Los Angeles, CA - June 16, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) hits a home run during the sixth inning of an MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Baseball is the sport with the most parity on a night to night basis, particularly in the regular season. The worst team can beat the best team, and no one really bats an eye. That is part of what made the Orioles series with the Dodgers back in September so magical. The Orioles were in the midst of a disastrous season while the Dodgers were en route to yet another World Series. That didn’t really matter though as the O’s took two of three anyway, including a particularly exciting comeback from a near no-hitter for Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a walk-off winner for the Birds in Game 2 of that series.
There is a similar gulf between these two clubs entering this series. The Dodgers have a league-best +144 run differential; the Orioles are at -36. The Dodgers lead their division by nine games and are two games clear of the second-best team in the NL. The Orioles are 2.5 games back of the final wild card spot in the AL. Add in the O’s abysmal 13-22 record on the road or 15-24 record against teams .500 or better, and you can start to mentally write this series off entirely.
Looking at stats isn’t going to give you any more confidence. The Dodgers have scored the second-most runs (Nationals) in baseball and hit the second-most home runs (Yankees). They also rank first in batting average (.261) and on-base percentage (.345), while their .441 slugging percentage is second to just the Yankees.
Shoehei Ohtani is having himself another amazing year, though not quite as dominant offensively as we have grown accustomed to. His .545 slugging percentage is his lowest since 2022, and his 15 home runs have him well behind his normal pace of long balls. Even still, his 163 wRC+ is among the leage leaders yet again.
Max Muncy actually leads the team with 16 homers, and he has done that in 60 fewer plate appearances than Ohtani. Andy Pages’ 56 RBI are tops on the team, only one behind the league leaders. Freddie Freeman is still good too, posting a .279/.368/.482 batting line with 12 homers.
The negatives are pretty limited, but we should mention them. Mookie Betts is struggling, and not just in the context of a stacked Dodgers lineup. The former MVP is hitting just .203/.266/.367 with seven homers and a 75 wRC+. His peripheral numbers are much better though. His expected batting average is .277 and he rare chases, whiffs, or strikes out. The 33-year-old is due for some positive regression at some point. Hopefully it doesn’t start this weekend.
And you probably don’t need to worry about this Dodgers team beating you on the base paths. Their 31 stolen bases are the fourth-fewest in baseball, and their -2.4 Base Running Runs are in the bottom third of the league as well.
The two things you can depend on the Dodgers for in recent history are winning baseball games and a full injury report. That is the case yet again in 2026. We won’t see a number of key names this weekend. Will Smith has a stiff neck. Teoscar Hernández is nursing a hamstring strain. Edwin Díaz is out until next month with an elbow injury. And you won’t have to worry about Tyler Glasnow (back), Kiké Hernández (oblique), Blake Snell (elbow), or old friend Evan Phillips (Tommy John) for several more weeks, at least.
Gibson is having the rookie experience right now. His last outing against the Padres was his first with more than two strikeouts. It also saw him issue five walks and bean Xander Bogaerts in the head. There is work to be done, but the Orioles have no choice but to keep trotting him out there given the injures elsewhere on their starting staff.
It has been a rocky sophomore season for Sasaki. He had a 6.35 ERA in March/April, but settle down with a 3.18 ERA in May. Now in June he followed seven shutout innings against the Angels to begin the month with a meltdown against the White Sox (4.1 IP, seven runs). Which version will the Orioles see to open the series? It feels like we all know the answer, don’t we?
Is Rogers back? He has a 3.12 ERA in June and has not allowed more than three runs in any of his last three starts. His formula is pretty simple on paper. Limit the walks and keep the ball in the yard. When he does that, he finds success. That ability will be tested against these Dodgers.
Yamamoto is following up his third-place finish in Cy Young voting a season ago with an almost identical season in 2026. The strikeout numbers aren’t as dominant, but he is walking almost no one and has a WHIP of just 0.840. The diminutive righty makes you earn your way on.
Game 3: Sunday, June 21st, 4:10 p.m., MASN
RHP Brandon Young (5-2, 3.18 ERA) vs. RHP Emmet Sheehan (3-4, 4.76 ERA)
The Orioles’ string of winning games that Young starts was broken in his last outing, but that wasn’t the righty’s fault. He delivered a quality start, going six innings and allowing just three runs. His 2.83 ERA over his last eight starts has been a saving grace for a rotation that has struggled with consistency overall. The Orioles might even have the pitching advantage in this one.
Sheehan has probably been something of a disappointment for Dodgers fans this year. He looked great with his 2.82 ERA across 73.1 innings last season, but has failed to live up to that hype in 2026. Even still, he forces a lot of swing and miss, and regularly gets hitters to chase pitches out of the zone. So this is still going to be a tough matchup for the Orioles.
How many games do you think the Orioles will win in this series? Let us know in the comments.
Hiller's introduction to the Maple Leafs caps an abundance of decisions with the purpose of reshaping the organization. And Raddysh joining Toronto's blueline is a big change to the team's D-core.
In other words, it's the beginning of a new era for the Maple Leafs.
The start of this new era in Toronto began last off-season when Mitch Marner departed from the Maple Leafs in that sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. But as the year went along, there were plenty more changes on the cards, and maybe some were not anticipated at the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign.
Here are some of those notable changes and decisions that led to this new era for the Maple Leafs organization.
Joe Bowen's Retirement
After being the voice of the Maple Leafs for over 3,800 games and over 40 years of broadcasting, Joe Bowen has just wrapped up his final year in the booth.
It won't be the same for Leafs fans with Bowen no longer behind the microphone. But the 75-year-old will be in retirement as a new era of Maple Leafs broadcasting begins, starting next season.
The Maple Leafs have been a perennial playoff team in the NHL. In fact, this past season was the first time Toronto missed the post-season in nine years.
Until last year, the Leafs have consistently made the playoffs since 2016-17. In other words, they've never missed out on the post-season in the Auston Matthews era.
That change last season when Toronto ended their campaign as the last-place team in the Atlantic Division and fifth from the bottom of the entire NHL standings.
With that, the organization finds themself in a situation that it hasn't experienced in a decade, marking a new timeline for the Leafs.
John Chayka And Mats Sundin Hiring
Following that disappointing 2025-26 campaign by the Maple Leafs, ownership believed it was time for a change in the front office.
Former GM Brad Treliving was fired in late March, and current GM John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin were named the successors to the previous management.
It was an interesting and unpredictable decision for MLSE to hire Chayka as the GM when he hadn't been in the league since 2019-20. To add to that, they brought in Sundin, a former captain and icon of the Maple Leafs, but he never experienced a role in an NHL front office or in any league, for that matter.
This different approach and assignment of roles is something the Maple Leafs organization hasn't gone through in recent years, and certainly marks a new era for the hockey club.
2026 First Overall Pick
In the aftermath of misery from the end of a poor regular season and the initial backlash from MLSE's front office hires, Toronto's spirits were reborn when they surprisingly won the 2026 NHL draft lottery.
Toronto had the fifth-best odds and an 8.5 percent chance of winning the lottery, and with a little bit of fortune, that hope became a reality. It marks the first time the Leafs will get the first overall pick in a draft since they selected Matthews in the 2016 draft.
With the likelihood of taking left winger Gavin McKenna in this year's draft, or even left winger Ivar Stenberg, Toronto is sure to get a talented youngster to boost a franchise that was trending downward at the end of the last campaign.
Hiller was another surprise hire by the Maple Leafs, both because of the lack of reports that included his name and also his previous tenure with the Los Angeles Kings.
Nonetheless, Hiller returns to the Maple Leafs after four years as an assistant coach from 2015-16 to 2018-19. And the word is, Toronto's stars are a big fan of Hiller.
As an assistant, he ran the power play, and over the course of his Leafs tenure, he guided them to be a top-five power play. With someone like Matthews dropping in production over the years, maybe Hiller can bring the best out of him.
Additions To Blueline
The latest move Chayka has executed is a sign-and-trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning for Raddysh. They acquired him from the Bolts for a 2026 fifth-round pick, and then reportedly inked him to an eight-year extension worth $8.5 million per season.
Raddysh, a Toronto native, was one of the top players in the 2026 UFA class, making this a big grab by the Leafs and a boost to their back end.
With that, throw in the trade with the Philadelphia Flyers when Toronto received 24-year-old defenseman Emil Andrae and sent away Simon Benoit. This improves the Leafs' ability to advance the puck up the ice with Andrae's puck skills, along with his ability to skate.
Not to mention, the biggest change to Toronto's back end may be yet to come. With talks of Morgan Rielly potentially being moved this summer, that would be the most era-changing move Toronto could make, considering he is actively the longest-tenured Maple Leaf on the team.
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PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 14: Joey Bart #14 of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the fifth inning during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Christopher Denver/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates made a late-night trade on Thursday night that will shift the landscape of two areas of the team.
Pittsburgh dealt catcher Joey Bart to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for reliever Hunter Stratton.
A familiar face, Stratton was a 16th-round pick of the Pirates in 2017 and pitched for the club for three seasons.
Stratton made his MLB debut in 2023 and only allowed three runs over 12 innings.
He totaled a 3.58 ERA in 36 appearances the following season, but struggled in 2025. Stratton allowed seven runs in 2.2 innings with the Bucs last year for a deeper and higher-regarded bullpen staff.
