Category: Basketball

“Time does not exist as a horizontal line but rather in a vertical relationship to the present.”
—Rebecca Walker

Stop. Find your DeLorean, TARDIS, displacement sphere, or phone booth—whatever you’ve got access to. Set the destination. Close your eyes.

When you arrive, it’s 2003. The San Antonio Spurs have just won the NBA championship in a 4-2 rock fight against the New Jersey Nets. Only twice did either team break 90. Tim Duncan holds the crown as the best player in the league and bigs continue to rule supreme; the last of the great dinosaurs. The game is played down low. Slow. Like the August news cycle.

But around the corner, change looms.

A transatlantic migration has already begun. A new regnal era approaches. Threatening that is a one-and-done collegiate champion.

In the shadows, a flash.

Cyclical: The context

State of the franchise

First, the timing. Coming off a relative golden era, the Miami Heat are in the NBA’s basement. Seven-time All-Star; two-time All-NBA, All-Defensive, and Defensive Player of the Year; and best player in franchise history, Alonzo Mourning, just missed the entirety of the 2002-2003 season as the Heat finished 25-57, the fourth-worst record in the league. Then, in the offseason, he rips the franchise’s heart out, joining the rival Nets in a move NBA GMs envision having the third most impact of any player acquisition. And so the Heat are forced to retool, placing their bets on an uber-talented 6’10” forward with plenty of question marks and a freshly-drafted 6’4” combo-guard dubbed an “NCAA Tournament standout [who] can contribute now.”

That combo-guard is Dwyane Wade.

Draft class

Despite being a highly-touted prospect, Wade doesn’t have the fanfare of his draft class counterparts. He isn’t a 6’8” teenage phenom ready to transform a long-suffering franchise. Nor is he a polished, inside-and-out forward ready to drop 20 a night from the jump. He doesn’t have the tantalising appeal of a versatile, lithe big, either. Even “worse,” he’s older than all of them, putting a supposed cap on his ceiling.

Despite these limitations, Wade bursts onto the scene, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting with 117 points, trailing only LeBron James (508 points) and Carmelo Anthony (430 points). More importantly, he helps the Heat surpass the 35 wins projected for them prior to the season, finishing 42-40 and beating the New Orleans Hornets in the first round before succumbing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That offseason, Miami trades for Shaquille O’Neal and, well, you know the rest from there.

Now and then: The players

Scouting report

Now, the players. Here, in all of its archival glory—courtesy of another time-bending device (the Wayback Machine)—is Wade’s NBA Draft.net pre-draft scouting report. And here, as you see it today, is Burries’.

From a qualitative standpoint, it’s hard not to see the parallels. Different worlds, different era, remarkably similar players. For starters, they are—for the sake of this exercise, and considering time’s vertical stacking, we’ll stick with present tense—both physical guards with NBA-ready frames:

• Now: Burries is a “Strong, well-built guard with good positional size and an NBA-ready frame”
• Then: Wade “Has an NBA ready body”

Both also excel because of their fast-twitch first steps:

• Now: Burries “Shows a deliberate and quick first step that allows him to gain separation off the dribble.”
• Then: Wade “Possesses one of the most explosive first steps in all of college basketball…”

They weaponise both of these—physicality and explosion—to finish through contact too:

• Now: Burries “Excels in transition where his blend of strength, coordination, and athleticism allows him to finish above the rim or through contact.”
• Then: Wade “Has an NBA ready body which usually allows him to finish after contact occurs”

And excel as rebounders despite their shorter statures:

• Now: Burries “Does a very good job rebounding the ball for a guard”
• Then: Wade “is an excellent rebounder”

Both even raise similar lead-guard concerns:

• Now: Burries has “questions about his full-time point guard projection,” is “Still developing as a pure facilitator in pick-and-roll situations,” and has a “Handle [that] is solid but not elite”
• Then: Wade “is dangerously close to being a combo guard. Too small to be a shooting guard not enough point guard skills to run a team offense” and his “ball handling could stand to be improved if he is to play some point guard in the NBA” 

As defenders, they are disruptive:

• Now: Burries is a “Disruptive defensive presence with solid anticipation (1.5 spg), frequently jumping passing lanes and creating turnovers,” a “Physical defender who competes on that end and uses strength well at the point of attack,” and “Shows the ability to impact the game on both ends with his energy, instincts, and feel”
• Then: Wade “Plays solid perimeter defense and understands how to cut-off the passing lanes”

Beyond skillsets, both exhibit clear leadership qualities too:

• Now: Burries “Emerged as Arizona’s go-to scorer and emotional leader” and is a “High-level competitor with clear leadership traits”
• Then: Wade “Plays very poised and mature for his age. Seems to maintain the same facial expression regardless if his team is up or down by 30 points” and “Has become more of a leader this year”

Remove the names throughout these and you’d be hard pressed to work out which describes whom. The point is clear: prior to playing a game in the L, Burries and Wade were seen by scouts in the same light.

