But he won’t make that return for the NBA Cup quarterfinals. Previously listed as questionable, Wembanyama was ruled out by the Spurs on Tuesday night for Wednesday’s NBA Cup game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Wembanyama has been sidelined due to his injury since Nov. 14. Wednesday’s game will mark the 12th straight that he has missed while injured.
The Spurs, however, have thrived in Wembanyama’s absence, going 8-3 in the games he has missed. They’re off to a 16-7 start and earned the No. 3 seed in the West in the NBA Cup knockout round. If they’re going to advance, they’ll do so without their superstar center.
Victor Wembanyama’s return to the court will have to wait.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
That will mean continued reliance on De’Aaron Fox (24.3 ppg, 6.5 apg), Stephon Castle (17.4 ppg, 7.4 apg) and Devin Vassell (15.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) to carry the load in Wembanyama’s absence.
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It has been a formula for success so far. But the Spurs are certainly hoping they don’t have to lean on it much longer.
Wembanyama practiced with his Spurs teammates on Sunday ahead of a Monday win over the Pelicans. It was a welcome sight for his teammates and head coach Mitch Johnson.
“It was a pretty cool moment,” Johnson said, per the San Antonio Express-News. “I’m looking forward to getting [Wembanyama] back. He’s getting closer.”
When Wembanyama does return, he’ll do so for a Spurs team in position to make its first run to the postseason since 2019 out of a loaded Western Conference.
Since the league’s adoption of the lottery system in the latest CBA — the first edition was held at the 2022 winter meetings, with the Pittsburgh Pirates winning the No. 1 pick they would use to draft Paul Skenes in 2023 — no longer is the draft order based strictly on teams’ regular-season records. Instead, the first six selections of the draft are decided by a lottery system similar to the ones used in the NBA and the NHL, in which all non-playoff teams have a range of likelihoods of receiving the top pick. This was introduced in an effort to disincentivize teams from racking up as many losses as possible en route to guaranteed premium draft positioning.
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There are also rules that prevent teams from being lottery-eligible in consecutive years, which impacted three clubs in this year’s drawing. Teams that receive revenue sharing cannot be included in the lottery three years in a row, which meant the 119-loss Colorado Rockies — after picking third in 2024 and fourth in 2025 — were unable to draft higher than 10th in 2026. Teams that pay into the revenue-sharing pool (larger-market teams) cannot be lottery-eligible two years in a row; this impacted the Nationals and Angels after they drafted No. 1 and No. 2 this year. In 2026, they will select 11th and 12th, respectively.
The lottery featured at least one significant jump in draft position in its first three editions, introducing an element of unpredictability that resulted in some teams selecting much earlier in the first round than anticipated. The Twins had a 1.7% chance to land the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft, but the lottery smiling upon them enabled Minnesota to select Walker Jenkins, who is now one of baseball’s top prospects.
In 2024, the Cleveland Guardians won the first overall pick (Travis Bazzana) with just a 2% likelihood, and the Cincinnati Reds selected second overall (Chase Burns) despite a 1% chance of such an outcome. In the lottery last year, the Seattle Mariners — already featuring a loaded farm system and having won 85 games in 2024 — cashed in on a 0.7% chance and jumped up to the third pick, which they used on left-hander Kade Anderson, widely considered the best pitcher available in his class.
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These stunning shake-ups have made the lottery a compelling event for the front offices of the teams involved, and this year was no different. While the White Sox snagging the top selection wasn’t a stunner — Chicago held the best odds of any team to get the pick, at 27.73% — there were several results that reminded everyone of the chaotic randomness a lottery can produce.
Which teams enjoyed the biggest lottery jumps?
Three teams in particular — the Rays, Giants and Royals — enjoyed notable strokes of luck, marking an exciting start to this year’s draft cycle. On the flip side, a few teams with considerably worse 2025 records — the Twins, Orioles and Cardinals — saw their first-round picks drop relative to their place in the reverse standings.
Coming off a 77-85 finish — their worst record since 2016 but hardly a horrible mark, all things considered — the Rays entered the lottery with a 3.03% chance of winning the top overall pick yet jumped all the way to No. 2. This will be the first time Tampa Bay has picked in the top 10 since they took Brendan McKay fourth overall in 2017, and it’s their highest selection since the Rays had consecutive No. 1 picks in 2007 and 2008, yielding David Price and Tim Beckham.
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Meanwhile, Kansas City and San Francisco reaped the benefits of an even less likely draw. The Royals’ 82-80 finish gave them some of the lowest odds (0.8%) to jump to the top of the board of any lottery-eligible team, yet they leapt all the way to the sixth pick, affording Kansas City its seventh top-10 pick in the past eight drafts. The Giants’ 81-81 finish gave them a 1% outlook of landing the top pick, yet San Francisco launched up the board to pick No. 4, the franchise’s earliest selection since taking Joey Bart second in 2018.
That these clubs will get to draft earlier than expected is exciting on its own, but it’s about more than just having fewer teams ahead of them on the board. Higher picks also come with larger associated bonus pool slots, which can afford clubs a greater amount of flexibility when allocating their resources over the course of an entire draft.
