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No athlete has ever had their life play out in the public eye more than LeBron James. For more than two decades, fans have had an up-close view of LeBron.

It’s with that context in mind that Wednesday’s scenes in LeBron’s latest return to Cleveland were noteworthy. During a tribute video that wasn’t unique to this trip back home, emotions overwhelmed LeBron on the bench, moving him to tears.

While retirement has been a possibility for LeBron since he uttered the words after his playoff loss to the Nuggets years ago, this feels like one of the first times it really feels on the cards. LeBron, though, has remained adamant postgame that he hasn’t thought about retirement yet and he doesn’t know if this will be his last season.

That’s been the consistent message from LeBron throughout the year. For now, the approach seems to be to get through this season and then assess things in the offseason with no thought to the future.

However, the emotions of Wednesday do not seem to be someone who may be playing future seasons in the NBA. Sure, LeBron could be taking every moment in and treating each road game as his potential last time in that arena.

But he’s also moving like someone who is on a farewell tour, and not just on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Topps announced that he’d be wearing a special jersey patch for the remainder of the year, which would then be put into trading cards.

Again, while the special patches have been made for other athletes, this move felt like one made as part of a farewell tour.

There’s a very real chance that this is not his final season and all of this is easily explained away. Right now, that still seems like the likeliest outcome. It would be hard to imagine LeBron quietly riding off into the sunset after the season. And if anyone deserved to be celebrated with a farewell tour, it’d be LeBron.

But the odds of this being LeBron’s final season are increasing. While he may continue to say he hasn’t thought about it and he’ll assess things at the end of the year, he’s acting like someone in the middle of their final season.

Maybe Wednesday was just the moment catching up to him. Maybe he thought back to all those years ago when a teenage LeBron was playing in front of these fans.

Or maybe it was a glimpse into someone realizing that was their last trip back home.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The Dallas Mavericks (19-28) host the Charlotte Hornets (20-28) on Thursday night. Dallas is playing the second night of a back-to-back, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Hornets have won 4 in a row and look great as they try to surge up the standings. It’s a fun night for the Mavericks as they retire the jersey of 1981 number overall pick Mark Aguirre, a much overdue event.

Heres the main things you need to know before tipoff.

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Charlotte Hornets
• WHAT: Retiring Mark Aguirre’s jersey
• WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
• WHEN: 7:30 pm CST
• HOW: KFAA Channel 29, MavsTV streaming, NBA League Pass

Both Cooper Flagg and Klay Thompson are playing tonight after missing the last game with variations on injury management. Brandon Williams is questionable with an ankle injury. Naji Marshall is getting the game off after not missing a game all season. Moussa Cisse is questionable as well. Grant Williams and Mason Plumlee are missing this game for the Hornets. Brandon Miller is listed as probable with a left ankle injury.

Expect a charged game for the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki’s expected to be in the building along with Isaiah Thomas to see Aguirre’s jersey retired. It’s going to be an emotional thing for Aguirre. As for the game itself, I think Flagg and Kon go at it in a major way. The Charlotte Hornets are playing much better ball as of late and Dallas might be heading the opposite direction. Institutionally, the Mavericks are tanking, but do not tell the players that. It should be a much better game than the Wolves game where Dallas loooked nearly listless.

Consider joining Josh and me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube, we should start LATE. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!

When Tom Thibodeau was relieved of his duties after the Knicks’ unceremonious exit at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in May, there were a few prevailing grievances that led to the coach’s downfall.

One of them was a stubbornness to lineup construction. Thibodeau’s defense always required a rim protector, preventing him from ever considering a small-ball lineup despite the options presented. He played a tight rotation and stuck with his chosen starting lineup through thick and thin, only experimenting due to injuries or desperation.

The lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns started out looking like one of the best starting five’s in the NBA, but heavily regressed after New Year’s for a myriad of reasons. The defense was sub-standard with two flat-out bad defenders and the five-out spacing that the team envisioned fell apart with Hart’s shooting struggles.

The differences in net rating were drastic.

Pre-New Year: +6.6 (561 min)
Post-New Year: -1.4 (156 min)
Postseason: -6.2 (335 min)

Having bad lineups happens, but when they’re played to this extent? It’s alarming. It took until Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final for a change to be finally made. The Knicks used a grand total of 13 starting lineups in 100 games.

Enter Mike Brown, who was hired, in part, for more lineup versatility. He opened the season planning to have Mitchell Robinson start over Hart, but the frequent unavailability of the load-managing big man forced some different lineups, which included Ariel Hukporti, Deuce McBride, and Landry Shamet.

Eventually, Hart, who got off to a brutal start to the season, was put back in the starting lineup when OG Anunoby went down with an injury. Instead of reverting to a lineup with Robinson or McBride, however, Hart stayed in the starting lineup for the December 5th bludgeoning of the Jazz when Anunoby returned.

It started out great. The lineup had an exceptional +21.5 net rating in 77 minutes across 10 games through mid-December. It was being used in proper doses and wasn’t being leaned on for nearly 20 minutes a night.

A big reason for the big turnaround was an elite 106.4 defensive rating. Despite two negative defenders on the court, the lineup worked and the offense was supercharged by Hart’s newfound shooting stroke.

And then, suddenly, it fell apart. Since December 20, that lineup has played 106 minutes across nine games and has a putrid -8.4 net rating. All of a sudden, that elite offense had fallen apart and opposing offenses began exploiting the defensive shortcomings of Brunson and Towns.

This, coupled with the team’s overall struggles (which may be in the rearview mirror…), has caused some discussion on whether Mike Brown should embrace a different lineup. After all, he’s already used more starting lineups (16) than Thibs used last year in half the games.

But is it so simple? There are four realistic candidates for a fifth starter around the team’s top four. Assuming no Giannis-level trade occurs before the deadline, the Knicks will have the next 2.5 months to figure out which of the four gels the best between Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, Josh Hart, and Mitchell Robinson.

The case for Deuce McBride

The most criminally underpaid player in basketball, Deuce has been a reliable 3-and-D asset for the Knicks since he emerged into the rotation 25 months ago after the team traded away Immanuel Quickley. There have been some inconsistent stretches (and a few injuries), but the 25-year-old has taken another leap in his spot-up shooting and is probably the team’s best point-of-attack defender.

If you want a true five-out lineup, this is the choice. Everyone in this lineup can shoot, even if OG is struggling mightily from above-the-break. It’s a dream for Mike Brown. It also gives you someone to stick on a star guard like Tyrese Maxey or Donovan Mitchell, allowing Bridges to do what he does best off the ball.

What do the numbers say about this lineup? Well, similar to the current starters, it’s gotten significantly worse as the season has progressed:

Pre-December 20: +12.3 net (26 min)
Post-December 20: -7.1 net (66 min)

What’s interesting about these lineups is that Deuce is helping the offense go into hyperspeed. Even since 12/20, when the team has looked much worse on both sides of the ball, this lineup has a blistering 130.5 offensive rating. It’s just the defense that’s the problem because, personally, I don’t think a 137.6 defensive rating is good.

As you’ll see with Shamet, it just seems to be a common trend in Brunson and Towns’ lineups. Whether it’s possible for them to be co-stars is a story for another day. If you want to maximize the offense, it’d be smart to go with a lineup that has a 127 ORtg in 92 minutes.

The case for Landry Shamet

It’s going to be sad when the Knicks won’t be able to retain Landry Shamet this offseason. They snagged him late in the offseason the last two years and have gotten quality bench minutes out of the journeyman wing. His spot-up shooting ability has fully returned after concerns it disappeared in Washington, as he’s shoot 41% from downtown in 72 total games as a Knick. Some of this team’s best runs have come with him on the court.

So why not give him a shot to start? He has started six games this season due to injuries, but hasn’t since he hurt his shoulder in Orlando in November. Since then, he’s had an up-and-down role as a reliable shooter who can hold his own defensively and provides needed hustle.

The problem is that Shamet with the starters is the worst performing of these lineups, at -5.8 on the season in 57 minutes. It’s also not a “whole team struggling” problem, as it was negative when he went down in November.

Shamet’s two most-used lineups aside from the starters have something in common: no Brunson or Towns.

McBride-Clarkson-Shamet-Anunoby-Towns: +30 net (23 min)
Brunson-McBride-Shamet-Anunoby-Robinson: +59.2 net (23 min)

He plays well with McBride and Anunoby, which makes sense, but the other pieces are free-flowing. It doesn’t appear that he’s a good fit for the starters, especially considering he’s kinda like Deuce in his strengths, just slightly worse while being bigger. Still, if Deuce is ever out, it’s worth considering.

The case for Mitchell Robinson

The lineup that the Knicks came into the season hoping to use hasn’t been used nearly as much as it should, but that’s due to injuries. Mike Brown and the training staff came into 2025-26 with a clear plan to limit Robinson’s workload to maximize him for the playoffs. That means no back-to-backs, no 30+ minute games, etc.

But at some point, the Knicks will probably encounter a matchup where they just cannot take Big Mitch off the court. If he isn’t ready to play that workload, they’re crippling themselves. By that nature, it seems likely that Mitch will continue to increase his in-game workload as the season goes on.

Unlike the other three lineups, the starters with Mitch have been a significant positive, posting an elite +12.4 net rating in 51 minutes behind stellar defense.

However, once again, that number is dragged down by the team’s recent slump. The lineup has only played 16 minutes together since mid-December and has gotten eviscerated on both ends of the floor. It really just seems like a team-wide issue, as there are multiple lineups with different strengths and weaknesses, all struggling concurrently.

So, again, it’s a story for another time with the whole Brunson-Towns tandem, but what does Mitch provide that the others don’t? How about game-breaking rebounding?

In the lineup’s brief time together, they’re killing teams with a 53.3% overall rebounding share and a ludicrous 37.1% offensive rebounding rate. It’s a common theme with Robinson, whose second-most used lineup (w/Brunson/McBride/Hart/Bridges) has a near-50% offensive rebound rate.

The possession battle with the double big is a tremendous advantage, especially on days that the Knicks are making shots. That’s an unstoppable offense and should mask defensive issues. It also provides a real rim protector and should help with the team’s struggles defending the pick-and-pop and drive-and-kicks.

The case to stay with Josh Hart

If the Knicks hadn’t just won four in a row, the calls to make a drastic change would be louder. Now that they’ve stabilized, is that the best course of action?

The last four games have featured Thibs-ian levels of starter usage, with the starting five playing a staggering 58 minutes in that span. No other combination featuring the Big Four has more than two minutes. The lineup hasn’t been dominant by any stretch, but has been +2.3, the best stretch in a good bit.

The biggest problem with Hart last season was both his unwillingness to shoot and his poor efficiency when he did. This year? He’s one of 21 qualified players to be shooting 40% from deep on at least four attempts a game. Only one other Knick (Deuce) can say they’re in that club. When Josh is firing from distance, it’s going in.

Plus, this lineup provides something that the other ones can’t attest to: secondary playmaking.

Josh Hart is the Knicks’ third-best playmaker. The top two, Brunson and Kolek, are both small point guards and should rarely share the floor. Without Hart, the Knicks rely too much on Brunson initiating the action on every single play, whether it’s iso ball or finding an open shooter through a drive to the rim. Hart can alleviate some of that as a willing passer who only shoots when he knows he can make it.

There’s no perfect solution for the Knicks right now, as they try to balance an inconsistent bench and inconsistent shooting and defense. This upcoming stretch will tell them a lot about how things will go as the playoffs draw nearer, and it’s worth experimenting when you can.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino dismissed criticism of World Cup ticket prices by American winger Tim Weah.

FIFA is charging up to $8,680 list price per ticket for the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19 in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, and as much as $175 for parking spots.

“It is too expensive,” Weah was quoted as saying this month by France's Le Dauphiné. “I am just a bit disappointed by the ticket prices. Lots of real fans will miss matches.”

“First of all, I think players need to talk on the pitch, playing football, not outside of,” Pochettino said Thursday during a Zoom news conference from Coral Gables, Florida. “It is not his duty to evaluate the price of the ticket. And then also my job, my duty is to prepare the team, the U.S. men’s national team in the best way to perform. We are not politicians. We are sport people that only we can talk about our job and I think if FIFA does something or takes some decision, they know why, and (it) is their responsibility to explain why. But it is not about us to provide our opinion. Our responsibility is to perform, play and perform on the pitch and then the people that is in charge of the federation, maybe he can give his opinion, but I am the head coach of the federation."

The U.S. has friendlies against Belgium (March 28), Portugal (March 31), Senegal (May 31) and Germany (June 6) before their World Cup opener against Paraguay in June 12 at Inglewood, California.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Lakers have upgraded guard Austin Reaves (left calf strain) to questionable from out and listed guard Luka Doncic (left ankle soreness) as questionable for Friday night’s game against the Washington Wizards.

Reaves has been out since getting injured on Christmas Day against the Houston Rockets, a span of 17 games.

In 23 games this season, Reaves is averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2). Reaves is shooting 50.7% from the field and 36.5% from three-point range.

Doncic injured his ankle during the Lakers’ blowout loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday night after falling off the side of Cleveland’s raised court while shooting a fadeaway three-pointer in the first quarter.

He hobbled to the Lakers’ locker room and was unable to put any weight on his leg. But Doncic did return to play and finished the game with 29 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Doncic leads the NBA in scoring at 33.6 points per game and is third in assists at 8.7.

“I kind of got scared,” Doncic told reporters after the game in Cleveland. “It wasn’t a great feeling and looking back at the video, I think I got a little bit lucky. It hurts obviously more now, but, just, I tried to go.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Detroit Pistons get to face off against the Phoenix Suns for the second time in two weeks. This time, Detroit visits the Mortgage Matchup Center (yeesh, what a name) in Phoenix, Arizona. Detroit narrowly escaped with a win in the first matchup, 108-105. That game was close because Cade Cunningham was then playing his first game back after a 10-day absence because of a wrist injury and delivered one of his worst performances of the season. He shot just 3-of-16 and committed five turnovers. Conversely, the avowed enemy of Pistons fans everywhere, Grayson Allen, was torching the nets. He scored 33 points and hit 7 threes to almost will his team to victory.

Allen only has five games this season eclipsing the 20-point threshold, so hopefully he comes down to earth a little bit. Cunningham, meanwhile, seems to put the ailing wrist issues behind him. He scored 22 points in a win against the Denver Nuggets and 29 in a blowout against the Sacramento Kings, both times shooting better than 50% from the floor. Critically against the Nuggets, he had zero turnovers and dished 11 assists. That’s the Cunningham we like to see.

Game Vitals

When: 9 p.m. ET
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Watch: Fan Duel Sports Network
Odds: Pistons -4

Projected Lineups

Detroit Pistons (34-11)

Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Phoenix Suns (28-19)

Collin Gillespie, Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks, Royce O’Neale, Mark Williams