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Gunnar Henderson is gearing up for what could be a defining season in his young MLB career. Coming off a breakout year in 2024, the Orioles’ shortstop is striking a pose on the cover of “MLB The Show” alongside two other breakout stars, Paul Skenes and Elly De La Cruz. 

On the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast,” hosts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discussed with Henderson how a spotlight moment such as this is both a privilege and a pressure. As Mintz quipped, “You are the first Gunnar in MLB history.” 

While his name might be unique, Mintz and Shusterman both believe that Henderson’s on-field impact is poised to transcend novelty.

[Read more: The top 50 people who will impact the 2025 MLB season]

The art of facing aces and staying cool

Facing off against MLB’s hardest throwers is never easy, a fact Henderson knows all too well. In the episode, he reflected on a memorable matchup against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

Henderson said his strategy involves maintaining calm under pressure, focusing on timing rather than trying to out-pace the pitcher. This is a vital skill for someone who might face Skenes more often as both players continue to rise. Mintz and Shusterman emphasized Henderson’s disciplined approach at the plate, underscoring his potential to evolve into a key player for the Orioles. 

The trio also discussed the palpable camaraderie within the Orioles’ locker room. Teammates such as Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg represent a new wave of youthful energy congregating in Baltimore — something that Shusterman said might be overlooked but is “central to the rebuilding narrative.”

Team dynamics and hitting the right notes

Henderson’s off-the-field relationships reflect the kind of ethos the Orioles need. His friendship with the light-hearted Colton Cowser is a case in point. Although the two are polar opposites personality-wise, Henderson said he values their interactions, which bring levity and unity to an otherwise intense environment. 

“It’s easier to face the long season when you’ve got a guy like Cowser who’s eternally optimistic,” Henderson said.

Looking ahead, it’s not only about Henderson’s individual accolades but also the role he plays as a catalyst for his team’s performance. Mintz’s bold prediction that Orioles pitchers and hitters might combine for 500 home runs this year puts some tangible numbers behind the hype. If Henderson steps up, the offensive fireworks could be a reality, not just a fantastical prediction.

Is Henderson ready to assume the mantle of the next big baseball star? The Orioles’ hopes might very well hinge on it. As Shusterman put it, Orioles fans, “get ready for a season of surprises.” 

Henderson’s trajectory is not just about outperforming expectations but also about setting a new standard for rising talent in MLB.

To hear the full interview with Gunnar Henderson, tune in to “Baseball-Bar-B-Cast” on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells immediately justified the decision to bat him leadoff. Atop the Yankees’ Opening Day lineup, Wells put his team on the board first with a home run off Milwaukee Brewers starter Freddy Peralta. 

With that leadoff homer, Wells became not only the first Yankees catcher to hit a home run to begin a game but also the first at his position to do so on Opening Day in league history, according to MLB.

Peralta fell behind two balls to zero strikes versus Wells, trying to get him to chase outside. The veteran starter then left a 93.4 mph fastball high and down the middle of the strike zone, and Wells didn’t miss the opportunity.

The Yankees won 4-2 after sweating out an adventurous ninth inning from new closer Devin Williams, who gave up two hits, a walk and a run before securing the save.  

Wells, 25, is the first Yankees catcher to ever bat leadoff and was confirmed for that spot earlier this week by manager Aaron Boone. As Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman pointed out, the Yankees were the last team that had never batted a catcher in the leadoff position. 

As a rookie last season, Wells compiled a .322 on-base percentage in 414 plate appearances. Only Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had higher numbers for the Yankees in that category during the regular season. In the postseason, Wells was even better, boosting his OBP to .460. 

Chisholm profiles as a more traditional leadoff hitter given his speed, stealing a combined 40 bases with the Yankees and Miami Marlins last season. However, Boone said speed wasn’t a factor in his decision, and Wells showed the ability to begin a game with some power during Grapefruit League play. Wells batted leadoff in 15 of his 16 spring training games, with a .400 OBP and 1.183 OPS in 46 at-bats. 

Against left-handed pitching, Boone said that Paul Goldschmidt and Jasson Domínguez were possibilities to bat leadoff. 

