Category: NBA

All young players in the NBA have room for improvement. So, who will make the proverbial "leap" in the 2025 - 2026 season? NBA Most Improved Player odds have the Blazers' Deni Avdija and the Hawks' Jalen Johnson as the betting favorites.

Below are more NBA odds for Most Improved Player.

NBA Most Improved Player odds

Here is a glance at NBA Most Improved Player odds with the Blazers' Deni Avdija (-125) as the current favorite.

Player
Deni Avdija	<<-125>>
Jalen Johnson	<<+240>>
Nickeil Alexander-Walker	<<+1000>>
Keyonte George	<<+1000>>
Jalen Duren	<<+2000>>
Ryan Rollins	<<+4000>>
Collin Gillespie	<<+5000>>
Anthony Black	<<+6000>>
Jaylon Tyson	<<+6000>>
Dillon Brooks	<<+6000>>
Michael Porter Jr.	<<+7500>>
Amen Thompson	<<+50000>>

NBA Most Improved Player opening odds

Below is look at NBA Most Improved Player opening odds. Amen Thompson opened as the betting favorite.

• Amen Thompson (+1000)
• Andrew Nembhard (+1100)
• Deni Avdija (+1500)
• Bennedict Mathurin (+1600)
• Ausar Thompson (+1600)
• Matas Buzelis (+1600)
• Shaedon Sharpe (+2500)
• Josh Giddey (+3000)
• Michael Porter Jr. (+3000)
• Reed Sheppard (+3000)
• Jaden Ivey (+3000)
• Payton Pritchard (+3000)
• Trey Murphy (+4000)

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Understanding NBA Most Improved Player odds

Most sportsbooks will display odds in the American format as listed above. We'll use 2022-23's MIP race as an example: 

As the season progressed, with Lauri Markkanen having been a big favorite, his odds had a minus (-) sign ahead of the number: 

• Lauri Markkanen -200

This means that a bettor needs to wager $200 to win $100. Other candidates with worse odds would have a plus (+) sign ahead of the number. Early in the season, before any clear favorite is established, betting options will be listed as such: 

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +650

Here, a bettor stands to profit $650 for every $100 wagered. 

If American odds aren't your thing, simply use our odds converter to switch the odds to decimal or fractional format. Most online sportsbooks also give you the option to change the odds format that you see.

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NBA MIP betting trends

Here are some trends you'll want to consider when betting on NBA Most Improved Player futures:

• Forwards have won 13 of the past 20 MIP awards.
  
  
• No true center has won since Jermaine O'Neal in 2002.
  
  
• MIP has tended to favor players making "the leap" to stardom recently. Nine of the past 10 winners have averaged 20.0 ppg or more.
  
  
• In a very weird coincidence, an Orlando Magic player has won MIP four times since 1999, and each time, an Indiana Pacer has won the award the following year.

How is NBA Most Improved Player decided?

The NBA Most Improved Player Award is bestowed upon the player who has demonstrated a significant improvement in performance from the previous season. This improvement is evaluated based on the following key criteria:

Statistical improvement

Consideration is given to notable increases in key statistical categories, including traditional box score stats, shooting efficiency, and the various advanced metrics.

Role expansion or redefinition

Consideration will be given to players who have taken on new roles, and significantly expanded their responsibilities, thereby positively impacting their team.

Consistency and sustainability

The improvement should be consistent and sustained throughout the season, rather than a short-term surge in performance. Candidates should demonstrate their enhanced production over a substantial portion of the regular season.

Impact on team success

The player's improvement should directly contribute to the overall success and performance of their team. Factors such as wins, team rankings, and positive influence on team chemistry can be taken into account.

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NBA Most Improved Player history

Year	NBA Most Improved Winner
2024-25	Dyson Daniels
2023-24	Tyrese Maxey
2022-23	Lauri Markkanen
2021-22	Ja Morant
2020-21	Julius Randle
2019-20	Brandon Ingram
2018-19	Pascal Siakam
2017-18	Victor Oladipo
2016-17	Giannis Antetokounmpo
2015-16	CJ McCollum
2014-15	Jimmy Butler

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

Chris Paul is retiring as an NBA player.

Paul announced on Friday, Feb. 13, "he's stepping away from basketball," in the wake of reports that the Toronto Raptors had waived him. The 40-year-old point guard was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Raptors as part of a multi-team deal ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline earlier this month.

"It's time for me to show up for others and in other ways," the State Farm pitchman wrote in an Instagram post announcing his retirement decision. "This last season, I knew I couldn't do it unless I was at home with my family."

If Paul does not play in the league again, his last NBA game will have been on Dec. 1, 2025. But this was not his original plan for the season and the way it played out will go down as an unceremonious ending for a future Hall of Famer with his credentials.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — 12-time All-Star and 2-time Olympic gold medalist Chris Paul announces retirement from NBA after 21 seasons.

NBA and WNBA All-Star events have been going through a bit of a revamp in recent years. With increasing sponsorships, NBA salaries, and a decline in fan attention span, the NBA All-Star Game in particular has flopped in viewership and overall cultural resonance. It’s hard to get players to compete at 100% when they are afraid of being injured, and when there is little incentive to do so. Especially when it comes to events like the 3-point shooting contest, skills contest, or whatever other event the NBA tries to think up to change things up. WNBA players can be motivated by $25,000 prizes, of course, given their salaries are lower than those of NBA players, but NBA players are too well-compensated to really care about that kind of stuff anymore.

