Browsing: Basketball

Oct 23, 2025, 07:47 AM ET

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested Thursday as part of a pair of investigations related to illegal gambling, FBI director Kash Patel announced.

The Billups and Rozier arrests were among more than 30 people arrested as part of a yearslong investigation covering 11 states, Patel said.

Rozier was arrested Thursday morning at a hotel in Orlando, Florida. The Heat lost their season opener to the Magic on Wednesday, when Rozier did not play due to a coach’s decision.

Billups’ arrest in Oregon was made as part of a separate but related illegal gambling case linked to an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia, according to an ABC News report. Billups is expected to make an initial court appearance later Thursday.

Also, former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones was arrested Thursday. He allegedly provided inside information about NBA games to co-defendants who used it to place sports bets, according to ABC News. Jones, 49, played for 10 NBA teams over an 11-year career from 1998 to 2009 and was a Cavaliers assistant from 2016 to 2018.

Sportsbooks in multiple states flagged suspicious betting interest on Rozier’s statistics ahead of a Charlotte Hornets-New Orleans Pelicans game on March 23, 2023. An unexpected surge of bets — including 30 wagers in 46 minutes from a professional bettor totaling $13,759 — came in on the under on Rozier’s points, rebounds and assists, causing sportsbooks to halt betting on the veteran guard. Rozier, then with the Hornets, played just 10 minutes before leaving the game, citing a foot injury.

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Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, previously told ESPN that his client met with NBA and FBI officials multiple times in 2023. The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and did not find that any league rules were broken.

Other details of the Billups case were not immediately available. Billups has served as the Trail Blazers’ coach since 2021 and was on the sideline for their season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is an NBA champion and was a Finals MVP as a player with the Detroit Pistons, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Rozier, 31, is in the final season of a four-year, $96.3 million contract he signed with the Hornets in August 2021. The March 23, 2023, game was Rozier’s last of the 2022-23 season with the Hornets, who traded him to the Heat in January 2024.

His case stems from the betting scandal involving former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA in the spring of 2024 for his role in a gambling scheme around player prop bets. Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and admitted in court to manipulating his performance in two games during the 2023-24 season. He is awaiting sentencing in December.

Four men, including Porter, have pleaded guilty in the case. Two other men have been named as conspirators and have been in plea negotiations, according to court filings.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, said the league has been working with its sportsbook partners to combat attempts at manipulation.

“We’ve asked some of our partners to pull back some of the prop bets, especially when they’re on two-way players, guys who don’t have the same stake in the competition, where it’s too easy to manipulate something, which seems otherwise small and inconsequential to the overall score,” Silver said. “We’re trying to put in place — learning as we go and working with the betting companies — some additional control to prevent some of that manipulation.”

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  Michael C. WrightOct 23, 2025, 02:58 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPN in 2010
  • Previously covered Bears for ESPN.com
  • Played college football at West Texas A&M

DALLAS — Victor Wembanyama stood next to Julian Champagnie in front of the scorer’s table at American Airlines Center, admiring his work.

His conclusion?

“That was niiiice.”

Minutes earlier, the Frenchman pump-faked, sending P.J. Washington skyward, then took one dribble toward the basket for a thunderous, reverse windmill dunk that rattled the miked-up rim, sending the San Antonio Spurs bench into a frenzy. Pacing a 125-92 stomping of the Dallas Mavericks, Wembanyama showed off Wednesday all that he gleaned from a transformative summer that changed him physically and mentally.

“[I was] much more in control of myself,” Wembanyama said. “The mind, I’m not worried about [that] because I saw what it’s like to be confronted with potentially losing a lot, whether it’s your career or your health. So I’m not taking this for granted anymore. The body? I’m having more fun now that I’m not struggling to move as much. I know I still need to get better, and I’m still going to get better.”

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The blocks, dunks, shots, the refined footwork and post moves — not to mention the intuition to know how to best deploy them — belied the fact that Wembanyama hadn’t played in an NBA game in 8 months, 11 days prior to the win over the Mavericks. Residual rust was nonexistent as Wembanyama ran roughshod, becoming the first player since 1977-78 to score 40 points with 15 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 0 turnovers while shooting 70% from the field.

