Category: Basketball

San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama was the biggest story at the start of the NBA season, averaging 26 points, 13 rebounds and nearly four blocks per game. The NBA even flexed a Spurs game into a primetime slot so more fans could see the 21-year-old Frenchman play.

Then he strained his calf, sidelining him for several weeks.

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Injuries have been rampant to start the 2025-26 season, picking up right where last year left off. Per certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts, who maintains a database of NBA injuries, players missed 10% more games last year than in any other season he’s tracked since 2005, aside from the pandemic years. Through four weeks this season, players are missing games at the exact same rate as last season’s record frequency.

Stars, in particular, have struggled to stay on the floor. The NBA defines a star as a player who has made an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons. Nearly half (21 out of 45) of the league’s stars are currently injured. Others, such as LeBron James and De’Aaron Fox, are healthy now but started the campaign hurt.

Several stars—Jrue Holiday, Ja Morant and Anthony Davis—have suffered from calf injuries just like Wemby. Fourteen different players have already appeared on an official injury report for a calf-related issue, up from six in the first month of 2021-22 and seven in the first month of 2022-23. This is a broader trend—teams logged 64 players with calf injuries at some point during last season, a 68% jump from 38 players three seasons prior.
 
Other soft tissue injuries, such as hamstring strains, are also increasing in frequency. There were 22 hamstring injuries in the first month of this season, up from 15 in the first month of 2021-22.

It’s difficult to isolate a cause for all these injuries, but the speed of the modern game may play a factor. According to ESPN, players are running more miles per game and at a faster average speed than any season since the player-tracking era began in 2013-14. With the proliferation of 3-point shooting across all positions, defenders must cover more ground than ever before. The full-court press has also emerged as a semi-regular defensive strategy.

Teams are looking to push the tempo on offense as well. There have been more possessions per game this year than any NBA season since 1986-87.
 
“The wear and tear, the speed, the pace, the mileage is factoring into these injuries,” Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in a press conference this week.

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Draymond reveals how he hopes Steph Curry's sneaker free agency plays out originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green has kept a close eye on his longtime teammate’s footwear during the Warriors’ current road trip — and he has some ideas about what’s next for Steph Curry.

On the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” the veteran forward noted how unusual it’s been to see Curry without his usual Under Armour line. The two-time NBA MVP recently parted ways with Under Armour after more than a decade, making him one of the most high-profile sneaker free agents in years. Instead, he’s been lacing up everything from the Shaqnosis and the Penny 2s to Kobe Bryant’s Mambacita edition sneakers.

“It’s been interesting not seeing 30 Curry in the UAs and the Curries,” Green said. “It’s been very interesting to see after 11 years … and then to see him in these different shoes, it’s been like a fish out of water.”

Green said he’s particularly excited to see how companies respond to Curry’s availability, comparing the situation to Kobe Bryant’s iconic sneaker free-agency years.

“I want to see Jordan Brand make the blue and gold 13s — or the blue and gold 11s,” Green explained. “Let’s get Steph some white and gold 11s with the gold patent leather. It makes me think back to when Kobe was a sneaker free agent and he had blue and gold 7s, you know, and the different, white purple and gold 7s and different things. And so I am really looking forward to seeing if this is about to get crazy like it was then.”

Curry’s transition away from Under Armour comes as his Curry Brand and signature “splash” logo prepare to move with him. According to Green, Under Armour will retain rights to promote and sell Curry’s shoes until next summer before the brand fully transitions with him.

“He has a blank canvas to pretty much build what he wants,” Green said. “And I think the possibilities are endless in what he will be able to build.”

Green expects Curry’s next partnership to take shape soon.

“I don’t expect this to be something that’s going to take a very long time,” Green noted. “Like Steph is pretty dialed in and pretty calculated in what he wants to do. But I think this could be very big.”

With Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham recently joining the list of players getting their own signature shoes, Green says it raises an intriguing question about what space Curry will occupy next in the sneaker market.

“Where does that leave Steph?” Green said. “That’s kind of a different bucket to play in and a whole different conversation, but interesting stuff in the sneaker space. Can’t wait to see how it all goes down.”

Whatever brand Curry chooses next, Green believes the four-time champion’s next chapter in the sneaker world could be just as influential as the one he already has built.

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Longtime Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco named new Liberty coach: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

After more than a decade with the Golden State Warriors, assistant coach Chris DeMarco is headed to the WNBA.

The New York Liberty have agreed on a contract to hire DeMarco as their new coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Friday morning, citing sources.

