Browsing: Kevin

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  Michael C. WrightOct 21, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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

HOUSTON — IT’S LATEon a muggy October night, and Kevin Durant refuses to come to grips with reality while heading for the exit at the Toyota Center on the heels of his Rockets preseason debut, a 140-127 win over the Utah Jazz.

Entering his 19th season, Durant has won MVP, two NBA championships and two Finals MVP awards to go with four Olympic gold medals and 15 trips to the NBA All-Star Game. Yet at this stage of his career, Durant doggedly pursues a goal he’ll never achieve.

Perfection.

“What you mean I never will?” Durant asks, half smiling.

Since Durant won his second ring with the Golden State Warriors in 2018, he has had stints with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns that came to unceremonious exits. Six seasons later, Durant finds himself in what might be his best — and final — chance at winning a third ring.

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Fifty days after the Rockets walked off their home floor dejected in the wake of a Game 7 loss to the Warriors in the first round of the 2024-25 playoffs, news broke that Houston and the Suns had agreed to a trade in a deal involving seven teams that would send Durant to the Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the draft and five second-round picks.

The move instantly transformed Houston from a team on the rise — it was coming off its first 50-win season since 2018-19 and has 10 players on the roster age 28 or younger — to a contender with Durant powering the offensive engine. The veteran signed to a two-year, $90 million extension on Sunday that includes a player option for 2027-28.

“Kevin has always been a problem,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka told ESPN. “He elevates our whole group.”

Durant, for his part, sees Houston as his best chance at capturing a third ring. But more than that, he likes that this staff “lets me be me.”

“I won’t consistently play perfect games,” Durant said. “But my jump shot is pretty solid. My handles are pretty solid. It’s just a challenge that I enjoy: perfecting something. Well, you’ll never be perfect. But trying to get there in the small amount of time that I’ve got left in this game, why not?”

General manager Rafael Stone sat in his glass-walled office at the Memorial Hermann Houston Rockets training center overlooking his team’s practice and pondered whether the club’s new star, who was set to make his Rockets debut the following night, would ever reach his elusive goal.

“You can’t,” Stone said. “But you should try. It’s a really good lesson for how to approach the game for our younger guys. He’s very interested in the craft and very uninterested, at this stage, in the things that come along with it.

“There are so many things that come with being a star NBA player. At this stage, the one he’s most interested in by orders of magnitude is perfecting the craft. We’re pretty committed to keeping the main thing the main thing. So, we want him to be the player on the court that he can be. We’re not going to ask of him anything else.”

Houston opened the preseason Oct. 6 against the Atlanta Hawks, and Durant watched from the bench in a grey hoodie as the Rockets captured a 122-113 win. An hour and 45 minutes before tipoff that night, Udoka announced Durant would take the night off.

Minutes later, the 37-year-old trotted onto the court in uniform, wearing mismatched socks and white tights and pulled the hood of a black sweatshirt over his head. Running through a near-game-speed warmup, Durant missed his first three shots from the corner before knocking down several in a row. For several minutes, he grunted audibly while swiftly changing direction on crossover dribbles that turned into midrange buckets.

Durant wasn’t playing that night, but inactivity wasn’t halting an opportunity to ply the trade.

“That’s my peaceful place,” he said. “Trying to perfect my craft.”

Kevin Durant played college basketball at the University of Texas during the 2006-07 season before declaring for the NBA draft, where he was the No. 2 overall pick by the Seattle Supersonics. Frank Franklin II/AP Photo

UDOKA QUICKLY GATHERED the Rockets in the wake of veteran Fred VanVleet’s season-ending torn right ACL in late September and emphasized a point the team expects to prove in 2025-26 with Durant taking a lead role.

The coach played the team a clip from the hip-hop cult classic film “Paid in Full.”

The main character in the film, Ace, suffers a gunshot wound to his head during a robbery, leaving him contemplating whether to continue his crew’s criminal enterprise. One of Ace’s business partners, Rico, wants the group to continue.

Udoka saw a parallel in VanVleet’s injury.

“If you’ve seen the movie ‘Paid in Full,’ he says, ‘[People] get shot every day, B. You’ll be all right,'” Udoka said. “I showed that clip to the team. I said, ‘People get hurt every day. We’ll be all right.’ We’ll figure out a different way to do it. That’s the message. You’ve got to figure it out, and we’re capable. That’s where our depth and versatility come into play. We can go several different ways: super big lineups, small lineups and everything in between.”

Durant figures prominently in all those scenarios as an offensive facilitator in the absence of the club’s veteran point guard. Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard and Alperen Sengun will take turns assuming the role, too.

Having played for five franchises in 19 NBA seasons for several coaches, Durant appreciated Udoka’s confidence in the face of difficult circumstances. Several within the organization credit VanVleet, a 2022 All-Star, with playing a foundational role in building Houston’s culture under Udoka.

“It just shows how in touch Ime is with sports, music, entertainment, culture; how he can connect with the guys on other things outside of basketball,” Durant said. “Those messages in those movies, those metaphors, they can help our team. That’s just somebody that cares about his team and is trying to use unique ways to get messages through to the guys.”