Need more? You’ve got it.

Measurables

From a quantitative standpoint, using Tankathon’s historical NBA Combine data, the parallels between Wade and Burries are even more concrete:

While Wade’s length is the glaring exception, allowing him to do preternatural stuff like this, the numbers are otherwise eerily similar. That Burries actually bests Wade in maximum vertical is especially interesting considering the disparity in athleticism-related superlatives surrounding them (conversationally and, to an extent, in their scouting reports). So, is this more a case of temporal dilation, where Wade appears to explode at a quicker rate than Burries but doesn’t actually? You know, because of the relative quickening of the league and increased gravitational pressure of the three ball.

On that note, Burries’ prowess as a shooter shouldn’t be seen as a point of contention in any comparison with Wade. It is merely a byproduct of time revisiting itself. No Terminator is the same as its predecessor—but they are equally (relatively) destructive.

And this, my friends—contextually, stylistically, and physically—is what we have in Brayden Burries: Dwyane Wade, reincarnate.

Just wait and see.

Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney, in a summary of things left unresolved at summer’s end, reports that the Brooklyn Nets and their high scorer from last year appear to be at an impasse over an extension, raising the possibility that if it continues, Michael Porter Jr. might be on the trade block.

Porter is in an odd spot because he needs an extension as he heads into the final year of his contract, at $40 million. He showed All-Star ability when given more free reign last year, but that was on a bad Nets team. Brooklyn should be better this year, and Porter will need to show he can keep putting up star numbers on a team that is trying. But if an extension does not get done … what then?

Deveney quotes an “Eastern Conference executive” on the possibility:

“I think what he did last year is legit and teams are going to see it that way. But the problem you have is if you trade for him, are you going to extend him and what is the number? The Nuggets overpaid him when they gave him that extension, and if he wants to be paid based on that, that is not going to be an easy sell. If he can accept getting into a salary slot that makes more sense for him, you can make that trade. It’s an expiring deal but the Nets would get a first-round pick for him still.”

Just turned 28, MPJ is now after that big Nuggets contract an expiring deal worth $40.8 million, which is $7 million more than any other Nets player will receive this year. And even though Sean Marks has said all the right things about Porter Jr. and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, has said all the right things about the way the Nets and particularly Jordi Fernandez, have treated him and how happy he is, it is a business and the two sides have different views on what should happen next.

“I’m sure we’ll have those discussions. I think we’ve got time. There’s no immediate hurry right now with Mike. We value him a lot. He had a terrific year last year, arguably his best year as a pro. I give him a lot of credit for that,” Marks said back on July 16. “It’s been great to see what Mike’s done for us. I look forward to having those discussions, and seeing what Mike can do the rest of the summer and the rest of the season.”

So, no urgency?

“No, any time you’re in a hurry, that’s when people make mistakes,” Marks added. “We’ve got a well-thought-out plan here over not only the last couple of years but the couple of years ahead. We’re gonna try and find who the next Nets are gonna be. I don’t think we wanna do anything hastily or in a rush here.”

And indeed, the Nets can extend Porter Jr. at any time up until July 6 of next year. But Bartelstein sees things differently, as presumably does his client. MPJ has recently talked about how he sees his life beyond basketball, but this could very well be his last chance to make the big bucks.

“Michael loves it in Brooklyn. Jordi has been great for him… I think it’s a great fit,” Bartelstein said in a SiriusXM Radio interview at around the same time. “But that’s something Sean and I have to sit down and talk about. The Nets have to ultimately chart out their course for the way they want to go forward, and we have to do the same thing for Michael. If we can make it work where there’s a long-term fit, that would be awesome. But that’s what we’re gonna be talking about in the days ahead.”

Reportedly the two sides have spoken since but beyond that, there’s been little news. As Deveney noted, Porter Jr. wants a deal that will pay him beyond that $40.8 million and presumably over a longer term than the Nets feel comfortable with. Indeed, it would appear that the length of an extension may be a bigger issue than money. With many teams hamstrung by the luxury tax and first or second aprons, the trend is for shorter deals. The Nets, while not anywhere near either, see themselves in rebuild, if not tanking mode, and don’t appear to want to take on big, long term deals. As we reported Monday in our Off-Season Report:

They do not want, at least at this point in the rebuild, to cut long-term deals either. Thus, the impasse with Michael Porter Jr. as well as the team and “mutual” second-year options Minott, Day’Ron Sharpe, Moe Wagner and Keon Ellis agreed to this summer.

