CLEVELAND, OHIO - DECEMBER 05: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket around Peyton Watson #8 of the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on December 05, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The long summer of the Cleveland Cavaliers being interested in a free-agent small forward, just for nothing to actually happen, continues. First, it was the endless speculation about LeBron James returning. Then, there were rumors about a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade. Now, we’ve moved on to speculating whether 23-year-old, 6’8” wing Peyton Watson could be coming to Cleveland.
The Cavs remain one of the handful of teams continually linked to restricted free agent Watson. Marc Stein’s latest report reaffirms this. Stein notes that the Cavs are a “team to watch” with Watson and that the Cavs have been looking to send out Dennis Schroder and Max Strus to make a sign-and-trade work.
Cleveland doesn’t have the cap space to make a meaningful offer to Watson in free agency. However, since they are currently below the first apron, they can execute a sign-and-trade.
A sign-and-trade essentially allows the Cavs to sign Watson to a deal, and then trade away players and their salary to the team Watson is a restricted free agent with (the Denver Nuggets) or to an additional team(s) to make the financials work. There’s a lot of cap minutia you can dive into if you want, but the basic thing to know is that the Cavs would have to trade other players away to make a deal for Watson or Kuminga work.
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Schroder and Strus are the two candidates to move in any sign-and-trade.
Strus has been an incredibly useful player for the Cavs over the last three seasons, but he and Sam Merrill essentially occupy the same on-court role and position. Considering Merrill is making $7.5 million less next season in a salary cap league, it makes sense to move Strus. This upcoming season is the last year Strus is under contract.
Schroder will earn $14.8 million this upcoming season and $15.5 million the following. However, his contract is only guaranteed for $4.35 million for the 2027-28 season, so he could easily be waived after this upcoming season without a large cap hit. That potentially makes him an attractive target for a team looking to clear space off their books.
The issue with the Watson situation is the fact that the Nuggets are the only team in the dreaded second apron. They presumably don’t want to clog their books with even the expiring contracts the Cavs have to offer, which is an issue. What incentive does Denver have to facilitate a deal for Watson? A third or maybe even a fourth team is needed to absorb those contracts, while the Cavs would still need to send some sort of compensation to the Nuggets.
Stein notes that this is where the holdup is. Finding a landing spot for either, or both, is “easier said than done” at this point in the summer. It’s also worth pointing out that this is something that they’ve been reportedly looking to do since the end of June. If there were a lot of interest around either Strus or Schroder, you’d believe a deal would’ve already happened.
Stein also points out that the Cavs could be looking to sign Watson to a four-year deal. The length and potential dollar amount associated with that deal could be a risk.
Watson is the archetype you want to take a risk on. There aren’t many young, athletic wings with high upside to gamble on — however, it’s worth pointing out that it would still be a gamble.
Watson has only had one season where he’s averaged double-digit points per game. The outside shot has been streaky, and he isn’t much of a facilitator offensively when he isn’t scoring the ball. An overwhelming majority of his makes throughout his career have been assisted, which points to him not being someone who can create his own shot. Watson has mostly been an offensive finisher. And if he came to Cleveland, he wouldn’t be playing with someone as skilled as Nikola Jokic at creating open looks for teammates.
Still, this is a risk worth pursuing.
The Cavs aren’t the only team vying for Watson’s services. Stein wrote that the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks are also in the running. There’s also the possibility that Watson chooses to return to Denver on a qualifying offer of $6.5 million next season, which would allow him to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Cleveland has been looking for a permanent answer at small forward for the better part of the last eight seasons. Watson has the potential to be the solution, but getting a deal done could be both complicated and risky. We’ll see if the Cavs can find enough partners to make a deal for Watson work for all parties.
Last season, Watson averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on .491/.411/.730 shooting splits in 54 games with Denver.
Trimble, a 6-3 guard, entered the transfer portal this spring, and later played five games for the Washington Wizards in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he averaged 10.8 points and four rebounds per contest. However, he didn't sign an NBA contract, making him eligible to return to college under the Colorado ruling.
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If he's declared eligible, Trimble will join an incoming group for Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey that already includes two of the top 15 players in USA TODAY Sports' college basketball transfer player rankings, center Flory Bidunga and guard Jackson Shelstad.
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Both North Carolina and Louisville are set to face each other twice during the ACC regular season this year.
In a statement issued via his Instagram Story on Wednesday, Trimble noted he had been considering returning to college "the whole summer now" and the Tar Heels were "always in the running." But with North Carolina not having an open roster spot for him, a return to Chapel Hill was not possible.
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Here's his full statement:
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Former UNC guard Seth Trimble via Instagram after committing to use his fifth year of eligibility at Louisville pic.twitter.com/I0QVsz3ASo
In individual statements released by the university, both North Carolina first-year coach Michael Malone and athletic director Steve Newmark said Trimble represented North Carolina "the right way" and "will always be a Tar Heel."
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Here are the full statements from both Malone and Newmark:
Feb 22, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Fresh off a massive offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers have nearly rebuilt their roster with new additions including LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. The spotlight is now on this team as never before, with media scrutiny intensifying. The Liberty Ballers crew weighs in on key questions in this three-part series.
For Part 1, we’re focusing on LeBron. From the immediate excitement surrounding his arrival to potential concerns about meshing with the rest of the roster, here’s our crew’s take:
We’ll start off with a basic one: What are you most excited about regarding the LeBron experience?
Brian Toporek: Aside from having to listen to Rich Paul’s podcast every week, you mean?
All jokes aside, it’s LeBron’s passing. Tyrese Maxey deserves a ton of credit for the improvements that he’s made as a playmaker in recent years, but LeBron is on a different plane.
During his brief Sixers tenure, James Harden demonstrated how an elite passer can uplift an entire offense. LeBron is in that tier as well. He’s a savant at threading passes to teammates right in their shooting pocket, which should help everyone become more efficient this season.
Sean Kennedy: Philadelphia being at the center of the basketball universe for actual on-court reasons. It won’t be people arguing about the validity of tanking or diving into the burner accounts of a team executive, but rather just watching a really good basketball team with a bunch of super talented players who complement each other well.
