Training camp is nearly upon us. Now is the time for Mitch Johnson and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff to see how roster plans will come to life. That means experimenting with lineups in practice and the preseason before the season starts on October 20th.

This season should be a lot of fun from a lineup-combination perspective. San Antonio has a lot of diverse talent, giving them versatility and depth they can lean on. The team will eventually settle into the rotation and lineup that will lead to the most success in a postseason run, but to start the season, there should be some tinkering here and there that will lead to some interesting 5-man groups.

Guessing what those lineups will be is easier for San Antonio than for many other teams. The Spurs have more roster continuity than most of the league. We should expect to see a lot of the same units as last year, but with Tobias Harris and Tarris Reed Jr. sprinkled in. It’s just enough of a change to look forward to the lineups that will define San Antonio’s 2026-27 season.

Starters and finishers?

De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Tobias Harris, Victor Wembanyama

I have banged the drum all offseason that Julian Champagnie should keep his starting spot heading into the regular season, despite the signing of Harris. However, the writing seems to be on the wall for Harris to take the four-man spot for San Antonio this season.

It makes sense; Harris is a veteran with a skill set the Spurs desperately needed last year. He’s a true forward with a big body who can defend decently well, hit threes (shot 36.8% from deep last year), and create his own shot when the offense stalls. He’s not quite the sharpshooter that Champagnie is, but makes up for it with those other skills

The rest of the group is exactly what you’d expect. This group (with Champagnie) had a +17.3 net rating last season and was San Antonio’s most effective lineup. A healthy and motivated De’Aaron Fox and a year-three leap from Stephon Castle could take this group to an even greater level.

We’ll see if this is indeed the closing group. If Champagnie is hot, it will be hard to keep him off the floor. If Dylan Harper takes another leap in year two, he will almost certainly need to be on the floor when the game is on the line.

Wemby-less group

Dylan Harper, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, Luke Kornet

Go figure: San Antonio was at its worst last season when Victor Wembanyama was on the bench. That was especially noticeable in the playoffs, where teams picked on Luke Kornet when Wembanyama went to the bench. That is now an established strategy this team will have to deal with. They can make Kornet’s life easier by improving the rest of the defense around him.

Harper and Bryant are two of the Spurs’ best perimeter defenders, and Champagnie has shown the ability to play in passing lanes and hold his own on defense. This bench lineup is much better defensively, which should help them maintain leads when the starters exit.

This group should have some offensive juice, too. Harper is one of the best sixth men in the NBA, Keldon Johnson is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Champagnie was a starter during the finals, and Bryant could make a leap.

Three-guard lineup

De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Tobias Harris, Victor Wembanyama

This is the group the Spurs have to make work. Fox, Harper, and Castle are too good to not find a way to play them all together. Those three only played 25 minutes together in the regular season, with a net rating of -26.9. Not great. San Antonio just never found a way to make the offense click with the three of them together.

Finding a way to make this work had to have been one of the coaching staff’s top priorities this offseason. This unit probably needs two major things to work: continued improvement in shooting from Castle and Harper, and more time on the court together. Harper shot 47.9% from three after the All-Star break last season, while Castle hit 41.7% of his threes in the same time frame. If that improvement carries over into the regular season, this lineup could sing. More than anything, this group just needs time to play together and figure out how to coexist.

Harris is a great add for this group, too. He helps them maintain size on the interior while not sacrificing shooting and playmaking. With Wembanyama on the floor, the team can maintain defensive dominance while maximizing playmaking and perimeter speed. On paper, it’s a lineup that makes a lot of sense; it just needs time to become one of the team’s go-to groups.

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For the first time in his NBA career, Joel Embiid is far down in the pecking order in terms of interesting narratives for this Sixers franchise.

You have LeBron James taking a minimum deal to seek a ring in Philadelphia of all places, where we haven’t hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy since 1983. Jaylen Brown has arrived via trade from the Sixers’ arch-rival to go on a scorched-earth, “Analytics are whack” campaign for the next eight months or so. We could even turn next to Tyrese Maxey’s continued ascension up the All-NBA ladder or VJ Edgecombe building on a stellar rookie campaign before arriving at Embiid.