The Pirates DFA’d Stratton and traded him to Atlanta, where he posted a 2.20 ERA in 12 appearances. He was DFA’d by Atlanta earlier this week and opened the door for the Pirates to make the trade.
Stratton will begin his second tour with the Bucs in Triple-A Indianapolis.
Currently on a rehab assignment for a left foot infection, Bart was in line to be the odd-man out of the Pirates catching rotation.
The former No. 2 overall pick of the San Francisco Giants was rumored to be a potential trade piece dating back to the start of spring training, and now exists Pittsburgh after two and a half seasons.
Bart hit .259 with one double, two home runs, six RBIs, and 21 strikeouts in 58 at-bats in 2026.
He performed well against left-handed pitching, but started off slow and was on pace for his worst season as a Pirate.
Bart recorded nine hits in his final six games before the injury, including a four-hit day in his final game as a Bucco.
Endy Rodriguez stepped up in Bart’s absence and didn’t look back. Rodriguez was recalled following Bart’s injury and is slashing .267/.413/.467 with three doubles, three homers, and eight runs driving in over 60 at-bats.
He’s also shown good plate discipline with 15 walks compared to 17 strikeouts in 23 games and is beginning to emerge as the Pirates’ No. 1 catcher. Henry Davis remains on the roster and has caught every Paul Skenes start in 2026.
Stratton primarily pitched in Triple-A Gwinnett, posting a 4.38 ERA and 16 walks compared to 24 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.
The Pirates need Stratton to channel his early Pirates career and help a bullpen that has been the Achilles heel of the team the entire year.
Pittsburgh plays the first of a three-game series in Colorado against the Rockies on Sunday at 8:40 p.m.
On June 12, three Giants pitchers, Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, broke MLB protocol by altering their uniforms with Bible verses on their Pride Night caps, which featured a rainbow Giants logo. And another pitcher, Sam Hentges, did not even wear his Pride Night hat. The players received a warning from MLB for violating the uniform policy.
The DOJ said they were referring Major League Baseball to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a letter written to Commissioner Rob Manfred.
"The three players expressed their opposition to MLB's pro-Pride orthodoxy," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in the letter. "The Civil Rights Act prohibits MLB and its franchises from unreasonably burdening the rights of players with religious objections to serving as the League's vehicle for pro-Pride messages.
“Federal law is clear: employers must modify their uniform requirements to reasonably accommodate their employees’ exercise of religion,” Dhillon added in the letter. “The Trump administration is committed to combatting religious discrimination."
On June 16, Vice President JC Vance publicly weighed in via social media, responding to a Sports Illustrated social media post, Vance said, “Trump won; we don’t have to do this anymore.”
The Giants said after incident that "they are proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ community" but also respect that individuals may make "personal choices about team activations," while also adding that the players caused "pain and anger for many in the LGBTQ community."
This 2025-26 New York Knicks season finally concluded last weekend, surprisingly and euphorically, in the middle of a month that fans have long awaited watching their team compete in. It was a dramatic, grueling road to the NBA Finals that climaxed in a 4-1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, and the franchise’s first NBA championship in 53 years.
Looking back and trying to grade each individual player on their season will be impossible without a curve, as they accomplished what they and 29 other teams set out to at the start of the year. Here are the final end-of-season grades for the Knicks...
What more can you say about Brunson? The savior fans craved and sought out in the likes of LeBron James in 2010, Kevin Durant in 2016 and Kawhi Leonard in 2019, actualized in this 6-foot-2 second-round pick. He averaged 26 points and seven assists a game during the regular season, leading the team to 53 wins through an evolving offensive system and a catastrophic 2-9 stretch.
In the playoffs, he had a historic performance, encapsulated by a dominant 32 points, 36 points, and then 45 points to close out the NBA Finals.
For someone who couldn’t seem to find his role throughout the season, Towns shook that off along with any noise surrounding his game and put together the best 100-game defensive campaign of his life. He turned around the Knicks 2-1 hole to the Hawks in the first round, outperformed Joel Embiid, and helped his team take control of the Finals from the outset.
If he didn’t dominate Victor Wembanyama in New York’s back-to-back road wins to kick off the championship round, it’s possible they aren’t holding the trophy right now.
Jun 13, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) are seen prior to game five of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Knicks fans can take their pick as to why Anunoby deserves this grade. His full season of elite two-way play, his 49 percent three-point shooting in the playoffs, his 21 points per game in the NBA Finals, or the ridiculous tip-in that gave his team the championship edge in Game 4.
He wasn’t everybody’s favorite for the last two seasons, but Bridges has proven himself ready for the big moment time and time again. From the closeout game of the first round through the Conference Finals, Bridges averaged 19 points on a ridiculous 68 percent effective field goal rate and had big shooting performances in Games 2 and 5 of the NBA Finals, locking up every guard he faced along the way.
Hart brought what he usually does all season: a little bit of everything, all-out hustle and heartbreaking hustle plays for the opposition. But this time, he got to do it on the biggest stages and came through with a lights-out 26-point on five threes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and hit 40 percent of his threes in the NBA Finals to keep Wemby and the Spurs honest.
May 21, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) shakes hands with New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) during the fourth quarter of game two of the eastern conference finals of the 2026 NBA playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Robinson was pivotal to this championship chase, stepping up against the arguable best player in the world with Towns in foul trouble, and securing an offensive rebound of a missed free throw in Game 5 that helped the Knicks seal the deal.
He had his lowlights, and the free throws desperately need work, but nonetheless, he helped get them over the line.
Deuce’s injuries kept him from establishing a strong rhythm, but given enough time, he performed to expectations, lacing threes and defending his tail off. Unfortunately, a muted playoffs (outside of a monster Game 4 in Philly) and worse NBA Finals left it on a sour individual note, but his contribution to this chip shouldn’t be dismissed.
Shamet shook off another shoulder injury and early postseason benching to help the Knicks pull off one of the greatest comebacks in NBA history in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. His sweet shooting carried into the NBA Finals with some big buckets in Games 1 and 2.
Despite falling out of the rotation and only seeing spot playoff minutes, Alvarado was always prepared to step up if Brunson needed a breather or extra ball handler. He’ll forever be a New York legend for two huge shots down the stretch of their miraculous Game 4 NBA Finals comeback.
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown reacts against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half during game two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Came into the season known for being a sparkplug scorer, Clarkson struggled and fell out of the rotation after big games to win the NBA Cup, then completely reinvented himself. He worked his way back through defense, paint touches and veteran steadiness that proved key in the postseason, even if it didn’t jump off the stat sheet.
Masterful games on Christmas and the NBA Cup show he’s ready to fill some shoes in the coming years. Didn’t get his chance these playoffs, but he will soon.
Stepped up when called upon in the regular season, and didn’t get the call much in the playoffs. But when he did, he helped hold the Knicks defense down, even coming up with a massive block in the clinching game of the NBA Finals.
Was brought in to be more collaborative, more dynamic offensively, but most importantly, to get the Knicks over the hump. He did it in year one, under enormous expectations with little room for error.
Jaxson Dart's girlfriend Marissa Ayers is over the moon that her rookie year in New York began with a Knicks championship.
Jaxson Dart’s girlfriend Marissa Ayers is over the moon that her rookie year in New York began with a Knicks championship.
Taking to her Instagram, the model, who recently moved to New York City, shared some behind-the-scenes moments of the couple’s trip to San Antonio for Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals — a 94-90 Knicks win over the Spurs on June 13 to clinch their first title in 53 years.
“My new york rookie year is off to a great start,” Ayers wrote, adding New York Knicks as the geotag.
Marissa Ayers at the 2026 NBA Finals. Instagram/Marissa Ayers
Other photos showed the pair on a private plane and sporting Knicks baseball jerseys.
Ayers, who was a ring girl for the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua fight in December, also included snapshots of her and Dart at Game 1 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio.
Marissa Ayers and Jaxson Dart at the 2026 NBA Finals. Instagram/Marissa Ayers
Ayers shared that she was moving to New York City in a TikTok video in February, explaining that it was the right place for her to live with her career as a content creator.
Her career has taken off since she went viral as a ring girl for Joshua’s knockout win over Paul.
Ayers made her runway debut at Miami Swim Week earlier this month when she walked in the White Fox Boutique swim show at The Setai, a luxury hotel in Miami Beach.
Dart was seen standing near the runway while filming Ayers as she strutted down the runway in a purple bikini and kitten heels, as seen in a TikTok video on her page.
Dart and Ayers, who were first linked last fall, confirmed their relationship on social media in January following months of dating rumors.
They made their first red carpet appearance together at the NFL Honors ceremony in February.
CAMDEN, NJ - JUNE 8: Mike Gansey speaks as the Philadelphia 76ers introduce him as their new President of Basketball Operations on June 8, 2026 at The Penn Medicine Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex in Camden, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mary Kate Ridgway/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Less than one week away from the 2026 NBA draft, we still don’t know much about the Sixers’ plans.
We’re starting to get word of some prospects whom the Sixers have brought in or will bring in for a predraft workout. We can make guesses based on big boards and their biggest needs, but the draft is unpredictable. Especially down at No. 22, expect the unexpected.
Adding to the intrigue of this year’s draft is the front office turnover, with Mike Gansey replacing Daryl Morey as the Sixers’ president of basketball operations. Jameer Nelson replaced Elton Brand as the No. 2 in charge, too, while Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment president of sports Bob Myers plans to be involved in high-leverage decisions including the draft, trades and free agency. Got all that?
