Category: Sports News

Why the Sixers? James explains decision, Maxey's influence originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

LeBron James knows exactly what Tyrese Maxey is all about.

As the Sixers’ new superstar detailed on the latest episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash, that’s an enormous reason why he chose to sign a two-year, minimum-salary deal to come to Philadelphia.

“First of all, my relationship with Tyrese Maxey goes beyond the court,” James began an extended response to Nash’s question about his free agency decision. 

James and Maxey share an agent in Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul. Long before Maxey’s rise to All-NBA guard, James saw special qualities in the ultra-dedicated, exceptionally joyful Kentucky product. 

“I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey, man,” James said. “Every day you get the same person, and that is very rare in sports and it’s obviously super rare in life. I’ve always talked about how great of a person he is. And we obviously know what he brings to the basketball court. 

“When I became a free agent and we decided to let the Lakers know that I wouldn’t be returning, he was one of the first people that was on my line. ‘Yo, what are we doing? What’s up, OG? What’s up, old head? Come on down here, man. We could use you down here.’ … There’s a lot of times that I don’t answer the phone for some phone calls, because I don’t even want to be swayed one way or I already know what you’re calling about. But he’s such a great person. I cannot not talk to him.”

James recalled first meeting Maxey ahead of the 2020 NBA draft. 

“He’s been the same person since the moment I met him, before he was drafted into the NBA,” he said. “The same exact person. He came to my house and at that point in time he was 19 years old, so he was actually hanging with (my sons) Bronny and Bryce. They were playing video games inside the house. So I met him and said what’s up to him when he was going into the draft. But he was closer to Bronny and Bryce than he was to me, so he was hanging with them. 

“He came in and he was super respectful to me, super respectful to my wife, super respectful to everyone in the house. Bright smile and just super down to earth. From the moment he’s gotten drafted to the perennial All-Star, superstar that he’s becoming, nothing has changed. Nothing has changed in his demeanor.

“And we all know how people can be the humble kid coming in, and then some success happens and they’re totally different. The kid has been the same person, man. It’s hard sometimes, too. I’m not faulting anyone for having some change. … But this kid — this young man now — is beyond his years for sure.”

Maxey and the Sixers’ pitch ultimately yielded a 22-time All-Star.

According to James, he wasn’t always sure whether he’d be suiting up for another NBA season after the Lakers’ second-round playoff exit. 

“There were a lot of moments,” he said, “once we lost to OKC, of, ‘Is this the end?’” 

James still felt driven to play. 

“I think the only thing that I’d continue to say to myself was, if you still have an opportunity to do what you love, then why just say I’m done? Do you have a real reason? … I think that’s what it came down to,” he said. “And I’m not going to cheat it. I’m not just going to show up to practice, no stretch, no workout, no weight room, no recovery, no nothing — just go on the court and play.

“There’s no way I could do that and be successful in this game. … Once the curtain is closed, the curtain is closed. And if you still have an opportunity to play at a high level and compete at a high level, then why not?”

Of course, Maxey was far from the lone factor that drew James to the Sixers. He touched on plenty in the podcast, including the Sixers’ stunning summer trade to acquire Jaylen Brown.

Joel Embiid is a giant piece, too. 

“One of the most important (parts), to be honest, is the big fella,” James said. “He’s done everything in our league and the only thing he has not done is win a championship. I want to try to help him get that first one. He’s been the MVP of our league, he has a gold medal, All-Stars, signature shoes, bunch of money, beautiful family. He has everything. He has the city on his back. 

“It’s been The Process for 10 years, 12 years, however long he’s been there. But I think it’s time now that we dig even deeper into the Process, and I hope I can be that final little piece that can help him get over the hump and help him see it maybe a little bit differently than he’s seen it in his career as far as the day-to-day process, the day-to-day of what it takes to get there.”

It’s almost time for James to get formally rolling as a Sixer.

The team’s media day is set for Monday morning and training camp will start Tuesday. 

Parsing through the NBA’s over/under win totals is a meaningful way to establish expectations for every team entering the new season even if you have no interest in gambling. At this point, it would be easy to look back on the San Antonio Spurs and believe their ascent atop the Western Conference was all but preordained last season with Victor Wembanyama, but in reality expectations were pretty meager. The Spurs’ win total was only 44.5 games before they roared to 62 wins and a trip to the 2026 NBA Finals.