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As a player, Udoka often drew the responsibility of guarding Durant. Head-to-head, Udoka and Durant finished deadlocked at 5-5 in regular-season games. Once Udoka joined Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich’s Spurs staff in 2012, he found himself devising game plans to stop Durant.

When Durant agreed in 2016 to join the Golden State Warriors, Udoka was part of the San Antonio contingent in the Hamptons recruiting the forward, who took a meeting with the Spurs out of respect for Popovich.

Udoka also coached Durant with Team USA. They’d finally join forces in the NBA during the 2020-21 season while Udoka worked in Brooklyn as an assistant under Steve Nash.

Durant described the move to Texas as “organic.”

“We know who he is and we’re also not asking him to be something he’s not,” Udoka said. “We understand the way that he leads is not how everybody may prefer him to. But we understand the importance of his everyday approach, his professionalism, work ethic, and all those things rub off on a young group of guys. They want you to be a certain way, vocal or whatever. He talks more than people think. He’s not a rah-rah guy out in front of everything. But some of the people that have the most profound words are the ones who say less and say things at the right time.”

Durant’s comfort and familiarity extend beyond the ties with Udoka, who enters his third season at the helm in Houston. University of Texas teammate and close friend Dexter Pittman works on the Rockets’ staff as an intern, and former Longhorn teammate D.J. Augustin holds a role in the front office.

Durant’s close friend Royal Ivey, who also played at Texas and was Durant’s teammate on the Thunder, is a Rockets assistant.

“There’s a lot of Longhorns in the building I guess,” Udoka told ESPN.

Rockets veteran Jeff Green, 39, entered the league in 2007 with Durant as a Seattle SuperSonic, and they also played together in Brooklyn and Oklahoma City. Big man Steven Adams was a Thunder teammate of Durant’s for three seasons, and shooting guard Josh Okogie played with the 2013-14 MVP in Phoenix.

Green said Durant hasn’t changed.

“It was a new world for both of us back then, and we got to experience that together,” Green said. “We were always together, spent a lot of time together in and out of the gym. I always tell people that he’s stayed true to himself. He’s never tried to be somebody he’s not. People get it misunderstood about who he is because how he’s portrayed in the media. I think that’s a little unfair. But Kevin has always kept to himself, put his head down, and let the basketball do the talking. He’s a workaholic. And he’s been a close, close friend, a brother of mine since day one.”

Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors in July 2016. Durant won two titles in three seasons with the Warriors before leaving in free agency to sign with the Brooklyn Nets. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

TWO DAYS AFTER Golden State’s Buddy Hield dropped 33 points in Game 7 to eliminate Houston on its home floor in the first round of the playoffs, Udoka and Stone strolled side by side into an empty practice gym at Toyota Center seemingly content to run it back this season with that same team.

Arms folded in a cream sweater sitting to Udoka’s left, Stone seemed resolute.

“I will give you an inside betting tip that I think continuity is very, very likely,” he said May 6.

Then, all of a sudden, it wasn’t because of Phoenix’s steadily sinking asking price over the summer for a generational talent in Durant. In a sense, Houston was chasing perfection, too, at the cost of draft picks and a pair of its culture builders in Jalen Green and Brooks.

As the No. 2 seed in the West last season, Houston dripped confidence heading into its opening-round series against the seventh-seeded Warriors. Still, the question lingered internally of whether the Rockets needed to acquire an offensive engine to vault themselves to the next level. The postseason would serve as the ultimate proving ground for Houston’s young players.

Jalen Green held his own as the Rockets’ leading scorer throughout the regular season, averaging 21 points with Sengun adding 19.1 points, followed by VanVleet and Thompson at 14.1 points apiece. But over the four losses in that first-round series, Green averaged 8 points on 13-of-42 shooting for a Houston team that failed to reach the century mark in three of those contests.

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VanVleet and Sengun raised their scoring averages to 20.9 points and 18.7 points, respectively, in that series. But that wasn’t enough to carry Houston past a veteran-laden Warriors squad led by Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry.

Even after the disappointment of the first-round exit, “nobody was trying to move guys,” Stone told ESPN, because the organization believed it could still realistically chase titles as the young roster developed.

“If Kevin didn’t want to come and wasn’t available, we would’ve been fine coming back with the same team,” Udoka said. “We went into the playoffs looking at the big picture, like, ‘Let’s see what we’ve got with our young guys.’ The plan was to win that series and get more experience. But once we didn’t and were disappointed by it, we still took the positives from it and the plan was to come back with that same group.”

Durant’s availability changed everything.

“Jalen and Dillon, we love those guys,” Stone said. “Everybody does. Not a single person on this team felt they needed to be moved out. And you’re never trying to give away the 10th pick of the draft because that’s still a really good player. We did it because of the opportunity. Kevin’s a very unique player. His archetype is unique. He’s this high-volume efficient scorer who doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands 24-7. In that sense, he’s kind of a unicorn. He’s also a two-way player. There just aren’t a whole lot of Kevin Durants. We’ll just have to see how he ultimately fits.”

