Who will the Hawks add alongside Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor tonight at 57th overall (barring a trade)?
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Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, NY
Start Time: 8:00 PM EDT
TV: ABC, ESPN
Radio: Sports Radio 92.9 the Game (WZGC-FM)
Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo
Here are the lineups for the third game in Washington. Let’s discuss.
For the Phillies:
For the Nationals:
The second round of the NBA Draft is on tap. A night after the Nets took Mikel Brown Jr. of Louisville at No. 6 and Joshua Jefferson at No. 28, they have the No. 43 pick Wednesday night
WHO: The NBA
WHEN: 8:00 p.m. ET
WATCH: ESPN/ABC
Other than that Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will do the honors at the podium, things are fluid. It’s uncertain what Brooklyn will do with the pick or if they will even use it or move up. Latest reports, as of 6:00 p.m. ET, is that as many as three of the top five picks in the second could be available as teams close to the cap, the first or second apron try to conserve cap space. If the Nets do wait til No. 43, the player they take may very well wind up as a two-way with the Long Island Nets.
Something else to look for tonight as the second round comes to an end: Teams start calling undrafted players and offer them non-guaranteed Summer League and/or training camp deals. Teams don’t usually announce those offers on Draft Night, but agents do!
Graphics via FanGraphs.
What is it that makes you so handsome?: Troy Johnston, +0.20 WPA
Nails on a chalkboard: Justin Slaten, -0.27 WPA
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James Dolan is ready to take the NBA champion New York Knicks to the White House. Finals MVP Jalen Brunson isn't ready to say whether he'll be on that trip.
The Knicks owner, and longtime friend of President Donald Trump, said that the team has accepted an invitation to the White House. Brunson told New York Magazine the players had not even gotten to the conversation about it.
"We haven't discussed it," Brunson said. "But as a team, we'll discuss it and we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Dolan was pretty definitive on WFAN, the day before the championship parade.
"We just did receive an invitation from the White House, which we accepted," Dolan said. "We still have to figure out the details, et cetera, but yes, of course. Look, I invited the president to come down for the game. He is a friend. I've known him for 30 years and I'm very proud to bring the team to the White House."
Trump became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game when he joined Dolan for Game 3. He sat in Dolan's suite and was booed the only time he was shown on the Jumbotron before the game. The Knicks lost that night, falling 115-111 to the San Antonio Spurs, snapping a 13-game winning streak. They went on to finish off the Spurs in five games and end a 53-year title drought.
Afterward, Trump congratulated the team on Truth Social, singled out Brunson and called the title maybe the greatest in basketball history.
Several champions skipped the traditional White House visit during Trump's first term, including the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder passed as well, citing timing. In 2017, Trump withdrew the Warriors' invitation after Stephen Curry said he was reluctant to go and several players across those teams cited disagreements with Trump's politics.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jalen Brunson noncommittal on Knicks' White House visit with Trump
The Red Sox probably should’ve swept the lowly Colorado Rockies (though they’re pretty close to the same category these days). They should’ve at least won the series.
They couldn’t even do that.
Ranger Suárez struck out nine batters in six innings with solid run support. Instead of returning home to Fenway this weekend with a 4-2 record on the road trip thanks to series wins in Seattle and Colorado, Boston watched a 6-3 lead turn into an 8-6 loss in the final three innings Wednesday afternoon in a second embarrassing defeat this week.
Here’s three takeaways from Wednesday’s loss.
THANK YOU, COORS FIELD
The emphasis of the “Coors Field effect” should not take away from hitters who made a living there in the better Colorado days of yesteryear. Don’t diminish the accolades of great hitters in Larry Walker and Todd Helton to name a few.
With that said, there’s no doubt the ballpark can reward the below-average bat on a visit to Denver. Andrew Monasterio and Connor Wong graciously accepted that gift with home runs each in the matinee contest. For reference, Monasterio’s solo shot marked just his third long ball of the season while Wong homered for the first time since 2024.
That’s until the Rockies flipped the script in rough fashion for Boston over the final few innings.
