Category: Basketball

Welcome to our Phoenix Suns Season in Review series, where we revisit every player who suited up during the 2025–26 campaign through the lens of expectation, reality, and what it ultimately meant.

Player Snapshot

• Position: SF/PF
• Age: 30
• 2026-27 Contract Status: $20.0 million
• SunsRank (Preseason): 3
• SunsRank (Postseason): 2

*SunsRank is based on Bright Side writers’ ranking.

Season in One Sentence

Dillon Brooks provided the exact edge and high-intensity defensive resistance that Phoenix desperately needed, even if his occasional boundary-testing on offense left the coaching staff pulling their hair out.

By the Numbers

The Expectation

The ask was simple, at least on paper. Give Devin Booker a break from the toughest nightly assignments. Bring physicality to a wing rotation that had been getting pushed around for two years. Hit enough corner threes to stay on the floor in crunch time. Phoenix did not need Brooks to reinvent himself. They needed him to show up and be exactly who he already was.

We knew what came with all of that. The technicals. The mind games. The staredowns. The relentless trolling. Sometimes it could cost you points in critical moments, but you have to take the good with the bad when it comes to Dillon Brooks. You don’t get the Villain without it.

The Reality

Dillon Brooks had a breakout season for the Phoenix Suns. He averaged a career-high 20.2 points per game on 43.5% shooting from the floor. It wasn’t just his scoring that set the tone of the Suns; it was what he did on the other end of the court.

Brooks was the one guy on this roster who genuinely looked forward to guarding the other team’s best player. He did not rotate off, did not take plays off, and did not flinch when the assignment got ugly. He’d mix it up and get in the head of the opponent’s top option.

His catch-and-shoot numbers held at a respectable 36.8% from deep, which kept defenses from sagging off him entirely and gave the offense legitimate spacing to work with. He shot 34.4% from deep overall, and 49.2 on two-point field goals.

Here is where it gets complicated. Brooks has never been a guy who stays in his lane for 48 minutes, and this season was no different. There were several times he decided to create off the dribble, and possessions died. Ball movement stopped. Jordan Ott’s offensive structure evaporated. The team went from executing to watching one guy hunt a mid-range look with 14 seconds left on the shot clock. And look, some of those possessions were warranted or “heat checks” but we all know the harmful overdribbling Dillon Brooks experience was a thing last year.

What It Means

For two years, this franchise has talked about needing a tough, physical wing who takes pride in the dirty work. Brooks is that guy. He does not need to be reminded. He does not need to be motivated. He shows up ready to compete every single night, and that quality is genuinely rare in a league full of players who pick their spots.

There are plenty of Suns fans who would love to see an extension for Brooks this summer, but the math has to make sense. There are so many different priorities both short and long-term for this team to figure out. But make no mistake… Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin are the dogs that led this team’s culture change. All three need to be here for a while.

Defining Moment

It’s tough to pick any one defining moment from Brooks, as he was a constant meme generator and hit so many big shots over the course of the season.

The career-high 40-point outburst in a win vs. the Pistons in late January has to be my overall pick. He took over this game and carried the Suns to a win with Devin Booker sidelined. It was an efficient 40-piece on just 22 shot attempts. He mixed it up quite a bit with the Pistons throughout as he led the Suns to the convincing win against the number one seed in the East.

Grade: A-

Brooks did his job and then some. To me, he earns a very solid “A minus” because he is largely responsible for this season’s success and overacheiving.

He defended, he competed, and he gave this team an identity on the perimeter that it genuinely lacked before he arrived. The iso tendencies docked him a little bit, but agian, you take the good with the bad with Dillon Brooks. The talent and the toughness were never in question.

The bottom line is there are 29 other teams that would kill to have their own version of Dillon Brooks. He is a tough player to find, and the Suns should not take what he brings to the table for granted. Even if he gives Jordan Ott the ocassional anxiety attack.

It’s almost impossible to predict which players will one day turn into a possible NBA MVP. As the league takes steps to address its purported tanking crisis, the last No. 1 overall pick to win the MVP is still Derrick Rose, who taken in 2008. After Rose, you have to go back to LeBron James (2003) and Tim Duncan (1997) for the last No. 1 overall picks to win MVP. Victor Wembanyama will almost certainly break this drought in the next year or two, but the looming ascent of Wemby opens up another question: When is the next time an American-born player will win MVP?

The last American-born MVP was James Harden in 2018. Since then, Giannis Antetokounmpo won twice, Nikola Jokic won three times, Joel Embiid won once, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won twice. Embiid was the only one of those players who was drafted in the top-10. It feels like Wembanyama could win the next seven MVP awards even if it’s unlikely because of the 65-game rule of award eligibility. It could be a long, long time before the next American MVP.

When thinking about the next American MVP, a long-term horizon needs to be considered. Given the gap between SGA, Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and everyone else, it’s totally possible that the next NBA MVP born in America isn’t even in the league yet. Let’s go through some options.