The sportsbooks are really good at setting these lines. I went 4-3 on NBA my over/under picks last season, but it ended up being 3-4 for the lines in my story because the New York Knicks’ win total was one game higher at time of publish. That’s how thin the margins often are.

This season is particularly difficult to project because of the NBA’s new anti-tanking rules. There were a lot of free wins on the schedule last year against teams trying to prioritize ping pong balls in the lottery. Teams can’t game the system anymore with the lottery odds now almost completely randomized, especially when the league’s three worst teams actually have worse odds at the No. 1 pick. With the 2026-2027 season just around the corner, here are my best bets for the NBA over/under win total lines. All lines are via FanDuel.

Chicago Bulls under 29.5 wins

There’s finally some optimism around the Bulls with the arrival of a potential star rookie in Caleb Wilson and a new front office led by Bryson Graham. Graham signed Norm Powell, traded for Nic Claxton, and drafted Dailyn Swain with his second first-round pick, but there’s still a lot more work to be done. It’s hard to see many Eastern Conference teams worse than the Bulls this year. Chicago projects as a below-average team in rebuilding, three-point shooting volume, and defensive turnover creation, and that’s a tough way to win when you don’t have a true star player to fall back on. It’s likely that Powell is traded in Feb., and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few more veterans follow him out the door as Graham looks to put his stamp on the team. The Bulls could be fun-bad with Wilson and Matas Buzelis both among the league’s most explosive athletes, but this line still seems too high unless Wilson is an impact two-way player right away.

Houston Rockets over 46.5 wins

The Rockets won 52 games last year without Fred VanVleet for the whole season and without Steven Adams after January. Adams will be an injury risk every year, but he’s healthy to start this season, and that gives Houston its greatest strength back on the offensive glass. I’m buying improvement from both Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson this year, and even if that doesn’t happen, any of Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and Reed Sheppard could also take a leap. Kevin Durant will suffer age-related decline eventually, but he was pretty damn good last year and I wouldn’t expect him to fall off too much yet. The Rockets will turn every game into a rock fight. It won’t be pretty, but I do think it can be effective.

Los Angeles Lakers over 44.5 wins

The Lakers won 53 games last year with Austin Reaves being limited to 51 appearances and Luka Doncic limited to 64. This year’s team won’t have LeBron James to fall back on when Doncic and/or Reaves are out, but they majorly upgraded the center position while fortifying the rotation with players who should be more effective in the regular season than the playoffs. Walker Kessler will be there to protect the rim every time Doncic and Reaves get burned, and it won’t be hard for him to be more effective than Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes were last year. Sandro Mamukelashvili was an excellent offensive weapon in Toronto last season, and I like his pairing with Luka whether he’s at the four or the five. Matisse Thybulle also feels like a good buy-low candidate whose shortcoming won’t be exposed until the playoffs. Even if Doncic plays a similar number of games to last year, I think the Lakers have the star-power and the coaching to clear this win total with relative ease.

Memphis Grizzlies over 29.5 wins

The Grizzlies were shamelessly tanking to end last season, but it worked out wonderfully for them by moving up to the third pick to draft Cameron Boozer. I didn’t just call Boozer the best prospect in the draft, I also said he’ll be the next American-born player to win MVP! No pressure, man. Boozer will be the youngest player in the NBA this season, but I think he’s ready to rock from the jump. Zach Edey feels like the real swing factor in Grizzlies’ optimism. He’s consistently battled injuries during his short NBA career, but he’s super effective when he’s healthy and should be a great fit next to Boozer in the front court. I’m pretty high on Memphis’ collection of guards with Ty Jerome — one of the league’s most underrated players — leading the charge, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Cam Spencer makes a big leap this year too. Cedric Coward is another breakout candidate. Memphis is expected to be among the worst teams in the West this season, and while I get it, I think they’re going to be a lot better than that.

Golden State Warriors under 38.5 wins

I was really high on the Warriors last year at this time, but they were basically dead-on-arrival after Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in January. Butler will spend the first part of this season continuing his rehab, and it’s hard to believe the Warriors will hit the ground running without him. Stephen Curry remains spectacular, but can the Warriors really count on him for a full season at age-38? Draymond Green is still awesome on defense, but his offense gets worse every year and pretty close to unplayable. Kristaps Porzingis is really good when he’s healthy, but he’s never healthy. I really like Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendeborg, and Brandin Podziemski, and I can talk myself into a De’Anthony Melton comeback. The Warriors could make me look stupid if Curry plays 70+ games — he’s done it two of the last three seasons — but this line is still a little too rich for my blood.