KEEP AN EYE ON DURBIN
The Red Sox third baseman left the game with a left fifth finger subluxation after diving into first base attempting to beat out an infield hit. Romy Gonzalez is close to a return, but let’s see what the Red Sox infield looks like for the rest of the month depending on Durbin’s status upon the return to Boston.
CAN YOU DO SOMETHING AGAINST THE YANKEES?
The Red Sox are 1-4 against the Yankees and start the four-game set against New York with another installment of Connelly Early vs. Cam Schlittler.
The teams also still get the national spotlight, whether these teams are worthy or not, with a 1:10 p.m. start on Saturday on ABC (basically an ESPN game but cool to say) and round out the weekend on Sunday Night Baseball on NBC.
Derek Hill delivers thrilling homer as Phillies keep comeback magic going originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
WASHINGTON — Derek Hill was down to the Phillies’ final strike.
Again.
One night after the Phillies scored eight runs with two outs in the ninth inning, Hill stepped in as a pinch-hitter against left-hander Richard Lovelady and delivered another late jolt.
Kyle Schwarber, out of the starting lineup with lower back tightness, came off the bench with two outs and worked a walk to keep the inning alive.
Then Hill took over.
He drove Lovelady’s pitch into the first row above the high wall in right field for a go-ahead two-run homer, then leaped in celebration between second and third base when he saw it had enough distance.
Unbelievable.
The Phillies acquired Hill in a trade to help against left-handed pitching, a matchup their right-handed hitters have struggled with all season.
He gave them exactly that in Philadelphia’s exciting 5-4 win on Wednesday.
It was another wild turn in a series that has already produced one of the Phillies’ most improbable wins of the season.
The Phillies had trailed early after Aaron Nola allowed solo homers in the first and second innings. Luis García Jr. took Nola deep six pitches into the game. Washington added another solo shot three pitches into the second.
But the Phillies answered in the fourth.
Brandon Marsh led off with a single. Alec Bohm reached on a fielding error after fouling a ball off his foot earlier in the at-bat and limping down the line.
Bryson Stott, coming off a three-hit game, got ahead 2-1 and turned on a low-and-in slider from Miles Mikolas. His 106.2 mph drive sailed over the head of Nationals right fielder James Wood, bringing Marsh home.
J.T. Realmuto followed with a sacrifice fly to score Bohm and tie the game.
Rookie Gabriel Rincones Jr. then jumped on Mikolas’ first pitch and lined a run-scoring single through the middle, giving the Phillies their first lead.
That type of inning has become a familiar sight during the Phillies’ turnaround. During their 9-19 start, they struggled to stack baserunners. Lately, they have found ways to build innings and keep them moving.
Nola did not dominate, but he gave the Phillies five innings and two runs.
He allowed hard contact. Of the 13 balls put in play against him, 54 percent were hit at least 95 mph. His average exit velocity allowed was 95 mph.
Still, he found enough outs.
Nola struck out four hitters with his knuckle curve and another with his changeup. He threw only one slider, a pitch he has begun mixing in over his last few starts.
The four-seam fastball remains his biggest concern. It entered the night tied for the worst pitch in baseball by Statcast run value at minus-13. Opponents were hitting .406 and slugging .828 against it.
But five innings and two runs kept the Phillies in the game.
Then former Phillies prospect Curtis Mead changed it.
With a runner on in the sixth, Don Mattingly turned to Jonathan Bowlan, who had dominated right-handed hitters all season. Entering the night, righties were slashing .167/.167/.214 against him with one extra-base hit.
Bowlan left a sweeper up.
Mead sent it into the left-field seats for his second homer in three games during the series, putting Washington back in front.
For a while, it appeared that swing would hold up.
Then Schwarber came off the bench.
Then Hill got his chance.
Lovelady was making his third consecutive relief appearance. Hill entered to pinch-hit against the lefty, the precise situation the Phillies had in mind when they brought him in.
With the count down to its final strike, Hill did not miss.
His homer gave the Phillies another late-game breakthrough, one night after the club turned an 8-6 ninth-inning deficit into a 14-9 win.
On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Jets made a move, betting on upside as they have agreed to terms with forward Isak Rosén on a two-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $925,000, the team announced.
Rosén, 23, posted three goals and no assists in 21 games with Winnipeg last season after arriving in the Logan Stanley trade, and the organization clearly believes there is more to come from the former first-round pick.