Mookie Betts is in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Opening Day lineup, batting second and playing shortstop. The Dodgers face the Detroit Tigers in their home opener. Detroit will have American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal on the mound.

Betts, 32, missed the Dodgers’ first two games of the season in the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs on March 18-19 due to an illness that was described as “flu-like symptoms.” He stayed out of the lineup for two more spring training games once the Dodgers returned to the U.S. 

He finally played in Tuesday’s preseason finale in the Freeway Series matchup versus the Los Angeles Angels. Betts batted second and went 0-for-3 while playing five innings at shortstop. Two days prior to his appearance, he revealed to reporters that he had lost 18 pounds while dealing with the illness, which began before the Dodgers left for Japan.

Listed at 180 pounds, Betts reportedly got down to 157 pounds during what he described as a difficult experience with an inability to keep solid food down.

“I’m tired of sitting, tired of just throwing up, tired of doing all this. I just really want to play,” he said, via the Los Angeles Times. “My body’s just kind of eating itself. It’s hard to not fuel it. And so every time — literally, every time — I fuel my body, I throw up. … I don’t know what to do.”

Betts was initially expected to play Sunday until he began vomiting again before that day’s game. He explained to reporters that he was able to work out regularly with the illness, but the issues arose when he attempted to eat solid food. 

Elsewhere in the Dodgers lineup, there is concern that Enrique Hernández may be dealing with the same illness that afflicted Betts. He’s now vomiting and struggling with keeping food down, as well. However, manager Dave Roberts said he’s not concerned that something is going around the team’s clubhouse. 

Betts begins the season as the Dodgers’ shortstop after starting at the position last year before moving back to right field, where he has played most of his career. Even with the position switch, he batted .289 with an .863 OPS, 19 home runs, 24 doubles, 75 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 2024. He was limited to 116 games due to a fractured left hand.

When Kawhi Leonard is at his best, he looks almost frictionless. He maneuvers through the typical traffic and trammels of an NBA basketball court as if nothing anyone else does is all that relevant to his comings and goings.

Leonard finds the ball, determines his destination and begins navigation — fastest route possible, please, no time to savor the scenery. He picks the spot on the floor where he wants to be, and he just … gets there. Once he arrives, chances are he’s going to rise straight up, an arrow pointed directly at the rafters, and promptly deposit the ball in the net, free of the surly bonds of quotidian concerns like “defenders” and “coverages.”

If you’re having trouble envisioning it — somewhat understandable, as the six-time All-NBA selection and two-time NBA Finals MVP has missed 43 games this season and 299 since 2017, including the entire 2021-22 campaign — it looks an awful lot like what he did to the New York Knicks in the second half on Wednesday night:

After falling down by as many as 14 points in the first half, Leonard’s Clippers stormed back to score 72 points on 42 shot attempts after intermission — a scorching 1.57 points per possession — en route to a 126-113 road win. Leonard led the charge, scoring 19 of his 27 points after halftime, calmly and decisively dismantling whichever defenders Tom Thibodeau sent his way; he added 10 rebounds and seven assists without a turnover in a season-high 41 minutes for good measure.

The right-block mastery, the terror-inducing jab steps out of the triple threat, the metronomically consistent stop-and-pop jumpers from the midrange — it was all there. And it, along with stellar contributions up and down what’s become one of the league’s better bench rotations, was more than enough to bury a Knicks team playing on the second night of a back-to-back without injured superstar point guard Jalen Brunson.

It’s been enough more and more frequently of late for the Clippers, who have now won nine of their last 11 to rise into sixth place in the West, with victories over the playoff-bound Cavaliers, Knicks, Grizzlies and Pistons — plus a down-to-the-final-few-seconds loss to the league-leading Thunder — in that span. And it’s been enough because it — the footwork, feints and fakes; the deep bag off the dribble and physical capacity to repeatedly reach into it; the taciturn Terminator swagger — has been there more and more frequently for Leonard, who missed the first 34 games of the campaign working his way back from yet another knee surgery, and played under a minutes restriction for the first month following his return.

“Just having him on the floor is huge for us,” Clippers head coach Ty Lue told Law Murray of The Athletic back in January. “We’ve just got to keep getting him reps, keep getting him minutes, keep stacking them up, keep getting him games. He’ll get back to [being] Kawhi.”