Josh Grieb: I’m really excited to finally add a really smart passer to this team. Both Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey have made strides in that area over the past few seasons, but neither of their superstar abilities derive from their passing. As great as he is, it hasn’t been Jaylen Brown’s forte either.
The roster as a whole has been so starved of passing the fanbase still clings to the half season Nico Batum was here. To go from that to adding one of the best passers of all time, who will be reportedly running point guard, should be one of the freshest breaths of air.
Drew Peltzman: I am most excited about LeBron’s ability to make everyone better around him. In the short-term, finding a playmaking position between Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid will be very beneficial to creating easier looks for the duo, as compared to focused defenses that Brown faced last season and Embiid has seen throughout his career. In the long-term, there is no predicting how LeBron’s impact on VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey will eventually present itself. I am optimistic and thrilled we will be seeing the impact on the two young guards for years after LeBron’s retirement or departure from the Sixers.
Harrison Grimm: My response will sound basic, but I’m simply looking forward to him being around this team. Off the court, it’s thrust the Sixers into the spotlight for better or worse — excitement surrounding this team is at an all-time high. On the court, his presence alone will demand the best from all of their players. While we can go back and forth about fit or production, LeBron being around is an immensely good thing for their young players like Edgecombe to see up close how one of the best to ever do it operates behind the scenes. I particularly think LeBron’s presence will be great for Embiid, whom he shared a winning experience with in the Olympics. It’s clear as day what the goal is, and it’s going to push the roster as a whole to be the best they can be.
The Sixers now have two major new additions in LeBron and Jaylen Brown. How do you see these two high-usage wings coexisting when they share the floor?
BT: Call me naïve, but I’m not anticipating major issues? The Sixers are telegraphing that they expect LeBron to be one of their primary playmakers, while Brown should be more of a play-finisher.
If one of the knocks on Brown is that he tends to over-dribble and develops tunnel vision whenever he has the ball in his hands, what better way to mitigate that than by not having him initiate the offense? Instead, he can focus on dominating in transition and attacking the basket.
It also doesn’t hurt that Brown is already buzzing about getting to play with LeBron. Considering that Brown was reportedly pivotal in recruiting LeBron as well, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll suddenly begin to grouse about not getting enough touches.
SK: I think the high-usage concern thing is entirely overblown. Both of these guys have played with other stars their entire career. Brown was with Tatum, plus a bunch of other great players, and LeBron has thrived alongside Luka, Kyrie, Wade, etc. One of LeBron’s best attributes is getting the ball to his teammates in a great position to score; Brown, like everyone else on the roster, will feed off that and be able to attack the seams of the defense as they’re rotating to deal with everything the Sixers are throwing at them.
JG: This could be one of the trickiest things to figure out. Maxey has shown a lot of off-ball prowess as a cutter and catch-and-shoot shooter, Embiid can be a hub at the nail as a pick-and-pop partner. Brown’s fit next to James isn’t quite as obvious. There could be a fair amount of standing around in the corner as a spacer.
At the same time, Brown has spent his entire career playing off a star in Jayson Tatum. Even if it’s a little clunky, players this great tend to figure out a way to make the fit work. If the Sixers acquiring Brown was as big a sway in LeBron choosing Philly as reports would suggest, the two will figure out a way to help each other get buckets.
DP: I think this combination may take some time to find their respective space to operate, both on the floor and in the gameplan. I would not be surprised if things look clunky to begin the season. I will not be alarmed, however, as I believe they will build a chemistry that can utilize both players strengths. I am thinking of LeBron setting simple off-ball screens, allowing Maxey or Embiid to make the pass to whoever the defense does not shade toward. Sharp and timely backdoor cuts with LeBron as the point man could lead to easy buckets and fouls drawn considering Brown’s athleticism and strength. The more they can lean in to timing and playing off-ball in the halfcourt, the better they will coexist in my opinion. I have absolutely no worries about them in transition.
HG: There will be growing pains with these two, and the Sixers as a whole will have to avoid falling into the “my turn, his turn” type of offense. But both of these players can be seriously great together or staggered seperately in different lineups. Both play fast and in transition. For Brown, he’ll really need to hone in on his defensive skills and his catch-and-shoot three-ball for this pairing to thrive. We’ve seen in the past that Brown can be a great on-ball defender, and with this team he’ll take on some of the tougher assignments. On the flip side, having to defend LeBron and Brown at the same time is going to be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Both are big, strong wings who can bully their way to the rim and can hunt mismatches.
It’ll take some time to figure out operating space and chemistry, but both of these guys have proven success alongside talent. Brown in particular played with Tatum, another high-usage wing, for the past nine years. While halfcourt sets and spacing will require refinement, these two are going to cause a lot of headaches for teams game planning against them.
What’s your biggest concern with LeBron’s arrival?
BT: The circus that comes along with any LeBron team. We’re already seeing an avalanche of hot takes about why this Sixers squad is doomed to fail. If the Sixers get off to a slow start this year, the naysayers will have a field day on the hollowed-out husk of Twitter.
The Sixers have been under plenty of scrutiny throughout the Process era, but any team with LeBron has even more of a microscope trained on it. Their ability to drown out the noise surrounding them will be imperative to making this season a success.
SK: It’s not a concern, per se, but something that I know will bother me to some extent will be that any Sixers’ success will invariably get filed under the “LeBron James legacy.” I think it’s part of the reason he chose Philadelphia, where he can be viewed as the missing piece to finally get them over the top, versus somewhere that’s already experienced success in the not-so-distant past.
JG: We will get into the defensive concerns, but for me it is the aforementioned fit with Brown. I think a lot of these question marks stem from the idea that Brown is ready to be the No. 1 guy on his own team. While he decidedly did not get that landing in Philadelphia, he probably didn’t expect LeBron James to be joining his team as well.
It is unique to get this many players on a team that classify as stars, especially under the current CBA. As tired as the cliche is, it will be interesting to see how this team distributes touches with just the one basketball to go around.