Rosén came to Winnipeg as part of a trade deadline deal that sent defensemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley to the Buffalo Sabres. In return, the Jets received Rosén, defenseman Jacob Bryson, Buffalo's second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The Swedish winger was a player Buffalo could no longer afford to keep buried, after being selected 14th overall by the Sabres in the 2021 NHL Draft. Rosén had built an impressive AHL resume over parts of four seasons with the Rochester Americans, totaling 185 points in 231 career games.
He was named AHL Player of the Month for November 2025 after posting 12 points in eight games, and led the Rochester Americans in goals with 25 while his 43 points ranked second on the club at the time of the trade. At the NHL level with Buffalo, however, consistent opportunities were harder to come by.
The Jets are taking on virtually no risk while keeping a restricted free agent that has flashed genuine offensive tools but has yet to see them translate to the NHL level. The two-year deal gives Winnipeg a chance to find out what Rosén is made out of and see if he can establish a consistent NHL role and show the organization what made him a first-round pick in the first place.
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Two of the Nashville Predators' young stars are headed out west as Fedor Svechkov and Zach L’Heureux have been traded to the Colorado Avalanche.
On Wednesday, the Predators announced that they had acquired center Jack Drury, winger Chase Bradley and a 2029 third-round pick for Svechkov and L'Heureux.
“Jack Drury is a hard-working, reliable, full-sheet of the ice center who can handle the tough assignments while being elite in the face-off circle,” MacFarland said in a press release. "His addition to our forward group bolsters our depth in the middle of the ice, and we’re thrilled to have him on our roster.
"We’re also excited to add Chase Bradley – another young forward who’s had some NHL experience – to our overall organizational depth at forward.”
TRADE 🔄
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) June 24, 2026
We've acquired forwards Jack Drury and Chase Bradley and Colorado’s third-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft from the Avs in exchange for forwards Zach L'Heureux and Fedor Svechkov.
Full details » https://t.co/JF0jIuTUdSpic.twitter.com/HdmNEw0Xet
The Predators drafted Svechkov in 2021, 19th overall, and he has played 122 NHL games, recording 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points.
This past season, he had 17 points in 70 games and split time between Milwaukee and the Admirals, recording 8 points in 10 games with the Admirals.
L'Heuruex was drafted 27th overall by the Predators in the 2021 draft and has played in 87 games, recording nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points.
He started the year off in Milwaukee, scoring 28 points in 30 games before earning a promotion in Nashville. L'Heuruex had five points in 25 games.
Drury played in 82 games this past season with the Avalanche, scoring 27 points (10 goals and 17 assists) and had five points (three goals and two assists) in 13 playoff games.
The 5-foot-11-inch, 186-pound forward was drafted 42nd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2018 Draft.
Bradley has played in just two NHL games over the last two seasons. He played the entirety of the 2025-26 season with the Colorado Eagles (AHL), scoring 12 points (nine goals and three assists) in 42 games.
This is the third transaction in the 2026 calendar year that the Predators have executed with the Avalanche and the second general manager Chris MacFarland has made with his former team.
At the trade deadline, defenseman Nick Blankenburg was traded to the Avalanche for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
On June 16, forward Ross Colton and goaltender Isak Posch were traded to the Predators for a 2026 third-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick, and goaltender Magnus Chrona.
It’s time for the second round of the NBA Draft. Follow along this thread and on @BrightSideSun on X/Twitter for the latest updates and insights on all things Phoenix Suns and the NBA Draft with staff writer Holden Sherman at the Barclays Center covering the event.
Draft picks are flying left and right from city to city, but the Phoenix Suns are not involved in any of the deals. The Toronto Raptors are the only team who has their original second rounder.
After acquiring five second rounders last night, the Grizzlies acquire Detroit’s backup big. Stewart infamously got into an altercation with former Sun Drue Eubanks during the 2023-2024 season.
Houston, Memphis and Brooklyn make their selections with the the first three picks.
John Gambadoro has the scoop. Peat was establishing relationships with Phoenix even though they didn’t work him out.
