Category: NBA

Steph Curry addresses potential of playing for coach other than Steve Kerr originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With Warriors coach Steve Kerr entering the final year of his contract with Golden State, some have speculated that the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season could be his final tour with the organization.

Not if Stephen Curry has anything to say about it.

In an interview with ESPN’s Anthony Slater published Friday, the Warriors star guard expressed a desire to remain with Kerr through the end of his playing career, hoping to extend a partnership that has produced four NBA championships and countless unforgettable moments along the way.

“I don’t want to,” Curry told Slater when asked if he would play for a coach other than Kerr. “We deserve that, I feel. Things change in this league. We can only control so much. But I think we’re in a very unique situation that we deserve the opportunity [to ride it out].”

Kerr and Curry, of course, have proven themselves to be an outrageously successful leadership duo over the last 11 seasons. It’s a relationship that Kerr likens to other dynastic coach-player pairings in its fostering of success at the highest level.

“There’s a reason [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick worked,” Kerr told Slater. “There’s a reason Phil [Jackson] and Michael [Jordan] worked. It has to click. There has to be a mutual respect and there has to be a fierce, competitive desire. Passion for the job. Passion for winning. When all is said and done, it might be the most proud thing that exists. The most proud dynamic of my career will be a collaboration with Steph.”

The strength of that collaboration is apparent to everyone in the Warriors’ world, especially ownership. As Curry tells it, management has never approached him about a potential coaching change.

“I would just assume there’s an understanding,” Curry told Slater.

Fellow Warriors mainstay Draymond Green held a similar read of the situation.

“Steve is Steph’s guy,” Green told Slater. “So even if there was ever a thought [to let Kerr go], it don’t work. You speak to the Tim [Duncan] and [Gregg Popovich] thing. That’s his guy. You see MJ, like, ‘If Phil ain’t here, I ain’t here.’ It’s along those same lines. There’s no Steph without Steve.”

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Why Draymond Green won't troll ex-Celtic Al Horford for Dubs' 2022 Finals win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green is excited to play with former rival Al Horford on the Warriors during the 2025-26 NBA season.

Which is why the four-time champion won’t be bringing up Golden State’s 2022 NBA Finals victory over Horford’s former Boston Celtics any time soon.

Green hilariously explained his reasoning for not pushing Horford’s buttons in an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke.

“Absolutely not,” Green told Burke. “No chance. Not necessary. Al’s a champion. It’s unfortunate for him, you know, [that] he had to play the Dubs. But there won’t be no reminders from me. 

“I am excited to learn from him, excited to have him as a teammate — lucky to have him as a teammate. I’ve lost some championships, too, so I wouldn’t want someone coming in reminding me of my losses. I won’t be the one to remind him of his.”

What a gesture.

Golden State outlasted the Celtics in six games en route to hoisting the franchise’s fourth Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in eight seasons. The Warriors even closed the series out on Horford’s old TD Garden hardwood.

In that series, Green averaged 6.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Horford, who officially signed with Golden State on Oct.1, averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

And his new teammate, Warriors superstar Steph Curry, was the 2022 Finals MVP after averaging 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

Green truly is making a team-first decision by not trolling Horford about the past. It truly is admirable when considering his genuine love for trash talk.

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Three bold-ish predictions for Warriors heading into 2025-26 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Clearly, the softest word in sports media’s love for bold predictions is “bold.”

Bold prediction: Gui Santos scores 48 points on Christmas!

Bold prediction: Trayce Jackson-Davis makes seven 3-pointers in a game!

Bold prediction: The Warriors go on a 17-game win streak!

Now we’re talking. Every one of those predictions falls into the category of absurd, but hey, they sure are bold. Venturing off into that kind of crazy is a walk too far on the wild side, so we’re cranking it down a notch. 

Instead, here are three bold-ish predictions for the Warriors ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.

Steph’s New Career High In … 

*Drum roll, please* 

*Keep drumming* 

*Keep drumming* 

Free throws. Well, free throw attempts per game. That’s how important the new high-five rule can be for Curry.

He led the NBA in 3-point attempts per game and made threes per game for the second straight year last season. Curry, for the fifth time in his career, also was the league leader in free-throw percentage at 93.3 percent. But Curry shot his fewest number of free throws per game (4.3) in six years when he took 4.2 per game in 2019-20.

How different would those stats look if opponents didn’t paint a target on Curry’s arms and swiping across his hands on his follow-through? Defenders can no longer do so in an attempt by the league to better protect shooters. 