Missed their window already, and never really got close

Donovan Mitchell: Mitchell is in the discussion for the best American-born player in the NBA right now. He’s also never finished top-5 in MVP voting, and he turns 30 in September. It’s not happening.

Jalen Brunson: It’s more likely that Brunson wins NBA Finals MVP than NBA MVP, even if that’s also a long-shot. Brunson is obviously terrific as a scorer and shot-creator, but he only has one fifth-place MVP finish to his name, and he’s not getting any better on the brink of his 30th birthday.

Jaylen Brown: He deserves a mention after the year he just turned in, but he’s not even the best player on his own team, let alone the best in the league.

Young veterans with a chance

Anthony Edwards: Edwards is one of the front-runners for this honor. He’s already a top-10 player in the league at 24 years old, and he’s also likely going to have a big marketing push behind him as the face of American basketball if he can continue to ascend as a player. Is there a world where the Timberwolves trade Rudy Gobert, Edwards suddenly has more space to drive and create, and he takes a big leap? What if he eventually changes teams? The fact that Edwards has improved so much since being drafted as a hyper-athletic ball of clay — just look at his three-point shooting from college to now — gives him a real shot to keep getting better and eventually win an MVP one day.

Jayson Tatum: Tatum is 28 years old and already has two fourth place MVP finishes on his resume. He looked fantastic returning from a torn Achilles this season, so it’s totally possible he can regain his level of play prior to the injury. Tatum was probably a long-shot MVP candidate even before the injury, since younger players have already passed him. It will be even harder with a reconstructed Achilles. Given that the Celtics consistently churn out great teams and Tatum remains their franchise player, there’s still a chance it happens one day if the other contenders miss the games played cut-off.

Cade Cunningham: Cunningham led his team to 60 wins in his age-24 season to fulfill the promise he showed as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He’s already a borderline top-10 player, and there’s so much low-hanging fruit to clean up in his game. Cunningham can go up another level if he cuts down the turnovers and improves his scoring efficiency, and it’s possible that playing in better spacing one day will get him there. It feels like Detroit might be better served to put another ball handler next to Cade and let him work as more of a wing than a point guard, but who knows if they will actually go in that direction. He’s one of the top candidates on this list …. but he’s nowhere near Wemby, while being 2.5 years older.

Evan Mobley: I would have ranked Mobley higher on my list of the next American MVP candidates a couple years ago, but he really hasn’t gotten much better lately. Does he have another big leap in him? He’s obviously a special defensive player and a good offensive player, but he’s a world away from MVP level.

LaMelo Ball: My toxic trait is that I never stop believing in LaMelo Ball. I had Ball ranked No. 1 in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he finally put it all together this season to both have a big impact on winning and grade out as a top-20 player in some metrics. The Hornets had the best net-rating in the NBA after Jan. 1. If Charlotte keeps that up and finishes at the top of the East next year (a big if, I know), Ball could sneak into MVP conversations.

Chet Holmgren: Holmgren is the closest thing we have to an American Wemby. He already feels like a top-10 player in the world to me, and just celebrated his 24th birthday. I really do think Holmgren can get up another level offensively, but not that’s not the role he’s been asked to play yet on the Thunder, and it’s hard to see a scenario where he’s the best player on his own team if he stays in OKC.

Tyrese Haliburton: Haliburton looked like an MVP-caliber player last time we saw him healthy in the 2025 NBA Finals. Can he get back to that level after a torn Achilles? It will be difficult, but not impossible. The Pacers point guard could be a Steve Nash-like candidate where he gets most of the credit of his team’s success if Indiana emerges as a contender again next season.

The 2006-2007 Generation

Cooper Flagg: Flagg was the youngest player in the NBA as a rookie, and he put together a terrific season despite being asked to play de facto point guard for the first time in his life. If an NBA player’s prime is ages 24-28, Flagg won’t hit that rank until the 2030-31 season. There have been eight players in league history to win MVP before they turned 24, and Flagg will be on an all-time trajectory if he can do that. I would like to see the Mavs star get back to his roots and reassert himself as a dominant defensive player after being …. fine on that end of the floor as a rookie while shouldering a huge offensive creation burden. Flagg has the talent to win MVP. No one else born in this country has his defensive ceiling while also being carrying this big of a usage load. It just feels like it will be hard for the Mavs to build a good enough team around him in the West in the near future.

Cameron Boozer: Boozer is the best player in the 2026 NBA Draft for my money. I’ve been touting him a future NBA superstar since he was in high school, and all he did at Duke was win national player of the year with a near-unanimous vote despite being basically the youngest player in the country. Concerns about his athleticism are overblown, but to get to MVP level Boozer would probably have to turn into an excellent pull-up three-point shooter or flirt with averaging a triple-double.

Darryn Peterson: It was only 18 months ago when Peterson was dropping 58 points on A.J Dybantsa in a 40 minute high school game. He never looked healthy at Kansas, but still showed that he can be a deadly three-point shooter. If his bizarre injury issues are over now and he’s really this good of a shooter, there’s a pathway for DP to be one of the most complete scoring guard prospects to hit the draft in recent memory.