It is unclear if DeMarco will finish the 2025-26 NBA season with the Warriors before moving to the Big Apple, or if he will head East right away.

It was reported earlier this week that DeMarco was among the handful of finalists for the gig, among several other NBA assistants around the league.

DeMarco now is the third NBA assistant to be named the head coach of a WNBA team over the past two seasons (h/t Yahoo! Sports). Per The New York Post’s Madeline Kenney, New York had prioritized candidates with NBA backgrounds, in addition to a blend of modern and innovative views on the game.

In addition to primarily running Golden State’s defense under Steve Kerr, DeMarco also has served as head coach of the Bahamian men’s national team since 2019.

DeMarco now will take over the void left by Sandy Brondello, for whom the Liberty didn’t renew her contract for the 2026 season.

DeMar DeRozan states everything is ‘s—-y' for Kings amid current losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Sacramento Kings can’t seem to catch a break — or a win.

Following Wednesday’s blowout 137-96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, veteran forward DeMar DeRozan didn’t mince words about the state of the team.

“In a s—-y place,” DeRozan told The Sacramento Bee’s Chris Biderman when asked where the Kings are emotionally. “Don’t nobody want to lose the way we’ve been losing.”

DeRozan finished with seven points in 15 minutes of action as the Kings fell to 3-13, sitting 14th in the Western Conference — ahead of only the 2-13 New Orleans Pelicans. Sacramento now has dropped eight straight games — its longest skid since the 2021-22 season.

“I think it’s just everything right now for us is just s—-y, honestly,” DeRozan told Biderman. “Sometimes when you’re in the deep end, it’s hard to hear anything. You’re just trying to swim your way out, one way or another.”

The Kings’ few bright spots haven’t come easily. Their three wins this season came against the Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks — both decided by just two points — and a shorthanded Warriors team missing Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. Sacramento also was without Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray, who was still sidelined after thumb surgery at the time.

Murray finally rejoined the rotation Wednesday, but any sense of relief was short-lived. Sabonis will miss at least three to four weeks with a partial meniscus tear — another blow to a roster already searching for answers.

Sacramento will get another chance to climb out of its current slump when it visits the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at Ball Arena.

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Draymond Green thoughtfully claps back at ‘underachieved' Kenyon Martin originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green had had enough of Kenyon Martin’s disrespect.

Martin, a 15-year NBA veteran and co-host of “The Arena” podcast, has been taking several jabs at the Warriors forward for a while, but he most recently called Green “calculated.”

“I think what Draymond does is calculated,” Martin said. “Draymond ain’t do nothing to somebody who’s going to do something back to him.”

Now, it was Green’s time to finally fire back.

And per usual, he didn’t hold back.

On his “The Draymond Green Show” podcast, Green initially discussed how it was “disappointing” and “confusing’ that so much hate was coming from Martin, given that they’re both from Saginaw, Mich. Green shared that growing up, he also rooted for Martin for the sole fact that he was born in the same place that he was.

“The constant shots have been a little confusing to me because I don’t quite know where they came from,” Green said. “And you think someone who was the No. 1 pick that didn’t quite have the career that I’ve had, but playing similar roles in a sense, would appreciate it, would show more love — especially when you go back to a kid born and raised in Saginaw, you think it’ll be a little more love. So it’s a little disappointing to see the constant shots. I just always thought it would be a little more love than that.

“But when you were the No. 1 pick and effectively underachieved, I guess that would be the reason why. To be the No. 1 pick and make the All-Star Game one time, most would say it’s probably an underachievement. Being that I was the 35th pick and made the All-Star Game four times. Defensive Player of the Year. Kenyon Martin was a defender. I think he would consider himself a good defender, [but] never quite reached the pinnacle of that when you talk Defensive Player of the Years, or the nine All-Defensive Teams that I have, and he has zero.

“It’s tough to sit in a space of like continuing to speak on my name and call my name out as if I underachieved or am underachieving. When I was just simply the 35th pick in the NBA draft, and somebody took a swing on me the second round and it just happened to work out to become one of the greatest players in franchise history.”

In 15 seasons, Martin made two NBA Finals appearances in the first two seasons of his career. He never secured the Larry O’Brien Trophy, however.

Green, of course, has made six trips to the Finals and won four championships with the Warriors over the last 13 years.

Accolades, stats and opinions aside, Green is most hurt by, again, the fact that these comments are coming from someone who grew up in a city like Saginaw, where he said there’s so much pride. And despite Martin’s critiques, Green said he won’t ever lose the respect of someone he once idolized as a young boy from Michigan.

