’re likely to have plenty of opportunities – the Kings have one of the lowest defensive ratings in the league at 120.9, and their opponents hit on 36.4% of their attempts. This is one potential avenue of Mavericks success, whether or not they actually take the victory.
Another avenue of success? Cutting down on turnovers. It’s been said many times, many ways that Dallas lacks an effective point guard and can’t take care of the ball – so there’s no need to re-hash. But facing off against the Kings, it’s a factor to consider. While this Kings defense is unmistakably bad in the macro, they have some notable defensive threats in the micro. The Mavericks took care of the ball well enough against Indiana and Brooklyn; if they can stave off Keon Ellis and Russell Westbrook, they should cruise to a three-game win-streak relatively easily.
The new guys continue to contribute
When Anthony Davis was traded to the Washington Wizards at the beginning of February, the return of Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Tyus Jones, and Marvin Bagley III was considered by many to be largely incidental. And while that may still turn out true – Khris Middleton is reportedly still considering the prospect of a buyout – the new Mavericks are nonetheless contributing in the meantime. Marvin Bagley III is perhaps the stand-out here: he went for 22 against the Nets on Tuesday, leading the team in scoring in only 20 minutes of play. Against the Timberwolves and Pacers before them, he led the team in rebounds, filling a much-needed role in given the team’s dearth of healthy centers. If he continues to play as he has, he’ll make an outsized impact against Sacramento – hell, he might even convince the Dallas front office he’s a longer-term piece.
Not to be forgotten, Khris Middleton has also played some meaningful minutes for Dallas recently, putting up 18/6/2 against Minnesota and 23/9/2 against Indiana. Though there’s a chance he won’t play against the Kings – Middleton left Tuesday night’s game early with a shoulder stinger – his presence is a reminder that this Dallas team has some fresh tools to play around with.
Injuries are like opinions: everyone has one
Speaking of leaving the game early, P.J. Washington also exited late Tuesday night with an apparent ankle injury. Nothing definitive has been announced yet – but alongside Middleton’s shoulder, and Cooper Flagg’s lingering midfoot sprain, the Mavericks could be missing three key pieces headed into Sacramento. Taking Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II into account as well, that’s a whole starting lineup that is potentially riding the bench for Dallas.
Beside their ugly records, this is probably the most compelling symmetry between Sacramento and Dallas. The Kings, too, have multiple key players out for the year: De’Andre Hunter had surgery this season to repair a detached retina; Zach LaVine, to repair a torn tendon in his hand; Domantas Sabonis, to repair a torn meniscus. Likewise, a few more are game-time decisions: rookie center Dylan Cardwell suffered a left ankle sprain a few days ago, and guard Devin Carter is dealing with lingering back soreness.
Call it tanking, or call it preparation for next season – whatever the case, the main story of this Mavericks-Kings matchup is whether either team can be anything more once their star players are healthy.
The road ahead
After Sacramento, Dallas enjoys two more games at home, facing off against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then, they’re back on the road for most of the first two weeks of March.
How to watch (or listen)
The Dallas Mavericks host the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 PM CT. The game will will be streamed live on MavsTV as well as broadcast on KFAA/WFAA. As usual, fans can also tune in at 97.1FM KEGL (English) or at 99.1FM KFZO (Español).
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 25: An overall view of the draft board following the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 25, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. 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 Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Everybody wants the NBA to fix tanking. Nobody knows how to do it.
Tanking. You’ve seen the word thousands of times in your recent social media doom scroll. You’ve heard it repeated countless times on television and podcasts to the point of semantic satiation — the word is losing all meaning. It’s just a jumble of sounds at this point.
It’s an issue so significant and foundational to the National Basketball Association that at this point, half of the league’s eyeballs are glued to the bottom of the standings, rather than fixating on the top half. Basketball teams don’t want to win anymore, at least not until they’re certain they found a winning formula. A potential superstar, a blooming project player, and the surrounding infrastructure to support the weighty task of pursuing the NBA Finals.
When it works (Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Dallas), the results are magnificent. The stars of the league carry their team to the spotlight and duke it out for a chance to hoist the trophy at the end of the season. Isn’t San Antonio the picture of perfection — a mythical paradise where beast and man play as one? Who can stop Oklahoma City and their endless supply of young talent? Perhaps the aprons of the CBA?