A.J. Dybantsa: Dybantsa is an extremely gifted shot-creator for such a gigantic wing. I don’t think he’s really a complete player, but put a team full of dirty work guys around him and it’s possible he could emerge as a superstar engine of an elite team. He would need to take a big leap as a three-point shooter, defender, or both to get to MVP level, but there’s a world where that could happen.

Tyran Stokes: Stokes is the front-runner to go No. 1 overall in the 2027 NBA Draft right now as a jumbo shot-creator who stockpiles steals and blocks. There are some questions around his mentality. I asked an NBA scout at the combine if they thought Stokes had enough going on upstairs to eventually be a great player, and they responded by saying he’s currently a one-floor apartment. It’s more likely that he never makes an All-Star team than wins MVP, but he’s still a super talented player with plenty of time to learn winning habits.

Let’s get crazy

Rhys Robinson: Robinson is a 16-year-old who won’t be eligible for the NBA Draft until 2029. He’s a tall, high-feel point guard who has played up three years in international competitions and still performed well. He’s in the international pipeline right now but was born in California. I can’t believe I’m putting someone born in 2010 on this list, but the specter of Wemby’s long run of dominance will do crazy things to a man.

Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje: Enrolling at Duke as a 17-year-old this year, JBB won’t be eligible for the draft until 2028. The Florida native is reportedly close to 7-feet tall with the skill to play on the perimeter. He’s more of a forward than a center, and can get hot as a three-point shooter. He could be really good 10 years from now in 2036, if the world still exists at that point.

Predicting the next American-born NBA MVP

Who will be the next American-born NBA MVP? Here’s how I’d rank the candidates.

7. Darryn Peterson

6. LaMelo Ball

5. Chet Holmgren

4. Anthony Edwards

3. Cade Cunningham

2. Cooper Flagg

1. Cameron Boozer

Let us know who you think will be the next American-born NBA MVP below in the comments.

The Western Conference Finals started with a bang Monday night as the San Antonio Spurs took out the Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-115 in double overtime.

Mason Plumlee did not get off the bench again, but he’s 36 now and his role is limited: he’s a reliable big man for spot duty as needed. His career is winding down, but he’s not going to do stupid things if called upon.

As for Jared McCain, he got 18 minutes, scored 7 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist.

On Tuesday, Tyrese Proctor and the Cleveland Cavaliers open the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.

• Jared McCain Could Prove To Be The Piece The Thunder Were Missing In The Regular Season
• 5 Sixers thoughts: Another candidate to replace Daryl Morey, Jared McCain keeps surging and more
• Why did the 76ers trade Jared McCain to the Thunder for so little?
• Jared McCain trade looks even more lopsided following latest 76ers bombshell
• Wemby Dominates for Spurs in 2OT Win vs. SGA, Thunder as Fans Hype WCF Game 1 Thriller
• Spurs-Thunder Game 1 delivers historic 2OT thriller unseen since 1976Thunder fans in absolute awe of Alex Caruso’s unconscious 1st half vs. Spurs

Go to the DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Drop us a line

It didn’t take long for the Minnesota Timberwolves roster to change going into the offseason.

Wolves veteran guard Joe Ingles announced that he is signing with Melbourne United in the NBL, returning to his native Australia after a 12-year stint in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and the past two seasons in Minnesota.

“Coming home to Melbourne feels incredibly special,” Ingles said via ESPN.

“To return to where my professional career began almost 20 years ago is something I don’t take for granted.

“So much has happened since then, but Melbourne has always felt like home.

“We’re really excited to reconnect with the community here, and to be closer to family and friends again. After so many years overseas, that part means a lot to us.”

While Ingles did not play much for the Wolves during his tenure with the team, he was a valuable veteran for a group on the rise. During the season, Jaylen Clark spoke to Ingles’ importance of being one of the last players on the roster.

That speaks to why the Wolves brought Ingles back last summer despite hardly playing in his first season with the team.

With Ingles gone, it opens up a spot on the roster for a younger player, possibly Enrique Freeman or Rocco Zikarsky from the two-way slots, or the Wolves could bring in another veteran to occupy a veteran minimum deal.

Canis Hoopus community, what do you make of Ingles’ departure? Who should the Wolves bring on board in free agency to fill his spot? Chime off in the comments section below.

Just before the tip off of Game 1 Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City crowd was treated to their super star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receiving his MVP trophy. At the other end of the court, Victor Wembanyama was warming up. The question on the minds of many was exactly what Wemby’s response would be.

In a thrilling double-overtime Spurs victory, the question was answered. Wembanyama tallied a 41-point, 24 rebound game. Comparatively, SGA put up a 24-point game, starting slow with only four points in the first half.

This was the Thunder’s first loss of the postseason. Not something they are used to, but then this wasn’t their usual game.

In fact, if not for the hot shooting of Alex Caruso’s 31-point night, the Thunder spent the evening on the outside looking in. At the end of the third quarter, Caruso and Jalen Williams, in his first game since contracting a hamstring injury, owned nearly half of the Thunder’s scoring output.