Yet while the Sixers are better equipped than ever to go forward without Joel on a given night in November or February, he remains the lynchpin in this franchise’s championship aspirations. When available last season, he still played at an All-Star level, with averages of 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 blocks. It’s maybe 75-80 percent of his past MVP-level production, but still something only a dozen or so players in the league can replicate. While Philadelphia has any number of ball handlers and guys to score the basketball, they don’t have anyone else capable of being a two-way presence on the interior. Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti are not starters on a championship team, so Joel needs to be able to wade through two months of postseason action if this organization is going to reach its goal. The upside is the roster around him is better equipped than ever to get him to the postseason; the downside is everything else, which means at this point, we must bring up the criticisms from the haters…

They imagine he was a hurdle to overcome in LeBron coming to Philadelphia, but then James speaks glowingly about him. They fabricate some feud between him and Jaylen Brown because Joel isn’t all over social media welcoming Brown post-trade, but then it comes out that he was part of the group in constant communications with his new teammate. They bring up dietary stuff from ages ago, even though he’s in the best shape in years. They mention old maturity concerns that are basically a thing of the past now that Joel has found happiness in a family of his own and taken proactive steps to be in a better place mentally to sort through past traumas and setbacks. And yet, the “he’s never available” criticism does have some ring of truth to it, because…

It does feel like it’s always “something” with Joel. It doesn’t matter that he works his tail off to return and play with a facemask or a huge brace or whatever. Or that there are sometimes things entirely outside of his control, like his appendix bursting or coming down with a temporary neurological condition like Bell’s palsy. Any time there’s a prolonged period of things going well for Embiid, it seems like something is bound to pop up to ruin it. It’s frustrating. I guarantee he’s more frustrated about it than anyone. But to say you feel secure about his health or that you’re not worried about his body breaking down over the course of the season would be insane to me. Sometimes people’s bodies just do not cooperate and, unfortunately, we have years and years of evidence of that being the case for Joel.

So that’s where we are with Joel Embiid, a complicated situation as always. He’s somehow both far down on the list of importance for this Sixers roster, and maybe the most important. I would love, love, love for him to get his One Shining Moment, but like with his availability, I can’t say I’m counting on it. Let’s hope I’m wrong.

The Knicks filled out their training camp roster with familiar and expected names. 

Tyler Nickel, a second-round pick this year, and Kevin McCullar Jr., a second-round pick in 2024, were both officially signed Sunday to two-way contracts, the team announced. 

The moves pushed the Knicks to 20 bodies for training camp this week, one short of the maximum. 

Nickel, 23, who was drafted 47th overall in June, impressed in Summer League as a tall 3-point specialist at 6-foot-7.

The Vanderbilt product shot 41.3 percent on treys in five Summer League games in Vegas. 

Recent history suggests Nickel has a chance to make an impact. Three Knicks former second-round picks – Miles McBride, Tyler Kolek and Mohamed Diawara – are all on standard contracts this season. Nickel was also reportedly mulling a return to college to capitalize on an NIL payday. But, as The Post reported in August, he long ago decided to play this season with the Knicks. 

McCullar Jr., a 25-year-old guard, played the last two seasons with the Knicks, making a combined 25 appearances while averaging 2.2 points in 7.4 minutes on 40.7 percent shooting.

He had a breakthrough game in late December last season, helping the Knicks to victory in Atlanta with 13 points and eight boards. But McCullar Jr. failed to crack the rotation thereafter, and again couldn’t secure a standard contract. 

This will be the third season McCullar Jr. operates on a two-way contract, which allows a player to split time in the NBA and G League. With the signings of McCullar Jr. and Nickel, the Knicks have used two of their three two-way contracts. 

The Knicks will host Media Day on Monday, followed by the start of training camp in Tarrytown on Tuesday. Their preseason opener is Oct. 5 at Philadelphia.

WE ARE SO BACK! Almost, at least… The Utah Jazz will begin preparations for the highly anticipated 2026-27 season this week, starting Monday, September 28th, with media day. It feels like years ago that we sat in our living rooms together on Mother’s Day and watched as the Utah Jazz won the second overall pick in the NBA draft. Somehow it feels even longer ago that the Jazz used that second overall pick to select the highly touted guard from Kansas, Darryn Peterson. After watching Summer League and analyzing every workout video the Jazz and various player development coaches posted on socials, we finally reached the eve of the 2026-27 season, which is finally getting underway.

So now that we’re here, here are the most intriguing storylines to watch as training camp unfolds.

The Keyonte, Lauri, JJJ Connection

Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen, and Jaren Jackson Jr. are the unquestioned three best players on this Jazz roster. All three are locked in with long-term contracts, and all three seem to have something to prove to the NBA ecosystem. Lauri has never made the playoffs and, in fact, is the most experienced active NBA player who has never done so. Jaren Jackson Jr. has had some amazing years in the league. He has accolades like All-Star appearances and a Defensive Player of the Year award. But after some rough years in Memphis, riddled with injury, team-wide underperformance, and well… The Ja Morant stuff… JJJ is looking to bounce back in a big way and remind the league who he is. The Utah Jazz front office just rewarded Keyonte George with a brand-new 5-year contract for his hard work and production. His year on a tanking team was impressive, no doubt, but he is out to prove he can bring that same production to a team looking to make real noise in a crowded Western Conference. The one thing that you can count on this season is that these three guys will be in the starting lineup on opening night. As exciting as Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey are, these three need to rise to the top and be the all-star-caliber players they are if this team wants to compete for the playoffs this year. They haven’t played much together at all, but their chemistry and connection will be vital, ESPECIALLY early this year, as the pieces fall into place around them.