Indeed, other than seven rookies with their two-year guarantees on four-year deals, only Terance Mann is owed guaranteed money beyond this season. He’s got $31 million left on his deal. Julius Randle has a player option. The roster is built to turn on a dime and unsentimentally move on.

In addition, a solution suggested by more than one set of pundits now seems unlikely. Yossi Gozlan and Sam Quinn speculated in July that the Nets could use some of their cap space to give Porter Jr. an immediate raise to say $49 million, then fill out an extension at a lower salary, perhaps in the 30 million dollar range? In that configuration, the two suggested, the Nets could sign Moe Wagner to the room MLE at $9.2 million and pay MPJ out of cap space. But since then, Wagner was signed out of cap space, not the MLE, leaving Brooklyn with only $1.7 million under the cap, per Spotrac.

Whether Porter Jr. would have accepted that is another thing. There was no indication of that.

He did speak about contract negotiations Monday in an interview with Peyton Watson, his former teammate with the Nuggets, but that discussion on his Curious Mike podcast focused not on his situation but Watson’s. (Porter sure seemed like he was recruiting the 23-year-old to the Nets at one point earlier in the summer, but the Nets never seemed that interested.)

What could MPJ bring back in a trade? Another first round pick to add to the 13 firsts and 19 seconds they have already banked? What about as a nice piece in a trade deadline deal for a younger player come February? Whoever takes him on whether for a pick or player would also have to talk to Bartelstein about his future and the issues would likely be the same for that team as for the Nets. What’s his market?

Bottom line seems that the Nets do indeed like Porter Jr. as player and team leader — and need him if they’re going to satisfy their fans need for some wins this season, Marks and Joe Tsai seem ready to stay their course, that “well-thought out plan” Marks mentioned.

And as noted, there’s plenty to time.

• NBA Trade Rumors: Deal Cost for Kyrie Irving, Trey Murphy & More – Sean Deveney – Heavy.com

The NBA’s few remaining notable agents not named Jalen Duren have started flying off the board over the past few weeks. Peyton Watson is now a Cleveland Cavalier. DeMar DeRozan is now a Denver Nugget. Jonathan Kuminga is now a Minnesota Timberwolf? Sure, whatever.

The latest came Thursday when the Heat landed Nick Richards on a one-year, presumably veteran-minimum contract, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. Richards led our late-July list of free-agent options for the Sixers if they missed out on LeBron James, but fortunately, they landed LeBron the day after that piece published. You’re welcome, America.

After signing LeBron and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Sixers are roughly $1.8 million below their $209.0 million first-apron hard cap. They currently do not have enough space under the first apron to sign anyone to a minimum contract other than undrafted rookies.

Fortunately, minimum contracts begin to prorate downward daily once the regular season begins. By early December, the Sixers should have enough wiggle room to fill their remaining open roster spot, although they’ll likely keep it open until the trade deadline to see which options shake free.

If the following free agents don’t find new homes before the start of the season, the Sixers should at least keep tabs on them as potential in-season options.

Kelly Olynyk, PF/C

Kelly Olynyk averaged a career-low 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game across 42 appearances with the San Antonio Spurs last season. Granted, he was on a roster with four other centers. The Spurs relied on Luke Kornet as their primary backup to French wunderkind Victor Wembanyama, which left Olynyk battling with Mason Plumlee and Bismack Biyombo for table scraps.

The 35-year-old Olynyk might be fully washed at this point of his career. But if nothing else, he’d at least add a different look to the Sixers’ frontcourt behind Joel Embiid, Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti.

Bona has hit exactly two three-pointers across the first two years of his NBA career, while Hukporti has only one. Olynyk knocked down 12 last year alone and is a career 36.9 percent shooter from deep on 3.0 attempts per game.

Olynyk likely wouldn’t supplant Bona and/or Hukporti as the primary backup to Embiid. But if the Sixers occasionally wanted to trot out lineups with a floor-spacing center, he’d give them the ability to do so.

Kevin Love, C

Speaking of floor-spacing big men… it appears as though Kevin Love is already eyeing a reunion with LeBron, whom he played alongside for four years in Cleveland.