“It’s just been a little weird and constant shots, and due to my respect and my love because of the connection that I once shared or still share from being born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan, I’ve held off on responding multiple times,” Green continued. “Because I just know when I respond to s–t, it takes on a whole other world, and guys get more publicity than they necessarily get when I don’t respond. So I’ve been kind of taking the path of like, I ain’t going to say nothing, because I don’t want to give people more publicity. But more importantly than the publicity, I try to stay in a space of respect.

“At the end of the day, I still have my beliefs, and my beliefs are, man, I’ve rooted for this guy for a very long time. I’m not a wishy-washy guy. I’m not just going to jump off the rails and attack him or be responding and get in these back-and-forths because of the respect and love that I had growing up as a kid.”

But it wouldn’t be a true Draymond Green “clap back” if it didn’t end with a little diss.

“The shots just keep coming. You continue to shoot at me, and you underachieved! One All-Star. Make no mistake about it, you are an All-Star. I give you that. A lot of people can’t say they’re an all-star, so I give you that, you’re a one-time All-Star. That’s beautiful. But you must admit, to be the player that you were and defender that you believed you were, and to not have like a single All-Defensive Second Team, it’s kind of an underachievement. No. 1 pick in the draft, a lot of people look for that guy to win Rookie of the Year. Did make the First Team All-Rookie, though, you know, that’s an accolade that I can’t say I have. I ain’t really played much as a rookie as the 35th pick, so I can’t say I made any All-Rookie team. So kudos. I tip my hat to that.

“But like I said, man, the shots, they’re just a little baffling to me. Because if I stopped playing basketball today, my career was better, way more impactful. I think Kenyon Martin lost in a couple NBA Finals. He got to sniff it. Didn’t quite get a taste, but got a little sniff of it. So your resume got to be a little better to just keep taking shots.”

In the end, it’s all love from Green.

But he had to get some things off his chest, first.

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Longtime Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco reportedly named new Liberty coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

After more than a decade with the Golden State Warriors, assistant coach Chris DeMarco is headed to the WNBA.

The New York Liberty have agreed on a contract to hire DeMarco as their new coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Friday morning, citing sources.

It is unclear if DeMarco will finish the 2025-26 NBA season with the Warriors before moving to the Big Apple, or if he will head East right away.

It was reported earlier this week that DeMarco was among the handful of finalists for the gig, among several other NBA assistants around the league.

DeMarco now is the third NBA assistant to be named the head coach of a WNBA team over the past two seasons (h/t Yahoo! Sports). Per The New York Post’s Madeline Kenney, New York had prioritized candidates with NBA backgrounds, in addition to a blend of modern and innovative views on the game.

In addition to primarily running Golden State’s defense under Steve Kerr, DeMarco also has served as head coach of the Bahamian men’s national team since 2019.

DeMarco now will take over the void left by Sandy Brondello, for whom the Liberty didn’t renew her contract for the 2026 season.

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In wake of a miserable season, Maxey's taking another massive leap  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Tyrese Maxey had many valid excuses last season. 

The Sixers’ injuries were rampant all year. It’s not normal for young, 6-foot-2 guards to constantly save the day. Everyone endures shooting slumps. He struggled with a season-ending finger injury. 

Fifteen games into the 2025-26 season, all the bleakness seems to be behind him. Maxey, a fanatical worker and winner of the NBA’s 2023-24 Most Improved Player award, is taking another massive leap. 

The 25-year-old has played at an MVP level for a 9-6 Sixers team that’s already notched quite a few heart-pounding wins. He posted a career-high 54 points, nine assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals Thursday in an overtime victory over the Bucks.

Maxey’s co-stars have still been mostly unavailable. Joel Embiid’s played in six games and missed his sixth straight in Milwaukee because of a right knee injury. Paul George had a valuable 21-point performance against the Bucks, but he sat out the Sixers’ first 12 games as he ramped up following arthroscopic surgery in July on his left knee. 

So, Maxey’s barely been on the bench. He’s played an NBA-high 40.7 minutes per game and rookie teammate VJ Edgecombe is second with 37.4. No NBA player has averaged 40-plus minutes in a season since Monta Ellis back in the 2010-11 campaign. 

With 33.4 points per game, Maxey sits second in the league in scoring. Wilt Chamberlain’s 33.5 per contest in his 1965-66 MVP season are the most in Sixers history. Embiid averaged 33.1 in his 2022-23 MVP season. 

There’s many hard-earned nuances to Maxey’s vast scoring package. He routinely drops in lefty layups and floaters, shifts pace, surges downhill, draws free throws in crafty fashion. His range stood out in Milwaukee. No defense is equipped to guard dynamic drivers who also swish foot-on-the-logo jumpers. 