Wembanyama’s 40 points are the most for a player in a season opener in San Antonio franchise history.

“He’s been out eight months,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “So you saw him take the moment and play spectacular. But honestly, the most impressive line [is] zero turnovers. The amount of fundamentally sound plays he made tonight was impressive.”

Dallas started the game with its big lineup featuring Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II manning the frontcourt. Wembanyama chewed through that group, hitting 4 of 5 shots for 11 points with a block in the opening frame. Faking a pass out on the wing to Harrison Barnes, Wembanyama froze No. 1 draft pick Cooper Flagg just long enough to gain a step on the rookie for a driving tomahawk dunk. Not long after, Wembanyama set up No. 2 pick Dylan Harper for his first career assist. The Frenchman pump-faked Lively to get him into the air then tossed it back to the Spurs rookie at the top of the key.

Harper immediately flung it back to Wembanyama on a give-and-go for a two-handed jam over Lively.

“Man, the guy’s 7-3,” Davis said. “I think some of the foul calls were a little bit questionable. But when he’s 7-3 and stands in front of you, nobody’s going to block a shot. He’s shooting over the top. At that point, you just pray he misses.”

That is tough now that Wembanyama’s teammates have found ways to get him high-percentage shots. With 8:28 remaining before intermission, second-year guard Stephon Castle fired an alley-oop in transition to Wembanyama, who was streaking past Dwight Powell, for a reverse dunk. It’s clear that last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year spent the offseason working with Wembanyama on their chemistry.

Castle and Wembanyama either scored or assisted on 42 of San Antonio’s 60 first-half points as the Spurs led by nine at the break.

“[It’s] just a lot of reps, a lot of watching film together,” Castle said. “I feel like that helps and gets overlooked a lot. Being able to watch film with a guy you’re going to do a lot of pick-and-rolls with and have a lot of transition buckets definitely helped. Being able to know where he likes the ball at with a double-team, where they’re going to come from. Man, we’ve been working on that all summer, and it’s starting to shape itself out.”

Wembanyama notched perhaps his most impressive highlight of the night during a 10-point, third-quarter burst in which he shot 3-of-4 with 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Wembanyama smacked away a Lively shot at the rim that Castle quickly connected to initiate a fast break. The guard immediately tossed the ball back to Wembanyama, who faked inside before nailing a step-back 3 as Lively committed a foul.

Wembanyama completed the four-point play to boost San Antonio’s lead to 14 points.

“He is incredible. He is a different player,” Flagg said. “You can’t know what it’s like until you’re out there on the court with him. It’s something I’ve never seen before. He was great tonight, but we’ve got to do a better job of trying to just take away some of his looks, and we can’t foul him as much as we did.”

Johnson subbed out Wembanyama shortly after he connected on a 13-foot fadeaway that put the Spurs up by 30. At that point, Wembanyama admitted, he started to reflect on his summer of transformation and the long journey started in February by a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis.

“It feels like every day we try to lay a brick to build a huge mansion, and it felt like the job was done for the day,” Wembanyama said. “This is what we’ve been working for. This is what we’ve struggled for, for so long, and I just felt like it fits. I felt like I was in my place.

“We needed to make a statement in our locker room. The feeling really was that there wasn’t anything we really could have done more to help us today. It felt like we did everything we needed to do. We felt ready, and we felt like we wouldn’t have any regret about things we should have worked on or things we should have done in the summer. I was comfortable with the work we put in and with the preparation up to this point. Now all the dice are thrown in the Western Conference.”

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The Panthers’ 3-0 home record makes them an intriguing underdog against the Bills, who lost consecutive games before their Week 7 bye.

Moreover, Buffalo lost by 10 to the Atlanta Falcons, who failed to score in a 30-0 road loss to Carolina in Week 3. If you followed that, this should be a competitive game that makes you sweat while on the Bills’ side.

However, Buffalo is coming off a bye week, and Carolina will likely start 37-year-old Andy Dalton while Bryce Young recovers from a high ankle sprain.

With Dalton as their starting quarterback, the Panthers are 1-5, and they lost all five games by 10 or more points. The refocused Bills win big in Carolina.