A few years ago, the NBA made a huge step in re-engaging fans in All-Star events by holding a shooting contest between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu in 2024. While some “battle of the sexes” type events can quickly devolve into questionable territory, ripe for sexist online takes and poor analysis, this event was actually quite well done. Ionescu and Curry are two of the best shooters in the sport’s history, and also great friends, so there was a mutual respect that ran through the lead-up to the event and the event itself.

Since it was a standard 3-point shooting contest, it wasn’t like Ionescu was at a huge disadvantage for being a woman. She was able to shoot from the WNBA three-point line (22 feet, 1.75 inches from the basket) if she wanted, but opted to use the standard NBA three-point line (23 feet, 9 inches from the basket) instead — a distance she is more than comfortable making shots from.

All of the prize money from this contest was being donated to charity, with Ionescu and Curry each pledging donations to their own personal foundations. The event was also in reaction to Sabrina Ionescu breaking the all-time 3-point contest record, NBA or WNBA, at the previous year’s WNBA All-Star Game. At the time, fans wondered how Ionescu would fare against the NBA’s best shooters — this event gave those fans what they wanted.

The event was a massive success, achieving the highest NBA All-Star Saturday viewership numbers in over five years, with over 5 million viewers. It outperformed the main event of the weekend, the actual All-Star Game, and viewership peaked during that event in particular. While Ionescu lost to Curry 29-26, her 26 points matched the actual winner of that year’s NBA 3-point shooting contest, and while she definitely didn’t need to gain any respect from the NBA contingent, she did.

Afterward, many people expressed genuine interest and excitement in repeating the event. At the time, Caitlin Clark was still in college, but fans were frothing at the mouth at the idea of seeing her compete in a 3-point contest. There were ideas of Steph and Sabrina going up against Clark and another NBA shooting star like Damian Lillard. Yet, years later, none of that has come to fruition.

Plus, two seasons into her career, Caitlin Clark has yet to compete in a 3-point contest.

In the summer of 2024, Ionescu bowed out of the WNBA All-Star 3-point contest to focus more on the upcoming Paris Olympics the week after — super fair. That same year, Clark declined an invitation to the contest as well, saying she wanted to rest after playing for over a year of consecutive basketball.

When it came to the following NBA All-Star game, in 2025, Clark declined an invitation from the NBA to participate. According to reporting from The Athletic, Clark wanted her first WNBA All-Star 3-point shooting contest to be in the WNBA.

The 2025 WNBA All-Star game was held in Clark’s WNBA home of Indianapolis, Indiana, where she plays with the Indiana Fever. A perfect spot to make her first appearance in the event, but those hopes were dashed as Clark suffered numerous injuries in the summer of 2025, leading to her missing most of the season and the All-Star game.

Now, as we head into the 2026 NBA All-Star game, the hype of Steph vs Sabrina is two years old, and with nothing to replace it. Fans would surely show up in the same fashion for a Caitlin Clark-led 3-point contest, which would definitely help the NBA’s floundering All-Star Weekend viewership numbers. Yet, nothing of the sort has materialized in the nearly two years since Clark came onto the scene, and this year was likely impossible as the NBA battles with WNBA players over their next CBA.

Still, it’s pretty wild that the NBA found a solid way to drive engagement, bring in the WNBA fanbase, and provide some tangible excitement for the All-Star events… and just hasn’t repeated it since. Add it to the list of self-inflicted L’s in the Adam Silver era.

The NBA’s All-Star Weekend is here! Tonight, we will see various games like the annual celebrity game. But the headline event is the Rising Stars challenge. Here is what’s in store.

Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game

• Time and how to watch: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
• What it is: A roster of entertainers and some former basketball players play in an exhibition game. One notable exception this year: there are no WNBA players in the game. This is likely not an accident because of the WNBA’s unresolved Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations with the WNBPA players union.

Rising Stars Challenge

• Time and how to watch: 9 p.m. ET on Peacock.
• What it is: This is the tournament-style showcase featuring rookies and second-year players.
• Wizards in the Rising Stars Challenge: Washington has two players on Team T-Mac: Tre Johnson, and Bub Carrington. Carrington replaced Alex Sarr. And the Wizards will also have Kyshawn George on Team Vince.
• When will the Wizards play in the game? Team Vince will play Team T-Mac in the semifinals at approximately 9:55 p.m. ET. The final will be at about 10:35 p.m. ET for the winner between Team Austin vs. Team Melo and the winner of Team Vince vs. Team T-Mac.

The Dallas Mavericks, now post trade deadline and resting over the all-star break, are fully in a new era. Yes, parts of the Luka Doncic core remain. But the Anthony Davis deadline deal that sent the big man and the end of the bench to the Washington Wizards made clear that the front office is turning the page and building for Cooper Flagg’s future.

That means a focus on Flagg’s development in game, but it also means a lot of losing the rest of this season to position themselves for the NBA draft lottery. That shift in strategy does mean we’ll be hanging our Power Rankings Watch jersey for the rest of this season, as the Mavericks float around the bottom of these standings the rest of the way. We’ll keep check on some other standings from here on out, and get excited for this summer’s draft.