According to Cleaning the Glass, Maxey’s 124.6 points per 100 shot attempts would be the best mark of his career. He went 18 for 30 from the field and 12 for 14 at the foul line in Milwaukee. 

Maxey’s 7.9 assists per game and 33.0 assist percentage would easily be career bests, too. He’s had a good time running the Sixers’ offense and tossing up lobs to Edgecombe.

“Y’all said I couldn’t pass,” Maxey said with a smile on Nov. 8. “I had to work on my passing. I honestly did a lot in the summertime. Some of my friends helped me out just with trying to make reads. … This is my sixth year. Every year I’ve been trying to play a better floor game. (Player development coach Toure’ Murry) has been on me about how, if I’m going to score the ball a lot, I’ve got to be able to get my teammates involved, too. It helps me. It helps me be more aggressive.”

Through all the losses last season, Maxey’s defensive progress was a silver lining. He’s got quick feet and clever hands, and he’s continued to take pride in his effort. Maxey led the Sixers in both steals and blocks on Thursday.

Beyond the numbers, Maxey’s made tons of intangible improvements. 

He appears to have much more trust in his instincts as a leader —  what play to call in a crucial moment; when to encourage and when to correct younger players; how to play with both contagious joy and steely determination. 

“I think probably the end of my fourth year, I just remember Joel pulling me to the side and telling me that my voice is going to be needed,” Maxey said on Oct. 20. “People see how hard I work, how much I care about winning and the franchise. And Joel, he’s a more reserved guy. Of course he’s talented on the court — that’s what he does — but he was just telling me that’s a way for me to step up, leading and being vocal. 

“Last year I tried to start it at the beginning, but I didn’t really get going the way I needed to until probably toward the middle of the season. It’s just what I do now, I guess. I’m old.”

What's at stake for Celtics in NBA Cup standings entering Nets matchup originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics are down — but they’re not out.

We’re talking, of course, about the 2025 NBA Cup, the league’s third annual in-season tournament that began on Halloween and runs through mid-December. While the Celtics have played well of late — they’ve won three in a row to improve to 8-7 on the young season — they have a lot of work to do if they want to make up ground in Group B of the NBA Cup standings.

A quick refresher: Boston’s group consists of the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets. The C’s play each of those teams once in NBA Cup group stage play and currently have a 1-1 record with a negative-12 point differential, having edged the Sixers 109-108 and lost to the Magic 123-110.

On Friday, they’ll play their first NBA Cup game at TD Garden against the Nets (7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston). And if they want any shot at advancing out of the group stage, they’ll need to beat Brooklyn by a lot.

Below is a brief explainer on the NBA Cup format, followed by the Celtics’ schedule, the current Group B standings and what’s at stake for Boston on Friday night.

How does the NBA Cup work?

The tournament begins with the group stage. All 30 teams are competing in group play, having been placed into six groups of five teams within their conference. Teams face each of their group opponents once for a total of four group play games (two at home and two on the road).

Eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds: the top team in each of the six groups and a wild card team in each conference that’s awarded to the second-place finisher with the best overall record.

If two or more teams are tied within a group, the following tiebreakers are used:

• Head-to-head record in group play
• Point differential in group play
• Total points scored in group play
• Record from the 2024-25 NBA regular season
• Random drawing

The knockout rounds begin with quarterfinal games on Dec. 9 and 10 hosted by the higher seed, and then the semifinals and finals, which will be held in Las Vegas.

All Group Stage games count toward teams’ regular-season records. Teams enter the season with only 80 scheduled games, and the 22 teams that don’t advance to the knockout round will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights on Dec. 11/12 and Dec. 14/15.

Celtics’ Group B schedule

The Celtics’ four Group Stage games are being played across a 27-day span from Halloween until the day before Thanksgiving.

• Friday, Oct. 31: Celtics 109, Sixers 108
• Friday, Nov. 7: Magic 123, Celtics 110
• Friday, Nov. 21: Nets vs. Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Boston)
• Wednesday, Nov. 26: Pistons vs. Celtics, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Group B Standings

Each team in Group B plays each other once during Group Stage play. If two teams have the same record in group play, the first two tiebreakers are head-to-head record and point differential. 

Here are the Group B standings, which we’ll update throughout group play:

What’s at stake for the Celtics

The Celtics trail the Pistons 39 points and the Magic by 32 points in the point differential department. So, they essentially need a 30-point blowout (or at least a win by 20-plus points) to close that gap. (Detroit and Orlando are both off Friday night.)