Houston ranked 27th last season in effective field goal percentage (43.8%) on off-the-dribble jumpers, according to GeniusIQ, and 24th in effective field goal percentage on all jumpers. Durant knocked down 50.9% of his off-the-dribble jump shots last season, good for second best in a season since player tracking began in 2013-14. His 49.7% on all jumpers that season ranked best in the NBA for players with a minimum of 50 such attempts, according to Genius IQ.

One of the most dangerous iso players in the league, Durant also led the NBA last season in points per direct isolation among players to execute at least 200 isolations. The Rockets finished last season ranked seventh in isolations per game but 27th in points per direct isolation, according to ESPN Research.

Including the regular season and playoffs, Durant has connected on 82 tying or go-ahead shots in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime, according to ESPN Research. That ranks No. 3 since play-by-play data was first tracked (1996-97), trailing LeBron James (111) and Kobe Bryant (101).

“Since I got here, we’ve taken jumps from 22 to 41 wins, and then 52 last year,” Udoka said. “You’re playing to win. You’re playing to advance in the playoffs and do some things for the first time. Well, the expectation goes way up when you get a player like Kevin here.”

Durant is on his fifth NBA team in the Houston Rockets. He has not reached the Finals since winning his second ring — and second Finals MVP — with the Warriors in 2018. Mike Stewart/AP Photo

DURANT’S QUEST FOR perfection seemingly disintegrated just 27 seconds into his preseason debut in Houston, when he fell to the floor after a 16-footer over Jusuf Nurkic rimmed out. Fifty-six seconds later, Durant squeezed past a screen set by Sengun, only for his 7-footer to clang off the right side of the rim.

Durant missed his first three shots as Utah built a quick 10-point lead.

“It’s always a balance every game trying to figure out where I can inject myself into the offense and defense,” he said. “I feel like I got some good looks early on, and they rimmed in and out. I just stayed patient and knew if those shots came around again, I’d be more focused and knock them down.”

Durant drilled his next seven shots to finish with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting with two rebounds, one assist and a steal in 23 minutes. Perfection eventually arrived after an imperfect start.

Five days later in Birmingham, Alabama, Durant snagged two rebounds before even taking his first shot — a miss — nearly five minutes into a 130-128 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He missed his first four attempts before connecting on 4 of 5 in the second quarter for 10 points on the way to finishing with 15 points.

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Interestingly, Durant started that game at guard in a gigantic starting lineup that also featured Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Sengun and Adams. The last time Durant started at guard in the regular season was Jan. 9, 2009, coincidentally against the Rockets, according to ESPN Research.

Like everybody else, Udoka understands Durant will never perfect the craft of basketball, no matter how hard he tries. But the coach believes teammates will eventually join Durant in those efforts.

That’s part of the reason the team traded for Durant.

“No, he won’t ever be perfect. But that love for the game is what it’s all about,” Udoka said. “He just has an old-school mentality when it comes to hooping. You love that about somebody who has accomplished as much as he has, that he’s not satisfied. He wants to continue to build and grow. That’s what drives him. You can tell every day he comes to the gym he’s going 100%, which is not always the case with people. There are certain people that chase the limelight and everything else. He’s not that.”

During their time together in Brooklyn and with Team USA, Udoka watched players marvel every day at Durant’s individual workouts at full game speed after long, grueling full-team practices. Just as Durant would start to transition into his individual workout, “you would see all the guys watching and a lot of them were seeing this for the first time,” Udoka told ESPN.

Count third-year veteran Thompson among the latest to witness Durant’s rigorous routine.

“The best thing I’ve learned from KD is just his work ethic,” Thompson said during the cooldown portion of a Rockets training camp workout. “Sometimes, I would think I’m going hard. Then, you watch KD. He’s damn near 40 and he’s going harder. He’s going super hard. He’s like [at] game speed. I try to incorporate that in my stuff even when I’m not working out with him. I’m just doing game [speed] reps because that’s what he does.”

Walking down the hall alone at Toyota Center after his Rockets preseason debut, Durant briefly stopped as Udoka tapped the forward on the left shoulder to congratulate him for a job well done.

On this warm night in Houston, hope hangs heavy in the thick air as summer transitions into fall. Having already participated in two ring ceremonies with the Warriors, Durant wants the focus Tuesday to be on the Thunder coming off their first championship, not his return to Oklahoma City.

Durant figures his journey toward perfection finally ends in Houston.

“I can see myself retiring here and being a Rocket until it’s over with,” Durant said. “And I hate saying this. I don’t know what’s going to happen on down the line. But as of today, yeah, that’s how I feel. I just feel like I’m at a good point in my career where I know what I do is effective on the court. Why not try to keep getting better at it, keep maintaining and keep focusing on new things to get better?”

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How badly did Kevin Durant want to be back in Texas — the state where he played his college ball — and to be on a team with a legit title chance in the next couple of years? Hereâ€s the answer:

Durant took about $30 million less than his max in agreeing to a two-year, $90 million contract extension with the Houston Rockets, a deal first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of that extension is a player option. Durant is in the final year of his current contract at $54.7 million and now is locked in with the Rockets for two years beyond that — and is taking a nearly $10 million a year drop from that salary to be part of a contender in Houston.