“To me, it was kind of overdue,” Curry said of the new rule. “It was a conversation of, ‘When you’re shooting, how you protect the shooter.’ For me, I flail a little because I don’t want to roll my ankle. It’s kind of like a natural instinct. 

“But when it became something where guys were attacking hands, doing not like a closeout but a second motion, going at arms and hands and stuff like that, that’s not basketball. It has nothing to do with affecting a shot. It’s more just putting people in danger, that type of thing. 

“It’s avoidable. You can still play great defense and avoid doing that.”

As the NBA’s still most feared shooter, defenders will go to all lengths to slow down Curry. Doing so is hard enough, and it just became harder. Curry already had a four-point play in the Warriors’ second preseason game because of the new rule, and opened their fourth preseason game getting fouled on a 3-point attempt too. He ended the latter with 13 free throws, making 12, after reaching that number of attempts once all last season. 

Pre-Jimmy Butler Curry averaged 3.4 free throws per game last season. Post-Jimmy Butler Curry averaged 5.2, and he’s at 5.7 in three preseason games going into the finale while playing just 19 minutes a night. His career high is 6.3 in 2020-21 when Curry won his second scoring title, and he’s about to leap that number. 

How Buddy Beats Steph

If the thinking is the new rule is going to be a big benefit to Curry’s free-throw totals, it should also be a boost to his 3-point percentage. The thinking is fair, because it will. Curry was under 40 percent from three in a full season for only the second time ever, just missing the mark at 39.7 percent.

He’ll be back over 40 percent this season. But like last season, when Quinten Post technically edged him out, Curry won’t be the Warriors’ most accurate 3-point shooter. Buddy Hield will, leading them in 3-point percentage. 

This should lean on the bolder side of the scale. Hield’s 3-point percentage dropped for the second straight season. He fell to 37.0 percent, which was lower than Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski, plus the six games De’Anthony Melton played. So why believe Hield will see such an uptick? 

Consistency over his career, what he just did in the playoffs and how Hield feels after one season of loving life as a Warrior.

“I’m saying this humbly, but this is probably the best summer I probably shot like, working out,” Hield said at Warriors Media Day.

These were Hield’s 3-point shooting percentages by month last season: 50, 41.4, 30.5, 31.5, 37.7, 37.9 and 35.8

These are Hield’s 3-point percentages by month for his career: 40.1, 37.9, 40.2, 40.8, 38.8, 40, 40.6 and 40.2

December and January were historically bad shooting months for Hield last season. He can be streaky, sure. After being an afterthought in the playoffs the year before with the Philadelphia 76ers, Hield shot 42.9 percent from three for the Warriors in them. That’s much closer to where he’ll be in his second season with Golden State.

Top-Four Seed

The boldest of the three? Perhaps. Not for me to judge. 

Since the Warriors won their most recent title in 2022, they have been the No. 6 seed, No. 10 seed and No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Yet they’ve increased their wins every season, going from 44 to 46 and then 48 last season. The trend will continue again, meaning the Warriors will win at least 50 games. 

Which wasn’t enough to promise a top-four seed in the West. The Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers all won exactly 50 games, making them the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 seeds in the West. Let’s be bold and predict a three-way tie isn’t going to happen again. Either way, it really won’t matter for the Warriors. 

Golden State was on a 61-win pace after trading for Butler. Projecting such a number is too bold for this keyboard, but the balance of these Warriors has them most suited for the regular season and the playoffs since the 2022 championship team. 

The Warriors have made the NBA Finals all six seasons they’ve won 50 or more games under Steve Kerr, and to put a cap on being bold, we’re at least predicting they’ll have between 50 wins and the 53 from that last title team, giving the seasoned group home cooking to start the playoffs.

“Like I say, you always have a chance when Steph is on your team,” Butler said at media day. “So to be able to be running alongside him, Draymond, and the crew that we have, I think we’re going to be in really, really, really good shape.”

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Warriors star Draymond Green details why he gets along so well with Jimmy Butler originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

When Draymond Green talks about his bond with Jimmy Butler, it’s not just about basketball — it’s about trust, care and a shared sense of purpose.

“We have a lot of mutual interests. We’re a lot alike,” Green told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke. “We are both the caregivers of people. And I think when you meet someone that’s trying to give you the care that you give others, it just hits home.”

Since Butler arrived in San Francisco, the two have built an easy chemistry — one that extends well beyond the locker room.

Off the floor, they’ve discovered just how much they have in common.