Orlando’s next NBA Cup game is next Tuesday in Philadelphia, while the C’s play their final Group B game Wednesday against Detroit. So, here’s what Boston fans should be rooting for:

• Celtics blow out the Nets on Friday.
• Magic lose to Sixers by a wide margin on Tuesday.

If both of those things happen, the Celtics might have a chance to sneak into the knockout round, but they’d need another lopsided win over the Pistons next Wednesday, as well.

So, yes, it’s a long shot. But a rout of Brooklyn on Friday would at least give Boston a puncher’s chance.

Why Warriors' upcoming homestand signals critical juncture in how season unfolds originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

There is no five-alarm fire surrounding the Warriors, but there are enough matches gathering that their upcoming five-game homestand, even in the first six weeks of the NBA season, can be a tipping point.

After playing 12 of 17 games on the road, the Warriors return to Chase Center on Friday to face the Portland Trail Blazers, whose ninth-place position in the Western Conference has them only one slot beneath eighth-place Golden State. Then come the 10th-place Utah Jazz, the third-place Houston Rockets, the last-place New Orleans Pelicans and the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder.

Houston and OKC present real challenges, but a loss to any of the other three would signal a troubling setback for the Warriors.

With perplexing chatter emanating from their semi-successful six-game road trip – comments regarding “agendas” and the usual agitation related to Jonathan Kuminga’s role and future – the Warriors surely know their work thus far invites legitimate skepticism. They are reeling, looking to Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green to make all the necessary corrections that, perhaps, can deliver them from the fate of the play-in tournament.

That’s what awaits, and what a failure it would be, if the Warriors can’t pull themselves together and begin climbing up the standings.

Coach Steve Kerr, who bemoaned the lack of practice time during their six-game road trip, the upcoming schedule provides enough time for at least two, maybe three, practice sessions. There will be ample opportunity to roll out video and offer constructive criticism.

“The schedule does turn our way,” Kerr told reporters Wednesday night in Miami, after a 110-96 loss to the Heat concluded the six-game road trip. “But we need to take advantage of it. We’ve got to get better.”

Turnovers continue to be an issue. Despite frequent imploring from the likes of Kerr and Butler, the Warriors’ 17.1 giveaways per game are more than only the Dallas Mavericks 17.2. Golden State is dead last in turnover ratio at 16.8, roughly one of every six possessions.

For the league’s least physically imposing roster, one that struggles to rebound (22nd in the league) and gain extra possessions, taking care of the ball is essential for any chance of contending.

To be clear, these Warriors are not built as the great teams of yore, when they offset turnovers by pounding the glass, defending like a pack of wolves and drowning opponents in a torrent of 3-pointers.

“We just got to get back to giving a damn about every single possession, which is easy,” Butler, who uncharacteristically committed nine giveaways in his last two games, told reporters in Orlando after a 121-113 loss to the Magic on Wednesday. “But it’s definitely going to start with me not turning the ball over.”

Yet even a cursory glance at the Warriors is enough to know their problems go beyond turnovers. All three victories on the recent road trip required magnificent performances, with Curry scoring 46 points in one game and 49 in the next, followed by a career-high 32-point outburst from Moses Moody – the third time in four-plus seasons he topped 25 points.

Where is the balanced offense? Curry and Butler combined for a highly efficient 67 points in Orlando and walked off the floor with a bitter L, largely because the bench missed 15 of 23 shots and was outscored 35-22 by Magic reserves.

Brandin Podziemski over his last 10 games shot 40.2 percent from the field, including 36.7 percent from deep. Buddy Hield over his last 10 shot 39.5 percent, including 29.1 beyond the arc. Quentin Post is at 45.8 and 31.3 over his last five games. Kuminga has come off the bench only once this season, playing only 12 minutes before sore knees sent him to the bench.

There is a lot that needs repair before the Warriors can emerge from the fog they’ve been for three weeks, losing seven of 12 games. From Kerr to Curry to Butler and Green, there is belief that who they have been does not accurately represent who they are.

“We’re a connected team,” Kerr said Wednesday night. “We’ve got a good vibe, a good group. (But) we’ve got some improvement to make on the floor and that’s the main thing.”

Both De’Anthony Melton and Seth Curry should arrive in the coming weeks. That should add a layer of proficiency to the roster.

If the Warriors can’t find their best, beginning with this homestand, they could slog into the same undesirable position they were in last February, when desperation forced a major trade in hopes a late surge could salvage the season.

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