It was expected that Durant would get less than the max from Houston, but the expectation this summer was that he still wanted a nine-figure contract extension. This came in a little below that number, but it gives the Rockets flexibility in roster building over the next couple of years, such as signing Tari Eason to an extension but staying below the second tax apron.

Durant had Houston on his list of preferred destinations where he wanted to be traded out of Phoenix last summer, and he is a hand-in-glove fit for the teamâ€s needs — shooting and half-court offensive creation. The Rockets had an elite defense and a wealth of high-level young players and athletes — Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun are at the top of that list — but their offense in the halfcourt became stagnant and ineffective (22nd in the league in halfcourt offense via Cleaning the Glass). Durant singlehandedly changes that and brings shooting to the table.

Durant is hopeful he can retire in Houston, he told Chris Mannix of SI.com.

“Iâ€m looking to be here as long as I can, play my last years of my career. Thatâ€s the intent. I know, I said that about Phoenix, too, but thatâ€s the intent. I would love to do that. I mean, Iâ€m 37 years old and Iâ€m going on 19 years in the league. I want to be solidified in a spot and build with a team with a group of guys thatâ€s going to be around for a while. So hopefully this is it.â€

Last season, in a rough season for the Suns, Durant, 37, still averaged 26.6 points, six rebounds, and 4.2 assists a game while shooting 43% from 3-point range. He is still one of the best pure bucket getters in the game and exactly what the Rockets need.

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Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant has agreed to a two-year, $90 million contract extension, with a player option for 2027-28, his business partner and Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman told ESPN on Sunday.

Durant was eligible for a maximum contract extension of $120 million over two years but understood when he chose the Rockets as a trade destination that he would be sacrificing money on a new deal — in this case around $30 million — so that the two sides could partner for the long term and give the franchise team-building flexibility.

The 37-year-old Durant now holds the record for the highest career earnings in NBA history at $598.2 million based on current and future salaries, surpassing LeBron James ($583.9 million). Durant is earning $54.7 million this season and now has a total of three years and $144.7 million on his contract.

The Rockets acquired Durant in July as part of the largest trade in NBA history, a historic seven-team deal that sent Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10 draft pick Khaman Maluach and second-round picks Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea to the Phoenix Suns. The addition of Durant elevated the Rockets — the reigning No. 2 seed in the Western Conference — as a legitimate NBA title contender, teaming the two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP with young stars Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson.

A 15-time All-Star, Durant gives the Rockets a premier jump shooter and shot creator who fits seamlessly into the lineup. He shot an NBA-best 49.7% on jumpers and 53.1% on midrange shots last season and had the best shooting percentage on off-the-dribble jumpers (50.9%), according to GeniusIQ.

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Those are areas where Durant will make a consistent impact for the Rockets, who ranked 27th in effective field goal percentage on off-the-dribble jumpers and 24th in effective field goal percentage on all jumpers, according to GeniusIQ. The Rockets also ranked seventh in isolations per game but were 27th in points per direct isolation.

Last season, Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 62 games with the Suns. The future Hall of Famer has averaged at least 25 points on 50% field goal shooting and 40% on 3-pointers in three straight seasons, the longest streak in NBA history, according to ESPN Research.

Durant ranks eighth in NBA career points and can pass Wilt Chamberlain and Dirk Nowitzki on the all-time list this season if he scores at least 990. He has averaged at least 25 points per game in 16 consecutive seasons, the most in league history behind James (20 straight seasons). Durant has the most career points per game in Oklahoma City Thunder history, Brooklyn Nets history and Suns history and has the second-highest career points per game in Golden State Warriors history, trailing Chamberlain.

The Rockets have completed significant offseason business besides the Durant trade and extension. They reached new deals with coach Ime Udoka, Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams and Jabari Smith Jr., acquired Dorian Finney-Smith, Clint Capela and Josh Okogie in free agency, and re-signed veterans Jae’Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green.

Houston has the fifth-best odds to win the 2026 NBA title at 14-1 at ESPN BET. The Rockets open their regular season Tuesday night on the road against the defending champion Thunder.

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Kevin Durant was part of history in July when he was the crown jewel of an NBA-record seven-team deal that delivered him from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets.

Now the 2013-14 NBA MVP has agreed to a two-year, $90 million extension with the Rockets, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, turning a potential one-year stay into an opportunity to ride off into the sunset. The deal also contains a player option for the 2027-28 NBA season. The Rockets announced the extension Sunday but did not provide details on the deal.

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Durant turns 37 in September. He has played 17 seasons in the league, made 15 All-Star teams and earned NBA Finals MVP on both Golden State squads he won championships with.

Durant was on an expiring contract worth $54.7 million for the 2025-26 season. He was eligible to sign a two-year deal worth $122 million when he was traded. Had he waited until six months after that deal, he could have made an additional two million. Ultimately, that didn’t matter.

