Category: NBA

It was all but official about two weeks ago at the NBA trade deadline.

Now, it’s official.

As reported by numerous sources, Mike Conley is returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves. For those of you curious about the timeline and why this signing is just happening now, here’s a general breakdown.

• February 3 @ 1:24 pm: Mike Conley traded to the Chicago Bulls as part of a salary dump for the Wolves to get under the first apron.
• February 4 @ 1:56 pm: Conley traded to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the Coby White transaction.
• February 5 @ 8:55 am: Wolves trade for Ayo Dosunmu.
• February 5 @ 2:15 pm: Conley waived by the Hornets.
• February 6 @ 10:15 am: Conley reported to re-sign with the Wolves after buyout.
• February 17 @ 11:52 am: Officially signed with the Wolves.

Why was there an 11-day delay in Conley coming back to rejoin his team? Essentially, it was a simple dollars and cents situation. The Wolves waited to re-sign him after the All-Star break because his prorated veteran minimum rate now affords Minnesota to sign another minimum player in addition to Conley. Had they signed him back on February 6th, the Wolves likely would have been capped at 14 players instead of the option of adding a 15th due to their cap situation.

Something like that.

On to basketball. Though the veteran has seen his play spiral downwards this season, but what he brings to Minnesota goes much beyond what happens on the hardwood. The former NBA All-Star (2021) and All-Defensive Team (2013) point guard has been a cliché “locker room presence” that has helped guide Minnesota to two straight Western Conference Finals. Players like Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert have openly talked about wanting the 38-year-old back.

It will be interesting to see how Wolves Head Coach Chris Finch handles his return. It’s no secret that Finch would trust Conley with his life. However, the addition of two-way dynamo Ayo Dosunmu, increased consistency from Bones Hyland, and the imminent return of Terrence Shannon will likely interfere with Finch’s desire to run Conley onto the court.

Someone will have to sacrifice.

In this current season, Conley has averaged the seventh most minutes (18.5) on the team despite being 11th in Win Shares per 48 minutes. He’s suffering career lows across the board. Conley’s 32.1% mark from beyond the arc is his worst ever, despite a career-high in three-point rate. A once undeniably reliable float game is now unrecognizable, shooting a horrendous 32.6% from two-point range on a not nice 6.9% mark within three feet of the hoop.

In the meantime, almost everyone is happy to see Conley back in a Wolves uniform despite his flaws on the court. Let’s turn those tears of sadness into tears of happiness. As Ricky Rubio once said, “Change this face, be happy!”

The union between LeBron James and the Lakers has been a long and prosperous one, but with no contract for next season and retirement questions swirling, what happens next is a mystery.

LeBron will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he can either retire as a Laker, go to another team, or return to LA for another season.

Retirement will be entirely up to LeBron, and so far, he hasn’t decided whether that’s the route he wants to take. If James wants to play for other teams, he will most certainly find a franchise that will take him. The Cavs, for example, would reportedly “gladly welcome” LeBron back.

When it comes to the Lakers, his desire to return is clear. LA has been his home for eight years, and his son plays for the team. If the Lakers make the right trades this summer, it could be the best place for him to pursue his fifth title.

The question is, do the Lakers want him back?

In a recent article, Dave McMenamin of ESPN stated that the franchise would welcome James’ return next season if that’s what he desires.

If James wants to play a 24th season, he would be welcomed back in L.A., sources told ESPN.

Pelinka declared before the start of this season that he would love it if James retired a Laker, and, sources told ESPN, that sentiment was meant to reflect a 2026 retirement or a 2027 retirement, if James intends to extend his career.

While rumors swirl, the Lakers have consistently said they’d welcome LeBron back if that’s what he wants.

Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka said he would “love” to have LeBron retire in LA. NBA insiders have also speculated that if LeBron plays next year, it’s likely to be with the Lakers.

LeBron is in a rare position where he truly has all the options available and can pick whichever one is best for him. The Lakers are known for treating their stars right and making an effort to ensure things end on good terms.

LA signed Kobe Bryant to a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension back in the summer of 2013 when few thought that was the right financial decision. However, it mattered to the franchise that Bryant remain in LA and also for him to be the highest-paid player.

While LeBron’s scenario is different, it is similar. James is a legend in his own right, helped LA win a championship and has been the face of the franchise during most of his tenure.

Whether his career concludes this season, next season, or in a couple of years, the Lakers ideally want it to be a happy ending. And, if LeBron wants one more dance in LA, the Lakers will gladly oblige.

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

In the Bucks’ third preseason game, not only did Giannis make his preseason debut, but so did the starting lineup of Kevin Porter Jr., AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr., and Myles Turner around the two-time MVP. Playing these three guards together is curious, and a bit unconventional: Trent and Green have (or at least had, last year) overlapping skillsets, and neither was big enough to be a true three. But a similar small-ball “death lineup” with the three guards was so effective late last year that it became the talk of the offseason: Marques Johnson called the guard trio “the triumverate” in his appearance on our podcast Deer Diaries, as well as on his own, Hear District.

After Damian Lillard went down with deep vein thrombosis late in the year and missed the last fourteen games, the lineup of Porter, Green, Trent, Giannis, and Bobby Portis in Brook Lopez’s stead became an increasingly key part of victories, particularly during their season-ending eight-game win streak. It never started a game, but was the closing lineup for several important wins, notably against Minnesota and Detroit. We didn’t actually see that much of those five—after all, Porter didn’t join the team until February—but by the numbers, it was perhaps their most successful group, according to two sources:

• NBA.com Lineups Tool: 42 minutes, 144.6 offensive rating, 93.4 defensive rating, +51.2 net rating
• Cleaning The Glass: 88 possessions, 151.1 offensive rating, 96.6 defensive rating, +54.6 net rating

NBA.com ranked KPJ/Green/Trent/Giannis/Portis eighth in the entire league among lineups that played at least 30 minutes. CTG ranks it 100th percentile in net rating and offensive rating, and 95th in defensive rating. Compare these numbers with every lineup that played more minutes than them:

Lineup	Poss.	Net	%tile	ORtg	%tile	DRtg	%tile
Lillard/Jackson/Prince/Giannis/Lopez	653	-2.2	34th	110.9	27th	113.0	52nd
Lillard/Prince/Kuzma/Giannis/Lopez	428	+6.7	57th	116.4	45th	109.6	64th
Lillard/Trent/Prince/Giannis/Lopez	388	+1.3	44th	122.4	68th	121.1	22nd
Rollins/Prince/Kuzma/Giannis/Lopez	294	+13.0	73rd	130.3	89th	117.2	34th
Lillard/Green/Trent/Portis/Lopez	250	+20.4	86th	122.8	70th	102.4	87th
Lillard/Green/Prince/Giannis/Lopez	225	+16.9	80th	115.0	40th	89.2	93rd
Lillard/Trent/Prince/Portis/Lopez	167	+3.7	51st	120.4	63rd	116.7	37th
Lillard/Trent/Middleton/Giannis/Portis	112	+34.1	98th	141.1	99th	107.0	74th
Lillard/Green/Trent/Giannis/Lopez	108	+17.7	82nd	125.9	78th	108.3	70th
Lillard/Jackson/Middleton/Giannis/Lopez	96	-4.5	30th	107.3	18th	111.8	56th
Porter/Green/Trent/Kuzma/Sims	96	+4.2	51st	106.3	17th	102.0	88th
Lillard/Green/Trent/Kuzma/Sims	92	-27.2	3rd	101.1	8th	128.3	8th