The soon-to-be 38-year-old Love is even older than Olynyk, but he’s still been productive in limited spurts in recent years. He averaged 6.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 made threes in only 16.6 minutes per game across 37 outings with the Utah Jazz last season.

Even in his prime, Love didn’t provide much rim protection, but he’s an elite rebounder and an above-average three-point shooter. His locker room leadership and built-in chemistry with LeBron is a plus, too. NBA teams can never have too many Good Vibes guys.

It wouldn’t be remotely surprising if Love winds up snagging the Sixers’ final roster spot at some point this season.

Bruce Brown Jr., SG

During a Bleacher Report livestream on Tuesday, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported Bruce Brown Jr. “would have been in the mix in Philadelphia” had the Sixers not landed LeBron. However, KCP “kind of came as a bit of a package deal” with LeBron, which effectively closed the door on Brown landing with the Sixers this offseason.

“Bruce Brown is going to be playing for some type of playoff-caliber team this season,” Fischer added. “It’s just a matter of where and a matter of when.”

Fischer mentioned the Los Angeles Lakers as one possible Brown suitor, although they already have 16 players on guaranteed contracts. Unless they’re able to salary-dump two of those deals, they already have work to do just to get down to the 15-man roster maximum before they turn their attention to Brown.

If Brown can’t find a new home this offseason, the Sixers should keep tabs on the do-it-all 30-year-old. He averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 24.4 minutes per game off the bench in Denver last season, and he was a key reserve in the Nuggets’ championship run during the 2022-23 campaign.

Jeff Green, PF

What’s better than having one 40-year-old on your roster? Having two 40-year-olds on your roster.

Jeff Green just turned 40 on Aug. 28. He shot a career-worst 36.8 percent overall this past season and averaged a career-low 2.2 points and 0.8 rebounds in only 5.8 minutes per game off the bench in Houston, which hardly inspires much confidence. However, he averaged a far more respectable 5.4 points in 12.4 minutes per game while shooting 50.4 percent overall in 2024-25.

The Sixers do seem to be lacking forward depth behind LeBron and Jaylen Brown, particularly at the 3, barring a leap from Justin Edwards. Green is far more of a power forward at this stage of his career than a small forward, but he’d give the Sixers another warm body off the bench to join Edwards, Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker.

Green did play one season alongside LeBron in Cleveland in 2017-18, and he also won a championship with the Nuggets in 2022-23. He’d mostly be a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option at forward for the Sixers, but his locker room leadership could go a long way as the Sixers look to put aside their egos for the greater good this season.

Drew Eubanks, C

After spending the first three-and-a-half years of his NBA career in San Antonio, Drew Eubanks has bounced between the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings over the past four seasons alone. The 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds that he averaged during a 22-game stint in Portland in 2021-22 proved to be a mirage, but he’s been steadily productive in limited minutes ever since.

Across that four-year stretch, Eubanks has averaged 5.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in only 15.8 minutes per game while shooting 61.3 percent overall. He’s taken threes sparingly, although he’s 14-of-34 from distance (41.2 percent) during that span.

Eubanks might not be a long-range bomber like Kelly Olynyk or Kevin Love, but as Andre Drummond proved last season, the occasional out-of-nowhere three-pointer from a backup big man can still be demoralizing for opponents. At 6’10” and 245 pounds, he at least has the size to hold down the fort for a few minutes whenever Embiid is off the floor.

Granted, players typically don’t bounce between that many teams for no good reason. One look at Eubanks’ Dunks and Threes page gives a solid clue as to why he’s already become an NBA journeyman.

Tony Bradley, C

Once a Sixer, always a Sixer?

The Sixers acquired Tony Bradley in November 2020 in exchange for Zhaire Smith (sigh). He was the third-string center that season behind Embiid and Dwight Howard, although he did play in 20 games and made eight starts. The Sixers then flipped him and a handful of second-round picks for George Hill at the trade deadline, which blew up in their face almost immediately.

After Bradley’s brief stint with the OKC Thunder, he spent two years in Chicago, 1.5 years in Indianapolis and had a cup of coffee in Atlanta last season. He’d be nothing more than another insurance policy in case Embiid went down with a long-term injury, but that’s still a valuable archetype for the Sixers given Embiid’s injury history.

Granted, having to choose between the likes of Bradley, Eubanks and Green or someone who shakes free at the trade deadline is exactly why the Sixers figure to leave that roster spot open for now. It would behoove them to spend the first few months of the season identifying their new-look roster’s biggest needs before seeking to address those.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Really, how often do you remember Rowan Junior?