At this point, that kind of contract minutiae is secondary to Durant. He hopes to win a championship with the Rockets, who broke through under head coach Ime Udoka last season. Houston won 50-plus games for the first time in six seasons and secured the No. 2 seed in a strong Western Conference. Although the Rockets bowed out to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, the present and future are bright in Houston.

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Udoka was signed to a long-term extension that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA, as reported by Charania on June 19.

The Rockets got older, essentially swapping a 23-year-old Jalen Green for Durant, but Father Time hasn’t stripped KD of his consistency. The versatile, 6-foot-11 forward has averaged at least 25 points, 50% shooting and a 40% 3-point clip in each of the past three seasons — that’s the longest such streak in NBA history, per ESPN Research, and Durant has strung it together from ages 34-36.

While Houston also gave up a tenacious but sometimes reckless 3-and-D wing in Dillon Brooks, it signed another productive, two-way veteran wing player in Dorian Finney-Smith.

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Plus, the Rockets beefed up the center position behind All-Star Alperen Åžengün with the sign-and-trade addition of Clint Capela. It’s a Houston reunion for Capela, who spent the first six years of his NBA career with the Rockets.

Houston’s newcomers will join not only Åžengün, but rising guard Amen Thompson — an NBA All-Defensive First Teamer — and Jabari Smith Jr., among others.

As for Durant, he’s getting ready to play for his fifth franchise. Before joining the Rockets, he suited up for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-16), Warriors (2016-19), Brooklyn Nets (2019-23) and Suns (2023-25).

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Last season, Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in 62 outings. While the Suns had the highest payroll in league history, they finished just 36-46 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20.

Durant could put Phoenix’s disappointments in the rearview mirror with a memorable final chapter in Houston. The Rockets helped set him up for that opportunity with Sunday’s extension.

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Kevin Durant agrees to 2-year extension, days before Rockets debut: Report originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Kevin Durant is fully committed to the Houston Rockets.

Just two days before the team’s regular-season opener on NBC, the 15-time All-Star reportedly agreed to a two-year, $90 million contract extension.

ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the news Sunday morning.

Durant will have a player option for 2027-28, giving him the choice of reaching free agency in either 2027 or 2028. The deal comes in around $30 million under the maximum extension that he could have signed, saving the team $15 million per season.

The 37-year-old Durant, now with three years and $144.7 million total on his contract, now holds the record over LeBron James for the highest career earnings in NBA history ($598.2 million).

Extending Durant gives the Rockets some security after trading for the former Phoenix Suns forward over this past summer. He was set to hit free agency next summer, with no long-term assurance that he had to stay in Houston.

Durant’s scoring ability and veteran presence should elevate the young Rockets roster, which went 52-30 last season under head coach Ime Udoka. The Rockets then lost a grueling seven-game series to the Golden State Warriors in the first round after a four-year playoff drought.

Durant is a future Hall of Famer looking to add to his legacy, which already includes two championships, two Finals MVP awards, four scoring championships, an MVP, 11 All-NBA teams and more than 30,000 points scored (currently eighth all-time).

The Rockets’ 2025-26 season begins Tuesday, Oct. 21, against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on NBC and Peacock.

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The main word that springs to mind is stability.

In May 2022, Giovanni van Bronckhorst consoled his players in the sweltering heat of Seville as Rangers lost the Europa League final on penalties. It was a mesmeric and heroic run with a sting in the tail, but a Scottish Cup win was to follow just days later to soothe the pain.

Six months on to the day, the Dutchman was axed and the Rangers managerial merry-go-round began.

Since then, Michael Beale, Philippe Clement, Barry Ferguson and Martin have all been in charge across a period of just over three years, with only a League Cup win to show for it.

“They’ll be looking for a bit of help probably, guidance, just to get them a bit of stability,” said former Rangers striker Billy Dodds, who was part of the coaching team last season under Ferguson.

“There’s things that can help. I’ve been in there, we gathered it when we went in right away, got it feeling vibrant again, got it feeling happy, and then you get to the football as well.

“There’s a lot of things that can be done to help right away, but long-term, they need somebody who’s a leader, good at galvanising people, and then make sure that the guy they put in there is going to demand strong values and send out the right message that this club now is on the right path.”

Since Martin’s back-door exit at the Falkirk Stadium, it’s been under-19s coach Steven Smith, B Team coach Brian Gilmour, performance coach Rhys Owen and goalkeeper coach Sal Bibbo holding the fort.

Inside the dressing room Rangers do have experience. Jack Butland, John Souttar, Kieran Dowell and captain James Tavernier make up the squad’s senior leadership team.

Dodds, though, believes a strong figurehead is needed in quickly.

“He (Tavernier) can only do so much so,” he said. “Tav’s not a really outspoken guy, he’s a quiet lad, does his talking on the pitch.

“There’s a group, the leadership core in there, but I wouldn’t say that it’s the old-school leaders where they’ll get all the team together and make a speech, it’s not like that.

“I think it’ll be collective as a unit, they’ll be probably saying to one another ‘we need it sorted, we need it sorted pretty quickly’.