Who Fills Out the Rotation?

The Jazz have around 7-8 pretty surefire rotational players, depending on who you ask. One of the bigger storylines to watch as preseason and training camp progress is which players rise above the rest to solidify regular minutes once the regular season starts. Names to watch for those final few rotation spots include Brice Sensabaugh, Svi Mykhailiuk, Josh Green, and Josh Okogie. That doesn’t even include other guys like Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski. Those minutes will likely come down to who can play defense, since the Jazz already have plenty of shots, but if a guy like Brice Sensabaugh improves his defense by any meaningful amount, he will be hard to keep off the floor given his nuclear shooting.

The Ceiling Raisers

It is no secret who the most important players are on the Utah Jazz. If the Jazz want to get to where they have their sights set, Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey need to be NBA stars. The only short-term issue is that Darryn is 19 years old, and Ace just turned 20 in August. Their talent is undeniable, but they’re very young, and players that young rarely help you win much. That being said, there are always outliers. We all saw Donovan Mitchell take the NBA world by storm in his rookie year, ultimately leading the Jazz to a playoff series win. I am personally endlessly intrigued and excited to watch both Darryn and Ace learn and grow under Will Hardy. Darryn is one of the best guard prospects that we have seen in the last 10 years. Ace is an absolute monster who can get a bucket from anywhere on the floor. What if those two just pop? What if training camp starts and they look like budding superstars ready to be unleashed? I am not saying that it is likely or that you should even count on it, but I will be watching very carefully how those two look together because if they look ready? The league better watch out…

Looking to shore up their roster ahead of Monday’s training camp, the Knicks have signed rookie Tyler Nickel and returning forward Kevin McCullar Jr. to two-way contracts. 

Nickel landed with the Knicks as the 47th overall pick in this year’s draft, and he was one of their biggest standouts during Summer League play.

The sharpshooting forward averaged 12.2 points over the five exhibition games, including a stellar showing in which he knocked down six threes off the bench against the Nets. 

That continued the success Nickel enjoyed throughout his collegiate career, including a stellar senior season in which he knocked down 110 three-pointers, good enough for second in the SEC. 

Nickel had reportedly been weighing whether he'd want to attempt a return to school, but he opted to begin his professional career with the Knicks instead. 

McCullar has spent the past two seasons with New York on two-way deals. 

He first landed with the club as the 56th pick in the 2024 Draft, and slowly but surely began working his way into the bottom of the rotation. 

The 6-foot-6 wing showed positives in spurts last season but only appeared in 21 games at the NBA-level, averaging just 2.4 points across 7.4 minutes per game. 

McCullar also produced 16.8 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.4 rebounds over 14 G League games. 

The Knicks have been carrying three open two-way slots all offseason, so after inking these two deals they have one more remaining on the eve of training camp.

Entering Sunday morning, the Knicks were the only team in basketball that had not filled one of their three two-way spots. Hell, they were the only team to have more than one open two-way spot, having all three of them open.

There’s no method or reason why it took this long, but the Knicks finally did it. They’ve filled two of their two-way spots by signing Tyler Nickel and Kevin McCullar Jr. on Sunday morning.

.@nyknicks Sign Kevin McCullar Jr. to a Two-Way Contract pic.twitter.com/8uOl28Sm6q

— NY Knicks PR (@NY_KnicksPR) September 27, 2026

.@nyknicks Sign Tyler Nickel to a Two-Way Contract pic.twitter.com/gDbxe6rzpM

— NY Knicks PR (@NY_KnicksPR) September 27, 2026

Nickel, selected No. 47 overall in this June’s draft, has been in a weird limbo all summer where nobody really knew what was going on.

Drafted out of Vanderbilt after previous stops at UNC and Virginia Tech, Nickel is a 6’8” three-point specialist who was one of college basketball’s best shooters in each of the last two seasons, shooting an even 40% on nearly seven attempts per game in his two years as a starter at Vandy. He showed that much with his electric play in Summer League.

It has been a question of what his role would be as a rookie. The Knicks’ second apron aversion made it impossible to realistically sign him to a standard contract, so it’s been assumed for several months that he would eventually ink a two-way contract, but that wasn’t always set in stone. The brief 5-in-5 injunction would’ve given Nickel a chance to return to college and cash in on bigger NIL checks, but that window closed after a few weeks due to the NCAA’s appeal.