Gansey said during his introductory press conference that he helped run the Cleveland Cavaliers’ draft in recent years. His previous picks could hint at where he’d be leaning at No. 22, and how (if at all) that might differ from Morey and Co.’s past approach.
The Sixers hit two home runs with Tyrese Maxey at No. 21 in 2020 and VJ Edgecombe at No. 3 in 2025. Jared McCain (No. 16 in 2024) looks like a solid double at least—albeit for the Oklahoma City Thunder now—while Isaiah Joe (No. 49 in 2020), Paul Reed (No. 58 in 2020) and Adem Bona (No. 41 in 2024) are all clear steals based on their draft slot. The jury remains out on Johni Broome (No. 35 in 2025), and I still believe in Charles Bassey (No. 53 in 2021), damn it.
Year
Prospect
Pick
Class
Age
2025
VJ Edgecombe
3
Freshman
19
2025
Johni Broome
35
Senior
22
2024
Jared McCain
16
Freshman
20
2024
Adem Bona
41
Sophomore
21
2021
Jaden Springer
28
Freshman
18
2021
Filip Petrušev
50
Sophomore
21
2021
Charles Bassey
53
Junior
20
2020
Tyrese Maxey
21
Freshman
19
2020
Isaiah Joe
49
Sophomore
20
2020
Paul Reed
58
Junior
21
One thing jumps out about the Sixers’ draft history under Morey: They drafted freshmen with all four of their first-round picks (Maxey, Edgecombe, McCain and Jaden Springer). They always preferred upside over more established options in that range.
When the Sixers were on the clock at No. 16 in 2024, both McCain and Dalton Knecht were still on the board. Knecht, a fifth-year senior, was a first-team All-American at Tennessee after averaging 21.7 points per game while shooting 45.8 percent overall and 39.7 percent from deep. McCain averaged only 14.3 points per game at Duke, but he shot 41.4 percent from deep.
When the Sixers took McCain, some fans were frustrated that they didn’t take Knecht since he was seemingly more of a sure thing. This past season, Knecht averaged 4.2 points in 10.2 minutes per game with the Los Angeles Lakers. McCain was the right pick at the time, and he continues to be so.
If the Sixers continued their freshman-only ways in the first round, they could take Chris Cenac Jr., Allen Graves, Koa Peat or Hannes Steinbach. Jayden Quaintance is also younger than all four of them despite being a sophomore. At least one of those players figures to be available at No. 22, if not more.
Will Gansey follow in those same footsteps, though?
The Cavs’ history with Gansey
It’s unclear exactly when Gansey took over the Cavaliers’ draft room. But since he ascended to assistant general manager in 2017, the Cavs had draft picks all over the first round, giving Gansey plenty of experience with a bunch of different scenarios.
On the high end, the Cavs took Evan Mobley (No. 3 in 2021) and Darius Garland (No. 5 in 2019), both of whom developed into All-Stars. Granted, they also whiffed on the No. 5 overall pick in 2020 (Isaac Okoro) while Onyeka Okongwu, Deni Avdija, Devin Vassell and Tyrese Haliburton were all still on the board.
The Cavs did snag Jaylon Tyson with the No. 20 overall pick in 2024, and he turned into a quietly key contributor for them in his sophomore season. In 66 games (42 starts), Tyson averaged 13.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in only 26.9 minutes per game while shooting 49.3 percent overall and 44.6 percent from three-point range.
Tyson is more akin to the type of prospect whom the Sixers should realistically hope to land at No. 22 rather than a miracle like Maxey. Finding a future star at that spot would be incredible, but if nothing else, the Sixers need a solid single or double there. They can’t afford a total whiff.
“With the draft coming up, for example, you’re talking to plenty of coaches and people who have been around these [prospects],” he said. “You want to bring in good people. If they don’t want to be here or you don’t feel they fit our culture, then we don’t want them.
“We want people who want to be in Philadelphia. I want competitiveness. I want toughness. I want guys who hate to lose. Those are the kinds of people I’m going to target and want to bring onto this roster.”
With that said, there’s no easy way to gauge intangibles like competitiveness and toughness. That’s where the Sixers need to do their due diligence by talking to coaches and staffers who worked with those prospects.
Luckily, the Sixers already seem to have begun placing a premium on those characteristics even under Morey. Edgecombe’s ferocity on the court might have helped separate him from Kon Knueppel and Ace Bailey as the Sixers deliberated who to take at No. 3 last year.
So, as you’re poring over draft profiles and big boards for the next few days, pay close attention to the prospects’ character reports. As much as the Sixers will prioritize upside and fit, they’ll also be hunting for prospects with that dawg in them.
The impact of NIL
Even if Morey had stayed in charge, the Name, Image and Likeness era would have forced them to change their draft approach regardless.
Now that players can (legally) rake in millions in college via their NIL rights, deciding whether to stay in the draft is much tougher for those who aren’t projected to be high lottery picks. The number of early-entry candidates has plummeted accordingly in recent years.
Florida forward Thomas Haugh, UConn guard Braylon Mullins and Arizona big man Motiejus Krivas were all showing up as possible mid-first-round picks in mock drafts during March Madness. All three chose to return to school for another year, which thinned out the back half of the first round.
In March, former Memphis Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations John Hollinger noted at The Athletic that “most draft model will say that you shouldn’t really draft” seniors, “especially the 23-year-old ‘super seniors’ coming off their fifth year.” He added that “those draft models are now almost certainly wrong” because of NIL.
It used to be a red flag if players returned to school for that many years. Now, the allure of NIL money might be too tempting to turn down for those who aren’t projected to go in the top 10 or 15, particularly if the following class isn’t expected to be as strong.
So, while Morey and Co. prioritized freshmen in the first round, don’t be surprised if the Gansey-led Sixers take a wider view of prospects. NIL is effectively forcing their hand.
Matt Renshaw’s all-round show with an unbeaten 89 and a wicket helped Australia with a seven-run win over Bangladesh in the second T20 in Chattogram on Friday to seal the three-match series.
With the 2025-26 season in the rear-view mirror, the first order of business for the NBA in 2026-27 is the 2026 NBA Draft, which begins on Tuesday, June 23, in Brooklyn. Given the firepower at the top of the draft, many consider this to be one of the deepest draft classes in recent memory. There may be a clear separation between the top four and the rest of the class, but teams picking later in the first round should struggle to find value.
Here is our big board ranking the top 75 prospects in the 2026 draft class, with BYU's AJ Dybantsa leading the way. And for those who may be new to the big board experience, this is not a projection of where each player will be drafted.
1. G/F AJ Dybantsa, BYU
2. G Darryn Peterson, Kansas
3. F Cameron Boozer, Duke
4. F Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
5. G Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
As noted above, many perceive Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer and Wilson as a class of their own in this draft. Washington holds the first overall pick, and there has been a push from Peterson's camp to get him into the conversation. Will the availability issues at Kansas continue in the NBA? Regardless of where he's selected, that's a question the franchise in question will have to address. Dybantsa sits atop the board because of the combination of size, athleticism and skill set. And with the Wizards adding Trae Young in January, Dybantsa may be an easier player to fit into the team's rotation.
Boozer offers a high floor, while Wilson's ceiling makes him a highly intriguing prospect despite his freshman season ending prematurely due to injury. After the top four, there's likely to be a rush on guards. Acuff was sensational during his lone season at Arkansas; does Jalen Brunson's rise in New York affect how team executives view the reigning SEC Player of the Year?
6. G Kingston Flemings, Houston
7. G Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville
8. G Keaton Wagler, Illinois
9. G Brayden Burries, Arizona
10. F Nate Ament, Tennessee
11. F Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
12. C Aday Mara, Michigan
13. F Dailyn Swain, Texas
14. F Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan
15. C Hannes Steinbach, Washington
Among the guards in this portion of the rankings, Brown may offer the highest upside. His lone season at Louisville ended in late February due to injury, but that doesn't take away from what he brings to the table as a shooter and playmaker. However, Brown does need to get stronger, and the same can be said for Illinois' Wagler. After coming off the bench to begin his freshman campaign, the Fighting Illini's loss of Kylan Boswell to a broken hand opened the door for the 6-foot-5 guard to truly flourish offensively.
After that quartet of guards, frontcourt players become the focus. Ament's upside makes him one of the more intriguing prospects at his position, but the Michigan trio of Lendeborg, Mara and Johnson may be better equipped to help teams win now. Steinbach is a high-level rebounder and finisher around the basket with good size and coordination.
16. G Cameron Carr, Baylor
17. G Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
18. G Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
19. G Ebuka Okorie, Stanford
20. C Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky
21. F Koa Peat, Arizona
22. G Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
23. F/C Chris Cenac Jr., Houston
24. F Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
25. F Karim Lopez, New Zealand Breakers
Could someone in this portion of the rankings become one of the best players in this draft class? Absolutely. Carr shone at the NBA Draft Combine, while freshmen like Peat and Cenac were part of winning programs, which could be beneficial at the next level. The "mystery man" of this group is Quaintance, a highly athletic post player who played just three games at Kentucky this season. He suffered a torn ACL while at Arizona State, and a return to the court in Lexington did not last long before Quaintance needed to be shut down. Okorie's draft "stock," for lack of a better term, has improved throughout the spring, while Stirtz and Jefferson are experienced players with high basketball IQs who can impact winning.