Who is the likely 2026 No. 1 pick?
With the draft order settled, we are at the earliest stages of being able to speculate about which amateur prospects could be in play for the teams picking at the top come July. And while teams’ draft boards are sure to shuffle many times in the months ahead, the results of this year’s lottery carried more weight than usual considering there is a consensus best player in the class, at least for now: UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky.
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It’s far too early to guarantee that the White Sox will select Cholowsky with the first pick next summer, but it’s undeniable that the shortstop has separated himself from his peers at this stage of the process. The son of Dan Cholowsky, who was selected 39th overall out of Cal-Berkeley by the Cardinals in 1991 and played eight minor-league seasons before becoming a scout, Roch (pronounced Rock) was a highly coveted prep prospect at Hamilton High School in Arizona but opted to go to college to raise his stock even further.
So far, Cholowsky been wildly successful in that endeavor, starring immediately for the Bruins as a freshman and elevating his game further as a sophomore in 2025, slashing a gaudy .353/.480/.710 with 23 homers and an impressively low 9.3% strikeout rate, all while playing stellar defense at shortstop. Assuming Cholowsky stays healthy and has another monster spring season as a junior for a loaded Bruins team coming off a trip to the College World Series, it’s difficult to envision another prospect unseating him atop this year’s class.
Who else is at the top of the class?
That’s not to say there aren’t other ultra-talented alternatives who could emerge next spring, whether for the White Sox with pick No. 1 or the cluster of clubs right after them. Beyond Cholowsky, there’s a pair of excellent high school shortstops who could be jockeying for position as the first prep player off the board: Grady Emerson and Jacob Lombard.
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Emerson is a tremendously advanced left-handed bat from Texas whom some evaluators consider to be in the top tier alongside Cholowsky and who could separate himself from the rest of the high school class with a big senior year. Lombard is a right-handed hitter from Florida who is the younger brother of Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr. and whose outlandish athleticism arguably gives him a higher ceiling than Emerson, though his hit tool isn’t quite as polished. Tyler Spangler is another prep infielder who could play his way into the first few picks, though his commitment to Stanford makes him less of a solid bet to start his pro career next year.
On the college side, Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron is an electric athlete whose star power has been on full display during his first two years in Tuscaloosa, but he’ll have to demonstrate that his hit tool can thrive against SEC competition as a junior. Georgia Tech’s Drew Burress presents an unusual profile as a 5-foot-9, right-handed-hitting outfielder, but he has serious right-handed power and might be able to stick in center field. AJ Gracia (Virginia), Sawyer Strosnider (TCU) and Derek Curiel (LSU) are three other college outfielders who fit the more traditional mold of sweet-swinging, left-handed hitters who should be selected early in Round 1.
On the mound, the high school crop features three left-handers who could emerge as viable top-five picks with big springs: Carson Bolemon from South Carolina, Gio Rojas from Florida and Logan Schmidt from California. We’re still waiting for a frontline arm to separate itself atop the college class, but the two pitchers who look like first-round locks right now are Florida’s Liam Peterson and Coastal Carolina’s Cameron Flukey.
Could 44-year-old Philip Rivers help the ailing Colts? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Charles Robinson, and Frank Schwab break down that scenario as well as the MNF matchup that saw the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Philadelphia Eagles. Later, Andrew sits down with The Athletic’s Eagles reporter, Zach Berman, to talk all things Philly and Jalen Hurts. Finally, the crew looks at what teams could make it into the playoffs according to Frank’s projections before giving their “One More Thing.”
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(0:36) – Philip Rivers signs to Colts’ practice squad
(19:48) – Chargers beat Eagles on MNF
(33:51) – Zach Berman joins the show!
(47:57) – Frank’s Week 14 Playoff Projections
(1:03:18) – One More Thing
Could 44-year-old Philip Rivers help the ailing Indianapolis Colts? (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
USA Baseball announced Tuesday that Schwarber, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, Brewers second baseman Brice Turang and Dodgers catcher Will Smith will join a WBC roster already laden with MLB stars.
USA Baseball announced the new additions via multiple social media posts, including one featuring Schwarber’s 10-pitch at-bat in the 2023 WBC championship game vs. Japan that ended with a solo home run to cut Japan’s lead to 3-2.
Schwarber’s blast wasn’t enough to propel USA to victory. Against a Japan team that sent out Shohei Ohtani as its closer, USA didn’t score again as Japan secured a 3-2 victory to win the tournament.
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Ohtani will be playing for Japan again in March, fresh off securing his fourth MLB MVP award in five seasons. And Japan will be seeking its fourth championship after winning three of the five previous WBCs (2006, 2009, 2023).
The Dominican Republic won in 2013. And Team USA will be seeking its second title after winning in 2017.