With Nickel on a two-way, expect him to spend a lot of the year in Westchester, but also get a chance to show he can hoop at this level during the dog days of January and February, when the defending champs will be shorthanded for games and stretches.

While Nickel is an unknown in a Knicks uniform so far, we’ve seen McCullar plenty over the last two years.

The former No. 55 overall pick in 2024 out of Kansas, McCullar will be spending his third consecutive season on a two-way contract with the Knicks, hoping to show enough to earn a full-time roster spot by 2027-28.

Recurring knee injuries limited McCullar to four games as a rookie and just a few G League appearances, but he was healthy and effective when called upon in his second season, playing 21 games and putting together some strong individual performances, namely a 13-point masterpiece on December 27 in Atlanta.

He’s another guy who will get his ring in person on October 20, so that’s cool. He fits in a similar role to Nickel as a deep reserve wing who will compete with Pacome Dadiet to be the next man up if one of the key wings (starters + Mo Diawara) misses time.

This officially fills up the 21-man training camp roster, as big man N’Faly Dante (who’s recovering from an ACL tear) was signed to an Exhibit 10. Here’s the group:

Standard contracts (13):

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Deuce McBride, Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet, Andre Drummond, Jordan Clarkson, Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, Mo Diawara

Exhibit 9/10 deals (6):

Drew Eubanks, John Konchar, Bruce Brown, Ochai Agbaji, James Wiseman, N’Faly Dante

Two-ways (2):

Tyler Nickel, Kevin McCullar Jr.

The Knicks will only be able to have 14 standard contracts if they want to stay below the second apron, barring a trade. They will also fill the two-way spot at some point.

Now that Kawhi Leonard is officially a Toronto Raptor, it’s time to safely look ahead to the 2026-27 season.

While the seven-time All-Star is entering his 15th season at 35-years-old, there’s reason to believe that Leonard could produce his greatest year as a professional. Here are three predictions that suggest the best is yet to come for the superstar. 

Leonard plays 60+ games for a second straight year

These days, it’s tough for a basketball fan to scroll through media without their algorithm pushing Leonard. Notoriously known for being the NBA’s resident hermit, Leonard is suddenly the most visible and talkative he has ever been. It’s easy to guess that part of the reason for this could be PR-driven. It’s unlikely that Leonard woke up one day and decided to be a social butterfly. There’s seemingly an intentional effort to both do and be more from a brand perspective. 

It’s not the boldest of predictions to assume that mindset carries over to the hardwood. 

Leonard hasn’t played in 60+ games in back-to-back seasons since 2015-17. Those were his first two All-Star seasons, declaring his official arrival as a dominant presence in the league. Last season, Leonard logged 65 games, the most since he played 68 (2023-24) and the third most of his career since 2016-17. 

With the intention of repairing his image across the league and with audiences, expect Leonard to crack the 60-game mark again.

Leonard averages two steals a game

As brilliant as Leonard is defensively, he has finished a season with at least two steals a game only twice in his storied career. The last time he accomplished this feat was in 2018-19. While defence is more nuanced than raw steal numbers, the stat is often an indicator of how much ball-handlers respect a particular defender. 

In his final season with the Los Angeles Clippers, Leonard finished just shy of the two-steal mark with 1.9 per game. At his advanced age, Leonard doesn’t typically prefer to guard the opposing player with the biggest threat level, at least for a majority of the game. However, this was also often the case during his short tenure with the Raptors. It wasn’t until Toronto was backed into a corner against the Milwaukee Bucks, that Leonard decided to take on more on-ball reps, and even then, Nick Nurse schemed up the “Giannis-wall”. 

In his second stint with the Raptors, expect Leonard to take a bit more of the on-ball responsibility as teams frantically try to switch off Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles. But where Leonard will see the biggest increase in steals is as an off-ball hawk. Head Coach Darko Rajakovic is the perfect motivator to passionately empower The Klaw to shut down passing lanes like he used to in his 20s. Toronto finished fourth in deflections last season with 20.4 per game. 

Leonard averages 25+ points and 5+ assists

This would be uncharted territory for Leonard, who has never averaged at least 25 points and 5 assists in a single season. He has come close twice.

• 2019-20: 27.1 points, 4.9 assists
• 2020-21: 24.8 points, 5.2 assists 

Both campaigns occurred just before he missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury. The Raptors finished third in assists last year with 29.5 per game, despite making several attempts to accommodate Brandon Ingram’s style of play. While Leonard may not flirt with being a top five scorer, he should barely get past the 25-point mark while seeing a bump in his assist numbers.

We so back the Bulletin is already here.

Meanwhile, JB was doing his thing on SNL and Deuce McBride has some saucy comments to share with a fellow Knickerbocker scribe ahead of his contract year.

Here’s the latest from around some places, and remember, we’re just 24 hours from Knicks Media Day!