Despite a unanimous choice in the Bills’ favor, a pathway exists for the Panthers to keep this game close. They can run the ball quite well, while the Bills field one of the league’s worst run defenses.Â

However, Buffalo is coming off a bye, with two weeks to prepare for that specific area. With quarterback Bryce Young out of the lineup, the Bills can load the box and concentrate on slowing Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard, without too much worry that Dalton is going to exploit the approach at this point in his career.

Otherwise, Josh Allen and Co. should be able to move the ball, even against Carolina’s top-10 defense.Â

BillsDavenport, Gagnon, Hanford, Knox, Moton, O’Donnell, Sobleski

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  Tim MacMahonOct 23, 2025, 02:32 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

DALLAS — On the first offensive possession of his NBA career, Cooper Flagg pushed the ball down the floor in transition, gave it up to Anthony Davis and soared into the air to catch the lob pass the 10-time All-Star tossed back to him, much to the delight of the sellout crowd at the American Airlines Center.

But Flagg couldn’t complete the highlight by throwing down the dunk. As the ball rattled out of the rim, he crashed onto the baseline, landing on his backside.

It was a sequence that foreshadowed the No. 1 pick’s NBA debut — a lot of anticipation, but a disappointing result for Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks.

Flagg went scoreless in the first half and finished with 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 125-92 rout Wednesday night. The 6-foot-9 Flagg started at point guard, a position he had never played until joining the Mavs, and committed three turnovers without recording an assist.

“Not great,” Flagg said when asked to assess his performance. “Obviously, didn’t play incredibly well, but we’ve got to move past it, turn our focus and start looking toward Friday [against the Washington Wizards].”

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The game was dominated by Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, who had 40 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Spurs guard Stephon Castle, the Rookie of the Year last season, added 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while pestering Flagg as his primary defender.

“He didn’t shoot the ball well, but he seemed a lot more poised than I thought he would be,” Castle said of Flagg. “I mean, my first game I was out there nervous. He made some good reads. He didn’t seem too rattled, so I think he’ll have a great year.”

San Antonio guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick behind Flagg, had the more impressive debut. He scored 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench.

Flagg, on the other hand, didn’t score until making a midrange jumper on the opening possession of the second half.

“Game one. I mean, he’s still a rookie,” said Davis, who had a team-high 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting as the Mavs’ offense sputtered. “You’re coming in and preseason was obviously good, but when that game one comes around [in a] packed stadium, national TV game … I’m not sure if he’s a social media guy or not, but you saw it — everything was No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and Wemby match up and all this stuff. So you start hearing it, and I’m not sure if it got to him, but it’s first-game jitters when it’s time for the real thing. So he’ll be fine.”

Flagg did manage to become the fifth Dallas player to record a double-double in his NBA debut, grabbing 10 rebounds in his 32 minutes. That list includes his coach, Jason Kidd, who didn’t consider the 18-year-old’s debut to be discouraging.

“I thought he played well. Now, the stat line is not going to say that, but no one in this room is sitting in his shoes. As a rookie, he did fine and he’s going to learn from this game. We all will, and we’ll be better next time we take the floor,” Kidd said.

According to ESPN Research, the Mavs scored only eight points on the 19 possessions that Flagg brought the ball up the floor. He is listed as the point guard in a supersized lineup in which 6-foot-6 Klay Thompson is the shortest player, but the Mavs intend to have forwards P.J. Washington and Davis share the playmaking responsibilities with the rookie in a system designed around player and ball movement.

“We just got a little stagnant,” Flagg said. “It’s early, so we got to keep working on that, figure it out, get our flow a little bit better.”

Flagg attempted only two shots from the floor in the first half. He came out of halftime determined to be more aggressive, going 4-of-11 from the floor in the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Mavs by a 33-21 margin.

“I thought Cooper played within himself,” Kidd said. “He took what the defense gave him. He’s making plays. He’s diving on the floor. He’s one that’s not going to go out here and just shoot every time he touches it. He tries to play the game the right way, and I thought he did that in the first half. I thought he was comfortable and came out there in the third, started looking to be aggressive to take some shots that he knocked down.”

The Mavs were outscored by 29 points with Flagg on the floor, the worst plus-minus in the game.