“There’s no real standout leader, even though there’s the captain, the vice-captain, there’s a leadership group. I think the boys have got to get together, but they can only do so much.

“I think it’s up to the club’s hierarchy to get the managerial situation sorted out and maybe get a strong figure in there that’s a leader.”

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The 21-year-old Tigers shortstop posted a .991 OPS across three levels this season, coming back from injury to log 101 hits in 88 games and walk 13 more times than he struck out. Along the way, he found his power stroke and upped his home run total from five a year ago to 19 against more advanced pitching—something that helped him climb all the way up to becoming Baseball America’s No. 2 overall prospect.

It was, by just about any measure, a season to remember for one of the game’s best prospects.

But as he reflected on the past season during his stint in the Arizona Fall League, McGonigle made one thing clear: Thereâ€s still work to be done.

“I struggled with defense this year,†McGonigle said. “Thatâ€s why Iâ€m here. Iâ€m really trying to lock in on that. I struggled with throwing, range—even just routine ground balls, sometimes I have hiccups on. Iâ€m trying to find the right foot patterns to approach different ground balls and just make every single play thatâ€s hit at me.â€

That kind of self-awareness and work ethic has defined McGonigle since his amateur days. It’s part of what the Tigers valued when they selected him 37th overall in 2023.

A polished, lefthanded bat with a mature approach at the plate, McGonigleâ€s offensive reputation preceded him long before he entered pro ball. He consistently barrels pitches, shows plate discipline beyond his years and has proven he can handle advanced pitching at every stop so far.

But while the bat has translated seamlessly, McGonigle’s defensive development is still an area requiring improvement. Though his arm strength is considered an above-average tool, his lateral quickness and overall consistency in the field remain a work in progress. The Tigers have recognized it—and so has McGonigle.

“This is the biggest offseason for me,” he said.

And so, Detroit challenged McGonigle with an unfamiliar assignment this fall: more reps at third base. It’s a position heâ€s played in-game just once—way back during the clubâ€s Spring Breakout exhibition in March.

Helping to guide that transition is a name synonymous with Tigers defensive excellence in Hall of Famer Alan Trammell. The legendary shortstop has worked closely with McGonigle throughout his career, serving as both mentor and infield coordinator.

“He was all in,†Trammell said of McGonigle’s new defensive assignment. “Heâ€s one of the top prospects. He could say ‘Why? Whatâ€s wrong with me playing shortstop?’ But thatâ€s not who he is. Heâ€s open to anything to help the organization win. That tells you a lot about Kevin McGonigle.â€

So far, McGonigle has soaked up every bit of insight he can from his sessions with Trammell, treating each one like a masterclass in infield play. Throughout the season, heâ€s focused on refining the small but crucial details—the kinds of things that separate solid defenders from great ones.Â

Heâ€s learned techniques like how to handle deep throws from the backhand side—if you’re going to miss, aim for the grass to give the first baseman a long, manageable hop—and he’s worked on setting his base properly, learning to generate power from his legs instead of relying solely on his arm so that his throws carry more velocity and stay on target.

“Heâ€s a sponge,†Trammell said. “Since the day he signed, heâ€s been really engaged. Thatâ€s one of the key attributes I always look for in young players. Heâ€s already a pretty darn good defensive player, but thereâ€s always room for improvement, and he knows that. He wants to be great.â€

They’re subtle adjustments, but McGonigle knows they can make all the difference over the course of a season—and a career.

“Being surrounded by people like Alan Trammell has helped a lot,†McGonigle said. “Heâ€s helped me so much through my first years of pro ball. Sitting down and listening to guys like him will help you further your career. I try to hone in on the little things they teach, and thatâ€s whatâ€s gotten me better since the day I was first drafted.â€

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SEATTLE — A nation turns its hopeful eyes to Kevin Gausman once more.

The staff ace with two Game 1 starts under his belt already in this postseason will get the ball in Game 5 on Friday, when heâ€ll have a chance to put the Blue Jays within one win of a trip to the World Series after they evened the series in Game 4.

The stakes have never been higher for Gausman, the 34-year-old who was brought to Toronto four years ago for moments just like this. The two performances weâ€ve seen from Gausman this postseason have been enough, but both he and the Blue Jays know thereâ€s more in there. With Bryce Miller going for the Mariners, “good†might not cut it.

“This is what we live for,†Gausman said. “Iâ€ve thrown a lot of really good games in the World Series in my backyard. Iâ€ve never really thought about the ALCS, usually it was the World Series. This is something that, as kids, we all dreamt of, pitching in the big game or getting the big hit in the World Series or a big playoff game. As a player, you relish these opportunities to go out and show not just your team, but really the whole world what you can do.â€

Gausmanâ€s Game 1 starts against the Yankees and Mariners were nearly identical, each lasting 5 2/3 innings with 75 pitches in one and 76 in the other. The one pitch heâ€d love to take back came against the Mariners last Sunday in Toronto, when Gausmanâ€s splitter caught too much of the zone and Cal Raleigh launched a solo shot to tie the game in the sixth. In each of Gausmanâ€s starts, heâ€s been cruising until some late turbulence.