26. C Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's
27. C Henri Veesaar, North Carolina
28. G/F Richie Saunders, BYU
29. C Tarris Reed Jr., UConn
30. G Meleek Thomas, Arkansas
31. F Allen Graves, Santa Clara
32. G/F Sergio de Larrea, Valencia (Spain)
33. F Alex Karaban, UConn
34. G/F Isaiah Evans, Duke
35. F Maliq Brown, Duke
Ejiofor may not have the height of a "true" center, but the wingspan and athleticism work in his favor. The decision to transfer from Kansas to St. John's paid dividends for the center, who racked up numerous individual awards in his two seasons in Queens while also leading the Red Storm to two Big East regular season/postseason titles. Fellow Big East alums Reed and Karaban should also drum up interest in the late-first/early-second portion of the draft.
However, Graves offers up the most intrigue among the players in this area of the board. During his lone season at Santa Clara, his advanced numbers were outstanding, and the feeling among many is that he'll be a first-round pick. A torn ACL derailed Saunders' season; he could be a "redshirt" for whichever team selects him, but the former BYU standout has first-round ability.
36. G Emanuel Sharp, Houston
37. F Baba Miller, Cincinnati
38. F/C Felix Okpara, Tennessee
39. G Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
40. G Jack Kayil, Alba Berlin (Germany)
41. G Braden Smith, Purdue
42. F Izaiyah Nelson, South Florida
43. G Ryan Conwell, Louisville
44. F Trevon Brazile, Arkansas
45. G Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Smith left Purdue as the NCAA's all-time assist leader; if not for his listed height of 5 feet 10.25 inches, he would be more popular among draft analysts. Sharp and Thornton are two other college basketball veterans who should not be overlooked come draft night. One player who likely improved his draft standing during the postseason was Brazile, who was part of Acuff's supporting cast on an Arkansas team that won the SEC Tournament and reached the Sweet 16.
46. G Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee
47. C Nate Bittle, Oregon
48. F Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
49. C Ugonna Onyenso, Virginia
50. G Noam Yaacov, Oostende (Belgium)
51. F Dillon Mitchell, St. John's
52. G Nick Boyd, Wisconsin
53. F Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA
54. F Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt
55. F Tobias Jensen, Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
Yaacov has committed to play at the University of Utah next season, so a team may draft him with the idea of stashing the exciting point guard for a season. Beyond him, some intriguing college basketball veterans could be of value at the next level.
Mitchell is an athletic defender who can also facilitate offensively, but he has to improve his shot considerably. Boyd isn't the biggest point guard, but the ability to attack defenses off the dribble makes him a potential second-round pick. Further up in the rankings are some productive frontcourt players in Bittle, Martinelli and Onyenso, with the latter being one of the best rim protectors in this draft class.
56. G Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
57. G Quadir Copeland, NC State
58. G/F Jaden Henley, Grand Canyon
59. G/F Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State
60. G Duke Miles, Vanderbilt
61. C Oscar Cluff, Purdue
62. F Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
63. G Lamar Wilkerson, Indiana
64. G Otega Oweh, Kentucky
65. G Milos Uzan, Houston
Lipsey is one of the best on-ball defenders in this draft class and also showed the ability to run a team while at Iowa State, while Copeland brings more size to the playmaker role than most of the others in this class. Oweh can be a power guard at the next level, but he'll need to polish his skill set somewhat to account for the stronger defenders he'll encounter. Nkrumah's athleticism and defensive ability make him an intriguing two-way option, especially for teams willing to give him some time to improve his perimeter shooting.
66. F Tobi Lawal, Virginia Tech
67. G/F Michael Ajayi, Butler
68. C Graham Ike, Gonzaga
69. G Seth Trimble, North Carolina
70. G/F Zach Cleveland, Liberty
71. F Bryce Hopkins, St. John's
72. F Mark Mitchell Jr., Missouri
73. F/C Tobe Awaka, Arizona
74. G Peter Suder, Miami-Ohio
75. C Rafael Castro, George Washington
Ike was one of the most productive post players in college basketball while at Gonzaga, but he'll need to become more comfortable in the mid-range to account for his lack of height as a center. Lawal tested well athletically at the combine, while Hopkins and Mitchell are two wings who need to improve their shooting consistency to stick at the NBA level.
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With the New York Knicks crowned champions and parading down Broadway, the other 29 teams can now focus on what’s next. With the 2026 offseason set to begin with the NBA Draft on Tuesday and Wednesday, let’s take a look at which teams project to have the best and the worst futures.
The general idea is that if you were to pick an entirely new team to root for, which team would you pick so that you would have the most enjoyment for the next five or so years?
The factors I considered when ranking these teams include: how likely is the team to win the championship?, how many regular season and playoff wins will they give their fans to enjoy?, how many draft assets, current and future, do they have to build or rebuild their team?, and do they have a superstar or young player with the potential to be a superstar on their roster?
I’m sure there will be plenty of disagreement with my rankings, whether I have a certain team too high or too low, so let me know how stupid I am down in the comments.
1. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs were so incredibly ahead of schedule this last season. They were projected to win 43.5 wins before the season and ended up blowing that number out of the water with 62 wins and a trip to the NBA Finals. While they did lose in five games to the Knicks, they still project to be one of the best teams in the NBA for years to come.
San Antonio has the best young superstar in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama, who at age 22 is already one of the best players in the league. They have an incredible amount of young talent around Wemby, including fellow lottery picks Stephon Castle and another potential star, Dylan Harper.
The only issue they currently have is De’Aaron Fox’s four-year, $221 million contract after playing so poorly in the Finals. This will not be an issue now, with most of San Antonio’s best players on rookie deals, but they will likely need to trade Fox away before guys like Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper get expensive.
The combination of the Spurs’ incredibly young and talented roster, Wembanyama especially, while being currently tied for the best odds to win the 2027 title, puts them at the top of these rankings.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Sitting narrowly behind the Spurs are the Thunder. The two teams that won the most games in the 2025-26 season are currently tied for the best odds to win the 2027 championship.
If the Thunder don’t make any cost-cutting moves, they will owe a luxury tax bill upwards of $210 million on top of the almost $260 million in player salaries they have on the books. If they want to get under the second apron, they will have to move on from players like Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort. If they stay at their current salary level, making in-season trades will become very difficult, if not impossible.
OKC has the draft assets and cost-controlled players like Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain to keep its team intact while also being affordable under the second apron, but its stockpile of first-round picks is not as unwieldy as it once was.
A case could be made to put the Thunder at the top of these rankings, but the Thunder just have a few more questions to answer than the Spurs do, which lands them at number two.
3. New York Knicks
Each of these teams in the top three could be interchangeable with their ranking. While the upside for the Spurs and Thunder is rooted in players and picks, the case for the Knicks being this high is more of a subjective one.
They don’t have the draft assets or young players like some other teams, but they are coming off of one of the most joyous playoff runs in the history of sports. That feeling will likely carry over into next season as they attempt to defend their title.
The second apron will likely cost them players like Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet, but with Jalen Brunson on his below-market deal, the Knicks will be able to retain their top-five players while still having flexibility to add smaller pieces to replace the bench pieces they might lose.
Ultimately, the Knicks are the reigning champions who will be running back their team for at least another season, if not longer. Given that, the third spot on this list is the lowest they can be.
4. Boston Celtics
The next five teams on this list could all arguably be put in this spot. The reason I have the Celtics is that they have proven to be able to put together a high-quality team almost regardless of circumstance.
Boston has won 50 or more games in five straight seasons, including last season, in which they were missing Jayson Tatum for most of the year. They are also just two years removed from winning the championship in dominant fashion.
The Celtics have also been one of the teams on the list to potentially trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo and are seemingly the only team that would be able to trade for him while still being able to compete at a championship level, with Jaylen Brown likely being the main trade chip.
The only downside with the Celtics is that they may look to stay below the luxury tax next season to reset the repeater tax, which would greatly hamper their ability to improve the team for next season while saving ownership a boatload of money.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
Despite a disappointing regular season, an unceremonious end to their playoff run in the second round, and little to no draft capital, the Timberwolves are still in as good a spot as any team moving forward, including a superstar player entering his prime, talented young pieces like Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid ready for larger roles, and few players on above-market rate contracts.
The Wolves have been one of the most successful teams in the NBA for the past five seasons. While they do not have an NBA Finals appearance to show for it, they are the only team to make the playoffs each of the last five seasons and win at least one round in each of the last three.
Their previous playoff success and the ever-growing superstardom of Edwards are the main reasons for optimism moving forward. The Wolves still have a lot of questions moving forward, including what to do with Julius Randle after an excruciatingly bad playoffs, but they have proven to be an extremely competitive team, even with an ill-fitting roster.
6. Los Angeles Lakers
Like many teams around them in this area of the rankings, the Lakers have a superstar in Luka Dončić, but do not have many draft assets. What they do have, unlike many other teams, is financial flexibility and potentially cap space this summer.
LeBron James and Austin Reaves are both set to be free agents. While losing James, and especially Reaves, would be a big hit for the team and the fan base, it might be the reset the Lakers need as they build around Dončić.
What the Lakers do with that flexibility, and if they can retain one or both of James and Reaves, this offseason will determine whether they rise or fall in these rankings come the start of next season.
7. Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokić is the sole reason the Nuggets are this high, and the good reason. The three-time MVP and one-time Finals MVP continues to stack up historic seasons as he has finished in the top two in MVP voting each of the last six seasons and in the top ten each of the last eight.
The downside is that Denver had a spectacular flameout against the Wolves in the Playoffs while having the fewest draft assets in the NBA to improve the team. They also have an owner seemingly unwilling to spend big money on the team, which may cost them Peyton Watson in free agency this offseason.
The Nuggets still have the fifth-best odds to win the 2027 title, so they can’t be put lower than seventh on this list, but they seem to be on thinner ice than any other time in the Jokić era.
8. Detroit Pistons
It’s really tough for me to square the 60-win regular season with their performance in the Playoffs. The 60 wins signal that Detroit was a championship-caliber team, but at no point during the postseason did they look like one.
In the end, the Pistons did win a ton of games last season, including a Playoff series. They also have a more-than-solid young superstar in Cade Cunningham, plenty of financial room to add talent and salary, and they also have all of their draft picks to upgrade their roster.
9. Houston Rockets
These next three teams have talented rosters, but all have large looming questions to answer. For the Rockets, it is what happened to their locker room in the second half of the season. Watching them both in person and on TV, it seemed like everyone involved hated playing with each other.
Losing both Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams was a huge blow to the team’s chances in the Playoffs. An offseason to refigure the roster should help to fix the positional deficiencies they had by the end of the season, but the flameout in the Playoffs against a Laker team missing both Dončić and Reaves leaves a really poor taste in everyone’s mouth.
Unlike many teams in this area of the rankings, the Rockets do have plenty of draft capital they could trade to help improve the roster. Also, unlike other teams, their best player will be 38 years old next season and just missed five of his team’s six Playoff games.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers
Similar to the Timberwolves of the past couple of seasons, the Cavaliers were disappointing during the regular season, but did enough during the Playoffs to make the Eastern Conference Finals before being absolutely decimated by the Knicks. The Darius Garland for James Harden might end up being the correct move for the Cavs, but it did move up the team’s timeline somewhat significantly.
Kenny Atkinson might disagree, but Cleveland, as currently constructed, will need to improve on their current roster to jump into true championship-contender status. What makes it tough is that if Harden opts in to his $42 player option, the Cavs will enter the offseason over the second apron with multiple roster spots still left to fill.
The Cavaliers could look significantly different heading into next season. How they navigate this offseason will determine whether they are a whole lot higher or lower on this list 12 months from now.
11. Indiana Pacers
The main reason the Pacers are not higher is a small bit of skepticism that they can replicate the type of team they were two seasons ago, when they came a win away from winning the title. Most of my worry would be with Tyrese Haliburton’s health and how quickly he can return to his 2024 and 2025 form.
Giving up a pair of first-round picks, including what ended up being the number five overall pick, for Ivica Zubac is a tough trade, although Zubac should be a good fit for the Pacers, who lost Myles Turner last offseason. The Pacers, injury report willing, should once again be one of the better teams in the East and have most of their picks remaining to re-tool their roster if needed.
12. Utah Jazz
The Jazz are the first team on this list whose ranking has as much or more to do with their assets and the future of their roster.
I don’t know how good they will be this upcoming season, but they have a very talented roster that includes Jaren Jackson Jr, Lauri Markkanen, Ace Bailey, and the number two overall pick that is most likely to be either Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer. Utah also has extra draft picks that could come in handy as the team gets more expensive.
Utah does have contract negotiations with Walker Kessler and Keyonte George that have already seemed to hit a bit of a snag, which will likely be a large focus of their summer after next week’s draft.
13. Dallas Mavericks
If I had done these rankings before the NBA Draft Lottery in 2025, I think the Mavericks would have been dead last. With the trade of Luka just months prior, the Mavs fan base was in one of the worst spots imaginable.
While the pain from losing Luka is probably still felt in Dallas, winning the Cooper Flagg lottery has helped heal those wounds at least a little bit. Replacing Nico Harrison with Masai Ujiri and moving on from Jason Kidd have also likely improved the vibes in Mavs land.
The Mavs are still in rebuilding mode and will need to continue to stack talent on their roster, but Flagg is as good a rebuild head start as a team could ask for. It will be interesting, especially from the Timberwolves lens, to see if Dallas trades Kyrie Irving or decides to hold on to him
14. Charlotte Hornets
For the first time in a long time, things seem to be looking up for the Hornets. Kon Knueppel had an outstanding rookie season, setting 3-point records all over the place as Charlotte finished the season going 28-10 in the second half of the season.
Along with a solid roster that should compete for a top-six next season, they are also among the teams with the most draft capital in the NBA, including the 14th and 18th picks in this year’s draft. They are still a move or two away from contender status, but things are looking up in Charlotte.
15. Washington Wizards
Last month’s Lottery results played a big role in the ranking for many teams, none more so than the Wizards, who won the number one pick. They will likely select AJ Dybantsa and add him to their young core that includes Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, and others.
The weirdest part about the Wizards’ roster is the trades for Anthony Davis and Trae Young. It’s hard to fault them for buying low on two former All-NBA players, but their fit with a team that seems to be rebuilding is an awkward one. Young has also indicated that he is going to decline his nearly $49 million player option, but that might not be the right thing for the Wizards.
Washington is likely still years away from competing, but Dybantsa (or whoever they take) alone puts them in the top half of this list.
16. Philadelphia 76ers
I think the 76ers best represent the middle-of-the-road team in the NBA. Like they did this last season, they should again have a pretty solid team that can compete and in the Playoffs, but it’s tough to see the path to greatly improving their team that got swept by the eventual champion in the second round.
Joel Embiid and Paul George make a combined $110 million, which makes building around the team’s two young stars, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, a bit precarious. Embiid and George are still good to great players, but due to injuries and age, neither will likely live up to their lofty salaries.
17. Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers had a nice bounce-back season as they made the Playoffs for the first time since trading Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. They also have access to future Milwaukee Bucks picks, which have a chance to be super valuable if/when the Bucks move on from Antetokounmpo.
The worrying part is the new owner, Tom Dundon, who has been cutting costs left and right to a worrying degree. Maybe that worry will become unfounded as Dundon’s Carolina Hurricanes did just win the Stanley Cup, but the concern is that when the Blazers’ roster requires spending extra money, ownership might not be willing to do so.
18. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks had two chances at a top-four pick in the lottery with both the Pelicans and Bucks picks, but neither came through. Still, they had had a solid 2025-26 season and took two games off the Knicks in the Playoffs, something no one else was able to do. With no standout asset or superstar, though, the Hawks are in the bottom half of the fan rankings.
19. Memphis Grizzlies
Speaking of the Lottery, after fullying bottoming out and embracing the rebuild following the trades of Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr, the Grizzlies won the number three pick and will likely end up with either Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, or Caleb Wilson.
They also have a ton of extra draft capital after liquidating their roster, and still have one more trade to make with Ja Morant still on their roster. They have done a good job getting value with their trades, but they can’t be any higher on this list as they project to be one of the worst teams in the NBA next season.
20. Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are a very difficult team to rank. Recently re-signed head coach Steve Kerr said it best when he called his team a “fading dynasty.” Steph Curry and, to a lesser extent, Draymond Green are still great players, and the Warriors will get Jimmy Butler back healthy next season, but lack the roster depth beyond their top players.
Maybe the Warriors can swing some crazy transactions this offseason. There have been rumors of LeBron heading to Golden State if he leaves the Lakers. Even so, this current version of the Warriors seems far away from competing at the highest levels in the Western Conference, and the future seems rockier than it’s been in over a decade.
Curry still being on the roster keeps the Warriors out of the bottom ten, as fans can still watch their franchise legend play great basketball on a good but not great team.
21. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are also a very difficult team to rank. They made a home run trade, swapping Ivica Zubac for Benedict Mathurin, who ended up being the number five overall pick in a great draft, and a future Indiana first-round pick. The James Harden for Darius Garland trade also made a ton of sense for them.
The Kawhi Leonard Aspiration scandal and the penalty they will possibly receive from that still looms over the franchise. The Clippers feel like a team stuck between competing and a rebuild. Maybe a potential trade or not of Leonard will signal which way they plan to go.
22. Orlando Magic
I could be ranking the Magic too low, given that most teams do not have a trio of players at the same caliber as Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Desmond Bane. Unfortunately, Orlando’s talent only translated to 45 wins and the eighth seed.
While the Magic likely would have upset the Pistons if not for an injury to Wagner, their offense performance in Games 6 and 7 was so putrid it signals that something needs to change in Orlando. The problem is that already sent out multiple draft picks to acquire Bane and are already bumping up the second apron, which makes improving a roster during the season nearly impossible.
23. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors feel like a team stuck in the middle. A solid enough roster that won 46 games and took Cleveland to a Game 7, but they lack a true superstar who could carry a team through the playoffs, and will be paying Brandon Ingram, Immanuel Quickley, and R.J. Barrett a combined $102 million next season. They don’t have any extra future draft picks, but have all of their own as well.
With the new lottery rules, maybe being stuck in the middle isn’t so bad anymore.
24. Brooklyn Nets
Likely the biggest loser on draft night (along with the Pacers) was the Nets. They finished with the second-worst record in the NBA and ended up with the sixth pick to show for it. On top of that, their roster is devoid of any standout talent and is a long way away from putting together a quality team.