“I’m excited to keep going,” Flagg said. “Obviously it hurts, the first loss being like that, but I’m just trying to look forward to the next one, turn the page and get ready. We know we got to be a lot better than that, so just staying positive and staying ready and just being locked in on the next one.”

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NEW YORK — Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns revealed he is dealing with a Grade 2 quad strain, which led to his “will he or won’t he” status in the hours leading up to Wednesday night’s season-opening 119-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.

Shortly before game time, Towns declared himself fit to play, then scored 19 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes in a matchup between the two favorites in the Eastern Conference.

The decision to play Towns came after he was downgraded to doubtful on the Knicks’ injury report early Wednesday afternoon, then upgraded to questionable an hour later.

“I’ve been banged up, and I really haven’t gotten a chance to practice or play in the last two preseason games,” Towns said before revealing the severity of his quad strain. “I didn’t want to disappoint the fans. It’s not something that’s easy to deal with, [but] we made it happen tonight.”

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When asked if he was in pain while playing, Towns said: “It was hurting, for sure.” He didn’t let on whether it would affect his availability for Friday’s game against the Boston Celtics.

On a couple of plays, Towns used his frame to overpower Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley. He didn’t stray too far beyond the 3-point line, with just four attempts. The Knicks have emphasized playing faster, but Towns showed he could also still play bully ball on occasion.

A flurry from Donovan Mitchell (31 points) gave the Cavaliers a short fourth-quarter lead, but the Knicks quickly squelched it with a 14-0 run to take a 101-89 lead with 8:45 remaining. All the damage was done with leading scorer and Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson on the bench for his usual rest.

Towns shook off early foul trouble to have a productive night for the Knicks, who were already without two regulars: center Mitchell Robinson (load management) and swingman Josh Hart (back). Being without a third rotation player would’ve sent coach Mike Brown deeper into his bench during his first game as Knicks coach.

Towns’ uncertain status added intrigue in a game that already had plenty, including Brown getting his first taste of the massive expectations that await him after his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, helped lead the Knicks to their first conference finals since 2000.

Brown used 11 players in the opener, a somewhat new development from the previous regime, and the Knicks held comfortable leads for large portions of the night.

“This team is a deep team,” Brown said. “I give Leon Rose and his group a lot of credit. It’s my job to keep finding combinations that work. I got a lot of room to grow, too.”

He added: “I can learn on the fly because we have a lot of guys that can play. I don’t know if I’ll play 11 guys every night, but we like to play as many as we can.”

It wasn’t Brown’s first go-round at Madison Square Garden, but the energy was different for this season opener. He said Spike Lee greeted him before the game and that he was surprised Lee knew who he was.

Brown was asked if he took in a moment to feel the expectations from the outside world, and he pointed out the internal ones are just as weighty.

“Our expectations are extremely high. Whether we won or lost, it’s one game,” Brown said. “We don’t feel like we’re anywhere near what we’re capable of, and that’s what makes it exciting.”

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Oct 22, 2025, 10:24 PM ET

BOSTON — Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe wasted no time making his mark in the NBA, scoring 34 points in his debut to help Philadelphia rally to beat the Boston Celtics 117-116 in their season opener Wednesday night.

Edgecombe scored the most points in an NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain had 43 on Oct. 24, 1959, and the third most in a debut all time. He also set the franchise scoring record in a debut, breaking Allen Iverson’s mark of 30.

The rookie managed to stand out on a night teammate Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 40 points. The 74 combined points by Edgecombe and Maxey were tied for the second most by a duo in a season opener in NBA history, trailing only James Harden and Christian Wood’s 75 points for the Rockets in 2020.

YearPlayerPoints1959Wilt Chamberlain431954Frank Selvy35Wed.V.J. Edgecombe341974John Drew321955Maurice Stokes32

Philadelphia led by four with 22 seconds left, but it was down to one when Edgecombe missed a pair of foul shots with 9.1 seconds to play. Payton Pritchard had two shots for the winner and missed both.

