Juventus lost 3-2 in dramatic fashion away at Inter
Santos scores on debut to earn Napoli draw with Roma
Serie A’s referee designator Gianluca Rocchi said the match official Federico La Penna was “clearly wrong” in showing the Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu a second yellow card during Saturday’s loss at Inter, and apologised over the incident.
Kalulu was sent off after Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni tumbled to the ground and immediately gestured towards the referee demanding a card, indicating that Kalulu had grabbed his shirt to bring him down. Television footage suggested there was no contact between the players. Juventus, down to 10 men after the sending off, lost 3-2, meaning Inter are now eight points clear at the top.
All season, it seemed as if the narrative around the Texas Tech basketball team has been they're just sort of there.
In a long season such as this, when the college basketball is as good as ever, there are more great teams than ever and so much attention is given to the star-studded freshman class, players like JT Toppin and teams like the Red Raiders can go under the radar.
That shouldn't be the case after the team's latest triumph over one of the presumed No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Beating Arizona 78-75 in overtime on the Wildcats' home floor may be a shock to some, but it's merely more of what can be expected of Grant McCasland's team.
You just have to be paying attention long enough to understand that.
Granted, the Red Raiders have taken their lumps this season. There's no erasing that 30-point drubbing at the hands of Purdue in November. Losing to UCF in Orlando also wasn't great — Kansas did it too, but they didn't have Darryn Peterson, so it can be forgiven, to some extent.
Winning against Duke in Madison Square Garden got some deserved attention, though that didn't last long. Having that win come just before Christmas made some forget about Tech being the only team (until last week) to hand the Blue Devils an L.
Even when Texas Tech's gotten the better of Houston (nobody beats Houston in Big 12 play) and BYU, the focus coming out of those games was that the Red Raiders are really tough at home and most of the attention went to Kingston Flemings doing well and AJ Dybantsa not doing so well.
Some of that will follow Texas Tech again after this victory. Arizona's own star freshman Koa Peat left the game with an injury and did not return. That certainly changed how the Wildcats were able to operate. That, too, will be a big talking point that will detract from what was achieved by the Red Raiders.
Shame, since the Red Raiders didn't get that same benefit of the doubt when Christian Anderson missed the Kansas game. Sure, that was mentioned (briefly) before it became the, 'Did you see what Darryn Peterson did?' news cycle.
All of these freshmen are terrific. No doubt about it. Surefire lottery picks in the 2026 NBA draft. The issue at hand, though, is college is not the pros, and what those freshmen are doing isn't anywhere near what Toppin has done this season, and he showed once again why any conversation around the Big 12 player of the year and first team All-America honors can't continue without Toppin being at or near the top.
Toppin went for 31 points on 13-of-22 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds, seven coming on the offensive glass against a much lengthier and physical Arizona frontline, with or without Peat. These are run-of-the-mill numbers for Toppin at this point, so commonplace they can be taken for granted.
It wasn't just another manimal-like performance from Toppin, it was historic. He's just the second player in the past 30 years to total 30 points and 10 rebounds in a road win against the No. 1 team in the country. It was just fourth similar stat line against nationally ranked teams this season, which is the most for any player of the past 20 years.
The two biggest plays of the night by Toppin didn't involve him looking for a bucket. The first came with 2:05 left in overtime, when Toppin kicked it out to Donovan Atwell for what was a crucial 3-pointer.
And in the final seconds of the game, he collected an offensive rebound and got it to LeJuan Watts, who hit the free throw to make it a three-point game with four seconds left.
This Texas Tech team isn't perfect, not by any stretch. But knocking off the Arizonas and Dukes and Houstons of the world is what this team is capable of on any given night. They probably won't win every game the rest of the way (road trips to Iowa State and BYU await), but don't forget the Red Raiders when filling out your March Madness bracket.
And in the meantime, remember the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year is also the player most deserving of the award again this season.
Steph Curry believes the NBA is in a great spot competition-wise, despite ongoing league-wide frustration over teams tanking.
The Warriors superstar was asked Saturday at NBA All-Star Media Day what he believes the league should do to combat tanking and offered a positive retort to the question.
Steph Curry was asked what he thinks the NBA should do to reduce tanking:
“Is it really that big of a problem? I’m asking. We feel like there’s obviously a lot of competition. It’s something I’m sure every year the NBA wants to address, why the Play-in Tournament exists. Things… pic.twitter.com/tMVMb1VaNK
“Is it really that big of a problem? I’m asking,” Curry said. “We feel like there’s obviously a lot of competition. It’s something I’m sure every year the NBA wants to address: why the Play-in Tournament exists. Things evolve, problems arise, and everybody wants to shine a spotlight on all the negatives of the league. But let’s focus on the positives of how great the competition is at the top. There still is relevancy regular season-wise of the seeding and playoff chase.