USA Baseball’s WBC roster
Here’s what Team USA’s roster looks like so far, with more additions to come:
Paul Skenes, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates Matthew Boyd, SP, Chicago Cubs Cal Raleigh, C, Seattle Mariners Will Smith, C, Los Angeles Dodgers Brice Turang, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Kansas City Royals Gunnar Henderson, SS, Baltimore Orioles Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Chicago Cubs Kyle Schwarber, DH, Philadelphia Phillies
The first half of the NBA Cup’s quarterfinal matchups are now in the books, and both the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks are headed to Las Vegas.
Both the Magic and the Knicks won their respective games on Tuesday night, and will now square off in the semifinals in Las Vegas later this week.
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That leads to a substantial raise, too. Each full-time player on the Magic and Knicks rosters earned a $106,187 paycheck via a pay scale that escalates with each subsequent round of the NBA Cup. The championship-winning players will earn $530,933, a nice payday by any account and a substantial raise for anyone playing on the league minimum $1.366 million salary.
Desmond Bane continues to ascend from slow start with Magic
The Miami Heat seized early control Tuesday night with a 15-0 lead over the Magic in their quarterfinal matchup to tip off the NBA Cup action.
But as tends to be the case with double-digit leads in the NBA, the advantage was not safe. Sparked by Desmond Bane, the Magic rallied to take their first lead of the game at 47-46 before halftime. By the fourth quarter, they were in full control of a 117-108 victory.
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After scoring two first-quarter points, Bane finished with 37 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The former Memphis sharpshooter had his best shooting night since joining the Magic this season while shooting 14 of 24 from the floor and 6 of 9 from 3.
Bane sparked Orlando’s second-quarter rally with 10 points as the Magic outscored the Heat 39-27 in the stanza. And he helped keep the Heat at bay after halftime with four 3-pointers on five attempts.
Following a rocky start to his Magic career, Tuesday’s performance marked Bane’s third 37-point effort in his past six games.
The Magic have needed the production from Bane amid injuries to their veteran stars. All-Star Paolo Banchero previously missed 10 games with a groin strain. He was back for a third straight game Tuesday night with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. But star forward Franz Wagner missed the first game of what’s projected as a multiweek absence with a high-ankle sprain.
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Despite the injuries, the Magic are off to a 15-10 start that was good for fourth place in the East at the conclusion of Tuesday’s game and are now in position to win the NBA Cup. They’ll need continued strong play from Bane to maintain their pace.
Jalen Brunson, Knicks roll to win
The second game of the night wasn’t anywhere near as close as the first. The Toronto Raptors struggled to put up much of a fight.
The Knicks rolled to a dominant 117-101 win over the Raptors to secure their spot in the semifinals. They’ve now made it to the semifinal round of the NBA Cup for the first time after falling short in the quarterfinals in the first two years of its existence.
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Though the Raptors came out of the gate fine, they shut down in the second quarter on Tuesday night. The Knicks surged ahead to a 17-point lead at the break of their contest at Scotiabank Arena after they held Toronto to just 13 points as a group in the second quarter. A Jamal Shead 3-pointer in the final minute before halftime was the only shot in the period that the Raptors made from outside of the restricted area. Toronto had almost nothing going.
Jalen Brunson, on the other hand, was just about perfect offensively. He dropped 26 points in the first half alone and shot 10-of-12 from the field.
That was just a hole that the Raptors never recovered from. The Knicks maintained a 15-point lead entering the final period, and then cruised to the 16-point win. Brunson finished with 35 points with six 3-pointers. Josh Hart added 21 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds. The Knicks have now won eight of their last nine, and hold a 17-7 record.
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Brandon Ingram led the Raptors with 31 points and seven assists. Shead had 18 points, and Scottie Barnes dropped 13 points points. The loss, their fourth straight, moved the Raptors to 15-11 on the season.
Though the Knicks have been great on their home floor — they hold a 13-1 record at Madison Square Garden this season — Tuesday night was probably the best they’ve played on the road so far this year. If they can transition that out west in the coming days, they’ll be a tough to beat.
It’s another edition of Data Dump on the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast as we make the pivot from Week 14 to Week 15 in the NFL. Ray Garvin joins Matt Harmon to share 10 data points you need to know for this upcoming week.
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(1:00) – Fantasy Fallout: Philip Rivers signs with the Colts
(14:45) – Ray’s 1st data point: Jonathan Taylor is cooling off
(21:00) – Matt’s 1st data point: Michael Wilson is heating up
(28:50) – Ray’s 2nd data point: AJ Brown is back in our fantasy lives
(36:10) – Matt’s 2nd data point: Jaxson Dart needs to show he can pass
(42:50) – Ray’s 3rd data point: Tyler Shough is… good?
(49:10) – Matt’s 3rd data point: Can we trust Chargers WRs?
(57:45) – Ray’s 4th data point: Blake Corum… league winner?
(1:02:30) – Matt’s 4th data point: Panthers RB split is a splitting headache
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(1:05:50) – Ray’s 5th data point: Tough WR choices
(1:12:40) – Matt’s 5th data point: Bills passing game is bad
It’s another edition of Data Dump on the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast as we make the pivot from Week 14 to Week 15 in the NFL. Ray Garvin joins Matt Harmon to share 10 data points you need to know for this upcoming week.