“We’re both great at dominoes, so that helps,” Green joked. “We both love wine. We both love to travel. We share a lot of mutual interests.”

Burke pointed out their shared competitive fire — but for Green, what really matters is the personal connection.

“The personal stuff is so much more important than the competitive,” Green explained. “It’s way easier to adjust to someone on the basketball court than it is to get along with a person.”

Green emphasized how that sense of understanding naturally carries into how he and Butler play together. The trust built off the court makes everything on it feel more instinctive.

“On the basketball court, he’s smart as hell, and I like to think I know a few things,” Green added. “We both make it easy to play with each other. It’s easy to understand each other — like we speak each other’s language.”

For Green, it’s simple — when the foundation is built on respect, the basketball takes care of itself.

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Former NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook has signed with the Sacramento Kings, as he enters his 18th season.

The 36-year-old played the 2024-25 season with the Denver Nuggets, averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 75 games.

The nine-time All-Star signed for the Kings after becoming a free agent in June, once the Nuggets were eliminated in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Westbrook holds the NBA record for most triple-doubles with 203 and led the NBA in scoring in 2015 and 2017. He joins his seventh team since being drafted in 2008 by the Seattle Supersonics.

He has also played for the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.

"Russell embodies the identity we're striving for in Sacramento," said Kings general manager Scott Perry.

"His resume speaks for itself and I'm excited to work with someone so accomplished, who is fully committed to competing and winning. We expect him to strengthen our point guard position and provide leadership both on and off the court."

Egor Demin, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, will make his preseason debut on Friday when the Nets play the Toronto Raptors in their final exhibition game before the regular season starts next week.

The 19-year-old has been out with a plantar fascia tear, causing him to miss Brooklyn's first three preseason games. Demin suffered the injury after summer league, GM Sean Marks said at the end of September during media day, but head coach Jordi Fernandez noted Thursday that he's been playing five-on-five and is "ready to take the next step."

"So he’s been practicing based on the program that we’ve had for him. As you guys know, it’s been a ramp up and he’s been able to play five-on-five, and now he’s ready to see the floor," Fernandez said, via the New York Post. "So, good news is (Friday) he’ll have some minutes. And that’s exciting. I’m excited for him. He’s done a great job and now we’re ready to take the next step."

Demin, along with fellow rookie guards Nolan Traore (No. 19 pick) and Ben Saraf (No. 26 pick), will all play a major role for the Nets during their rebuilding 2025-26 season.

Traore started both preseason games against the Suns in Macao, China, playing 17 minutes in each and scoring four points and six points, respectively. While Saraf came off the bench in those two preseason games and showed some impressive flashes, dishing out 11 assists in Brooklyn's 111-109 win on Oct. 12.

As for how Fernandez will operate the lineups with all three rookie guards in the mix, the coach is excited to see them fight for minutes while he figures out the rotation.

"Yeah, I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know if I can answer the question," Fernandez demurred. "What I’m very excited about is seeing how that process is going to go. They’re all going to fight for some of the same minutes. They’re all going to fight for some of the wing minutes.

"But right now for sure the starting point guard and backup point guard, those three are fighting for those minutes. And that’s great because we’re going to see a lot of the young talent we drafted playing real NBA minutes."

Demin, who's listed at 6-foot-9, averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game over three NBA Summer League contests, shooting 43.5 percent from three-point range. Fernandez believes the rookie's size and skill will be a boost for the team, adding that he wants to see Demin "have fun" in his first preseason minutes.

“Yeah I don’t have too much (expectation) for him as far as he doesn’t need to feel much pressure or anything. I want him to enjoy his first minutes,” Fernandez said.

“Obviously, I’m going to ask him things like I ask everybody else as far as doing certain things with purpose, and play really hard and use his superpowers. That’s his passing and shooting and his size. But don’t overthink it. I don’t want him to try to analyze everything, and just go out there and have fun.”

How ‘night labs' help Xavier Tillman maximize potential for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

After entering the league as a second-round pick in 2020, nothing was ever going to be given to Xavier Tillman at the NBA level. Anything he wanted, he was going to have to work for it.

Now set to begin Year 6 of his NBA journey — after ending the preseason with a flourish — the work continues, even with a set role seemingly carved out for him in Boston.

“He’s just the ultimate professional,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after Tillman’s last-second shot to beat the Raptors in the team’s final preseason game Wednesday night. “It’s a credit to him and just his mindset to come in like he has, and he’s given us everything we could ask for.”