“I know there’s a conversation around how many games we’re playing. That’s probably where I would focus more the attention. Let’s not forget the league is in great place overall in terms of the attention, the skill level, the global reach, all of that stuff. Every year you’ll address the issues. I don’t have those answers though.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, whose league office just fined two teams, the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers, $500,000 and $100,000, respectively, for “overt” tanking behaivor, also spoke to reporters on Saturday and discussed the ongoing tanking efforts and what he believes is part of the problem.
“We got to look at some fresh thinking here,” Silver said. “We’re doing, what we’re seeing right now, is not working. There’s no question about it.”
“I think part of the problem is that if you step back, the fundamental theory behind the draft is to help your worst-performing teams restock and be able to compete. The issue is if teams are manipulating their performance in order to get higher draft picks, even in a lottery, then the question becomes, even if teams were rewarded for draft picks purely according to predicted odds of the lottery, are they really the worst performing teams?”
Neither players, like Curry, nor leaders in the league office, like Silver, seem to have a clear solution to how the NBA can combat tanking, and it does not appear a resoultion is imminent.
For now, the majority of teams, like Curry and the Warriors, will do everything in their power to win as many games as they can down the stretch in order to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 14: Rick Brunson, Jalen Brunson #11, Allan Houston, and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Team Knicks pose for a photo after winning the Kia Shooting Stars as a part of State Farm All-Star Saturday on Saturday, February 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. 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 Kyusung Gong/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The New York Knicks captured the revived Shooting Stars title Saturday night at NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, defeating three wannabe squads to claim the event’s first championship since its return to the ASW after an 11-year absence.
Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and former Knicks All-Star Allan Houston, with the assistance of smooth passer Rick Brunson, combined for 47 points in the final round at Intuit Dome, beating Team Cameron’s 38.
Team Knicks advanced to the final after posting 31 points in the opening round, the highest of the four teams. They then outscored Team Cameron (Jalen Johnson, Kon Knueppel and Corey Maggette) in the championship round, albeit not with a little bit of drama, with Brunson (how surprising!) and the legendary Houston converting late long-range four-pointers to secure the win.
The other teams included Team All-Star, led by Scottie Barnes, Chet Holmgren and Richard RIP Hamilton, and Team Harper, featuring Dylan Harper, Ron Harper Jr. and Ron Harper.
Saturday’s program also included the 3-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest, as has been the case for years on end.
To the surprise of everybody, Damian Lillard won the 3-Point Contest for a third time while still rehabbing from am Achilles injury, joining Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only three-time champions. Lillard scored 29 points in the final round to edge Devin Booker.
Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson won the Slam Dunk Contest, defeating Carter Bryant in the final round. Adam Silver, please, kill this thing or entirely rebuild it.
🌟 USA vs. WORLD in the City of Angels 🌟
Watch the NBA's brightest stars take center stage at Intuit Dome for the 75th NBA All-Star Game, Sunday at 5:00pm/et on NBC & Peacock! pic.twitter.com/tHArXNLHt9
Coming up next, the All-Star Game on Sunday, which will feature a new format with players divided into three teams: two American squads (youngins and oldies) and one World team.
About your Knicks: Brunson is a member of the younger cohort of Americans while Towns will represent the World side due to his Dominican Republic raíces.
All-Star Game Details
Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026
Time:Starting at 5:00 PM ET. Championship game at around 7:10 PM ET
Curry, who is far closer to the end of his storied career than its beginning, paid homage to the face of the league’s next generation during NBA All-Star media day Saturday, rocking Edwards’ shoes for the festivities — and the 24-year-old was honored.
“Hey, Curry the GOAT,” Edwards said when he saw the 12-time All-Star in his sneakers. “That’s really my dog.”
Then, Edwards, who is known for his elite-level trash talk and alpha attitude, made a pretty funny comparison between himself and the more laid-back Curry.
“Like, he don’t know it but he’s really me,” Edwards continued. “His alter ego is me.”
Curry, like Edwards, certainly is known to bring out his petty side when the moment is right, hitting the “night night” in opponents’ faces, shimmying down the court after big shots and dropping slyly sarcastic responses in his postgame press conferences.
But the “Petty King” is a title that belongs all to Curry himself, no matter how badly Edwards — jokingly or not — wants to take the credit.
As for the GOAT label, Dub Nation certainly would agree Edwards has that one right.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a position to add to their roster ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline. The Penguins are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division, so it would be understandable if they looked to boost their group.
One of the Penguins' top needs is a right-shot defenseman, and they are now being viewed as a potential fit for a solid one because of it.
In a recent article for The Athletic, Scott Powers, Mark Lazerus, and Chris Johnston listed the Penguins among the possible suitors for Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy.
"Dallas is a natural fit, but the Stars are hardly the only team looking for a right-shot and/or depth defenseman. Buffalo, Ottawa, San Jose, Pittsburgh, Boston and Detroit all make sense, too," Powers, Lazerus, and Johnston wrote.