Now that Week 14 is behind us, we’re three quarters of the way through the NFL regular season. We’ll learn the fate of every team soon enough, but for now let’s grade how each of their years have gone.
This season the Patriots made a home-run hire at head coach, figured out they have a franchise quarterback, had a great haul in free agency and the NFL Draft, and are on the doorstep of taking the AFC East crown from the Bills. How’s that for a turnaround? Sure, the Patriots have played the easiest schedule in the NFL. That shouldn’t lessen any excitement for what has been, to this point, a nearly perfect season.
Considering the Bills were heavy favorites to win the AFC East, seeing them well behind the Patriots is surprising and disappointing. Blowout losses to the Falcons and Dolphins are inexplicable. There have been too many times this season in which the defense and offense around Josh Allen have been a big letdown, though Allen has covered a lot of it up. Maybe the Bills make a postseason run, but right now a wild-card spot is not what anyone expected.
Grade: C+
Josh Allen is carrying the weight for Buffalo this season. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)
The Dolphins turned an F into something better by winning five of six games. Four of those games came against teams with losing records, but there was also a blowout of the Bills. Mike McDaniel might have saved his job. Tua Tagovailoa is still struggling, there is a question about what happens with Tyreek Hill after the season, and the defense and offensive line need major work. At least the Dolphins turned around a miserable season.
The Jets’ hope is in the future. The present has been bleak. Justin Fields was signed to be at least a bridge quarterback, but he was benched after nine largely ineffective starts. The Jets have put together a few wins after an 0-7 start, which quells some heat on Aaron Glenn after a horrible start to his coaching career. The team’s trades of Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner helped stock the team’s draft capital. The Jets still have to hit on those picks, but at least there’s something to look forward to.
Many Steelers fans won’t be happy with winning a bad division with a record barely above .500 and a quick playoff exit. The realistic expectation shouldn’t have been much higher than that. The future doesn’t look rosy, with another round of quarterback merry-go-round coming, but a division title is never a bad way to end a season. If the Ravens beat the Steelers for the division, the grade will drop. And offseason changes might be coming.
The record has been terrible. Look beyond that. The Browns’ rookie draft class is excellent. Defensive tackle Mason Graham, linebacker Carson Schwesinger, running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, and tight end Harold Fannin Jr. have all been good. And yes, quarterback Shedeur Sanders might be a fifth-round steal. There have been some exciting moments amid a lot of losses.
The only thing keeping the grade from being an F is the chance the Ravens still rally and at least make the playoffs winning a weak AFC North. That wouldn’t make for a great season, but missing the playoffs would be a complete failure. The Ravens haven’t been good all season. Back-to-back home losses to the Bengals and Steelers drive home the fact that it’s unlikely to turn around. It’s likely a wasted season in Lamar Jackson’s prime.
Joe Burrow is on a Hall of Fame path. And the Bengals are about to miss the playoffs for the third straight season in his prime. Injuries cost Burrow time in two of those seasons, but the Bengals are still letting precious time with Burrow slip away with nothing to show for it. And Burrow’s injury that kept him out most of the season isn’t the reason the defense has been a flop yet again. Cincinnati might need major changes in the offseason.
Before Daniel Jones tore his Achilles, the Colts were one of the most inspiring success stories in the NFL. But a 7-1 start to the season has gone sour, and the season seems lost with Jones out for the season. If Philip Rivers or anyone else can save this team and get them to the playoffs, it will be an A+ season. That seems unlikely. We’ll still credit them for what they had built, and not punish them too much for a heartbreaking injury.
The Jaguars have made the playoffs twice since 2007. They were 4-13 last season. Assuming the Jaguars make the playoffs (NFL.com has them projected with a 97% chance), it’s a fantastic outcome in Liam Coen’s first season as head coach. There are things to work on, like a passing game that is 19th in the NFL in yards and 20th in touchdowns, but overall it’s a big success.
The Texans’ grade continues to rise. They have the best defense in football. They overcame an injury to C.J. Stroud to win five in a row to get back in the playoff mix. It’s not all perfect, but DeMeco Ryans deserves a lot of credit for rallying his team after a rough start. Houston is peaking at the right time, which is worth keeping an eye on in a flawed AFC.
Cam Ward has shown flashes of his potential. That’s about where the positive news ends. And even Ward’s highlights don’t erase the massive struggles of an offense that is 31st in points scored and 32nd in yards gained. Ward’s struggles aren’t all his fault; the supporting cast around him is one of the worst in the NFL. The Titans are already looking for a new head coach after firing Brian Callahan, and it’s a total rebuild around the quarterback.
Maybe the grade could have been a little lower because Bo Nix has followed up his strong rookie season with a bit of a step back. The offense isn’t pretty. But the results are fantastic. Yes, they had close (and fortunate) wins. Also, their two losses came with no time on the clock at the Colts and at the Chargers. They are poised to win the AFC West for the first time since 2015.