The game took its toll as the five starters all tallied more than 40 minutes apiece. Vassell had 51 while Wemby and Castle each played 49.

The Spurs led most of the game, and though the Thunder looked out of sorts, they remained within striking distance throughout. Toward the end of regulation, the momentum shifted slightly giving the Thunder a brief lead.

If not for Wemby’s timely 3-point shot, there might not have a second overtime.

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals takes place on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. Expect the Thunder to play with some desperation. Expect they will smooth the rough edges of their Game 1 performance.

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West Finals are a reminder of why Celtics must explore all paths this summer originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

When Victor Wembanyama pulled up from a step inside the logo Monday night, delivering a Steph Curry-esque 3-pointer in Oklahoma City that sent Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to the first of two riveting overtimes, we did two things.

1) We let out an audible groan, resigned to the fact that this 7-foot-4 alien (and San Antonio’s young core) could dominate the league for the foreseeable future, with the championship-minted Thunder perhaps the only real obstacle in their path; and 2) We reached for our keyboard and started pecking out this story.

Because in that moment, what had already been painfully obvious throughout these playoffs crystalized a little bit more:

The Celtics have some real work to do.

The 2026 NBA playoffs have been filled with sobering reminders that the pathway back to true title contention is further than it might have seemed, especially during the tail end of Boston’s vibes-filled regular season.

As everyone takes inventory of the Celtics’ season and what pathway they choose to navigate next, we keep flashing back to Brad Stevens’ end-of-the-year press conference, when he noted the Celtics were 3-11 against what many would consider the five other top seeds between the conferences (Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Detroit, New York and Denver).

It would be very easy for the Celtics to convince themselves that minor tweaks — along with a healthier Jayson Tatum — might be enough to keep them among the East favorites next season. And that might be true. But then you watch Game 1 of the West Finals, and it simply feels like Oklahoma City and San Antonio are in a different stratosphere than the rest of the league at this moment.

And the sobering reality is that neither of those teams is likely coming back to Earth any time soon.

Wembanyama originates from another planet and seemingly has no intention of acclimating to this one. The Thunder have an absurd amount of picks that will allow them to either restock amid rising roster costs, or make the sort of big-swing move that can help them win an arms race with San Antonio.

The Celtics went 0-2 against the Spurs, although Jaylen Brown’s absurd ejection didn’t aid their cause in the second meeting. Boston’s win over the streaking Thunder in late March gave hope that a fully healthy Celtics team might fare better against elite competition in the playoffs. Alas, a 1-3 regular-season mark against New York suggested that Boston still had work to do to simply navigate Round 2. If they had gotten that far.

But they didn’t. They lost Game 7 on their home court for the second time in four seasons, this time in Round 1. And some of the optimism gathered over a tantalizingly fun and overachieving regular season was diminished.

We’ll temper all that by noting that any roster helmed by Tatum and Brown has a legitimate chance to get to the title stage. When surrounded by the right pieces, the Jays have delivered the Celtics to the championship round in two of the previous four seasons. There is no denying the success of that tandem.

But Stevens has routinely noted how the north star in Boston is always a championship banner. Just being good enough to get to the title stage isn’t enough.

So how do the Celtics get there? We’ll spend so much of the offseason pondering all the various paths. But for much of the regular season, it was fair to wonder if internal development combined with a healthier Tatum might be enough to boost Boston’s title potential.

Now? We’re not so sure. The Sixers series exposed a bit of Boston’s weaknesses in a way the regular season masked. Stevens and his front-office staff must at least examine bolder decisions this offseason. That’s why everyone from Brown to Derrick White to Sam Hauser will dance in trade rumors this summer.

The Celtics must consider all possibilities.

The last time Boston’s season ended in disappointment with a Game 7 loss at TD Garden, Stevens made the bold decisions to shake up the core, sending out both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III but bringing back the key pieces of Boston’s 2024 title run in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.

This team doesn’t have quite as much freedom to spend like it did that year, but it might soon. One more year under the luxury tax could reset repeater penalties and allow Stevens to splurge big in the summer of 2027.

The question is whether anyone wants to wait that long.

Therein lies the challenge for Stevens. Watching Wembanyama put up 41 points and 24 rebounds is just another reminder of how the Celtics need to fortify their frontcourt. Watching the way the Thunder and Spurs relentless defend and contest shots is another reminder that Boston’s offense needs to be even more efficient despite all the regular-season success.

Stevens noted how the Celtics have to improve their margin for error. It was far too slim this year. A healthier Tatum will stretch it out a bit. But Monday’s West Finals was a harsh reminder that there’s still plenty of work to be done to stretch that margin to a place that teams like San Antonio and Oklahoma City reside.

Mark Pope lost a lot of goodwill with certain media members after closing up shop after a bad season.

I, for one, appreciated the approach from Pope. Mark Pope put his head down this offseason, opting to skip the press conferences in favor of securing pieces like Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins. But as the roster comes together, not everyone is sold on Kentucky’s new backcourt, just ask Fran Fraschilla.