Toronto Raptors over 46.5

The Raptors turned Brandon Ingram into Kawhi Leonard this summer, and I’d bet that’s enough to win one more game than last year to clear this line. Leonard was a top-5 player in the league last year, and he’s a huge upgrade over Ingram if he can stay on the floor. Obviously that’s always a big if when it comes to Kawhi, but I’d like to think he has motivation to show fans he can still ball out after his reputation took a hit from the Clippers’ cap circumvention scandal. Scottie Barnes suddenly looks like one of the best second bananas in the league, Collin Murray-Boyles should be in for a sophomore leap, and the Raptors’ bench has an intriguing mix of defensive bulldogs (Jamal Shead) and floor spacers (Ja’Kobe Walter). I’m worried about the center and point guard play, but still think this team should be very good if Leonard can get to around the 65-game mark.

Wizards under 33.5 wins

Okay, I have the Wizards at under 35.5 wins at my local sportsbook, and I much prefer that line. I’m still willing to fade this team even after bringing in Anthony Davis and Trae Young. Davis could still be one of the better players in the NBA if he’s healthy and motivated, but I just don’t see how he’s happy in Washington even if this team meets their meager expectations. Young was very good a few years ago, but his margin for error was always slim given his lack of size, and it feels like he’s endured enough injuries to slip just enough athletically to cut his peak short. A.J. Dybantsa should be awesome as the No. 1 overall pick, but I’m skeptical of the fit between him and Young. I like all the young guys here, from Kyshawn George to Tre Johnson to Alex Sarr to Will Riley, but I’m not sure they’re ready to impact winning. I also can’t believe head coach Brian Keefe is back. The defense is probably going to be terrible barring a vintage AD season, and there’s not a lot of floor spacing on offense. I’ll pound the under on the Wizards wherever the line is.

Jazz to make playoffs (+120)

FanDuel has the Jazz over/under at 37.5 wins, and I think I like taking them to make the playoffs as the better bet because the odds are more favorable. It’s hard to imagine the Jazz can crack the top-6 of the West this year, which means they will have to make it in via the play-in tournament. That’s always a scary proposition, but I like Utah’s combination of top-end talent and coaching better than some of their rivals for the last two West playoff spots like the Suns, Blazers, and Warriors. This is a big bet on Will Hardy, but after years of tanking, he should be ready to show world that he’s one of the league’s best head coaches. I’m a bit worried about the lack of playmaking on this team, and they will need Jusuf Nurkic to stay healthy if they want to compete on the glass, but there’s a lot of offensive firepower here, and it should be enough to sneak into the playoffs.

Every day, we’ll take a closer look at another member of the 2026-27 Phoenix Suns, examining what they bring to the roster and what their role could mean for the season ahead as we count down to training camp and the preseason.

Miles Bridges

Power forward, 6’7”, 225 pounds, 28 years old, 8th season

The Phoenix Suns are a team with numerous decisions to make during the upcoming season and subsequent offseason. And when it comes to the decisions that could have a long-term financial impact, much of the focus will be on two former lottery picks. One is entering his second season with the Suns, Jalen Green. The other? Newly acquired Miles Bridges, who comes to Phoenix with athleticism, ferocity, and plenty of off-court baggage.

Bridges has an opportunity in a new city and with a new organization to reset his path as an NBA player. He has an opportunity to showcase his basketball talents under the scrutinizing eyes of a fan base that has every reason to question the decision to bring him here.

There may not be another player on the Phoenix Suns facing more pressure this season than Miles Bridges. Every time he performs poorly, those who opposed his addition to the roster will beat that drum loudly. If he plays well, the Suns could become a viable threat in the Western Conference. If he struggles, his presence will remain a divisive talking point throughout the fan base.

Now that’s pressure.

Last Season

[Recap the previous season in roughly 3–5 paragraphs.]

Cover the important parts of the player’s previous year without turning this into a game log.

Include:

• Games played and starts
• Basic statistical production
• Role and minutes
• Injuries or availability
• Major stretches, developments, or setbacks
• How the season ended for them

Contract and Roster Context

[1Miles Bridges is entering the final year of his contract and is owed $22.9 million this season with the Phoenix Suns. Next summer, he will become an unrestricted free agent, although the Suns will hold his Bird rights.