Had the Chargers’ offensive line stayed healthy, this might be the best team in football. The Chargers deserve credit for fighting through some key injuries and still be in good position to make the playoffs. Jim Harbaugh is a heck of a head coach. Justin Herbert continues to grow as a quarterback. It hasn’t been a bad season but it might end up as a massive “what if?”
Either this season was the end of the Chiefs’ dynasty, or we’ll look back on it as a weird year when Kansas City missed the playoffs amid a great run of success. Of course there’s a chance the Chiefs still make the playoffs … and they might be the favorites to win the AFC if they do. A bunch of close losses are to blame for their record. It’s not a bad team, but an unlucky one. Ultimately though, not making the playoffs is a massive disappointment.
There’s not much to like. The Raiders made four major acquisitions in the offseason in an attempt to be more competitive right away: Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly, Geno Smith and Ashton Jeanty. Carroll is having his worst season as a head coach, Kelly has already been fired, Smith has been bad and is getting booed by home fans, and Jeanty has been a major disappointment as the fifth overall draft pick. The Raiders have won once since Week 1, and that was against the Titans at home. This season has been an absolute disaster.
We can’t give the Eagles a failing grade, though many of their fans might. They still are in control of the NFC East. But watching Eagles games has become a chore. The offense has been broken all season, and there’s plenty of blame to go around. It took the defense a while to come around, but now that it has the offense continues to spiral. The Eagles get a below-average grade because they look so much worse than last season.
Cowboys fans would look at missing the playoffs as a miserable failure. It wouldn’t be great, but this was a flawed team. Yet it has renewed hope after playing better following a trade for Quinnen Williams, and that could spark offseason optimism. The offense, and Dak Prescott in particular, have been good. It’s just not a great team on the way to a middling season.
There are some bright signs with some of the young players on the Giants, though Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers suffered season-ending injuries, and Jaxson Dart’s reckless style has led to him missing time too. Still, unlike some other teams with double-digit losses already, there is hope. The Giants have already fired Brian Daboll, and this should be an attractive opening.
The Commanders went from the NFL’s final four last season to maybe not even reaching four wins this season. Jayden Daniels hasn’t just spent most of the season dealing with injuries, he has been ineffective when he has played. Washington has a very old roster, expected to compete for at least an NFC East title, and everything has been horrific.
This grade might end up as an F if the Lions miss the playoffs. And they’re in danger of it. Detroit has too much talent to not be in the postseason, and failing to qualify after a 15-2 season would make for a really long offseason. Detroit still has shown signs of potential greatness, usually when Jahmyr Gibbs has the ball, so there’s still hope to save the season.
It’s fair to point out the Bears’ soft schedule and their penchant for close wins against bad teams. It doesn’t matter that much. Having nine wins and being in position to make the playoffs in Ben Johnson’s first year as head coach is a big win. Caleb Williams is far from perfect, but the strides he is making are a good sign. If the Bears don’t make the playoffs, it would be a tough blow. But this is a growth season worth praise.
The Packers’ record is good. Losses to the Browns and at home against the Panthers were bad. Barely beating teams like the Cardinals and Giants was troubling. Let’s not forget that a few weeks ago, there was actually talk of Matt LaFleur coaching for his job. Ultimately, a 9-3-1 record and some impressive wins lately gives the Packers a pretty good grade. Just not an “A” yet.
The Vikings lost three regular-season games last season. They could more than triple that this season. The biggest issue isn’t hard to figure out: The quarterback play has been dreadful. J.J. McCarthy’s first season as a starter has been alarmingly bad, though he had a good game in Week 14. Maybe there’s time for him to salvage his season. The same can’t be said for the Vikings as a whole.
It seems like this version of the Buccaneers is worse than the past two seasons, which is bad. The Buccaneers didn’t have a loss against a losing team until Sunday, when they fell to the 3-10 Saints. Not great. Baker Mayfield’s play has slipped badly, and that’s as the rest of the offense gets healthy. Tampa Bay is still favored to win the division, but they don’t seem like much of a threat to make noise in the playoffs.
The Panthers have been very inconsistent. But they have quality wins at Green Bay and against the Rams, and are in a first-place tie in their division with four games left. Think back to the offseason and ask yourself if the Panthers would be thrilled to be in that position. It has been a long road for Carolina since David Tepper bought the team. They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season. A whiff of success has been exciting.
When the Falcons traded next season’s first-round draft pick to the Rams so they could pick pass rusher James Pearce Jr., they felt they could compete for a playoff spot this season. Instead they have found weird ways to lose, Michael Penix Jr. was up and down before suffering another season-ending injury and head coach Raheem Morris might be on the hot seat. This isn’t what Atlanta expected.
The Saints have road wins over the Buccaneers and Panthers, the top two teams in the NFC South. That doesn’t erase all the losses, but at least it’s a sign that there’s some buy-in from the players to coach Kellen Moore’s culture. The roster will need a lot of work because there aren’t many good young players, and not many have emerged this season, although rookie quarterback Tyler Shough has had a few moments. It’s a lost season, but Moore has a shot to be the right fit.