When it doesn’t (Charlotte, Washington, New Orleans), the NBA points the finger of shame. How can Washington still be destitute this many years removed from the Wall-Beal era? Michael Jordan is gone, so why is Charlotte still so horrible?
The metronome is swinging for the Utah Jazz and their tanking efforts. The NBA imposed a tanking fine on them for sitting star players in a game the Jazz won, and one on the Pacers for listening to their team medical staff: refusing to medicate and force a player to enter a game when the professionals on staff advised against it.
Why are some teams lauded for tanking, while others are hand-slapped for reaching into the cookie jar?
The reasoning is irrelevant — the NBA is planting its foot on the tanking issue, and rule changes could arrive as soon as next season.
Multiple sources with knowledge of Thursday's GM meeting as well as a late January Competition Committee meeting told ESPN that the following concepts have been discussed to curb tanking:
•First-round picks can be protected only top-4 or top-14+ •Lottery odds freeze at the… https://t.co/Vk2n1cSzde
Rather than investigating the root cause of their illness (small market teams have too few avenues to become a championship competitor), the NBA is opting to attack the symptoms. It’s not the common cold that must be stopped; it’s sneezing.
Ignoring the logical inconsistencies, I’d like to evaluate each proposed remedy for tanking offered by Shams Charania’s report. Which ones could work, which ones probably wouldn’t, and which ones are just plain dumb (most of them are this last one). I don’t know how to solve tanking, but I can poke holes in the ideas of others like it’s nobody’s business.
How will the NBA eliminate tanking?
Option A: First-round picks can be protected only top-4 or top-14+
I’ll take this one further: if you’re restricting pick protections, why not just eliminate them entirely?
Why complicate the pick protections when a far simpler solution is to remove them from the equation? Do you want to put up your first-round pick to acquire a great player? Then trade the first-round pick. Utah has fallen under fire for tanking to remain below the 9 mark in the lottery order. Their pick is top-8 protected, and conveys to Oklahoma City if it falls below that mark. For the good of humanity, we must not allow another lottery pick to fall into Sam Presti’s clutch.
I like pick swaps — that seems like a great compromise for teams who want to wager their future for the present, but are unsure they’d like to give it up entirely. Keep pick swaps, eliminate protections entirely.
Verdict: Good idea. Could use a minor adjustment.
Option B: Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date
This is a bad idea. The core idea is to avoid manipulating results to artificially fall in the standings, right? Tanking season will simply move to earlier in the season. Instead of a last-second struggle to tumble down the hill in April, you’ll see that happening in February, January, and even December!
This proposal is pitched in tandem with a round-robin style points system for the lottery teams beyond a specific date. Simply put, once the lottery order is frozen, teams in the lottery now compete for the top pick. Wins get 3 points, overtime wins get two points, overtime losses get one point, and losses get 0 points. While fascinating in theory, this idea falls apart when considering the original purpose of the NBA draft: saving bad teams from perpetual torment. It’s hard to imagine a world where teams like Sacramento or New Orleans would ever climb out of the dregs if they have to compete against Dallas or Oklahoma City (they traded for a lottery pick five years ago. They own the rights to the pick, so of course they’ll compete).
This idea is messy, and while it might affect the way tanking is executed, I don’t see this improving the overall competitiveness of the league.
Verdict: Bad idea.
Option C: No longer allowing a team to pick top 4 in consecutive years and/or after consecutive bottom-3 finishes
Sure, this may dissuade teams from prolonged tanking, but basketball Occham’s Razor grinds its teeth at the idea.
As a rule, I don’t believe that complicating basketball will improve the product or boost the health of the league. All you’re doing is tying our brains in knots. Does this apply to teams like Atlanta, who will likely pick in the top four thanks to the New Orleans pick? Should a team like Charlotte, which picked fourth last season, be barred from the top of the lottery? That feels a bit odd, even if their prize was Kon Knueppel. That makes Utah eligible for the top four in this coming season, since they snagged Ace Bailey fifth overall in 2025.
This rule is anything but straightforward, and doesn’t account for rare situations where star players are injured, traded, or otherwise affect the expected success of their team.
Verdict: Bad idea. Too complicated.
Option D: Teams can’t pick top-4 the year after making conference finals
Sorry, Indiana, we know that your star point guard tore his ACL in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and you lost Miles Turner, your cornerstone big man, but you, a 5 seed in the East, played in the Conference Finals a year ago. Oopsies.