DP: Outside of health, honestly my biggest concern with LeBron’s arrival is that ticket prices (I’m presuming) will be astronomical. Perhaps I have PTSD from the Knicks series, but I would prefer that die-hard Sixers and Philadelphia fans will not be priced out. Then again, the price will naturally go up for the insanity of an offseason that the team had as a whole, and there is demand to go see The King, so it is a very first-world concern admittedly.
HG: Truthfully, I don’t have many on-court concerns with LeBron apart from age and career mileage catching up— but that’s the case with any aging player. He’s shown he can fit with pretty much any team, apart from the Russell Westbrook Lakers, which was a bad idea from the get-go. All of their key players seem to be on board with sacrifice and putting winning above all. The only aspect I’m dreading with this experience is people hopping on the Sixers bandwagon and spouting terrible takes because they don’t know who guys like VJ Edgecombe are. I’ve always appreciated that the Sixers fanbase is one of the more diehard fanbases in the league. Most fans can speak about the team in depth. This season will be a much different experience from that, for better or worse, as they’re thrusted into the spotlight.
Which player do you expect LeBron to have the biggest impact on in terms of on-court production?
BT: Maxey. Although Maxey won’t have the ball in his hands nearly as much with LeBron in the fold, the Sixers were already hinting at wanting to get him more off-ball touches prior to LeBron’s arrival. He might not average nearly 30 points per game this year, but there’s also zero excuse for him to play a league-high 38 minutes per night now, too. The Sixers have enough playmaking help to get him more of a breather.
While Maxey’s per-minute numbers figure to decrease, his shooting percentages should tick back up. Maxey shot above 43 percent from deep in his second and third seasons—most of which he played alongside Harden, not coincidentally—before his percentages fell as he took on more of an on-ball role. The Sixers’ new starting five should stretch defenses to their breaking point, resulting in more wide-open looks for Maxey.
SK: LeBron is going to work wonders for Tyrese Maxey. Remember some of the lineups Tyrese had to play with when the team was decimated by injuries and he was constantly getting double teams thrown at him? Now, he won’t even have to be the primary ball handler all the time and can excel getting out in transition and running around off ball seeking open looks. Good luck to opposing defenses having to chase after someone who was already one of the fastest guys in the league even when he had the ball in his hands.
JG: This is an odd way to answer because I’m choosing the team’s leading scorer from last season, knowing that his points per game may drop a little bit, but it’s Tyrese Maxey. Sixers fans have wisely reminded the rest of the league that Maxey is just as, if not more deadly as an off-ball scorer than on-ball. He was so dangerous playing next to James Harden and playing off of LeBron should be even better for him.
Especially now that he’s a few years further into his career and has taken multiple steps of improvement, I anticipate Maxey fitting in with LeBron seamlessly in a way that will be scary for opposing defenses.
DP: Jaylen Brown has to be my choice here. It is clear that they share mutual respect for one another ever since the Bronny fiasco. I would not be surprised if LeBron realizes that Brown may have the most similar body type and skillset to LeBron in his prime, and share with Brown everything he sees that he believes JB can exploit. I think this will help cut down on Brown’s tendency to force poor shots and resort to repeated moves on-ball. He may just need to know what to look for in those high-stakes moments as the top option, and we know how intelligent he is in regards to implementing mentorship.
HG: Maxey is the easy answer here, as LeBron is one of the best fitting players you can put beside him. I’ll deviate from my colleagues a bit though, and say it’s a combination of guys like Anfernee Simons, Adem Bona, and Ariel Hukporti. LeBron is well chronicled as a guy who can find and feed shooters; Ray Allen, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Korver, Mike Miller — the list goes on. Simons can shoot the ball at a high clip, and he’ll get plenty of looks from LeBron. Bona and Hukporti fill a much different role as big frames who play hard. The less they do on-ball, the better, as we specifically saw with Bona last season. LeBron has had success with lob threats in the past and should keep their roles simple heading into the season.
Former Blue Devil Cooper Flagg has had an interesting summer. He’s been on Celebrity Family Feud, and had a special NBA Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card issued that was found in Rhode Island this week. The lucky owner of that card has had offers of $1 million, and the Dallas Mavericks, Flagg’s team, have offered 32 years of season tickets for the card.
The Mavericks have also hired Masai Ujiri, who in turn hired GM Mike Schmitz, and fired Jason Kidd, replacing him with former Michigan coach Dusty May.
And the brain trust has been adding muscle and power around young Flagg as fast as possible.
Flagg is still just 19, and while he has dazzling gifts, he is not yet physically mature.
So far, Dallas has added Morez Johnson (6-9/250), Tobi Lawal (6-8/215), Santi Aldama (7-0/215), and Zaccharie Risacher (6-8/200), and they still have PJ Washington (6-7/230).
This is probably for two reasons, according to this article from Yardbarker: first, to protect him, and second, to allow Dallas to use him with maximum flexibility.
As we saw last season, he’s capable of playing either guard spot, and small forward, too. He’s also capable of playing power forward, but he’d probably take a beating, hence the protection.
After what he did as a rookie, it’s going to be amazing to see what he does this year.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 12: Tyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat looks on against the Atlanta Hawks during the second quarter of the game at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2026 in Miami, Florida. 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 Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
During Summer League, new Bucks guard Tyler Herro spoke with The Athletic’s Eric Nehm about everything from the trade itself to his feelings toward returning home. I’ve pulled some of the more notable quotes from this interview to break down. Of course, all credit goes to Nehm.
Therefore, the most notable segment of the discussion, to me, was what Herro said about the speculation surrounding his future in Milwaukee.
“I think now that things are kind of settling down, I’m hoping I’m staying here. That’s kind of the consensus I’m getting right now, but I’m excited to just be here. If it’s for two months, two years, whatever it is, I’m just excited to be here.
“I see the potential. I see the promise that we have as a group. As an organisation, with the young guys with a fresh start, I think we’re going to be better than people anticipate. We got a great mix of vets and guys that have been proven in this league, and then we got guys who are hungry, motivated with a chip on their shoulder, that want to compete and prove something. So, we’re going to be good.”
