'25-26 NBA Thread

[Billy Hoyle]

damn, Detroit sports fans cannot have nice things:   

https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/2034619856423649708

[MU82]

I'll go positive for you, Billy. Cunningham has a lot of wear and tear on him this season. If he recovers fully from this lung issue, he should have fresh legs for the playoffs.

[JWags85]

Luka goes for 60 against the Heat.  We know that Luka is a spiteful ass competitor and carries grudges, so the timing isn't shocking given the Bam fervor  

And just for fun and to shade the Bam joke performance a bit more.  Luka had 1 less point from the floor than Bam did (45 vs 46), did it on REALLY good splits 18/30 and 9/17 from 3, and thus scored that 45 in 13 less shots than Bam needed to get to 46.  He just didn't shamelessly conspire to parade himself to the FT line an additional 25 times like Bam.

Also, Luka already had 73 in one of the most impressive scoring performances of not just the 2000s, but NBA history (25/33, 8/13 from 3, 15/16 FTs is f-ing video game stuff).  Plus he's had 6 other 50 point games and scored 60 on with time for the Mavs.

Meanwhile Bam had one other 40 point game and only 35+ games in his career that it's longer than Luka's

[MU82]

Yes, Luka is a much, much better offensive player than Bam.

[Billy Hoyle]

Luka goes for 60 against the Heat.  We know that Luka is a spiteful ass competitor and carries grudges, so the timing isn't shocking given the Bam fervor  

And just for fun and to shade the Bam joke performance a bit more.  Luka had 1 less point from the floor than Bam did (45 vs 46), did it on REALLY good splits 18/30 and 9/17 from 3, and thus scored that 45 in 13 less shots than Bam needed to get to 46.  He just didn't shamelessly conspire to parade himself to the FT line an additional 25 times like Bam.

Also, Luka already had 73 in one of the most impressive scoring performances of not just the 2000s, but NBA history (25/33, 8/13 from 3, 15/16 FTs is f-ing video game stuff).  Plus he's had 6 other 50 point games and scored 60 on with time for the Mavs.

Meanwhile Bam had one other 40 point game and only 35+ games in his career that it's longer than Luka's

I feel like this needs to keep being posted

[Billy Hoyle]

I'll go positive for you, Billy. Cunningham has a lot of wear and tear on him this season. If he recovers fully from this lung issue, he should have fresh legs for the playoffs.

It is giving Huerter a chance to get some game time as a Piston, and so far is assist/turnover ratio is 26 to 6. My biggest concern is the timeline for Cunningham's return, it seems a little aggressive right now.

That said, even a healthy Pistons team is not beating Boston with Tatum back.

[wadesworld]

It's going to be hilarious when the NBA hammers the Bucks for "tanking" when they SHOULD have been tanking for months now, but have been doing everything they can to NOT tank.  The NBAPA's argument makes no sense.  The Pelicans (well, Hawks since they traded the pick) have swap rights with the Bucks, so tanking doesn't even help them.  Not to mention, the Warriors are the team directly ahead of them in the standings, and are 5 games ahead of the Bucks (so, not getting caught for a better lottery position by them), and while the Bulls are tied with the Bucks, the team directly behind those to are the Pelicans who are both 4 games worse (not getting caught) and, again, own swap rights.

Maybe the Bucks are just protecting the, by far, most important asset they have when there's only meaningless basketball to be played and he's had 4 calf strains in the last 2 seasons, which we've seen lead to multiple torn achilles in the NBA?

The Bucks should have been tanking, but instead went all in on chasing the last Play In spot.  Hilarious that the NBAPA is going after the Bucks for "tanking," of all teams.

[cheebs09]

I'm curious if it's Giannis pushing the NBAPA on that statement as much as anything.

I also am not really sure why he's so eager to play. Heal up so you can be ready for your new team next year and not risk a Dame-like injury.

[Hards Alumni]

I'm curious if it's Giannis pushing the NBAPA on that statement as much as anything.

I also am not really sure why he's so eager to play. Heal up so you can be ready for your new team next year and not risk a Dame-like injury.

He is a competitor, and also chasing NBA records.

[cheebs09]

He is a competitor, and also chasing NBA records.

Maybe he could stop playing with Greece in the summer to let his body rest and be available.

[MU82]

From The Athletic:

The NBA is taking a major step toward expansion. The league's Board of Governors voted Wednesday to approve an exploration of adding two new franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle.

The vote, which required the approval of 23 of the league's 30 governors to pass, does not mean the NBA will definitely expand to 32 teams. But the league will move forward with a long-expected survey of interested bidding groups to put teams in those two cities.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7146445/2026/03/25/nba-expansion-seattle-las-vegas-vote/

I'll be really curious to see if there are multiple bazillionaires out there to invest in Seattle sports franchises, as the Seahawks also are for sale. NBA "insiders" are throwing around figures between $7 billion and $10 billion for the new Sonics - and that's in addition to expansion fees. One would think an NFL franchise would fetch more, perhaps considerably more.

As for Vegas, can that market really support four pro sports franchises? Maybe it can.

[Hards Alumni]

From The Athletic:

The NBA is taking a major step toward expansion. The league's Board of Governors voted Wednesday to approve an exploration of adding two new franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle.

The vote, which required the approval of 23 of the league's 30 governors to pass, does not mean the NBA will definitely expand to 32 teams. But the league will move forward with a long-expected survey of interested bidding groups to put teams in those two cities.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7146445/2026/03/25/nba-expansion-seattle-las-vegas-vote/

I'll be really curious to see if there are multiple bazillionaires out there to invest in Seattle sports franchises, as the Seahawks also are for sale. NBA "insiders" are throwing around figures between $7 billion and $10 billion for the new Sonics - and that's in addition to expansion fees. One would think an NFL franchise would fetch more, perhaps considerably more.

As for Vegas, can that market really support four pro sports franchises? Maybe it can.

There are already too many completely noncompetitive teams.  Adding more will make the product worse.  Sure some folks will get rich, but I think expansion is a terrible idea for the NBA.

[Uncle Rico]

There are already too many completely noncompetitive teams.  Adding more will make the product worse.  Sure some folks will get rich, but I think expansion is a terrible idea for the NBA.

Expansion mixed with relegation would be the way to go

[wadesworld]

There are already too many completely noncompetitive teams.  Adding more will make the product worse.  Sure some folks will get rich, but I think expansion is a terrible idea for the NBA.

Yup.

"Tanking is a GIANT issue!"

Also, "Let's add 2 more teams so there are more bottom feeders every year!"

[MU82]

There are already too many completely noncompetitive teams.  Adding more will make the product worse.  Sure some folks will get rich, but I think expansion is a terrible idea for the NBA.

Although it will be fun to have an NBA team in my town, I agree with you. If the NBA really wants a team in Seattle, it should move one of the financially underperforming current teams there.

But it doesn't matter if we agree, because the NBA is gonna expand.