ESPN

Rank: 24

Last week: 22

Marvin Bagley III, who was selected right before Luka Doncic with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft, is on his fifth team after arriving in Dallas as part of the Anthony Davis trade. He will have a chance to get minutes the rest of the season in Dallas, and in his debut with the Mavericks, Bagley had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. — MacMahon

The Athletic

Rank: 24 (Tier 4: Not the Tier to Fear)

Last week: 23

Roster reset: SF Khris Middleton

I thought I was done cracking on these dudes for trading Luka Dončić to the Lakers. But no, let me revisit that thing one more time. Luka Dončić played 900 minutes in the 2024 postseason, a run that went through the NBA Finals. They then traded Dončić for Anthony Davis, who wound up playing a total of 892 minutes in the regular season for the Mavericks. Then, to make things funnier, the best players Dallas got back when it traded Davis away are former Jason Kidd disciple Middleton and Marvin Bagley III. That’s the same Bagley who was drafted one spot over Dončić in 2018. At least Dallas got a couple of first-round picks this time. Cooper Flagg has been killing it, but the Mavericks haven’t won a game in more than two weeks.

NBA

Rank: 22

Last week: 22

The Anthony Davis Era in Dallas is over, with the big man having played just 31 (36%) of a possible 86 games with the Mavs. Dallas went 17-14 in those 31 games and took a huge step backward when you combine the two Davis trades (the one that brought him in and the one that sent him out).

Three takeaways

• In between the two Davis trades, the Mavs did get Cooper Flagg, who had four straight games of more than 30 points before having a relatively quiet night in San Antonio on Saturday. Now averaging over 20 per game, he’d be just the second rookie in the last 46 years (since Larry Bird in 1979-80) to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. The other, of course, was Luka Dončić.
• Despite Flagg’s scoring streak, the Mavs have scored just 109.6 points per 100 possessions over their seven-game losing streak. Their shooters – Max Christie and Klay Thompson – have combined to shoot just 38% (including 32% from 3-point range) over the seven games.
• The Mavs got a pair of first-round picks in the Davis trade, but they’ll both be in the 20s. As is usually the case after a team trades a star, its best asset is its own pick. The Mavs are now seventh in the upside-down standings and their 2026 pick is the only one in the next five years that they control.

Coming up: The Mavs’ loss in San Antonio on Saturday was the start of a stretch (spanning the break) of six straight road games. They’re now 5-14 (with five straight losses) against the top eight teams in the West, set to visit the Suns and Lakers this week.

Bleacher Report

Rank: 23

Last week: 22

The numbers still favor Kon Knueppel in the Rookie of the Year race, but Cooper Flagg is charging.

And with the Anthony Davis conundrum finally and fully resolved by trading him to the Washington Wizards, Flagg can have a closing kick that makes the award his.

For the entire season, when AD is off the floor, Flagg has put up 23.2 points and 4.0 assists per 75 possessions.

Despite entering the All-Star break injured, Luka Dončić seems to be heading towards a good place regarding his hamstring. The Laker superstar has missed the last four games due to the injury, and currently, his availability for the All-Star game is up in the air.

However, the Lakers have remained optimistic that he avoided a major injury to his right hamstring and that the ailment is mild, with the team considering him day-to-day.

Well, the days have been stacking up, but the internal concern has not. Lakers head coach JJ Redick gave another update prior to the team’s last game before the All-Star break and seems confident that he’ll be back once the Lakers return to the court on Feb. 20 against the Clippers.

“He’s progressed really good,” Redick said. “I think part of him wanted to push to get back prior to the break. But we got to be cautious with the soft tissue injuries. Obviously, we were very cautious with Austin and you just saw what happened with Jalen Williams coming back. We all feel comfortable with the decision to hold him out and should be good to go post All-Star.”

Anytime a team’s superstar misses extended time, it can cause worry, but JJ Redick calmed down most concerns with this update on Luka.

It might be overanalysis, but Redick saying “they feel comfortable with the decision to hold him out” makes it seem like they could’ve pushed him to play now. Which means that if he gets an additional week of rest when he can already play, he should be ready to go when the Clippers come to Crypto.com Arena.

Obviously, given Luka’s importance to the Lakers, the last thing he needs to do is rush back from a hamstring injury. So, if this move is LA being overly cautious, so when Luka comes back, he has no setbacks, then it’s the right decision.

Regarding his status for the All-Star Game, Redick kept things short. “It’s above my pay grade,” Redick said.

With the Lakers about to enter the most important stretch of the year, hopefully, Luka returns and never misses another game this season. LA will be fighting for playoff positioning and will need him healthy to reach their full potential.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest is a far cry from the days of Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Steve Francis battling it out.

This year’s field is full of lesser-known, lightly used players, so finding betting value in tonight's Slam Dunk Contest predictions requires a closer look.

That’s exactly what I’ve done with my NBA picks for Saturday, February 14, featuring Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest odds

Player	Team
Carter Bryant	San Antonio Spurs	<<+180>>
Jaxson Hayes	Los Angeles Lakers	<<+250>>
Keshad Johnson	Miami Heat	<<+320>>
Jase Richardson	Orlando Magic	<<+350>>

NBA Slam Dunk Contest rules

Before wagering on the Slam Dunk Contest, be sure to familiarize yourself with the latest rules for the 2026 edition:

• Four players will compete in a two-round competition.
  
  
• Five judges will score each dunk based on a score ranging from 40 to 50. 
  
  
• The two dunkers with the highest combined scores from their first two dunks advance to the finals.
  
  
• The final round will consist of two dunks by each dunker, with the highest composite score being crowned the champion.
  
  
• In the event of a tie, there will be one additional round of dunks. If the event is still tied, then the judges will be empowered to declare a winner by majority vote.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest 

Carter Bryant (+180)

For what it’s worth, Carter Bryant is the favorite in this field of relative unknowns. The 6-foot-6 rookie wing was taken 14th overall by the San Antonio Spurs largely because of his explosive athleticism.

