When news broke this summer that Jalen Brunson had played through a wrist/tendon injury while leading the Knicks to their first title in 53 years, and that he was undergoing surgery to repair it, it was accompanied by a report that his recovery was expected to take only a couple of months. He would be ready to go by training camp.
"As you guys know, I had surgery this offseason," Brunson said. "Just want to tell you guys I am fully cleared."
That set off a loud round of cheers.
Brunson had an All-Star and All-NBA season averaging 26 points and 6.8 assists per game. He stepped that up during the Knicks playoff run, averaging 28.4 points per game on his way to being NBA Finals MVP. Brunson is the foundation this Knicks title team — and contender to repeat — is built upon.
Brunson also is hosting the season opener of Saturday Night Live this week (Sept. 26), with musical guest KATSEYE. You can watch the show on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT, plus "SNL" streams live on Peacock.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 11: Head Coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, 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. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When the Los Angeles Lakers were presented the opportunity to acquire Luka Dončić — a perennial First Team All-NBA player entering his prime — 19 months ago for a staggeringly low cost, they had to seize the moment.
In doing so, though, they left themselves thin at center, with Anthony Davis as the focal point of the Dallas Mavericks’ return package, and provided Dončić a roster built in Davis and LeBron James’ image.
Last summer, they made a few notable moves by signing Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia to be rotation mainstays but the roster still felt in flux as the Lakers navigated old and new identities after such a dramatic trade. This summer, though, once James made clear he’d be heading elsewhere as a free agent, Los Angeles mashed the accelerator and sprinted into the Dončić Era. The Lakers added seven players via free agency and re-signed Austin Reaves to a four-year, $184 million deal.
Now, the Dončić-Reaves Era has unambiguously arrived and head coach JJ Redick believes this is the most cohesive roster-building he’s had since being hired two summers ago.
“I think we’ve always tried to give our players clearly defined roles. I think with this group, probably the first time in my three years here that I feel like the pieces actually fit together. So those roles probably get even more crystallized,” Redick told reporters Thursday. “I’ll give you the wing thing, like, there’s a very clear ask for you to be able to play. And if you don’t do those things, then you’re not gonna play. That’s just the reality. We’ve already had some of those conversations this week with our players.
“We have high, high confidence in these guys that they’re going to buy into that. So, it’s going to naturally create a lot of healthy competition. Everybody at some point, inevitably, will get a chance to impact our team and impact winning.”
The Lakers won plenty of games the past two seasons because Dončić, James and Reaves is a damn good trio and Redick has proven himself a pretty shrewd head coach thus far. But the roster certainly didn’t always mesh and there felt like plenty of stretches in which everyone was just trying to get on the same page while also attempting to win basketball games.
A bunch of new faces playing together will still require an assimilation period. If Redick’s assessment is correct, though, a sensible identity has been established and that should be an advantage moving forward over the past two seasons.
NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI - AUGUST 11: Cooper Flagg 1-of-1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card on display on August 11, 2026 at the Baseball Cards of Rhode Island, in North Kingstown, RI. RhodyBreakers, operating out of the Baseball Cards of Rhode Island shop, opened three hobby boxes of 2026 Topps Chrome Update Basketball cards for clients on a live stream on August 10, 2026 and pulled this card. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Imagine paying $515 to get in on some card pack breaks at a local sports card shop and having that investment return more than $8 million.
That’s how it happened for South Carolina machine shop owner Jason Williams, 50. He, like many sports fans and collectors, reportedly started participating in online live sales of unopened packs of cards, which were then broken open on the stream so that everyone watching could see what was pulled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, Williams ought to be glad he stuck with it, as his Cooper Flagg 1-of-1 Topps Chrome Update NBA Debut Patch Autograph card, sold at auction for just over $8,040,000. The auction closed early Friday morning. Williams was identified as the lucky SOB who pulled the card last month. The pull came on a live stream hosted by Rhody Breakers, a collecting streamer associated with Baseball Cards of Rhode Island, a local shop eight states away from Williams’ living room.
“They slid that card over and I just slid to the floor crying,” Williams told ESPN at the time. “… It took me about five seconds to realize what I was looking at on that screen.”
In the run-up to the auction, most of the speculation was that the card may fetch “over $1,000,000.” It’s hard to predict what the market will do in a one-of-one situation like this, but a similar Paul Skenes 1-of-1 rookie autograph patch card sold for just over $1.1 million in 2025.
BREAKING: The Cooper Flagg NBA Debut Patch autograph card has officially sold in our auction for $8,040,000.
This sets the record for the most expensive Cooper Flagg card of all time, surpassing the previous record of $366,000.
