September 2025

There were 1,641 posts published in September 2025 (this is page 20 of 165).

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on return from torn Achilles: ‘I’m not saying that I’m not playing this season’

Jayson Tatum was crushed. Physically. Emotionally. Here he was, a top-five player in the world on a Celtics team with a legitimate chance to be the first NBA repeat champions since Kevin Durant was living in the Bay Area, then suddenly, after diving for a loose ball, he was lying on the court at Madison Square Garden in incredible pain with what he knew was a torn Achilles.

Tatum confided all of this in one of the pillars of his support, his mother, he told Andrew Grief of NBC News.

“It was almost like I felt betrayed,” Tatum said of the injury. “I was one of those guys that I never wanted to sit out… I feel like I took care of my body. I didn’t cheat the game. When it was time to rest, I rested. When it was time to work out or lift or get treatment or whatever it was, I felt like I always stayed on top of my routine.

“So for this to happen, it was just like, man, this was not supposed to happen to me. And for a while, I was kind of like — it may sound dramatic, but I remember telling my mom, like ‘Mom, I might be done. I don’t know if I’ll be able to overcome this or if I’m up for this challenge.’ You know, I just felt defeated. And there was a time I was like, I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.”

The mental toughness and fight that led Tatum to become one of the top five players in the world eventually kicked in, and he has gotten on top of his recovery routine, working toward a return. Both in his interview with NBC News and in his appearance on TODAY with Jenna & Friends, he emphasized that this is a day-to-day process. And he would not rule out a return this season.

“Like, [day to day] how I’ve approached this process, is like, man, the most important thing is making a full recovery. I’m not saying that I’m not playing this season.

“I’m not taking that off the table, because, you know, for me as a competitor, every day I go into the weight room and do rehab, I’m working towards something, obviously, coming back 100%, whenever that is.”

Whether Tatum returns this season could hinge on several factors, the most important being his body and recovery, but also where the Celtics are in the playoff chase in the later stages of the season. Would it be worth the risk? This is a Boston team that sent out two key veteran players from their championship team — Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday — because of the NBA’s restrictive second apron. There are expectations in league circles that this will be a bit of a gap year for Boston, which will retool next summer with a healthy Tatum and Jaylen Brown and make another title run. New owner Bill Chisholm said he will do whatever it takes for this team to win.

Tatum will be at the heart of that — and maybe even be part of this season. He has a goal, he will not rule it out.

MLB playoff races: Top storylines as Reds seek playoff return, Astros look to keep postseason streak alive

We’ve reached the final weekend of the 2025 MLB regular season, and there are three playoff spots left to be decided — two in the AL and one in the NL — after the Boston Red Sox punched their postseason ticket on Friday.

Here are the top storylines entering Saturday in a chaotic finish for the MLB season:

[MLB playoffs 2025 tracker: Standings, schedule, clinch scenarios and more with 3 games to go]

The Cincinnati Reds play their final two games of the regular season knowing what they need to do to play postseason baseball for only the second time since 2013. After their 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday and the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Miami Marlins, the Reds, owners of the tiebreaker, need only to tie New York in the standings to play next week. Currently tied with the Mets at 82-78, if they win both of their remaining games, they are in.

While the Reds have struggled over the past month, with a 15-18 record in their past 33 games, the Mets have not helped themselves separate from Cincinnati, losing 16 of their past 25 games.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

The Brewers have had a playoff ticket for a while, but they have eyes on the No. 1 seed in the NL as they battle the Philadelphia Phillies for the top spot. With two games to play, Milwaukee holds a one-game advantage over the Phillies and the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping their regular-season series.

One win against the Reds this weekend would secure Milwaukee as the NL’s top team.

The Houston Astros had the door opened for them Friday, with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians both losing, but they couldn’t take advantage. A 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels kept Houston a game behind Detroit for the AL’s final wild-card spot.

What they learned is exactly what they need this weekend to secure a playoff spot: Beat the Angels twice and hope the Tigers or Guardians lose both of their remaining games. 

The Astros have not missed the postseason since 2016. Since that quiet October nine years ago, the franchise has been to four World Series, winning twice.

Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays, 3:07 p.m. ET
Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, 4:10 p.m. ET
New York Mets at Miami Marlins, 4:10 p.m. ET
Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox, 4:10 p.m. ET
Minnesota Twins at Philadlephia Phillies, 6:05 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers, 7:15 p.m. ET
Texas Rangers at Cleveland Guardians, 7:15 p.m. ET
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres, 8:40 p.m. ET
Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels, 9:40 p.m. ET

Ex-NBA All-Star argues Warriors, Kings should swap Jonathan Kuminga, Malik Monk

Ex-NBA All-Star argues Warriors, Kings should swap Jonathan Kuminga, Malik Monk originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As the Warriors’ contract saga with free-agent forward Jonathan Kuminga approaches the three-month mark, there are plenty of opinions across the NBA landscape on how to bring the standoff to an end.

Former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague hasn’t shied away from sharing his thoughts on the situation throughout the offseason, and this week, he advocated for Golden State to make a move that would benefit both itself and Kuminga.

On a recent episode of his “Club 520” podcast, Teague explained why he’d like to see the Warriors complete a sign-and-trade deal that would send Kuminga to Sacramento and guard Malik Monk to the Bay.

“Malik Monk could actually be a fire addition to the Warriors,” Teague stated (h/t Golden State Warriors on SI.com). “But I think they are set on a big — that’s what they need more than anything. I think he’d be a fire addition, though, because they need a spark plug like him. That’s the Jordan Poole type of player right there.”

Across his last three seasons with Sacramento, Monk has averaged 15.3 points per game on 44.3 percent shooting from the field and 34.4 percent from 3-point range. The 27-year-old finished fifth and second in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, respectively.

As Teague noted, Monk could provide the Warriors with a similar spark off the bench to former Golden State guard Jordan Poole, who played a pivotal role in their 2022 NBA Finals-winning run.

“I think if he got in that system with those veterans and those players, that could mold him a little more. He’ll probably be better than Jordan Poole, to be honest,” Teague continued on Monk. “I’m not saying he’s a better player. Jordan Poole is cold, but Jordan Poole grew up in that system, so he figured out how to be successful in it.” 

While the Warriors finding a Poole-type replacement sounds great in theory, it might not be all that realistic at this point.

According to a report by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson on Saturday, the chances of Golden State agreeing to a sign-and-trade featuring Kuminga are slim.

With time running out for both sides to make a decision, a conclusion to this months-long saga should come soon.

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