Bryant boasts a 39.5-inch vertical, but he hasn’t seen much playing time in San Antonio, and there isn’t much game footage of him dunking. As a result, it’s hard to see much value at his current price.

Jaxson Hayes (+250)

Jaxson Hayes is an intriguing entrant, but there are reasons for skepticism. Historically, taller players have struggled in this competition (Dwight Howard being a notable exception), and Hayes isn’t exactly positioned as a fan favorite.

The 7-footer plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and was recently suspended one game for pushing a mascot. He also dealt with a domestic violence case earlier in his career. All things considered, this is a pass for me.

Keshad Johnson (+320)

Keshad Johnson is another explosive wing who has seen limited minutes with the Miami Heat.

Still, the 6-foot-6 forward boasts a ridiculous 42-inch vertical, and some of his in-game dunks this season have been truly eye-popping...

My pick to win the NBA Dunk contest. 🏀🏆

Keshad Johnson +320pic.twitter.com/LrQWUVP7ST

— Andrew Caley (@Covers_Caley) February 13, 2026

Jase Richardson (+350)

Jase Richardson is the best storyline in the field. He carries the longest odds in this competition, even if there’s no true long shot. The 6-foot-1 rookie guard has seen limited minutes with the Orlando Magic this season.

The intrigue? He’s the son of two-time Slam Dunk champion Jason Richardson.

Richardson appears to have inherited his dad’s leaping ability, and don’t be surprised if he pays homage to some of his father’s iconic dunks. At this price, there’s legitimate value.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest pick

It was a close call between Richardson and Johnson for me, but there’s more evidence of Johnson throwing down explosive dunks in actual NBA games.

I’ve always believed that great in-game dunkers tend to translate well to this competition — think Vince Carter or, more recently, Derrick Jones Jr.

Boasting an insane vertical, I’m expecting some jaw-dropping slams from Johnson on Saturday night.

Best bet: Keshad Johnson to win (+320 at bet365)

Past Slam Dunk Contest winners

Year	Player
2025	Mac McClung
2024	Mac McClung
2023	Mac McClung
2022	Obi Toppin
2021	Anfernee Simons
2020	Derrick Jones Jr.
2019	Hamidou Diallo
2018	Donovan Mitchell
2017	Glen Robinson III
2016	Zach LaVine
2015	Zach LaVine

Players who have won multiple Dunk Contests

Player	Years
Mac McClung	2023, 2024, 2025
Zach LaVine	2015, 2016
Nate Robinson	2006, 2009, 2010
Jason Richardson	2002, 2003
Harold Miner	1993, 1995
Dominique Wilkins	1985, 1990
Michael Jordan	1987, 1988

Slam Dunk Contest trends

• Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson, Nate Robinson, Zach LaVine, and Mac McClung are the only players in history to win the Slam Dunk Contest in back-to-back years.
  
  
• At age 18, Kobe Bryant is the youngest player to win the Slam Dunk Contest (1997).
  
  
• John Wall is the last player to make an All-Star team and win the Slam Dunk Contest in the same year (2014).

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

It’s January 2, and I’m sitting in front of my computer with a Salad And Go coffee in hand. Yeah, I like their cold brew. I’m a price-for-value paid guy, and they win that race every time.

An idea has hit me that is ambitious. It is messy. It is absolutely going to take time. Probably the type of thing that belongs in the Suns’ offseason or tucked neatly into the All-Star break when the calendar finally exhales. So that’s the plan. Start it now. Let it breathe. Revisit it through the first few weeks of 2026. Poke at it. Argue with myself. Change my mind. Repeat.

The subject is the Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid.

So what is the Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid? Think Bill Simmons and the Book of Basketball. Think his Hall of Fame logic. Now drop that framework into the 58-year history of the Phoenix Suns. This is about identifying the 21 best players to ever wear a Phoenix uniform out of the 453 who have donned the purple and orange and arranging them into a six-level pyramid.

Why a pyramid? Because it forces clarity and allows movement. Players are not locked into a rigid ranking. They live in tiers. And if you know anything about SunsRank, you already know how I feel about tiers. And it makes for a nice-looking graphic.

Let’s start with the levels.

1. The Face of the Franchise
2. MVP Royalty
3. Franchise Pillars
4. Era-Defining Stars
5. All-Star Impact
6. Core Contributors

I think these work. As I’ve gone through my list over the past month and a half, building tiers and defining what it takes to be in each one, this is where I’ve landed. You might have a different version with different differentiators and different criteria. I look forward to hearing how you would have navigated this process. This is how I’ve navigated mine.

As I started digging into who the 21 best players actually were, I already knew I was going to run headfirst into some baseline rules. Think of them less as hard laws and more as gatekeepers. Each tier has its own bouncer. Some rules help you qualify. Others quietly escort you out the door.

It is not mandatory to have a clean statistical cutoff for every tier, but thresholds matter. Sometimes, they are the difference between getting in and being left out. Take Tier 3 of the Suns Pyramid, the ‘Franchise Pillars’. Every player in that tier lives in the Ring of Honor. More importantly, every one of them spent over a decade in Phoenix. 10+ years is the line if you want to make it into tier three. If you do not cross it, you do not get through.

But it’s not necessarily exclusive, because a player in my top two tiers (I bet you can guess who that is) wasn’t in Phoenix for 10+ years. So the tiers themselves might be gatekeepers, but it isn’t that clean. There can be exceptions to the rule if the braintrust determines it to be so. And since I am the braintrust, I’m granting a special exemption.