Joel Embiid played for the first time since February, scoring four points on 1-of-9 shooting. The 2023 NBA MVP and a two-time league scoring champion had six rebounds in 20 minutes as he returns after a 2024-25 season when he was limited to 19 games because of a sprained left foot, a sinus fracture and arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Jaylen Brown returned from a hamstring injury in the preseason finale to score 25 points. The 2024 NBA Finals MVP is expected to carry a heavier load this year with fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum, who watched the game from the bench in street clothes, recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Derrick White scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics scored 16 straight to turn a five-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Celtics led 94-84 with nine minutes remaining before the Sixers scored eight straight points to make it close.

The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.

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  Dave McMenaminOct 22, 2025, 06:49 PM ET

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  • Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
  • Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — When the Los Angeles Lakers reviewed the tape of their disappointing 119-109 opening-night loss to the Golden State Warriors, coach JJ Redick said there was an important voice in the room as they sifted through the wreckage: LeBron James.

“LeBron was really helpful,” Redick said after practice Wednesday.

James, dressed in a suit and glasses, appeared stoic in his padded seat at the end of the bench Tuesday as he missed his first regular-season opener of his 23-year career because of sciatica affecting his lower back and right leg.

Although James won’t be reevaluated for another one to two weeks and sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania he isn’t expected to make his season debut until mid-November, he was active in the film session when the coaching staff pointed out how L.A. allowed Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield to shoot too many open 3s.

“We did a poor job of locating the lasers in transition, which was a point of emphasis of our defense,” Redick said. “Buddy Hield got two [3-pointers] off in the second half. Steph got one right in front of our bench in the first half. That was literally the second priority of the game, was locating those guys in transition. So, clean that up and again talk through that. … All of us kind of talked about that in film.”

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Redick said he encourages the discourse that the 40-year-old James can stir for the team.

“I told them him asking questions, him giving his input, us having a back-and-forth is so healthy,” Redick said. “I would like to have dialogue and back-and-forth and questions every single time we do film and teach. You got a question, speak up. If you want to make a point, speak up. It was good.”

Hield and Curry combining to shoot 8-for-19 from 3, while the Lakers shot 8-for-32 as a team, was just one of several problems for L.A. in the opener.

The Lakers also were outscored 33-18 in bench points and 35-25 in the third quarter, missed 11 free throws, and committed 20 turnovers, leading to 22 points for the Warriors.

However, members of the team said the film review allowed for clear-eyed perspective as the Lakers look to improve on that initial showing when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

“I think there were some glaring things that we can work on, which in some ways is encouraging,” Lakers guard Gabe Vincent said. “You find things that end up being 12, 14 points, and it’s like, ‘Oh, if we can clean that up, it’s a different conversation. That game looks a lot different.'”

Added Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt: “It wasn’t as bad as we thought it was. It’s a couple things that we can clean up on that could easily change the way the game went. And it’s things that are controllable. … So just locking in, focusing on those.”

Another thing that doesn’t appear to be as bad as it seemed is Luka Doncic’s health.

The Lakers star required more than an hour of treatment on the inside of his right leg after appearing to pull his groin late in the fourth quarter on the way to scoring 43 points in 41 minutes against Golden State. But Redick did not sound too concerned Wednesday.

“He seems to be fine,” Redick said. “I don’t think it’s anything major. He got some treatment this morning, and we didn’t practice long, but he was a participant in practice.”

Doncic’s availability will be paramount, especially with James out, as L.A. tries to build some continuity to start the season.

“Our team, by the end of last season, had a connective brain tissue,” Redick said. “We functioned really well as a unit whatever group was out there. We just don’t have that yet. We don’t have that connectivity where we all kind of trust and know each other on both ends of the floor and we know exactly what we’re doing.

“We’re going to get there. I’m very confident we’re going to get there.”

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  Ohm YoungmisukOct 22, 2025, 03:59 PM ET

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  Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
  
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Back by popular demand, the NBA Finals will have the large Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy logo return to center court as well the Finals script logo on the floor, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday.

The logos will be painted on the court instead of appearing digitally or via a decal, sources told ESPN.

Fans on social media complained during and after Game 1 of the past Finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana when they saw there were no Finals logo decals on the court.