NEW: Miles McBride wants to stay in New York long-term. The Knicks won't cross the second apron to make it happen — making his future in NYC cloudy at best.

"I'm a little disappointed… I hope we come to some type of agreement. I’ve played thru injury.”https://t.co/sLk51kvAkX

— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) September 26, 2026

Miles McBride

On his contract situation and wanting to remain with the Knicks:

“I love being in New York. Obviously, I’ve been here my whole career. I’m a little — I’m a little disappointed. Of course, you want to obviously come to the right terms, and I want to be in New York. So yeah, it’s a little hard at times, but I’m gonna be a professional. I want to go out and do my job. So that’s in my ability, and to help the team win for as long as I’m with the team.”

On handling the uncertainty surrounding his future and hoping to reach an agreement:

“Not just Quick, but in the NBA, you see it all the time with [contract disputes leading to trades], and you just have to be a professional. You can’t worry about those things. I hope we come to some type of agreement. I’ve played through injury. I’ve been through a lot with this team, and I’ve worked my way into being a key guy. So you know, I’d love to get something done.”

On enjoying the championship summer and preparing to defend the title:

“It’s been a blessing. The whole summer’s been nothing but love. But getting back to it, getting ready to defend that championship — and hopefully bring home another one.”

On becoming the longest-tenured Knick following Mitchell Robinson’s departure:

“Oh, man. I miss my guy Mitch. But it’s crazy, honestly. Just thinking about coming in as a rookie, just trying to survive and trying to make it to the next deal and things like that. So it’s been it’s been cool.”

On continuing to expand his game:

“It’s a big recency bias type of thing when it comes to the NBA. I know I’m capable of a lot of things, but sometimes, the game is: it’s only one thing and you got to play different roles. So, I’m ready to always expand my game.”

On showing what he can do when given opportunities:

“I feel like in times where guys have been out, I’ve been able to show a lot. So it’s always — to me — it’s about opportunity. I feel like I’ve continued to grow and improve every single year.”

Jalen: "Questions?"

OG: "Remember in Game 4 when you took that shot in the end and you missed it?"

Jalen: "Yeah"

OG: "Remember what happened after?"

Jalen: "Yeah. You tipped it in"

OG: "Oh yeah. That was awesome" pic.twitter.com/qgcAPu1kes

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 27, 2026

Jalen Brunson

On his summer after leading the Knicks to the championship:

“Pretty good summer.”

On referencing the Knicks’ comeback traits:

“So the first three quarters of the show are gonna be god awful, but the last sketch is gonna be amazing.”

On returning to Madison Square Garden for the upcoming season:

“The exact same spot where Taylor and Travis got married.”

there’s one second left on the clock pic.twitter.com/yxmT6OR9xT

— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) September 27, 2026

Karl-Anthony Towns

On approaching the new season after winning the NBA championship:

“Is it cliché if I say it’s 0-0 again? That’s kind of the same thing we said every playoff game, and when we won and kept winning it was great. But this season is about us going out there and starting again at 0-0. Bringing that same hungry team, that team that’s hungry to prove everyone wrong. The underdogs.”

On not being able to foul out of SNL:

“So I could be here like the whole show? Nice!”

"Call me Daddy now" pic.twitter.com/kwxZSfDlVj

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 27, 2026

Josh Hart

On the Knicks still viewing themselves as hunters after winning the championship:

“I don’t think we have a big target because I don’t think anyone is picking us to win again. We’re using it as fuel, we’re still the hunters, we’re not satisfied with one.”

"I'm gonna get back to my real job pretty soon"

–– Jalen Brunson SNL goodnights

How did he do as host? pic.twitter.com/ePKfWv14Vh

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 27, 2026

OG Anunoby

On not forgetting Game 4 of the NBA Finals:

“Remember in Game 4 when you took that shot at the end, and you missed it?”

New champ ink for Deuce from artist Keith Hernandez 🖋️ pic.twitter.com/l1U6RgQrkf

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 27, 2026

Since being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in July, Jaylen Brown has embarked on a global series of side quests.

In August, Brown faced his fear of heights by skydiving over the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

In early September, Brown stepped in the ring for a boxing exhibition in Lagos, Nigeria to support his non-profit, The 7uice Foundation.

Just last week, Brown participated in fencing lessons while visiting Italy.

Not to mention his trip to a Shaolin Temple in China to learn Kung Fu prior to the trade, Brown has made it abunadntly clear that he moves to his own rhythm, and cultivates his own voice on his livestreams to push back against the mainstream sports media take environment.

While the dust settled on Brown’s divorce from the Boston Celtics, anonymous league insiders attacked Brown’s intelligence, speaking on it as a “disease” for the rest of his teammates.