Mayor Zohran Mamdani did. Speaking at the Knicks’ championship ceremony at City Hall on June 18, he made sure RJ Barrett’s name was included among those who helped build the title team:

“This championship belongs to them too, because championships aren’t just built in one season. It belongs to Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, and also to a coach who also laid the groundwork, Tom Thibodeau.”

Still, Barrett has become strangely easy to overlook when we talk about the era that began with Thibodeau, Julius Randle, and the 2020–21 “We Here” Knicks. On this date, September 1, 2022, RJ signed an extension that appeared to establish him as part of the long-term core; 16 months later, he became the central piece of the trade that brought OG Anunoby to New York.

Rowan Alexander “RJ” Barrett Jr. arrived with bona fide basketball bloodlines. His father, Rowan Barrett Sr., starred at St. John’s, played professionally overseas, captained Canada at the 2000 Olympics, and later became general manager of Canada Basketball. His mother, Kesha, was a nationally ranked sprinter and long jumper at St. John’s. Steve Nash, one of the greatest Canadian basketball players ever, is RJ’s godfather. With all that preceding him, clearly young RJ was destined to be a professional bowler.

Born in Toronto in 2000, Barrett starred at St. Marcellinus before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida. By the end of his high school career, he was the consensus No. 1 recruit in the class of 2018, with Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year honors in his trophy case.

Barrett entered Duke as the projected top pick in the 2019 draft, but his roommate Zion Williamson quickly became the main attraction in Durham. The two became close friends, referred to each other as brothers, and made history as the first freshman teammates to each average more than 20 points. Williamson’s gravitational pull (literal and figurative) pushed Barrett into the background somewhat, even as RJ set ACC freshman scoring records and earned consensus first-team All-American honors.

Meanwhile, the 2018–19 Knicks were deliberately dreadful, finishing 17–65 during the first season of the new lottery odds. Their 14% chance at Williamson turned into the third pick, with New Orleans selecting Zion and Memphis taking Ja Morant. Barrett was still considered a top-three talent and a clean fit for New York, so the Knicks pounced without hesitation. Still…he wasn’t Zion. (I still think about the woman who got the Zion Knicks tattoo ahead of draft night and wonder if she still has it…)

On draft night at Barclays Center, RJ became emotional when Adam Silver called his name, later explaining that his late maternal grandfather, a die-hard Knicks fan with Brooklyn and Jamaica roots, used to tell him he would someday play for the club. After his press conference, Barrett turned toward the cameras and declared, “Yo! I’m a Knick!” His excitement was so sweetly genuine: he wanted New York, and New York wanted him right back (but…he still wasn’t Zion…).

Barrett’s rookie season was uneven, with 14.3 points per game on inefficient shooting. Thibodeau’s arrival changed the direction of the franchise and helped Barrett find firmer footing. He averaged 17.6 points in 2020–21, improved his shooting, defended harder, and helped Randle carry New York into the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

RJ reached 20 points per game the following season and continued to start nearly every night. When the Knicks extended him in September 2022, Barrett was only 22 and still looked like a key piece in whatever New York was becoming.

The fit never completely worked, though. Barrett and Randle both did their best work inside the arc, which cramped the paint, and Barrett never became a reliable enough three-point shooter or natural enough playmaker to solve the problem (particularly after Captain Brunson arrived). He could still bully his way downhill and occasionally produce a great Garden moment. His banked-in buzzer-beater that completed a comeback against Boston in January 2022 is a recent classic. Consistency, however, remained elusive.

Then, on December 30, 2023, the Knicks sent Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a second-round pick to Toronto for Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi (Evil Donte) Flynn. Anunoby’s defense and seamless fit transformed the team almost immediately, and it quickly became a pretty lopsided trade.

For Barrett, the deal meant going home. He became a steady 20-point scorer in Toronto, showed growth as a playmaker, and continued using his strength to batter his way toward the rim. Life hit him with tragedy when his younger brother Nathan died following an illness in March 2024. Barrett stepped away from basketball before eventually returning and speaking openly about his grief: “He was my best friend…I’m always missing him. I still text him.” Our hearts went out to him and still do.

The championship story understandably centers on Brunson, Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. We love them all, but none were on the team when RJ arrived. MSG was still a sort of basketball wasteland. RJ brought some hope that someday soon, things would be different. He absorbed the expectations that came with being the third pick on a miserable team, helped the Knicks climb out of the lottery years, and supplied his share of memorable nights at the Garden. Mamdani remembered, and a few others still do. For a player once expected to become the face of the franchise, his name should come up more often.

