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Four-star shooting guard Devin Cleveland has narrowed his list of schools under consideration to three, a source told Rivals.

Moving forward, the 6-foot-3 rising senior out of La Lumiere School (IN) will consider Michigan, Missouri, and TCU. Cleveland will announce his college commitment on Friday, Oct. 16, and has visited each of his three finalists.

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Cleveland, a Chicago native, is ranked as the No. 32 overall recruit in the 2027 class and the No. 5 ranked shooting guard, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, an average of all three major recruiting media companies (Rivals, ESPN, 247Sports).

In late July, Cleveland announced a top seven that also included Alabama, Arkansas, Marquette, and Syracuse.

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Playing on the EYBL Circuit this summer, Cleveland averaged 16.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game for Brad Beal Elite.

“I feel like I’m a winner,” Cleveland previously told Rivals in an interview. “That’s what I’ve been trying to prove this EYBL season. You know, the past couple of years, I haven’t really had much success in winning games, so just coming over here with Bradley Beal, their identity is to win. So, I’m just trying to be a leader. I can score the basketball, and I’m a willing passer. I try to get my teammates involved every game.

“I watch a lot of Devin Booker, Jeremiah Fears, my brother Fred Cleveland, who is a pro overseason. Watching how they score the ball, create contact on the offensive end so I can draw fouls and little things like that.”

Cleveland also discussed what he’s looking for in a program.

“I’m going to be looking a lot at the fit. I want to play for a coach who believes in me and believes in my game, and that it will fit in with their system. Really, I just want to win. That’s all I want to do at the end of the day.”

WASHINGTON — Kyshawn George added eight pounds on lean muscle this offseason to become a more versatile defender.

What he didn’t expect was how much it would help his offensive game as well. Namely, bodying his way into the paint for easy layups or kick-outs to open teammates.

The 22-year-old wing tallied used that muscle to tally 21 points and four assists in the Wizards’ 131-122 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. It’s a sign of things to come for George, who’s entering a possible breakout campaign in Year 3.

“Just more durability, being more confident in my body, what I could do out there,” George said of his added muscle. “I think I always had the skill set, just having the strength and the athleticism to just put it on display on an hourly basis. So having that work being done over the offseason gave me more confidence to go do it in the game.”

George opened the game with a patient step-through move into a mid-range jumper and later skied in for a put-back layup. Isolated on the wing, George drove left and used his added strength to fend off Michael Porter Jr. with his off-arm before drawing contact and making the ensuing free throws.

That ability to muscle inside and draw contact is one of the many perks of added weight, especially against NBA competition.

“My first intention was to be able to add on weight to guard multiple positions, keep that same ability, but guard you know bigger players. And offensively, it’s the same thing,” George said. “I’d be able to get in the paint, draw contact, and then find the open man.”

Then came George’s playmaking — an area the Wizards want him to expand this season. The 6-foot-9 wing received a pass from Alex Sarr before throwing a transition lob to AJ Dybantsa that ignited Capital One Arena.

“I think it’s just getting comfortable [playing point guard],” George said. “I’ve been the point guard for most of my life. It’s just being able to do at this level, and we got a whole ton of support outside of this. So I’m gonna just go out and do it. “

George finished his impressive opening quarter with a 3-point barrage. The Miami product ran the baseline and found space on the wing before drilling his first triple. He followed with another three on the ensuing possession to give him 12 first-quarter points on 4-for-5 shooting.

Throughout his eight-year NBA career, Matisse Thybulle has been tasked with guarding all sorts of stars and offensive archetypes. His foremost traits defensively are his anticipation, timing and ability to cause havoc, which helped him earn consecutive All-Defensive Second Team accolades in 2020-21 and 2021-22 as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

For his career, he’s averaged a staggering 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per 36 minutes, underscoring his knack for disrupting opposing offenses. Since signing with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer, Thybulle has seemingly been imparting whatever wisdom he can upon second-year wing Adou Thiero, whose tremendous athletic gifts suggest significant defensive upside.

“We [were] talking about defense,” Thiero told reporters following an Oct. 6 loss to the Golden State Warriors. “That’s what he’s been helping me with the whole time. Just letting me know to pick my spots when I want to be aggressive, when not to, ways to keep the ball in front and just telling me different things defensively.”