I think it made no sense to go on KSR or pop up and have a press conference in the middle of recruiting. Put your head down and get to work. Kentucky is down an assistant as is. And they have 2 expiring next month, a 20-minute media session isn’t going to do much.

To his credit, Pope responded directly to fan questions on Twitter, and we gained some insight into his summer plans and how he feels others have used Kentucky in recruiting wars. But it was done only once the roster was mainly done, and while I believe there are issues (lack of perimeter shooting being chief among them), the roster is a solid, capable bunch of players who will need to come together quickly and make a team.

Last year’s team was unable to do that, partly because of injuries, and partly because the pieces just didn’t fit. Pope grabbed two point guards in Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins to avoid the same situation that happened the last two seasons. And they have remarkably similar games.

Both excel in driving, both turn it over a little too much, both are really consistent at finishing at the rim, neither really excels in setting up teammates, but both are solid in doing so. It turns out Fran Fraschilla is not a believer.

When discussing Washington star Hannes Steinbach’s NBA Draft spot, NBA analyst Nick Heintzman (and his 100ush followers) said, “Hannes Steinbach really helped himself at the combine. Established that he has enough size and athleticism to play the 4 or the 5. Has many avenues to succeed in the league. Was held back by awful Washington guards. I might have him T10.”

Ouch. Well, Fran Fraschilla jumped on that, saying it has to make Kentucky basketball fans “feel great.” But he wasn’t done yet.

Heintzman clarified his stance by saying, “Thanks, Fran. To be clear, my point was that Steinbach’s offensive environment/guard play at Washington didn’t do him many favors, particularly in terms of getting him the ball in advantageous situations. Steinbach was often left to create offense through the glass, hustle plays, and transition pushes off rebounds. Zoom’s assist rate was strong, and I haven’t formed a firm opinion yet on how he’ll fare in a different context at Kentucky.”

That’s fair; no one can predict exactly how each player is going to respond in a new environment. It’s an educated guess. Fraschilla, though, added:

But is there any truth to that? Let’s dive in.

Comparing Zoom Diallo to last year’s SEC guard crop

Zoom Diallo had a good jump from his freshman to sophomore year at Washington. He averaged:

-15 points (48 percent from the floor, 31 percent from 3)
-4 assists, 2 turnovers
-4 rebounds a night

Now let’s look at the SEC point guards of last year:

Darius Acuff, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Labaron Philon, and Tyler Tanner all scored and assisted more, so that puts 4 above him. But from there, it’s really pick your poison.

Meechie Johnson shot more and worse, Xaivian Lee shot worse and scored less while assisting nearly the same. So at worst, if he had the same season as last year, and everyone around him did as well, he probably sits no worse than 5th or 6th in the SEC.

I am a big believer in Zoom’s offensive game. He is built like a tank and can get to the free-throw line early and often. I do worry that his 3-point shot reverts to his freshman form (18 percent), and the turnovers scare me a bit. But if he can take a few steps forward in shooting and passing, he will be one of the best point guards in the SEC next year IMO.

He definitely isn’t middle of the pack unless he reverts big time. It’s just another example of hitting Mark Pope and Kentucky when they are down.

Will the Cats be able to respond on the court next season? Well, that’s the question. Looking at each position, I think Kentucky has more natural talent than it did last season. But there are question marks, as there will be with any team. It will definitely be a big help if Milan Momcilovic decides to become a Cat.

Let’s see how they look over the summer. But it doesn’t look like the media firestorm is slowing down anytime soon.

While Fran Fraschilla might see Diallo as “middle of the pack,” the stats suggest a player with a much higher ceiling, provided Pope can maximize his ability.

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Yes, we know that Fred VanVleet didn’t play for the Houston Rockets this season. But given that GM Rafael Stone stayed quiet at the NBA Trade Deadline and cited VanVleet’s absence for why team management wasn’t making any moves to improve, which became a huge part of this season’s narrative, we wanted to include FVV here in our recaps.

So how important is VanVleet? We do know he was part of the Rockets culture change, teaming with now-Sun Dillon Brooks to add a veteran presence to the Houston locker room and a steady hand on the court. That was pretty dang important. But I think we can all agree that he’s probably not quite as important as Ime Udoka and Stone want us to believe (you know, for job security and all).

This is a guy who was coming off of a year in which he averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 assists, but he also shot just 37.8 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from deep on high volume (7.7 three attempts per game). There were nights when VanVleet downright shot the Rockets out of a game. Houston had more than enough of that this season. What would adding another inconsistent shooter have done? Yes, Houston really needed his steady hand, and yes, quality true point guard depth behind FVV was also an issue — but that job of securing depth by definition falls on Stone and Udoka. It’s their resonsibility to make sure the Rockets can weather such storms and that one injury doesn’t completely derail a season. And not only did they not do it, they came to us and told us they intentionally did not do it. Then tried to gaslight us into thinking it was all for the best.