What makes his contract situation interesting is that there are essentially two paths Phoenix can go down.

• If the Suns opt to extend Bridges within the first six months after acquiring him, the maximum they can offer starts at 120% of his current salary with 5% raises in each additional season, with no more than four total seasons, including the current year. So if Phoenix extends Bridges prior to January 14, 2027, the maximum offer would be three years and $86.3 million.
• If the Suns wait until after January 14, the equation changes. At that point, Phoenix could offer Bridges a standard veteran extension, which can begin at up to 140% of the final year of his current contract with 8% annual raises. That would allow the Suns to offer him as much as four years and $143.2 million.

Granted, the Suns have done a stellar job recently of getting what you could define as bargain deals, whether it was Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams, and Jordan Goodwin in free agency or the extension they reached with Dillon Brooks. So the maximum numbers don’t necessarily mean that’s what Bridges will ultimately command.

What He Brings

As I watch Bridges play, there’s one thing I know for sure. You’re going to notice him on the court. He isn’t somebody who consistently fades into the corner and lives there, holding his hands open and waiting for a ball that may never come. He inserts himself into possessions, whether that means bringing the ball up the floor, getting into the paint, or attacking when the ball finds his hands. And when he does get it, he can become electric in an instant.

His ability to throw down highlight reel dunks is what immediately catches your eye, but when you start examining the rest of his offensive game, you see a multifaceted player. 

Yes, he’s joining a Suns team that doesn’t particularly shoot the three-ball well, and Bridges isn’t necessarily going to solve that problem. He’s a career 33.8% shooter from beyond the arc and shot 33.3% last season with Charlotte. But he also made 148 of them. So it’s not like he’s a complete zero from deep who defenses can completely ignore on the perimeter.

What stands out to me more is his ability to finish with either hand. Whether it’s dunks or floaters, once he enters the paint, it can be difficult to tell whether he’s right or left-handed. You remember he’s a lefty once he starts shooting the three-ball. That versatility around the basket is going to add another layer to the Suns’ offense that they simply didn’t have last season.

And he’s not too shabby defensively, either. As I noted in my five storylines to watch for the Suns this season, Bridges is a quality defender at the point of attack:

One of the more interesting things about Miles Bridges last season was that he spent much of his time in essentially the Dillon Brooks role, guarding the opposing team’s best offensive threat. Bridges ranked in the 88th percentile in matchup difficulty, which measures the quality of the offensive players a defender is asked to guard while factoring in their offensive impact and usage. He graded out as an A minus.

That gives Phoenix another highly switchable perimeter defender who can take on difficult assignments and fortify different aspects of the Suns’ defense. And within the starting five, that should be an absolute upgrade over Royce O’Neale, who was a liability in this area.

What Needs to Improve

As the shooting chart above showcases, Bridges isn’t much of a midrange player. For his career, he has shot 32.2% between eight and 16 feet from the basket, although only 7.5% of his total attempts have come from that area. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That’s the space Devin Booker owns, while Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks like to operate there as well. You don’t need too many chefs in the kitchen, and we saw that a couple of years ago when Bradley Beal (cough…cough…when healthy) and Kevin Durant occupied many of the same areas of the floor. Bridges is better served either behind the arc, getting downhill, or operating from the dunker spot.

For somebody who attacks the paint as frequently as he does, however, he doesn’t get to the free-throw line very often. For his career, 48.7% of his shots have come from inside eight feet, yet he averages only 2.7 free-throw attempts per game. Perhaps some of that is a product of playing for Charlotte, a team that ranked in the bottom third of the league in free-throw attempts last season. But if the Suns want to attack the basket more frequently this season, with Green serving as the tip of the spear in that effort, those attacks need to produce something. Either make the basket or get to the line.

Another area where Bridges has room for improvement is his overall shot quality. BBall Index graded him as a D last season, placing him in the 27th percentile. The metric captures the quality of a player’s shots by factoring in distance, openness, and other variables. You would think that in Charlotte, with LaMelo Ball helping set the table for him, Bridges’ shot quality would have graded better than a D.