While everybody gets to see his work during games and his coaches and teammates see the work that takes place at practice, Tillman revealed that he puts in some extra work at night to make sure he’s maximizing his potential in the NBA.

“The process is really just not being comfortable. Like, the comfortable thing to do is to not do my — I call them night labs, which is when I shoot at night,” Tillman told Celtics insider Chris Forsberg. “But the comfortable thing is to not do the night labs and to just be home every night and just kicking it and just being content with everything that I have.

“I’m grateful for everything that I have, but I’m not content with it. And the separation I guess for me is that I just want the most that I can get out of playing basketball. And so for me, in order to get that, you’ve got to put in the work.”

Tillman noted that the night labs involve more than just shooting.

“You have to do all these extra stretches and get all this treatment and get massages all the time. Even if you’re like, ‘I’m not even that sore,’ you have to do all these things to make sure you’re feeling as good as possible for as long as possible,” he shared.

While the game itself presents numerous variables that determine wins and losses, hard work away from the arena never loses.

“Preparation to me is like, when I say it’s better than the game, it’s more so just getting to see yourself progress and progress and progress and progress, because in a game, you have wins and losses,” he said. “But like when it comes to just progression, working out, there’s not too many losses — as long as you’re pushing yourself in there. So it’s pretty awesome.”

Reggie Miller believes ‘this is the year' the Knicks reach the NBA Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Reggie Miller has a message for New York Knicks fans.

“I will say this, cause people always think that I hate on the Knicks, which I do not, I love the Knicks,” the Basketball Hall of Famer and longtime New York sports villain said Thursday during an NBA on NBC conference call. “If the Knicks cannot get out of the Eastern Conference this year, something is wrong!”

Hear that, Spike?

Some of the potential obstacles on the Knicks’ path to the NBA Finals have been cleared in the eyes of Miller and others with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers suffering Achilles injuries that are expected to sideline them for most or all of the season.

The Knicks went 51-31 last season to take the third seed in the East behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Celtics. New York upset the Boston in the second round before falling to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks brought back their entire core, added depth with Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, and replaced head coach Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown.

With both the Celtics and Pacers each missing their top player, and with up-and-coming teams like the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic still developing, the Knicks are expected to compete with the Cavs for the top spot in the East.

“Cleveland had the best record a year ago…they kept their core intact, but they’re still unproven in the playoffs,” Miller said. “To me, the Knicks with their new coach in Mike Brown and the best clutch player in the game from a year ago in Jalen Brunson, I just think everything is set up for the Knicks to win the East. Now again, you’ve gotta go out there and actually do it, but I think this is the year for the Knicks in the East, guys.”

“Well, Reg,” Miller’s fellow NBC analyst Jamal Crawford added, “I’m shocked to hear you give the Knicks this much love.”

It’s in the NBA Finals where Miller thinks the Knicks could run into trouble.

The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder open the season Tuesday against the Houston Rockets in the NBA’s long-awaited return to NBC. Miller, who will call the season-opening game on NBC and Peacock alongside Crawford and play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico, believes the Thunder are positioned for a potential dynasty.

“Are we seeing the formation of maybe a young Chicago Bulls team here in OKC?” Miller asked – comparing the young core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to the Bulls’ 1990s core of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. “With Shai being à la MJ, and J-Dub being à la Scottie Pippen, Chet-Rodman? I mean they have the makeup, the coaching pedigree, they’re very deep and from everything I’ve been reading and watching, they seem very hungry. Look, I know the West is loaded and Denver has reloaded, and Minnesota, but to me OKC, if they stay hungry and healthy I love their chances of repeating.”

The celebration for the upcoming season and the league’s return to NBC got underway Thursday in New York City at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Outside the iconic building is a new LED-basketball court that’s open to the public and a display of 30 customized basketballs – titled “30 Rocks” – designed by local artists to reflect the culture of each NBA team and the unique style of the artist.   

The Larry O’Brien Trophy also made its way to the Top of the Rock.

“The NBA is like no other sport in terms of excitement, energy, greatest athletes, front row seats to it for those of us who get to broadcast the games,” Tirico said, “and I cannot be more excited for next Tuesday in Oklahoma City as they raise the banner and get this started.”

Miller was one of the faces of the league when NBC last broadcasted NBA games from 1990 to 2002. Some of his most memorable performances aired on the network – usually against the Knicks.

“When this opportunity presented itself with NBC, I had some of my best moments on this network,” Miller said. “And personally, for a chance for myself to come home and be able to tell stories and hopefully create new moment for the next generation, personally for me, I’m a kid in a candy store.”

