Category: Sports News

Mark my words: This is going to be the best NBA season yet for Luka Doncic.

He should win the MVP award. Or be the runner-up if the Lakers can’t make enough noise in the very- crowded Western Conference. 

The pathway is primed. Let’s break it down. 

Doncic is mad. 

He’s still reeling from the shock of being traded by the Mavericks to the Lakers in February 2025. He was stunned. Humiliated. What other top-four player has been dealt in their prime? He has a vendetta. Something to prove to the league. 

He has a sense of ownership. 

The Lakers are now his team. LeBron James left in free agency for the 76ers. The success or failure of a 17-time championship franchise now rests squarely on his shoulders. That means something. 

He has his fingerprints on everything. 

During the offseason, he put his stamp on the squad. He had a big say in who he wanted to play alongside, including the Lakers re-signing Austin Reaves and acquiring center Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade from Utah. 

He’s ready. 

He’s arguably in the best shape of his career. Lakers coach JJ Redick recently said he “worked his butt off all summer,” adding that he “actually did sprints and stuff.” He’s noticeably slimmer. 

He’s acting like a leader. 

Doncic recently hosted a four-day minicamp in Slovenia to help build chemistry. He has never done anything like that before in his career. He paid for everyone on the roster to fly to his home country. He really wants this to work. 

And in many ways, he was spurned last season. 

Let’s not forget that Doncic actually fell in NBA.com’s MVP Ladder in late March from No. 2 to No. 4 following a six-game stretch in which he averaged 40.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals, becoming the first player to average 40 points over six road games since Michael Jordan in 1986. 

“The better I play, the more I go down in ratings,” Doncic said at the time. “So I don’t know what more I can do.”

Over the month of March? 

Doncic averaged 37.5 points, 8 rebounds and 7.4 assists, leading the Lakers to a 15-2 record before suffering a strained hamstring on April 2. 

And yet, Doncic finished fourth in MVP voting behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic. 

The case could’ve been made for him to finish higher. Voters knew that. It was an impossible task trying to rank those guys for the league’s most prestigious individual award, especially considering there are no distinct specifications for it. The bar keeps endlessly moving for how voting is justified. 

So, all of this to say, Doncic is next. 

The kindling is on the floor. The logs have been stacked. Gasoline has been poured over it all. A lit match is about to be dropped. 

Right now, basketball is everything for Doncic. His daughters are in Slovenia. He’s engaged in an ongoing custody battle with his ex-fiancée over them. Pouring himself into his sport is the only thing that’s going to keep him sane. 

That’s powerful. 

Last season, Doncic declined to advocate for himself to win the MVP award, something Wembanyama successfully did to his advantage. 

Doncic led the league in scoring (33.5 points) and finished third in assists (8.3). The only things that could be held against him in such a tight race? The Lakers finished fourth in the West behind the Thunder, Spurs and Nuggets. And Doncic’s defense lags behind Gilgeous-Alexander’s stellar two-way play and Wembanyama’s wizardry on the less glamorous end of the court. 

But standings aren’t always taken into consideration for the MVP award. For example, Russell Westbrook won MVP in 2017 even though the Thunder finished sixth in the West. Jokic won the award in 2021 even though the Nuggets finished third in the conference. 

Defense isn’t always taken into consideration, either. See guys such as Jokic, Steph Curry and James Harden winning MVP. 

In other words, it’s all subjective. 

Voters do the best they can, including this one, who voted for Doncic to finish fourth for MVP last season. But we all know when our decision was decided by millimeter margins. 

Doncic is primed to have an explosive season. 

All of the ingredients are in the pot. We’re all waiting to see how the dish turns out. 

But really, we know what to expect. 

And it’s going to be nothing short of incredible.

No rest for the weary, even in the preseason, as the Golden State Warriors travel up north to play against the Portland Trail Blazers for Wednesday’s second night of a back-to-back. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM PT in Portland and can be watched on NBA TV.

Previously with the Warriors:

The Warriors showcased another starting lineup in Tuesday night’s 124-98 blowout victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. With center Al Horford a late scratch, Golden State opted for size and versatility around guards Steph Curry and Brandin Podziemski, with Draymond Green starting at center alongside rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and Gui Santos to round out the rest of the front court.

Lendeborg impressed once again, leading the team with 17 points in 21 minutes on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the field. His nine rebounds also led the Warriors for the second game in a row. After the game, Lendeborg discussed why he believes he’s having so much success crashing the boards in the NBA.

What to watch for tonight:

In perhaps one of the strangest scheduling quirks in recent preseason memory, tonight’s game wraps up a busy stretch of three games in four days for the Warriors, one that began Sunday in Hawaii before taking them back to San Francisco on Tuesday and now up to Portland for the second night of a back-to-back.

If this were the regular season, the Warriors would almost certainly rest several of their veteran players. Given that this is only the preseason, that’s expected to be the case tonight, with a long list of players not even making the trip to Portland. That’s good news for the bottom half of the roster, which should get plenty of opportunities to showcase themselves, but bad news for anyone hoping to see the Warriors’ stars on the court.

Regardless of who’s playing, enjoy the game Dub Nation. GO WARRIORS!!! 