This is the ideal answer from the front office’s perspective. Basically, as long as he’s in a Bucks jersey, he’s going to be excited to play for the team. That said, it also sounds as if he understands why the front office may not necessarily see him as a cornerstone of the rebuild.
Another fascinating segment of the interview was Herro talking about what it means to be traded for the greatest player in franchise history, given his unique perspective on the team having grown up in the Cream City.
“I was 13 years old when Giannis was drafted and lived 10 minutes from the arena. I know what it’s like. I’ve been through it all. I remember the Michael Redd days, Brandon Jennings days. Andrew Bogut, Monta Ellis… all those days.
“I remember those days and what Giannis did when he got there… Not only the team, but the city has grown because of him. And he got the Deer District now… like, a bunch of different things in Milwaukee that just weren’t there when he got there. Not only did he bring a championship, but he changed the city as a whole.”
I honestly hadn’t considered the timeline of how Herro’s life experiences would have lined up with Giannis’ career in Milwaukee. Hearing the former Whitnall standout share how Giannis almost singlehandedly revitalised the city—as Herro was growing up himself—was super interesting.
Hearing Herro talk generally about how he dealt with being in trade rumours for years as a Heat was notable. He said that although it had occurred for years, this summer felt like it might actually happen.
“I kind of was anticipating it. This summer felt like the summer that it could probably happen. The rumours are part of the business of the game, and to be in the trade rumours, it’s a gift and a curse. The curse because that means people want you, but at the same time, the team is trying to trade you.”
“I’m happy where I’m at now. If I literally had to pick another team in the league to play for, it would be Milwaukee. I’m super excited to be in Milwaukee. Fresh start for everyone—the organisation, myself—and we’re really going to hit it home.”
Finally, Herro noted that he believes his time in Miami has prepared him to be more of a primary option as a Buck.
“I think my time in Miami has prepared me for this. Playing with great players—Jimmy [Butler], veteran guys, Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder, Goran Dragic, a bunch of different guys who I’ve learned from throughout my career—and to kind of be in that lead role now, it’s a responsibility that I think I’m ready for.”
Your thoughts, Brew Hoop fam?
Of course, Herro (probably) wouldn’t be coming to Milwaukee if the Giannis trade had occurred a year earlier. Have your say on the timing of that transaction below:
They call him King James, and with good reason. New Sixers megastar LeBron James is inarguably one of the best to ever play the game of basketball, and some make the argument he’s number one.
A look at the NBA record book won’t dissuade you from that argument. James holds dozens and dozens of regular season and postseason records, from most games played (1,622) to career points (43,440 and counting) to most All-Star selections (22) and many more.
However, he does not rule over every record. There are some that he will most likely never have. Here are some of the marks that are safe from LeBron’s reach, in order from most to least attainable:
Career Defensive Rebounds: 10,253 (5th)
Not really looked at for production on the boards, James has been solid on the defensive glass over the course of his career. His 6.3 defensive rebounds per game is in the top 70, which is fairly remarkable for a player who didn’t spend too much time in the paint.
Surrounded by centers and power forwards on the career list, LeBron sits fifth all-time. Kevin Garnett holds the top spot, exactly 1,200 in front of James, followed by Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and Dwight Howard.
While it doesn’t sound out of reach, at his career rate of 6.3, James would need nearly 200 games to eclipse KG’s mark.
Career Free Throws Made: currently 8,882 (2nd)
Fairly remarkable that James ranks so highly on this list, considering he only led the league once in this category, back in 2008-09. Despite his manageable gap behind the leader – Karl Malone is 905 makes in front of him – LeBron has exceeded 300 FTM just once in the last eight seasons. For him to overtake The Mailman, he will likely need to play three-plus seasons.
Career Assists: 12,016 (4th)
Your vision is supposed to become less sharp when you get into your 30s, but this is one of the aspects of James’ game where he has become even better at as he ages. His floor vision has taken a serious jump, and he has finished in the top-6 in assists per game five straight seasons, only snapping that streak last season when he finished seventh.
James is only 536 dimes behind current second place holder Chris Paul, but this all-time record is more than safe. Jazz Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton – main distributor to the aforementioned Karl Malone – is nearly 4,000 assists clear of James at the moment. In fact, this NBA record, like many of those held by LeBron, will likely never be broken.
Career 3-point Field Goals: 2,636 (6th)
This was never a significant part of his game. James ranks so high on this career list simply from longevity. He’s barely in the top 100 all-time in threes made per game (1.6, 98th).
If you’re not sure of the all-time leader in this category, then you haven’t paid attention to the last 15 NBA seasons. Warriors future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry has 4,248 threes made – 1,612 more than LeBron, and nearly 900 more than second place, currently held by James Harden.
This all-time list reads as an illustration of this era of basketball: 11 of the top 20 are active players, with a 12th, Kyle Lowry, retired after last season.
Career Steals: 2,417 (6th)
Another case where LeBron’s career length earned him his place in the top-10 of this list. His 1.5 steals per game ranks him 82nd all-time, but his 23 seasons of pilfery gets him all the way to sixth.
James could move up on this list with a season of similar output: Gary Payton leads him by 28, and Michael Jordan has 97 on him.
But the king of sticky fingers here is Stockton, who may hold another untouchable record with 3,265 steals to his credit.
They call him King James, and with good reason. New Sixers megastar LeBron James is inarguably one of the best to ever play the game of basketball, and some make the argument he’s number one.
A look at the NBA record book won’t dissuade you from that argument. James holds dozens and dozens of regular season and postseason records, from most games played (1,622) to career points (43,440 and counting) to most All-Star selections (22) and many more.
However, he does not rule over every record. There are some that he will most likely never have. Here are some of the marks that are safe from LeBron’s reach, in order from most to least attainable:
Career Defensive Rebounds: 10,253 (5th)
Not really looked at for production on the boards, James has been solid on the defensive glass over the course of his career. His 6.3 defensive rebounds per game is in the top 70, which is fairly remarkable for a player who didn’t spend too much time in the paint.