Seeing the Penguins being viewed as a potential fit for Murphy is not surprising. They need to improve their right side, and Murphy is one of the top right-shot defenseman trade candidates in the NHL right now. Thus, it would be understandable if the Penguins made a push for him once the NHL Olympic roster freeze ends.
If the Penguins landed Murphy, he could slot on either their second or third pairing. In addition, he would be an obvious choice for the Penguins' penalty kill due to his steady defensive play.
Yet, with Murphy being a big right-shot defenseman with plenty of experience, it is very likely that several teams will pursue him. As a result, the Penguins would have competition if they look to add him.
And while he might not be participating in the 75th edition — hosted at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles — on Sunday due to a right knee injury, Warriors superstar Steph Curry shared his thoughts on how the event can improve in future years.
“Unfortunately, I can’t help this year because I’m not playing,” Curry told reporters during NBA All-Star media day Saturday. “But I think the only thing I would think about is shortening the game. That might be the only real suggestion I would have, just because it’s hard to replicate the intensity of a regular-season game. Nobody’s asking anybody to act like it’s a playoff game with those types of stakes. But a shorter game, maybe.”
“I know they’re doing a great job of trying to shorten the day for us as All-Stars because we’re sort of used to a certain game day prep that gets your body ready to go. The timeouts aren’t as long, and the breaks in between games aren’t as long. The league is doing a great job in trying to address that. That’s the only suggestion I would have. The 40-minute game, maybe? If you’re going back to the 2 teams format. But in this situation, short and sweet is better. I think that would help the competition.”
Most fans and players would agree with Curry’s sentiment that a competitive, “short and sweet” star-studded contest would be ideal.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game, however, will consist of a mini round-robin tournament with four 12-minute games featuring two teams of American players and one team of international players — and all three squads probably won’t be breaking much of a sweat.
But when Curry speaks, people listen.
Time will tell if NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league incorporate the 12-time All-Star’s ideas when potentially adjusting the game’s format for increased competition.
June 29, 2010; Detroit, MI, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran (15) makes a catch for an out during the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
This post is part of a series of daily questions that we’ll ask the community here at Amazin’ Avenue throughout the month of February. We hope you find the questions engaging and that our prompts can spark some fun conversations in the comments. We’ll see you there and plan to have staff chiming in, too.
After Carlos Beltrán, who will be the next player to enter the Hall of Fame in a Mets cap?
From his first day attending classes at Harvard-Westlake’s middle school campus, which includes seventh- and eighth-graders, Louis Lappe was being recognized as a celebrity.
“A few of the seventh graders I guess they know me kind of,” Lappe said humbly.
Not kind of.
“Every day, I hear them,” freshman teammate Nate Englander said. “'Are you Louis Lappe, the kid who hit the walk-off home run in the Little League World Series?' Every grade, seriously.”
It’s time for the Louis Lappe Show to hit the high school ranks. The national hero as a 12-year-old who led El Segundo to the Little League world championship in 2023 is now 15 and set to begin his first year of high school baseball. He'll be starting at third base for the Wolverines. He’s 6 feet 2 and is joined by two other top freshmen on Harvard-Westlake's varsity team, the 6-2 Englander, an outfielder-pitcher, and the 6-2 Mateo Mier, a pitcher.
This reminds scouts of the spring of 2021, when Bryce Rainer, Tommy Bridges and Duncan Marsten started on the Wolverines' varsity team as freshmen. Rainer became a first-round draft pick, Marsten is a standout pitcher at Wake Forest and Bridges went to Northwestern.
Englander still hasn’t forgiven Lappe for eliminating him and Sherman Oaks Little League in the 2023 regional playoffs.
El Segundo's Louis Lappe celebrates as he rounds second after hitting a solo walk-off home run off Curacao's Jay-Dlynn Wiel during the sixth inning of the Little League World Series championship game in 2023. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
“Obviously, it was difficult at the time,” Englander said. “We’re boys now. It’s amazing to reconnect. It’s going to be fun."
During fall and winter ball, Lappe displayed occasional power, similar to what he did as a 12-year-old that allowed him to hit five home runs at the 2023 Little League World Series, including his walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Venezuela.
He had a .445 batting average in winter ball, second only to Vanderbilt-bound senior James Tronstein.
It’s still going to be a transition season for Lappe.
“It’s a whole new game. A whole new chapter I have to get used to,” he said. “The main thing will be getting used to the speed of the game. It’s much faster than 14-, 15-year-old travel ball. Everyone runs faster, throws harder. When we get used to that, we'll be just fine.”
Harvard-Westlake freshmen Louis Lappe and Mateo Mier make the USA 15U baseball national team. pic.twitter.com/UuiDxvjjlQ
Lappe and Mier won gold medals during the summer playing for the USA 15U national team.
Mier is going to be placed immediately on the mound as part of a three-man starting pitching rotation used by pitching coach Joe Guntz to deal with some of the best hitters in the Southland.