Part of being a veteran, though, is understanding that even the best-laid plans rarely last. Game plans get blown up every night. Gausman has held the early advantage in his starts so far, but it wonâ€t always go that way.

“Sometimes, you get punched in the face in the first inning and you have to change your mindset,†Gausman said. “You saw that with Shane [Bieber] yesterday. I thought he did a great job of coming back. I joked with him after the game that he took this place up to 120, then took it to zero. It was a really cool performance for him and huge for our team.â€

Thatâ€s why Gausmanâ€s workload is the most interesting wrinkle in all of this. Given his first two starts, something in the range of 75 pitches seems likely in Game 5 too, but could the Blue Jays be even quicker with the hook if Gausman stumbles? Ideally, he takes that decision out of manager John Schneiderâ€s hands and bridges the gap right to the back end of Torontoâ€s bullpen with Louis Varland, Seranthony Domínguez and Jeff Hoffman, but the Blue Jays will need to be ready for all possibilities.

Yes, one of those possibilities could be Trey Yesavage. If the Blue Jays were down 3-1 and fighting for their postseason lives, Yesavage would certainly be an option on short rest after throwing 70 pitches on Monday, but even in an even series, all of the Blue Jays†cards need to be on the table. Donâ€t expect Schneider to tip his hand, though. Heâ€s been keeping his cards close to his chest this postseason, even keeping a couple tucked up his sleeve.

Remember Game 4 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium, when Yesavage made that long, slow walk from the Blue Jays†dugout to the bullpen mid-game? That was all for show. Yesavage was never truly an option in that perfectly executed bullpen game, but this is the postseason, where any distraction is worth exploring, even if itâ€s all smoke and mirrors.

Those are decisions for the chaos of the game, though. All the Blue Jays can control in the hours leading up to first pitch is their decision to roll with Gausman, putting their best foot forward in a game that could define how we remember this 2025 team.

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Jason He had to pinch himself.

Sitting in a packed Bell Centre last month, He gazed down and saw his son, Kevin, playing for the Winnipeg Jets in a prospects-tournament game against the Montreal Canadiens.

About 13 years ago, the accountant and his family (wife Queenie, Kevin and younger son Eric) moved to Montreal from Beijing for a career and life change. It offered Jason the chance to expose his sons more to a sport he fell in love with while mastering French as an international university student in Moncton, N.B.

“Very proud. The game was sold out, and it was just unbelievable feelings,” Jason recalled over the phone from his home in King City, Ont., recently. “I took them 10, 12 years ago to watch the Habs play. We were playing minor hockey, and somehow they had tickets for around $10. Now, they’re big men playing in the Bell Centre at the national level. It’s amazing.”

Kevin He, 19, is doing everything in his power to ensure there are more special moments ahead.

A fourth-round pick of the Jets in 2024 after Winnipeg traded up to grab the Buffalo Sabres’ selection, the Niagara IceDogs winger became the first Chinese-born player to sign an NHL contract last December, months after making his pre-season debut in Edmonton.

He got into another pre-season game this year, notching an assist at home against the Minnesota Wild, and has maintained his momentum in the OHL. The six-foot team captain has four goals and nine assists in seven games for the Central Division-leading IceDogs.

“It was a huge confidence boost, going to camp for a second time (with the Jets),” He said. “You watch those guys growing up, to be out there training with them, practising with them, just trying to learn as much as I can.”

Last week in a showcase game against the loaded Brantford Bulldogs, He had a goal and two assists on an impressive line with Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Czata and talented 2025 OHL first-round pick Ryerson Edgar.

On his goal, He caused a Bulldogs turnover in the defensive zone and raced down the wing before beating Sabres prospect goalie Ryerson Leenders from the faceoff circle.

“He’s played well. Straight ahead, stops and starts, playing on the D side of the puck but with that he’s got explosive speed,” first-year IceDogs coach Krys Barch said after the team’s 7-4 loss to the Bulldogs in St. Catharines, Ont. “He can really turn a game around or separate it for us. He’s been a huge element coming back and a great example for all the young guys.”

When He returned from Jets camp, he asked Barch if he could play on a line with Edgar. In the coach’s mind, that was a wonderful sign of leadership. For He, it simply was the right thing to do.

“I can relate to one of the only 16-year-olds. I was the only 16-year-old year my first year,” He said. “I understand he may be a little shy at the start, but I really like his game right now. I can see he has a really good compete level. Just want to be able to help him out and do what I can to help someone find his game. I think he’s on the right track.”

While Edgar grew up in Holland Landing, Ont. (not far from where Connor McDavid learned the game), He didn’t have a traditional hockey upbringing.

Kevin and Eric first took strides on rollerblades, with ice limited in Beijing. Jason eventually found them some ice, but it was hard to come by.

The move to Montreal, where Jason was celebrating on the streets while working a summer job when the Habs last won the Stanley Cup in 1993, changed that.

The family moved to the Toronto area when Kevin was 12 before the IceDogs picked him in the second round (25th overall) of the 2022 OHL Draft.