The Seahawks got it right with their 2024 hire of head coach Mike Macdonald. They might have hit on a long-term quarterback in Sam Darnold too. It’s hard to find many faults with their season. Darnold has been good, Jaxon Smith-Njigba leveled up to be a superstar, Macdonald’s defense is one of the best in the NFL and the Seahawks have an argument that they’re the best team in football. Nobody saw that coming before the season started.
Back in August, the talk of the NFL was Matthew Stafford’s back injury, and what his status looked like for the season. Months later, he’s the MVP favorite and the Rams are the Super Bowl favorite. It has been a remarkable season for the team on offense and defense. When Aaron Donald retired it seemed like the Rams might dip, especially with Stafford in his late 30s. Instead, they got back on an upward trajectory. We’ll have to see if the Rams can finish this dream season in style.
The 49ers are unlikely to win the NFC West. A long playoff run might not be in their future due to defensive deficiencies. But taking a look at what they’ve overcome, being at nine wins is impressive. San Francisco dealt with injuries to Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa among others. And they’re still very close to locking up a playoff spot. What a job by Kyle Shanahan this season.
The Cardinals had high hopes and started 2-0. They’ve won once since. Many of the losses have been close, but it doesn’t matter much when you’ve lost 10 of 11. Head coach Jonathan Gannon might be in trouble. Quarterback Kyler Murray’s future with the team seems murky at best. Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. hasn’t made the strides hoped for him. It has been a big step back.
With 18 seconds remaining in the third period, the Ducks were down 3-2, had just lost a faceoff back in their defensive zone and were down a man in a power play for the Pittsburgh Penguins. A half-hour later, they were celebrating one of the most bizarre wins of the season, 4-3 in a shootout.
Somehow, the Ducks managed to tie the game. It took a great play from Beckett Sennecke and a defensive breakdown for the Penguins, but the winger managed to get the puck to the net for a game-tying goal in the final second.
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A replay:
Actually, let’s take a closer look at that.
Specifically, let’s look at it from a bird’s-eye view, in slow motion, with the clock visible. Sennecke’s shot was actually veering away from the goal inside the crease, until…
Oh no, Erik Karlsson.
The goal was officially credited as an unassisted one for Sennecke, but he definitely got an assist from the Penguins defenseman, who accidentally batted the puck into the goal with 0.1 seconds left.
The goal was held up on replay and the game went to overtime. Naturally, the Ducks ended up winning via shootout.
The Penguins found a wild way to lose to the Ducks. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)
“It hit my hand and went in. There was no question about it. How it came to be that way, I don’t really know. I haven’t watched it, but it’s definitely something that should not happen. Seventeen seconds left, up a goal and on a power play. We win the faceoff and they score a goal. This was a game that shouldn’t have happened the way that it did.”
It’s worth noting that Karlsson also posted two assists Tuesday, so to say he cost the Penguins the game would be inaccurate. Still, it’s a rough moment for a three-time Norris Trophy winner and the highest-paid defenseman in the league.
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The shootout loss knocked the Penguins down to 14-7-7, good for fourth place in the Metropolitan Division.
The NFL is heading back to Munich. After playing games in the German city in both 2022 and 2024, the NFL announced Wednesday it will return to Munich in both 2026 and 2028 for regular-season games.
The move is part of a multiyear partnership with both the city of Munich and FC Bayern Munich. Games will be hosted at Allianz Arena, where FC Bayern Munich plays its home games.
FC Bayern Munich confirmed the partnership, with the mayor of Munich, Verena Dietl, expressing excitement over “spreading the enthusiasm” for American football in the city.
“I’m delighted about the extension of our contract with the NFL and it once again shows the importance and strength of Munich as a sporting city. The previous games not only won the hearts of the fans, but also strengthened our successful cooperation with the NFL. Together, we’re committed to promoting American football in Germany and spreading the enthusiasm for the sport far beyond the stadiums. I’m looking forward to the upcoming games in 2026 and 2028, which will not only bring top-class sport, but also valuable impetus for grassroots sport in our city.”
The NFL has played regular-season games in Munich two other times. The Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers played at Allianz Arena in 2022, with the Bucs coming out on top. Two years later, the Carolina Panthers beat the New York Giants in Munich.
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Germany is no stranger to hosting NFL games at this point. In addition to those two contests, the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons played a regular-season game in Berlin earlier this year. The Colts won thanks to a tremendous performance from running back Jonathan Taylor.
The NFL has not announced which teams will take part in the Munich game in 2026 or 2028.
In recent years, the NFL has pushed to expand play outside the United States. The league has scheduled a number of international games each year, with six taking place during the 2025 NFL season. The NFL has played at least one game in the United Kingdom regularly since the 2007 season and has expanded international play to Brazil, Spain and Mexico, among other countries, in recent seasons.
The 2026 Munich game marks one of six international games announced by the NFL for next season. In addition to playing in Germany next year, the NFL will also play in Australia, Brazil and Mexico. The league will also play two games in the United Kingdom in 2026.