“I think it's more about finding your spot on the team,” Mier said. “It’s a team game. Travel ball is very self-centered. The challenge is learning how to pitch and not be a thrower. I feel coach Guntz is the right person to teach me that.”
All three look like they could be playing basketball or football with their physical statures. That will mark them early on as no ordinary freshmen.
“We’re in the Mission League, which is one of the most difficult and prestigious leagues in the country,” Englander said. “There’s a lot more talent, whether it’s guys throwing harder, hitting the ball farther."
The Mission League has had an influx of outstanding players from the class of 2029, including Jordan Leon at Sierra Canyon and Brody Brooks at Loyola.
"I think we’ll hold our own," Englander said. "We look the part. Hopefully we can play the part.”
Mark down Harvard-Westlake’s games against Loyola because the Cubs have four former El Segundo players on their team, including the manager, Danny Boehle. Imagine the trash talk that might be transpiring with Lappe on second base talking to Brooks, one of his best friends who plays shortstop.
“It will be fun to mess with them and also beat them,” Lappe said.
It’s going to be a memorable four years of high school baseball for Lappe and his fellow class of 2029 players.
But when he spoke Sunday in Clearwater for the first time publicly since Dave Dombrowski’s end-of-season comments about his “elite” status, it was clear the tone of that conversation still stuck with him.
“For me, it was wild, the whole situation of that happening,” Harper said.
Part of Harper’s reaction comes from the standard he felt was set when he started negotiating with the club in 2019.
“When we first met with this organization, it was, hey, you know, we’re always going to keep things in-house, and we expect you to do the same thing,” Harper said. “And so, when that didn’t happen, it kind of took me for a run a little bit.”
The dynamics have shifted since then. Dombrowski wasn’t overseeing baseball operations when Harper joined the team. He was with the Red Sox at the time.
Harper’s 13-year deal has hardly been a disappointment and overall does not deserve a whole lot of criticism. Since coming to Philadelphia, Harper owns a .912 regular-season OPS and a 1.010 postseason OPS, along with three Silver Sluggers and an MVP.
The frustration is also rooted in what 2025 looked like. Harper didn’t dodge Dombrowski’s evaluation.
“Obviously, I didn’t have the year that I wanted,” he said. “Obviously, I didn’t have the postseason I wanted. My numbers weren’t where they needed to be. I know that.”
If there’s a single place the season stung, it’s October. In the NLDS against the Dodgers, Harper went 3-for-15 with one extra-base hit, good for a .600 OPS. It was the fewest extra-base hits he’s had in any postseason run with at least 10 at-bats and his toughest five-game-or-more series since his 19-year-old season in 2012.
And it wasn’t just Harper. Between Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber, the trio slashed .208/.309/.375 in the series for a .684 OPS.
Harper’s focus now is less about statements and more about adjustment. Some of it is approach, some of it is what he’s being given.
“Yeah, I think there’s a lot of things that, you know, chasing pitches or chasing stuff out of the zone… not missing pitches over the plate,” Harper said. “I’ll hopefully see a couple more pitches in the zone this year.”
Harper’s chase rate backed up the point. His outside-the-zone swing percentage was 36 percent, his highest since 2022 (37.2). He saw 42.9 percent of pitches in the zone, about in line with last year, and he hasn’t seen 44-plus percent since 2022.
The 2022 and 2025 profiles weren’t identical, but they carry similarities. Harper tore his UCL in 2022 and still slashed .286/.364/.514. The .877 OPS that year and the way he was pitched in 2025 fit into a familiar theme: if pitchers don’t have to challenge him, they won’t.
That’s where the lineup protection conversation comes back, especially with the cleanup spot still unsettled.
“I think it’s a huge impact in the four spot,” Harper said. “I think the numbers in the four spot weren’t very good last year either for our whole team. So… whoever is in that spot is going to have a big job to do.”
Whether it’s Schwarber, Alec Bohm, or Adolis García, that spot affects how teams choose to pitch Harper. And if he’s seeing fewer hittable pitches again, the Phillies will need to create offense through other avenues.
Before the regular season even begins, Harper will have another stage. He’s set to play in the World Baseball Classic, something he spoke about with obvious excitement.
“I can’t wait to represent your country. There’s nothing better… the feeling of putting USA on your chest and playing for something so much bigger than yourself,” Harper said. “And having Aaron Judge hit behind me is going to be a lot of fun as well.”
It also changes his calendar. Harper ramped up earlier than usual this offseason with the WBC ahead, and he noted an offseason regimen that included Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation (EBOO).
He described on Instagram in December that the process is where a portion of blood is drawn, filtered, and exposed to ozone before being returned to the bloodstream.
The goal is simple: stay on the field all year. Harper hasn’t played 150 games in a season since his first year with the Phillies, and disruptions can impact one’s readiness for the postseason.