Surrounded by centers and power forwards on the career list, LeBron sits fifth all-time. Kevin Garnett holds the top spot, exactly 1,200 in front of James, followed by Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and Dwight Howard.
While it doesn’t sound out of reach, at his career rate of 6.3, James would need nearly 200 games to eclipse KG’s mark.
Career Free Throws Made: currently 8,882 (2nd)
Fairly remarkable that James ranks so highly on this list, considering he only led the league once in this category, back in 2008-09. Despite his manageable gap behind the leader – Karl Malone is 905 makes in front of him – LeBron has exceeded 300 FTM just once in the last eight seasons. For him to overtake The Mailman, he will likely need to play three-plus seasons.
Career Assists: 12,016 (4th)
Your vision is supposed to become less sharp when you get into your 30s, but this is one of the aspects of James’ game where he has become even better at as he ages. His floor vision has taken a serious jump, and he has finished in the top-6 in assists per game five straight seasons, only snapping that streak last season when he finished seventh.
James is only 536 dimes behind current second place holder Chris Paul, but this all-time record is more than safe. Jazz Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton – main distributor to the aforementioned Karl Malone – is nearly 4,000 assists clear of James at the moment. In fact, this NBA record, like many of those held by LeBron, will likely never be broken.
Career 3-point Field Goals: 2,636 (6th)
This was never a significant part of his game. James ranks so high on this career list simply from longevity. He’s barely in the top 100 all-time in threes made per game (1.6, 98th).
If you’re not sure of the all-time leader in this category, then you haven’t paid attention to the last 15 NBA seasons. Warriors future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry has 4,248 threes made – 1,612 more than LeBron, and nearly 900 more than second place, currently held by James Harden.
This all-time list reads as an illustration of this era of basketball: 11 of the top 20 are active players, with a 12th, Kyle Lowry, retired after last season.
Career Steals: 2,417 (6th)
Another case where LeBron’s career length earned him his place in the top-10 of this list. His 1.5 steals per game ranks him 82nd all-time, but his 23 seasons of pilfery gets him all the way to sixth.
James could move up on this list with a season of similar output: Gary Payton leads him by 28, and Michael Jordan has 97 on him.
But the king of sticky fingers here is Stockton, who may hold another untouchable record with 3,265 steals to his credit.
The Boston Celtics will begin their Emirates NBA Cup 2026 journey in late October as they aim for the franchise’s first in-season tournament championship.
The Celtics are in Eastern Conference Group C, and on paper it’s a group they should be able to win.
It includes the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards. The C’s and Hawks are the only teams in the group that reached the playoffs last year, although the Bulls and Wizards could be meaningfully better this coming season.
The schedule for the 2026 NBA Cup was officially announced Wednesday morning.
Here’s a look at the Celtics’ group stage schedule (all games will be on NBC Sports Boston):
Friday, Oct. 30 vs. Bulls, 7:30 p.m. ET
Friday, Nov. 6 at Hornets, 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Nov. 24 at Wizards, 8 p.m. ET
Friday, Nov. 27 vs. Hawks, 8 p.m. ET
Here are the dates for the NBA Cup knockout rounds:
Quarterfinals: Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5
The Celtics didn’t make it past the group stage of the tournament in each of the last two seasons. They advanced to the quarterfinals in the first ever NBA Cup during the 2023-24 campaign.
The first game of the Celtics’ 2026-27 regular season schedule is Tuesday, Oct. 20 against the Detroit Pistons on the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
The full 2026-27 schedule will be released Thursday.
The Sixers have not gone past the group stage in the previous three years of the NBA Cup, which was first called the In-Season Tournament. They do have a former In-Season Tournament MVP on their team in LeBron James, who won the award as a Laker in 2023.
Eight teams will reach the Cup quarterfinals. Every group winner will advance along with the top second-place finisher from each conference. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, the semifinals for Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9. This year’s NBA Cup title game will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11.
MASSAPEQUA, NEW YORK - APRIL 14: A juvenile bald eagle flies over the Massapequa Preserve on April 14, 2026 in Massapequa, New York. The Long Island region provides a welcome habitat to a host of wildlife. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Extenuating day of work at P&T with so much NBA content around this time of the year. Would you believe it? Me neither. Links and notes below.
Jalen Brunson told the New York Post that winning the NBA championship has not changed how he views himself. Read the interview in full; it’s well worth it, and JB discusses plenty of things, not to mention his mother, Sandra, makes a cameo too!
“It will be the same. It’s something that I get to walk around with and think about when I’m — when I need to give myself a little confidence, or whatever, just in certain situations. But my approach and everything has to be the same. Just because I’ve reached the mountaintop of winning an NBA championship doesn’t mean that it’s over with. I feel like there’s still a lot more to do and a lot more that I can prove. It’s 100 percent always going to be in the mind, I’m just not going to let it define me.”
Brunson also touched on his recovery from wrist surgery in a separate NYP piece, saying it’s tested his patience but remains something he attacks every day. The original recovery timetable put it around six to eight weeks, so Brunson should be on track to be ready around training camp.
Regarding the ring-night matchup against the Sixers, Brunson expects “fireworks, for sure.”
If the Knicks want to repeat, they may need more production from Mohamed Diawara, Tyler Kolek and Pacome Dadiet as their expensive veteran core becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III wrote. JE3 ranked those three players in a “most likely to contribute next season” ranking. Can you guess who’s No. 1?
Miles McBride is more than likely to enter the season without an extension, according to NYP’s Stefan Bondy. The reason? A “soft” (but very important) deadline has passed.
The Knicks explored trades for several reserve big men earlier this offseason, including Pelicans center/forward Karlo Matkovic, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. So far, we keep waiting for our next beloved third-string center.
The Knicks are expected to offer Karl-Anthony Towns an extension, but both JE3 and Begley believe a four-year, $272 million max is unlikely. That said, Begley predicted the sides will eventually reach an agreement unless New York’s offer is “insultingly low” and floated an extension beginning around $45 million.
Josh Hart and Miles McBride are also extension-eligible, but Begley believes Hart is more likely to reach a new deal. Check out the Bondy point above to learn more!