In 55 minutes this preseason, Thiero has collected four steals and two blocks, four of which (two steals, two blocks) came Thursday against the Sacramento Kings. During that game, he authored a handful of eye-popping plays defensively, including a rotation to deflect and steal a Maxime Raynaud short-roll pass, fighting around a screen to stay attached to Darius Acuff Jr. and get a hand on his jumper, and containing a Precious Achiuwa drive before blocking his shot.

Here’s the block on Acuff:

After the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 5, when they forced Sacramento into 27 turnovers, head coach JJ Redick said “clearly, that disruption we talked about carried over.” Across the two ensuing games, the Lakers have forced 51 more turnovers.

The generally sloppy, experimental and shake-off-the-rust nature of preseason presumably inflates turnover numbers across the league. But the Lakers, with plenty of full-court pressure, are clearly trying to be a disruptive group defensively. Thiero’s size and athleticism can help amplify this identity, and it appears the veteran Thybulle is offering his own insights to accelerate the young forward’s development on that end.

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

The Dallas Mavericks are working their way through their preseason schedule in anticipation of the 2026-2027 season tipping off later this month. Fresh off a two-game set in Macau, China, where they split wins and losses with the Houston Rockets, Kyrie Irving was asked about rising star Cooper Flagg. This led Irving to show respect to two former teammates, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, while drawing parallels to Flagg.

“I think Coop falls in line in terms of having that competitive nature at a very young age”

Irving’s choice of comps is well thought out. He has played with Durant, James and now Flagg throughout his career, affording him unique insight beyond what a more casual observer could glean. Also, all three of those players are versatile two-way types and all three were drafted into the NBA at the age of 18. Flagg, of course, is at the beginning of his NBA career, while Durant and James are nearer to the end of theirs, but to be grouped with such company is high praise indeed. If Flagg can grow into that caliber of player, it would make him a sure-fire Hall of Famer and NBA Champion, so let’s hope Irving is correct in what he is seeing.

Already we have seen Flagg develop at a rapid rate across his Rookie of the Year campaign last season, and despite some struggles from the floor in the second game in Macau, Flagg nonetheless showcased the hard work he put in this offseason. Irving echoes this notion when discussing Flagg’s development going into his second year in the league.

“I love that he’s a two-way player… I love that he cares about using his voice as he’s grown into year two”

As viewers, a player growing into a vocal leader can be a bit more difficult to pick up on, but that seems to be part of Flagg’s evolution according to Irving. Flagg certainly led the way with his play last season, especially in the second half, so this next logical step in becoming a leader is a great sign. Joining a team with established veterans means there is a more clearly defined pecking order. Flagg wasn’t necessarily a leader until he earned it with his play, then witnessed a roster overhaul that put him firmly in the spotlight. Now in year two, he is set to be a vocal leader as well. That’s not easy for any player, especially one that is 19 years old, but accordingly to Irving, that time has arrived.

“My first few years in the league were pretty tough on me… I struggled in certain areas, I needed veteran leadership… so now that I’m in this seat…”

While Flagg develops into the player and leader he will one day become, Irving has his back. Encapsulated in Irving’s comments are why it is important to not abandon all veteran presence for the sake of a youth movement. Some are proponents of jettisoning Irving while others want to see him retire a Maverick. The stance of the latter is supported by Irving’s comments simply because you can’t replace experience the likes of which he has. A fellow Duke alum, Irving was also Rookie of the Year and has been through some ups and downs on his road to winning a championship and beyond. Both on the court and off, Irving appears more and more like an ideal running mate and veteran mentor for Flagg.

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

Celtics, Pritchard agree to 2-year, $44.2 million contract extension (Report) originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics are extending the contract of one of their most important players through the end of the decade.

The C’s and point guard Payton Pritchard have agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension with a mutual option for the 2029-30 campaign, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday.

Pritchard’s current contract runs through the 2027-28 season.

The Celtics acquired Pritchard with the No. 26 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He has since become a key part of head coach Joe Mazzulla’s rotation and won the 2025 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Pritchard averaged career highs of 17 points, 5.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game last season. His ability to provide instant offense off the bench has been very valuable to the Celtics’ success over the last three seasons.

Pritchard’s outside shooting — 39.4 percent from 3-point range in his career — has also made him a good fit in Mazzulla’s system.

The Celtics open the 2026-27 regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 20 against the Pistons in Detroit.