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The league announced the Los Angeles Rams will play in the Australia game and that the Jacksonville Jaguars will appear in one of the games in the United Kingdom, but have not revealed any other teams taking part in international games next season.
Welcome to the knockout rounds of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, where eight teams — four from each conference — compete in win-or-go-home quarterfinal matchups. The winners advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas, where they’ll have the chance to compete for the right to etch their names into NBA Cup history, for the chance to hoist all 35 pounds of it, and for whatever bragging rights come along with being the third victors of this still-buffering competition.
Before the back half of our quarterfinal quartet tips off, let’s take a fresh look at the lay of the land in the West as we return to our irregularly scheduled tournament, already in progress:
Where we left off in the West
We detailed that frantic final evening of group-stage play, with three of the four quarterfinal spots still up for grabs. There was drama in Denver, where the Spurs had to roar back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit against the Nuggets to keep their hopes alive.
Thanks to monster second halves from Devin Vassell (21 of his team-high 35 after intermission) and Julian Champagnie (15 of his 25), San Antonio exploded for 80 second-half points without superstar big man Victor Wembanyama and reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, stunning Nikola Jokić and Co. to score a 139-136 win to improve to 3-1 in West Group C, eliminating Denver and Houston to secure their spot in the knockout round.
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Things were also tight — somewhat uncharacteristically so! — in Oklahoma City, where the upstart Suns continued their pleasantly surprising strong start to the season by pushing the defending champion Thunder to the limit.
Down by as many as 15, Phoenix charged back in the fourth quarter, getting hot from long distance — Royce O’Neale and Collin Gillespie combined for five of the Suns’ six fourth-quarter triples — and cutting OKC’s lead to a single point multiple times. Time and again, though, the hosts had the answer — typically in the form of letting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander size up his man and go to work.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s chosen to celebrate winning nearly everything there was to win last season — the exception, of course, being the NBA Cup! — by coming back even better, poured in 15 of his game-high 37 points in the final seven minutes, capped by a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left to finish off a 123-119 win. With the victory, Oklahoma City finished atop West Group A at 4-0 — and, by virtue of their +75 point differential across the four victories, with the No. 1 seed in the conference.
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The loss dropped Phoenix to 3-1, but it didn’t knock them out of the competition. Thanks to doing what so few teams have managed this season against OKC — namely, not getting blown out — the Suns wrapped up group play with a +31 point differential, which was large enough to edge out the Memphis Grizzlies (who also went 3-1, but finished +14) for the West’s wild-card spot.
That cemented the conference’s final four, setting up a Thunder-Suns rematch in the 1-vs.-4 game, and a very intriguing matchup between the high-scoring Los Angeles Lakers — the winners of West Group B — and a Spurs team that’s gone an impressive 8-3 since losing superstar center Victor Wembanyama to a left calf strain.
What to know about Suns-Thunder (7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
We should probably start with this: In case you missed it, the Thunder are, like, really good.
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Oklahoma City enters the quarterfinals on a 15-game winning streak, and at 23-1 on the season — just the third team in NBA history to open a season with wins in 23 of its first 24 games. The other two: The 1969-70 New York Knicks, who went on to win the NBA championship, and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who went on to set the all-time single-season record of 73 wins that OKC’s now chasing.
With Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein manning the back line, and Luguentz Dort, Cason Wallace and all manner of other havoc-wreakers stationed at the point of attack, the Thunder lead the NBA in defensive efficiency to a comical degree, allowing 6.8 fewer points per 100 possessions than the second-place Rockets. That gap is the same as the one between No. 2 Houston and No. 21 Chicago.
(Worth noting: Hartenstein will miss the quarterfinal matchup with a right soleus strain that has cost him the last five games. Also worth noting: The Thunder won all five of those games and have blown opponents out by nearly 21 points-per-100 with him off the floor this season.)
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With Gilgeous-Alexander at the controls, Oklahoma City also features a top-five offense, despite All-NBA No. 2 offensive option Jalen Williams missing the first 19 games of the season recovering from offseason wrist surgery. Since Williams’ return — which came, coincidentally, in that group-stage-concluding win over the Suns — he’s averaging 17.8 points in 29 minutes per game with a 32-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio. And in the minutes when SGA sits — during which the Thunder’s offense had plummeted considerably — they’ve scored like a top-five offense with J-Dub on the ball.
All of which, y’know, would seem to make for pretty tough sledding for the Suns … particularly considering they’ll enter the matchup without leading scorer and assist man Devin Booker, who’s sidelined by a right groin strain. Add in the ongoing absence of Jalen Green, whom Phoenix imported from Houston in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Rockets, with a strained right hamstring, and it feels unlikely that Phoenix will have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the defending champs.
And yet: “Unlikely” has kind of been the Suns’ stock in trade this season.
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Have to deal with Wembanyama after he’s opened the season tearing everybody apart? No problem: Just tailor a picture-perfect traffic-jam gameplan to disrupt, dislodge and discombobulate him, holding him to a season-low nine points and handing the Spurs their first loss.