After giving up the 47th pick as part of a deal to draft Koa Peat with the 30th pick last night, Arizona Sports insider John Gambadoro does not expect the Suns to make a trade into the second round. Phoenix selected Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea last year with the 31st and 41st picks respectively. This is set to be the first time since 2022 the Suns don’t make a selection in the second round.
Almost two hours until the second round starts. Catch the action on ESPN.
Draymond Green and Yaxel Lendeborg are different in so many ways. The former is 36 years old, has completed 14 seasons in the NBA, and is putting the finishing touches on a Hall of Fame career; the latter is 23, and just beginning an NBA journey that began on Tuesday, when the Golden State Warriors used the 11th overall pick in the 2026 Draft on him. Green is a basketball lifer who was an All-American in high school and heavily recruited by countless big-name colleges; Lendeborg took to the sport as a teenager, played in junior college, and spent four years at small-name institutions before breaking into the ranks of a big-time D1 school. One chose the Lansing segment of a Michigan rivalry; the other chose the Ann Arbor option.
But for those stock differences, Green and Lendeborg are alike in many ways beyond being employed by the Warriors. They’re both versatile forwards who can do a little bit of everything on the court. Each can pass far better than a player of their size usually does. Both bring a bulldog mentality to the defensive end of the court, where they’re comfortable guarding any player of any size at any position.
And they both can talk a little trash.
Lendeborg, who spent his super senior season at Michigan (where he won the 2026 NCAA championship), has worn No. 23 throughout his career. Green, who spent four seasons at Michigan State, also wears No. 23 (the number has since been retired at his college, and one day will be by the Warriors).
After getting drafted, Lendeborg wasted no time taking a shot at his new teammate and mentor. At his introductory presser, Lendeborg (who will wear No. 1 with the Dubs) was asked if he would be willing to wear his collegiate rival’s gear all year if it meant getting to keep his jersey number.
“Nah. Nah.” the consensus first-team All-American said with a laugh. “I’m not doing that, man. I hate those guys. I only been there for one year, but I definitely hate those guys.”
Lendeborg not only showed his disdain for Michigan State, but got in some smack talk as well, saying, “They can’t really say much, because I went 2-0 against them this year. They’re gonna be little brother to me forever, and I’m not gonna represent the losers ever.”
While those are fighting words, it was clear from Lendeborg’s demeanor that it was some light-hearted trash talk. He kept the playful pokes coming when he liked an Instagram post of someone throwing a punch with the caption, “Draymond Green when he realizes Yaxel went to the same college as Jordan Poole.”
It’s impossible to know how locker room dynamics will play out until we get to see them in action, but this certainly has the makings of a hilarious, good-natured rivalry between Lendeborg and the veteran that he’ll try to emulate on the court. Green, for all his controversies over the year, can (usually) get it as good as he gives it, as his frequent banters with Charles Barkley have proven. Something tells me this isn’t the last we hear from the intrastate rivalry … and something tells me these two are going to get along just fine.
The struggle has become apparent for this Atlanta Braves team, who are currently on a three-game losing streak. The name of the game is to score early and not let up…of course, pitching will have to do a pretty solid job as well to keep the San Diego Padres from finishing what they started in Tuesday night’s matchup.
Let’s take a look at these lineups for the series finale.
In today’s Baldwin-less lineup, Mauricio Dubón is leading off and playing left field with Ha-Seong Kim– who’s averaging .500 against San Diego’s JP Sears in his two total past at-bats– will be batting in the ninth hole while taking over shortstop for the night.
Jorge Mateo has returned as DH and is hoping for better production since his last three-hitless outings. As for the remainder of the lineup, well, let’s just say, they have a big advantage against San Diego’s lefty, and would be amiss not to take it.
As for the Padres, with Sears on the mound, after recently being called up from Triple-A, due to Lucas Giolito being placed on the 15-day IL (right elbow inflammation), he’s looking for the offense to hold it down, in case the Braves decide to take advantage of the 56 runs and 28 walks he’s earned so far this season in the minors.
Ty France, who has an OPS of .535 but a .176 batting average against Pérez, will be taking over first base and batting seventh in the lineup. And Manny Machado moved up to the third slot, currently averaging a .350 and 1.030 OPS against the Braves’ lefty.