Mike Dunleavy ‘can't imagine' Steph Curry ending his career not on Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The one and only Steph Curry is meant to be a Warrior a life.

Which is why general manager Mike Dunleavy can’t picture a universe where No. 30 doesn’t hang his jersey up as a member of Golden State.

“Of course. I think that’s where everything’s tracking,” Dunleavy told Sirius XM on Sunday. “You never know, but [I] can’t imagine a scenario where he doesn’t. It’s about all he’s done, all the records he’s set, the championships he’s won. It’s just the right thing for him to finish his career here, and I think he’s focused on that.”

Curry has done all of his work in the Bay.

Since Golden State selected him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Curry has earned 11 All-Star nods, 11 All-NBA team, four championships, two MVP awards and a spot on the league’s 75th anniversary team.

It truly wouldn’t make sense for the 17-year Warriors veteran to end his storied career with any other team.

But before the conversation even reaches that point … Dunleavy doesn’t even want to think about a Curry-less future for the Warriors organization.

“I kind of hope it’s a lot further down the road than we think,” Dunleavy said.

Dunleavy speaks on behalf of Dub Nation when saying he hopes Curry’s Golden State tenure ends later rather than sooner.

Not only is Curry one of the best basketball players of all time, but the 37-year-old is the face of the organization and likely all of Bay Area sports. A change in the region’s ecosystem would arrive upon Curry’s retirement.

For now, Dunleavy is focused on helping Golden State contend for a fifth title during the Curry Era, rather than crafting and managing a timeline where the greatest shooter isn’t around.

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Why Draymond Green doesn't feel like a sidenote to Steph Curry's accomplishments originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green has heard it all before — how much of the Warriors’ success is tied to Stephen Curry, and how one more title could cement the guard’s legacy among the all-time greats.

In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke, Green made it clear he never has felt like a footnote in that story — and never will.

“I don’t think there’s any bigger Steph fan than me,” Green told Burke. “I don’t think there’s any bigger supporter, I don’t think there’s any bigger believer. I don’t think there’s anyone that will gracefully take a back seat to that and enjoy it. So, no, I never feel that — and in large part, probably because he would never let me feel that.”

Curry and Green were drafted three years apart — Curry in 2009 and Green in 2012 — and have spent their entire NBA careers with Golden State. In that time, the Warriors have won four championships, appeared in six NBA Finals and recorded the league’s best single-season record: 73–9 in 2015–16.

Green has earned four NBA All-Star selections, two All-NBA nods and a Defensive Player of the Year award, while Curry has collected two MVP trophies and revolutionized the modern game with his shooting.

So many around the league have put Curry on a pedestal — including coach Steve Kerr, who told Burke he is “the solar system of everything Golden State does.” Burke reminded Green that much of the conversation centers on maximizing Curry’s greatness and getting him a fifth ring. But that ring would be Green’s fifth, too.

Public opinion, though, means little to Green — not if it isn’t Curry’s opinion.

“Everybody else can say what they say, and that’s fine, but I know how he feels,” Green explained. “And as long as I know how the man feels, that’s good enough for me, you know, I know the love and support and appreciation that he has for me. If I’m not appreciated by one other person, what other one really matters if he does?”

As the Warriors prepare for another season and a possible fifth championship run, Green’s focus remains on the same thing that’s fueled their dynasty from the start — his belief in Curry and the team around him.

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NBA players making their debut this season will wear a special patch on their shirts as part of a programme by trading card brand Topps, made by sports company Fanatics.

Any player making their debut will wear the patch on their shirt for their first game, before the patch is removed and placed onto a unique one-of-a-kind trading card.

That trading card will not only consist of the debut patch, but will also have the player's autograph on it.

A similar programme of using debut patches on trading cards has been used by Topps trading cards in Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball previously.

"Imagine having LeBron [James]'s, [Michael] Jordan's, [Steph] Curry's debut patch and what that would mean?" Fanatics Collectibles CEO Michael Mahan told ESPN.

"Well, the next generational superstar will have a debut patch - the ultimate rookie card."

Fanatics have also announced plans to make special patch cards for the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

For those players, they will wear a gold NBA Logoman Patch which will then be used on rare trading cards.

"Trading cards haven't been associated with achievements, success and accolades: we're going to bring that into trading cards," added Mahan.

The NBA season starts on Tuesday, 21 October. Among those who will make their debuts this year are Amari Williams, a British centre who was picked up in the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics earlier this year.

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