“I think his passion, that’s the No. 1 thing,” Jason said. “Passion makes you work harder, compete better, and go to the next level. Passion is everything, it comes from the heart. … I think skill is the second (most important aspect to hockey), passion is the first.”

After a summer spent working with trainer-to-the-stars Matt Nichol — “He’s been great. Not just a gym coach, but a mentor as well,” — He has devoted himself to improving his play at both ends of the ice.

While we know plus-minus may not be a tell-all stat, He’s rating is a plus-8 this season after being a combined minus-34 in his first three years in the OHL.

The main message from the Jets has been to work on his 200-foot game.

“I think that’s where my head’s at right now,” He said. “I think I have a good foundation, my speed and strength and what not. Obviously, get a little bigger, fill out a little bit more. Really kind of just lock down the defence and fit the system.”

After four seasons without any playoff success and several off-ice organizational controversies, the IceDogs are hoping to turn the corner this year under Barch and new GM Frank Evola. He wants to play a big role in that turnaround before hopefully making a full-time jump to the pros next season.

As Kevin takes each step, his dad will be watching with pride.

“It’s a big dream come true,” Jason He said. “I’ve been a big hockey fan for years. I’ve been watching Hockey Night in Canada for years. I never imagined or dreamed my son would play at that high a level.”

Friday, Oct. 17: Michigan State Spartans (1-1) at Boston Terriers (2-0-1), 7 p.m. ET

Opener of a back-to-back between the NCAA’s top-ranked Terriers and No. 3 Spartans. New York Islanders first-round pick Cole Eiserman is off to a hot start with Boston, scoring five goals in three games.

Friday, Oct. 17: Ottawa 67’s (6-1-0-0) at Kingston Frontenacs (5-2-0-1), 7:05 p.m. ET

It’s rivalry week in the OHL, with geographical rivals playing home-and-home series. Both these Eastern Ontario clubs are off to strong starts. Coach/GM Dave Cameron’s 67’s were the last unbeaten club in the OHL before falling to Brantford last weekend. The 67’s and Frontenacs meet again Sunday in Ottawa.

Sunday, Oct. 19: Edmonton Oil Kings (8-2-0-0) at Saskatoon Blades (7-2-0-0), 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. ST

Two top WHL Eastern Conference clubs square off. Each team has a European-born Canadian team NHL prospect playing well. Saskatoon’s David Lewandowski (Edmonton Oilers, Germany) has 12 points in seven games, while Edmonton’s Miroslav Holinka (Toronto Maple Leafs, Czechia) has 11 points in six games.

Tuesday, Oct. 21: QMJHL Prospects Game, 7:30 p.m. ET at Sherbrooke, Que.

A new event showcasing 40 of the QMJHL’s top prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft. Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defenceman Xavier Villeneuve, who had five assists in a win over Newfoundland last week, and Russian-born, Victoriaville Tigres forward Egor Shilov (14 points in seven games) will be two of the featured players.

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Rangers face increased pressure to complete a deal for Kevin Muscat to become their new manager after another leading candidate, Danny Röhl, made it known he has withdrawn from the process.

Röhl, who left Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, becomes the second coach after Steven Gerrard to remove his name from consideration following detailed talks with the Rangers board. The messiness of this situation is unlikely to placate an already angry fanbase. There was, however, an increased confidence from Rangers sources on Wednesday that Muscat could be delivered.

Russell Martin was sacked as the Rangers manager last Sunday, his spell lasting just 123 days amid constant negativity from supporters. The Ibrox hierarchy only turned attention towards Muscat, who spent a brief time as a Rangers player, earlier this week. Yet appointing the Australian will not be completely straightforward; he is under contract with Shanghai Port for another year, with the club leading the Chinese Super League title race with four games to go.

Shanghai Portâ€s season will not end until 22 November, before which time Rangers have eight games at home and abroad. Muscat would almost certainly have to take a pay cut to move to Glasgow. He is, though, known to be keen on managing in Britain after prior spells at Melbourne Victory, Belgiumâ€s Sint-Truiden and Yokohama F. Marinos. The 52-year-old has maintained an affiliation with Rangers despite leaving in 2003.

Danny Röhl has joined Steven Gerrard in withdrawing from the process to find a new Rangers manager. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/Reuters

There was awareness within Ibrox that Röhl, 36, was likely to meet with a lukewarm reception in the stands if appointed. This caused unease among Rangers†decision-makers. The Germanâ€s only experience as a first-team manager came at Wednesday. Muscat is considerably more popular among Rangers fans, partly because of a prior connection to the club but also because of his supposed no-nonsense approach to management.

Muscat was previously in the running for the Rangers post in 2023, when Philippe Clement was instead appointed. Rangers are expected to at least clarify their short-term management plans by Friday. Dundee United visit Ibrox on Scottish Premiership business on Saturday afternoon.

Rangers are eighth in the table and currently trail the leaders, Hearts, by 11 points. Celtic are nine points ahead of their Old Firm rivals after just seven fixtures, while Rangers have also lost their opening two Europa League group games this term.

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