The same would go for Cleveland the year after they lost LeBron (both times). You’re not eligible for a top-four pick because a generational superstar carried you to the promised land before leaving you high and dry. Sorry, we don’t make the rules… wait, actually, we do. Again, oopsies.
Verdict: Bad idea. Doesn’t account for upsets or complete implosions.
Option E: Lottery odds are allocated based on two-year records
This is supremely idiotic. It incentivises prolonged tanking efforts and rewards the usual suspects just as much as a one-year record would. The same jersey could be worn by an entirely different roster from one year to the next — in what world does it make sense to punish one team for falling apart, while rewarding another for always being horrible? Isn’t that the exact problem you’re trying to solve?
Verdict: What are we doing here?
Option F: Lottery extended to include all play-in teams
Wonderful, now even more teams have reason to tank at the end of the season. And to sweeten the deal, good teams sitting in the 4th, 5th, or 6th place spots in their conference may want to push for that 7 or 8 seed. Play in the playoffs and have a chance at the number one pick! Surely, this won’t cause even more poverty below.
Verdict: Pull yourselves together.
Option G: Flatten odds for all lottery teams
Finally, an idea that makes sense. Do the teams at the bottom of the lottery need the pick more? Yes, but now it doesn’t matter if you’re the worst team or the 10th worst; winning basketball games will not be detrimental to your future. The truly bad teams will have a chance in the lottery, but they won’t be jockeying for position down the stretch (save for the teams just outside the lottery who may want to tank for a slice of the pie).
If I were in charge, I’d likely eliminate the lottery entirely. The truly awful teams will have no reason to tank for more than a season or two, and all the drama and accusations surrounding lottery fixing will be a thing of the past. Simplify the process, and watch your league heal. Then again, I could be completely wrong.
Verdict: Good idea, but we could do more.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia's No. 52 will be retired on Sept. 26 by the New York Yankees, who will dedicate a plaque in honor of the Hall of Famer at Monument Park before that day's game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Sabathia will be the 24th man to have his number retired by the Yankees, the first since Paul O'Neill was honored with the retirement of No. 21 in 2022. Twenty-three numbers have been retired, with No. 8 set aside for both Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey.
New York made the announcement Wednesday night.
Sabathia will join former teammates Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte with plaques in Monument Park, beyond Yankee Stadium's center-field fence.
Sabathia was a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland and a World Series title in 2009, his first season with the Yankees after signing as a free agent.
He went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the Yankees (2009-19), including a 134-88 record with a 3.81 ERA and 1,700 strikeouts for New York.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 20: Rui Hachimura #28 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up prior to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on February 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Luiza Moraes/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As one Lakers player is set to return from injury, another gets added to the list.
Jaxson Hayes has been upgraded to probable for LA’s upcoming contest against Phoenix, but Rui Hachimura has now been downgraded to questionable with an illness.
Rui Hachimura is now listed as questionable to play vs. Suns on Thursday due to an illness. pic.twitter.com/l7QgT5ANcM
Lakers head coach JJ Redick said Hayes was day-to-day after Monday’s practice. If he returns after just one game out, that aligns with the assessment of the severity of his injury.
The potential return of Hayes is a welcome one. Redick described him as the best vertical lob threat the team has before their game against the Magic.
Hayes is solidified as the backup big for the Lakers and is averaging 6.8 points and shooting a career-high 77% from the field.
On the negative side, the Lakers starting this brief road trip without Hachimura would certainly make beating the Suns that much harder.
Hachimura is a rotation player for Los Angeles. He is averaging 11.7 points per game and is one of their best 3-point shooters, converting on 44% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
While Hachimura’s role has shifted from starter to bench player, he is still playing a ton. On the season, he is averaging 29.5 minutes per game, and in LA’s loss against the Magic, he was part of the closing lineup.
If he is out, LA’s other forwards, such as Jake LaRavia, will have to step up in his absence.
On the plus side, considering that it’s an illness, there shouldn’t be much concern from Lakers fans that Hachimura will be out for an extended period of time.
Unfortunately, this season the Lakers have often had players unavailable, so Redick can and will adjust if either Hachimura or Hayes is unavailable for this game.
With only 25 games left in the year, every matchup, especially against Western Conference foes, has some added importance. So, regardless of who plays, the Lakers need to figure out how to come away with a win.
Happy birthday to Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski aka Young Podz. And honestly, just the fact that we’re celebrating his birthday as a current Warrior is worth acknowledging. Think about that for a second.