The Larry O’Brien Trophy logo, shown here in 2007, hasn’t been painted on a court for the NBA Finals since 2009. It will be back this postseason, sources told ESPN, after an outcry on social media during last year’s Finals for it to return. AP Photo/Eric Gay

NBA commissioner Adam Silver noticed the discussions during the Finals and said the league would look into potentially bringing back the distinctive logos that came only on the NBA’s biggest stage.

“I’ve seen some of the chatter on social media around on-court decals,” Silver said on ESPN during the Finals. “People don’t realize they went away a decade ago because there were claims that some of the players [were saying] they were slippery when we had the decals on the floor.”

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The last time the large trophy was painted on an NBA Finals court was in 2009.

“Maybe there’s a way around it,” Silver told reporters during the Finals. “To be honest, I hadn’t thought all that much about it until I [saw] it [on social media].

“I’m nostalgic, as well, for certain things. And also, I think for a media-driven culture, whether it’s people watching live or seeing those images on social media, it’s nice when you’re looking back on highlights and they stand out because you see that trophy logo or some other indication that it’s a special event.”

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  Myron MedcalfOct 22, 2025, 05:48 PM ET

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  Myron Medcalf covers college basketball for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2011.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12 might boast the top two picks in next summer’s NBA draft — but both Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and BYU wing AJ Dybantsa say the NBA isn’t on their minds right now.

Speaking at Big 12 media day on Wednesday, Peterson — a five-star recruit and 6-foot-6 guard who is projected to go No. 1 in ESPN’s latest 2026 NBA mock draft — said he’s focused on helping the Jayhawks win this season, not the chatter about his future.

“I handle it by not even paying any attention to it,” Peterson told ESPN. “I’m just going to go out and play and win games.”

Peterson on Wednesday was tabbed as Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year and a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 preseason first team. Dybantsa, the 6-foot-9 standout who is projected to be drafted second, was named to the Associated Press preseason All-America team on Monday.

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The buzz around Dybantsa grew on Saturday when he recorded 30 points (10-for-19), 7 rebounds and 3 steals in BYU’s 90-89 exhibition loss to Nebraska. Dybantsa said playing a road game against the Huskers was a good experience, despite the loss.

“I think that not everybody had their best game. Some people had jitters,” he said. “It was the first college game for the freshmen or their first game with BYU or their first game on the biggest stage. I like the Big 12 level, but I learned a lot. I felt more comfortable getting into an exhibition and just getting to [compete] out there, getting to learn the away crowds, how away games are. I never really played a crazy away game, so that was fun.”

But the speculation about him potentially being the No. 1 pick — and maybe battling his Big 12 peer Peterson in the pursuit — is something Dybantsa has tried to avoid, too.

“I think me and [Peterson] probably have similar mindsets, obviously, playing with him since I’ll say my freshman year,” Dybantsa said. “I don’t think he is too worried about [going No. 1]. I think he’s just really trying to prove himself as a college player and he’s probably got the same goal as me: to go out and win.”

Peterson said his only focus right now is to be a great leader for the Jayhawks and adjust to college life.

“I lead by example and I’m trying to do all the right stuff, both on and off the court,” he said. “I think that’s good for the team if you can see a young guy coming in and doing that.”

Although Dybantsa and Peterson were the focus of Wednesday’s event, another NBA prospect’s name was mentioned, too.

UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, following his team’s 96-71 exhibition loss at Duke on Tuesday night, hopped on a plane to Kansas City with his players for Big 12 media day.

Dawkins, a former Duke star, said freshman Cameron Boozer — the two-time national Gatorade Player of the Year and projected No. 3 pick in ESPN’s latest mock draft — has the talent to excel at the next level after he scored 33 points (4-for-7 from 3) in the win.

“He’s terrific. He’s a great basketball player and he still has room to grow,” Dawkins said Wednesday. “I mean, I’m watching him out there and the thing that stood out more than anything is that it was a really good basketball game, and his competitive spirit, you saw him raise his level and that’s what the great players do. They’re able to raise their level in those moments and I saw him do that.

“When I saw that happen, I knew exactly who he’s going to be. He’s going to be a great college player and he’s going to be a terrific pro.”

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Oct 21, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

The NBA season is back! We made it!