The battle of the lefties, starting tonight at 8:40 p.m. EDT. The Braves are hoping to avoid a sweep, but will need to show an immediate change in the way they’ve been approaching this series if they want to see any glimpse of hope. They failed to salvage the opportunity in extra innings on Tuesday; therefore, they’ll need to play with a chip on their shoulder to turn things around.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking for revenge after a tough 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners last night at PNC Park.
The Pirates held a 2-1 lead going into the seventh inning, but a pair of runs surrendered by Mitch Keller off of a home run from Cole Young did the Buccos in.
Tonight, the Pirates will hand the ball to Braxton Ashcraft, who is continuing to build off of an impressive season. Ashcroft is fresh off a win in his last start against the Athletics on June 17. He pitched six innings, giving up just one earned run while striking out seven batters in a 12-4 victory. The Pirates are 9-6 in games where Ashcraft starts, which is a good sign going into their game against the Mariners.
On the flip side, Bryan Woo is starting for the Mariners. In his last start on June 18 against the Baltimore Orioles, he pitched seven innings, giving up no earned runs and striking out nine in a 3-0 victory. Woo has gone five or more innings in each of his last four starts, suggesting that he could be in for the long haul once again.
Woo might not be playing at the All-Star level he was at a year ago, but he provides a tough matchup for the Pirates tonight.
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Bryan Woo (6-5, 3.94 ERA) vs. Braxton Ashcraft (6-3, 3.18 ERA)
BD community, chime off in the comments section below.
The offense is killing it right now despite losing the best three hitters from last season for varying lengths of time. In June it is the young guys carrying the load. Jac Caglianone’s wRC+ this month is 232! Carter Jensen is at 122. It has been fun to watch. If only this had started in April or May this year might have turned into something. They have won six of nine and gotten back to 12 games below five hundred. Today they can lock in a series win against a Tampa Bay team that has been one of the best in the American League.
Today it will be Noah Cameron and Griffin Jax facing off. Cameron is coming off of two consecutive sub-par starts where he has given up 15 hits in 9 1/3 innings. Overall, his strike out and walk rates are better than last season, but the results have not been as good or consistent. Jax has a tidy 3.67 ERA on the season but peripherals that say he cannot keep that. Hopefully today is a mean reversion day for him and the Royals can keep the wins a coming.
Bobby Witt Jr. is out again. That is the fifth consecutive day and there was a day off too. Maybe 10-day IL makes some sense at this point?
Karim Lopez, a 6-foot-9 forward from Hermosillo, Mexico, was selected with the 21st pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on June 23. Lopez became the first Mexican-born player to be selected in the first round.
Mexico has sustained a big fan base for basketball for decades now but never had its own homegrown star to latch on to. That is, until Lopez, 19, caught attention while playing with the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s NBL over the past two seasons, essentially guaranteeing that he would be taken in this year’s draft.
He and his family’s reaction to being selected by the Pistons (who then traded Lopez’s draft rights to the Grizzlies) was one of the best moments from Tuesday’s first round. One moment during his post-draft interview segment with ESPN went viral.
When asked what it meant to be the first Mexican-born player to be selected in the first round of an NBA draft, Lopez, who was sitting with his family, had to collect his emotions for a moment before saying, “Well, it’s just super special honestly to be here. I’m blessed. And, yeah. I have no words,” per an X post from “SportsCenter.” He was visibly emotional and wiping away tears while trying to get what little words he had out.
"It's just super special honestly to be here. I'm blessed. I have no words."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 24, 2026
Karim Lopez speaks on how it feels to be the first Mexican-born player ever selected in the first round of the NBA draftpic.twitter.com/m7ZsjgFXXs
Lopez then showed the inside of his jacket, which included the Mexican flag and several other homages to Mexican culture.
He was then asked why he wanted to include the Mexican flag on his jacket and said, “I just wanted to represent my culture, represent where I’m from, represent my faith. And just represent myself, basically. Show the people who I am.”
Even though Lopez has his entire NBA career ahead of him, he’s already seen as a hero by his home country. And while that will create some pressure, it also means Lopez will have a huge support system as he embarks on this journey.