On the bright side, the Nets have the best treasure trove of draft assets available to them, with multiple first-round picks coming to them each of the next few years. That saves them from the bottom of the fan rankings, but it still projects to be a long time before the Nets can turn that draft capital into an actual winning team.
25. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls finally bottomed out and cleaned house. It is a welcome sign for a franchise that has been stuck in the Play-In tournament for far too many seasons. Next season, Chicago will have a new front office, a new coaching staff, and what at the moment seems to be one of the least talented rosters in the league.
The saving grace is that the Bulls got lucky on lottery night and have the number four pick, a great spot to be in a draft that appears to have four top-tier prospects. They also have the number 15 pick in this year’s draft, but that is the only extra first-round pick they currently have from another team.
While the teardown is a welcome sign, it also came a year or two too late. Now with the new flattened lottery odds, it may be tough for the Bulls to add talent after this year’s draft.
26. Phoenix Suns
The Suns had a very successful 2025-26 season, given the expectations. They won 45 games and made the playoffs before being swept out by the Thunder. It was likely a welcome sign for Suns fans that the team rebounded after the disaster of the season prior.
Still, the Suns are still recovering from the Kevin Durant trade in many ways. They have multiple of their first round draft picks that are out the door and did not receive nearly as much value from the Rockets as they sent out for Durant a few years prior.
The half-decent team they put together keeps them out of the cellar of the fan rankings, but still might be a rough few years ahead for the Suns.
27. Miami Heat
While the Heat might be in a pole position to trade for Giannis, everything else about where their franchise is going does not inspire confidence. Their roster is okay, as they won 43 games last season, but it is fairly uninspiring past Bam Adebayo. Even if they do swing a Giannis trade, I don’t see how they are able to put a quality team around him and Adebayo with what is left.
If the Heat do acquire Antetokounmpo, I will revisit this ranking. Until then, not really sure what the plan is down on South Beach.
28. Milwaukee Bucks
It made sense for a while for the Bucks to wait until the last possible moment to part with Giannis, but now feels like the right time. The Bucks are still many years away from controlling their own first-round pick, and their roster is in really rough shape talent-wise.
If Milwaukee does move on from Giannis, their ranking could move up if they get a good package back, but could also hit rock bottom if the Heat’s reported offer is all they get. If they do hold on to Antetokounmpo heading into the season, things might get ugly.
29. Sacramento Kings
I’m sorry, Kings fans. They do have some extra draft picks, including the Timberwolves 2031 first-rounder, and Domantas Sabonis could get a half-decent return in a trade, but with this being the fan rankings, I kinda have to put the Kings about as low as possible.
It feels that until the Kings get new ownership, nothing is going to change.
30. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans have some talent on their roster, but as we saw this last season, it just does not work well together. Zion Williamson, mostly due to injuries, has not lived up to the hype for him coming into the NBA, and probably needs a change of scenery at this point.
We will see if Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III, or Herg Jones are on the move this summer. Maybe with the new lottery rules, the Pelicans will elect to keep much of that talent on the roster to avoid finishing at the bottom of the standings.
With a better-run organization, there would be some hope that they could either turn things around with this roster or flip certain pieces into better-fitting ones, but that’s the problem. Ownership does not seem invested in turning the team around, and the front office has made many poor decisions, including trading away the team’s first-round pick before a 26-win season.
We’re now just one week away from the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo and less than two weeks from the start of a new league year.
Between the annual prospect selection and the opening of free agency a few days later, player movement and contract signings will make for a fun few days around the NHL.
The Florida Panthers should be in the thick of the fun.
Florida holds the ninth overall selection at next week’s draft, and they also have over $15 in cap space to work with.
That means Panthers General Manager Bill Zito will have some options to work with, and you better believe he and his staff have been diligently preparing for several potential situations, depending on how the chips may end up falling.
Either of those two netminders landing in Pantherland would almost certainly mean that Bobrosky was not returning, so one domino falling will impact the other, whichever and whenever that may be.
Both Binnington and Hellebuyck are under contract and would require a trade to end up wearing a Panthers sweater next season.
Binnington, 32, has one year remaining on his current deal with a $6 million average annual value (AAV), while Hellebuyck, 33, has five years left on his contract that pays an AAV of $8.5 million.
Even though he just turned 36, Gudas can still play at a high level and has an idea of what would be expected of him under Paul Maurice in Florida.
The final season of Gudas’ three with the Panthers was Maurice’s first, when Florida marched to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final only to come up short against the Vegas Golden Knights.
After a successful run with Florida, Gudas signed with the youthful Anaheim Ducks, who promptly named him their captain.
He’s hitting the market after earning a $4 million AAV over three years on his last deal, and will likely be seeking something in the $3.5 to $4 million range on his next deal, according to Weekes.
Currently, the Panthers have six defenseman under NHL contracts for next season: Aaron Ekblad, Gus Forsling, Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov and Uvis Balinskis.
Obviously there are only so many assets and so much money to go around, so it will be interesting to see whatever ends up happening with the Panthers at all three positions.
Will Zito go into the season with seven defensemen on NHL contracts?
What direction will the team end up doing in goal?
How does the ninth overall pick at next week’s draft play into the decision?
Let us know down in the comments how you think things should play out.
Photo caption: Jan 15, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas (7) looks on against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
The 2026 Stanley Cup has been awarded to the Carolina Hurricanes, and the NHL is now firmly in the 2026 offseason. The 2026 NHL Entry Draft is one week away, qualifying offers are due to RFAs after that, and unrestricted free agency will begin shortly after that.
A handful of trades have already taken place throughout the league, and more are reportedly on the way. This is the time of year when breadcrumbs from NHL insiders are entire meals for interested parties.
The Anaheim Ducks are coming off their most successful season in a decade, and their roster situation has them as one of the more intriguing teams when it comes to potential movement.
Here’s what’s been reported and speculated about the Ducks over the last week:
Mason McTavish
The smoke continues to billow around McTavish (23) and from a variety of outlets. It undoubtedly stems from interested opposing teams looking to land a talented, distressed asset and the fact that he served as a healthy scratch for two of the Ducks’ 12 playoff games this spring after signing a six-year contract with a $7 million AAV.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen continues to link McTavish to his hometown Ottawa Senators. He listed McTavish as one of a handful of forwards with whom the Sens have shown “some level of interest.”
“A league executive told ‘The Citizen’ that they believe that McTavish is a legitimate fit for the Senators,” Garrioch reported in his latest column.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes joined in, taking to Twitter on Wednesday to report on opposing clubs’ interest in McTavish.
“Per sources another name getting plenty of attention is (forward) McTavish of the (Anaheim Ducks), he has skill, grit, term, and upside,” Weekes tweeted. “Teams are calling, it would have to be a quality ‘hockey trade’ I’m told. See how this goes…”
Darren Dreger of TSN seems convinced it’s a “when, not if” situation in Anaheim in terms of McTavish’s future.
“I’m in the belief that Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks is going to be traded. I know there’s definitely a lot of chatter around McTavish, around the National Hockey League,” Dreger relayed on the “Starr and McKenna” radio show.
Right Shot Defensemen
The current biggest hole on the Ducks’ depth chart sits on the entire right side of the blueline. All three of their veteran blueliners (Jacob Trouba, John Carlson, Radko Gudas) will see their contracts expire on July 1 if they’re not signed to extensions.
Carlson has already made it known, via his agent, that he will not be returning to the Ducks and intends to test the unrestricted free agency waters. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was first to break the news.
“John Carlson is headed to market. His agent, Rick Curran, has informed the Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek of that,” LeBrun reported on Tuesday. “Both sides talked about a potential extension, but Carlson is moving on.”
The most probable of the three to return seemed to be Jacob Trouba, who found a fit next to Jackson LaCombe on the team’s top pair for the majority of his tenure in Anaheim. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in passing on “The Fan Hockey Show” on Wednesday that Trouba intends to follow Carlson to free agency.
“(John) Carlson’s hitting the market, and it sounds like (Jacob) Trouba is hitting the market here too,” Friedman said.
Ducks captain Radko Gudas may not be far behind his brethren, as Kevin Weekes, again, tweeted that if Gudas hits the market, teams will be interested in his services.
“Per sources, I’m told Anaheim Ducks captain (defenseman) Gudas is gaining interest in the marketplace,” Weekes tweeted. “If him and the Ducks can’t get a deal done, the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs are among potential fits. He’s physical, experienced, playoff tested, on a 2-3 year term between $3.5 million and $4 million-plus.”
The Blockbuster that Got Away
Lastly, Dreger dropped a bombshell to end last week, when he was on the “Starr and McKenna” show, indicating there were discussions of a deal being had between the St. Louis Blues and the Ducks that included Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko heading to Anaheim and Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, and Roger McQueen going back to St. Louis.
“There was a bigger deal, I’m told, that was down the road, and it included Mason McTavish going to the St. Louis Blues,” Dreger said. “I believe that (Robert) Thomas and (Colton) Parayko could have been part of that. I head Mintyukov, maybe McQueen, who signed not that long ago with the Anaheim Ducks. So, it doesn’t matter because it didn’t happen, but Mason McTavish’s name has been out there for a while.”