Another rule has to be crystal clear from the jump. This is not a lifetime achievement award for famous names passing through town. This is about impact in a Suns uniform. It’s about what you did here and how much you moved the needle while wearing purple and orange.

Gale Goodrich is a quality example. He was a five-time All-Star, NBA champion, and Hall of Famer. Quite the impressive resume for Mr. Goodrich. He also played just two seasons in Phoenix from 1968 to 1970. He made an All-Star team here, but his real imprint on the league was stamped in Los Angeles. Same conversation with Shaq. Fifteen-time All-Star. Four championships. Two scoring titles. Fourteen-time All-NBA. A walking monument to dominance. He also spent two seasons in Phoenix. One All-Star appearance. A memorable stretch, sure, but not a defining one.

And that is the point. This pyramid is not grading careers. It is grading Suns chapters. Time spent matters. Impact matters. The totality of what you did elsewhere does not.

So no, Gale Goodrich is not making the Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid. Neither is Shaq. Not because they were not great. Because this is about Phoenix. And only Phoenix.

To be in Tier 5 or above, you need to be an All-Star, and a multi-time All-Star at that. There have been some fun role players in Phoenix, and there’s plenty of room for them in Tier 6, but to be considered one of the greatest ever, you need to have represented Phoenix in an All-Star Game, thus serving as an ambassador of the city abroad.

You want another rule? Fine. Let’s make it a petty one. Kevin Durant played 145 games in a Suns uniform. So here it is, officially, unscientifically, and with a straight face. The KD Rule. To be eligible for the Suns Pyramid, you must have appeared in 146 or more games with the franchise. Why 146? Because that is one more than Kevin Durant. That is the line. That is the bar. Cross it and we can talk. Fall one game short and you are a footnote. Shaq played in 103 games, so he fell victim to the KD Rule as well.

Is it petty? Absolutely. Is it arbitrary? Without question. Is it also perfectly on brand for a project like this? 100%.

It’s harder than it sounds. I am not even sure why I landed on 21 players instead of 15, which would be clean and orderly and way easier to explain. But once you factor in that there are already 12 players sitting in the Ring of Honor, 15 does not leave much oxygen in the room. And honestly, I want oxygen. I want friction.

That is the point of this whole thing. I want debate. I want the back and forth. I want this to be a community exercise where people can argue tiers, move guys up or down, and make the case for who belongs or who got snubbed entirely. I know my biases are going to show. I’m not a big Deandre Ayton guy. I love Stephon Marbury. Will they make the pyramid? You’ll have to read to find out.

This is subjective by design. It is also fluid, for these things evolve. Maybe one day a player like Collin Gillespie works his way up the list. That sounds wild now, and maybe it stays that way. Time is the real author here. All I am doing is putting the framework on the page.

So that is the plan. That is the goal. With the All-Star break as the runway, we have the time to let this breathe. To roll it out slowly, one layer at a time. No need to rush it, no dumping it all in one day.

I will start by laying out the six levels of the Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid. From there, you can probably guess where I am headed with certain players. That part is unavoidable. But there is real debate to be had, especially in the bottom three levels.

Starting tomorrow, we will begin unveiling each level. Let this journey begin.

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Snowboarder Scotty James of Australia is nearing his chance to fill in the only missing piece over a spectacular career of halfpipe riding — the Olympic gold medal.

He'll have more than enough competition.

James, defending champion Ayumu Hirano and his Japanese teammates, including Yuto Totsuka, will be on the Olympic halfpipe Friday for what is widely hailed as the premier event in snowboarding.

Hirano won four years ago in Shaun White's going-away party in China (White finished fourth). But the Japanese champion is coming off a broken nose and other injuries after a scary fall in Switzerland last month. He says he's only at about 50%.

That could open a path for James, who finished second to Hirano at the 2022 Beijing Games and third to White and Hirano in their tense showdown four years before that at the Pyeongchang Olympics.

The two keys to this contest:

— Triple corks. This was the trick that put Hirano over the top at Secret Garden four years ago. But in a sign of how quickly things progress in this sport, it is now viewed as the price of admission for the podium.

Anyone who lands more than one — New Zealand's Cam Melville Ives and 17-year-old American Alessandro Barbieri have done that — will be at the top of the conversation.

Also, can anyone add another half rotation and throw a triple-cork 1620? The snowboard world went crazy when South Korea's Chaeun Lee did that at a training session in 2024, but can someone bring it to a contest?

— Style. This is what James is known for and, potentially, what's been holding him back. He can execute insanely difficult jumps involving riding backward, spinning a bunch, and often starting the spin looking up the halfpipe, which takes his landing spot out of his vision.

It's as hard as it sounds, and his throwing of back-to-back backside 1440s at the X Games last month was a first-of-its-kind combination. But if he doesn't have triples to go with it, the judges might give him another consolation prize.

___

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

The 2026 NBA All-Star Game Weekend is upon us starting today as fans around the country will converge on Los Angeles for the festivities and conclude at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

This year’s format for the NBA All-Star Game is new, with three separate teams broken up into USA Stars, USA Stripes and Team World, all facing off in a round-robin tournament as each one will comprise of a minimum of eight players on every squad. In all, 24 players were selected to the game, with Los Angeles Clippers’ forward Kawhi Leonard added by NBA commissioner Adam Silver to balance out the rosters.

Before these players take the court, where did each of them play hoops at in their prep/high school days in the United States and from around the world?

Rivals went through the rosters for all three teams, giving to you where each of the players starred on the prep hardwood before Sunday night’s 2026 NBA All-Star Game tips off in Inglewood.