Go Knicks.

Naomi Osaka channeled former NBA star Allen Iverson before her US Open first-round victory over Anastasia Zakharova on Monday.

Osaka made her usual fashionable entrance for her tournament opener, which she won in straight sets. The two-time US Open champion emerged on to the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium wearing a long, white skirt and a gray, hooded robe featuring newspaper clippings about her.

Related: Naomi Osaka’s jellyfish-inspired outfit steals the show at Australian Open

She then removed her hood revealing her cornrows under a headband, Iverson’s signature look when he was the NBA MVP while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. She also wore an arm sleeve, a look made popular by Iverson during his playing career.

Osaka is not the only Nike-sponsored athlete to wear a basketball-themed outfit at the US Open. World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is wearing an orange dress at the tournament, one of the colors of the New York Knicks, who won their first NBA title since 1973 in June.

“It’s my, I guess, my tribute to Iverson. I really like him a lot,” Osaka said after her 7-6, 7-6 victory. “I mean, Nike said basketball, so I said: ‘OK, you want basketball, I’ll give you basketball.’”

Osaka wore a shirt with Iverson’s picture when she spoke to reporters on Saturday, praising the Hall of Famer as a fashion trailblazer.

“I think he’s also someone that I look up to a lot, because he’s kind of done a lot in fashion, whether it’s on purpose or not, but he’s shifted the way that NBA players dress,” Osaka said on Saturday. “I also think the whole conversation around clothes in sports and also just expressing yourself through style, I feel like he’s someone that I look up to in that regard.”

She added that she had never spoken to Iverson, but he posted a message to Osaka on his Instagram page on Monday, writing: “Wow, what a honor!! BIG FAN can’t wait to meet you.”

Osaka has gained attention for her adventurous style at tournaments. At this year’s Wimbledon, the Japanese star wore a kimono-inspired outfit. At January’s Australian Open, she wore a jellyfish-themed outfit she said was inspired by her daughter’s bedtime stories.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Hawks fans and fans across the country.

With the news that Jonathan Kuminga has signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, all the major dominos in this summer’s free agency period have fallen. That means, barring a trade, the Hawks’ core roster is locked in for 2026-27.

With the team surging to the 6-seed after going 19-5 down the stretch of last season (20-6 after the All-Star break), the organization opted to retain flexibility and re-sign key free agents like CJ McCollum and Jock Landale to one-year contracts.

Add to the core of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker the former Thunder duo Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins, and you have a roster full of potential — but also one lacking the talent to truly compete.

So I turn this microphone over to you, what letter grade would you give the Hawks this offseason?

It’s a big day for Pounding The Rock. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Spurs. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for Brew Hoop. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Bucks. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our communities, including offering fewer ads and the addition of The Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for NetsDaily. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Nets. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

When I wrote about the NBA teams with the most to prove last summer, the first entry on the list was the New York Knicks. The Knicks had just fired Tom Thibodeau coming off a conference finals appearance, and they struck out on numerous head coaching candidates to replace him before settling on Mike Brown. A final four berth wasn’t good enough for New York; they traded away too much to build a perfect team around Jalen Brunson, and anything less than a trip to the NBA Finals was going to be a failure in a diminished Eastern Conference landscape with Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum both recovering from torn Achilles injuries.

The Knicks were good, not great, during the regular season, before finding a special level during the playoffs and winning their first championship since 1973. New York answered their biggest questions on the way to a title, but not every team was so lucky.

The upcoming 2026-27 season feels wide open. The NBA has had eight straight unique champions, and there’s a great chance that streak can extend another year. Some teams are facing more pressure than others. Here are the teams with the most to prove next season.

Philadelphia 76ers

Need to prove they can make the most of all this talent.

The Sixers haven’t even made the Eastern Conference Finals since before 9/11. Philly has been flirting with building a contender for Joel Embiid’s entire career, cycling through co-stars like Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, James Harden … dare I bring up Markelle Fultz? To say it’s been a wild decade for the Sixers would be an understatement, but in many ways it all feels like it’s built toward this season. Embiid is in a diminished state at age-32 due to injuries, but at this point he’s more of an extra ingredient than the meat and potatoes of Philly’s stew. The Sixers traded for Jaylen Brown, signed LeBron James, and added some nice depth pieces in Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, and Labaron Philon over the summer. The expectation will be that the Sixers are the biggest threat to the Knicks in the East come playoff time, but with a loaded conference and legitimate questions about fit and durability, there are plenty of pitfalls before they get there. The Sixers won’t meet expectations if Embiid’s body keeps falling apart, and LeBron declines steeply at age-42. They need Jaylen Brown to buy into a lower usage role than the one he had last year in Boston, and they need the bench to plug the holes in a top-heavy starting lineup. It feels like Philly enters the season with more variance than the typical contender due to Embiid’s injury history, LeBron’s age, and Brown’s fit. Their championship window won’t be cracked open for long. That makes them the team under the most pressure this season.