According to The Athletic, the sale of just over $8,040,000 makes this Flagg rookie card the fifth-most expensive trading card purchase of all time, topping a $7.25 million sale of the famed Honus Wagner 1909 Sweet Caporal T206 in 2022. That Wagner card has traditionally been viewed as the “Holy Grail” of card collecting through the years.
The 1-of-1 card features the NBA Debut patch Flagg wore during his first NBA game, along with the Mavericks star’s autograph. The rookie patch was removed from Flagg’s jersey following his Oct. 22, 2025 debut against the San Antonio Spurs and was later embedded into the Topps Chrome Update card.
Flagg scored just 10 points in that game before going on to win NBA Rookie of the Year over his college roommate and Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel. The Dylan Harper NBA Debut Patch rookie card sold for $2.88 million. Harper was selected by the Spurs second overall in 2025. Knueppel’s went for just over $2.3 million. Both were sold as part of the same Fanatics auction.
Flagg signed the card at FanaticsFest in July and joked in an interview with ESPN that he’s only be able to afford to buy the card after signing his second NBA contract.
At the time that interview segment aired, the highest bid for the autographed Flagg rookie card and patch was just over $3.2 million. That means the bidding ramped up by nearly $5 million in less than 24 hours at the end of the auction.
Flagg, 19, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and earned 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year honors after averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 70 games for the Mavericks.
The Buffalo Sabres sent primarily a lineup of players bound for the American Hockey League in their preseason road contest against the Detroit Red Wings, but a pair of players that are expected to be part of the club’s opening night roster in less than a week, when the 2026-27 regular season opens in Columbus left the 3-2 overtime loss to the Wings early.
Trevor Kuntar scored in the first period, andJiri Kulichput Buffalo ahead early in the second, but left the game for what head coach Lindy Ruff said were “precautionary reasons”. On Friday, the 22-year-old forward did not take part in practice at Key Bank Center, and Ruff cast some doubt whether Kulich will play in the preseason finale against Pittsburgh.
"(He was held out), just really maintenance. (He) could have skated today, so we decided to keep him off again.” Ruff said. “In all likelihood, I would think he will skate tomorrow. Either he skates or plays, one of the two. I think probably just skate."
Ruff had indicated earlier in camp that the plan for Kulich, who missed most of last season with a blood clot issue, was going to play all four preseason games to get him back up to speed. The other concerning situation was goalie Alex Lyon leaving the game late in the first period with an apparent upper body injury.
The Sabres head coach said after the game that he was optimistic and that it was nothing serious, but the veteran netminder was also not on ice for practice. Ruff said he was being evaluated and that more information will be available on Saturday, before the club finishes out their preseason schedule in an afternoon matinee against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
At long last, Dallas Mavericks Media Day arrived on Friday, meaning that training camp will begin soon after, and the NBA preseason and regular season are officially right around the corner as well.
One key storyline for the Mavs this season is the return of Kyrie Irving, who missed the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL. During that missed season, Irving took on more of a player-coach role, and he spoke about that experience on Friday morning.
“It was quite interesting coming into practice and not being able to raise the level of the intensity or just the competitive drive [with my play]. I feel like whenever I walk into a gym, not only do I feel like I’m one of the best to be out there, but I also feel like I can raise the level of play and just bring out the best in people. If I’m playing with kids or if I’m playing with adults, it’s just a joy,” Irving said.
“Sometimes that could look like aggression or competitive drive. So the coaching came naturally to me this year or last year, just being able to be on the sidelines, coming to games a little bit later rather than coming to games four and a half hours or three and a half hours early. See it from different vantage points, get an appreciation for guys’ tangibles and their skill sets, and learn how to bring out the best in them.”
Last season was a tough one for both Irving individually and the Mavs as a whole. The team finished 26-56 and ended up in the NBA Draft Lottery (ultimately drafting national champion Michigan big man Morez Johnson Jr. with the No. 9 pick), and there wasn’t much Irving could do to help aside from keeping the guys focused on the long-term big picture going forward.
“Last year was tough. It was a tough season, just record-wise, just emotionally,” Irving said. “And I’m not just only going to speak for myself, but just walking around the building, you can tell we have a lot of winners here, and no one likes losing. … I think you want to see guys that are putting in their best work, and they’re putting their best foot forward in practice and in games. … That’s what I was here to do, just to reiterate the culture we’re building here, and also the trust that we have to have for one another.
“I think the biggest learning takeaway that I had, or the biggest learning lesson was, what does patience look like when you really want something? I really wanted to be on the court, but I still had to learn what patience felt like and giving my teammates grace.”
Although last season was a lost one as far as competing for a playoff spot goes, it was an effective year due to the development of 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who ended up winning Rookie of the Year and is now looking to take a big leap into year two. Irving having to sit out last season helped him spend more time guiding Flagg through his first NBA season.
“We had a lot of young guys, including Cooper, that have a world of talent but need that guidance, need that leadership, and I feel like I tried to fill in that void as much as possible,” Irving said. “But now, as we sit here and we have our team set, we have our coaching staff set, really confident that we’re going to be able to do great things and looking forward to continuing to bring the best out of each other. So that player-coach role was fun. I enjoyed it, but I think I’m ready to go out there and kick some butt.”
On paper, Irving and Flagg appear to be a perfect on-court fit with each other, despite the 15-year age gap. We’ll get our first look at what that dynamic duo can do during the Mavs’ first preseason game against the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena in Cotai, Macao on Oct. 9.
WILMINGTON, DE - OCTOBER 20: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers smiles during an open practice on October 20, 2024 at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Delaware. 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 2024 NBAE (Photo byJesse D. Garrabranty/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Sixers’ Blue X White Scrimmage has become a fun annual tradition for fans.
While the intimacy of the Chase Fieldhouse in Delaware, the home of the G League affiliate Blue Coats, was a nice treat, the obvious demand with the new-look Sixers has forced the team to move the event to South Philly. This year’s scrimmage will take place at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Oct. 3.
Your first chance to see LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in Sixers uniforms will happen then, though player participation in the event is always an unknown until the day comes. Barring injuries, you’ll likely see all the players doing on-court work in some capacity, even if they don’t take part in the scrimmage itself.
Those looking to get tickets can do so this coming Monday, Sept. 28. If you’re a Society 76 Member, you can take part in a special presale at 1 p.m. The rest of the tickets will be released to the general public. They’ll cost $10 a ticket with 100% of that money being donated to the the Sixers Youth Foundation. (For what it’s worth, because the donation is required in order to receive admission to the event, no portion of this donation is tax deductible.) Parking will be complimentary.
Sixers media day will take place on Monday as well. Training camp, which will be held at the team’s practice facility in Camden this year, will begin the next day. The Sixers’ first preseason game will take place on Oct. 5 when they host the New York Knicks. They’ll open the regular season against the defending champs at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20.
In 2024, a time that feels like a lifetime ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were in Sacramento for Game 2 of the new season. With 3:29 left in the first quarter, Keegan Murray was subbed out for Trey Lyles, a player I mostly remembered from his one year in college with the Kentucky Wildcats. That was all the way back in 2014-15, or roughly six lifetimes ago.
Lyles was part of the Fab Freshmen team, featuring longtime Wolf nemesis Devin Booker and former (and current, let’s be honest) Wolf beloved Karl-Anthony Towns. Those Wildcats would go on a historic 38-0 run before falling to none other than – checks notes – Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker in the 2015 Final Four.
Upon first seeing Lyles enter this Wolves-Kings game, I did a bit of a double-take, because, and here’s the confession…
I had completely forgotten that he was still in the league.
Not to defend my very wrong thought as reasonable, but Lyles is exactly the type of player to go unnoticed and eventually be forgotten. A player who already has a decent amount of miles on him, now somewhere in the middle of the pecking order on a middling team and one of the least nationally recognized franchises?
That sounds like a recipe for obscurity. Almost like a ghost, but not the scary kind that causes one to let out a shriek. Instead, just an “Oh, huh. It’s that guy,” followed by the I-guess shoulder shrug.
A ghost would be insulted by such a response, and honestly, so should Lyles.
The thing is, I actually really like the idea of Lyles. Specifically, on this Wolves team.
Based on what Will Griffith of The King’s Herald had to say in a fun Q&A with our very own Leo Sun, Kings fans not only liked the idea of Lyles. They straight up liked him, for real. By all accounts, he’s a pretty cool dude.
Griffith: In the Mike Brown years, the Kings would hand out a Defensive Player of the Game chain and crown, and the whole team would take a picture, and Trey, no matter where he was in the picture, flashed fours on his hands. It took all of like 3 games into the gimmick where the entire team was hitting this pose, holding four fingers out on each hand, and despite a lot of bad times in the seasons that followed, he was well regarded enough that players still held up fours out of love for him. On the off chance that the Wolves suddenly have a gimmick like that, or start popping locker room pictures after the game, Trey will throw up those fours, and you will ask yourself, what the hell does that even mean?
It means “4 Life”. It was just a thing he started in high school and has kept it going ever since.
It would seem that Lyles is a likable enough person and capable enough player, or at least a player with certain capabilities – he can shoot the three well enough and drive the ball well enough and rebound well enough. I loath to turn this into a positive affirmation piece all of a sudden, but I don’t care; Trey Lyles is clearly enough!
Whilst on the Kings, his own teammates liked him, and the fanbase seemed to have nothing outright bad to say about his game, though you would be hard-pressed to find any superlative-adorned comments on his list of competencies (but there is a list).
So, if you’re not a Kings fan, it wouldn’t have been egregious to be like me and think twice about Lyles’ existence in the league, but he did exist. He was very much an NBA player. A professionally employable, consistently fine, effectively visible NBA player.
Last year, however, Lyles shed the last remaining threads of his visibility cloak. He was no longer in the NBA. He didn’t retire. He wasn’t exiled. Adam Silver didn’t disappear him. Instead, Lyles made a voluntary decision to leave. He also left the country entirely, marking his foray into La Villa y Corte. Madrid, Spain.
Was he looking for a clean slate? A fresh start? To watch the running of the bulls in Pamplona? To become the bull himself and stampede back to the NBA with horns painted in blood spelling out “SEE ME NOW”? Metaphorically speaking, it’s possible.
Expedition “Bring Back Swagger”
Playing for Real Madrid, one of the most prominent teams in European history, Lyles came on strong right away and never really let up. He was able to leverage his 6’9” and 234-pound frame, slow-cooking on post-ups, using his lower body to seal away smaller players, and utilizing his 7’2” wingspan to steal boards and flourish above the rim. All that combined with what he was predominantly known for: a steady hand from deep.
The EuroLeague final four championship game was Lyles’ curtain call, where he came out like a bat out of hell, punishing the Olympiacos defense for 21 first-half points. Though he would slow down considerably in the second half and Madrid would bow out in defeat, Lyles’ 24-point, eight-rebound performance was a nice capper to a year that reminded everyone what he’s capable of.
By season’s end, Lyles would average 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in just over 21 minutes of play, while shooting a staggering 45.9% on threes. It would appear Lyles had gotten his swagger back.
It remains to be seen how much of that swagger found in Europe carries over to the NBA and actually manages to manifest results. The EuroLeague and NBA are not the same league, and it would be fanciful to expect a one-to-one translation in performance.
In Madrid, only 40% of Lyles’ shot attempts were from three. Compare that to his previous two seasons in the NBA that saw his shot distribution largely favor shots from deep – 66% of his diet, to be exact.
Here, the role is going to be different, the spacing different, the competition different, and with that perhaps a little less comfort and a slight slippage of swagger. It’s an adverse league, the NBA, and to survive it and truly succeed, it pays to either be blind to its punches or just straight-up frothing mad.
But the idea of Lyles on the Wolves remains an exciting thought, and one worth exercising. He is the perfect tweener archetype for this team. With the downhill proclivities of both Ayo and TJ, and Beringer poised to mostly occupy space down low, Lyles has a real opportunity to provide second unit lineups with inverted potency. He’s not going to backfill the Naz Reid-shaped hole – and, to be fair, no one can – but with his particular skill sets and this team’s dearth of power forwards, there is an opening for a player of his kind to thrive. It’s up to him, though, to seize the moment.
A reason for optimism, and a reason for grace
Every team is a puzzle where certain ancillary pieces might not fit, while others do so perfectly. It can take years, several even, for those connections to click, but when they do, it can define careers.
Journeymen are finally able to make their names known. Think Shane Battier and Mike Miller, whose sharp-shooting prowess helped the Miami Heat win back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. Or Boris Diaw, Danny Green, and Patty Mills, vital pieces of the “Beautiful Game” San Antonio Spurs and their unconscious 2014 title run. There’s Shaun Livingston on the Golden State Warriors dynasty. Or most recently, Jordan Clarkson and Landry Shamet on last season’s NBA champion New York Knicks.
Not all roles are created equal, but if you can complement your team and help contribute to winning possessions, games, and beyond, then you’ve exceeded your expected value and proven that you are more than enough in this league.
When you consider the 450 active players, with 100 or so more waiting in the wings, from a relative small number of bonafide star players to the many key rotation pieces to the more populous distribution of playable and passable bodies whose job for a majority of the season is just to keep the bench warm, it is clear that every team is in fact greater than the sum of its parts. And to be a part of that sum is a privilege.
To be a part of something special is an honor.
Lyles once again finds himself somewhere in the middle of that large, expansive sea of NBA contracts, and because of that, I guarantee he isn’t the only player that people forget about from time to time. And hey, no matter how his career rounds out, at least he can say he made it longer than Frank “the Tank” Kaminsky.
Time will tell whether Lyles can play his part well enough to be remembered outside of the Wolves fandom. Maybe he becomes a de facto glue guy. Or he has to settle as an emergency fill-in, to find contentment in being the new team sage, a steady voice if not a steady hand, riding the pine like the owl in the tree. Sometimes, that alone is enough.
Truth is, if an organization wants you here and your teammates are happy that you are, then in a way you’ve made it. And so Lyles isn’t alone. Everyone in this league is necessary. If you’re here, clearly you’re doing something right.
On July 11, 2026, Lyles signed a one-year deal with the Wolves. I don’t know if he’s in Minneapolis at the time of this writing – that’s not important. For a while he was somewhere else, and now he’s here. To be here is to be present is to have value is to be enough. Only time will tell if he can be anything more than that, but for now, it’s good to have him here.
Although the Los Angeles Lakers signed a slew of wings this summer — Quentin Grimes, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle — to pair with incumbents such as Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt, it doesn’t feel like most of the minutes are spoken for yet. There should be an opportunity for plenty of candidates to stake their claim and bolster Los Angeles’ rotation.
Among those hoping to do so is second-year forward Adou Thiero. Selected 36th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, Thiero played sparingly as a rookie, logging just 183 minutes across the regular season and playoffs. He did, however, flash imposing athleticism and dominant interior scoring during his South Bay Lakers stint.
In seven regular season G League games, he averaged 15.4 points on 74.6 percent true shooting (62 percent on 2-pointers). In three Tip-Off Tournament games, he averaged 15.0 points on 73.7 percent true shooting (66.7 percent on 2-pointers).
Thiero hardly played in year one partly due to separate knee injuries. Swelling in his left knee caused him to miss all of preseason and the first 13 games of the regular season while a sprained MCL in his right knee sidelined him for six weeks from late December to mid-February. But Thiero is healthy now and head coach JJ Redick said this prolonged stretch of availability this summer has done wonders.
“Adou has had an unbelievable last two months of development,” Redick told reporters Thursday. “It’s the first stretch he’s had since we’ve drafted him where he’s had uninterrupted time in the gym and his body’s been in great shape and he’s just gotten better.”
Much of the Lakers’ projected rotation isn’t particularly athletic, so if Thiero can break through, he’d provide a welcomed, novel dynamic with his speed, strength and above-the-rim finishing.
We’ll have a better idea of just how much his healthy summer might pay off when the Lakers begin their preseason slate Oct. 5 against the Sacramento Kings.
On the latest episode of The Mets Pod, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo react to a new skipper and new voices in the front office.
The guys cover the news that Andy Green is interim Mets manager no more, as he signed a three-year deal to be the permanent bench boss.
Connor and Joe also discuss the addition of Derek Falvey as senior advisor, baseball operations, the promotion of Kris Gross to assistant GM, scouting, and whether or not there will be more new names added to the front office in the near future.
The Mets Pod Answering Machine takes a call about the next steps for the organization, the guys take one more Scoreboard swing for the season, and the Mailbag delivers one more look at what "could have been" last offseason.
Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
With the NHL regular season beginning on Tuesday, an unusual number of unrestricted free agents are without contracts.
Among those is Vladimir Tarasenko, a Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers and one of the NHL's best snipers throughout the 2010s.
It's surprising to see Tarasenko without a contract right now. He posted 23 goals and 47 points in 75 games with the Minnesota Wild in 2025-26 despite playing in a middle-six role. He's a power-play specialist and clearly still has plenty of gas left in the tank at 34 years old.
Hence why the Panthers are reportedly interested in bringing him back to Florida.
According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, the Panthers and Tarasenko are “eying each other,” considering a reunion.
Tarasenko was acquired by the Panthers from the Ottawa Senators at the 2023-24 trade dealine. He posted six goals and 14 points in 19 regular-season games before adding five goals and nine points in 24 playoff games.
Tarasenko would win his second Stanley Cup of his career with the Panthers, after winning his first in 2018-19 with the St. Louis Blues.
Tarasenko's best individual moments came with the Blues. Drafted by the club in the first round (16th overall) in 2010, Tarasenko scored 30 goals six times and set a career-high of 40 in the 2015-16 season. Tarasenko would play 11 seasons with the Blues before being dealt to the New York Rangers in a deadline trade.
Since then, Tarasenko has bounced around, never playing more than one season with any of the five teams he's joined since the Blues.
With Brad Marchand injured, Tarasenko could fill a spot on the Panthers' third line. But if the Panthers are healthy, the question is where Tarasenko fits.
Another factor is that Sandis Vilmanis has looked strong in pre-season, and coach Paul Maurice is inclined to give him a go on the wing with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen until Marchand returns from injury.
Whether this moves beyond interest in a reunion is the question, but with less than a week until the season starts, Tarasenko will likely look to lock down a contract sooner rather than later.
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Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid were the people who brought LeBron to Philly, LeBron says.
"I love the way [Brown] approaches the game, too. You know, both sides of the floor, what he brings to the game, his insight on the game. I watched him kind of [be] misunderstood, and that is absolutely okay. I think we're all individuals for a reason. Everyone's always trying to put everybody in the same box, and I love what he stands for and what he brings to the table.
"And one of the most important [reasons], to be honest, is the big fella [Embiid], and the only thing he has not done and that's win a championship. And I want to try to help him get that first one. He's been an MVP of our league, has a gold medal, All-Stars, signature shoes, bunch of money, beautiful [family]. He has everything. He has a city on his back.
"It's been the process, you know, for what 10 years, 12 years, or however long he's been there. I think it's time now that we even dig even deeper into the process, and I hope that I can be kind of that final little piece that can help him get over the hump and maybe just see it a little bit differently than he's seen it in his career, as far as like the day-to-day process, the day-to-day what it takes to get there."
LeBron's longstanding relationship with fellow Klutch client Tyrese Maxey also played an outsized role.
"My relationship with Tyrese Maxey goes beyond the court... I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey, man. Like every day, you get the same person, and that is very rare in sports, and obviously super rare in life. And I've always talked about how great of a person that he is, and obviously we know what he brings to the basketball court. He was definitely, when I became a free agent and we decided to let the Lakers know that I wouldn't be returning, he was one of the first people that was on my line calling me, "Yo, what we doing? Yo, what's up? What's up, OG? What's up? What's up, old head? You know, come on down here, man. We can use you down here."
That process with Embiid and the entire 76ers roster starts next week when training camp opens. How those people LeBron trusted come together — and if they can stay healthy — will determine if Embiid really has a shot at that ring.
PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 11: Avery Hayes #85 and Kevin Hayes #13 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in action during the game against the Washington Capitals at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 11, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Penguins made another round of roster cuts on Friday, including one of the first notable ones for players on the edge of making the team. Avery Hayes was among eight players trimmed from the NHL roster. 2026 draft picks Markus and Liam Ruck will return to their WHL junior team and five more are headed to AHL Wilkes-Barre. Goalie Colin Delia has been released from his tryout.
The Penguins have assigned the following players to @WBSPenguins (AHL):
F Atley Calvert F Avery Hayes F Tanner Howe F Mikhail Ilyin
Forward Oliver Okuliar has been designated as injured non-roster and will continue his rehabilitation process in WBS.
Hayes appeared in two preseason games, scoring a goal. The Penguins have a spate of injuries up front, plus the absence of Andrei Kuzmenko who headed back to Russia to join his family following his father’s passing. It wasn’t enough to open the door for Hayes.
As of now, by my count (possibly dangerous) the Penguins have 37 players still in camp.
Forwards (20): Justin Brazeau*, Tristan Broz, Egor Chinakhov, Sidney Crosby, Connor Dewar, David Gustafsson, Filip Hallander, Ben Kindel*, Ville Koivunen, Andrei Kuzmenko**, Hendrix Lapierre, Blake Lizotte*, Evgeni Malkin, Rutger McGroarty, Tommy Novak, Rickard Rakell, Nick Robertson, Bryan Rust, Elmer Soderblom, Bill Zonnon
Defenseman (13): Harrison Brunicke, Declan Carlile, Sam Girard, Ryan Graves, Caleb Jones, Erik Kalrsson, Kaeden Korczak, Kris Letang, Jake Livanavage, Owen Pickering, Chase Pietila, Ilya Solovyov, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalies (4): Joel Blomqvist, Cam Johnson**, Sergei Murashov, Artus Silovs
‘* Injured, possibility to open season on injured reserve ‘** Currently away from team for personal reasons
They’ll need to drop down to a maximum of 23 players by the start of the league season on Monday.
The Pens had a practice on Friday with some lines that might be close to showtime for the start of the season.
Brazeau remained out being evaluated for his lower body injury on Friday. None of Joel Blomqvist, Rutger McGroarty, Tristan Broz, Ryan Graves, Caleb Jones, Owen Pickering, Jake Livavanage and Chase Pietila took part in practice, per Pens Inside Scoop, which suggests unfavorable upcoming news about all of their statuses with the NHL team in the immediate future.
Given the center injuries to Lizotte and Kindel, extra centers were a part of the practice – Zonnon and Gustafsson being notable participants. As of now, it looks like Dewar might shift temporarily to center until injured players return but it looks as if the team is taking a longer look at more centers if they want to go in a different direction from Dewar and/or Lapierre. It remains to be seen if either Zonnon or Gustafsson will break camp with the NHL team but their chances have certainly increased given the rash of injuries to centers that the Pens are dealing with right now.
It’s a big move up the board for Koivunen, where the absence of Kuzmenko has opened up an opportunity for someone to play on Rust’s line. Koivunen may have been on the outside looking in about 48-72 hours ago, but the situation can and did change.
Defensively, everything remains about the same since the start of camp, outside of Brunicke departing from playing with Pickering and getting a further look with the NHL group. Solovyov, who can play both sides of the ice, probably still figures in to be the reserve defenseman on the NHL roster but that battle could be worth watching.
DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 18: Nickeil Alexander-Walker #7 of the Atlanta Hawks is defended by P.J. Washington #25 of the Dallas Mavericks during the first half at American Airlines Center on March 18, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. 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 Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks were one of the better stories in the East last season. They won 46 games, finished sixth, and finally started to look like a team with a clear direction.
The case for Atlanta is difficult because I genuinely like what the Hawks did this offseason.
This is not a team I think is bad. I don’t even expect them to take a step backward.
The argument is simply that 44 wins in this version of the Eastern Conference might require more things to go right than people realize.
Atlanta Hawks: Over/Under 44.5
Last Season: 46-36
Over: -105 Under: -125 To Win NBA Championship: +4000 To Win Eastern Conference: +2200 To Win Southeast Division: +250
Losses: Zaccharie Risacher, Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield
Atlanta has almost everything I want in a modern roster.
Flemings gives them a young backcourt piece with real upside. Johnson and Alexander-Walker already give them a strong foundation. Dort, Finney-Smith, Daniels, and Wiggins give them wing depth rivaling almost anyone in the league.
The problem is that I still do not fully trust what is happening at center.
Okongwu is talented, but at his size, asking him to anchor the position all season is a lot. Against bigger, more physical teams, Atlanta could run into real problems on the glass and around the rim. Ejiofor is intriguing, but he is still a rookie, and Veesaar’s injury removes another option they hoped to develop.
That weakness matters even more because the East is crowded.
Philadelphia loaded up. New York is still elite. Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, Boston, and Miami all have legitimate reasons to believe they can win a lot of games. There will be very few easy nights at the top of the conference.
The Hawks can be really good and still finish around 42 or 43 wins simply because the margin for error is small.
If Okongwu holds up and the young bigs develop faster than expected, I think Atlanta clears this number. If the center spot becomes a real issue, the under becomes very live.
Cooper Flagg one-of-one Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card on display Aug. 11 at the Baseball Cards of Rhode Island. (Erica Denhoff / Associated Press)
A Friday morning rush hour of intense bidding sent the one-of-one Cooper Flagg Topps Rookie Debut Patch Card skyrocketing at auction, selling for a record-setting $8.04 million. The price more than doubled during the feverish close of the auction presented by Fanatics Collect.
The card of the Dallas Mavericks star forward became the third-most expensive NBA card ever, trailing only the dual Kobe Bryant–Michael Jordan and Jordan–LeBron James cards that each sold for more than $10 million last year.
It also ranks as the fifth highest sports card sale, according to Card Ladder. A Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps card sold for $12.6 million at a Heritage auction in 2022, and an ungraded Shohei Ohtani 2026 Topps Chrome Gold Logoman patch autograph card fetched $11 million July 30 in a private sale.
Flagg, the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft out of Duke, was Rookie of the Year at age 19 and set an NBA record for teenagers by scoring 40 or more points four times, breaking the record of three set by James in the 2003-2004 season.
At a Fanatics Fest in New York in July, Flagg signed the Rookie Debut Patch Autographed (RDPA) card then took the stage with ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi.
“I was a little nervous,” Flagg told Negandhi. “I’ve signed a lot of cards, but that one was a little nerve-wracking.”
Why? The card features a patch that Flagg wore on his Mavericks jersey during his first NBA game. Pairing the game-used memorabilia with a rookie’s signature has almost overnight made the RPDA cards the most sought after by collectors on the market.
The previous high paid for a Flagg card was $366,000 — a mere 4.55 percent of $8.04 million.
Two RPDA cards besides Flagg’s also sold for millions at Friday’s auction: San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper‘s card went for $2.88 million, and Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel’s card fetched $2.34 million.
RPDA cards are the latest brainstorm from Fanatics, which acquired the Topps sports and entertainment trading cards and collectibles business for approximately $500 million in January 2022.
The company leveraged partnerships with the NBA, MLB, NFL and Union of European Football Associations by announcing in 2023 that MLB rookies would wear a Debut Patch on their jersey sleeve during their first game. The patch is removed, authenticated and packaged with a trading card autographed by the player.
The existence of the Debut Patch cards spurred immediate excitement from the NBA when Topps resumed printing licensed cards for the NBA in October 2025 for the first time since 2010. Introducing Debut Patches to rookies and producing RPDA cards was a no-brainer.
“You know it’s such a simple idea, but fits perfectly into sort of like the ethos of the trading card world,” Matt Holt, NBA vice president of merchandising partnerships Matt Holt told the Athletic.
Rather than risking damage to the cards, a redemption card bearing a code serves as a placeholder in the pack. The result is that the Flagg card was graded a PSA Gem Mint 10 with a 10 autograph grade — as close to perfect as possible.
The Flagg card was randomly inserted in a pack of Topps 2026 Chrome Basketball Update Series and placed on the market Aug. 6. Jason Williams, 50, of Clover, S.C., acquired the card after spending $515 to land a spot on RhodyBreakers, a retail shop affiliate that opens boxes of trading cards on a livestream.
Williams was watching the stream on a television as his wife and son were getting ready for bed when a life-changing fortune became theirs.
“They slid that card over, and I just slid to the floor crying,” Williams told ESPN. “It took me about five seconds to realize what I was looking at on that screen.”
Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the last several weeks, we wrote columns every weekday breaking down the biggest questions about every player on the Lakers. Today, we wrap up with JJ Redick.
It’s been a while since the Lakers employed a coach who has stayed with them for more than three seasons. A coach the organization genuinely believes in and doesn’t constantly put on the hot seat. JJ Redick has been everything the Lakers hoped for since they hired him in June 2024, as he has become the franchise’s best coach since Phil Jackson departed in 2011.
Redick has led the Lakers to 50 wins each season. The 29th head coach in franchise history is a big reason why Los Angeles hasn’t been in play-in territory over the last two years — a sight they saw a little too often before Redick’s arrival.
What has made Redick’s tenure with the Lakers so productive is the way his strengths have consistently shone through. He may have his flaws — we’ll get to what he has to improve later — but it’s no coincidence the Lakers have had a high-powered offense since the proud Duke University alumnus took over.
Redick’s attention to detail has also stood out based on the structure the team abides by and the way they run their sets. He’s a great communicator who can connect with his players, which is why he often has the group’s buy-in. He’s competitive and has shown he can respond to adversity. These are the foundational qualities of a championship coach.
That said, the incoming third-year coach still has a lot to prove. This year, he no longer has his former podcast co-host and captain LeBron James on his side. He’s also won just one playoff series since becoming the Lakers coach and the team’s defense has been below average over the last two years.
While Redick may not be in the hot seat, there’s always pressure on him to be better and deliver at a high level.
What is his best-case scenario?
The best-case scenario for Redick is to lead the Lakers to a championship. This expectation may be extremely high, but it’s also what happens when you have arguably the toughest coaching job in the league.
In order to achieve that, Redick needs to coach the team to at least a top-five finish in the Western Conference, which is achievable provided they stay healthy. In the playoffs, he has to show that he can indeed hang with the best coaches in the NBA right now.
The best-case scenario for Redick is also that he figures out how to fill the void LeBron left and bring the best out of this new roster, consisting of nine new faces following a major offseason roster overhaul. The good news is that this challenge isn’t new.
If Redick can continue to keep Lakers’ offense at an elite level while at the same time improving their defense to above average, then that’ll be extremely good for his success. In terms of in-game management, Redick has faced criticism for overplaying Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves last regular season, hence the soft tissue injuries to both that lasted until the playoffs. How he manages his two superstars as well as everyone else’s minutes will be a point of emphasis this season.
Every season brings its share of twists and challenges. For Redick, navigating those moments and guiding the Lakers through them into contention will be key to his success this year.
What is his worst-case scenario?
The worst-case scenario is JJ underperforms to the point that it affects the team’s overall performance. That would mean the Lakers finishing below the top five in the Western Conference and barely being competitive in the playoffs. A lot would have gone wrong if that’s the case come April.
Another horrible scenario is if the team doesn’t buy into Redick’s system and principles or in short, if he loses the locker room. That’s what happened to the Lakers’ previous two coaches and it led to their jobs being taken away from them.
Lastly, it would be unfortunate if Redick’s relationship with his superstars turn sour because that’s the most integral one for his success on this team.
What is his most likely role on the team?
As the head coach, Redick is both the leader and the connector of the team. He is responsible for establishing the system, principles and core beliefs that give the Lakers the foundation to compete for a championship. He also serves as the bridge between the front office and the players, while remaining the face of the team through the highs and lows that come with an NBA season.
Redick has shown he can handle the responsibilities that come with the job. Now, the challenge is taking the Lakers from a team with championship aspirations to one competing for it.