USA Stars

SF Scottie Barnes, Montverde Academy (Fla.)
SG Devin Booker, Moss Point (MS)
PG Cade Cunningham, Bowie (TX)/Montverde Academy (Fla.)
C Jalen Duren, IMG Academy (Fla.)
SG Anthony Edwards, Holy Spirit Preparatory School (Ga.)
C Chet Holmgren, Minnehaha Academy (Minn.)
PG Jalen Johnson, IMG Academy (Fla.)
PG Tyrese Maxey, South Garland (TX)

USA Stripes

SF Jaylen Brown, Wheeler (Ga.)
PG Jalen Brunson, Adlai Stevenson (IL)
SF Kevin Durant, Montrose Christian School (Md.)
SF Brandon Ingram, Kinston (NC)
SF LeBron James, St. Vincent-St. Mary (OH)
SF Kawhi Leonard, Canyon Springs (Calif.)
PG Donovan Mitchell, Brewster Academy (NH)
SG Norman Powell, San Leandro (Calif.)
PG Stephen Curry, Charlotte Christian (NC)

Team World

PF Giannis Antetokounmpo, Filathlitikos (Greece)
SF Deni Avdija, Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
SG Luka Doncic, Real Madrid (Spain)
C Nikola Jokic, Mega Basket (Serbia)
SG Jamal Murray, Athlete Institute Basketball Academy (Canada)
C Alperen Sengun, Banvit (Turkey)
PF Pascal Siakam, St. Benedict’s Prep (NJ)/God’s Academy (TX)
PF Karl-Anthony Towns, Saint Joseph (NJ)/Pine Crest School (Fla.)
C Victor Wembanyama, Nanterre 92 (France)

How to Follow National High School Boys Basketball

For high school boys basketball fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the high school hops action throughout the season. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the boys basketball excitement across the country.

We’re back! Welcome to the Celtics’ Top-5 Highest IQ Plays of the Week! 

Sure, we love the high-flying dunks and the deep, off-the-dribble step-back threes, but this is a place for the under-the-radar plays that might not get the credit they deserve. The plays that get the basketball sickos and nerds out of their chairs. The plays that even YOU could make in your weekly rec league game. 

Each week, the plays will be ranked from five to one—one being the smartest—and will only be taken from games that occurred within the past week. For this week, games from February 6th to February 13th are considered. The Celtics went 2-1 this week, with wins over the Heat and Bulls but a tough loss to the Knicks. Onto the All-Star break!

5. Getting the All-Star break started a bit early

Pritchard is all about efficiency, even when it comes to saving a few seconds. Let’s be honest—he’s just trying to get him and his teammates to the All-Star break as quickly as possible. Here, he’s being a good sport and not taking a shot to extend the lead, so he just gives the ball to Sexton instead of getting a shot-clock violation, which would require the ref stopping the game and initiating an inbound for Chicago. PP’s going to be given a turnover anyway, so he might as well just give the ball to the opponent rather than dribble out the clock. And who knows, perhaps those extra 10 seconds of sleep will allow Payton and the rest of the squad to be extra rested post-break.

4. Dominoes

Basketball is like dominoes. Once you get the defense to commit two defenders to one offensive player, that advantage needs to be KEPT by way of quick decisions that don’t allow the defense to get back into the play. The first advantage should lead to a second advantage, which should lead to a third, and so on. Here, Walsh notices that two defenders lunge at Vucevic, so he immediately cuts to the rim, creating an advantage. When he gets the ball, he swings it quickly to Gonzalez, who swings it quickly to White, who swings it quickly back to Vuc. Everybody already knows what they’re going to do with the ball before it comes to them, because they’re watching the defense rotate while they’re spotting up. Beautiful, decisive basketball.

3. Know your personnel (welcome to the highest IQ plays, Nikola!)

The best basketball players hide their weaknesses and showcase their strengths, and they also bring out their opponents’ weaknesses’ and eliminate their strengths (you have to study them to know what they are, by the way). Vucevic demonstrates on this play that he knows both his weakness (a lack of vertical pop) and KAT’s weakness (uncoordinated, flailing limbs). So, instead of meeting him in the air, Nikola stays grounded and takes the contact from a bulldozing Towns. Way to know yourself, and your opponent, Vuc.

2. Being in two places at once

The situation that Gonzalez finds himself in here is one of the most common defensive predicaments in the NBA. After briefly collapsing into the paint for help, Hugo is forced to guard two players on the perimeter at once, until a teammate (usually, although not in this case) flies out to eliminate the advantage. In real time, Gonzalez stunts at Pelle Larson while positioning his body in a good place to also guard the extra pass to Davion Mitchell, the better three-point shooter. But because his stunt is so aggressive, he throws off Larson’s timing and ends up forcing him into a turnover. Oh, and then he makes an awesome pass to Brown in transition. What a two-way play by the rookie.

1. No-look steal

Could anything be more Derrick White than a no-look steal? It’s so ridiculous that he even has the wherewithal to throw his arms up at all, let alone the IQ and instincts necessary to raise them at the exact time the outlet pass is coming. White crashes hard for the rebound—like he always does—and then he doesn’t even look at Larson before perfectly timing up his hands for the steal. Special stuff from Derrick, but I have to admit I’m not remotely surprised he would make a play like this.

Last season, the Knicks were a pretty shallow team.

Outside of their overly used starting five and key reserves Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson, they didn’t have any reliable pieces that would be ticketed for regular roles in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation.