Boston Celtics

Prove that trading Jaylen Brown was worth it.

The decision to trade Jaylen Brown was never about just this season for the Celtics. They got back potentially valuable first-round draft picks in 2028 and 2031 in the deal, which they hope will set them up with a younger co-star for the end of Jayson Tatum’s prime. Given how quick the public is to rush to judgment, though, it sure would help Boston if it at least maintains the level it showed last season. I’m buying the Celtics as a very good regular season team once again. They’re essentially replacing Brown with a full year of Tatum, Mitchell Robinson, and Paul George. I could see Payton Pritchard taking a leap in production with more on-ball opportunities, and I could see Derrick White shooting the ball better with more in-rhythm attempts available without Brown’s ball-dominant style around. It’s inevitable that anyone who hated the Brown trade for Boston will take a victory lap if and when the Celtics’ season ends in the playoffs, but it’s important to remember this team lost in the first-round last year even with Brown. The Celtics can come out of this trade looking great if they get one of the top seeds in the East, and potentially finish with more wins than Philly during the regular season. The book on this trade can’t be written until those future picks pay off, but it will be hard for the Celtics to deal with the bad PR if this team falls on its face. The East is loaded, and there’s certainly a chance Boston misses Brown’s rugged physicality, durability, and volume scoring. It may not be fair, but the Celtics can’t take a huge step back in their first season without Brown if they want to avoid a black eye.

Los Angeles Lakers

Prove that this is the best place for Luka Doncic long-term.

The Lakers were already going to be facing a ton of pressure this season even before their messy ownership changes. Lead executive Rob Pelinka made one of the boldest bets of the summer by trading two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round swaps to the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler. It’s easy to see the vision: LA wanted a young, rim protecting center behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and it’s hard to do better than Kessler in that regard. They just gave up a lot for him, and now can’t trade a future first-round pick for seven years. Doncic has a huge spotlight on him this season. In an era where everyone is winning championships — even Doncic’s former backup in Dallas — it would be odd and kind of embarrassing if he can’t get one. Luka will be extension eligible after this season. He’ll probably take the money and lock in long-term, but it’s no guarantee if things go sideways for the Lakers this year. It’s easy to forget that this team won 53 games last year even with Doncic missing a lot of time. They will have a way better center this year, but the forward room is a major question mark. The Lakers obviously need perimeter defenders around Doncic and Reaves, and I think they made a few good bets in there with Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Adou Thiero, and Chris Manon even if they’re mostly long-shots. A first-round playoff exit won’t be good enough for the Lakers this season. They need to show they can push the Thunder and Spurs for being the best in the West.

Denver Nuggets

Prove they’re still a Western Conference Contender.

The Nuggets felt like a championship threat entering the 2026 playoffs. Then they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round in six games, and had the rest of the league questioning whether they’ve been passed by their Western Conference rivals. Nikola Jokic remains as great as any player in the game, but it sure feels like the arrow is pointing down for most of his supporting cast. Aaron Gordon can’t stay healthy, Cam Johnson had a disappointing first season, and Christian Braun suddenly looks like one of the most overpaid players in basketball. The only real notable thing the Nuggets did this offseason was lose Peyton Watson to the Cavs in restricted free agency, and while I like that deal for Denver long-term, it provides another big hit to this year’s rotation. All things are possible through Jokic, so I’m not going to write the Nuggets off yet, but it sure feels like the vibes are bad heading into this season. If things go poorly, there could be some fretting over Jokic’s future as he enters a contract year without an extension. Jokic sure seems committed to Denver, but he also wants to win. Can he still do that with the Nuggets?

Minnesota Timberwolves

Prove they can beat the best of the West.