If Doc had given them more run, they’d still probably be elite, even with some regression. Among groups with at least 100 possessions, the league’s best was the Clippers’ James Harden, Kris Dunn, Norm Powell, Amir Coffey (lol), and Ivica Zubac at +47.7 in 121 possessions. Hell, with the minimum set to 88 possessions, the Portis group was still tops—the only higher net belonged to one also broken up last offseason: Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks, Tari Eason, and Alperen Sengun in Houston. No other lineup came very close to these Bucks and Rockets “death lineups,” unless you lowered the threshold even further to find ones like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Joe, Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Jalen Williams in OKC at +63.0 in 73 possessions.

Of course, Lopez left this offseason, and Turner assumed his mantle. The logic went that slotting Turner alongside Giannis and the guards, rather than Portis or Lopez, would work. Ergo, if you ask most Bucks fans online last offseason which five players they wanted Doc Rivers to play from the jump this year, their answer was Porter/Green/Trent/Giannis/Turner. That’s indeed what they got, as we saw in the season opener against Washington. But we haven’t seen it at a tipoff since, thanks in part to KPJ’s and Giannis’ injuries, plus Ryan Rollins’ emergence. In fact, since Porter sprained his ankle on opening night, that fivesome has played just 10 more minutes in only two games.

It’s been exceptional in the little time we’ve seen it: Cleaning The Glass, which filters out heaves and garbage time, has their net rating at +43.2 in 37 possessions, with a 154.1 offensive rating (both rank in the 100th percentile leaguewide) and a 110.8 defensive rating (85th). NBA.com has them at +48.9 in 17 total minutes this year, with an offensive rating of 156.8 and a defensive rating of 107.9. When asked how Porter, Green, and Trent were gelling so far in the preseason, here was Doc from his comments on October 12th, when we first saw them start with Giannis and Turner:

“They like it… They gotta keep moving to ball… there’ll be nights where we can’t go with three guards. When we go with [Kyle Kuzma] or [Amir Coffey] or [Taurean Prince]. But for the most part, we think we can do it. Our guards got a lot of toughness about them, so we think we can do it.”

Well, it turns out there were a lot of those nights, but Doc isn’t necessarily wrong. In all lineups where the three guards have played together, CTG gives them a +3.8 net in 129 possessions, though that’s based on defense: their defensive rating is 105.5, in the 97th percentile. Perhaps because of Trent’s decline, their offensive rating is a putrid, way down in 11th. That’s still a good lineup, but of course, these stats are buoyed by the opening-night starting five that includes Giannis. Remove that lineup from the equation, and you have eight with even stinkier offense—a 91.3 offensive rating (oth)—and elite defense—a 103.3 defensive rating (99th). That results in a -12.0 net over 92 possessions (8th). None of those eight other lineups include Giannis, meaning he’s barely played alongside these three guards this year.

Milwaukee has used last year’s +54.6 net “death lineup” (featuring Portis only once this year), not even for a full minute. That’s not too surprising because of injuries to two of its key members, so what about its effectiveness with Turner? Given his similar scoring ability and vastly superior defense to those of Portis, it’s easy to infer that swapping Turner in would work swimmingly. Similar formula: three guards with three-and-D capability, a big who also has an outside shot, and two ballhandlers, one of whom is freaking Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Nevertheless, I’m probably not the only one who both wanted the KPJ/Green/Trent/Giannis/Turner quintet on opening night, but also wondered if the success with Portis—and by extension, starting three guards—was a mirage. So I decided to do a little exercise comparing lineups from one year to the next around the league and see how they fared. But I had some parameters to set, given how relatively little the Portis group actually played. Even though they use minutes instead of possessions and don’t filter out garbage time, here I used NBA.com’s stats because I could set my minimum to 30 minutes.

Given the amount of annual roster turnover in the NBA, it’s not easy to find lineups that succeeded significant action in their first year and kept it up with a similar or larger minute load the following season. Trickier yet was to find a killer group that went from much more limited exposure—like our Portis example—to a modestly featured group. Or from under 100 minutes to a starting lineup that played most of the season. It would be even more cumbersome to go back years and years using these parameters. For now, let’s stick to 2023–24 and 2024–25, so we have full-season data. How did groups translate their success in limited playing time to the next league year? Here’s what I found:

Lineup	Team	MP	23–24 Net	MP	24–25 Net	Diff.
Mitchell/Allen/Strus/Garland/Wade	CLE	55	19.8	48	8.3	-11.5
LeVert/Niang/Mitchell/Struss/Mobley	CLE	42	10.4	72	-18.5	-28.9
SGA/Dort/Joe/Holmgren/J. Williams	OKC	101	16.0	53	4.7	-11.3
SGA/Dort/Wiggins/Holmgren/J. Williams	OKC	34	20.2	31	8.6	-11.6
SGA/Dort/Joe/Wallace/J. Williams	OKC	32	31.1	58	33.2	+2.1
Horford/White/Pritchard/Hauser/Tatum	BOS	31	50.8	38	-9.6	-60.4
Horford/White/Porzingis/Brown/Tatum	BOS	118	16.2	36	-9.4	-25.6
Horford/Holiday/Porzingis/Brown/Tatum	BOS	55	13.6	36	10.1	-3.5
Horford/Holiday/Porzingis/Brown/White	BOS	56	17.2	77	11.4	-5.8
Horford/Holiday/Porzingis/Tatum/White	BOS	87	13.0	56	8.0	-5.0
Horford/Holiday/Pritchard/Tatum/Hauser	BOS	105	16.8	31	10.2	-6.6
Holiday/Tatum/Kornet/Pritchard/Hauser	BOS	96	33.7	38	38.8	+5.1
Brown/White/Kornet/Pritchard/Hauser	BOS	34	20.9	39	7.8	-13.1
Holiday/Porzingis/Brown/Tatum/White	BOS	623	11.0	357	0.0	-11.0
Turner/Nembhard/Toppin/Haliburton/Nesmith	IND	36	19.3	47	26.7	+7.4
Turner/Siakam/Nembhard/Haliburton/Mathurin	IND	104	0.2	435	11.9	+11.7
Gordon/Jokic/Murray/Porter/Braun	DEN	28	8.6	426	10.6	+2.0
VanVleet/Brooks/Green/Sengun/Thompson	HOU	27	17.9	323	-7.6	-25.5

I threw in a weaker example from 2023–24—the +0.2 net Pacers group with Siakam—because of all the lineups I found that stayed together over both seasons, that one improved the most, from net-neutral to solidly above average. Granted, a few of these were only moderately successful in the first place, though it comes as little surprise that the best teams are generally keeping these groups together—it’s why those teams are good, after all. On the surface, the stats aren’t very encouraging; only five of the 18 lineups improved. And on average, their net dropped by 10.6 points per 100 possessions.