The Warriors have been one of the most difficult environments for young players in modern NBA history, not because the organization is cruel, but because winning now has always taken priority over developing later. Jordan Poole is in New Orleans (we just saw him last night). Trayce Jackson-Davis was sent packing at the trade deadline. Jonathan Kuminga is apparently the greatest player in Atlanta Hawk history after one game off the bench.
Eric Paschall, Patrick Baldwin, Jacob Evans, Nico Mannion. The list of youngsters who cycled through this organization and ended up elsewhere reads like a roster for a “What Could Have Been” exhibition game.
And yes, winning hella recent championships meant that the Warriors had to draft late. That’s the tax you pay for sustained excellence. When you’re perennially picking in the 20s, you’re not getting lottery talent, you’re hoping to find someone who fits the culture and earns their minutes against veterans who have championship rings on their fingers. That’s a brutal audition process.
But here’s where I’m sure someone who has high speed internet and notices things will crash through my wall like the Kool-Aid Man to breathlessly shout at me that the Warriors have had three recent LOTTERY picks. James Wiseman, Moses Moody, and Kuminga. Three real shots at securing young foundational talent and two of them are already gone. So this isn’t purely a “late draft position” problem. Building through the draft while contending is genuinely hard, and even when the ping pong balls cooperate, there’s no guarantee.
"They had a shot at prolonging this. They had a couple bites at the apple, and they just got unlucky. They got the championship in 2022 but they just flopped on those [draft picks],"@SherwoodStrauss on the biggest mistakes the Warriors have made (@MorningRoast957) pic.twitter.com/Aj6WaIvGrG
Which brings us back to Podz, who was not a lottery pick, who was not handed anything, and who has spent three seasons quietly making himself indispensable.
His 2025-26 numbers tell a story of young guard finding his way in a league that is quite unmerciful: 12.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists per game across 58 appearances. His 44.9% field goal percentage matches his career mark exactly. The three-point shooting has actually dipped slightly from his career 37.4% to 36.6% this season, so there’s room to grow there. The free throw improvement, from 72.9% career to 76.5% this season, is a quieter indicator of a player who is learning to maximize those times when he gets beat up around the paint.
But the last two games? That’s the storyline that deserves the birthday spotlight.
Brandin Podziemski has recorded 15+ points and 15+ rebounds in back-to-back games.
He joins Kevin Durant, David Lee, and Andris Biedrins as the only Warriors to have such a streak in the last 20 years. pic.twitter.com/jjIMUNAuO7
Thirty rebounds in two games. Thirty!!!! He’s 6-foot-4 rebounding like a power forward! For context, that’s the kind of output that makes coaches involuntarily nod their heads and scouts pull up a player’s contract details. Podziemski has had some genuinely rough shooting nights this season, games where the ball just wasn’t going in, where another younger player might have sulked or disappeared. Instead, he went and grabbed every missed shot he could find like the basketball owed him money.
That’s the Podz thing. That’s what separates him from the guys who came before and didn’t last. He finds another way to matter when his primary tool isn’t working. The Warriors have had talented youngsters who didn’t or couldn’t do that.
He came into the league with grit that looked almost naive, this kid from who did his college hooping in Silicon Valley at Santa Clara. But he’s made sure to find some staying power on this roster this season. Happy birthday, Brandin. The fact that you’re still here, still grinding, still ripping down 30 boards in a two-game stretch when your shot is cold, is the whole story. Keep writing it.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder will be missing four starters for their matchup of conference leaders against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City won't have its four leading scorers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdomen), Jalen Williams (hamstring), Ajay Mitchell (abdomen) and Chet Holmgren (back), along with sixth-leading scorer Isaiah Hartenstein (calf). The only player from the top six that will play in Detroit is Isaiah Joe, who averages 11.0 points, and the only regular starter will be Lu Dort.
The game was billed as a possible NBA Finals preview, with the Western Conference-leading Thunder at 45-14 and the Pistons leading the East at 42-14.
BROOKLYN, NY - FEBRUARY 24: Egor Demin #8 of the Brooklyn Nets and Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Dallas Mavericks go up for the rebound during the game on February 24, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 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 Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Egor Demin is still in the top ten of the NBA’s Rookie Rankings, at No. 9, one spot below where he was drafted. Still the second fastest player to 100 3-pointers in NBA history, behind only Kon Knueppel. And yes, he’s still averaging double figures. Still a winner in the All-Star Break’s Rising Stars Challenge.