The Oklahoma City Thunder begin their quest to repeat Tuesday night (7:30 p.m., Peacock) against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets after an offseason in which they re-signed 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Star Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to deals worth nearly $800 million.

Elsewhere in the loaded Western Conference, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors begin their first full campaign with Jimmy Butler, with their eyes on a final run to cap a decade of near-dominance, as they face off (10 p.m. ET) against Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers.

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In the injury-ravaged East, the Cleveland Cavaliers return a core — Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — that led them to 64 wins and a No. 1 seed last season. They face off Wednesday night against a Knicks team with Finals-or-bust expectations (7 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Then, the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama, after a serious health scare last season and a transformational offseason, play Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and the Dallas Mavericks, in a game featuring two of the most tantalizing teams in the West.

Will SGA and the Thunder repeat to begin a dynasty? Or can three-time MVP Nikola Jokic return the Nuggets to the Western Conference elite? Will the Knicks reach their first Finals since 1999 in the wide-open East? Our experts have cast their votes. Here’s who they think will win the East, West and the 2026 NBA Finals.

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Eastern Conference finals picks

Tim Bontemps:Cavaliers over Knicks in 7

Jamal Collier: Knicks over Cavaliers in 7

Vincent Goodwill: Knicks over Cavaliers in 7

Baxter Holmes:Knicks over Magic in 6

Zach Kram:Knicks over Hawks in 6

Tim MacMahon: Cavaliers over Knicks in 7

Bobby Marks:Knicks over Cavaliers in 6

Dave McMenamin: Cavaliers over Knicks in 7

Kevin Pelton:Knicks over Cavaliers in 7

Ramona Shelburne: Cavaliers over Knicks in 7

Anthony Slater: Knicks over Cavaliers in 6

Marc Spears: Cavaliers over Knicks in 7

Michael Wright: Cavaliers over Knicks in 7

Ohm Youngmisuk:Knicks over Magic in 6

Final tally (East champs):Knicks 8, Cavaliers 6

Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Western Conference finals picks

Bontemps: Thunder over Nuggets in 5

Collier: Thunder over Timberwolves in 6

Goodwill:Thunder over Nuggets in 7

Holmes:Thunder over Warriors in 6

Kram:Thunder over Nuggets in 7

MacMahon:Thunder over Rockets in 6

Marks:Nuggets over Thunder in 6

McMenamin:Mavericks over Thunder in 7

Pelton:Thunder over Warriors in 6

Shelburne:Rockets over Thunder in 7

Slater:Thunder over Rockets in 6

Spears:Nuggets over Thunder in 7

Wright: Thunder over Nuggets in 7

Youngmisuk:Nuggets over Thunder in 7

Final tally (West champs):Thunder 9, Nuggets 3, Mavericks 1, Rockets 1

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NBA Finals picks

Bontemps: Thunder over Cavaliers in 5

Collier: Thunder over Knicks in 6

Goodwill:Thunder over Knicks in 5

Holmes: Thunder over Knicks in 5

Kram: Thunder over Knicks in 6

MacMahon: Thunder over Cavaliers in 6

Marks: Nuggets over Knicks in 6

McMenamin: Mavericks over Cavaliers in 6

Pelton:Thunder over Knicks in 6

Shelburne: Rockets over Cavaliers in 6

Slater: Thunder over Knicks in 5

Spears: Cavaliers over Nuggets in 6

Wright:Thunder over Cavaliers in 7

Youngmisuk: Nuggets over Knicks in 6

Final tally (NBA champs):Thunder 9, Nuggets 2, Cavaliers 1, Mavericks 1, Rockets 1

Tom O’Connor/NBAE via Getty Images

Bonus! Who wins the 2025-2026 MVP Award?

Bontemps: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Collier: Anthony Edwards

Goodwill: Nikola Jokic

Holmes: Jalen Brunson

Kram: Nikola Jokic

MacMahon: Luka Doncic

Marks: Nikola Jokic

McMenamin: Luka Doncic

Pelton: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shelburne: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Slater: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Spears: Nikola Jokic

Wright: Nikola Jokic

Youngmisuk: Nikola Jokic

Final tally:Nikola Jokic 6,Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 4, Luka Doncic 2, Jalen Brunson 1, Anthony Edwards 1

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