The good news is that 12 of these 18 lineups were at least productive (for reference, CTG says any lineup with a net of +10 or better was at least in the 64th percentile last year). And all these teams had at least one in 2023–24 that was really good, at +15.1 or better in at least 100 possessions, the top 20% of the league. Only three of those lineups improved in 2024–25, but the really elite groups—+31 or better, 95th percentile on up—stayed elite, except for the Boston example with Pritchard.

It’s worth pointing out that several more of the best 2023–24 lineups were broken up by player movement, most notably with Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein leaving the Knicks, plus Josh Giddey leaving the Thunder. But much like the Bucks did with Turner, those teams replaced those guys with serious talent, so let’s see if any of the best 2023–24 lineups benefited from a personnel upgrade the following season. This will be a bit inexact (New York was especially tricky because of the Mikal Bridges acquisition), but I sought out successful 2023–24 lineups from teams that incorporated a high-profile offseason acquisition into similar 2024–25 lineups, or at least lineups that featured prominent returning players. I considered some other moves, like Paul George to Philadelphia, but there was too much turnover on these teams’ rosters between seasons to find similar-enough lineups. Anyway, onto the numbers, with offseason additions in bold (for the Knicks’ purposes, we’ll treat Quentin Grimes for Cam Payne as a wash):

Lineup	Team	MP	23–24 Net	MP	24–25 Net	Diff.
Anunoby/Hart/McBride/Grimes/Achiuwa	NYK	41	20.9
Anunoby/Hart/McBride/Payne/Towns	NYK			39	10.6	-10.3
Anunoby/Hart/Brunson/Grimes/Achiuwa	NYK	41	45.5
Anunoby/Hart/Brunson/McBride/Towns	NYK			84	34.4	-11.1
Randle/Grimes/Robinson/Hart/Brunson	NYK	109	-12.2
Towns/Anunoby/Payne/Hart/Brunson	NYK			98	25.7	+37.9
Randle/Anunoby/Hartenstein/Hart/Brunson	NYK	41	60.2
Towns/Anunoby/Payne/Hart/Brunson	NYK			98	25.7	-34.5
SGA/Wallace/Joe/J. Williams/K. Williams	OKC	55	35.6
SGA/Wallace/Joe/J. Williams/Hartenstein	OKC			38	-24.1	-59.7
SGA/Dort/Joe/Wallace/J. Williams	OKC	32	31.1
SGA/Dort/Hartenstein/Wallace/J. Williams	OKC			316	15.9	-15.2
SGA/Dort/Giddey/Wallace/J. Williams	OKC	35	-3.4
SGA/Dort/Hartenstein/Wallace/J. Williams	OKC			316	15.9	+19.3
SGA/Dort/Joe/J. Williams/Holmgren	OKC	101	16.0
SGA/Dort/Hartenstein/J. Williams/Holmgren	OKC			167	15.0	-1.0
SGA/Dort/Giddey/J. Williams/Holmgren	OKC	799	10.2
SGA/Dort/Hartenstein/J. Williams/Holmgren	OKC			167	15.0	+4.8
SGA/Wallace/Joe/Wiggins/J. Williams	OKC	42	5.8
SGA/Wallace/Hartenstein/Wiggins/J. Williams	OKC			30	-1.9	-7.7
Conley/Gobert/Towns/Edwards/McDaniels	MIN	641	7.9
Conley/Gobert/Randle/Edwards/McDaniels	MIN			714	3.2	-4.7
Conley/Gobert/Towns/Edwards/Alexander-Walker	MIN	124	7.6
Conley/Gobert/Randle/Edwards/Alexander-Walker	MIN			45	31.2	+23.6
Alexander-Walker/Gobert/Towns/Edwards/McDaniels	MIN	106	6.4
Alexander-Walker/Gobert/Randle/Edwards/McDaniels	MIN			146	8.0	+1.6
Alexander-Walker/Reid/Towns/Edwards/McDaniels	MIN	44	44.5
Alexander-Walker/Reid/Randle/Edwards/McDaniels	MIN			78	-3.5	-48.0

Coincidentally, these examples are all teams that added a new big man. These lineups’ net dropped by an average of 7.5 points per 100—better, but still not good. Again, most of the new lineups were great overall, though: eight of the 14 were at least +15.0. And ones that were excellent in small sample sizes were generally still great with more playing time. As before, these are some of the league’s teams, adding to groupings that already proved effective.

You might think I’ve strayed from the premise of this article a bit, but there were plenty of three-guard lineups above in OKC and New York. In part two, we’ll figure out whether three guards is still a look Milwaukee should use, with or without Turner. Spoiler alert: Gary Trent Jr. is exactly not part of the answer. And we’ll see if these patterns still hold when other teams add a prominent big man to their lineups, much like the Bucks did this offseason.

Second round draft picks move around a lot and are usually not valued very highly. But, as things currently stand, it looks like the Washington Wizards will be selecting two or three players in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft. 

Players drafted in the second round rarely end up factoring into a team’s long term plans. Nikola Jokic (No. 41, 2014), Manu Ginobili (No. 57, 1999), Draymond Green (No. 35, 2012) and Jalen Brunson (No. 33, 2018) are the exceptions, not the rule, and more often than not second round picks end up fizzling out after a few seasons of toiling between the G-League and the NBA.

Despite the relatively low chances of success, there is still legitimate talent after the first 30 picks. From this year’s Rising Stars Game, Memphis Grizzlies guards Cam Spencer (No. 53, 2024) and Jaylen Wells (No. 39, 2024) were both taken in the second round.

For second round prospects, I generally look at guys who I think have a specific skillset that would allow them to play a small role in a rotation rather than more “boom or bust” players. 

Here are a few sleepers the Wizards could target in this year’s second round that could make a real impact on their NBA roster:

Motiejus Krivas, 7’2” Junior Center from Arizona

Motiejus Krivas has flown a bit under the radar this season for No. 4 Arizona, who were undefeated before two recent back-to-back losses to Kansas and Texas Tech. The freshman duo of forward Koa Peat and guard Brayden Burries have gotten most of the headlines, but Krivas has arguably been the Wildcats’ most important player, anchoring their defense as one of the country’s best rim protectors. 

The Lithuanian native, who played in the Lithuanian second division before making his way to the United States college basketball and has lots of experience at the international level, is averaging 11.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 59.4% from the field and 79.2% from the free throw line. Krivas is the exact type of high floor, low ceiling type of player teams should be targeting in the second round. A player with that combination of size, shot-blocking and touch around the rim should be able to stick around as a backup center for almost any NBA team.

Arizona's Motiejus Krivas is quickly becoming the poster boy for an incredibly valuable intersection of length and offensive rebounding

over his first 9 games of the season Krivas has logged an 18.1% offensive rebounding rate, good for 6th among all high major players

Krivas'… pic.twitter.com/4XLvoH0oxx

— Sheed on the Hawks (@SheedinATL) December 15, 2025

Blue Cain, 6’5” junior guard from Georgia

Georgia basketball often takes a back seat to the football team down in Athens, but the Bulldogs have put together a solid season and are currently projected to be a 10 seed in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology. Blue Cain is one of the biggest reasons why. Cain has elite athleticism, can pour in points and is truly elite at finishing around the rim, averaging 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. 

The biggest knock on Cain is his three point shooting. This season, Cain is shooting 27.9% from three but is making up for it with an impressive 62.1% two-point field goal percentage. There is hope that Cain could develop a three though. He shot 34.1% and 35.0% from three the past two seasons and is an 89.4% shooter from the free throw line. If Cain bulks up a bit and his shot becomes more consistent, it is easy to envision his role as a microwave scorer off the bench, similar to a Donte DiVincenzo or an early-career Immanuel Quickley. 

Blue Cain is such a fun offensive operator.

An aggressive bucket-getter who’s really stepped up his offensive production in recent games. Plays with great pace and control, putting pressure on defenses downhill — just needs to steady that three-point consistency to take another… pic.twitter.com/qKDL9j5Ig6

— Matt (@HoopHound5) February 16, 2026

Kashie Natt, 6’3” senior guard from Sam Houston State

I am not going to lie, this is a bit of an outside-the-box prospect. Low-major college players like Kashie Natt who spent three seasons at a junior college are rarely, if ever considered potential NBA players. Natt’s highlights recently came across my Twitter timeline, and I have not been able to stop thinking about his defensive potential. Despite his non-traditional background, Natt has one of the most fascinating skillsets in all of college basketball and could carve himself out a role in the NBA if he is given the chance. 

At 6’3”, 190 pounds, Natt is averaging 2.1 steals, 0.6 blocks and 7.4 rebounds in just 24.9 minutes per game.  He has a ridiculous 4.7% steal rate and 2.9% block rate. Natt can also hold his own on the offensive side of the ball, averaging 10.7 points per game while shooting 41.8% from three. Natt’s defensive instincts and on-ball prowess are tantalizing, and even if he is not able to be a league-average shooter, should be enough to earn him a spot on most NBA rosters. Natt is certainly a risk, but it may be worth taking a shot for someone with his defensive potential in the second round.

Sam Houston State's 6'3 Kashie Natt has been an absurd defensive catalyst at the MM level this season.

He's averaging 10.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG (which ranks second in D1 for anyone shorter than 6'5) 2.3 APG, 2.9 stocks per game on 45/44/77 splits

Natt's combination of tier a… pic.twitter.com/MZPmDLcIDj

— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) February 8, 2026

Paul McNeil, 6’5’ sophomore guard from N.C. State

I have had my eye on Paul McNeil ever since I was on the broadcast of the 2024 Capital Classic high school All-Star game and saw him hit a buzzer-beater three to give his team the victory. After a disappointing freshman season at N.C. State that saw him struggle to carve out his spot in the rotation, McNeil has thrived this year under new head coach Will Wade. The best part of McNeil’s game is his shooting, and that usually translates well to the next level. He can create his own shot off of the dribble and uses a high release to be able to get his shot off through traffic and above taller defenders.

McNeil is averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting an ACC-best 43.5% from three on 7.2 attempts per game. He can be a bit of a streaky scorer though. McNeil’s best game of the season came in December when he scored 47 points on 11-17 shooting from three and was a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line against Texas Southern. On the flip side, he has also had multiple zero point performances this season. His perimeter shotmaking should be enough to get him looks during the second round this year despite some of those consistency issues and concerns about his slight frame and defensive deficiencies. 

paul mcneil jr. has a strong case as the 2026 draft's best 3pt shooting prospect; he's authoring one of the best wing shooting seasons in recent history, currently making 42.9% of his 15.2 3pa/100 and 80.2% at the line (32.4 FTr)

shotmaking tape full of ludicrous moments pic.twitter.com/KXfD1LFP4H

— Ben Pfeifer (@bjpf_) February 4, 2026

Jeff Teague believes Ron Harper was out of line for throwing shade at LeBron James during NBA All-Star Weekend.

Teague, 10-year NBA vet, went after the Bulls legend on the “Club 520 Podcast” this week, after Harper insinuated during a chat with reporters that James forced his two sons, Bronny and Bryce, to follow in his basketball footsteps.

Jeff Teague talking about Ron Harper comments about LeBron

“I swear to God I can’t wait for the moment LeBron have a moment like me. Bro be act like Bronny and them didn’t want to hoop. I’m protecting LeBron today. Fu*k that. I know everybody always be I done fouled him and did… https://t.co/4xYi00ghXbpic.twitter.com/9VYeYkyAie

— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) February 16, 2026

“The last people who needed to hoop was Bronny and Bryce,” Teague, a former NBA champion, said. “They could be just chillin’, bro, if they wanted to, bro. They probably just like basketball.

“Respect to Ron Harper, because he’s a legend. But, come on, bro. Leave ‘Bron out of there, bro. Leave ‘Bron out of that.”

Harper threw his barb James’ way following a question about if he had a “vision” of seeing his sons, NBA players Dylan and Ron Jr., play in All-Star festivities.

Ron Harper on if he expected his sons to follow his footsteps & play in the NBA:

“I’m not LeBron James I’m not going to tell my kids what they have do.”

Ron Harper Jr. and Dylan Harper: “Yooo”



h/t @CelticsCLNSpic.twitter.com/k5Ds5wydtw

— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) February 15, 2026

“I’m not LeBron James,” Harper said. “I’m not going to tell my kids what they have do.”

Teague went on for over a minute about why he felt the remarks were petty.

“He act like Bronny and them didn’t want to hoop,” Teague said. “I’m protecting LeBron today. F—k that. 

“He’s the last n—a whose kids got to do anything.”