Projected Starters

Warriors: Brandon Williams, LJ Cryer, Will Richard, Malevy Leons, Charles Bassey

Blazers: Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan

How to watch Preseason Game 3

Who: Golden State Warriors (1 – 1) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (0 – 0)

When: Wednesday, October 7th, at 7:00 p.m. PT

Where: Moda Center — Portland, Oregon

TV and Streaming: NBA TV

SAN FRANCISCO — The Lakers’ trip to Northern California displayed the duality of preseason basketball.

Because for as good as Monday night felt, Tuesday night was equally as dreadful. 

Within 24 hours, the Lakers went from looking like world-beaters against a Kings team that’s expected to finish the 2026-27 season toward the bottom of the NBA standings to getting run out of the gym by a Warriors team that’s fighting to stay relevant behind aging four-time NBA champions Steph Curry and Draymond Green. 

The up-and-down nature of the last few days epitomized why making grand conclusions from preseason exhibitions about a team’s full-season outlook is a foolish exercise. 

Player availability changes nightly, which was the case for the Lakers when Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Collin Sexton sat out against the Warriors.

Both teams only have a handful of training camp practices before having to play against another opponent and are lucky if they’re able to crack a double-digit number of practices before the regular season starts.

In order words, no team is — or at least should be — at its best during preseason. 

But what preseason exhibitions should provide is an insight into what a team has been focusing on since putting together its roster over the summer and honing in on since practices officially began as summer turned to fall. 

And for the Lakers, proof of concept was provided when they played the Kings. On Monday, LA at least had a reasonable number of players available who’ll play meaningful minutes when the games count.

Yes, Kessler not playing either game meant the Lakers lacked the rim protection they coveted when they acquired the 7-foot-2 big man from the Jazz. And it showed.

Reaves and Sexton being sidelined removed the team’s main ball handlers behind Doncic. 

But for at least one game against the Kings — and really just the first half when Doncic played — the Lakers showcased a glimpse of the team’s vision.

Ninety-four feet of full-court defensive pressure, with Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRavia and Adou Thiero all taking turns. 

Increased defensive physicality and aggression, leading to more deflections, steals and forced turnovers.

“Especially with Matisse and Ziaire, [the defense at the beginning] of the game [against the Kings], that’s contagious for everybody,” Doncic said. “It was inspirational.”

The offense will continue to revolve around Doncic — and Reaves once he’s in the lineup.

But the how will look different, with Doncic operating off the ball more to start possessions before using his teammates’ screening to come to the ball, which weaponizes his offensive gravity.

“You can look at any game, or any practice, and find good stuff to build on,” coach JJ Redick said. “So, yes, it’s encouraging.”

An encouraging start to the preseason isn’t the be-all, end-all, but the foundation and expectations are set. 

And once they’re able to get more of their main players on the court, those expectations will only rise.

Legendary broadcaster Mike Breen is walking back a story about LeBron James criticizing Joel Embiid after James called it out as “lies.”

“I’m so disappointed how the story was interpreted,” Breen told ESPN. “The whole intent was praising LeBron for already having an impact on the team’s professionalism and accountability, even something so benign as a player getting on the court for practice a minute or two late.”

During Monday’s preseason Knicks vs. Sixers game broadcast on MSG Networks, Breen explained he’d caught wind of James reaming Embiid for being late to practice.

“Somebody told me before the game that they were out ready to practice, and Joel Embiid walked out on the court a couple of minutes late, and LeBron let him hear it,” Breen said.

The following day, James pushed back, writing on his Instagram, “He ain’t been late so stop the lies.”

“I thought it would be an interesting anecdote to show LeBron’s leadership already on display in Philly,” Breen continued. “For me, the fact that the teammate was Joel was meaningless. In hindsight, I should have realized the fact that it was Joel is what made it a story. I’ve always been a huge fan of Joel and feel awful that it put the focus on him the way that it did.

“I don’t know why the person who told me the story would make it up, but if LeBron says it never happened then I believe him and apologize for putting it out there.”

It’s not the first time Embiid has been at the center of reports about timeliness.

Two years ago, as the 76ers started 2-11, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that his Philly teammates were calling Embiid out for lateness “for everything” during the skid.

Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry has been known to indulge in an occasional alcoholic beverage. But he’ll need a different means of unwinding while carrying Golden State this offseason.

Before the Warriors’ first preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, Steph’s wife, Ayesha, posted an Instagram photo of them in each other’s arms while poolside. Ayesha put the spotlight on their drinks of choice in the caption.

“Game day tomorrow! 1 Hugo spritz and a water for the gentleman please,” the post was captioned.

Steph doesn’t need any special urging from Ayesha. He has said in the past that he only drinks during celebrations and in the NBA offseason, which means that this decision for “a water” instead of some boozy drink would have been his to make.

Curry is entering his 18th NBA season and agreed to sign a two-year, $116 million contract extension with the Warriors at the end of September.

That’s definitely worthy of a celebration. Good thing Curry got that deal done before the season began, so that he could toast it with whatever beverage he wanted.

Warriors fans are hoping any alcoholic drinks they have this season will be a cause for celebration rather than for sorrow.