The Kevin Durant window is limited. The Rockets gave up real player assets for KD. If Houston were ready to punt a full year just because of a VanVleet injury, it made no sense to go after KD, because you’re basically admitting that your team isn’t ready. If they’re not ready, it made more sense to take the long game and not trade for a limited-window Durant. But they made the move, signifying to the league and to the players that they thought they were going to make a real push. Then decided against it and told us that not making a push was the real plan all along. It honestly feels a little bit toxic.

Will I be happy to have VanVleet back? Yes, absolutely. Do I think he solves Houston’s issues? No, I do not. This team needs more shooters, more backcourt playmakers, and better locker room chemistry. FVV helps with the playmaking and the locker room issues (though certainly doesn’t solve them), but he’s no one’s answer to three-point shooting woes at this stage of his career.

He’s also 32 years old and coming off of a major surgery. Who knows how he looks when he comes back or how much time he’ll need to round into form. It’s possible he never does return to form. If so, the Rockets have some serious franchise-direction pivoting to discuss. Either way, they need more than VanVleet alone can provide. But hey, if he never does quite return to form, at least Stone and Udoka still have their built-in excuse.

There was a point in the night, after he plucked a rebound from the sky with one hand, that Victor Wembanyama laughed at him.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just short-rimmed a six-foot push shot. It was a shot so routine for Gilgeous-Alexander, who only two hours prior had claimed his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award, that it was perplexing as to why he had smoked it so badly.

But Wembanyama had been looming nearby. His pull and gravity, the knowledge that he can extend his reach to swat just about any shot, forced Gilgeous-Alexander to hesitate and recalculate — in a fleeting instant — the possibility that Wembanyama might erase the shot.

The Thunder were down seven and time was running out.

Wembanyama grabbed the board and all Gilgeous-Alexander could do was to wrap Wembanyama and foul him in obvious frustration.

This was when Wembanyama shooed Gilgeous-Alexander away and laughed at him. This was when Wembanyama became the best basketball player in the world.

For Jason Terry, everything changed in 1997. It was the night before the NCAA national championship game and Terry’s Arizona Wildcats were set to take on the University of Kentucky. Terry shared hotels rooms with teammate Mike Bibby on road trips and the pair understandably had trouble sleeping before the biggest game of their lives so far.

“Mike Bibby and I were anxious for the game,” Terry says. “So, we both put our full uniforms on – socks, everything. And we slept in them. The next day, we ended up winning the national championship. After that, I was like, ‘OK, I think I’m superstitious and I need to keep this thing going.’”

When it comes to basketball and superstitions, there may be no clearer expert than Terry. He has won at every level of the game: as well as his college title he became an NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. He’s also seemingly embraced quirk after quirk, both on and off the court.

In college, he started to wear long, high socks with “CATS” – a reference to the team’s nickname – written down the side of each leg. In the NBA, he continued the fashion statements, donning a headband every game to honor his former mentor and fellow Seattleite Slick Watts. But most striking of all, every night before an NBA game Terry put on the shorts of the opposing squad and wore them to sleep.

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“For instance,” Terry says, “if we’re playing the Miami Heat, I’d wear the Heat shorts the night before each game.”

But how would he even get the shorts? Well, he’d go right to the source.

“I would hustle equipment managers and see if they had an extra pair,” says Terry, who was NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2009. “I think the most famous shorts I was able to get was a pair of Utah Jazz shorts that belonged to John Stockton.”

And how did he know they belonged to the NBA’s all-time steals and assists leader?

“Number one: they were short,” Terry says. “Number two: they had his No 12 on the inside tag.”

Eldridge Recasner, another former NBA guard, played for a number of teams during his eight-year career, including stints as a starter with the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks in the mid-1990s. He says sleep and practice were important to him prior to a game’s tipoff.

“My main thing was that I had to take a nap on gameday and do my same pregame warmup routine,” Recasner says. “The nap was mandatory. And the ball-handling and shooting drills I did had to be the same routine all the time.”

But more than any dribbling or shooting drills, Recasner says he remembered his father, Eldridge Sr, before each contest, too.

“My dad was in the Army,” says Recasner, who is now a college basketball broadcaster in the Pacific Northwest. “He passed away when I was 18. So, I always looked at the flag during games. I counted off five stars to the right, five stars down, five stars to the left and five stars back up to the starting star and salute my dad. I still do it today as an announcer.”

Tim Hardaway, who battled Recasner on the hardwood during the 90s, had his own superstitions. When he played at home, Hardaway says he’d drive the same route to the game every time with no deviations. But when he was on the road, the five-time All-Star says, “I ate the same thing every day – caesar salad with baked chicken and vegetables.”

Superstitions have affected play throughout NBA history. Ray Allen would shave his head at the exact same time of day before every game. His fellow Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan, used to wear his University of North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform throughout his career. Rajon Rondo liked to shower five times on gamedays. LeBron James used to clip his nails during contests, while the sight of the star throwing clouds of chalk dust in the air before tip-off became a familiar sight.

But some superstitions are even more specific.

“Kevin Garnett had to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before every game,” Terry says. “And it had to be on a certain type of bread. And he watched Family Guy while he ate those sandwiches. His other superstition was that he always had to be the last guy on the team plane if we were traveling. Every time.”