Both Bronny and Bryce began their basketball careers as toddlers. Bronny, of course, went on to play at USC before joining his dad on the Lakers in 2024. Bryce, meanwhile, is in the middle of his redshirting his freshman season at Arizona.

None of the Jameses have addressed Harper’s jab, though Harper’s kids certainly seemed displeased with the comments, as they both gave stunned reactions after the words left their famous father’s lips.

Oh? Is that a soapbox over there? Well, it would be rude of me not to step upon it for a few moments, so step I shall…

I have some news that I’m not sure everybody knows to be true. This may come as a shock. This may come as a surprise. Or you may have already navigated to this level of philosophical understanding as it pertains to NBA roster construction. We’ll see shortly. That news? The perfect roster in the NBA sounds great in theory, but it does not actually exist.

Did you drop your tea? Is that blood boiling, making your face red, or were you out in the sun too long at the Goldfield Mine Ghost Town this past Saturday? Sunblock. You should use it.

It’s true. The perfect roster? Not a thing. One team wins the championship every year, and even that fan base can rattle off a list of things they wish were better. A little more shooting here, a little more size there, another defender they trust when things get tight. That is the reality of the league, and quite honestly, sport in general. There is always room to improve. Perfection is the pursuit, but it is not attainable. The goal is to be as perfect as possible, knowing perfection cannot be reached.

Even if you somehow checked every box on paper, size, speed, rim pressure, shooting, defense, and versatility, there is still a hard truth waiting for you. A basketball game only has 48 minutes. There are only so many possessions, only so many lineups, only so many moments where the right five can be on the floor together. You can build the cleanest roster imaginable, but if the wrong guys are playing at the wrong time against the wrong opponent, you can still walk off the floor with a loss.

That is the part that never shows up in roster diagrams or trade deadline grades. Talent matters, construction matters, but timing, trust, and deployment matter just as much. The league is littered with great rosters that never quite figured that part out.

This is the time of year when a few predictable things happen, and for whatever reason, a lot of people still struggle to grasp how the machinery actually works. One of them is the tension between chasing short term improvement and protecting long term viability as a franchise. Every team has needs. That part is obvious. And every time a player hits the buyout market after the trade deadline, the cycle begins all over again.

We have entered the “Every Guy Who Gets Waived Should Be a Sun” part of the season 🤦‍♂️

— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) February 11, 2026

Fans rush to their phones, hit the message boards, and start building the case. This is the guy! This is the piece! This is the move that fixes everything that has been bothering us since November! Positional need solved! Fate altered! Season saved!

Rotations, chemistry, and fit are treated like minor details that will sort themselves out later, because the idea of the player is doing a lot more work than the reality ever could.

I never knew so many people thought, nay, BELIEVED that Jeremy Sochan was the answer to every Suns question. Ultimately, he signed with the Knicks. And just you wait for the monstrous impact he’ll have with New York this season. And wait. And wait…

What gets lost in all of the noise is the basic math of where this Suns’ season actually is. This team is already two-thirds of the way through the year. Roles have been defined. Minutes have been carved out. Trust has been built, or not built, over months of reps. There are only so many minutes to go around, and dropping a new player into the middle of that ecosystem, even one who checks a positional or archetypal box, does not automatically translate to success.

Basketball is not a plug-and-play sport at this stage of the calendar. Fit matters. Timing matters. Chemistry matters. And the idea that a buyout addition is going to swoop in and change the trajectory of a team without disrupting the balance that already exists is more wishcasting than strategy. It feels productive, it feels proactive, but more often than not, it ignores the reality of how late in the process we actually are.

The other piece that tends to get forgotten during buyout season is the simplest one, and it gets ignored every single year. The player who is available is available for a reason. He was bought out. Teams do not walk away from impact players for fun.

There are plenty of reasons why a buyout happens. Maybe the player does not match the team’s timeline. Maybe there was a quiet agreement to let him go so the organization could prioritize youth or pivot in a different direction. Maybe the situation simply ran its course. All of that can be true at the same time.

But the reality still holds. If that player was truly moving the needle, he would still be on a roster. What you are most often talking about with buyout additions is the fourteenth or fifteenth man, someone filling depth, insurance, or situational minutes. Year after year, we go through this cycle, and year after year, the results look the same. Buyout players rarely decide a game. They rarely swing a playoff series. They almost never change a championship path.

It is not impossible, but it is incredibly uncommon. The buyout market is not where seasons are saved or transformed. It is where margins are adjusted, bodies are added, and options are created. Expecting anything more than that is setting yourself up to be disappointed by something that was never designed to carry that kind of weight in the first place.

I do get a kick out of it, honestly. The Suns move some size in Nick Richards, even if it is at a different position, and suddenly everyone is begging for size like there is a mythical power forward wandering the buyout market who can step in, play 25 minutes a night, and magically solve every structural issue on the roster.

Suns fans: Oso can’t shoot, Royce O’Neal is too small to play the 4, Ryan Dunn can’t shoot, Play Rasheer Fleming!!!

Also Suns fans: Sign Sohan now!! (He’s a worse 3 point shooter than Ryan Dunn, he’s maybe an inch taller at most and shoots free throws with 1 hand)

— Mario (@Marionotbros2) February 11, 2026

It shows up in the reaction to the Haywood Highsmith signing. Why not a power forward? It is a fair question on the surface. But in the same breath, who exactly are we talking about? There is no player sitting out there waiting to be signed who checks every box and slides cleanly into a real rotation role this late in the season. That is not how the NBA works.

Whoever you bring in right now, Highsmith included, is living at the end of the bench. He is not walking in and claiming steady minutes. The Suns took a swing on Highsmith because they want to see what he can be as a wing option looking ahead, not because he is some immediate fix. That is long-term thinking. That is roster management with the offseason in mind, where other decisions can open pathways for a player like him to matter more.

But so much of the conversation is trapped in short-term panic. We need a power forward. We need size. And in that urgency, people miss the bigger picture. This is not an argument that the Suns do not need one. It is an argument that the player people are dreaming about does not exist. Size, speed, rim pressure, shooting, lockdown defense. If you find someone with two of those traits, that is a win. And even then, he is still competing for minutes in a rotation that already has priorities baked in.

Development is still a priority for this organization. Chemistry is still the oil to their engine. The Suns did not get to this point by accident, and the idea that the fifteenth man on the bench is going to swing the season continues to amaze me every year. I guess that is sports. Everyone chasing the idea of a perfect roster with no flaws, even though it has never existed.

And for a Suns team that is exceeding expectations, it is still surprising how quickly that context gets lost in the noise.

That is fandom, though. It lives in conversation, in debate, in the constant search for how things could be better, because there is always room to get better. That part is healthy. That part is fun. Where it goes sideways is when those conversations turn into calling each other idiots instead of actually engaging with the ideas.

You’re an idiot

— kaden (@kadenphx) February 12, 2026

The truth is, armchair GMs — myself very much included — would benefit from stepping back and seeing the whole picture more often, rather than locking onto one perceived flaw and treating it like the root of all evil. Every roster has holes. Every night presents a different problem. Every matchup exposes something. That is the NBA. That is the season. That is the sport.

Focusing on a single deficiency without context ignores how teams actually function, how minutes are distributed, how chemistry develops, and how progress is rarely linear. Improvement is usually incremental, sometimes invisible, and almost never solved by one name scribbled onto the end of the bench.

So argue. Debate. Dream about upgrades. That is part of the joy. But maybe do it with a little more curiosity and a little less certainty, because the picture is always bigger than the one weakness staring us in the face.

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The Minnesota Twins suffered a major setback during their first full-squad workout, an elbow injury that likely will sideline ace Pablo López for the entire season.

General manager Jeremy Zoll told reporters at the club's spring training facility on Tuesday that López has a “significant tear” in his right ulnar collateral ligament. He was seeking a second medical opinion but expected to need Tommy John surgery, Zoll said. López ended his bullpen session early on Monday after experiencing soreness in his throwing elbow.

The team's opening day starter in each of the last three years, López was grappling with a double disappointment with the probable loss of not only the upcoming major league season but the World Baseball Classic next month, when he was scheduled to pitch for his native Venezuela.

“I already feel I’m letting a lot of people down,” said López, who was limited to 75 2/3 innings last year because of injuries. "I’m letting myself down. I’m letting the Twins down. I’m letting my family down.”

López, who turns 30 on March 7, is making $21.75 million this season. He is signed through next year.

“We know injuries are part of the game. You're always trying to get through spring training as healthy as possible,” Zoll said. “It's definitely a blow, but we're going to just do the best we can to push forward.”

López made his major league debut with the Miami Marlins in 2018 and spent five seasons with them before being traded to the Twins. López made the All-Star team in his first year with the Twins and helped the franchise end an all-time record 18-game postseason losing streak for North American professional sports, going 2-0 with an 0.71 ERA in two starts in the 2023 playoffs.

When López was in the Seattle Mariners organization, he had Tommy John surgery that kept him out of the 2014 minor league season.

“We’re not designed to throw things that hard for an extended time,” López told reporters at the Lee Health Sports Complex. “Having done it once, I can do it again. Doesn’t mean I want to, but I’m going to have to and I know I can.”

López missed about three months last season with a shoulder injury. As the Twins were slashing payroll, he was mentioned often as a prime trade candidate, but the front office opted to keep him and right-hander Joe Ryan at the front of what was expected to be a strong rotation.

Now the Twins are missing their most important piece, with Ryan, an All-Star in 2025, now the ace and right-hander Bailey Ober under pressure to bounce back and be a reliable No. 2 starter.

Simeon Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews and David Festa are all 25-year-old right-handers who have combined to make 98 starts over the past two seasons, with at least one or two of them likely to make the opening rotation. Taj Bradley and Mick Abel were acquired in the flurry of trades during the week leading up to the deadline last summer and also are firmly in the mix.

“In a lot of ways, we view this as a real opportunity for someone to step up and take advantage of that,” Zoll said. “We’ll pick up the pieces once we have a better handle on things.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The Bucks’ final two games before the break were a coming-out party for their only deadline trade acquisition, Ousmane Dieng. A combined 13/22 from the floor—with 8/14 from deep—resulting in 36 points over 59 minutes, plus 14 boards, 4 blocks, 6 assists, and 0 turnovers. A career-best three-point performance in the second Orlando game. Certainly something to dream on in the years ahead.

Those two weren’t a coming-out party for Cam Thomas, not because he was a meh 5/13 (12 points) in the OKC win, nor because he took over with a game-high 34 in Orlando the night before. It’s because that’s what the dude does—he apparently introduces himself as “a bucket,” after all. Well, this Bucket also appears to be the spark Milwaukee desperately needs in non-Giannis minutes, and he might be a long-term fit with the team moving forward.

But both guys are free agents this summer. Dieng will be a restricted free agent if the Bucks extend an $8.8m qualifying offer, meaning they can match any contract another team presents him with in the offseason. If they decline that QO (like they did with Ryan Rollins in summer 2025), he’ll be unrestricted and can sign anywhere. But in either case, Milwaukee owns his Bird rights, so they can pay him any amount up to the max without worrying about the salary cap, whether it’s their own contract offer or another team’s.

With Thomas, however, the Bucks only have Non-Bird rights, since he just changed teams in free agency. That means they’d have to use an exception to give him a new deal in July (since they don’t project to have cap room), and here are their options…

• The full (non-taxpayer) midlevel exception: starting salary between $6.1m and $15.1m, up to four years
• The taxpayer midlevel exception: starting salary of $6.1m at most, up to two years
• The biannual exception: starting salary of $5.5m at most, up to two years
• The Non-Bird exception: starting salary of $3.6m, up to four years

In this week’s Tuesday Tracker, let’s look ahead to the summer and pick the Bucks’ best option with these two: should they re-sign them or not? If yes, how? We also have a bonus question about the All-Star game format, and of course, the debate between tanking and going for the playoffs.

---

As always, this poll will be open until midnight Central on Friday, and we’ll post the results later that day. Thanks for voting!

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The Italian men's speedskating team is back on top in team's pursuit.

Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti beat U.S. world record-holders Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran by 4 1/2 seconds to win the men’s team pursuit gold medal in speedskating on Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Buoyed by raucous cheering from the home crowd at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, the Italian men finished in 3 minutes, 39.20 seconds to give their country its first Olympic title in this event since the 2006 Turin Games.

The United States started the final well and led for the early stages. But the Italians charged ahead over the closing laps, extending their advantage. When it ended, Ghiotto, Giovannini and Malfatti raised their arms and pumped their fists. On the opposite side of the track, silver medalists Dawson, Lehman and Cepuran leaned over, hands on knees.

Canada collected its second consecutive Winter Games title in women’s team pursuit when Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann — the same athletes who won gold four years ago in Beijing — finished in 2:55.81, nearly a full second ahead of runner-up Netherlands.

Snow postpones women's slopestyle snowboarding

The Olympic final for women’s snowboarding slopestyle was scrubbed off Tuesday’s schedule due to a heavy snowstorm in Livigno.

The slopestyle final was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. local time, but organizers said it was called off. A new date for the final has not been announced.

It delays New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott’s attempt at a repeat. She qualified first on Sunday — an opening round that was moved up a day because of the storms rolling in.

Late surge lifts France to gold in biathlon relay

France went from last place on the first leg to being first on the final lap to secure the country’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s biathlon relay.

World Cup champion Eric Perrot, skiing the final leg for France, missed two shots in his last standing shooting bout and was only seven seconds ahead of Norway’s Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen as they headed out to ski tracks packed with fresh snow.

Perrot stayed ahead of Christiansen and took his team of Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon Maillet across the line first, in a time of one hour, 19 minutes and 55.2 seconds.

Sweden was able to hang on for the bronze.

Norway's Oftebro earns second Nordic combined gold

Norway’s Jens Luraas Oftebro won his second Nordic combined gold medal in a week, taking the large hill ski jump and 10-kilometer ski race. Johannes Lamparter of Austria earned his second silver in Italy and Ilkka Herola of Finland won bronze.

The event begins with a single ski jump in the morning, where distance and style points are calculated to create a time advantage for the best jumper. The rest of the field starts the cross-country ski race behind the leader according to the ranking from their jump.

Oftebro, who finished atop the podium in the normal hill competition event last week, started 22 seconds behind in fifth place. Herola started 32 seconds back in seventh place.

Support and protest at Nordic combined

U.S. team skier Annika Malacinski attended the Nordic combined at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday to cheer for her younger brother Niklas. She came to protest, too.

Nordic combined — ski jumping and cross-country in one — remains the only Winter Olympic sport that does not include women, even though women compete on the World Cup circuit and at world championships.

“It’s heartbreaking, it really is,” Annika told The Associated Press while wrapped in a long pink and white coat, before taking her seat in the stands.

___

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

The 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest wasn’t just bad — it was pathetic. The decline of the dunk contest has been well documented, but Saturday night was the competition’s rock bottom. Serving as proof the NBA needs to cancel the event and replace it with something else, rather than watch it fade into irrelevancy like Chris Paul.

Every single facet of the event sucked. Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won with a dunk that barely would have made it out of the first round a decade ago. Even the NBA’s hype tweet felt sad and forced.

Keshad Johnson from UNDERNEATH THE BACKBOARD 😮

Tap to watch the Final Round of @ATT Slam Dunk: https://t.co/BpnjnxQ8vCpic.twitter.com/6mgM297GPP

— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026

Still, this was somehow the best dunk of the night. The only other remotely impressive thing was Johnson jumping over rapper E-40 — which was fine, but not mind-blowing. E-40 is 6’1, and this is a competition where dunkers have jumped over Shaq, a car, and hell, Aaron Gordon went over the Magic mascot and under both legs, while the mascot stood on a hoverboard.

While Johnson was the best of a horrible group, he should have been disqualified for his dancing. Before every dunk, during every dunk, after every dunk, there was this pathetic, manufactured dancing that Johnson did that seemed to be less about any genuine enthusiasm about the event, and more because someone told him it would be good for his brand if he became the “dancing guy” during the dunk contest.

We also had Jase Richardson almost knock himself out.

This was actually scary at least Jase Richardson is good pic.twitter.com/wECXfojTVq

— Bones🦴 (@bonesy) February 15, 2026

And this from Jaxson Hayes, which would have been a mediocre in-game dunk.

Genuinely wouldn’t care if Mac McClung came back for the 4th year in a row after whatever this was from Jaxson Hayes pic.twitter.com/tCbf3T9oGB

— Josh (@ItsJRZ_) February 15, 2026

The only thing worse than the dunks was the judging. The NBA used a panel of notable dunkers: Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Corey Maggette, and Brent Barry — a good group, except they were given an absolutely nonsensical rubric that nobody could score less than a 40, out of 50. It was clearly only put in place to make sure nobody’s feelings were hurt, because getting to say “I scored 42 out of 50” sounds a lot better than “2 out of 10.”

If the scoring format wasn’t bad enough we had Dwight Howard handing out 50s like candy for the crappiest dunks imaginable. Don’t believe me? This was a 50 in Howard’s book.

RUNNING WINDMILL JAM FOR THE WIN!

Keshad Johnson is your 2026 @ATT Slam Dunk Champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/jAhyHzesvr

— NBA (@NBA) February 15, 2026

A windmill jam from barely past the dotted line that Johnson couldn’t even manage to dribble for. At least he did his dancing afterwards.

There’s a simple reality that basketball has changed. In the 90s and 00s kids would practice dunks like Michael Jordan or Vince Carter on Nerf hoops attached to their bedroom doors — now they’re trying to shoot from deep like Steph. Interior defense is more refined, giving less obvious lanes to the rim for in-game dunks. Euro steps, step-throughs, and floaters are now the in-lane currency of the NBA, rather than trying to power through everyone with dunks. There’s ample reason why dunking isn’t as flashy as it once was, but there is no excuse for the absence of creativity. There have never been more resources to imagine new dunks or learn from the greats of the past to push the limits of athleticism. Instead, we’ve seen unbelievable regression as players struggle to do anything past the most rudimentary of dunks. There’s no pride, no desire to put on a show — and the NBA is shielding feelings by making sure nobody can score lower than a 40. The stars of the past would never.

There’s an entire generation of basketball fans who are too young to remember how great the NBA Slam Dunk Contest was. Relegated to watching retrospectives on YouTube, they’ll never understand the excitement that led up to seeing some of the biggest stars in basketball show off their athleticism, creativity, and pride in being known as the best dunker in the NBA. There was palpable excitement as we wondered how players could go bigger and better. That’s gone now.

Nobody wanted Old Yeller to die. He was a beloved member of the family until that old dog got rabies and was destined to descent to madness. The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is past that point, and we need to save its legacy from itself by killing the contest all together and inventing something else — because this is too sad to continue in its current form.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke’s 101-64 blowout win over Syracuse Monday, and sparked buzz about his interaction with the woman sitting to his right.

Flagg, who led Duke to the Final Four last March before Dallas took him first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, and Duke women’s basketball center Adrianna Roberson took in the action while seated next to each other, as seen in videos online.

Many were buzzing about the pair, while others noted that Roberson, the 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman, is the younger sister of former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Andre Roberson.

Who is next to Coop? https://t.co/AHJM8MiuRQ

— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) February 17, 2026

At one point, Flagg and Roberson were seen discussing a stat sheet and chatting together.

Roberson exited the court with Flagg and his former Duke teammates, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, as seen in another video.

Flagg, Maluach and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor previously attended Duke’s 67-54 win over the No. 20 Clemson Tigers in Durham on Saturday.

Flagg, who’s reportedly dealing with a mild foot sprain, wore a walking boot on his left leg for both games at this Alma Mater.

The 6-foot-9 Flagg suffered the injury during Dallas’ 138-125 loss to the San Antonio Spurs before the All-Star break on Feb. 7.

The Mavericks play next against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 20.

Dope to see Arianna Roberson in the building too. The Duke women are playing some elite hoops too. https://t.co/MTb5DfKqT4

— D.H. (@DHtheComposer) February 17, 2026

Flagg is averaging 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per contest across 49 games, while shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and 30.2 percent from 3.

No. 3 Duke (24-2) travels to Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., for a non-conference clash with No. 1 Michigan (24-1) on Saturday.

The second month of the calendar year started with a couple of convincing wins over the Clippers and Warriors for the Sixers in the midst of a West Coast swing. Since that Warriors win on Feb. 3, Philadelphia has won one game. It got blown out by Portland and New York in its final two games before the All-Star break and the team’s trade deadline certainly left fans scratching their heads to say the least.

However, as the team prepares to resume its season, there’s reason to believe it can start racking up some wins again. Three of the Sixers’ first four games out of the break are against sub-.500 teams with Atlanta, New Orleans and Indiana on the horizon. The first week of March also features a home game against Utah and another Atlanta game as well. While the last couple of weeks have been rough, it’s important to keep things in perspective as Philly prepares to resume the season with a record of 30-24.

The Sixers’ preseason win total was 42.5 at most sportsbooks entering 2025-26. Barring a cataclysmic final two months of the regular season, they’re going to go over that number. Should they finish in the neighborhood of 44-46 wins, that would likely be enough to avoid the play-in tournament as one of the top six seeds in the Eastern Conference. Who in their right mind would complain about that?

Perhaps the last couple weeks have given Sixers fans a sobering reality check that it’s the same old Sixers team that’s going to disappoint you the moment you allow yourself to get sucked back into believing they could make a deep playoff run. Frankly, for as much as the franchise has been made fun of for its countless exits in the second round of the playoffs within the last decade, just making it to the second round this spring would be an overachievement.

Whether you cared or not about the All-Star weekend festivities, the Rising Stars challenge was another nice moment in the spotlight for VJ Edgecombe who continues to look like one of the NBA’s best rookies in 2025-26. Games like Atlanta, New Orleans and Indiana offer Edgecombe and the rest of Philly’s younger players who have been seeing a lot of minutes a chance to prove they belong in the NBA. In Edgecombe’s case, these upcoming games are a chance for him to show he can thrive in the NBA.

If you check the secondary market prices for these games, you’ll notice they aren’t expensive, and why would they be? The Sixers are a slightly better than average team in the East with an exhausted fanbase that has largely tuned them out and these upcoming opponents are certainly not generating any buzz. But racking up wins against some of the NBA’s bottom feeders should at least rebuild the team’s confidence after getting whitewashed by Portland and New York prior to the All-Star break.

A lot of this probably sounds like patting a high school team on the back for beating a team that barely has enough players to even play the game should the Sixers start the second half hot. But this is the lens that we must continue to view 2025-26 through. Philadelphia is never going to be considered one of the NBA’s upper echelon title contenders. But it should still be good enough to dispose of the majority of the lottery teams on its schedule. Expectations go away by the time the playoffs come around this spring because they never were that high to begin with for this season. That’s actually kind of refreshing, and so yes, it’ll be nice to see the Sixers pick up a few wins out of the break, regardless of who the opponent is.

AMES, Iowa – Sixth-ranked Iowa State made plays big and small, though always critical, to turn a 10-point second-half deficit into a 70-67 victory — a beautiful, wonderful and incredible victory — over No. 2 Houston on Feb. 17. 

“Stepping up and having the courage to make the plays that need to be made,” future Hall of Famer and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, “they did tonight, and we didn’t.” 

The moment that will always lead any discussion about this instant classic will, undoubtedly, be Nate Heise’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 77 ticks of the clock remaining. 

NCAA tournament bracketology: UConn rises in projection as Selection Sunday nears

Earlier in the half, Heise briefly lost vision in his right eye after being poked, but, luckily enough, Heise has a third eye. 

“It was funny — with about a minute and a half left, I went up to (teammate Jamarion Batemon),” Heise said, “and I told him either him or I are going to have a 3 in the corner, and it’s going to win us the game.” 

Which is exactly what happened. 

Trailing by two, Iowa State saw its possession break down, looking destined to fail as Joshua Jefferson had the ball at the top of the key without much chance of making a play himself with the shot clock barreling toward zero. The virtuoso passing big man, though, made the perfect skip pass to the corner, where Heise caught it and seemingly released it in the same motion. 

Splash. 

“(The Cougars) take away a lot of things, but sometimes that backside skip is open,” Heise said of how he came to the prediction he shared with Batemon. 

Still, he had to make the dang thing. 

“It was one of the easier mindset things because you really have no other choice,” Heise said. “You’re not going to be able to pass the ball — there's not enough time. When you’ve got no other choice, it’s muscle memory.” 

Heise’s triple will be the moment that lasts from this game, but it arrived only because of so many that led up to it. 

Like Batemon's own 3 in the corner on the previous possession, one that sort of arrived by chance. Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger was trying to get Batemon out of the game for Milan Momcilovic, but the 51% 3-point shooter didn’t get to the scorer’s table early. Then Houston’s Milos Uzan missed the front-end of a one-and-one, so in Batemon stayed. 

Then he buried a triple, and Momcilovic headed back to the bench to watch his teammate and fellow Milwaukee metro native finish the game. 

“(Momcilovic looked at me and he said, ‘You want me to go back to the bench?’” Otzelberger said. “Almost like he was halfway up already saying, let him go, he’s looking good.’  

“That speaks to what a great leader and teammate Milan is.” 

If we’re talking about great leaders and teammates, though, Tamin Lipsey gets top billing. 

The Ames native and Iowa State senior made the type of plays only he can time and again for the Cyclones, giving the type of boost you wouldn't have even thought possible. 

“There’s no script when Tamin’s out there,” Otzelberger said. “He just finds a way to make plays nobody else has seen a guy make.” 

The most important of which came with four seconds remaining.

Blake Buchanan, a 44% free-throw shooter, stepped to the line to try to improve upon Iowa State’ two-point lead. But, as 44% free-throw shooters often do, Buchanan missed the front-end. 

Cue the "Mighty Mouse" music, though, because here Lipsey comes to save the day, swooping in to steal the rebound and the win. 

Which, crazily enough, was the third time Iowa State got an offensive rebound on a free throw. 

And if that’s not zany enough for you, how about the Cyclones playing the last 18 minutes of the game without a turnover against a Houston team that ranks among the nation’s best at creating turnovers. 

The Cyclones needed it all against a truly terrific Houston team that matched the Cyclones punch for punch for almost the entire evening. Both teams are no-doubt Final Four contenders. 

But when Heise's 3 found the net, and Hilton Coliseum got as loud as I’ve heard it since the 21-point second-half comeback against Oklahoma in 2015, the Cyclones proved themselves just a little bit better on their homecourt. 

“That’s how you win,” Sampson said. 

Play after play after play.  

Then, when that final one comes, you make that one, too, and collect all the glory, memories and possibilities that come along with it. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iowa State basketball beats No. 2 Houston in instant classic