There were likely other pieces in play with that potential deal, and we’ll never know what halted the discussions. It would have changed the complexion of the Ducks on their playoff run and into the future. It’s since been reported that Thomas is now off the table from St. Louis, so any hopes of this trade being revisited should be quelled.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 18: Jalen Brunson #11 and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks celebrate with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy during the New York Knicks Championship ticker tape parade and victory rally celebrating winning the 2026 NBA Finals on June 18, 2026 in New York City. The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games to win their first NBA Championship in 53 years. (Photo by Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
The Knicks' first title in 53 years brought the whole city together. A first-person report from the Canyon of Heroes.
OG Anunoby is at the free-throw line. He misses the first. My entire body tenses. The second shot falls. The Knicks are up by 4. The Spurs inbound the ball. The clock reads 7.7. San Antonio has no timeouts and less than eight seconds to bring the ball up the floor and somehow score 4 points. Any rational basketball fan would say that the game is all but over. Although, if you're a Knicks fan, it's that "but" that keeps your lungs from filling completely. In a game that was essentially over, I felt exactly like Quint from Jaws describing his rescue from the wreckage of the Indianapolis, "You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn." Letting yourself believe would be tempting the fate of God. No matter how intellectually certain victory seemed, there was always that nagging doubt, a voice screaming this doesn't happen for Knicks fans. But, like Quint, our turn finally came. The Knicks are NBA champions once again, 53 years after the years of Clyde Frazier and Willis Reed. Those 53 years were the 1,100 men that went in the water, and we all know only "three hundred and sixteen men come out, the sharks took the rest." Sharks with names like Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Reggie Miller, and Tyrese Haliburton.
The jubilation of New York City over the past month reached its pinnacle today when, at long last, New York City had a parade to celebrate their very own New York Knickerbockers entering the Canyon of Heroes and the books of history. The New York Post is reporting today's parade as the largest ticker-tape parade in Big Apple history. Knicks fans flooded lower Manhattan, hoping to catch a glimpse of the team that brought the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to Madison Square Garden. Knicks fans were so desperate to figure out ways into the celebrations that I heard from two different attendees (who asked not to be named) about the ways they skirted around the law. One man claimed he walked the parade route at 3 a.m., trying to find hidden access routes past the barricades. He said he had found the perfect spot and even buried a set of bolt cutters there, but his access was blown when some less-than-careful teenagers stumbled upon his entry and their babbling alerted the cops. Another attendee showed me his homemade "all-access" badge, which, along with his confidence, succeeded in granting him access to the closed-off ceremony plaza. Knicks fans are devoted.
Fittingly, Mike Breen, the voice of the Knicks, was the emcee of the ceremony at City Hall, in which Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented everyone in the Knicks organization with a key to the city. The oppressive heat and humidity muted the crowd response slightly, so the Knicks City Kids didn't get the response they were probably expecting, but once the champions came out, a crowd of fans, celebrities, and former players (John Starks was in the crowd chomping on a rather large cigar) "paid homage to their heroes" in the parlance of Walt "Clyde" Frazier.
The entirety of City Hall Park was closed off with several moats of barricades, so even with a press pass (real or homemade) it took some doing to get through. I made it through security at 6:30 a.m. and found a spot directly across from the dais, nestled between a cable news video village and one of five confetti cannons that, when fired, covered City Hall Park so completely in orange and blue confetti that I almost lost some of my own video equipment. From the moment I landed in my spot to the final speech, there was a consistent roar from the crowd behind me on Broadway. Every 20 minutes or so we would hear a large swell of noise before it diminuendoed back to its steady ambient. Inside the park, the audience ran deep with Knicks devotees, such as superfans John Turturro and Ben Stiller, and members of the extended Knicks media universe like 7PM in Brooklyn podcast co-host The Kid Mero and Roommates Podcast co-host Matt Hillman. Josh Safdie had what looked like an Arri camera on a shoulder rig filming the speeches, no doubt for the upcoming A24 documentary he and Stiller are making on the Knicks.
Sports still seem like the most socially acceptable reason for grown men to cry. Parade attendee Peter Abbadessa admits to getting a little emotional when the final second ticked off the clock. Abbadessa said, "It means everything to me as a fan and as a New Yorker. My family, we've been in New York here since 1896. It's everything to bring this city together. It's a dream come true." And it's true: the Knicks are unique among New York sports teams in that they don't split the city — they unite it. Yankees or Mets. Giants or Jets. Rangers or Islanders. All the other New York fan bases are split, but in New York there's only one NBA team that matters, and for too long was a source of nothing but heartache and disappointment. Photographer Chris Bacarella said this championship "felt like watching the ’07 Giants on steroids."
The joy this Knicks run has sparked has been nothing short of magical, and it extended beyond the confines of New York, as the Knicks fans travel, so does the jubilee. Los Angeles writer and comedian Colby Smith needed to do nothing more than leave his apartment in a Staten Island Ferry T-shirt: "And a guy pointed at me and goes 'we did it bro.'" After each game of this Knicks' final run, New Yorkers spilled into the streets across the five boroughs, hugging and high-fiving strangers, chanting together, crying together, feeling together. I've never felt a coming together like this before in this city. There's a reason why comedian Desus Nice called this the "reverse 9/11." Parade attendee Nick B. said, "I think my biggest concern about winning was that it'd be this momentary burst, like after all these years actually winning would ultimately be a letdown. It's almost been the opposite — it's been sustained joy over days."
Photo by Matt Strickland
The post-championship Knicks have already given us a plethora of perfect moments, most of them coming from OG Anunoby, starting when directly after winning a title OG went live from the Knicks locker room for 18 seconds, during almost all of which he spent asking his celebrating teammates how to turn it off. Jeremy Sochan hasn't seemed to have worn a shirt since Game 5. Mikal Bridges similarly went on Instagram Live completely faded and demanded a "big-headed" statue for Jalen Brunson. The starting five has appeared hungover on daytime talk shows and hungover on late-night talk shows, and there's something very beautiful about their celebrations paralleling the good-hearted debauchery occurring throughout the city. This title has become a great coming together. All walks of life are joining their celebrations. Even non-Knicks fans are feeling the energy. Even the amount of ire toward the hated "bandwagon fans" was kept surprisingly at a minimum. Comedian Alise Morales watched Game 5 from the Del Close Marathon, a 24-hour improv comedy festival hosted by UCB. She said, "It was definitely a mix of huge lifelong Knicks fans, new fans, and out-of-towners who were just excited to be experiencing New York at such a high point ... It was honestly one of my favorite moments in my 15 years in NYC. People were just so hyped to be together and be celebrating." The relief of winning was so great that the die-hard Knicks fans opened their arms and embraced the love, no matter where it came from.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 31: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck in the third period during the game against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 31, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Vitals
Player: Sidney Crosby Born: Aug 7, 1987 Height: 5’11” Weight: 200 pounds Hometown: Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada Shoots: Left Draft: First round pick (1st overall) in 2005 by the Penguins 2024-25 Statistics: 68 games played; 29 goals; 45 assists; 74 points; one goal and four assists in six playoff games Contract Status: 2026-27 is the final season on Crosby’s current contract. He’s eligible to officially extend on July 1.
Story of the Season
“This is where I want to be,” Sidney Crosby said at the start of 2025 training camp. “I love it here… I talk about the first day, and you think about first impressions. I didn’t know a lot about Pittsburgh prior to being drafted, and I showed up at the airport and could barely move. The support that I felt from day one, the relationships that I formed here, the memories, the teammates, the fans. I mean, you go down the list.”
“I’m so grateful and thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to play here as long as I have. And I think anyone who knows me knows what the city means to me and how special it is.”
2025-26 was a season of affirmation between Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. The long-time captain had to endure speculation about his future like never before in the summer of 2025 (not helped by his agent saying a trade was “always a possibility”). All that external noise placed the captain at an unavoidable, awkward late-career crossroads that he never wanted to be at in the first place.
In the end, Sidney Crosby did what he always does: set aside the outside noise, get to work and help his team win. Crosby roared out the gates, scoring eight goals and 15 points in the first 12 games of the season to do his part for the 8-2-2 record that Pittsburgh jumped out to at the beginning of the season.
From there, the future took care of itself with the Pens weathering some storms of blown leads and Crosby there to help lead them along the way. By the Olympic break the Pens were second in the Metropolitan Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference via points percentage with a 29-15-12 record that had them on track for qualifying for the playoffs.
Then came the road bump in Italy. Crosby’s Olympic tournament ended with a knee injury in the quarterfinals on February 18th. He would attempt to test his leg and make the effort to see if he could play for the gold medal game on the 22nd, but the damage was too great. The Canadians ended up losing in OT, only generating one goal, providing a surreal and unexpected finish derailed in large part by the absence of their captain.
Upon coming back to the States, it was announced Crosby would miss a minimum of four weeks, a timeline he hit on the nose by returning to the lineup on March 18th, exactly four weeks after the injury was suffered. He would record a goal and an assist in his return.
Those last 26 games of the season after the Olympic break could be seen as the rest of the team holding up their end of the bargain to their veteran leader. Crosby only played in 12 of the final 26 games – scoring just two goals (while adding in 13 assists). There was a time when two goals and 15 points from Crosby over a 26-game span would spell doom. That time was not 2025-26, when players up and down the whole lineup stepped in and stepped up. The Pens still managed to lock up a playoff spot in a relatively drama-free fashion, despite a limited impact from their brightest star. They showed that this team, with major inputs from Erik Karlsson, Egor Chinakhov, Bryan Rust, Anthony Mantha and Rickard Rakell, were able to shoulder the load to deserve to make the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and silence the naysayers decrying Crosby playing out his days with a moribund franchise.