Sure, they had Cam Payne, Landry Shamet, Delon Wright, and Precious Achiuwa, who would see time sporadically, but none of them stuck due to inherent flaws. Payne was frozen out due to his lack of defense and erratic shotmaking, Shamet never got in the circle of trust after a serious shoulder injury, Wright was a defensive ace who was only inserted out of need in the Eastern Conference Final, and Achiuwa messed with the spacing and was an awkward fit with Robinson or Josh Hart.

As a result, the young, deep, and talented Indiana Pacers overwhelmed the Knicks en route to the NBA Finals, costing Thibodeau his job in the summer. Mike Brown was brought in to lengthen the rotation by using the regular season to experiment with lineups, and for the most part, he’s done that (aside from continuing to start Hart).

The rotation has been extremely fluid. When the team was healthy early, they leaned on Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele off the bench, but it’s evolved to include Shamet, Tyler Kolek, Mo Diawara, and the team’s newest hometown hero, Jose Alvarado.

But, unlike before, when the team is suffering injuries, the rotation is being expanded, not contracted. Those are where guys like Kolek, Kevin McCullar Jr., and Ariel Hukporti get their most opportunities. Even Clarkson, who briefly was Evan Fournier’d, re-joined the rotation.

But here’s the problem. When the Knicks are whole, they’re nearly unstoppable. They’re 13-3 when Brunson-Bridges-Hart-Anunoby-Towns are the first five. But when there’s one piece missing in the team’s core nucleus, whether it’s the captain and head of the snake or a guy like Deuce or Robinson, the house of cards starts to shake, and some nights, it comes crashing down.

When the top-seven is all healthy, they’re 8-4, something that isn’t overtly impressive, but the individual splits of the six (Mikal Bridges is indestructible) tell the story:

Without McBride: 13-7
Without Robinson: 10-6
Without Anunoby: 8-6
Without Hart: 6-6
Without Brunson: 1-4
Without Towns: 2-2

The Knicks are more able to stomach the losses of McBride and Robinson, as they’ve at least had enough games without them to hash out a plan. The team, however, plays dramatically worse when the other five miss time, even if the on-off stats say the team is fine without these players off the court.

It’s obvious that the team struggles without Brunson, with how much he does for this team, but they also play choppy basketball when Towns is sidelined. After a 10-game stretch where the Knicks had the best defense in basketball, the process got tremendously worse when Anunoby went down with a toe injury, as the team yielded miserable performances against the Detroit Pistons and lowly Indiana Pacers. When Hart’s been sidelined this season, the Knicks struggle to generate the hustle he brings.

But it goes deeper than not having them on the court. When these players are available, and just on the bench, they’re being replaced by the team’s very formidable bench. But when the starter is in street clothes, and Coach Brown is forced to go deeper into the bench, the minutes drop off.

With Anunoby, Robinson, and McBride out against the lowly Pacers, the Knicks couldn’t defend. They had nobody who could even put a body on Pascal Siakam, despite the best efforts of a small Josh Hart and inexperienced Mo Diawara. The lack of McBride, who would stick with Andrew Nembhard, didn’t help either, nor did the absence of Robinson with Ariel Hukporti struggling to make an impact.

Against the Pistons last week, the Knicks were never competitive, which is inexcusable regardless of personnel. That said, with Anunoby, McBride, and Towns sidelined, the lineups that the team ran were not ones that could survive against any playoff team.

Brunson was reduced to leading lineups that had one or two other players who could score. Bridges had a strong game, but he isn’t a ballhandler. Clarkson also saw an increased role, but lineups with him and Brunson have been catastrophic defensively all season. Kolek has the same problem on the defensive end.

But if the Knicks leaned on defense around Brunson, they would be incapable of putting the ball in the basket, especially considering the captain’s struggles that night. Putting guys like Diawara, Hukporti, Hart, and McCullar around Brunson leads to lineups that see JB trying to navigate a maze to break down the defense, only to not have any reliable knockdown shooters to pass to.

When the Knicks are whole, they’re a formidable group that can hang with anyone in the association, and that’s because they mask each other’s flaws.

Brunson’s creation on offense, both for himself and others, allows the players around him to play an efficient, off-ball role. Towns’ rebounding and gravity, both inside and outside, generate extra possessions and free up space. Anunoby and Bridges’ defense help keep lineups that contain both Brunson and Towns afloat. Hart’s hustle and intensity can carry the team through low-energy slogs and rough shooting stretches.

The Knicks aren’t the only team that is one or two injuries away from everything falling apart, but it makes what they do to manage the workloads of their key players down the stretch crucial. If any player has a nagging ailment and they miss a few extra games, this will be why. They need to be whole to have a chance at ending the team’s 53-year title drought.

C's second-half to-do list: Reintegrating Tatum, roster moves, and more originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The first 54 games of the Boston Celtics’ 2025-26 season were an overwhelming success. Boston arrived at the All-Star break sitting 16 games over .500 while owning the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and the third-best net rating in the league.

So many of the questions that hovered around an overhauled roster entering the season have already been answered. Jaylen Brown hasn’t just thrived in the 1A role, he’s muscled his way into the MVP conversation. Big man Neemias Queta has the seventh-best net rating in the league (+11.6) after elevating to a starting role with a new-look center depth chart. Joe Mazzulla scoffed at all the gap year suggestions and deserves Coach of the Year consideration for the way he’s pushed all the right buttons, particularly in how he’s dispatched role players on a team that’s far deeper than most anticipated after some painful summer alterations. 

All of this while the Celtics prep for the potential in-season return of All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum.

Which, of course, headlines Boston’s potential post-All-Star to-do list. Despite all the success, there are a bunch of checklist items for the Celtics to navigate over the final 28 games of the season and before the playoffs arrive. That list includes:

1. The reintegration of Jayson Tatum

The Celtics could (very) soon have the very best sort of problem. Tatum is now nine months removed from Achilles surgery and seems to be ticking the final boxes on his own rehab checklist. His potential return would force the Celtics to shuffle their rotation a bit, particularly as he ramps himself back up at the start of his return. 

But even Tatum at, say, 75 percent of his peak powers will be an impact presence. His rebounding and defensive versatility will further shore up areas in which the Celtics have already made tremendous strides in since the start of the season. The No. 2-ranked offense in the NBA will add one of the game’s elite scorers, as well as a player that’s been top six in MVP voting in each of the past four seasons.

In much the same way that the Celtics had to figure out how to thrive in Tatum’s absence, they must now figure out how morph when he returns. There will be obvious rust for Tatum. Things could occasionally look clunky for the Celtics as usage rates are redefined. There are a handful of new faces that Tatum has never played with. And yet the core of this team remains largely intact, and that group has thrived on the biggest stages. We don’t suspect it’ll take long for the Celtics to figure out how this collection works best with Tatum again. 

Tatum’s presence alone ought to improve the shot qualities for players like Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, who have encountered more attention in his absence. Imagine what Brown will be capable of when teams can’t load up on him to the level he’s seen without Tatum. 

Despite Tatum’s very self-aware trepidation about not wanting to rock the boat upon his return, the best and most championship-worthy version of the Celtics features him on the court. His return gives an already thriving Celtics team a legitimate chance to contend for a title.

2. Filling out the roster

After working diligently to get out of the luxury tax at the trade deadline, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens will (slowly) fill out the end of the roster before the end of the regular season.

The Celtics, lingering just south of the tax line, must navigate a delicate series of roster moves that is likely to start with elevating rookie two-way players and, eventually, culminate with rostering at least one player of longer service. Each day matters given Boston’s financial constraints, but the Celtics will (slowly) get back to the league-mandated 14 roster players.

As for buyout pursuits, especially those players waived before the March 1 playoff-eligibility deadline, the Celtics can only window shop for now. But keep in mind that the Celtics already have too many bodies for available minutes, and that’s before Tatum even hits the floor. 

3. Figuring out the playoff rotation

When the playoffs arrive, it seems fair to suggest that Tatum, Brown, White, Pritchard, Queta, Sam Hauser, and newcomer Nikola Vucevic are going to see the majority of minutes. Mazzulla must determine how to deploy that talent, and that includes continuing to integrate Vucevic after his acquisition. The team got immediate returns in shuffling Pritchard back to the bench, and we’re intrigued to see what becomes of the team’s end-of-game lineups. 

The real question might simply be which of Boston’s young wings will emerge as consistent postseason presences. Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez have each gotten long auditions (and departed Josh Minott did as well earlier in the year, while two-way wing Ron Harper Jr. has provided strong minutes in recent opportunities). 

Scheierman has clearly won Mazzulla’s trust, as emphasized by starting four of the five games before the All-Star break. His blend of defensive versatility and 3-point shot-making has been accentuated in bigger minutes. Jordan Walsh had a stretch earlier this season where his defense and energy had opponents raving about his potential, and he tapped into that energy in the first-half finale against the Bulls on Wednesday. Gonzalez has the best net rating (+17.0) among all players with 40+ appearances this season and brings a positive chaos each time he touches the floor.

Players have thrived in Mazzulla’s “ready when called upon” strategy, and maybe that’s how it will remain into the postseason. But that each of those young wings can make a strong case for minutes emphasizes again just how good and how deep this group has been.

4. Planting seeds

The Celtics figuring out the best version of themselves ought to be the priority over the final 28 games, but despite all the laments about the state of the East, seeding could be important to how the postseason plays out. 

The Celtics enter the break with a half-game lead on the Knicks, while the James Harden addition has helped Cleveland surge to within 1.5 games of Boston. The jockeying for the No. 2 seed could be a featured storyline down the stretch. 

Securing the No. 2 seed ensures a play-in opponent in Round 1, delivers home court in Round 2, and helps avoid the top seed until the conference finals. What’s more, having home court in, say, a 2-3 matchup versus either New York or Cleveland, could be very beneficial given the challenges those teams pose. 

The Celtics play the Cavaliers and Knicks — both on the road — one more time over the final two months of the regular season. Those games could very well impact the final seedings in the East, or at least provide playoff-like environments in the ramp to the second season.

5. Heavy lifting over the final 28

The Celtics have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule, and the second-most challenging in the East behind only the Bulls (who have seemingly traded in their yearly play-in fast pass for a much-needed lottery pursuit). 

What’s more, Boston’s final 28 games … 

• Starts with a daunting four-game road trip out West, including a potentially emotional start while going up against an Al Horford/Kristaps Porzingis combo in Golden State. That trip ends with a back-to-back against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
• Features two matchups with the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
• Includes a trek to play Wemby and the Spurs in a gauntlet trip in mid-March that takes Boston from Cleveland to San Antonio to Oklahoma City. 
• Features the potential Horford/Porzingis homecoming when Golden State visits TD Garden on March 18. 

Needless to say, March, with only one two-day break in the entire month, could be filled with storylines and quality games. 

Rest up at the All-Star break. The Celtics have enjoyed a lot of success to this point, but the final 34 percent of the regular season ought to bring a whole bunch of intrigue as well.