Colin Cowherd says NBA sources told him Jaylen Brown became the "smartest guy in every room" — and the Celtics had enough 👀⁣
⁣
Brad Stevens made his move. #NBA#JaylenBrown#Celticspic.twitter.com/9UcK2lLpw6

— The Volume Basketball (@volumebball) July 2, 2026

Brown has made it known he felt disrespected by the manner in which the Celtics split unfolded.

“There was definitely a message being sent, and that message was received. I wasn’t thrilled with the amount of respect that was shown during this process,” he said during a Twitch live stream in July. “I did feel like it was a lack of respect.”

It is hard to imagine another sports city for Brown to silence the doubters, stick it to his former team, and be a leader on and off the court outside of Philadelphia.

Coming off his best season as a pro, Brown averaged a career-high 28.7 points, 6.9 rrebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference’s second seed in a pre-determined ‘lost season’ due to the absence of Jayson Tatum (Achilles). The campaign earned him All-NBA second team honors.

As we saw in the first round matchup between the Celtics and Sixers, Brown was inconsistent as the main cog of the offense, shrinking into a one-trick bag which utilized a controversial push-off move to create space from the defender. It resulted in 10 offensive fouls called on Brown in the series, as the Sixers came back to win it after trailing three games to one.

While the push-offs are a valid concern come spring for the Sixers, it is safe to say Brown should never be in a situation where the offense boils down to him beelining a drive through the thick of the defense. With the supporting cast (on paper) of LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe, Brown will never be left alone on an island like he was last postseason.

In fact, the Sixers roster this season is comparable to the Celtics championship roster in 2024. A deep, defensively capable wing position, dynamic combo-guards who can pass, shoot and hold their own defensively. The only difference is the center position, which Joel Embiid remains incomparable to the likes of Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis for a multitude of reasons.

Brown is expected to fit in a crucial leadership role the Sixers have not had since The Process began — the insight championship experience can bring. His subdued tone and demeanor could be a strong foil to the shining pillar of basketball knowledge James will bring to the table. He could offer perceptive hands-on tips for guys like Edgecombe, Labaron Philon, Justin Edwards and Dominick Barlow, especially if James were to naturally focus more on guys like Maxey and Embiid.

As James recently said on the Mind the Game podcast, helping players like Embiid, who’s resume is really only missing a ring, was part of the reason he chose Philadelphia. Although Brown did not chose the Sixers, his breadth of valuable winning experience could be another wave of support in the right direction.

Brown has displayed a knack for cutting off-ball, and it should continue to be a point of emphasis for the Sixers. If Maxey or James is penetrating and drawing multiple defenders or Embiid is being doubled, expect to see a lot of timely slashes to the rim and decisive passing from the other playmakers. Head coach Nick Nurse could get uber creative on this front.

Brown’s addition in transition will be lethal. The Sixers are now equipped with three of the four highest fastbreak scorers in the league with Maxey (7.2 transition points per game), James (7.1) and Brown (6.7). The question will be if they can close out possessions on defense to utilize their super power on the open floor, with rebounding being the big question mark.

Brown shot 34.7% from deep in the regular season, and 40% in the playoffs last season. If Brown can adjust to more off-ball opportunities, expect to see the regular season percentage go up, even if the volume of shots moves back a notch.

Brown has been a consistent wing defender throughout his career, utilizing active hands to catch drivers off-guard and his sneaky length to tightly contest pull-up jumpers. How much he helps the frontcourt defensively, both at the rim and rebounding, will be a focal point heading into the season. If he can help ease the load on Embiid and James on that end, it could do wonders for the team’s health in the back half of the campaign.

James also explained how he empathizes with Brown, and what their joint force can bring the team.

“I love the way he approaches the game, too,” he said. “Both sides of the floor, what he brings to the game. His insight on the game. I’ve watched him. Kind of misunderstood. And that is absolutely OK. I think we are all individuals for a reason. Everyone’s always trying to put everybody in the same box. And I love what he stands for and what he brings to the table in that fashion.”

“We’re two of the guys on the team that’s been through the foxhole and been through the wringer of what it takes from the moment we step on the court for training camp to the moment we raise that Larry O’Brien Trophy,” LeBron said. “We know what it takes. Just trying to make sure we’re on the same page and have everybody else on the same page.” – Mind the Game on YouTube

A Finals MVP, five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA second team, the man knows how to win on the court, and be a vocal philanthropist off of it. Just days after the trade, Brown was back in Boston at MIT to launch his foundation’s annual STEM and leadership program targeting underserved high school students. The man follows through, and embodies everything that Philly stands for.

It is almost time to see the side-quest king do it on the court. Whether you believe that skydiving, boxing and fencing are proper activities to get prepared for the long season or not, Brown does not care. He is one-of-a-kind and will be at the forefront of the Sixers push to get over the second-round hump, and bring the Larry O’Brien back to South Philadelphia.