It’s a nice story from that perspective; the star player made it clear he wanted things to go better and certainly carried his end of the bargain while he could. When he couldn’t, plenty of others were there to do the rest and keep the Penguins in second place in the division – far better than preseason projections.
There was nothing nice about the postseason, however. Crosby, like many of his teammates, had a poor start to the playoffs, falling into an 0-3 hole. He rebounded have two very strong performances in Games 4+5 (producing four total points to help keep the season alive) but the Pens ultimately bowed out in Game 6.
Though things didn’t play out exactly as he would have liked, the 2025-26 season was another successful campaign for Crosby. He extended his NHL record streak of point/game seasons to 21. He passed Steve Yzerman and Mario Lemieux in career points this year, two legends and major influences of Crosby’s formative years. Passing Lemieux obviously stands out in that Crosby has taken over the all-time point record for the franchise, that crazy as it sounds, there was no absolute guarantee he would finish out his days with had the club continued to mire below the playoff picture.
Thanks to a great 2025-26 from Crosby and the Pens at large, that debate about a change will recess, possibly and thankfully for good. Sidney Crosby is where he wants to be and still a major factor in making the Penguins relevant. This past year he proved it to them, and the rest of the franchise from the players to the coaches to managers were able to reciprocate.
The splits tell the story of Crosby’s red hot start in the season’s first two months, followed by a decrease in goals following his injury. The ice time was also down in March/April as the Penguins made sure their captain was right and ready for the playoffs where he was back to his usual 20+ minute per night workload.
Regular season 5v5 advanced stats
Data via Natural Stat Trick. Ranking is out of 18 forwards on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.
A good indicator of just how successful a season it was for Crosby would be to isolate the Pens’ on ice shooting percentage with him on the ice. If he and his teammates are converting, he’s done well. In the odd year when it’s been a challenge, then it’s been frustrating. This year was very good – and even better was seven other Penguin forwards enjoyed more success in this department to indicate a very strong offensive performance. Crosby managing to finish above a 2.5 P/60 in his first line center role at age-38 is yet another feather in his cap as one of the top offensive players of all time.
Sidney Crosby: still very good at hockey! WAR has detected no fall off in his game as Crosby advances deep into his late 30’s. His style and ways are different from his athletic peak earlier in the career, but the results are still better than just about everyone when it comes to generating offense.
You’d expect good things from the microstats, and as usual Crosby never disappoints. He’s still elite as an in-zone offensive weapon with the familiar tenets of his game to create a ton of chances for his teammates while also scoring plenty of goals for himself. Zone entry struggles are the only indicator of a player that doesn’t have quite the same number of tools available that he once did.
There’s aging well, and then there’s this look above. Crosby’s production today is basically the same as it has been since 2014 when the Mike Johnston era helped to usher him out of his pure peak days from 2005-13. The highs aren’t quite as high recently as they were in the 2019-22 period, but considering Crosby is pushing 40 his rates of production remain incredibly impressive, and just as consistent as we all have come to know over the past 21 years as the absolute trademark of Crosby’s game. If his career has taught anything it’s that he’s always going to be very good, and somehow he’s never going to be anything else.
Crosby gets around the ice well and is one of the big influences in the modern game for taking harsh angle shots, but he knows at this stage that a nose for the net is where goals are going to come from. Zone starts being friendly for offense set him up for success and then he continues the territorial domination in a major way to play a lot in the offensive zone and avoid as much time as possible being in his own end of the rink.
Interestingly, as seen above in the advanced stats, the Pens’ first line was more selective in the amount of shots (be it by design or inability to produce a large quantity). That plus the zone entries likely influenced the decision to get Egor Chinakhov up to the first line. It’s not that playing with Rickard Rakell and ol’ trusty Bryan Rust doesn’t work, but given the ages of all three there is a need for some young blood and fresh skill on the Pens’ first line. That will be interesting to track moving forward to see if Pittsburgh keeps working to develop a Chinakhov-Crosby connection or reverts back to the known quantity of playing with veterans.
The chart of where goals were scored this season shows a player still willing and able to work into the high danger areas and then convert once there. An underrated talking point with Crosby is how his scoring touch has provided an ability to remain a 30-40 goal scorer this late in his career. That adds such an impressive element in his massive portfolio of hockey success. For someone known for his playmaking abilities, it’s actually his high rate of goals that deserves a lot of the credit for his late-career sustainment of being one of the world’s best. I’m not sure we would have really expected that to be the case 10 or 20 years ago for how just his game would evolve at this point.
Overall, Crosby’s wheels are more than fine at his advanced age. This data looks better on the page than it might on the ice, eight of the nine 22+ bursts came in calendar 2025 (the ninth was in January). Despite his best efforts, the aging process is going to drain him as the long grind of a season goes along. Then obviously a knee injury isn’t going to help the cause. Father Time will always be undefeated but Crosby can still more than hang with the players in the league when it comes to getting from Point A to Point B, despite being one of the oldest players now. His burst isn’t as dynamic as it once was to skate through the defense successfully on any given shift like when he was a young player, but he remains a very strong skater overall with very nice burst ability.
Highlights
Questions to ponder
The timing of his decision for when Crosby wants to extend his contract in Pittsburgh is the biggest Sid-centric question of this offseason. By all accounts, Crosby’s desire to play is not slowing down, but his next contract for 2027-28 would commit him to playing as a 40-year old. Until he puts pen to paper and signs on for 2027-28, the whole future direction of the Pens could be considered up in the air since a much different path forward would take effect depending on whether Crosby plays or not.
Crosby signed his last contract just before camp in September 2024, will he do something similar so that the inevitable questions about potential retirement don’t get brought up every day in every city? That’s not a topic he will want lingering or to address regularly, yet it certainly won’t go away easily either without resolution. It really doesn’t seem like this upcoming year will be his final season, but at the same time he’s more than earned the right not to be in a hurry. Crosby’s always said he needs to find out the information from his body to dictate decisions about the future, that info can only be learned in due time. The timing will be what everyone is watching out for going into 2026-27.
Ideal 2026-27
At this point Crosby’s chasing legends, he currently is seventh place in all-time NHL scoring (1761). He is 89 points away from Gordie Howe in fourth and will be hunting down Marcel Dionne (1771) and Ron Francis (1798) next year. Always team-oriented, Crosby would just as soon do whatever it takes to keep the Pens’ bounce-back from being a one-year wonder and help Pittsburgh remain a playoff team as a best case scenario. But since this is a personal ideal, that would involve a 90 point season to pass Howe, a contract extension for 2027-28 and another appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs come next spring.
Bottom line
Crosby’s case to be the greatest of his time doesn’t need any more supporting evidence but he provided more anyways with one of the best age-38 seasons in NHL history. 2025-26 was both rewarding for him to play well and lead the Pens back to the playoffs after three straight seasons of missing the postseason, yet filled with significant frustrations due to the injury suffered at the Olympics that knocked the rest of his season off track.
PensburghGrade: A–
Pittsburgh’s leader and captain came through one more time, to the surprise of absolutely no one. The first half of his season was A+ work, his performance was likely limited from there due to the injury. Still, the production was there, the wins were back and now he’s setup for a 22nd season with the Penguins with reason to be energized and excited for the upcoming season.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 14: Willson Contreras #40 of the Boston Red Sox hits a solo home run during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park on June 14, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last week, I wrote and encouraged the Red Sox to totally tear down the roster with a 2014-style fire sale at the trade deadline on Aug. 3rd.
I still stand by that for the large portion of sellable pieces. The Willson Contreras decision in that conversation became a complicated one for me and one that i’ve spent the last week thinking about rather often. In that period of reflection, the answer to what to do with Boston’s first baseman became pretty obvious to me.
The Red Sox cannot trade Willson Contreras.
The veteran is a rare sign of life in an otherwise dismal season that will cause several people their jobs by year’s end. Contreras is a borderline All-Star in 2026. If he doesn’t make the team, it won’t be due to any fault of his own, but more so due to the ridiculous surges of others around the American League.
He’s enjoying his best offensive season at age 34 and clearly has plenty left in the tank after shifting away from catching during his tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals. Contreras would be a hot commodity given the usual need for right-handed power every summer. That’s intriguing for a should-be seller like the Red Sox, though there’s a different story to tell that’s even more important about the construction of the roster moving forward.
When you have a chance to keep a hole filled for a while, take it. How long have the Red Sox been trying to find a staple at second base since the end of Dustin Pedroia’s days as an everyday player? (Newsflash: They still are).
Triston Casas still holds potential in the wild world of Red Sox Twitter/X, but the reality is that he’s only played one full season (he did receive ROTY votes) since his 2022 call-up. It would be way easier to navigate the position if Casas could really be healthy and contribute. Ultimately, Boston would be viciously irresponsible to build the lineup in years to come with the expectation of Casas being a regular.
Contreras is under team control through 2027 with a club option for 2028. His no-trade clause also carried over from the Cardinals, limiting Boston’s best shot at another quality return at the deadline.
The Red Sox should probably listen for a potential undeniable offer at the deadline, but for a team that lacks real hitters the way they do, can they totally afford to lose the only one they have?