That’s the part hovering over everything in Clearwater. Harper can post strong regular-season numbers again. The Phillies can win 90-plus games again. But if the stars fade when the games tighten, the ending stays the same.
Harper knows that. He doesn’t need to be pushed. He’s looking for the version of the Phillies that shows up when it matters most.st.
The 29‑year‑old anchored Sunday’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in the men’s competition for his fourth gold at the 2026 Games.
He had shared the record with three retired Norwegian athletes, Marit Bjoergen and Bjoern Daehlie in cross-country skiing and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the biathlon.
The Philadelphia Flyers, as an organization, appear to be finally getting healthy and kicking some injuries at the right time.
Forward Tyson Foerster appears to be on the mend, defense prospect Spencer Gill just played in his first games since October, and now another young stud is getting back on the ice, too.
On Saturday night, top forward prospect Alex Bump made his return from a lengthy injury absence that eliminated all but one game over the last two months.
Bump, 22, entered the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' lineup for the first time since Jan. 3 on Saturday night, and before that, the highly-skilled winger hadn't played since Dec. 19.
Bump, Gill, and defenseman Oliver Bonk have all missed several months due to their respective injuries this season, and all are now healthy at the same time for the first time this season.
In his return to the lineup, Bump recorded three shots on goal, took one penalty, and had a -2 rating.
Former Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov (33/35, .943) and the Cleveland Monsters took a 5-2 decision, knocking off Bump and the Phantoms and making them losers of four straight.
In each of their last four losses, the Phantoms have allowed no fewer than five goals while being out-scored 22-10.
The Phantoms now sit at a mediocre 21-21-4 in fifth place in the AHL's Atlantic Division, but now that Bump is back and healthy, maybe they have a chance to turn the tides a bit.
As for Bump's NHL prospects, his injury came at an unfortunate time, and it would take something unprecedented (or another injury at the NHL level at the winger position) for the 22-year-old to get ice time in the big leagues.
For now, teammate and fellow Flyers prospect Denver Barkey has leapfrogged him on the organizational depth chart, nailing down a middle-six role on the Flyers as currently constructed.
Once again this year, Quebec City will host its International Pee Wee Tournament from February 11 to 22, and as always, there will be a team representing the Montreal Canadiens. This time around, it’s the Lions du Lac St-Louis that have earned the privilege of wearing the Sainte-Flanelle for the tournament, and on Friday, they got a visitor at practice.
While plenty of NHL players have used the Olympic break as an opportunity to head to sunny destinations, Mike Matheson stayed around, spent some time in Brossard skating with his little boy, and on Friday, he surprised the Lions at practice.
Judging by the picture published by the Canadiens’ social media account, the kids were over the moon to see Matheson, who had his jersey retired by the Lions back in September, turn up. They hadn’t started their tournament yet, with their first game being scheduled on Valentine’s Day against the Long Island Stars.
Photo credit: Montreal Canadiens Instagram Account
Matheson, who will turn 32 toward the end of the month, signed a five-year extension with the Canadiens at the end of November and is not going anywhere anytime soon. The veteran defenseman managed to get a three-year full no-movement clause out of Kent Hughes, a rare feat. Then, in the last two years of his deal, he has a modified no-trade clause, which provides that he can submit a list of 14 teams he doesn’t want to be traded to in 2029-30 and a five-team list for the 2030-31 season.
Right now, there would be no reason for the Canadiens to want to trade the blueliner in any case; he’s an absolute workhorse on their defence corps, averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game. Despite not being on the power play anymore, he’s managed to rack up 28 points in 54 games, just three points below his total from last season, which he’ll no doubt surpass.
Tonight marks the 75th NBA All-Star Game. Victor Wembanyama, rapidly taking his position as the “face of the modern day NBA,” is the first French player to be a starter in the NBA All-Star Game.
Going back to the 1976 NBA/ABA merger, the Spurs have a long history of players participating in the All-Star Game.
George Gervin
Going back to the ABA, The Iceman participated in eleven straight All-Star Games. From the 1974-75 season until the 1984-85 season. Gervin was the Spurs superstar. In 1977, the first All-Star after the merger, Gervin was the lone representative of the Silver & Black. But in 1978 and again in 21979, he was joined by Larry Kenon.
In 1983, Gervin was accompanied by Artis Gilmore. Gilmore played for the Spurs from 1982-1987. He made the All-Star Game again in 1986, this time paired with Alvin Robertson.
Alvin Robertson
CHARLOTTE, NC – FEBRUARY 10: Alvin Robertson #20 of the Eastern Conference All Stars shoots a foul shot during the NBA All Star Game on February 10, 1991 at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges 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 1991 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
For three straight seasons, Alvin Robertson appeared in the All-Star competition. His first, with Gilmore in 1986, and then the following two years as the lone Spurs member. His last was 1988, and the Spurs went without an All-Star for the first time in 1989.