We still have to wait just a little over a month before UNC plays their first meaningful basketball game in the Dean Smith Center, but the anticipation is agonizing. With a brand new squad, a brand new coach, and brand new overall energy in the building, it is hard to keep focus on everything else going on in Chapel Hill. Now that the Heels have had their official practice of the season, there have been some sources that have given first impressions of what they saw or have heard, but there was one guy that I did not expect to hear from, and that is former NC State head coach Kevin Keatts.

Many readers likely know this already, but Keatts hung up his whistle in favor of a gig with ESPN. He ended up creating a practice report from the first UNC practice, and here is what he had to say:

Got a first look at Coach Malone's first team in Chapel Hill. Fast, deep, and they can protect the rim. @UNC_Basketball is built to play uptempo and it shows. pic.twitter.com/sBBCLV32tq

— Kevin Keatts (@CoachKKeatts) September 26, 2026

“Mike Malone’s first team at UNC will feature speed, playmakers, and rim protection. Really like the play and leadership of Utah transfer Terrence Brown. Neo Avdalas and Jarin Stevenson have ACC experience and great size at both forward positions. Remember the name Sayon Keita, an elite shot blocker. UNC is built to play uptempo this season.”

Everything that Keatts has had to say tracks with other things that we’ve been hearing this week. It sounds like Michael Malone plans to play with a lot of tempo, which is not shocking given his NBA pedigree. It’s also interesting that Keatts highlighted Sayon Keita, because there has been a lot of talk about how raw the former international player is. That isn’t to say that he isn’t raw — he is certainly a work in progress, and the team is hoping to have Cameron Fens’ eligibility issue cleared up so that he can potentially start — but saying “elite shot blocker” for a raw player is intriguing. It’s hard not to get excited knowing that there may be a Caleb Wilson supplement on the team, because it will be hard to achieve what they want to achieve without some reliable rim protection.

Another interesting note from Keatts was his appreciation for the play and leadership of Utah transfer, Terrence Brown. It really seems like Brown had to play a certain role with the Utes that made him seem like more of a ball-dominant guard rather than a playmaker, but he mentioned on the Carolina Insider podcast that he wants to prove himself as a playmaker this year. It’s still unclear as to who will be the lead facilitator for this team between him and Neo Avdalas, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the two split duties in some manner.

I appreciate Kevin Keatts giving his thoughts about the team, even if he stopped short of giving his prediction for the season. What do you think of Keatts’ assessment, and also, what do you think of all the other intel that has been shared over the last few days from other outlets? Let us know in the comments below.

Final Score: Sixers 109, Celtics 100

Series Score after result: Sixers win series, 4-3

Embiid’s stat line: 34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 12-of-26 FGs, 1-of-4 3PTs, 1 block, +11 rating

Is it a bit much to say Sixers fans were confident heading into this Game 7? Maybe it is given Philadelphia’s reputation as postseason choke artists that was built up in the Embiid era. However, the Sixers had all the momentum in their opening round series against Boston this past spring heading into the decisive game. They had already won twice at TD Garden, including Game 2 in convincing fashion without Embiid. Their victory in Game 6 was a dominant performance that left no doubt they could win the series, a stunning turn of events from a Game 4 blowout loss that saw them go down 3-1 in the series.

Then, Jayson Tatum was ruled out for the Celtics just before tipoff. Things were building towards a seminal moment for both Embiid and the entire organization. Everyone knew this was more than just a first-round playoff series given the opponent and the deficit the Sixers were looking to overcome. Once the game started, it looked like Game 6 had never ended. The Sixers led 32-19 after one quarter and unsurprisingly, Embiid dominated the first 12 minutes. The big man had 10 of his 34 points in the first period and it was clear that he was making a concerted effort to score in the paint where Boston didn’t have an answer for him.

After playing all 12 minutes of the first quarter, Embiid did take a brief rest in the second quarter, but the Sixers still led by five points at halftime, an outcome they certainly would have signed up for at the beginning of the game. The second quarter also featured a signature defensive play for Embiid who had his lone block just prior to halftime on Jaylen Brown.

He only played about half of the third quarter, but Embiid was very efficient coming out of the locker room going 3-of-4 from the field in the quarter and getting five of his 12 rebounds in the seven minutes of action he got in the third. 

Of course, his scoring efforts were consistent, but it was the rebounding and passing in this one that really made it feel special for Embiid. He was involving his teammates, denying the Celtics of lots of second chances and the rest of the team was rallying behind him. The game was also remembered for the horrendous shooting of the Celtics as Boston went a pitiful 13-of-49 from the three-point line.