Update: He’s back.

Since first hitting the 30-minute mark at the trade deadline, Leonard has played 35.7 minutes per game. And after getting a couple of months of games under his belt, he’s really started to hit his stride, averaging 25.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals over his last 11 games, on .611 true shooting. Among 104 players to average at least 50 touches per game in March, he ranks fifth in points per touch. Among players to play at least 10 games this month, he ranks 10th in steals and 20th in deflections.

Which is to say: For the past month, he’s beenproducinglike Kawhi freaking Leonard.

Which makes the Clippers — who have outscored opponents by 7.5 points per 100 non-garbage-time possessions with Leonard on the court, according to Cleaning the Glass, a net rating that would trail only Oklahoma City, Cleveland and Boston over the course of the full season — pretty damn interesting coming down the home stretch.

When Leonard was unavailable, Lue built the foundation of his team on a smothering defense (fourth in points allowed per possession) staffed by long-limbed, aggressive, active and versatile stoppers at all levels of the unit; on the pick-and-roll chemistry between Harden, who earned his first All-Star selection in three years for his work as one of the league’s premier table-setters, and perennially underrated center Ivica Zubac, averaging 16.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game (all career highs) while holding opponents to 56.2% shooting at the rim; and on the downhill attacking and shot-making of Norman Powell, the team’s leading scorer at 22.6 points per game (and who, in my view, deserved an All-Star nod himself). That’s all still there … and now they can layer a fully operational Leonard, with his pitch count lower at this stage in the season than it’s been in years after front-loading the injury absences, on top of it.

Where does that leave the Clippers? With a top-five defense that scores like a top-seven offense with Kawhi on the floor. With the second-most dominant five-man unit in the NBA this season (minimum 150 minutes played): Zubac, Leonard, Powell, Harden and ace defensive swingman Derrick Jones Jr., a quintet that has blown opponents’ doors off by 23.6 points per 100 possessions. With a deep core of contributors — point of attack menace Kris Dunn, resurgent combo guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, do-it-all wings Nicolas Batum and Amir Coffey, huge backup point forward Ben Simmons — giving Lue a ton of options to find answers as matchups and schemes dictate. And with a ceiling that, at full strength, could pose serious problems for the favorites in the Western Conference playoff bracket … provided, of course, the Clips make it that far.

L.A. enters Thursday’s action in sixth in the West, with the same 41-31 record as the Warriors but holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Golden State, and a half-game ahead of the Timberwolves. Various projectionmodels peg the Clippers’ chances of securing a top-six spot and avoiding the play-in tournament at anywhere from 44% to 68%.

Those probabilities will likely shift dramatically over the final two and a half weeks of the regular season; on this week’s episode of “The Big Number,” my colleague Tom Haberstroh noted that the Clippers’ season finale in San Francisco against the Warriors could very well decide who gets the sixth seed and who has to scrap it out in the play-in. That means that every Clippers game from here through April 13 is essentially a playoff game — high stakes, high leverage, high pressure. In situations like that, it’s pretty cool to be able to toss the ball to a player whose pulse never seems to quicken, who perpetually exudes the unbothered imperial confidence of someone who knows exactly what to do, how to do it, and how to remove variables like the opposition from the equation.

The fear, with a player with Leonard’s phone-book-thick medical file, is that you’re always one false step away from disaster. What he’s been doing for the past month, though, is why the Clippers continue to choose to live with that fear — because, if you can just get him to springtime healthy, in a seven-game series, Kawhi Leonard can put the fear of God into anyone.

Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II has suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb and will be out for three to six weeks, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Payton played 20 minutes in the Warriors’ 112-86 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday, finishing with four points and seven rebounds. How and when he sustained the injury hasn’t been reported. 

The nine-year veteran was averaging 14.9 minutes per game for the Warriors, but had seen his playing time increase in recent weeks amid Stephen Curry getting rest and sitting out with a hip injury. His best performance this season was on March 10 versus the Portland Trail Blazers, when he scored 26 points against his former team.

For the season, Payton is averaging 6.6 points, three rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 33% on 3-pointers. He played his past nine games with a non-displaced nose fracture that required him to wear a protective mask. 

Payton’s injury comes as the Warriors are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, which would allow them to avoid the play-in tournament. Golden State is currently in the No. 7 spot with a 41-31 record and just a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

The Warriors have lost two in a row and three of their past five games with four games remaining on a road trip that ends with matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, both 44-28. Upon returning home on April 4, they face the Denver Nuggets (46-28) and Houston Rockets (47-26).

Payton is in his second stint with Golden State after playing for the team from 2020-22, then signing with the Trail Blazers. Portland traded him back to the Warriors as part of a four-team deal during the 2022-23 season.

During his nine NBA seasons, Payton has played for five teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards and Laker. He has career averages of 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and one steal, shooting 34% on 3s. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Jordan Goodwin made a positive enough impression on the Los Angeles Lakers during the 19 games he’s played this season that the team wants him on its postseason roster. 

As a result, Goodwin’s contract has been converted from a two-way deal limiting his time on the Lakers roster to a standard NBA contract that now makes him eligible for the playoffs. To make room for Goodwin, Cam Reddish was waived, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

In his 19 games (five starts) with the Lakers, Goodwin has averaged 6.4 points, 3.9 points and 1.4 assists while shooting 41% on 46 3-point attempts in 20.5 minutes per game. Goodwin’s aggressiveness on the offensive boards, averaging 1.5 per game, has particularly stood out to the Lakers, according to Charania.

Under a two-way contract, Goodwin was only eligible to play with the Lakers for 19 games in addition to the postseason restriction. So for him to continue with the team, his contract had to be converted.

Goodwin, 26, was in training camp with the Lakers. But after injuries limited him to only one preseason appearance, he was waived and then signed with the team’s G League club in South Bay. He averaged 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in the G League this season.

In four NBA seasons, Goodwin has averaged 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists and 32% shooting on 3s. He’s also played for the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies. The Wizards signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2021 out of Saint Louis.

Reddish averaged 3.2 points, two rebounds and 0.7 assists in 33 games during his second season with the Lakers. He was supposed to be traded to the Charlotte Hornets in a package including Dalton Knecht and a 2031 unprotected first-round pick for center Mark Williams before the deal was rescinded when Williams failed his physical.

Welcome to the Tanking Rankings, where we have perfectly placed in order the teams that are tanking the best this season. Who is driving its season into the ground the most recklessly? See for yourself …

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14. Chicago Bulls (32-40)

Most recent starters: Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, Kevin Huerter, Nikola Vučević, Coby White

Since the All-Star break: 10-7 record • 117.6 offensive rating (10th) • 112.5 defensive rating (13th)

When a team trades DeMar DeRozan in the offseason and Zach LaVine at the deadline, returning a collection of misfit assets, it is trying to lose. Nikola Vučević has also seen his minutes diminished.

Do not tell the rest of the Bulls, who have won eight of their last 10 games and all but clinched their annual entry into the play-in tournament. Since LaVine last played for Chicago on Jan. 27, the Bulls are perfectly average, owners of a 12-13 record and a -0.8 net rating. They might even make the playoffs.

To what end? How frustrating it must be to be stuck in the middle, to trade your best players, and to still be stuck in the middle. It is encouraging that Coby White and Josh Giddey have played so well, but what is the ceiling for a team that counts them as its best players? It may be the same as it was when the Bulls had DeRozan and LaVine. At some point, if you cannot get any better, you have to get worse — you have to give yourself a shot at a top-tier draft talent; you have to tank — and Chicago cannot even do that right.

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13. Portland Trail Blazers (32-41)

Most recent starters: Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons

Since the All-Star break: 9-9 record • 115.4 offensive rating (18th) • 111.4 defensive rating (7th)

When Deni Avdija has played more than 35 minutes, he has averaged 23.5 points (on 53/43/84 shooting splits), 11.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for a Blazers team that has finished 9-8 in those 17 games.

It would make sense if Portland decided it was not worth playing Avdija so much, since its first-round draft pick is lottery protected. For a while there it seemed as though the Blazers might be vying for a play-in tournament berth, but they have found a balance between developing their existing talent and ensuring they add to that pool in the draft, as three losses now separate them from the postseason.

Over the past two months, as Avdija has emerged alongside Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons as a primary creator, Portland owns the Western Conference’s sixth-best record and the league’s second-best defense. Time will tell if this strategy is any better than throwing away the season entirely in pursuit of improved lottery odds, or maybe the basketball gods will reward a team that should be tanking and isn’t.

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12. Phoenix Suns (35-38)

Most recent starters: Devin Booker, Ryan Dunn, Kevin Durant, Collin Gillespie, Nick Richards

Since the All-Star break: 9-10 record • 119.1 offensive rating (4th) • 119.7 defensive rating (24th)

The Suns do not own their own first-round draft pick, since they traded it for Kevin Durant. They have no incentive to tank, as if a team that has traded for Durant should ever think of entertaining the idea.

Meanwhile, the two teams with whom the Suns are battling for the No. 10 seed, Dallas and Sacramento, have every reason to tank. This should be easy; Phoenix should walk into the play-in tournament.

Only the Suns have stumbled into every possible obstacle on their way to the postseason, at least until this recent stretch of five wins in seven games. It is a bold strategy to wait until March, when everyone else is either tanking for the lottery or resting their best players in anticipation of the playoffs, to make a move.

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11. Washington Wizards (16-56)

Most recent starters: Bub Carrington, Justin Champagnie, AJ Johnson, Jordan Poole, Alex Sarr

Since the All-Star break: 7-11 record • 107.3 offensive rating (29th) • 113.9 defensive rating (18th)

The Wizards did their tanking work early, building an abominable roster and becoming the first East team to be eliminated from the playoffs. No small feat, since the conference’s play-in field will feature a pair of teams well below .500. Kudos to Washington for arming its tank with Jordan Poole at the cannon’s helm.

Of course, the Wizards did not need to tank; they just played their team.

Here is how bad the Wizards have been this season: They won six of their 10 games over a three-week stretch after the All-Star break, nearly doubling their win output for the rest of the season, and they still own the league’s worst record, as far from danger of losing their top-10 protected pick as they could be.

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10. Sacramento Kings (35-37)

Most recent starters: DeMar DeRozan, Keon Ellis, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

Since the All-Star break: 7-10 record • 116.6 offensive rating (14th) • 118.4 defensive rating (22nd)

Weeks after Doug Christie called for a meeting with his starters, following an “embarrassing” loss to the Golden State Warriors, the interim coach said, “We just let up off the gas,” when his Kings, who had led by as many as 14 points, finished scoreless in the final four minutes of a loss to Milwaukee.

If Sacramento is not tanking, it might as well be. And it should be.

The Kings, who traded De’Aaron Fox in a deal that returned Zach LaVine, cling to a play-in tournament berth among other teams that are presumably trying to win, only to lose eight of their last 10 games.

Their first-round draft pick is top-12 protected, otherwise owed to Atlanta, and they ride that line. Lose, and they just might keep their pick in this talented draft; win, and they are, at best, first-round fodder.

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9. Miami Heat (31-41)

Most recent starters: Bam Adebayo, Alec Burks, Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Andrew Wiggins

Since the All-Star break: 6-13 record • 111.2 offensive rating (24th) • 113.2 defensive rating (16th)

Not even Erik Spoelstra can find a way to motivate this edition of the Heat.

“We have not come up with solutions, and we’ve pretty much tried everything,” Spoelstra said, before his team finally snapped a 10-game losing streak earlier this week, the longest of the coach’s 17-year career. “This has been one of the biggest challenges of a regular season that I’ve been a part of. And we just have to stay the course.”

Yikes! Never figured a Spoelstra-coached team for giving up on a season, but this is Heat Culture in the post-Jimmy Butler era. Only Washington, Philadelphia and Charlotte have a worse net rating than the Heat (-5.3) among Eastern Conference teams since the trade deadline. In that same span, only the Oklahoma City Thunder have a higher net rating in the West than Butler’s new team, the Warriors (+9.5).

The Heat better decide soon when they want to lose their next first-round draft pick, since theirs is lottery-protected this season and unprotected next year, or else the players will decide for them.

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8. San Antonio Spurs (31-40)

Most recent starters: Harrison Barnes, Bismack Biyombo, Stephon Castle, Chris Paul, Devin Vassell

Since the All-Star break: 8-11 record • 117.9 offensive rating (9th) • 120.9 defensive rating (29th)

The Spurs did their tanking work two years ago, when they won the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, and they added this year’s likely Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle, with the No. 4 overall pick last June.

With those building blocks and an improved roster around them, San Antonio had hoped to compete for a playoff spot this season. It was not necessarily working out that way, as the Spurs were in 12th place in the West when they announced that blood clots would end Wembanyama’s season at the All-Star break.

So the Spurs have made the best of a bad situation, also putting the newly acquired Fox on ice. Even with five wins in seven games, they have plunged to 13th in the West, and one loss separates them from the eighth-worst record in the league — and a 6% chance at the No. 1 pick. They also own Atlanta’s pick, and if the Hawks manage to miss the playoffs, add those odds to San Antonio’s chances of capturing Flagg.

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7. Toronto Raptors (26-47)

Most recent starters: Ochai Agbaji, Scottie Barnes, Jamison Battle, Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley

Since the All-Star break: 9-9 record • 108.1 offensive rating (26th) • 109.1 defensive rating (1st)

Scottie Barnes, a 2024 All-Star, is averaging fewer fourth-quarter minutes since the All-Star break than 11 teammates, none of whom are Toronto’s top players. Brandon Ingram, who has been nursing an ankle injury since December, still has not played since being traded to the Raptors at the deadline. This would be expert-level tanking if Toronto had not managed to win six of seven games at the start of the month.

That may have cost the Raptors their shot at a bottom-three record. As it is, they own the NBA’s seventh-worst record (7.5% odds at the No. 1 pick). They are within three games of the fifth-worst record (10.5% odds). It will be fascinating to see what measures Toronto takes — and what measures the NBA is willing to allow — as the Raptors attempt over their final 10 games to secure a 3% better chance at Flagg.

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6. Brooklyn Nets (23-50)

Most recent starters: Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, Keon Johnson, D’Angelo Russell, Ziaire Williams

Since the All-Star break: 3-16 record • 107.7 offensive rating (28th) • 116.4 defensive rating (20th)

The Nets cannot violate the NBA’s player participation policy, since they do not have a recent All-Star or All-NBA selection on the roster, so they can feel free to rest Cameron Johnson as often as possible down the stretch, which they have done twice to great success in recent losses to Charlotte and Indiana. There is no urgency to expedite the healthy return of a mildly injured Cam Thomas or D’Angelo Russell, either.

When Brooklyn reacquired its own draft pick from Houston in the offseason, it took control of its own tanking destiny, only to cede it to others with a .500 record for the first quarter of the season. The Nets promptly realized their mistake, trading Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith in order to get worse.

It worked. Since the calendar turned to 2025, only the Wizards have a worse offense. If only the Nets had committed to being this bad from the jump, they may have earned one of the NBA’s three worst records and a 14% shot at the No. 1 overall pick. Instead, they are in a dogfight for the No. 5 spot and 10.5% odds.

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5. New Orleans Pelicans (20-53)

Most recent starters: Jose Alvarado, Keion Brooks Jr., Jordan Hawkins, Yves Missi, Kelly Olynyk

Since the All-Star break: 7-11 record • 112.2 offensive rating (22nd) • 120.4 defensive rating (27th)

Coach Willie Green is in an interesting situation. His Pelicans are bad, and they have been bad from the jump. Injuries decimated any chance of cohesion, and it was unclear if they would have been any good, even if everyone were healthy. Whether or not they were any good was largely out of Green’s control.

It is hard to imagine either side would want to continue this partnership, as Green’s four-year tenure will end in a sub-.500 record and a second lottery appearance in three seasons. It is in the best interest of New Orleans to lose. It is the only team outside of Charlotte, Utah and Washington with a chance at a bottom-three record and, as a result, the best of the flattened lottery odds (a 14% shot at the top pick).

But is it in Green’s best interest to lose? Letting go of the rope is not exactly the best bullet point on your next job application. Plus, this may be a good opportunity for Green to stick it to the team that is setting him up to be its scapegoat. He has motivation to win. And it still might not matter in New Orleans, where they have all but taken any decision out of Green’s hands, resting just about everyone who is not injured.

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4. Dallas Mavericks (35-38)

Most recent starters: Spencer Dinwiddie, Kessler Edwards, Kai Jones, Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson

Since the All-Star break: 5-12 record • 111.7 offensive rating (23rd) • 120.1 defensive rating (26th)

The saddest part about the Mavericks is that their general manager, Nico Harrison, thought this was a good idea. He traded Luka Dončić for Anthony Davis and actually said that the team was better built to win in both the short term and the long term. Then Davis got hurt. Then Kyrie Irving suffered an ACL injury. Then everybody else got hurt. And it all went to hell, as if it were not headed that way anyhow.

It is as if they are cursed, and now they need luck on their side. Blowing a seven-point lead in the final minute of a loss to Indiana, their ninth loss in 10 tries, was a good start. That futility helped them fall out of the play-in tournament field, and then, for some reason, they brought Davis back for a playoff push.

To cost themselves even a 1% chance at Flagg is more malpractice.

The Mavericks do not own the rights to their own first-round draft pick from 2027 to 2030, so now is their chance to draft someone who, if absolutely everything goes right, can only hope to be as good as Dončić.

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3. Charlotte Hornets (18-54)

Most recent starters: LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Josh Green, DaQuan Jeffries, Mark Williams

Since the All-Star break: 5-15 record • 105.9 offensive rating (30th) • 120.7 defensive rating (28th)

The Hornets own their own lottery-protected first-round draft pick, and they have done the work of ensuring they keep that selection, positioning themselves for one of the NBA’s three worst records.

This is nothing new for Charlotte. The Hornets have picked in the lottery every season since they won 48 games in 2016, including 2018, when they traded the No. 11 overall pick (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) for No. 12 (Miles Bridges) and a pair of second-rounders. And what do they have to show for it? An 18-win team.

Apologies in advance to whoever Charlotte drafts next. It may be the NBA’s least hopeful destination.

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2. Utah Jazz (16-57)

Most recent starters: Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Cody Williams

Since the All-Star break: 3-16 record • 107.7 offensive rating (27th) • 118.9 defensive rating (23rd)

The NBA fined Utah $100,000 for failing to make Lauri Markkanen available for a March 5 game against Washington. It was the season’s first fine for tanking. So what did the Jazz do in response? They benched Markkanen for the entirety of a second half against Toronto, teaching the Raptors the way of the tank.

One is not allowed under the player participation policy; the other is. So we will probably be seeing a lot more of this quiet-quitting strategy. It just goes to show: No matter how much the NBA does to curtail tanking, there will always be a way around it, as long as lottery odds continue to incentivize teams to lose.

In unrelated but kind of related news: The Jazz are getting the worst whistle of any team in the final two minutes of crunch-time games, according to our latest Sleepless Nights Index. Flagg to Utah confirmed?

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1. Philadelphia 76ers (23-50)

Most recent starters: Ricky Council IV, Jeff Dowtin, Justin Edwards, Quentin Grimes, Guerschon Yabusele

Since the All-Star break: 3-16 record • 112.6 offensive rating (20th) • 123.5 defensive rating (30th)

No team is incentivized to lose more than the 76ers, and they are doing an excellent job at it.

Philadelphia’s first-round draft pick is only protected for the first six draft slots, otherwise owed to Oklahoma City (the result of its decision to dump Al Horford’s salary in 2020). The Sixers are currently tied with Brooklyn for the NBA’s fifth-worst record. Toronto is three games better than both of them.

The worst-case scenario is definitely in play for Philadelphia. It entered this season as a championship hopeful and could exit it both playoff- and pick-less. An entirely lost season. Joel Embiid and Paul George are out for the year. Tyrese Maxey might be, too. The injury list includes just about everyone.

It is bleaker than that. Nobody knows what to make of Embiid and George for next season, either. They are, as of now, two of the worst contracts in the league. The only solace should be the promise of a pick, only that is in jeopardy. So lose and lose often. They lost to New Orleans this week by 13 points, starting Guerschon Yabusele, Ricky Council IV, Jared Butler, Chuma Okeke and Justin Edwards. Yabusele, barely the most seasoned among them, played the fewest minutes. This is a joke of a team and a heck of a tank.