Trail by seven late against the Wolves? No problem: Just rip off nine straight in the final 1:19 to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Lose Booker early in the first quarter of a road game against Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and the Lakers? No problem: Dillon Brooks (whose usage rate has skyrocketed to Jordanian levels sans Booker this season) will just score 23 of his 33 points in the first half … and Gillespie will hit five of his eight 3-pointers in the second to stake the Suns to a blowout win.
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It’ll likely take everything the Suns can muster to hang in with the Thunder again: stellar shot-making from Gillespie, O’Neale, Brooks and Grayson Allen; Brooks going goblin mode defensively to short-circuit his Canadian national teammate SGA; generating extra possessions on the offensive glass and by creating turnovers (hey there, Mark Williams, Jordan Goodwin and Ryan Dunn); head coach Jordan Ott coming up with a way to throw some sand into the gears of what’s been an incredibly smooth-running OKC machine.
It’s a lot to expect; the odds of getting it all to go right are astonishingly small. But the Suns have been outperforming expectations and beating the odds all season. Why stop now?
What to know about Spurs-Lakers (10 p.m. ET, Prime Video)
The first time these two teams played this season, the Lakers were missing James and Reaves … so Luka just went ahead and put up 35-9-13 with five steals and a pair of blocks in a come-from-behind win.
The Lakers have been on a roll since getting James back from his early-season sciatica-induced absence, going 6-1 with him in the lineup. He’s helped stabilize non-Luka stints, with L.A. outscoring opponents by 13 points in 82 minutes when LeBron and Reaves take the wheel while Dončić gets a breather, according to PBP Stats. Even while still working his way into playing shape and occasionally looking like an about-to-be-41-year-old in the process — a career-low 28% of his shot attempts have come at the rim, and he’s making them less often than at any point since his rookie season — LeBron has fit productively into the fold for head coach/erstwhile podcast partner JJ Redick.
He’s slotting into a complementary role alongside Dončić and Reaves, posting by far the lowest usage rate of his career (he’s actually fourth on the Lakers, behind Nick Smith Jr.!) and the lowest average time of possession in the 13 seasons for which Second Spectrum publishes tracking data. He’s looking comfortable working off the ball, he has a sparkling 53-to-13 assist-to-turnover ratio, and L.A. has scored like the NBA’s best offense with him on the floor.
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And when the Lakers need him to crank it up — like they did in the fourth quarter against the 76ers on Sunday — it looks like he’s still got some gas in the tank:
There’s been a bit less gas, however, on the defensive end of the court, where the Lakers rank 20th overall in points allowed per possession — and where they’ve been worse with their big three on the floor. It’s a problem that first reared its head after Dončić arrived in California last season …
… and it’s remained one thus far this season. Lineups featuring Luka, LeBron and Reaves have been outscored by 15 points in 108 minutes, allowing 121.9 points per 100 while struggling to generate turnovers and conceding a ton of 3-pointers. That could be a problem against a Spurs team that has ranked 12th in long-distance attempts and ninth in 3-point makes per game since Wembanyama left the lineup, with Vassell, Champagnie, De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes all shooting better than 38% from beyond the arc in that span.
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Fox — who missed the first meeting against the Lakers working his way back from an offseason hamstring injury — has been fantastic, averaging just under 26 points and seven assists per game on .614 true shooting since Wemby’s injury. Rookie Dylan Harper — who missed that first meeting, too — continues to get into the paint seemingly at will, fresh off a 22-point, six-assist performance in Monday’s win over the Pelicans. Castle, who’d been off to a phenomenal start to his sophomore season before going down with a hip injury, returned to the lineup against New Orleans, putting up 18-5-5 in 23 minutes in his return.
The Spurs, obviously, would love to have their 7-foot-infinity top gun back on the floor for this win-or-go-home contest; unfortunately, Wembanyama’s not quite ready to roll yet. Even so: A San Antonio side that now has its full complement of backcourt firepower for the first time all season could pose major problems for a Lakers defense that’s yet to prove it can consistently get stops with its own top guns on the floor.
What comes next?
The winners of the single-elimination quarterfinal games will advance to Las Vegas, where the semifinals will be held on Saturday. The championship game for the NBA Cup will take place Tuesday.
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That championship game will be the only one in the entire tournament that won’t also count toward participants’ regular-season record and statistics. For those two teams, it will count as Game 83. The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals will each play one regular-season game against one another, too, with the games coming on Thursday, Friday, Sunday or Monday.
Making the quarterfinals guarantees every player on the participating teams a payout; to the winners, though, go greater spoils, with the tournament champion taking home the biggest bank.
For the inaugural in-season tournament, the prize pool operated in nice round numbers: $50,000 for each player on teams that lose in the quarterfinals; $100,000 for players on teams that lose in the semifinals; $200,000 for players on the team that loses in the final game; and a crisp $500,000 for everyone on the team that hoists the NBA Cup. The math has changed a bit year-over-year, thanks to a passage in the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players union stipulating that those prize payouts rise by a “growth factor” tied to any increase in the basketball-related income (BRI) that the league generates.
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BRI has gone up over the past two seasons; thus, so have the payouts: