Tag: Fox Sport News

Nate Tice & Matt Harmon join forces to recap the Houston Texans dominating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final game of NFL Wild Card Weekend. The duo discuss the Texans offense coming to life, how the defense shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh offense, their chances against the New England Patriots next weekend and what the future of the Steelers could look like.

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Mike Tomlin isn’t ready to talk about his future with the Pittsburgh Steelers just yet.

And in the immediate aftermath of his team’s rough 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs Monday night, which ended Pittsburgh’s season, it’s hard to blame the longtime Steelers head coach.

“I’m not even in that mindset as I sit here tonight,” Tomlin said when asked about his future with the team, via Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein. “I’m more in the mindset of what transpired in this stadium, and certainly what we did or didn’t do. I’m not in the big-picture mindset.”

There has been plenty of questions and speculation about Tomlin’s future in recent weeks as the Steelers had to fight their way into the final playoff spot in the AFC. While Tomlin has accomplished a remarkable amount in his nearly two decades leading the franchise, it’s easy to understand why.

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Tomlin has never had a losing record in his 19 seasons running the Steelers, which marks his only head coaching job in the NFL. He helped them win a Super Bowl during the 2008 campaign, and he’s been to the playoffs now 13 times. Undoubtedly, he’ll retire as one of the better coaches in the history of the league whenever he chooses to do so.

But recently, especially after longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retired, things have stalled in Pittsburgh. The organization has not won a playoff game since the 2017 season despite making it in five of the past six seasons.

The fact that some think Tomlin is on the “hot seat,” at least according to quarterback Aaron Rodgers — who may have played his last NFL game himself — is ridiculous.

“This league has changed a lot in my 21 years. When you hear conversations about the Mike Tomlin’s of the world, the Matt LaFleur’s of the world … when I first got in the league there wouldn’t be conversations about whether those guys were on the hot seat,” Rodgers said, also referencing the Green Bay Packers head coach.

“But the way the league is covered now and the way that there’s snap decisions and the validity given to the Twitter experts and all the experts on TV now who make it seem like they know what the hell they’re talking about, to me that’s an absolute joke.”

Tomlin has two years left on his current contract with the Steelers, and there is a team option on his deal for 2027. The Steelers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, have to decide whether to pick up that option by March 1.

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According to Schefter, nobody within the organization expects the Steelers to actually fire Tomlin. The Steelers haven’t fired a head coach since 1968. When Tomlin and the Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada during the 2023 season, it was the first in-season coordinator change the franchise has had in more than 80 years. The franchise simply doesn’t make these types of changes.

If that’s the case, the Steelers will only have a new coach next season if Tomlin opts to walk away from the game himself. And that’s certainly a possibility.

But any talk about that, Tomlin said, will take place Tuesday and beyond.

“It’s not time for talk,” he said. “We agreed we’ll meet tomorrow and go from there. When you’re in this single elimination tournament, there’s not a whole lot to talk about. You win or you go home.”

James Harden has moved ahead of an NBA icon.

With a 3-pointer early in the second half Monday against the Charlotte Hornets, Harden scored his 28,598th career point. The bucket moved him into ninth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, ahead of Shaquille O’Neal.

“The most dominant big man in the history of the game,” Harden said after the 117-109 win, reflecting on O’Neal. “It’s a true honor. It’s a testament to the work that I put in, and it’s all glory to God.”

Harden moved into the top 10 in December with a free throw against the Orlando Magic, which pushed him ahead of Carmelo Anthony. He entered Monday’s game with 28,582 career points, trailing O’Neal’s tally of 28,596 by just 14. He passed O’Neal in his 1,187th game, slightly ahead of O’Neal’s pace of 1,207 career games played. Harden reached his tally after playing his first three NBA seasons off the bench in Oklahoma City.

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The all-time scoring list does not consider combined NBA and ABA scoring. If ABA scoring is taken into consideration, Julius Irving (30,026 points) and Moses Malone (29,580) round out the top 10, ahead of Harden and O’Neal. Regardless, it’s a remarkable feat, even if Harden’s style of play has earned him a legion of detractors.

In addition to his immense talent and hard work, Harden’s game is very much a product of modern analytics, which doesn’t always produce compelling basketball for viewers. He has generated more than 18,000 of his points from the free-throw line or beyond the 3-point arc, meaning that roughly one-third of his points have come from mid-range or scoring at the basket.

Harden’s detractors would also be quick to point out that he’s one of only two players in the top 10 without an NBA championship; Karl Malone is the other. But while Harden’s reputation for foul baiting doesn’t make for the most aesthetically pleasing form of basketball, it’s certainly effective, as the numbers bear out. There’s no denying that he’s one of the great offensive weapons in the history of the game.

At 36 years old, Harden remains an elite scorer (25.6 ppg) with a chance to move further into the top 10. That said, he’ll be stuck at No. 9 for a while. Next on the list is Wilt Chamberlain, who is nearly 3,000 points ahead of Harden with 31,419.

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Then comes Kevin Durant (31,458 as of Monday), who passed Chamberlain last week for seventh and, like Harden, is showing few signs of slowing down, with 26.1 points per game in his age-37 season.

LeBron James is the only other active player in the top 10. His all-time record of 42,601 points (and counting) is almost certainly out of Harden’s reach.

NBA all-time scoring list

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 38,387

Less than 30 minutes had elapsed since the clock expired on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff hopes and, perhaps, on Aaron Rodgers’ career.

Less than 30 minutes had passed since the Steelers lost a game so thoroughly that their prized quarterback spent the final 2:39 on the sideline, as a franchise known for its black-and-gold Terrible Towels instead waved a white flag.

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So when Rodgers took the podium to address media and to reflect, he was predictably uninterested in sharing a declaration about his future.

His 21^st pro season was complete. He’d played in 17 games, playoffs included, fighting through fractures in his left non-throwing wrist to keep suiting up even as his 42nd birthday came and went. For Monday night, that was enough.

“I’m not going to make any emotional decisions at this point,” Rodgers said after the Steelers’ 30-6 loss to the Texans. “Such a fun year. A lot of adversity, but a lot of fun. Been a great year overall in my life in the last year, and this is a really good part of that, coming here and being a part of this team. So it’s disappointing to be sitting here with the season over.”

As he did following 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, the four-time MVP and Super Bowl XLV champion indicated he will take time before making any decisions.

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A darkness retreat may not determine whether it’s time for Rodgers to hang up his cleats. But a clear mind, rather than a playoff loss-tinted one, will assist.

“Just get away,” Rodgers said, “and then have the right conversations.”

Did he consider the possible finality entering Monday’s game?

“I’ve answered this before,” Rodgers responded when asked. “Every game could be my final game.”

So while he lauded Pittsburgh as “a special place,” speculation will continue about whether the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee will begin considering Rodgers for entry in 2030 or not until later.

ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” broadcast crew members, who have met with Rodgers for production meetings this season, indicated their expectations.

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Sideline reporter Lisa Salters said Rodgers answered a question about whether this season was his last with a “probably.” Color analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman said “I think we are watching Aaron Rodgers’ last game.”

“If I was betting,” Aikman added during the fourth quarter, “I’d say this is the last game we’ll see him play.”

Texans swarmed Rodgers all night, returning 2 takeaways for touchdowns

The Steelers’ offensive performance against a stingy Houston defense didn’t reflect the caliber of Rodgers’ career in aggregate. But how often do players truly leave on their own terms and at their prime?

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Rodgers has started 279 games, regular-season and playoffs, since the Packers selected him with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

His 50.8 passer rating Monday night ranked in the bottom 3 percent of his performances, his eighth-least efficient rating and seventh if one were to eliminate the 2023 regular-season opener in which Rodgers dropped back just twice before an Achilles tear ended not only his night but his entire season.

Rodgers completed 17 of 33 pass attempts for 146 yards, no touchdowns and an interception on Monday. He lost another fumble on a strip sack. The opportunistic Texans took both turnovers home.

With 11:34 to play in the fourth quarter, Texans defensive linemen Will Anderson Jr. and Sheldon Rankins swarmed Rodgers for a sack and strip that Rankins returned 33 yards for a touchdown.

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“At some point, they’re going to get a chance when you’re in a lot of one-dimensional passing situations,” Rodgers said. “I feel like we had to slide and chip to at least one of them most of the game, but they’re both All-Pro caliber players.”

Then with 2:52 to play, facing an 18-point deficit, Rodgers knew he needed to try something.

He targeted tight end Pat Freiermuth 16 yards downfield, Texans safety Calen Bullock jumping the route to intercept what could be Rodgers’ final NFL throw.

The 42-year-old quarterback ran after the 22-year-old safety in case he could stymie yet another turnover returned for a touchdown.

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But Texans slot cornerback Jalen Pitre instead pushed Rodgers out of bounds at the 15-yard line to clear his teammate’s path.

That sealed the decision on a night when the Steelers converted just 2 of 14 (14.3%) third-down attempts compared to Houston’s 10 of 15 (66.7%). Rodgers attributed the inefficiency to a bevy of third-and-long plays, problems scattered through Pittsburgh’s plays on first and second downs.

Drops, missed assignments and mental errors abounded, Rodgers said. He was surprised at how different the game execution looked from what he saw during the week at practice. Rodgers absorbed 12 hits and threw four batted passes on a pressure-heavy night. He didn’t attempt a single scramble and the Steelers never found the end zone.

“Against a good defense like this, you’re not going to get many opportunities,” Rodgers said. “When you get them, you got to make the most of them.

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“We just didn’t make the most of any of the little opportunities.”

2025 season may be the finale Rodgers was looking for

With his helmet already ditched in favor of a gray beanie, Rodgers watched the Steelers’ final six plays from the sideline as backup quarterback Mason Rudolph attempted one pass and five handoffs.

Rodgers didn’t express much emotion as he exchanged on-field pleasantries with Texans ranging from coaches and quarterback C.J. Stroud to the defenders who’d wrecked his night. He did not look up at the cheering fans as he crossed the sideline to descend down one set of concrete stairs and up another into the tunnel of Acrisure Stadium.

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Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, also a former Packers teammate, patted Rodgers’ back as they walked through the tunnel. As Rodgers entered the antechamber to the Steelers’ locker room, he turned and extended a hand to Valdes-Scantling for a shake and embrace, per footage from network cameras.

Then Rodgers disappeared into the locker room to join a team that head coach Mike Tomlin said didn’t need much in the way of a message.

“It’s not time for talk,” the 19-year Steelers head coach said after Pittsburgh failed to win a playoff game for the ninth straight year. “We agreed that we’ll meet tomorrow and go from there. But when you’re in this single-elimination tournament, man, there’s not a whole lot to talk about.

“You win or you go home.”

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Rodgers may go home and never come back to play in the NFL.

If he does, he’ll retire with an all-time regular-season record of 163-93-1 (.636), a career completion percentage of 65.1% and 66,274 career yards alongside 527 touchdowns to 123 interceptions.

Rodgers played this season as the active leader in passing yardage and passing touchdowns, per Pro Football Reference. He holds the all-time records for interception percentage — 1.4% — and passer rating, at 102.2 across his more than two decades.

One more sign of Rodgers’ longevity: the NFL-record 600 sacks he took.

And while Monday brings Rodgers’ all-time playoff record to 11-11 in starts, his 11 previous postseason runs included seven seasons with at least one win to advance. Following the 2010 season, Rodgers led the Packers to a Super Bowl title over the Steelers franchise he would later join. He wouldn’t go back to the biggest stage — but he’d continue to dominate with league records and accolades more than a decade later.

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So if this season is, indeed, the end for Rodgers, he’s made clear that he’s more comfortable with this finish than that of his two prior seasons with the New York Jets. Rodgers’ lavish praise of the Steelers and Packers on Monday night did not extend to the third franchise for which he played. His parting gift of defenses for Tomlin and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did not mention anyone who guided him in New York.

Rodgers seemed to set aside many of the distractions that characterized his two Jets seasons as he led the Steelers to 10 wins and the AFC North title while completing 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The winning season and playoff eligibility seemed to give Rodgers a sense of peace even if his final act, at least for this season, disappointed. His health comforted him, too.

“I felt good,” Rodgers said. “I think that was the one thing that was the most thankful for, other than the wrist that bothered me the last [half] of the season. I felt pretty healthy all season, so I’m thankful for that.”

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And he was thankful, he said, to play this year for the Steelers.

“I was fortunate to play in an incredible football city for 18 years,” Rodgers said. “And I never took it for granted and enjoyed that time there. And this has been a really beautiful backend to that first 18 to be able to be here for a year.

“This is a special place.”

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🚨 Headlines

🏀 Arizona, UConn still on top:Arizona increased its lead atopthe men’s AP pollafter Michigan finally lost, dropping the Wolverines to No. 4 behind Iowa State and UConn. Onthe women’s side, UConn became the unanimous No. 1 for the first time this season.

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🏈 LSU lands top transfer QB:Former Arizona State QB Sam Leavitthas committed to LSU, giving the Tigers the top-ranked QB in the portal,per On3.Keep up with ourtransfer portal trackeruntil the window closes on Jan. 16.

🏀 WNBA moratorium:The WNBA and its players’ unionagreed to a moratoriumthat will freeze free agency while the two sides continue negotiations around a new collective bargaining agreement.

⚽️ Alonso sacked:In a surprising move, Real Madrid havesacked manager Xabi Alonsoless than a year into his tenure following their loss to Barcelona in the Supercopa de España final. B team manager Álvaro Arbeloa, who played with Alonso at the club, will replace him.

🏁 NASCAR restores format:Starting this year, NASCAR willrevert back to its old playoff format, “The Chase,” wherein the top 16 drivers compete in a 10-race postseason with no eliminations. Whoever has the most points at the end wins the title.

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⛳️ PGA Tour takes direct shot at LIV

The PGA Tour-LIV Golf war had been quiet for nearly two years, but it just roared back to life — and the Saudi-backed Tour is now on the receiving end of the existential poaching threat it once dished out.

Driving the news: The Tour has effectively welcomed back Brooks Koepka immediately, albeit at a potential eight-figure cost, and other prominent players could soon follow under the same conditions.

• Koepka must personally pay a $5 million charitable donation, and will be unable to access as much as $50 to $85 million in potential earnings through various penalty stipulations.

What he’s saying: “There was no negotiating. It’s meant to hurt, it does hurt, but I understand. It’s not supposed to be an easy path,” Koepka told the AP on Monday. “I’ve got a lot of work to do with some of the players. There’s definitely guys who are happy, and definitely guys who will be angry … If anyone is upset, I need to rebuild those relationships.”

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Who else could follow? New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has created the “Returning Member Program,” which is designed to lure the three most notable remaining LIV golfers — Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith — to return alongside Koepka. They have until Feb. 2 to decide.

From Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee:

While LIV has always preached the gospel of worldwide international golf, its identity was built (read: paid for) on the star power of its most prominent, major-winning players, starting with Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, and later, Koepka, Rahm and DeChambeau.

But now, by providing them with a path back to the PGA Tour with a hard deadline, Rolapp is threatening to cut the one thread of potential relevancy LIV Golf has here in America.

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If all three were to leave LIV — or perhaps just DeChambeau — the tour would still certainly continue. It’s built up enough equity on the international circuit, and added enough international players of note, to remain a viable entity. And its financial backer — the Saudi Public Investment Fund — will never lack for cash.

But golf is built on star power, and despite handing out nine-figure checks, Rahm (who joined LIV in 2023) remains the most recent significant addition. The breakaway tour has achieved some successes, but it’s struggled to find ratings and narrative traction in America since Rahm’s much-heralded arrival.

Mickelson’s snub: Returning Member Program eligibility is “limited to players who have been away for at least two years and who won The Players Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or The Open Championship between 2022 and 2025.” Notably ineligible: Masters winners like Johnson, Patrick Reed and Mickelson, whose last major win was the PGA Championship in 2021. That 2022 cutoff seems oddly specific, doesn’t it?

🏈 Texans rout Steelers for 10th straight win

The Texans crushed the Steelers, 30-6, on Monday night in Pittsburgh to reach the Divisional Round for the third straight year.

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Defensive clinic: Though the Steelers hung around for three quarters, their offense couldn’t get anything going against Houston’s vaunted defense, which finally took over in the fourth with a pick-six and a scoop-and-score to clinch the blowout.

• The Texans not only won their franchise-record 10th straight game, but also notched their first-ever road victory in the postseason.

• Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has now lost seven straight playoff games dating back to the 2017 season, which is two shy of matching the longest such streak ever (Lions, 1992-2017).

Looking ahead: The final eight teams take the field this weekend in Seattle, Chicago, Denver and New England.

• 49ers (+7.5) at Seahawks: The NFC West foes split the regular-season series, with Seattle winning in Week 18 to earn the No. 1 seed. The Niners, down yet another star player after George Kittle tore his Achilles, have a tall task ahead of them.

• Bills (-1) at Broncos: Vegas isn’t high on the Broncos, who are just the third No. 1 seed to be an underdog in the divisional round since it was introduced in 1970. The other two were the 1971 Vikings (lost) and 2017 Eagles (won).

• Texans (+3) at Patriots: Either Houston — which, in case you’ve forgotten, started the season 0-3 — will reach their first ever AFC Championship, or New England will reach their first since 2018.

Super Bowl odds: The Seahawks are the current betting favorite to win Super Bowl LX (+300 at BetMGM), followed by the Rams (+320), Bills (+550), Patriots (+600), Broncos (+750), Texans (+850), Bears (+1400) and 49ers (+2000).

⚾️ Tarik vs. the Tigers

Tarik Skubal’s arbitration case is shaping up to be perhaps the most fascinating in the system’s 52-year history.

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$13 million apart: The two-time reigning Cy Young — entering his final year of arbitration eligibility — requested a $32 million salary last week at the deadline to file for arbitration, while the Tigers offered $19 million. That $13 million gap is by far the largest in MLB history.

• The $32 million figure requested by Skubal, who earned $10.2 million last season, would break the record for the largest one-year deal for an arbitration-eligible player (Juan Soto, $31M).

• Now, unless he and the Tigers reach an unlikely settlement in the coming weeks, it will be up to a panel of independent arbitrators to decide what Skubal’s paycheck looks like this summer.

Arbitration, explained: Players with between three and six years of MLB service time are eligible for salary arbitration, wherein the player and team both file a salary figure for the upcoming season. They can continue negotiating and avoid arbitration if they reach a settlement, but otherwise they head to a formal hearing.

• At the hearing, each side has one hour to present their case to a three-person panel, as well as 30 minutes for rebuttal. Those arguments are generally comp-driven, based on what players with similar age, service time and performance have earned in the past.

• Then it’s up to the arbitrators to decide one number or the other — no middle ground. If they think the player is worth even $1 more than the mid-point of the two numbers, they’ll choose his salary request; if they think he’s worth $1 less, they’ll choose the team’s proposal.

The wrinkle in Skubal’s case: Though Skubal will almost certainly fetch more than $32 million annually when he hits the open market this fall as a free agent, the Tigers will be hoping the arbitrators stick to precedent when making their decision, as $32 million would shatter the record for biggest arbitration salary for a starting pitcher ($19.75M to David Price in 2015). His $22 million increase in salary would also shatter the record for biggest arbitration raise ($9.6M for Jacob deGrom in 2019).

• Skubal’s precedent-breaking strategy, on the other hand, hinges on a pair of provisions in the CBA that provide a boost to arbitration-eligible players with more than five years of service time and any “special accomplishments” like setting records or winning awards.

• In other words, the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner is uniquely suited to argue for this record-breaking sum after going 31-10 across the last two seasons with a sterling 2.30 ERA, 469 strikeouts and just 68 walks.

Between the lines: Skubal, a Scott Boras client, won’t sign an extension this close to free agency. And at this point, particularly after what could be an acrimonious arbitration hearing in early February, Detroit may be more likely to trade than retain him. If they’re heading in that direction, a lower salary will increase Skubal’s trade value, which could explain the Tigers’ lowball offer.

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💯 Big numbers

🏒 19 games

Connor McDavid extended his career-best point streak to 19 games on Monday with two assists in Edmonton’s 4-1 win over Chicago. He has 44 points during the streak (19 goals, 25 assists) to give him 80 on the season, one shy of Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead.

Elite company: McDavid becomes just the fourth player in NHL history to record 10 consecutive 80-point seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk and Phil Esposito.

🎓 $127 million

NIL Go cleared $127 million in deals through its first six months of operation, the College Sports Commission announced Monday. The clearinghouse, operated by Deloitte, launched in June following approval of the House settlement.

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Athlete breakdown: The 17,845 deals submitted to NIL Go between June 11 and December 31 came from nearly 11,000 unique athletes across 40 different sports, the CSC said. 44% of those athletes play a sport other than football or men’s basketball.

🏀 28,614 points

James Harden moved into ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list during Monday’s win over the Hornets, overtaking Shaquille O’Neal. He passed him in his 1,187th game, slightly ahead of Shaq’s pace of 1,207 career games played.

Looking ahead: At 36 years old, Harden remains an elite scorer (25.6 ppg) with a chance to move further into the top 10. That said, he’ll be stuck at No. 9 for a while. Next on the list is Wilt Chamberlain, who is nearly 3,000 points ahead of him with 31,419.

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🏈 17th season

Matthew Stafford is the second player in NFL history to be named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his 17th season or later. He joins longtime kicker Gary Anderson, who was also named to the first team in his 17th season, in 1998.

In terms of QBs? Before Stafford, the longest wait for a quarterback was Fran Tarkenton, who was an All-Pro for the first time in his 15th season, in 1975.

📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, Jan. 13

🏀 Spurs at Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the first-place Thunder host Victor Wembanyama and the second-place Spurs tonight (8pm ET, NBC) in a potential Western Conference Finals preview.

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OKC’s kryptonite: Though the Thunder (33-7) remain 5.5 games clear of the Spurs (27-12), San Antonio has won all three meetings so far this season. Yes, the Spurs are responsible for nearly half of OKC’s losses.

More to watch:

• 🏒 NHL: Red Wings at Bruins(7:30pm, TNT); Stars at Ducks(10pm, TNT)… Detroit (28-15-4) is second in the East and Dallas (27-10-9) is second in the West.

• 🏀 NCAAM: No. 16 Virginia at No. 20 Louisville(7pm, ESPN2); No. 2 Iowa State at Kansas(9pm, ESPN); No. 3 UConn at No. 25 Seton Hall(8pm, truTV)… Undefeated Iowa State has its highest ranking in program history.

• ⛳️ TGL: Jupiter Links vs. New York(7pm, ESPN)… Akshay Bhatia, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner vs. Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young.

• ⚽️ EFL Cup: Newcastle vs. Manchester City(3pm, Paramount+)… Semifinal.

Today’s full slate.

🏈 NFL trivia

Question: Where did the eight remaining starting NFL QBs attend college?

Hint: Two played at multiple schools.

Answer at the bottom.

📸 Photo finish

Minnesota hosted the “Hughes Bowl” on Monday, with Jack and Luke’s Devils emerging victorious over Quinn’s Wild.

Flashback: The original “Hughes Bowl” took place many years ago when the three brothers faced off in the family living room.

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_________________________________________________________________________________

Trivia answer: Allen (Wyoming), Darnold (USC), Maye (UNC), Nix (Auburn and Oregon), Stafford (Georgia), Purdy (Iowa State), Stroud (Ohio State), Williams (Oklahoma and USC)

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It feels like just yesterday that much of the NBA-discussing world was wondering whether the Oklahoma City Thunder were not only about to smash the league’s all-time record for wins in a single season, but whether the defending NBA champions’ two-way dominance had become so all-consuming and so inescapable that it would lead even teams with title aspirations of their own to just punt on the pursuit.

It feels like just yesterday, but it wasn’t. It was in the Long, Long Ago of Three Weeks Back. The Before Time — the era when the gravest crisis in Oklahoma City was the Thunder losing a second game, this one to a just-returned alien.

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But a funny thing happened on the way to history: The Thunder lost a third. And a fourth. And a fifth. And a SIXTH. And a SEVENTH — to the Charlotte Hornets, of all teams, in what was, by some reckonings, one of the most surprising blowout results in decades.

Suddenly, a team that was on pace to sprint past 73 wins had been playing .500 ball for the better part of a month. It came vanishingly close to falling south of that border last Wednesday, too, needing a fourth-quarter comeback and some Shai Gilgeous-Alexander heroics just to hold off the Utah Jazz, owners of the NBA’s worst defense, at home. And on Friday, the Thunder had to rally from 21 points down to beat the underwhelming Grizzlies, 117-116.

Wins are wins; you don’t have to apologize for taking them where they come, and the Thunder deserve credit for righting the ship with three straight victories heading into Tuesday’s eagerly anticipated rematch with San Antonio. They aren’t all created equally, though — and barely avoiding another couple of slip-ups hasn’t done tons to quell the concerns of those now wondering how what had previously looked like such a historic team can suddenly look so humble.

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Thunder swingman Jalen Williams offered a pretty balanced take on that following the narrow escape against Utah:

“I think everything’s about perspective,” Williams said. “This is going to sound cocky, but the last three years, we win so much that when we have a normal, human stretch of losing a game or two that we shouldn’t have lost, the world freaks out. […] Like, we’re not superheroes. We have human moments. We get physically and mentally tired throughout the season. And I feel like that kind of showed, just in that stretch, and that’s something that we just get to work on, get better with.”

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It’s a dramatic shift in tone from the “Are they going to win 75 games???” talk that some of us engaged in, but the man’s got some points. (And, to be fair: It’s not like he was the one putting the 2025-26 Thunder next to the 2015-16 Warriors.)

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Since the start of the 2023-24 season, nobody has more wins (158) or a higher winning percentage (.775) than Oklahoma City. When a team wins more than three-fourths of the time, there aren’t exactly a whole lot of opportunities to get used to it losing consecutive games — which the Thunder have done twice in the last few weeks after doing it twice all of last season — let alone experiencing an extended stretch of malaise. When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression; when you’re accustomed to a 60- or 70-win pace, .500 ball feels like a crisis.

NBA Cup hangover?

The “physically and mentally tired” thing might have some legs. On this week’s episode of The Big Number, Tom Haberstroh and I looked into whether teams, like the Thunder, that make the semifinals of the NBA Cup experience a “hangover” in the weeks following their trips to Las Vegas …

… and while the sample size is still small, the number of games those Vegas teams have played lately isn’t. Sunday’s win over the Heat marked Oklahoma City’s 14th game in 25 days since the end of the tournament — a stretch that has included four back-to-backs. Nine NBA teams have played 14 games in that span, including all four semifinalists (the Knicks, Spurs, Thunder and Magic), with a combined record of 63-63 — a .500 winning percentage. By contrast, the 11 teams that have played 12 or fewer games in that same timeframe have gone 69-61 — a .531 winning percentage.

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Your mileage may vary on just how much you think a couple of extra games’ worth of miles over a couple of weeks add up. It might show up, though, in the legs on your jumper, where a Thunder team that was splashing 38.1% of its 3-point shots through its 24-1 start, fifth-best in the NBA, has dropped down to 31.2% since its NBA Cup semifinal loss, third-worst in the league in that span.

It’s been a contagious cold snap for a Thunder offense that ranked fourth in offensive efficiency through 25 games and has dropped to 13th since, with rotation mainstays Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe all shooting well below or just above 40% from the field over the past three-plus weeks, and SGA, J-Dub, Wallace, Wiggins and Alex Caruso all under or barely over 30% from 3-point land.

Injury issues

The absence of starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, who’s missed the last eight games with a right calf strain, hurts, too. With him on the floor, the Thunder grab offensive rebounds at a top-10 rate. With him on the sideline, they perform like the worst offensive rebounding team in the league — a particular bummer when there are more misses to corral than there used to be. (OKC dropping from a top-five defensive rebounding team through its 24-1 start to 18th in clearing the defensive boards during this lull hasn’t helped, either.)

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Some of those misses have been coming off the right hand of Williams, who began his ascent as Gilgeous-Alexander’s running buddy two seasons ago and cemented himself as a cornerstone in his own right last season, earning All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive honors and authoring an iconic 40-point performance in the NBA Finals to help propel the Thunder to the championship. After missing the first 19 games of the season rehabilitating following offseason surgery on his right wrist, though, Williams has struggled to recover his shooting touch.

Williams’ accuracy is down from midrange and beyond the arc, contributing to a true shooting percentage of .544, which would be the worst mark of his four-year NBA career. It’s also one of the worst among high-volume offensive players in the league thus far this season: Of the 55 players this season who’ve played at least 500 minutes and have a usage rate of 25% or higher, Williams’ TS% ranks 49th — ahead of only Jordan Poole, Shaedon Sharpe, Brandon Miller, Jeremiah Fears, Russell Westbrook and Ja Morant.

It seems reasonable to give Williams a little bit of grace amid his shooting slump, considering it’s only been six weeks since he came back from surgery to repair an injury that literally forced him to re-learn how to shoot the basketball, and that he’s trying to get back to full speed without the benefit of training camp or preseason. A player using that many possessions that inefficiently does have an impact on your offense, though: The Thunder are scoring like a just-above-league-average unit in J-Dub’s minutes, and at a bottom-five rate in the minutes he’s played without Gilgeous-Alexander.

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‘It’s a competitive privilege’

Another place that the additional post-Cup workload could show up? Execution in close-and-late situations.

Heading into the semifinal against San Antonio, the Thunder were 9-1 in “clutch” games — defined by the NBA as contests in which the score was within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime — with a league-best 136.7 offensive rating and just three turnovers in 90 crunch-time minutes. Since? They’re 3-3 in the clutch with a 120.3 offensive rating, shooting just 22-for-58 (37.9%) from the field and 7-for-27 (25.9%) from 3-point range.

One of those losses — a 108-105 defeat at the hands of the better-than-anyone-outside-Phoenix-imagined-they-could-be Suns — came on an absolute honey of a game-winner by Devin Booker; sometimes, great offense beats even the best defense on the planet. That’s the thing, though. For two months, the only pathways to beating the Thunder seemed to be “get them to run out of gas on the second night of a back-to-back on the road” or “have a gigantic anomaly and three star guards, and play perfectly.” Now, it’s become clear that there’s more than one way to get them. Now, you know they bleed.

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[Get more Thunder news: Oklahoma City team feed]

“It’s a competitive privilege to be a team that other teams are up to play for,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said last week, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “And it forces you to rise to that. And if you can, you really can get better and stronger as a result of that. And if you don’t, you learn the lesson. We got to learn the lessons in these ones.”

One of the lessons Williams has taken from this uncommon glitch in Oklahoma City’s unnervingly efficient opponent-mashing machine? Life in the NBA isn’t always so smooth.

“Every team this year has lost a couple of games that they wish they could have back,” he said last week. “We understand that it’s just like: How many of those can you limit during the season? And how much better can you get because of it?”

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The prospect of the Thunder getting better — by getting Hartenstein (and backup big Jaylin Williams, who returned Sunday after missing the previous 13 games with right heel bursitis) back in the fold, by thawing out those frosty jumpers, by doing a better job of finishing possessions — ought to be a scary one, considering they’re still, even in this somewhat diminished form, good enough to beat anyone on any night. (Well, maybe not anyone.)

What three weeks of hiccups have made clear, though, is that they’re not dominant enough to beat everyone on every night, irrespective of who’s in or out of the lineup. Especially when the price of wearing the crown is taking every team’s best shot, without a breather in sight or any quarter given.

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“You can’t be at a playoff level every single night in the NBA,” Caruso recently told Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic. “You’ll burn out. There’s no way for you to play like that for 82 games.”

Combine that with the vicissitudes of 3-point variance and the injury gods, and sometimes — even multiple times — even Goliath can get got.

Today’s article answers the question: Who were really the most valuable players in fantasy this season? Fantasy football analyst Joel Smyth goes through the top fantasy “WAR” players of 2025, aka “Wins Above Replacement” (via Fantasy Points Data). The notorious baseball statistic can also help identify the kings of fantasy football.

Quarterback

WAR MVP: Josh Allen (3.71 Wins Above Replacement)

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Josh Allen has finished as a top-two QB in fantasy football for six consecutive seasons. To show just how incredible that is, Jalen Hurts is the next closest with two such seasons! Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes each have done it only once over the last six years. Allen can win any fantasy week by himself, scoring 35+ fantasy points three separate times this season. His rushing boost will rarely result in bad weeks, making him easily the No. 1 QB taken off the board next season. In Yahoo leagues, Allen has only been drafted first two times in those six seasons. Don’t make that mistake again.

Top-5 QB Finishes

2. Drake Maye, Patriots (2.90)

3. Matthew Stafford, Rams (2.81)

4. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs (2.49)

5. Dak Prescott, Cowboys (2.43)

Running Back

WAR MVP: Christian McCaffrey (6.47 Wins Above Replacement)

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McCaffrey’s fantasy result has been a consistent cycle: finish top-two, get hurt, repeat. The average draft position has usually been lower during his elite, healthy seasons. He was the seventh player off the board in 2025 and scored 15+ half-PPR points in 14 of 16 games. And don’t worry, it continued with 26.4 points versus Philadelphia in the playoffs.

The injuries are truly the only thing keeping McCaffrey from repeating again in 2026. San Francisco battled through injuries, and McCaffrey’s rushing efficiency was nowhere close to overall RB1 status. In pure yards per carry, CMC ranked 38th of qualified RBs. However, with Kyle Shanahan as the coach and the receiving capabilities of McCaffrey, the efficiency on the ground is much less of an issue. The Niners RB led the position in routes, targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and nobody would be surprised if he does once again in 2026.

Top-5 RB Finishes

1. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers (6.47)

2. Bijan Robinson, Falcons (5.58)

3. Jonathan Taylor, Colts (5.44)

4. Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions (4.81)

5. De’Von Achane, Dolphins (4.70)

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Wide Receiver

WAR MVP: Puka Nacua (4.19 Wins Above Replacement)

The chemistry with Matthew Stafford, a QB who force-feeds top WRs, paid off in full this season for Puka Nacua. Even as a downfield WR, Nacua was targeted 166 times and had the highest catch rate of any WR with 150+ targets since Michael Thomas in 2019 (2nd-highest of 42 WRs in that span) with the Saints. Much like Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs in 2024, when a key counterpart goes down with injury, in a key part of the fantasy season, stars become league-winners. In the final five games with a banged-up Davante Adams on the sideline, Nacua averaged 26.1 half-PPR fantasy PPG — over seven more than any other WR.

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Top-5 WR Finishes

2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks (4.15)

3. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions (2.95)

4. George Pickens, Cowboys (2.92)

5. Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals (2.89)

Tight End

WAR MVP: Trey McBride (3.53 Wins Above Replacement)

Trey McBride is now in talks for 2026 first-round consideration after averaging 15.2 fantasy PPG this season and breaking the TE record for receptions. The last TE to be drafted in the first round was Travis Kelce in 2023 after averaging 15.9 fantasy PPG in 2022. The main question related to McBride will be about his scoring nearly 2x more PPG with Jacoby Brissett than he did with Kyler Murray. With so much up in the air in Arizona this offseason, McBride will have more risks than most former TE1s, similar to Brock Bowers this year.

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Top-5 TE Finishes

1. Trey McBride, Cardinals (3.53)

2. George Kittle, 49ers (1.66)

3. Dallas Goedert, Eagles (1.49)

4. Brock Bowers, Raiders (1.48)

5. Tucker Kraft, Packers (1.22)

Key Takeaways

The top six players in this stat are running backs. The positional value stays king in fantasy football, as they have the highest ceiling with much less depth compared to WR and QB. Even after the top players in fantasy, some of the top values in the late rounds of drafts came at the RB position, too. Javonte Williams and Travis Etienne Jr., both drafted in the 30s of RB ADP, finished above the WR3 Amon-Ra St. Brown in WAR.

When it comes to QB, yes, Josh Allen is the safe QB star, but ultimately, the late-round QB stays king. Allen finished 10th in WAR while Drake Maye (19th), Matthew Stafford (22nd), Dak Prescott (26th) and Trevor Lawrence (27th) all destroyed their late-round ADPs.

With their team trailing by 16 points with 1:57 to play, Toronto Raptors fans knew Tuesday’s contest against the Philadelphia 76ers was over. Knowing that game was already decided, the fans made a last-ditch effort to pay respect to a former franchise icon … and it worked.

With the game in hand, Raptors fans chanted for 76ers guard Kyle Lowry to get some playing time. Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse granted their wishes, subbing Lowry into the contest with just under two minutes to go.

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Raptors fans loved the moment, giving Lowry a standing ovation as he took the court for the first time all night.

Lowry, 39, had a huge smile on his face the entire time. He waved and acknowledged the fans and put his hand over his heart to pay tribute to them. Lowry’s 76ers teammates also appreciated the moment and were spotted smiling and clapping for the veteran.

[Get more 76ers news: Philadelphia team feed]

After the contest — which the 76ers won 115-102 — Lowry called the scene, “One of the greatest basketball moments of my personal career.”

While Lowry developed into a solid player in his first six seasons in the NBA, his career really took off after joining the Toronto Raptors ahead of the 2012-13 NBA season. The following year, Lowry stepped up his game, turning the Raptors into a surprising contender.

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That surge kicked off quite the run for Lowry, who made the next six All-Star games and earned down-ballot MVP votes during the 2015-16 season. Lowry was also one of the main contributors on the 2018-19 Raptors team that won the NBA championship. His success, combined with the team’s title, made Lowry a legend in Toronto.

Following the 2020-21 NBA season, a then-34-year-old Lowry left the Raptors to sign with the Miami Heat. He was traded to the 76ers a few years later and remains a bench piece for the team.

Lowry hasn’t appeared in many contests this season. The 39-year-old has seen time in just six games and is averaging under 10 minutes per contest when he gets opportunities.

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Lowry is clearly near the end of his career. While it’s unclear how many more chances he’ll get to prove himself on the court, Monday’s appearance is one that will clearly stick with him forever.

The High Score 100 — the top 100 players in Yahoo’s newest fantasy basketball format — is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production. Each weekly update captures who’s actually delivering value and who’s fading.

Here’s a breakdown of the biggest risers and fallers through the 12th week of fantasy basketball — with the complete High Score 100 at the bottom of the article. I’ll be updating my rankings every Tuesday throughout the fantasy basketball season.

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📈 The Risers: Breakthrough players shining

Trey Murphy III – FC, New Orleans Pelicans: 43rd overall (⬆️ 10)

Murphy has been going off since the flip of the calendar, averaging 31.3 points, 7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his last four games. He was a top-10 player in Week 12, posting 51.9 fantasy points per game and a High Score of 63.

Opposing teams interested in Murphy will have to pay a hefty price in real life and fantasy because he’s on a heater right now, and his value couldn’t be higher. For the year, Murphy ranks 48th, but I’m bumping him up a bit higher now that he’s been playing more aggressively while flirting with becoming the 1A option in New Orleans.

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Nickeil Alexander-Walker – G/FC, Atlanta Hawks: 65th overall (⬆️ 9)

Trae Young has been traded to Washington, enhancing NAW’s ceiling for the rest of the season. Walker has provided fantasy managers with 50+ fantasy points in High Score over the past two weeks as he continues to deliver a mix of points, rebounds, assists and steals. He’s enjoying a career year, averaging more than 20 points per game, and with Trae gone, he’ll continue to play north of 33 minutes per night. His rise from 74 to 65 is driven by his recent performance (top-50 over the last two weeks) and the trade, which secured his minutes and role moving forward.

[It’s not too late to create or join a High Score league, a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring]

Michael Porter Jr. – FC, Brooklyn Nets: 31st overall (⬆️ 8)

MPJ is too successful to be considered a Most Improved Player, but the numbers he’s putting up in Brooklyn are getting out of hand. Porter is averaging over 51 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks, ranking in the top-12 in High Score. The former Nugget is making a strong case for his first All-Star bid with career-highs in points, rebounds and assists. He’s the hub of Brooklyn’s offense, and it shows by his bump in scoring from 18.2 to 25.9 this year, along with his underrated playmaking.

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Teams have been calling about MPJ’s availability ahead of the trade deadline and the Nets could fetch a decent return for him given the way he’s playing. However, for fantasy, managers will want him to stay in BK, where he’ll continue seeing a 30% usage rate and shoot any shot he wants. He could legitimately finish as a top-25 player.

📉 Fallers — Vets hitting an atypical wall

Bam Adebayo – FC, Miami Heat: 69th overall (⬇️ 11)

Welcome back, Bam. It’s his second consecutive week on the fallers list because his offense is nowhere to be found. Bam’s slide continues as the Heat stagger through January with a 2-4 record through Monday. He’s been playing poorly since he went out with a back injury in Week 10. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, it looks like he doesn’t have the same lift or burst that we’re used to seeing. He’s also a guy who doesn’t make excuses and plays through injuries, as seen by him playing in at least 69 games in six of his nine seasons.

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It’s your choice if you want to weather the storm. It just doesn’t look like Bam is going to turn this around without time off. He hasn’t registered a 40-point fantasy performance in over a month and hasn’t scored 20 in a game since Dec. 15.

Zach LaVine – G/FC, Sacramento Kings: 92nd overall (⬇️ 7)

LaVine slips slightly from 85 to 92 as he remains part of the disaster that is the Sacramento Kings. For the season, LaVine ranks 118th in High Score after averaging 30.2 fantasy points per game. I still have him in my top 100 because he’s capable of a spike game each week. Still, it’s getting harder to justify keeping him there because, over his last five games since returning from a nine-game absence, his minutes have been anywhere from 28 to 37 a night. The rotation is a mess — plus, the Kings are actively shopping him, DeMar DeRozan and likely every other vet not named Keegan Murray.

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LaVine is still talented, it’s just tricky to extract much value outside of his scoring in an environment like Sacramento.

OG Anunoby – FC, New York Knicks: 90th overall (⬇️ 6)

The High Score format kind of shields OG’s inconsistency. While he’s posted 40+ point fantasy outings over the past two weeks, he’s averaging just 31 fantasy points per game over his last seven games. Most fantasy managers need a higher output to win their week. Anunoby is a player who makes for a solid spot start on a lighter slate, but it’s hard to trust him every game knowing that, in a crowded frontcourt, he can post some duds. OG is still in the top 100; I just don’t love the upside in High Score unless another Knicks starter gets injured.

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Complete High Score 100 rankings

The High Score 100 is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production.

The top player in High Score (and across all formats), Nikola Jokić, remains out with a hyperextended knee. Even though he’ll be out for multiple weeks, he’s far and away the best fantasy player in High Score. He’s the only player averaging north of 70 fantasy points per game and since his injury isn’t expected to keep him out long term, he should still be the No. 1 overall pick if drafting a team right now.