TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 12: Jesus Sanchez #12 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on August 12, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Red Sox 7 Blue Jays 0
If you had told me, going into this series, that we would win 3 of 4, I would have been happy. I knew we weren’t going to run the table. As Meatloaf never said, 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.
But…..when you win the first three, you get greedy. I wanted four. I wanted, at very least, an effort.
Max Scherzer can’t be faulted. He had a great game. He might be the only Jay to have a great game, but he was very good. Five innings, three hits, two walks, one earned, four strikeouts. You really couldn’t ask better from Max.
He is now at 3004 innings pitched. He’s 139th all time.
You could have asked better from the offense. Just two hits. And really not many good at at bats. The threw eight innings, likely could have gone nine, but why push it when it is 7-0. There was no offense to speak of. I don’t know that Payton Tolle was all that great, but we seemed to be in a hurry to get it over with.
Vlad and Nathan Lukes had a hit each.
Spencer Miles gave up two hits, but got out of his inning.
Braydon Fisher had a quick seventh.
Chase Lee….well, not so quick. Four hits, Four earned (a grand slam). And that was the game.
Lazaro Estrada gave up two more.
Jay of the Day: Max Scherzer (0.14).
Other Award: Lee (-0.23), Clement (-0.12), Valenzuela (-0.11, plus he picked the wrong pitch to challenge in the first inning. Why?), and Okamoto (-0.10). and Springer (-0.09).
I don’t know that a first inning challenge is ever a good idea, but a first inning challenge on a pitch that wasn’t even close to a strike is never a good idea. Maybe not the reason the Jays lost, but it really didn’t help.
Tomorrow the Yankees are in town. Let’s win another series.
Brock Nelson has already experienced the kind of year that can define an NHL career.
Olympic gold? Check.
A 1,000th NHL game? Check.
35 goals, 65 points and a spot among the finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy? Check, check and check.
There is just one problem.
Nelson doesn't have a Stanley Cup.
And after seeing the Colorado Avalanche's season come to a brutal end against the Vegas Golden Knights, that appears to be the accomplishment he wants most.
“It doesn’t matter how you lose a series, but obviously getting swept is even more disappointing,” Nelson said Wednesday in an interview with NHL.com’s Heather Rule while making his 2026 debut at Da Beauty League, a summer hockey league featuring NHL and collegiate players with ties to Minnesota.
The Avalanche had every reason to believe they were headed toward another deep playoff run. Colorado finished the regular season with the Presidents’ Trophy after going 55-16-11 for 121 points, then swept the Los Angeles Kings before dispatching the Minnesota Wild in five games.
Then everything fell apart.
Vegas swept Colorado in the Western Conference Final, with Game 3 serving as perhaps the most painful example of what went wrong. The Avalanche carried a three-goal lead into the second period, only to watch the Golden Knights erase it before eventually winning 5-3.
For Nelson, the series came down to opportunities Colorado simply couldn't finish.
“I think the margin for error and the need for really timely execution is crucial,” he said.
That lesson could prove valuable heading into 2026-27, particularly because Nelson doesn't believe Colorado needs a major overhaul.
The foundation is still there.
Cale Makar remains one of the best defensemen in the world. Devon Toews continues to provide a steady presence alongside him. Colorado believes it has the goaltending necessary to compete for a championship, while the health of captain Gabriel Landeskog could provide another significant boost.
Nelson sees no reason to believe the Avalanche's championship window has closed.
If anything, the disappointment has made the team hungrier.
“I know this team is hungrier than ever, even having won it recently,” Nelson said.
That's an interesting perspective considering what Nelson himself accomplished over the past year.
He scored at least 30 goals for the fourth time in his career, finished fourth on Colorado in scoring and established himself as one of the Avalanche's most dependable two-way forwards. His performance earned him consideration for the Selke, awarded annually to the NHL's top defensive forward.
And then there was the Olympic experience.
Nelson helped the United States defeat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, recording two goals and an assist in six games.
But calling that simply another line on his résumé doesn't do the moment justice.
Nelson was carrying generations of American hockey history with him.
His uncle, Dave Christian, was part of the legendary 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team. His grandfather, Bill Christian, and great-uncle, Roger Christian, helped the United States win gold at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley.
Nelson had members of his family in Italy to experience the moment alongside him.
“A memory and moments that we’ll never forget,” Nelson said. “Super emotional when we were able to get it done.”
Six months later, the Olympic gold medal is already beginning to feel like a distant memory.
That's what happens in the NHL.
There is always another season. Another playoff run. Another opportunity.
And for Nelson, the next opportunity is about finishing what Colorado couldn't finish last season.
He has reached personal milestones. He has won Olympic gold. He has established himself as an important piece of one of the NHL's best teams.
Now he wants the Stanley Cup.
Nelson described the past year as “pretty good.”
It was much more than that.
But for a player entering his 14th NHL season, “pretty good” isn't the standard anymore.
The Avalanche have already proven they can dominate the regular season.
Now Nelson wants to see what happens when they finish the job.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 13: Sal Stewart #27 of the Cincinnati Reds hits a home run during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on August 13, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jayden Mack/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sal Stewart smashed a homer off Chicago White Sox starter Davis Martin in the Top 0f the 1st inning, a homer that was later followed in the same inning with a 2-run shot by Eugenio Suarez. It was the first salvo in a game the Reds would eventually win 9-8, a game that featured Andrew Abbott getting bounced early and some pretty epic back and forth lead changes.
Nothing, though, got the fireworks going like the Top of the 3rd.
Stewart stepped in to face Martin for a second time, and after Martin hummed a four-seam fastball over the outside part of the plate to get ahead 0-1 a pair of 93 mph heaters nearly domed Sal right in his helmet.
White Sox pitcher Davis Martin is ejected after consecutive pitches end up near Sal Stewart's head pic.twitter.com/ROVRRCfrjk
Sal seemingly shrugged off the first one, surely knowing that it would be quite odd for Chicago’s starter to be intentionally putting a runner on in a 1-run game while they’re mired in a playoff chase. The second one, though, clipped his helmet, and the benches cleared as the Reds clearly weren’t having any more of that nonsense on the day.
Whether intentional, or not, Martin was ejected from the game. Even if he didn’t mean it, you simply can’t have a guy that wild still on the mound.
Sal later added another RBI on a day that saw him go 2 for 4 with a walk, said HBP, 4 runs scored, and a pair of ribbies, and he’s pushed his season OPS all the way back up to .817. The homer was his 26th, by the way, and sounded like it couldn’t have been hit more on the screws.
The win gave the Reds the series victory and keeps them 5 games back of the final National League Wild Card spot, albeit in a position where they still need to leapfrog 5 teams to get into position. The odds of that are long, obviously, but when Sal’s in the lineup everyday seemingly anything is possible.
I know you were upset about The Trade, but now you can decompress amid the stability of one of the greatest brands in sports. You’ve joined the darlings of the NBA. The 17-time champions. It’s all sunshine, sea breezes and engraved diamond rings from here on forward.
Or is it?
Eighteen months ago, Doncic had the rug pulled from under him after believing he would spend his entire career in Dallas. The last 14 months?
Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles the ball against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Monday, March 23, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan. (Getty Images North America) Getty Images
Well, he went from tossing his phone across the room amid the betrayal and bewilderment of being perhaps the only top-four player in his mid-20s who was blindsided by a trade, to likely squinting with surprise while reading the stunning news (twice!) on his damaged screen about his new franchise.
Dončić signed a three-year, $165 million maximum contract extension that includes a player option for the 2028-2029 season. That means he could leave after the 2027-2028 season if he wants. This much is for sure: His short-lived tenure with the Lakers hasn’t exactly been a model of stability.
The superstar acknowledged that much while reacting to Wednesday’s news.
“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA,” he wrote. “I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”
While players and ownership are typically pretty siloed, Doncic needs to know that the Lakers will be on a championship course. Iger is the former CEO of Disney. Kushner is a venture capitalist and the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Are there going to be major changes to the front office? Are there going to be shifts in strategy? What the heck is going on?
Under Walter, the Lakers had a sense of direction. He helped guide the Dodgers to three World Series championships after buying the team in 2012. The Lakers had oversight from Dodgers’ brass. New front office positions were created. There was a marked shift towards data and analytics.
That must be destabilizing for Doncic, who deeply values continuity. He wanted to become one of the few NBA players who finished his career where it began. All of this change is dizzying.
Right now his focus is on making the Lakers a championship organization once again. LeBron James left in free agency. The Lakers are his.
It’s a responsibility he’s taking seriously.
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He’s hosting a four-day mini camp in Slovenia next week. He’s paying for his teammates’ travel expenses. He had significant influence over the Lakers’ roster moves this summer, including the blockbuster acquisition of Walker Kessler. He’s doing everything he can to build chemistry.
But there’s a lot of background noise.
After 47 years of ownership by the Buss family, the Lakers are once again undergoing a major shakeup. They’re front and center in the news. There are so many unknowns.
Dončić is at the center of the storm. He’s going to shoulder the blame if the Lakers fall short next season. Fingers are going to point at him.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic reacts on the court during the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, Sunday, February 1, 2026. (JASON SZENES) JASON SZENES/ NY POST
He’s doing his part.
Doncic was the league’s leading scorer last season. He carried the Lakers on a 16-2 run last spring, averaging a stunning 37.5 points, 8 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game over that stretch. If he hadn’t suffered a strained hamstring that sidelined him during the playoffs, who knows how far the Lakers could’ve gone.
The Lakers are doing their part, too. They immediately made Doncic their priority after acquiring him, even with James on the roster. They added the personnel Doncic wanted. He has seemed happy.
But he needs to be assured that he has the proper infrastructure around him.
And over the last two years, the only thing he has known for sure is that everything around him keeps crumbling.
Here’s to hoping Iger and Kushner put some solid ground underneath him.
Or else it’s fair to wonder if the Lakers might have to brace for yet another shakeup.
Fueled by their relentless depth and star power, the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the pack in early odds for the 2026 NBA Cup.
The path to the trophy won't be easy, however, with the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs looming as short-priced threats right behind them.
As summers inches closer to its end & we move towards the return of the NBA making its return, we take an early look at the latest Emirates NBA Cup odds for this upcoming season.
2026 NBA Cup odds
Team
Oklahoma City Thunder
40%
New York Knicks
28%
San Antonio Spurs
27%
Golden State Warriors
23%
Utah Jazz
23%
Dallas Mavericks
22%
Los Angeles Lakers
21%
Minnesota Timberwolves
21%
Indiana Pacers
20%
Philadelphia 76ers
17%
NBA Cup groups
The league's 30 teams will all compete in randomly drawn groups for the opening round, divided by conference, as listed below:
East Group A
East Group B
East Group C
DET (0-0)
NYK (0-0)
BOS (0-0)
TOR (0-0)
CLE (0-0)
ATL (0-0)
ORL (0-0)
PHI (0-0)
CHA (0-0)
MIL (0-0)
MIA (0-0)
CHI (0-0)
BKN (0-0)
IND (0-0)
WAS (0-0)
West Group A
West Group B
West Group C
DEN (0-0)
OKC (0-0)
SAS (0-0)
HOU (0-0)
MIN (0-0)
LAL (0-0)
PHO (0-0)
LAC (0-0)
POR (0-0)
DAL (0-0)
NOP (0-0)
GSW (0-0)
UTAH (0-0)
MEM (0-0)
SAC (0-0)
🥇: Group winner 🥈: Wild Card
NBA Cup explained
Group Play
Each team will begin the tournament in one of six groups, divided by conference and randomly drawn from tiers based on the previous season's record, to ensure relative competitive balance.
Within each group, all teams will play regular-season games against each other on designated Tournament Nights from October 31 to November 28: Every Friday and also Tuesday, November 25, and Wednesday, November 26.
The records in those games determine who advances to the Knockout Round.
Knockout Round
The Knockout Round is comprised of eight teams, which begins on December 9-10:
The winners of each of the six groups
A wild-card team from each conference (the second-place team with the best record)
The Knockout Round is a single-elimination bracket. Teams in each conference with the best record will get home-court advantage in these matchups.
The semifinals and finals take place in Las Vegas on December 13 and 16, with the winner of each conference facing off for the NBA Cup.
Teams that make the knockout round will be awarded portions of an as-of-yet undisclosed prize pool, increasing the further they make it. A Tournament MVP and All-Tournament Team will also be awarded after play has concluded.
Sportsbooks will post odds for the NBA Cup during the prior offseason. These odds are adjusted throughout the season as players switch teams, show steady improvement, or are injured. Sportsbooks will also adjust the NBA odds based on handle and liability to certain teams.
NBA Cup odds will usually look like this:
Los Angeles Lakers +1,300
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $1,300 if the Lakers win the tournament. If it's close to the end of the tournament and the NBA has a particularly dominant team, you might see a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds.
Denver Nuggets -180
This means you have to bet $180 to win $100 on a Nuggets tournament win.
Above we have listed the American odds. However, these are easy to convert to decimal odds or fractional odds with our odds converter tool. And don't forget to check out our NBA forum if you're interested in chatting with other basketball bettors about NBA odds.
TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 13: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox pitches in the first inning during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on August 13, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Red Sox came back down to Earth from the historic July stretch over their last five consecutive losses. Being swept into Toronto would’ve begun the calls for valid concerns.
Instead, two key contributors from the summer success turned in exactly what the Red Sox needed to put their August sprint back on track in a 7-0 win Thursday.
Here’s three takeaways from Thursday afternoon’s win.
TOLLE TERRIFIC
Garrett Crochet isn’t available to be the stopper right now. Luckily for the Red Sox, Payton Tolle is.
He didn’t have true strikeout stuff Thursday afternoon, but Toronto could not figure him out. The southpaw set down the last 17 hitters he faced in eight shutout innings with just two hits allowed.
In a stretch where worries swirled about his workload, Tolle has allowed just three earned runs in his last 20 innings of work with 25 strikeouts.
Payton Tolle just retired SEVENTEEN STRAIGHT BATTERS to end his day 😱
THE DURBINATOR Caleb Durbin might play with nine functioning fingers the rest of the season with consistent treatment of his pinky, but he delivered the most consequential swing of the week.
Boston got two on before a Willson Contreras sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk issued to Masataka Yoshida. Durbin made the most of a bases-loaded opportunity with his second grand slam of the summer and his career-best 12th homer of the year. He added an RBI knock for insurance in the ninth inning.
While the Red Sox failed to do much against Max Scherzer (entered with 5.77 lifetime ERA vs. Boston), Durbin brought the run support needed to avoid the sweep.
BYE BYE, BIRDIES
The Red Sox will be thrilled to be rid of the Blue Jays for the remainder of the regular season. Even after Thursday’s victory, Boston went just 4-9 against Toronto in 2026.
The Blue Jays would have work to do to jump one of the three AL East playoff contenders in the Red Sox, the Yankees and the Rays.
Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said at spring training he had a "gut feeling" he was on the precipice of an amazing year.
After going hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts in Thursday's 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners, Chisholm's slash line dipped to .216/.296/.391 on the year for a .687 OPS, down .126 points from his mark a season ago. And that gut feeling has become a season-long stomachache as things have been particularly bad of late: He has just five hits in his last 36 at-bats (.139) over his last 11 games with 16 strikeouts.
Asked after Thursday's loss why he thought it has been a struggle for Chisholm offensively, manager Aaron Boone said, “Don’t know.”
After a long pause of nearly 10 seconds, the skipper attempted to give a better answer for the second baseman’s struggles: “Missing his pitch a fair amount. Some of the balls that he’s hit well have kinda been that one-hopper to second base when maybe he gets a good pitch to drive and do something with. That’s the subtlety of this game and baseball. You gotta make hay when you get your pitches.”
Entering Thursday's game, Chisholm has seen his xwOBA dip from .346 to .289 (13th percentile), expected slugging drop from .481 to .364 (23rd percentile), and his barrel percentage go from 15 percent (91st percentile) to nine percent (56th percentile).
“Because I feel like overall, he’s making fairly good swing decisions,” Boone continued. “He’s not chasing; there’s patience in there. But probably whether it’s just missing, maybe a foul off, maybe swinging through more pitches than he’s used to. Again, just hasn’t gone on that hot streak really at any point.”
To that end, Chisholm's chase rate has ticked up a hair, but not changed relative to his position in the league, and his whiff rate has actually gone down, but that is of no comfort in the midst of a slump.
“Missing fastballs down the middle. Missing sliders down the middle. I can’t tell you why,” Chisholm said after the game, via The New York Post. “Or else I would be hitting.”
Boone also pointed to the slow start Chisholm went through – 22-for-109 (.202) with 35 strikeouts and a .611 OPS in his first 30 games – but mentioned he has had some clutch moments during the year.
“He’s had some big hits for us but hasn’t gone on that long stretch where he’s really capable of impacting the game in a big way,” the manager said.
In spring training, Chisholm publicly stated some very lofty expectations for himself: 50 home runs and 50 steals. Through 112 games, he has 17 home runs and 31 stolen bases on 38 attempts.
Is it a matter of failing to meet that high bar that has weighed on him?
“Well, I don’t know, he expects to be great, but that’s part of this game,” Boone said. “You gotta handle that. And, look, different guys say different things publicly. [But] they’re just that. It’s a grind of a season for everyone involved, and you gotta be able to handle all the things, and he is.
“But he certainly hasn’t found that stretch of play that he’s done with us the last couple years that he’s accustomed to and that he expects.”
With 41 games left in the regular season and the postseason looming, a few clutch hits could be enough to wash out the bad taste of a grinding season.
“Forty-one good games can turn a season around. And that’s what I’m planning on doing,” Chisholm said. "I feel like mentally, I’m not defeated. So if I was mentally defeated, I think it would have been a different story in my eyes, but I’m not. I feel like I’m still as good as I am.”
Spirited Hearts hold Benfica but also out of competition
Derek McInnes’s fledgling tenure as Rangers manager is in disarray after his side exited the Europa League qualifiers with a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok after drawing 1-1 at Ibrox.
Rangers had lost 2-1 in the first leg in Poland last week but there was optimism when the captain, Lawrence Shankland, levelled the tie on aggregate with a penalty on 19 minutes.
Aug 13, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Jhonny Pereda (5) and pitcher Andres Munoz (75) celebrate the victory against the New York Yankees after the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Logan Gilbert tossed six scoreless innings and the bullpen stepped up behind him to snap the Mariners six-game losing streak with a 1-0 win against the Yankees.
We’ve reached the part of the season where I’m mostly watching for the love of baseball. I think we all know by now this whole “2026 Mariners” thing probably isn’t going to work out. Maybe it’s the great Dan Wilson conspiracy. Maybe it’s the bad hitting, pitching, fielding and base running. Maybe it’s a nuanced third thing. I don’t really care anymore, which I guess is kind of the point.
One thing I love about following a team from Pacific Time is the occasional morning baseball game. When I was in elementary school the Mariners played a game in Boston that started very early (I think it was this game). I remember pestering the bus driver until she agreed to put it on the radio for the 30 minutes or so it took to get to school. It’s a small example of how baseball — even awful baseball — tends to sneak itself into the background of life and help breakup the monotony of the week.
So rather than recap this baseball game, let’s just recap my morning, with baseball.
I woke up at 9:30 or so. Well, actually I woke up on the couch at about 6:30 when my wife began her morning routine. I’ve been tremendously sick this week, with some sort of upper respiratory infection that, perhaps coincidentally, began after spending too much time in Spokane’s wild fire smoke this weekend. I’ve been sleeping long, weird hours, trying not to let my incessant hacking and sniffling disturb the flow of our household. After moving to bed and getting another three hours of sleep, I woke up feeling pretty good for the first time in several days. This is one of the great natural highs of life, to find yourself on the other side of sickness. It was a good day from the start.
With only a few moderate coughs, I got ready myself, then fed the animals and took the dog out, making sure to go far enough down the sidewalk to space out her toxic piss from last night’s relief. We live in a long line of identical town houses, but ours is identifiable by the patch of dead grass out front. Whoops.
Back indoors I quickly realized we’re out of coffee beans and added “walk to coffee shop” to my list of morning ablutions. But first, the game preview. Yes, in sickness and in health, the show must go on here at Lookout Landing, so I quickly wrote a few paragraphs that nobody read (me neither) to preview Thursday’s affair. Once that was published, I turned my attention to my actual work-from-home job, sending emails, updating spreadsheets, loading data, and filling myself in on the last few days. The game started in the background at about 10:35. Not long after, I saw a camera flip and zoom in on the left field wall, revealing Weston Wilson had snuck a solo homer over the fence against the excellent Max Fried. That’s baseball, I guess.
It was close enough to noon after the bottom of the fourth that I decided to go get that coffee. I doused myself in sunscreen, leashed up the dog, and set out for the trail. Our dog, Arrow, is a German Shorthaired Pointer, which means she has a sort of manic energy that keeps the leash taut. She’s also eight-plus with fairly severe arthritis, so she generally slows down after about five minutes, preferring to roll in the grass than move forward. That’s OK, as Gameday implied there was little reason to rush back. It was actually the first beautiful day in Spokane in weeks, with the smoke from our wildfires having moved on to pester other regions (sorry). The trail was packed, with plenty of Spokanites taking advantage of what’s likely a brief window of blue sky. It was nice to see the familiar faces (and snouts) of the neighborhood again. I got a 16 oz iced Americano and finished it by the time I’d returned for the seventh.
The score was still 1-0, back at my desk. Logan Gilbert was no longer on the mound, having been removed after six scoreless innings. I can’t claim to have seen much of it, but the stats imply he was sharp. His velocity was up, and he got 15 whiffs, seven strikeouts, and a ton of weak contact. The Mariners pitching has been really bad of late, with the starters struggling to work deep into games (especially on the road) and the bullpen shallow behind them. While the lineup and Dan Wilson will steal most of the post-mortem for the season, the second-half cratering from the pitching staff is why the Mariners are no longer even mediocre. Gilbert offered a nice change of pace.
Eduard Bazardo was on the mound in the seventh. He got two quick outs, then made things interesting by walking consecutive batters. After working Amed Rosario 0-2 on four straight pitches right down the middle, he threw a fifth pitch up-and-away that Rosario took for a ball. Jhonny Pereda challenged and ABS confirmed it had just nicked the zone for strike three. It was Pereda’s fourth correct challenge of the game, and his third challenge resulting in a strikeout. There haven’t been a lot of bright spots for the Mariners this year, but it’s been a joy to watch Pereda exhibit competence as a backup catcher, especially on defense.
And then suddenly, Aaron Goldsmith was announcing “no wiggle room” for Andrés Muñoz heading into the bottom of the ninth with a 1-0 lead. I figured I’d tune in for this part. He got a groundout, then a pair of strikeouts to end the game 1-0. Not a bad way to start the day.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 25: Nickeil Alexander-Walker #7 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts after hitting a three-point basket against the New York Knicks during the first quarter of game four of the Eastern Conference first round playoffs at State Farm Arena on April 25, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. 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. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Hawks and the rest of the NBA found out their entire regular season schedule today (save for the weeks surrounding the NBA Cup knockout bracket in early December).
Atlanta will open the season in Orlando to take on the Magic on Wednesday, October 21, head to Charlotte that Friday, then open their home schedule the following night against the Houston Rockets.
Other notes: the typical tipoff time for weekday home games will be 7 PM local time — a change from the 7:30 PM times it had been for a number of seasons. Good luck fighting Atlanta traffic for those, but that will be the tradeoff for earlier end times.
The Hawks will also have 10 national TV games between ESPN, Prime and NBC/Peacock. The rest will broadcast on local stations WANF (Atlanta News First) and Peachtree Sports Network (PSN) which can be found for free over the air. Radio broadcasts will continue on Sports Radio 92-9 The Game.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JANUARY 27: Dillon Brooks #3 of the Phoenix Suns looks on during the national anthem before the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Mortgage Matchup Center on January 27, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today is the day. The date when the entire NBA schedule is finally released and the roadmap through the 2026-27 season is laid out in front of us. We’ve been receiving crumbs throughout the week, little morsels designed to keep us occupied. The Christmas Day schedule. Opening night. The NBA Cup schedule. A game here, a matchup there. But today we finally get the whole thing, all 82 games sitting there waiting to be dissected, analyzed, and inevitably complained about.
I will note that NBA schedule release day doesn’t carry quite the same juice as it does in the NFL. There’s simply more mystery involved with an NFL schedule. You aren’t playing everybody. Your opponents are determined by divisions, rotations, standings, and a handful of ancillary games that eventually create the 17-game slate. When that schedule drops, there’s some genuine discovery involved.
The NBA is much more predictable. You already know you’re playing every team from the opposing conference twice, once at your place and once at theirs, and the remainder of the schedule is filled with games against your division and conference. There are no shocking revelations when the curtain gets pulled back. Nobody is sitting there stunned to learn that the Phoenix Suns will, in fact, play the Sacramento Kings.
Which is why I love that the Suns apparently understand the assignment. Upon revealing their schedule, they leaned directly into the absurdity of schedule release season and made Dillon Brooks and his stare the centerpiece of the entire thing.
2026-27 Phoenix Suns Schedule Release ft. The Villain 😈
We can still take a look at the schedule in its entirety and start identifying trends, anomalies, how many total back-to-backs there are, which holidays the Suns are or aren’t playing on, along with the longest road trips, longest homestands, and most brutal stretches.
So that’s what we’ll do. First, your annual schedule graphic:
We’ll start with the longest homestand of the season, which comes near the front end of the schedule. The Suns will be home for seven straight games from November 4 through November 15, facing Portland, Orlando, Houston, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotte, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s a good way to start the season, and hopefully it’s a stretch that can help propel the Suns toward the top of the Western Conference standings or, at the very least, the top of the Pacific Division. Because they’re going to need it when the end of the season comes around, but we’ll get to that momentarily.
The longest road trip takes place from March 8 through March 17. Phoenix will fly to Miami, then head to Orlando, Chicago, Charlotte, and Memphis before finishing the trip on St. Patrick’s Day against the Los Angeles Lakers. That’s six games in 10 days.
As far as national exposure? 9 games for one of the grittiest teams in the NBA. That’s it.
The Suns have a total of 13 back-to-backs this season. That isn’t the most this year, thankfully, as 13 has them further down the list, as Brooklyn and New Orleans lead the league with 16. The Suns are actually tied with the fewest in the NBA this season.
NBA team total back-to-backs for the 2026-27 season:
Five of their back-to-backs are home-to-home, four are road-to-road, and four begin at home before heading out on the road. Interestingly enough, there isn’t a single instance in which the Suns play on the road and then return home the following night.
There are also four instances in which Phoenix plays the same opponent in consecutive games. Two of those come at the very end of the season, and that’s where things get brutal. The Suns will play Oklahoma City in consecutive games on back-to-back nights, both in Phoenix. Days later, they’ll play San Antonio twice on the road, with one day separating those games. That is an unbelievably difficult stretch to close the season against two teams projected to sit near the top of the Western Conference standings. Depending on where Phoenix finds itself at that point, playoff seeding could ultimately come down to those games.
Even after the Suns enjoy a beautiful six-game homestand in March, the closing stretch of the season is brutal. Phoenix becomes extremely road heavy late, with five of its final seven games away from home, including the season finale against the Lakers on April 11. March overall is an absolute monster. The Suns play 17 games in 31 days, easily making it the busiest month on the schedule.
The Suns have three different stretches in which they play five games in seven calendar days. The first comes from November 4 through November 10, the second from December 30 through January 5, and the third from March 23 through March 29. That final stretch includes both games against Oklahoma City and one against San Antonio.
There are a few other interesting nuggets buried throughout the schedule as well. The Suns have a back-to-back on December 30 and 31, meaning they’ll spend New Year’s Eve in New York after playing the Knicks. Their earliest start of the season comes on Super Bowl Sunday, when Phoenix plays the Cleveland Cavaliers at 11 AM Phoenix time on February 14 before heading to Washington to play the following night again.
Ultimately, the schedule allows Phoenix to establish itself early before demanding quite a bit from the team late. That seven-game November homestand could become important considering what awaits in March and April. There will be stretches to survive, back-to-backs to navigate, and plenty of nights when the standings add weight to the matchup.
We knew the opponents. Now we know the path. And by April, we’ll know whether the Suns were built to survive it.
A few quirks from the Suns’ 2026-27 schedule:
🏀Longest homestand: 7 games 🏀Longest road trip: 6 games 🏀13 guaranteed back-to-backs 🏀4 sets of consecutive games vs. the same opponent 🏀March is brutal: 17 games, including 6 straight road games followed by 6 straight at home https://t.co/vTfFzBD2hd
Jimmy Butler III R and Draymond Green of Golden State Warriors celebrate scoring during the 2025-2026 NBA regular season match between Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies in San Francisco, the United States, on Oct. 27, 2025. (Photo by Arthur Dong/Xinhua via Getty Images)
We don’t envy the social media departments for NBA teams. Not only do these underpaid peons have to edit videos, create graphics, and track players’ birthdays, anniversaries, and personal bests, but they also have to chase online trends, memorize acronyms, stockpile reactions gifs, and decide which players have “rizz” and occasionally type out the word “dunkmaxxing.”
So when the Golden State Warriors participate in the NBA’s extremely forced Schedule Release Day, they have a tough task. It has to be high-concept, inoffensive, and somehow make describing a basketball schedule interesting, even after the league leaks all the important dates days earlier. This year, the Warriors went with a Scooby-Doo theme.
It’s fine. Would we have had Jimmy Butler trip the Grim Reaper with a basketball and presumably tear his ACL, only to reveal the Reaper has the head of a Philadelphia 76ers logo and the body of cartoon Joel Embiid? Probably not. Is depicting the date of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ visit to the Chase Center as a line of ants, because of Anthony “Ant” Edwards lame? A little bit.
At least Draymond Green just shines a flashlight on a window with (OKC) Thunder in it while Butler and Steph Curry assault the disturbing logo-headed ghosts. But in a way, this video is a perfect introduction to the 2026-27 team. The construction isn’t all that creative, it centers on some old, slow dudes, and it relies on nostalgia for something that hasn’t been relevant for years.
And as befits this year’s schedule, the video just kind of peters out at the end. That’s just like the season, where the Warriors’s last nine games include a five-game cross-country road trip and back-to-back on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
They’ll play their home opener Friday, Oct. 23 against the Memphis Grizzlies after opening on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s a gentle start to the season, with a six-game homestand early on and only two games outside their own time zone in three weeks.
January is the kindest schedule month, with 10 home games versus five on the road, though it ends with a home contest against the San Antonio Spurs Jan. 30 and an immediate rematch Feb. 1. That’s followed by their longest road trip of the season, where they’ll play six games in 11 nights and go from Los Angeles to Chicago to the East Coast.
The team has 15 back-to-backs next season, with six at home, five on the road, and four where the first game is at home and the second comes on the road. The Phoenix Suns will be the beneficiaries of two such contests, and will play three of their four games against the Warriors with Golden State on the second night of a back-to-back. That’s slightly above the NBA average of 14.2 back-to-backs, which will force Steve Kerr to choose his spots for Al Horford carefully, as well as Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody if/when they return.
The two toughest B2Bs are probably a road game against the Boston Celtics Feb. 10 after flying from Chicago and the aforementioned duel with the Thunder, who might at least have already clinched their playoff position by then and be ready to rest players.
OKC will be featured in one of the Warriors’ most high-profile contests, when NBC’s “Sunday Night Basketball” returns Jan. 24. They will be playing on NBC 11 times next season, which is the maximum allowed.
They’re on two prime-time Prime Video games during the NBA Cup, hosting the Lakers Oct, 30 and visiting the Spurs Nov. 13. The Warriors also get the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings in West Group C, which feels slightly easier than Groups A and B. You may not care about the Emirates NBA Cup, but it may be the Warriors’ best chance at a trophy this season.
Where is the NBA Cup title game happening? The league has left Las Vegas for glamorous Indianapolis, Indiana and Butler University’s Hinkle Fiedhouse, the place they filmed the final game in the movie “Hoosiers.” You know Steve Kerr is excited to finally have the Warriors run the picket fence play, now that Jonathan Kuminga won’t get caught watching the paint dry.
LeBron James will visit the Lakers for the first time as a Sixer on Christmas. Jaylen Brown won’t return to Boston in the regular season until the Sixers play the Celtics on Jan. 21.
Former Sixers big man Andre Drummond will head to Xfinity Mobile Arena with the defending champion Knicks on Oct. 30. Paul George and the Celtics’ first trip to Philadelphia is set for Nov. 10. Kelly Oubre Jr. will be back as a Pacer on Nov. 15.
Lighter back-to-back load
The Sixers played 16 back-to-backs last season. For what it’s worth, they fared very well in the second leg of back-to-backs, going 12-4. They’d been 2-13 the season prior.
The team has 13 back-to-backs on its 2026-27 schedule. With 41-year-old James and 32-year-old Joel Embiid on the roster, the Sixers surely won’t mind the reduction.
Plenty of the Pacers early
The Sixers saw the Celtics at a strangely high rate to start last year, facing Boston in three of their first 11 games. This season they’ll play the Celtics just once in their first 44.
The 2026-27 calendar includes three games against the Pacers in the first 20. The Sixers will also face the Pistons twice and the Bulls twice during that stretch.
Massive national audience
Many eyes outside of Philadelphia will be on the star-packed Sixers next season.
The Sixers “will reach the 34-game national television maximum for the first time in franchise history this season,” per a team press release. They’ll feature on opening night (Oct. 20 at the Knicks), Christmas (a 5 p.m. ET tip-off at the Lakers), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18 at the Hawks) and Presidents’ Day (Feb. 15 at the Mavericks).
The longest road trip for the Sixers is a five-game swing from Christmas through New Year’s Day.
The team’s longest homestand is four games. The Sixers play six of seven games at home between Jan. 4 and Jan. 16, although the one road game is international (Jan. 10 against the Raptors).
The Sixers’ four-game homestand appears to be nicely timed. It runs from Feb. 5 and Feb. 11, which is the day of the trade deadline. Regardless of how the front office handles the deadline, the Sixers won’t have to worry about any travel.
A sole mini-series with Magic
The lone opponent that the Sixers will play twice in a row is the Magic.
Late-season games tend to be tricky to be predict. Some teams are far out of contention, some are hampered by injuries, and others are pushing hard for seeding purposes.
Whatever the circumstances, it’s notable that the Sixers will play the defending Western Conference champions two times near the end of the year. They’re set to face the Spurs in San Antonio on March 11 and in Philadelphia on March 21. The Spurs won both late-season matchups over the Sixers in last year’s season series, including a 40-point road victory on March 3.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) throws a pitch in the ninth inning of the MLB National League Wild Card Game 2 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. The Reds were eliminated from the postseason with an 8-4 loss to the reining World Series Champions La Dodgers. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co
Step one on the path to regaining confidence was figuring out ways of winning no matter what, and that defines the previous series against the Royals—a hard-fought sweep with three close games against one of the worst teams in the sport. Step two is managing to carry on these results against superior opposition such as they’ll face in this four-game set versus the Brewers, owners of the best record in the National League for the second year in a row.
As if turning Kyle Harrison into a dominant starter wasn’t enough, the Brewers have managed to develop Shane Drohan into a solid one. Drohan was acquired alongside Harrison in an offseason trade with the Red Sox that sent Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, and Anthony Seigler to Boston. Coming off his worst outing of the season, in which he allowed six runs in a loss against the Twins, Drohan will be making his third appearance of the year. Drohan twice appeared in relief when the Dodgers visited the Brewers back in May, allowing three runs, two of them earned, in 4.1 innings.
For Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers starter in this series opener, who will only be making his second start at home in the last month, the matchup with the Brewers has its appeal. The starting pitcher with the highest HR/9 currently on the Dodgers staff, Sasaki, will face the team with the lowest number of home runs in all of baseball. Milwaukee enters play today with 111 home runs; for the purposes of comparison, that’s 44 fewer long balls than the Dodgers, who are tied for sixth overall. Keeping the ball in the yard, Sasaki has a chance to improve over .500, currently with a 5-5 record.
luka doncic lakers new owners bob iger josh kushner
The news of the majority ownership of the Lakers being sold again – this time from Mark Walter to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner just 14 months after Walter agreed to purchase the franchise and 10 months after Walter officially became the majority owner – sent shockwaves throughout the NBA.
He told the Post he and Kushner intend to honor the agreement made between Walter and Jeanie Buss that stated Buss would remain the team’s Governor for at least the next few years, but added that “if things change, they’ll change.”
Iger shared details about the timing of the deal and how quickly it came together.
But many more questions remain – including what comes next for the Lakers.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger arrives at the 96th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Monday, February 12, 2024, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Invision) AP Photo/Jordan Strauss
Unanswered Questions
Some of those questions can be answered more immediately.
After the news of the sale was revealed, Doncic posted on social media: “Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA. I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts on the court during the first half at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Corey Sipkin) Corey Sipkin for NY Post
Iger told the Post he hadn’t spoken with Doncic as of Wednesday morning, but it appears that’ll soon change.
Doncic texted Iger and Kushner on Thursday morning and the three of them plan to meet “soon”, a source told the Post.
ESPN reported Thursday Doncic plans to have a video call with Iger and Kushner next week from Slovenia.
Beyond that, there’s still the matter of Iger and Kushner officially becoming the Lakers’ majority owners.
Lakers sale timeline pending
The transaction could take several weeks before the Board of Governors approves the deal, with the next board meeting scheduled for September in New York.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver regularly has a news conference after Board of Governors meetings.
A league spokesperson didn’t respond to a text message from the Post before publication when asked what the exact date of the next Board of Governors meeting.
Any NBA ownership sale requires approval from at least three-quarters of the Board of Governors.
The Board of Governors approved the sale of the Lakers to Walter on Oct. 30, 2025 – 4 ½ months after Walter agreed to buy the franchise. The Board of Governors approved the Trail Blazers sale to an ownership group led by Tom Dundon on March 30 after Dundon agreed to buy the Trail Blazers in mid-August – 7 ½ months after the original agreement.
Joshua Kushner (left) and Bob Iger (center) are seen on Day 10 of the 2025 US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (GC Images) GC Images
And it took five months for the Celtics’ sale to an ownership group led by Bill Chisholm to be approved by the Board of Governors.
It remains to be seen whether Kushner’s previous experience as an NBA owner could expedite the process.
Kushner became a minority owner of the Grizzlies in 2019 before selling his share to become a minority owner of the Heat in May 2025.
He’ll have to divest his stake in the Heat to take control of the Lakers.
Beyond that, as Iger put it, it’s “premature to speculate at all about what we plan to do, because frankly, we haven’t made any plans yet.”
Too early to know what this means for the Lakers’ basketball and business operations.
Too early to know what this will mean for the Lakers’ long-term plans and futures.
The nature of the Lakers’ sale – from the timing and the valuation – is unprecented.
But what is known is that the franchise is on the precipise of another new era.
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