Prediction

There will be an initial adjustment period as all of the starters get comfortable with their roles. Bridges is going to eat into a chunk of the offensive production that belonged to other players a season ago. But once that comfortability sets in, I believe he’s going to thrive in his inaugural season with the Suns.

When you have Devin Booker as a scoring threat, Jalen Green attacking and penetrating, and Bridges potentially operating from the dunker spot, it should open up different aspects of the Suns’ offense. And I believe Bridges will be one of the primary beneficiaries.

There’s one thing you notice whenever you watch him play. He has a motor. That might be the part of his game that meshes most naturally with this Suns team. The motor. The desire. The competitiveness. You’ll see it on both ends of the floor. The Suns established that tenacity last season, and now they’ll look to fine-tune it with the addition of Bridges.

Stat Prediction: 68 games, 17.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.9 APG, 48/35/76 splits

Final Word

The longer the summer has gone on, the more I’ve bought into the idea that Miles Bridges is going to be a productive player for Phoenix. Perhaps it’s the long wait. The overanalysis. The hopium that starts setting in after an entire summer spent contemplating what this new offense could look like. Perhaps there’s some bias generated by watching hours of highlights. They are highlights, after all. They’re not lowlights.

Yes, there is plenty to be said about what has occurred off the court. But on it, you generally knew what you were getting from him. There were inconsistencies with the three-point shot, but the attitude and effort were there. And ultimately, that’s what this Suns team is being built to be. Hard-nosed. Competitive. The kind of team you don’t want to see sitting there on your schedule.

Bridges fits that mold perfectly.

The Dallas Mavericks are gearing up for the 2026-2027 season, with players starting to transition their offseason regimens into training camp mode as next week nears. With the roster all but set for the upcoming season, there was still much to do behind the scenes. The Mavericks listed out no fewer than 10 additions or updates to their staff via press release earlier today.

Although mundane on the surface, these updates are intriguing in that they shed light on a variety of aspects that often go overlooked by team observers. For example, Ally Wade is the Director of Mind Health. The team psychologist is rarely spoken about, but serves a critical role for players relating to both on-court and everyday life situations. Chef John Bauer is the Director of Culinary Operations, because the days of grabbing fast food at the airport have given way to fully catered meals and custom nutrition plans. Joe Touomou will serve as Director of Africa/Player Development & Scouting, bringing nearly three decades of international developmental experience and perhaps indicating Masai Ujiri’s influence stemming from his own involvement in foreign affairs, especially in Africa. Then there are two other names to take note of: Nico Berg and Michael Finley

Nico Berg

Berg is the newly minted Executive Director of Health and Performance. This should be important to any and all Mavs’ fans who: a) watched a team come dangerously close to having to forfeit games on the grounds of not having enough available players; b) anxiously await the return of Dereck Lively, who was rumored to have nearly been put back on the court just before requiring a second surgery; or c) remember the days of Casey Smith and a team that kept their players healthy and their overall health as paramount.

On the heels of a training staff that allegedly in-fought and held atypical qualifications, the Mavericks bring in Berg, a physiotherapist with a resume featuring stints in the NFL and NHL. He also spent 2010-2014 with the Minnesota Timberwolves where he received endorsements from well-known players, including former Maverick JJ Barea, so he is no stranger to the NBA. If Berg can keep players on the floor and assist players like Kyrie Irving and Lively as they work back from injury, it will have a massive positive impact on the outcome of games and will help put the injury bug in the rearview.

Michael Finley

The longtime Maverick player and front office fixture garnered some speculation when Ujiri took over and Mike Schmitz was named GM. It soon became apparent Finley was staying put and now we have details on the role he will be in. Finley will be the Senior Director of Player, Community and Alumni Engagement. If we can properly infer Finley’s role based on the title, he ought to be a tremendous fit. Finley has been part of the Mavericks and the Dallas community with only a few breaks, going back to the 1990’s.

Don’t sleep on this role. The Mavericks experienced a lot of damage to their overall goodwill and community relations on the heels of the Luka Doncic trade. The fallout of that even seems to have put adopted son Dirk Nowitzki at arm’s length. Finley may be the perfect person to rebuild some of what was lost and he will hopefully be able to reengage Nowitzki and others. In the Patrick Dumont ownership era, it was in vogue to distance the team from its past. Dumont has since seemed to recognize that approach was less than ideal and has done a noble job in trying to rectify it. This move could be a key element in cultivating the culture that once was, while continuing to move forward.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.