But…
He is also in a slump. In his last three games, he is shooting 7-of-28 (25.0%) overall and 4-of-19 (21.0%). And after shooting 47.2% in the month of January from deep, he’s down to 31.0% so far in February. On Tuesday night, he didn’t score till the fourth quarter in what was an embarrassing loss to the Mavs. Moreover, the 6’9.5”, 210-pound rookie has had issues with NBA physicality and he knows it as he told Brian Lewis before the Mavs game.
“Yeah, that’s definitely one of the next steps,” Dëmin told The Post. “And that comes from the physicality in general. I think that the physicality part is the next step that as soon as I get there, it’s going to put me on a different level in my opinion. Right then obviously being able to contain shooting and just improve it.
“And from the physicality it’s going to be better defense, better athleticism, better paint touches, again just because I’m going to be stronger and bigger. Mentality is definitely a part of it too. Just trying to implement this into my game before it implements itself, I guess; really trying [to be physical] a lot. I think all of it. And it’s all about the work, pretty much; and the time.”
A refreshing self-assessment for the 19-year-old but as the Nets first lottery pick in 15 years, a lot is being asked of him.
“Obviously touching the paint, making the right play, cutting,” coach Jordi Fernández said of what he’d like to see from the teenager. “He’s going to keep shooting: I like all his shots. He made a big one in the fourth because he’s confident. Even if he misses five, he’ll shoot the sixth and make it. Other things are cutting, touching the paint, finding sprays, getting to the rim, getting to the [foul] line. One step at a time; but I want to see more of that.”
That level of patience is a big part of development and a luxury a team going nowhere has. He’s the only one of the first first round picks to avoid playing in the G League with the Long Island Nets — the other four have played 42 games, led by Ben Saraf’s 19, He’s been handed the reins, starting 43 of the 50 games he played for Brooklyn — at total of 1,255 minutes.
That load may also be a factor as it often is for rookies. At BYU last season, he played a total of 908 minutes, 25% fewer than his NBA total with 25 more games to go. Is it the Rookie Wall that’s giving him issues? He notes he’s put on 11 pounds since Summer League (then rehabbed for two months after he came down with a case of plantar fascia.) The Moscow native says he is getting help from team trainers to help him through the transition from college to pro. He admits there’s a mental aspect as well as physical.
“This is something I’m really trying to focus on a lot, just trying to get better at this, from the standpoint of toughness: mental, more than physical, because the physical part. I can’t really do more than I’m able, than my ability,” Dëmin explained to Lewis. “So this is something I’m working on in the lifting room; trying to get stronger, looking at my nutrition.
“[The trainers] make my body stronger. But right now, it’s really about my mental, physicality, where I can resist every single player on the court. And I’m looking for that state of mind where, ‘No, I’m not going to step away from you,’ which obviously it happens sometimes. Sometimes it’s not as good. And that’s a process.”
Nets fans along with the team staff have been happy with the pairing of Demin with his fellow rookie, Frenchman Nolan Traore, who had a similar transition earlier in the season. As Steve Aschbruner of NBA.com wrote this week in compiling the rookie rankings.
A 1-for-10 night against OKC, including 1-for-8 from the arc, dragged down Dëmin’s shooting percentage. But the emergence of teammate Nolan Traoré has Nets fans envisioning the two 19-year-olds as Brooklyn’s global backcourt of the future.
At this point, Brooklyn believes in both and hopes that the two — the sixth and 11th youngest players in the league — can get back on track before the season ends. You don’t want to lose development time. Despite Demin’s shooting issues, the organization remains confident that Demin in particular will, that they did well picking the Russian in the 2025 Draft.
One former point guard who knows all about development is Jason Kidd, the Nets great and now Mavs coach. Kidd’s nickname as a young player was “Ason Kidd” because he had no “J” or jumper. He finished his career second in NBA history with 1,988 3-pointers, a number of course that’s been since surpassed. Lewis asked him which was tougher: a 3-point shot or finding your place on the floor.
“Getting where you want [on the floor] is what you want. The great players all get where they want: step-back 3, side-step 3, to the rim, Euro step. Shooting you can work on, sometimes it just takes time. If you can stay the course and have patience, it will come. If you can’t get where you want to go, there’s no way you can get the shot off,” Kidd said. “I’d take that package, and that young man has it.”