Jack Kayil’s decision to return to Alba Berlin on a new five-year deal could be a blessing for the Knicks, Kento Kato believes.
One speculative option for the Knicks’ final roster spot is Ben Simmons. Daily Knicks’ Mark Nilon suggested New York could try to land Ben after he reportedly rejected them last offseason. Yeah, right?
Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson died at 86. Nelson won five championships as a Celtics player, earned NBA Coach of the Year three times and briefly coached the Knicks during the 1995-96 season. Here’s what he said about that run, per NYP’s Mike Vaccaro.
“It does bother me that it didn’t work out when I coached the Knicks. Coaching that team is one of the platinum jobs in sports, and they entrusted me with a team that had come so close. I had ideas on how to get them closer. The players had other ideas.”
No, Russell Westbrook is not in advanced negotiations with Hapoel Tel Aviv. It was just a hoax, doofus.
Jeff Teague rejected Monta Ellis’ claim that Golden State could have achieved the same success with Ellis replacing Stephen Curry. Sadly, Teague doesn’t know Monta Ellis have it all.
Shaquille O’Neal revealed why, in his view, the NBA Dunk Contest has steadily declined. For context, O’Neal has launched DUNKMAN, a competition featuring professional dunkers with a $500,000 top prize. Nice!
MINNEAPOLIS, MN. - MAY 2026: Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) warms up before playing the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. on Friday, May 15, 2026. (Photo by Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images) | Star Tribune via Getty Images
The NBA released its opening-week and Christmas Day schedules on Tuesday and will announce the full schedule on Thursday. The season will officially begin on Tuesday, October. 22, with three high-level games.
Brad Underwood has helped increase the presence of Illini in the NBA, with Illinois producing a first-round pick every year since 2024. Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr., Kasparus Jakucionis, Will Riley and Keaton Wagler should all see minutes at the NBA level next season.
No Illinois alumni will be playing on opening night, but Dosunmu and Shannon Jr. will take the court for the Timberwolves on the second night of the season. Minnesota will begin its season on Oct. 21 against the Miami Heat. The game will be the first of the night on ESPN, followed by Warriors vs. Lakers.
That will be it for the former Illinois basketball players during the opening week of the season that has already been announced by the NBA. However, the Timberwolves will also play on Christmas Day against the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder should once again be one of the best teams in the league, but the Timberwolves should also be in the mix to compete in the Western Conference.
The NBA’s Christmas Day schedule has been somewhat overshadowed by the NFL in recent years, but five matchups will run throughout the day, with the Timberwolves tipping off against the Thunder on ABC/ESPN at 7 p.m. It will be another great opportunity to watch Dosunmu with his new team and hopefully see Shannon Jr. receive an increased role.
Dosunmu was traded to the Timberwolves in February and excelled during his first 10 postseason games. He stepped into a bigger role during the Nuggets series due to injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. Dosunmu scored 25 points in Game 3 and 43 points in Game 4, helping establish himself as an important piece of Minnesota’s rotation.
Dosunmu signed a five-year, $112 million extension with the Timberwolves this offseason. It was difficult to see him leave Chicago, but it will be great to see him competing for championships for years to come. Dosunmu will enter his sixth NBA season and his first full season with the Timberwolves.
Shannon Jr. will enter his third year in the NBA and with the Timberwolves. He played just 12.5 minutes per game last season but should receive an increased role after his impressive playoff performances. Shannon scored 21 points on 53.3% shooting in the Timberwolves’ final game of the season.
Jakucionis, Riley and Wagler were not included in the opening-week or Christmas Day schedules released by the NBA on Tuesday, but it will be fun to see where these young players land on the schedule early in the season. The full NBA schedule will be released on Thursday.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 12: Carter Bryant #11 of the San Antonio Spurs smiles during 2026 NBA Finals Practice and Media Availability on June 12, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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 Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
I originally saw this yesterday in a dozen cut up tweets (xs…what do we call these, Pounders?). Thank you to Karatestyle who shared the link with the entire interview. It was recorded last month during Summer League and released on YouTube Monday. It’s 34 minutes and 19 seconds long, so…see ya in a little while.
Bryant was introduced by host Allie Clifton as “one of the most genuine ambassadors for this league has for the deaf community.” The Road Trippin’s Show calls itself the “longest running athlete podcast.” Hosted by Clifton, Channing Frye, and Richard Jefferson, their YouTube Channel boasts over 2,000 videos.
Some general observations: Richard Jefferson is wearing sunglasses indoors. He seems a little toasty. When the episode kicks off his beer is already low. My guy @RealSpursnandez can be seen in the background sporting his Spurs belt. If you don;t follow him, get on it.
Another takeaway: For a young guy, Carter Bryant speaks with maturity, humility, and a fair level of self-deprecating humor. He doesn’t bluster, but more importantly, he doesn’t get led into negative tones.
Bryant speaks beautifully about his journey, in particular his first interaction with Devin Vassell which made him question if he even belonged in the NBA. While his appreciation for Gregg Popovich aligns with what others say about the greatest coach of all time, Bryant’s share feels like a friend telling you about a great teacher. It must be amazing to be comfortable in your skin at such a young age. It stands to reason, he’s consistently had familial love and support as he’s carved his path from school to college to the NBA and into the Finals in his first season.
Jefferson, Frye, and Bryant all attended Arizona and spoke at length about their experiences. Frye is cousins with Tobias Harris, who recently signed with the Spurs. Unfortunately, the interview took place before the signing.
The show wraps up with a heartfelt share about Bryant’s involvement with American Sign Language.
What takeaways did you grab from this interview?
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Jason Terry got a tattoo of the Larry O’Brien trophy the day before a Dallas Mavericks preseason game the year they won the NBA Finals. Everyone knows the story. It’s not just something people in Dallas talk about, it’s one of those NBA anecdotes that’ll be passed around for as long as the sport of basketball is relevant.
“When he first got the tattoo, I said he was crazy,” DeShawn Stevenson said at the time. “I didn’t say it to him. But I’ve never been to the [NBA Finals], and for him to have that now. Wow. And he got that tattoo in October, and it means a lot with what we’ve been through.”
Getting a tattoo of a championship trophy you haven’t won yet is bold. It’s brash. It’s Dallas.
In Through Painted Deserts, Donald Miller wrote “Dallas blew in on the wings of a Gulf coast hurricane and rained glass and steel onto a field of bluebonnets.” It’s a city that appears out of nowhere on the North Texas plains, gleaming skyscrapers beside a muddy river, sprawl in all directions built on swamps and farmland. In Dallas, all you need to be a star is the confidence that you can be a star.
Terry brought that type of bravado into the 2010-11 season when he got that tattoo, and even better, he backed it up during the Mavericks’ run to the championship. He averaged 17.5 points and 3.2 assists per game and shot 44 percent from deep during that postseason. Terry hit a ludicrous shot over LeBron James from 25 feet to seal Game 5 of the Finals, a shot he absolutely shouldn’t have taken, but only he had the courage to put up. It’s a legendary shot, one that should be talked about more when discussing the greatest shots in NBA history.
“Never the most talented, far from infallible, always a hero,” Andrew Tobolowsky wrote about Terry in 2013. The perfect way to describe someone who would take such a ridiculous shot—and make it.
Terry finally stepped up to be the costar that Dirk Nowitzki needed all those years. Nowitzki was the steady presence, the backbone of the team. Terry provided the fire, refusing to believe that anything but a championship was possible. That alone makes him one of the most important players in franchise history.
There’s the stats, of course. Terry is ranks eighth in franchise history with 619 games played. He’s third in 3-pointers with 1,140, and eighth in assists with 2,524. He’s fifth in steals with 735. Always a scorer, he’s seventh in points with 9,953.
The playoff numbers are even better. Terry is third in total playoff points for the Mavericks with 1,466 scored. He’s played the second-most playoff games in franchise history, suiting up for 87 postseason games. He leads the Mavericks in all-time playoff 3-pointers with 167.
But this isn’t about the stats. It’s about what he meant to the franchise. What he meant to Dallas. Terry was there through it all. The Finals collapse against Miami in 2006. The meltdown against Golden State in 2007. The lackluster playoff exits the next three years. Terry suffered through every obstacle, every setback. It was him and Dirk the whole time.
Even with all that on his back, he had the confidence to get that Larry O’Brien tattoo. He refused to let the losses in the past define the future. Instead, he bent the future to his will with pure belief and faith in a success he and his teammates hadn’t yet seen. What’s more Dallas than that?
The Mavericks made things right when they retired Mark Aguirre’s number last season. It’s time for them to do the same to one of the most important members of the franchise’s only championship team so far. Jason Terry deserves to have his number retired, and his name hanging in the rafters of the American Airlines Center.
Philadelphia, PA - April 26: Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and guard Jaylen Brown high five in the third quarter. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers played in the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 26, 2026. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Think about the best co-worker you’ve ever had.
They made your job easier. You trusted them when things got hectic, knew they would do their part, and probably got better at your own job because they pushed you. You celebrated the big wins together and complained to each other when you-know-what hit the fan.
Then five o’clock rolled around and you both went home.
Odds are, you weren’t grabbing dinner every Friday or planning vacations together. You worked well together, and that was enough.
For some reason, that standard has always felt insufficient when applied to NBA stars.
Last week, Jaylen Brown was asked during his introductory press conference in Philadelphia whether he had spoken to Jayson Tatum since the trade that ended one of the league’s longest-running star partnerships.
“Not really.”
Jaylen Brown, when asked if he has been able to talk to Jayson Tatum: "Not really"
"We won a championship together… Obviously there's ups and downs in any type of relationship. On my end, it's nothing but respect."
Two words were enough to reopen a conversation that followed Tatum and Brown for most of nine seasons. For some, Brown’s answer felt like confirmation. I’m sure plenty of people out there had a reaction in the vein of, “See, I told you they weren’t close!” For anyone who spent years questioning whether two ambitious stars could coexist, those two words probably tasted a lot like vindication.
The problem is that the basketball has always told us otherwise.
Boston spent years watching Tatum and Brown grow together, adjust to each other, endure playoff failures, survive roster turnover and eventually win a championship. Brown never publicly demanded his own team. Tatum never asked the Celtics to choose. Brown has since said he threw his phone across the room when he learned he had been traded, which is a pretty strange reaction for someone supposedly waiting nine years for his escape.
Brown’s latest comments tell us something about where their relationship stands now. How close they were throughout nine seasons together is harder to know.
That still leaves us with a much more interesting question: why did anyone need them to be?
In January 2022, with Boston sputtering through a frustrating season, Brown was asked directly about the idea that the Celtics might eventually need to choose between their two young stars.
“I disagree. I think we can play together,” he said. Brown acknowledged the team’s struggles, but his larger point was almost comically straightforward: they already had played well together for most of their careers.
He addressed the personal side, too.
“Me and J.T. talk,” Brown said. “As long as I’m on the same page with him and he’s on the same page with me, I think that’s what we’re most focused on.”
Sounds like a solid partnership, right? Still, the court of public opinion required further evidence.
Of course, there were real basketball issues worth discussing. Tatum and Brown occupied similar spaces on the floor, needed touches and were still learning how to create for one another instead of simply taking turns.
Even through all of that, the results were the results. Since Brown entered the league in 2016-17, no player has been part of more playoff wins than his 83. Tatum ranks second with 75. The partnership everyone kept trying to diagnose was quietly becoming one of the winningest duos of its era.
The legitimate basketball questions gradually got tangled up with speculation about what their relationship supposedly lacked. Body language became evidence. An offseason apart became suspicious. Any awkward quote could be stretched into another theory about whose team it really was or whether one of them would eventually demand something bigger for himself.
Then, Boston won the 2024 championship.
Brown took home Finals MVP and called Tatum his “partner in crime.” Tatum responded by saying, “We know we need each other.” Later that night, he explained that neither cared who received the individual trophy because the championship was what mattered.
Brown offered an even simpler summary afterward: “I trusted him. He trusted me.”
Maybe trust was always the more useful word with these two.
Chemistry doesn’t require friendship
The funny thing is, Tatum and Brown are hardly the first great teammates whose personal relationship was more complicated than the mythology surrounding them.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen became the obvious shorthand for superstar partnership. They won six championships together, and for years both spoke glowingly about what the other meant to those teams. Jordan thanked Pippen during his Hall of Fame speech and made clear that Pippen was beside him for every title. Pippen later called Jordan the best teammate he ever had.
Then the mythology started peeling away.
Pippen eventually acknowledged that their friendship was never as close as viewers assumed from watching them play together. In a sit-down with GMA’s Michael Strahan in 2021, Pippen said, “It wasn’t what you saw on the court,” explaining that the respect remained even if the personal relationship people assumed was there had been overstated.
Their relationship has become considerably messier since then. Yet none of that changes what happened on the court.
Nobody watches the ’90s Bulls and wonders whether Jordan and Pippen were capable of coexisting. Six banners have a way of quieting those conversations.
Scottie Pippen says he and Michael Jordan were never friends off the court and haven’t spoken since 2020:
Pippen: “Great teammate, but we were just never great friends.”
Tatum and Brown never reached anything close to that level of historical dominance, but the distinction still matters. Personal closeness and basketball chemistry are related only as much as the players involved need them to be.
What actually mattered in Boston was whether that trust translated to the court, and their championship run offered a pretty useful demonstration. Tatum scored 36 in Games 1 and 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Brown answered with 40 in Game 2 and a team-high 29 in the clincher. There was no nightly referendum on whose team it was. Boston needed one of them to take over, and usually one of them did.
By the end, I think they had figured that out. Mostly.
There is no reason to romanticize the relationship beyond what we know. Nine years together in that kind of pressure cooker surely presented challenges, just as any long partnership does. What we can say with certainty is that whatever their relationship looked like away from the court, it never prevented them from functioning at a championship level.
Two people can frustrate each other and still be excellent colleagues. Anyone who has held a job for longer than six months should understand this concept.
At some point, though, we started asking NBA partnerships to satisfy a more public standard. Fans started craving evidence of closeness that had very little to do with basketball. Workout videos together? Encouraging. Vacation photos during the offseason? Even better. Riding a tandem banana boat in the Bahamas? Well, that’s reserved for LeBron and his banana boat brethren.
Tatum and Brown rarely provided that kind of public proof. Instead, they gave Boston what it ultimately craves: winning.
Boston made the choice
That context matters when looking at how the partnership actually ended.
Brown didn’t force his way to Philadelphia. There was no public trade request or summer-long campaign about needing his own franchise. His reaction to the deal sounded much more like someone caught off guard.
“When I first got traded, I just threw my phone across the room,” Brown said during his Philadelphia introduction.
He later described the Celtics as having “packed” him up and admitted he was still processing everything.
None of that proves he was thrilled with every part of his life in Boston, but it does complicate the assumption that Tatum and Brown were inevitably headed toward some dramatic breakup because one of them couldn’t tolerate sharing the stage.
For years, people wondered when one of the players would make the choice for Boston.
Boston eventually made it for them.
Brown’s “not really” answer now gives everyone room to revisit the past and search for clues that were supposedly there all along. We may learn more once Celtics-Sixers games turn every spectator in the building into a relationship counselor.
Even then, the ending shouldn’t be allowed to rewrite the middle.
BOSTON, MA – JUNE 17: Jaylen Brown #7 and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics pose for a photo in the locker room after winning Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on June 17, 2024 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 2024 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Tatum and Brown spent nine seasons together. They made repeated trips deep into the playoffs, recovered from some excruciating postseason losses and eventually won the title everyone said they needed to validate the experiment.
Whatever their friendship looked like, the partnership worked.
The partnership was enough
Maybe that’s the simplest way to understand Tatum and Brown.
We spent years looking for evidence that their relationship was warmer, closer or more obvious than what we could see from the outside. Maybe it was, or maybe it wasn’t. From where we sit, we can’t really know.
What we can judge is what happened when they shared a basketball court. There, they survived ugly seasons, brutal playoff exits, role changes and all the noise that followed them over nearly a decade. When the pressure was highest, they eventually figured out how to trust each other enough to deliver a championship.
Brown’s latest comments tell us something about how much they’ve communicated since the trade. How close they were throughout nine seasons together is harder to know. For nine seasons, Tatum and Brown kept answering the question that actually mattered. They trusted each other enough to grow together, lose together and eventually win together.
Personally, I’m taking Banner 18 over bestie behavior every day of the week.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been sold to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger in a major shakeup for the 17-time NBA champions.
An agreement was reached to purchase the Lakers for a record $12.5 billion, ESPN reported.
“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” a statement read. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles,” the statement continued.
Walter purchased the Lakers from the Buss family last year for a then-record franchise valuation of approximately $10 billion. He still owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks and English Premiere League side Chelsea.
The deal requires the approval of the NBA’s board of governors. The panel is scheduled to meet in New York next month.
“Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life,” Walter said. “It has been an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family. I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”
Kushner, 41, founded venture capital firm Thrive Capital. The brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, is a minority owner of the Miami Heat and previously had a stake in the Memphis Grizzlies.
Iger, 75, was Disney’s CEO before his term ended earlier this year. In 2024, he became the controlling owner of NWSL team Angel City FC in Los Angeles.
Word of the deal came as a surprise, given Walter’s purchase of the team just last year. Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, a former part-owner of the team and past president of basketball operations, referenced the fan base Wednesday in a social media post.
“I want to congratulate my good friend Bob Iger and Josh Kushner on their purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers!” Johnson wrote on X. “Laker fans, you couldn’t have two better owners. I’ve known Bob personally for over 40 years — he has always loved the Lakers and basketball and he will bring championships back to LA.”
Luka Doncic, who joined the Lakers in a surprise deal with Dallas, also shared his thoughts on social media.
“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA,” Doncic said. “I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting with Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together”