David Robinson
For nearly a decade, The Admiral made an annual trek to the All-Star Game. He missed in 1997 after only playing in six games due to injury, and of course there was no All-Star Game in 1999 due to the shortened lockout season. He was joined in 1993 by Sean Elliot and again in 1996 when the festivities were held in San Antonio.
The season Robinson spent injured opened the door for the Spurs to draft Tim Duncan, who would carry the Spurs into the next generation of All-Star competition.
Tim Duncan
Duncan made his first All-Star appearance in 1998 with David Robinson. The two participated again in 2000 and 2001. The Big Fundamental made a franchise 15 All-Stars over his nineteen years in the NBA. Over the years he was joined by Manu Ginobili in 2005 and 2011 and Tony Parker on four different occasions.
Parker also made two trips to the All-Star Game in 2012 and 2014 as the lone attendee.
Interesting fact: The Spurs Big 3 made twenty-three combined All-Star Games but never one featured all three of them together.
Passing the baton
TORONTO, CANADA – FEBRUARY 14 : LaMarcus Aldridge #12 and Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Western Conference All-Stars team pose for a portrait before the NBA All-Star Game on February 14, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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 2016 NBAE (Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
In 2016, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard represented the Spurs in the All-Star Game. Leonard returned the following season. Aldridge flew solo at the All-Star Games in 2018 and 2019.
After two decades of All-Star representation, the Spurs did not have a player invited in 2020 or 2021.
In 2022, Dejounte Murray was selected to replace Draymond Green.
The Spurs went dry in 2023, and 2024.
Last year Victor Wembanyama made his All-Star debut. Tonight, he is starting for Team World.
De’Aaron Fox was added to this year’s competition as a replacement for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fox will play for USA Stripes.
Gregg Popovich
In addition to player representation, Spurs legendary head coach Gregg Popovich was at the helm on four occasions. In 2005, 2011, 2013 and a final time in 2016 through the “Riley Rule.”*
*The head coach of the team with the best record is chosen to lead their respective conference with a prohibition against consecutive appearances
This year, Mitch Johnson will serve as head coach, also a result of the “Riley Rule.” He will coach USA Stripes which features his All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox..
Round Robin competition begins at 4PM CST tomorrow and continues over a three-hour period featuring four games.
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SACRAMENTO, CA - 1991: Tom Chambers #24 of the Phoenix Suns dribbles against the Sacramento Kings circa 1991 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. 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 1991 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The journey keeps rolling, and if I am being honest, this pyramid has taken over more mental space than I ever expected. I keep circling back to names, revisiting tiers, and replaying arguments in my head. Every conversation I have with Suns fans adds another wrinkle that makes me second-guess a decision I felt good about an hour earlier. There is a real fear of getting it wrong, of missing something obvious, of overlooking a moment that mattered to someone else.
At the same time, I know what this is. It is fluid. It is subjective. It has to be viewed through my lens, guided by my standards, my memory, and my sense of what impact actually means. That is the only honest way to do it.
My memory. God help us.
I think one of the biggest challenges with this whole exercise is the scope of it. I am staring down 58 years of Phoenix Suns basketball, and I have only lived through about 38 of them with my own eyes. That leaves a full two decades of history that I did not experience in real time, years I have to reconstruct through box scores, old clips, yellowed stories, and whatever context I can mine after the fact.
There is a difference between knowing something happened and feeling it happen. There are players whose impact lives in numbers and paragraphs for me, not memories. I can build a case. I can understand the logic. But I did not live the nights. I did not feel the temperature of the building or the way a guy changed the mood of a season.
And that is also what makes this fun.
This community is layered. There are fans here who have been around since 1968. They saw it all unfold in real time. They know where the stories exaggerate and where the stats undersell the truth. They can tell me where I am right. They can tell me where I am dead wrong. And they should.
This pyramid is not meant to be the final word. It is a conversation starter. A framework. A way to connect eras, memories, and arguments across generations of Suns basketball. And the best part is letting those generations talk to each other.
So without further ado, let’s reveal the Tier 5 of the Phoenix Suns All-Time Pyramid.
Now this is one area where there actually is a clear line of demarcation, because everyone on this list is a multi-time All-Star as a member of the Phoenix Suns. These are players who earned the right to represent the franchise on a national stage more than once. These are not one off seasons or brief flashes. These are guys who showed up, produced, and carried the identity of the team with them when the lights were brightest, and they earned that recognition through sustained impact and credibility in a Suns uniform.
Let’s get into it.
Tier 5: All-Star Impact
He is one of those true legends of the sport, a point guard who feels like part of a fading species. I’m writing this now, with his retirement fresh and real, which adds weight to where he sits in the long annals of basketball history.
Chris Paul spent 21 years in the league, and three of those seasons came in Phoenix, totaling 194 regular-season games, and those games carried enormous significance for the franchise. He left Phoenix ranked third all-time in assists per game at 9.5, led the league in assists during the 2020-021 season at 10.8 per night, and served as the engine of a team that reached the NBA Finals.
His time in Phoenix included two All-Star selections and two All-NBA honors. He also ranks second all-time in Suns history in assist percentage at 41.4% and fifth in free throw percentage at 86.7%.
Remembering Chris Paul also means acknowledging how his body broke down in the postseason, something that followed him late into his career as he played through ages 34 to 37. That reality does not erase the impact. He arrived at an organization that had gone a decade without touching the postseason, and everything shifted. The Suns mattered again. They competed again.
His influence on Devin Booker, a player who will sit much higher on this pyramid, defies clean measurement. The Point God did not fix everything, but he pulled the franchise out of stagnation, and that alone secures his place in Suns history.
There is only one ‘Original Sun’, and that designation belongs to Dick Van Arsdale. The Flying Dutchman.
As a 6’5” shooting guard out of Indiana, Van Arsdale arrived in Phoenix through the 1968 expansion draft after coming over from the New York Knicks. He stayed until he retired in 1977, logging nine full seasons with the organization and anchoring its earliest identity.
The resume holds up. He ranks fifth all-time in games played, sixth all-time in points, and third all-time in offensive win shares, which still jumps off the page when you put it in historical context. He was a core member of the team that reached the first NBA Finals in franchise history in 1976, and he earned three consecutive All-Star selections, starting with the very first season of Suns basketball in 1968-69.
Statistically, his best year came in the 1970-71 season, when he averaged 20.2 points per game and carried a heavy load for a young franchise finding its footing.
So why Tier 5 instead of Tier 6? Because every organization has a starting point, and for the Phoenix Suns, Dick Van Arsdale was that point. The 1968-69 team that finished 16-66 also featured another All-Star in Gail Goodrich, but Goodrich was traded in 1970. Van Arsdale stayed. He became the constant through the early years, the player who embodied what the Suns were before there was any real definition of success.
Being the foundation is relevant. Dick Van Arsdale was not only productive, he was present, steady, and representative of the franchise from its first breath.
Some of my earliest Suns memories live in an offense that ran straight through Tom Chambers. Yes, Kevin Johnson was running the show, setting the table, and pushing the pace, but when it came time to finish the play, it was Chambers rising up and cashing it in, over and over again, with a consistency that defined that era of basketball in Phoenix.
Chambers spent five seasons with the Suns, arriving in 1988 as the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history, a decision that mattered then and still matters now. He chose Phoenix, and in doing so, he became the centerpiece of some of the best Suns teams that rarely get talked about anymore.
Everyone remembers 1992 -93 when Charles Barkley showed up and changed the national conversation, but the groundwork was already there long before that. Those teams were good. In some seasons, they were great.
In Chambers’ first year, the Suns went 55-27 and reached the Western Conference Finals. The next season, 54-28, same result. In 1990-91, they finished 55-27 again and bowed out in the first round. Then came 1991-92, a 53-29 season that ended in the conference semifinals. Over that four-year stretch, the Suns went 217-111.
It was a sustained run of winning basketball that positioned the franchise to take the final swing that eventually brought Barkley to town. The team could not quite get over the hump, but Tom Chambers was a massive reason they were knocking on the door year after year.
Individually, his production still towers over franchise history. His 27.2 points per game in the 1989-90 season remains the gold standard for scoring in Phoenix. He holds the top two single-season scoring totals in Suns history, with 2,201 points in 1989-90 and 2,085 points the year before. He made three All-Star teams as a Sun, earned two All-NBA selections, and his 20.6 points per game average in Phoenix ranks eighth all-time.
Tom Chambers feels like one of the forgotten greats of the NBA. No player has scored more career points without reaching the Hall of Fame, and it is still baffling. That 27.2 point season was fourth in the league in scoring that year, trailing only Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, and Patrick Ewing, while finishing ahead of Dominique Wilkins, Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin, Reggie Miller, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson. Every one of those names is enshrined. Chambers is not.
He should be.
And within the context of Phoenix Suns history, his place is clear. Tom Chambers belongs in Tier 5 of the Suns All Time Pyramid, without hesitation, without apology, and without revision.
Connie Hawkins arrived in Phoenix and immediately gave the Suns a sense of legitimacy, a player who lived above the rim and played the game with a style and confidence that felt ahead of its time. He was electric, graceful, and undeniably great, the kind of presence that changed how a young franchise was perceived the moment he stepped on the floor.
For those unfamiliar with his backstory, Hawkins carried a complicated history into the league. Early in his career, he was swept up in a point-shaving scandal and banned from the NBA, a decision that later came to be viewed as deeply unfair and damaging. By the time he reached Phoenix, he was playing with both talent and something to prove, and the Suns benefited from all of it, a gifted player reclaiming his place and leaving a meaningful imprint on the franchise in the process.