In typical Sixers fashion, the team found a way to quickly wash away the rally from 3-1 down against Boston by getting swept out of the second round against the Knicks in the following series. However, with a highly-anticipated 2026-27 starting soon, now feels like a good time to remember the best moment of the 2025-26 season, Embiid’s finest thus far as a Sixer.

Stanford outlasted Georgia Tech Saturday, Sept. 26, in an offensive shootout at Stanford Stadium that could prove to be momentum-building for the Cardinal as they get their first ACC win of the season.

The Cardinal completely flipped the switch in the second half against Georgia Tech, showing up as a different team from their last two outings against Miami and Duke when they were outscored by a combined score of 80-13.

Stanford was headed in a similar direction after the first half. They faced a 20-10 deficit after allowing a field goal and touchdown on consecutive possessions in the opening quarter. The Cardinal defense had trouble early with Georgia Tech's offense led by Alberto Mendoza, the younger brother Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft Pick. But Stanford (2-2, 1-2 ACC) outscored Georgia Tech (1-3, 0-1) 17-0 in the third quarter.

"The big message to our team this week was improve, was be the best at getting better, and we were really focused in practice of just having a phenomenal week of practice and doing our best to make sure that showed up in the game because I felt like the two weeks before Duke we practiced well, and that obviously didn't translate to the field like we wanted it to, and I thought this week it did more," coach Tavita Pritchard told reporters.

The Cardinal won 34-27 to get back to .500 on the season under their first-year head coach. Here's what we learned in Stanford vs. Georgia Tech:

Winners

Bounce back for Stanford QB Davis Warren

Cardinal quarterback Davis Warren finished with a career-high 396 passing yards on 22-of-36 passes and three touchdowns.

It was the bounce-back game that he needed. He threw for more yards against Georgia Tech Saturday than his previous two weeks against Duke and Miami. Warren looked poised practically all game and he didn't commit any turnovers.

It was the type of game he needed for his confidence moving forward as he leads Stanford in the tough ACC that includes Wake Forest and No. 3-ranked Notre Dame in the next two weeks.

Stanford get defensive in third quarter

Stanford clamped down as soon as the third quarter began. Whatever Pritchard said in the locker room at halftime work magically. For that 15 minutes period, the Cardinal looked like a completely different team. They forced turnovers, created pressure in the backfield and limited the Yellow Jackets' time of possession.

"You think about the second half, and a week ago we were down seven. We came out. We know how that game finished, but this week we came out and we were down 10, and that ended up being a 24-0 run, you know, to start the second half," Pritchard said. "I was really proud of the way our guys our guys came out with a concerted effort to start that half well. Defense got stops, offense finished and capitalized opportunities that we had to go punch it in the end zone. And yeah, again, was proud of the way our guys strained and finished."

When they go back over film and discuss the right way to do things, the third quarter of that game will likely have many appearances.

"I think we can finish finish the game a little bit better," he added. "But again, that's on me to make sure that we are coaching all those points down to every situation to make sure we can put the game away when it's there for us."

They continued to play lock-down defense into the fourth, but Georgia Tech had life at the end until a game-sealing interception from junior cornerback Brandon Nicholson.

Tavita Pritchard gets first ACC win

Pritchard was searching for his first ACC win after getting trounced by Miami and Duke in back-to-back weeks. It was a short honeymoon after his first-win as a head coach. That's why this is a positive takeaway for the first-year coach. There were adjustments made from week-to-week and it showed as the Cardinal offense looked alive.

"We still had some spots, and we have some spots that we can get better, that we can improve. But was proud of the way, especially that our guys finished the game," Pritchard said.

LOSERS

Georgia Tech QB Alberto Mendoza

Quarterback Alberto Mendoza started his first collegiate game against Stanford. Although his Yellow Jackets couldn't come up with the win, there were bright spots for Mendoza. He showed signs of accuracy and athleticism, however he made one too many attempts to keep the play alive, resulting in worse outcomes for Georgia Tech: once for a penalty, another for a turnover. To make matters worse, it was late in the game.

Overall, Mendoza finished with 26-of-39 for 268 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He'll have plenty more opportunities to be better.

Late-game Stanford injury

Georgia Tech just finished a 22-yard run gain and were gaining momentum until Stanford cornerback Brandon Nicholson put the nail in the coffin. The next play after the big gain, Nicholson read a pass from Mendoza, intercepting the first-time starter to practically seal the deal.

Unfortunately, Nicholson was injured while making the turnover play. He was checked on by Stanford athletic trainers, coach Pritchard and general manager Andrew Luck as he was helped off the turf and was carted off the field.

ALBERTO MENDOZA IS PICKED OFF BY BRANDON NICHOLSON pic.twitter.com/2JNfUena7J

— wok (@wokdior) September 27, 2026

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Stanford's win against Georgia Tech spark momentum, turnaround?