In 2010, at the start of the Mavericks’ championship season, Terry was inspired. He was at a team function and there was a tattoo artist onsite. He decided to show his teammates his devotion to them and his high hopes for the upcoming season. So, he got a tattoo of the Larry O’Brien Trophy on his right biceps.

“Once we won, it basically said I proved it,” Terry says of the tattoo.

But when he tried to make tattoos into a winning routine, it didn’t work out.

“Superstitions don’t always work out,” he says. “I tried it again. Once I signed with the Celtics as a free agent [in 2012], I went and got the Celtics logo tattooed on my other biceps with the Larry O’Brien Trophy. But we lost in the first round. I only played one year with the Celtics, so I don’t think I’ll do the tattoo superstition any more. It has to work multiple times to be a true superstition.”

In fact, there has only been one occasion when Terry couldn’t practice one of his many superstitions during his 23-year basketball career. It happened way back in college during the season after his Arizona team had won the title against Kentucky.

“There was only one time when I wasn’t able to do my superstition,” says Terry. “That was the equipment manager in 1998. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, he forgot my signature CATS socks. We tried – we got regular white socks. My roommate put a sharpie pen to them and wrote “CATS” down each side. But it didn’t work.”

Terry went 0-9 in that particular game against Nicholls State.

“I didn’t score one bucket,” he says. “But the next day, they Fed-Ex’d my socks for the second round and I had double-digits. We won the game by 33.”

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Despite winning the 2026 national championship, Michigan basketball coach Dusty May doesn’t “feel like we’re national champions.”

The Wolverines beat UConn on April 6 to win their first title since 1989, ending a 26-year Big Ten drought with a dominant run through the NCAA Tournament. Michigan had a parade and celebration the weekend after the Final Four, but now more than a month after winning it all, May doesn’t feel any different than before.

“There have been times like that when it’s been just a really cool moment to take a step back, but overall, I don’t really feel any different,” May told USA TODAY Sports at the Big Ten spring meetings. “I don’t feel like we’re national champions.”

Who's next? 5 teams that walked out of basketball portal looking like title contenders

When you're in as loaded of a conference like the Big 12, the transfer portal can be the difference between swimming or sinking.

Whether it's the NBA Draft or looking for a new program, prominent names are out and there's a need to restock. Like how does Final Four participant Arizona get back after losing its core players? There's also teams under new coaches like Kansas State and Cincinnati looking for a complete rebuild. Every team went into the portal, but it won't work perfectly for everyone.

So how did every Big 12 team fare in the transfer portal? We assess all 16 squads and look into how these additions — and losses — affect the 2026-27 season.

Who has best haul so far? College basketball transfer portal team rankings

Staying put: 10 most-important players who skipped basketball transfer portal

Arizona basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Derek Dixon (North Carolina). It took some time, but Dixon really showcased how valuable he is when he started the final 16 games for the Tar Heels. He was lighting it from deep, and despite not being in the top five of minutes played, he made the second most 3-pointers (50) for North Carolina.
• Worst loss: Dwayne Aristode (Oregon). Arizona didn't have many transfers, so Aristode isn't a huge loss, but he still held up his end on a loaded roster. His defensive presence to help take the burden off the starters will be missed.
• Biggest remaining need:Replacing Koa Peat. When someone that can do everything on a court leaves, it's hard to replicate it. Peat really was a freak of nature and trying to find another forward that can produce nearly as much as him will be difficult.

Arizona State basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add: Paulius Murauskas (Saint Mary's). Randy Bennett gets an essential player to follow him to Arizona State. The first-team all-West Coast Conference selection is a matchup problem after he led Saint Mary's with 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. The competition gets tougher, but Murauskas can thrive.
• Worst loss:Massamba Diop (Gonzaga). The Senegal native had a terrific transition to college hoops as the enforcer for the Sun Devils. He put up 13.6 ppg while his 2.1 blocks were top 25 in Division I, but a new regime was going to make it tough to convince the 7-1-inch center to stay.
• Biggest remaining need:Guard depth. Bennett is leaning heavy into veteran size and that should help the Sun Devils, but there's plenty needed in the backcourt. Joel Foxwell (Portland) is the only legitimate option at the position, with a bunch of inexperienced guys vying to get more minutes.

Baylor basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Kayden Mingo (Penn State). Mingo delivered as the highest-ranked Penn State recruit ever, dropping 13.7 points and 4.3 assists while averaging over 2 steals a game. He's excellent at getting inside the arc, and he really found a rhythm in the second half of the season.
• Worst loss: Tounde Yessoufou. An absolute unit, Yessoufou broke a bunch of freshman records at Baylor. There was a good chance he was a one-and-done player, but the possibility of returning somewhere else hurts a Baylor team sinking in the Big 12.
• Biggest remaining need:Rim protection. Defense was a big liability, especially protecting the glass by limiting second-chance opportunities. Baylor addressed the holes in the offense, but there needs to be a dominant big able to go up against other imposing forces.

BYU basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Collin Chandler (Kentucky). A breakout star on a middling Kentucky team, Chandler returns to his home state ready to take over the shooting needs the Cougars need. Making 41% of his 3-pointers puts him in the top 35 of deep-range shooters, and he had a hot streak where he had three games with at least five 3-pointers.
• Worst loss:Kennard Davis Jr. (Missouri): BYU has to really start from scratch with another starter leaving Provo. He didn't command the attention, but he was hard to miss considering the hustle he brings on the court. Sure he wasn't the primary ballhandler, but he didn't turn the ball over much.
• Biggest remaining need:Bigs. One of the downfalls of BYU's season was it didn't have a big man that could hold down the fort. The Cougars are still without one, and given the increased importance in the position, Kevin Young needs a center that can stop the leaks in the roster.

Cincinnati basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Myles Colvin (Wake Forest). Jerrod Calhoun is bringing a whole new squad, and Colvin looks like the one tasked as the leader for the Bearcats. The wing averaged 11.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season, and he's a reliable free throw shooter at 87%, a welcome sight for fans after being so bad from the charity stripe. 
• Worst loss: Moustapha Thiam (Michigan). The writing was on the wall for Thiam to leave, and he's now onto Ann Arbor after putting 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. His size jumps out, but he moves so well you forget he's over 7-feet tall. He was a big reason Cincinnati's defense was so good, limiting teams to under 50% shooting in the interior.
• Biggest remaining need:Defensive stalwarts. Calhoun is going for an offensive-minded team as he had at Utah State, but he has to remember you got to play defense in the Big 12 to make some noise. Several players will be going up against size they haven't seen much of.

Colorado basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Justin Neely (UNC Wilmington). What better way to fix the rebound struggles than getting a premier player on the boards? Neely's 11.5 rpg last season was second-best in Division I, and he can also score (17.9). He really carried the Spartans on his back, so he has no problems being the star for the Buffaloes.
• Worst loss:Isaiah Johnson (Texas). Colorado was actually decent offensively last season thanks to Johnson doing about everything to keep the team afloat. He had nine games with at least 20 points. There was potential to build around him, but it left Tad Boyle having to find replacements that can strike on both sides of the ball.
• Biggest remaining need: Guards. Johnson's departure leaves Colorado in desperate need of a backcourt that can produce and not leave it to the bigs to get the job done. Barrington Hargress can take on a bigger load, but it's a risk leaving it all to him.

Houston basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add: Dedan Thomas Jr. (LSU). A dynamic point guard, Thomas has always put up solid scoring numbers (14.6 career ppg) to go along with an impressive assists numbers, which included 6.5 assists at LSU. His season was limited to 15 games due to a foot injury.
• Worst loss: Isiah Harwell (Gonzaga). With such a talented roster last season, Harwell wasn't able to get as much playing time as he could, but he performed well when he got on the court. The minutes dwindled as the season ended, but there was an opportunity for his role to expand and give Kelvin Sampson some continuity.
• Biggest remaining need:Shooters. There's no doubt Houston will remain an elite defensive unit, but it will need an offense to help ease the stress. It's top three 3-point shooters are gone, and there's not a lot of proven deep threats on the roster.

Iowa State basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add: JaquanJohnson (Bradley). An absolute perfect fit for Iowa State, Johnson can do just about everything. He averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.6 apg while being able to score from anywhere on the court. As his nickname "Bully" suggests, he's a bully on defense, with his 2.5 steals per game a factor in him earning MVC defensive player of the year.
• Worst loss: Milan Momcilovic. What a tremendous loss for the Cyclones as Momcilovic became college basketball's deadliest shooter. He led the country with an astonishing 48.8% 3-point field goal percentage, a major reason Iowa State was a top 15 team from behind the arc. There is no way to replicate Momcilovic's productivity on the court, leaving a big hole in Ames.
• Biggest remaining need:3-point threats. T.J. Otzelberger did all he could to replenish his roster, but it's going to be so tough to maintain the elite offense it had with Momcilovic leading the charge. Joshua Jefferson is also gone and he was dangerous from everywhere, so the Cyclones also need a big man that can score at that clip.

Kansas basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Keanu Dawes (Utah). The transfer portal isn't something Kansas heavily relies on given the high school talent it consistently draws, but it doesn't hurt to get some complementary help. The Jayhawks didn't get a program-changer, but Dawes is a solid addition after averaging 12.5 points with 8.8 rebounds at Utah. His athleticism is his best trait, able to stretch the floor and cause some mismatches for opponents.
• Worst loss: Flory Bidunga (Louisville). There may be no bigger portal loss than Bidunga, who was a monster for the Jayhawks that dominated the interior by swatting away about any shot near him (2.6 per game, fourth in Division I). His offense took a great leap last season and Kansas could be a real national contender had he stayed.
• Biggest remaining need: Scoring guards. The question remains of who replaces Darryn Peterson? The Jayhawks relied on him heavily when he did play, and it looks like Bill Self will rely on Leroy Blyden Jr. and Taylen Kinney right out of the gate.