I know you didn’t watch The Hawk when he played for the Suns back in the late 60s. He joined the expansion Phoenix Suns in 1968 when he was 25 years old after stints with the ABL, Globetrotters and ABA. He won MVP awards in both leagues, and was Dr. J before Dr. J.
Unfortunately, Hawkins had eight of his best years ripped from him for being wrongly implicated in a point shaving scandal in 1961. Despite obvious evidence to the contrary, his name wasn’t cleared by the athletic world until 1969, during which time he was blackballed by colleges and the NBA.
As it turned out, Hawkins never even knew about the point-shaving. He just had the misfortune of knowing some of those who did, and borrowing a couple hundred bucks at one point from the attorney at the center of the scandal so he could pay some school expenses. That $200 was even repaid back to the attorney before the scandal even broke. Hawkins, a freshman in college who wasn’t even ALLOWED to play for the varsity team when the point shaving was supposed to have occurred, still got blackballed by both the NCAA and the NBA even though he was never arrested or indicted.
The Suns were assigned the 25-year old Hawkins after he was finally cleared to play, and after winning a $1.3 million judgment in a lawsuit he filed years before against the NBA for wrongful banning. During his 8-year exile from traditional basketball settings, Hawkins spent a few years traveling with the Harlem Globetrotters and winning MVP awards with both the ABL and ABA.
He spent four and a half seasons in Phoenix, and that first year alone announced exactly who he was. In 81 games, Connie Hawkins averaged 24.6 points, made the All-Star team, earned All-NBA First Team honors, and finished fifth in MVP voting, which tells you how loud his arrival was and how quickly the league took notice. He would go on to make three more All-Star teams as a Sun, four total, and his 20.5 points per game still rank tenth in franchise history.
The way he played jumps off the page even now. He averaged the third-most free throw attempts per game in Suns history at 7.4 and logged the fourth-most minutes per game at 37.8. In the 1969-70 season alone he attempted 741 free throws, the second-most ever in a single Suns’ season. Hawkins played through contact, invited it, and lived at the line because defenders had no clean answers for him.
This is one of those players I never got to see with my own eyes, and that part stings a little. Sitting on my desk is a 1971 Topps Connie Hawkins card, and every time I look at it, I feel like he would have been my guy if I had been around then.
He was built different. He played with force, attitude, and a physical edge that felt personal. The numbers tell the story, but the feeling of his game is what really lingers. At least so I’m told.
Alright, Suns fans, this is where it really starts to get fun, because Jason Kidd was an absolute stud during his time in Phoenix, and I remember that arrival vividly.
He came over in December of 1996 in a trade that sent Sam Cassell, Michael Finley, and A C Green out the door, and that move landed right after one of the most directionless seasons I can remember. The 1995-96 Sans Barkley Suns finished 41-41, their worst record since the late eighties, and the whole thing felt stale, like a team stuck pacing in place. Trading Michael Finley hurt, because he was one of my guys, but what Phoenix got back was a young All-Star point guard who had already shared Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill, and that felt like a real reset.
Kidd’s arrival was significant because it signaled that the Suns were ready to compete again, and they did compete, even if the results never quite broke through the ceiling. Over four and a half seasons, Phoenix never made it past the second round, but the nightly product felt serious again, organized, and intentional in a way it had not before.
Statistically, Kidd’s Suns run was loaded. He sits first all-time in franchise history in assists per game at 9.7, sixth in total assists with 3,011, eighth in steals with 655, third in minutes per game at 38.9, and second in steals per game at 2.1, trailing only Ron Lee. He also owns the top spot in triple-doubles in Suns history with 25, nearly double Kevin Johnson’s total of 13.
There is a very real case for him landing in Tier 4. He was a three-time All-Star in Phoenix, a three-time All-NBA selection, and a three-time All-Defensive player while wearing a Suns uniform, and there are not many players in franchise history who stacked that much hardware during their time here. That alone carries weight.
Where this lands for me is more personal and more subjective, and that is unavoidable in a project like this. The teams during his tenure never reached the heights you hope for when a player of that caliber is running the show, and those years between Barkley and Nash often feel defined by Kidd and Marbury filling space rather than delivering sustained success.
On a stylistic level, his limitations always stood out to me. He shot 33.1% from three in Phoenix, averaged 14.4 points per game, and while he elevated everyone around him and rebounded at an impressive 6.4 per night, it often felt like something was missing offensively. And then there is the way it ended, the allegations, the off-court issues that became an ugly and unavoidable chapter in his story, something that will always color how that era is remembered.
For all of that, Jason Kidd still belongs firmly on this pyramid, and for me, tier five is where he lands. Not as a dismissal of his greatness, but as an acknowledgment of the total picture, the brilliance, the gaps, and the complicated legacy he left behind in Phoenix.
The pyramid is starting to take shape. What do you agree with? Where did I get it wrong?