I’m old enough to remember when the Wolves were one of the worst franchises in the league, going 13 years between playoff appearances. Now Minnesota has been to the playoffs five straight years, and they’ve won five series over their last three trips. This is a consistently very good team with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, but they still haven’t gotten over the hump in the West. The Wolves made a bold trade for LaMelo Ball this summer for a few reasons. His elite playmaking should help cover up Edwards’ deficiencies in that area, his pull-up three-point shooting introduces more variance against elite defenses, and it’s possible his arrival could deter some of the vultures potentially circling around Edwards if he ever requests a trade. I hated the LaMelo trade for Charlotte. I liked it, didn’t love it, for Minnesota, mostly because his durability is such a big question mark. I already had Minnesota at No. 4 in my preseason power rankings even before they added Jonathan Kuminga. I’ve never been high on Kuminga as a player, but for some reason I find myself buying into the fit in Minnesota. The Wolves needed a little more size and physicality in the front court, and Kuminga is a bit underrated as a rebounder and defender when he’s not trying to be an iso scorer. It feels like so much of this season falls on the shoulders of Gobert, and I worry he could be starting to decline. There are some real question marks for this team, but their upside feels like it’s higher than anyone in the West this side of OKC and San Antonio. The pressure is on to put it all together.

Indiana Pacers

Prove they can get back to being an East contender.

The last time the Pacers were healthy, they went on one of the most magical NBA Finals runs in league history. They might have won it all if Tyrese Haliburton didn’t tear his Achilles in Game 7 against the Thunder. After a 19-win season as their star guard recovered, Haliburton is back and so are Indiana’s expectations. The Pacers made an extremely bold trade for Ivica Zubac at the deadline that ended up costing them the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 draft. There was probably no path back to immediate contention without a center upgrade, though, and Zubac is very good even if he has a different skill set than Myles Turner, the man he’s replacing. Haliburton is one-man offense in many ways with his rare ability to push the pace without turning it over. Does that system still work with a slower, more rim-oriented big man in Zubac who doesn’t stretch the floor like Turner? Can the role players who were so key during the 2025 Finals run find the same magic again? It feels like Haliburton has a huge range of outcomes this year. He could be First-Team All-NBA, or he could fail to make the All-Star team coming back from the injury. The Pacers aren’t expected to be one of the East’s best teams by the sportsbooks, and Haliburton’s return game somehow got buried at New Orleans. No one knows what to do with the Pacers entering the season, but this team knows how good it can be.

Portland Trail Blazers

Prove that last year was no fluke.

The Blazers were one of the feel-good stories of the league last season, making the playoffs for the first time in five years despite their head coach getting arrested after the opening game of the season. It’s hard to feel good about anything that’s happened to the franchise since Tom Dundon bought the team, and that makes keeping their positive momentum going even more imperative this year. The Blazers have a deep collection of guards, but sometimes I think they might be better off starting the two that are slated to come off the bench in Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday. How do Damian Lillard and Ja Morant fit together? Can Donovan Clingan take a leap to turn into one of the West’s better centers? Can Deni Avdija’s All-Star brand of bully ball keep thriving with a different head coach and new supporting cast? The West is really tough as always, which means a step back is on the table for Portland. They need to prove that last year was just the start of something bigger.

Hey there, Dub Nation. I’m here to let you know that it’s a big day for Golden State Of Mind. Because today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way for you to follow the Warriors, read about the Warriors, comment on the Warriors, and argue about the Warriors.

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, which included limiting our ads, and implementing the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and, yes, even fewer ads with the arrival of our app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ (not just the Warriors!) posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community, and any other communities that you’re a part of.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. The app is currently only available for US users.

It’s a big day for SLC Dunk. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Jazz. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for Posting and Toasting. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Knicks. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.

It’s a big day for The Dream Shake. Today, the SB Nation app is live, and it’s the best way to follow the Rockets. 

You can download it by searching SB Nation for iOS or Android.

A year ago we made some big changes to our community, including offering fewer ads and the addition of the Feed. Today, we want to give you even more community tools and fewer ads with this app. It will make starting and joining conversations here as simple as posting to your favorite social media platform.

I grabbed it this weekend, and I’m typically not an app guy, but it’s way simpler to do pretty much everything if you’re accessing TDS on your phone at all. All your registered sites appear, you can scroll sideways right through them, then up or down to engage with an article or Feed post. Really cool. And you never know, there may even be a KD burner or two!

You can check out the video below showing off some of the useful features of the app, and we’ll dig into them below. 

Why should I download the app?

The app will be the easiest way to interact with everybody else in the community: 

• All your favorite teams’ posts in one dedicated feed
• Notifications when someone replies or recs your post
• New game thread section, with an  experience that’s smoother and faster
• Fewer ads
• Easily navigating between your favorite communities with a swipe

It will be the fastest way to read every post from our community.

How do I download the app?

Head over to the Apple store or the Android store to download the app. Today, the app is only available for US users.