While it took longer than some would’ve hoped, the Yankees re-signed star Cody Bellinger last week to keep him in the Bronx for the foreseeable future.
Bellinger, who had discussions with multiple teams, agreed to return to New York on a five-year, $162.5 million deal that includes opt-outs after the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The new contract also includes a full no-trade clause and a $20 million signing bonus.
But it wasn’t the money that sold Bellinger on coming back to the Yanks after his first season with the team, it was his belief in the group itself.
“It feels good. I came last year. The locker room and everything is a really special environment. Yankee Stadium was a special place to play and I really enjoyed my time,” Bellinger said.
“This year, after lots of conversations with Scott [Boras] and the free agent processes, it’s an interesting process for sure and it’s exciting as well. Ultimately once it all came to fruition there at the end, I’m very excited. I’m very excited to be back. I’m feeling good. I’m ready to get up to Tampa and get going.”
When Bellinger rejoins the Yanks at spring training within the next two weeks, there will be plenty of familiar faces. In fact, most of the starting lineup will be the same as it was last season.
That detail was attractive to Bellinger as he has full confidence in his Yankees teammates and believes they can go further than they did in 2025.
“Actually, I feel really good with that,” Bellinger said. “Obviously, it might not be what everyone wants to hear, but I really do love the group that we had. We had a special unit, we had great chemistry that I don’t think could be understood unless you’re in the clubhouse. We all play for each other. On top of that, we have some important pieces coming back. We all played well.
“I’m excited to run it back with those guys and I’m fully confident in that group.”
Bellinger hit .272 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI over 152 games during his first year in Yankees pinstripes, but the season ended prematurely in the ALDS. He, reigning MVP Aaron Judge, and the rest of the Yanks will now look to use the 2025 season as a building block and find a way to bring World Series title No. 28 to New York in 2026.
“Special man, special,” Bellinger said about Judge. “There’s not enough positive words to say. Obviously we all know what he does on the field is truly special. What he brings into the locker room, what he brings as a teammate, the confidence that he instills in everyone in the locker room. He’s a huge part of the success of this organization.
“Ultimately, when you have the opportunity to play alongside a future Hall of Famer already, you want to go and you want to win that ring. You want a parade down New York City. You want it for Judgey, of course, you want it for the fans. Ultimately, that’s the main goal here, have a parade down the city of New York. That’s what I want to do, that’s what I want to strive to do.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers are hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. And the Cavs would welcome LeBron James back this summer, too, if he wanted to join the team for his 24th NBA season, according to an ESPN report that came out hours before tip-off.
He returned to the court on Nov. 19 and has played in 28 games so far. James has started in every game he has played this season, and he’s averaging 22.4 points — his fewest since his rookie season with the Cavaliers in 2003-04 — along with 6.7 assists and 6 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per outing.
A bit more than midway through the regular season, James’ eighth with the Lakers, L.A. is 28-17 and fifth in the Western Conference.
James is amid the longest uninterrupted stay with a team of his NBA career. But his contract is set to expire at the end of this season, and the 26-year-old Dončić has become the focal point for a franchise that James helped return to the mountain top with an NBA championship after the 2019-20 season.
If James doesn’t retire and decides to take his talents back to Cleveland for the 2026-27 season, he’d be embarking on his third stint with the Cavaliers, who famously selected the Akron, Ohio, native out of St. Vincent–St. Mary High School with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft.
James played for the Cavs from 2003 to ’10 and then, after winning two NBA titles with the Miami Heat as part of their “Big 3,” again from 2014 to ’18. In his second stint, he delivered Cleveland its first NBA championship in historic fashion, guiding the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 Finals deficit against a record-setting, 73-win Golden State Warriors team.
He signed with the Lakers in the summer of 2018. And for now, he is reportedly committed to the Lakers.
James stopped drinking alcohol during his rehab from sciatica and has dropped weight in an attempt to alleviate back and joint pressure and stay fresh alongside his younger teammates, as reported by ESPN on Wednesday.
Around April 2018, a 23-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo told Nick Friedell, then of ESPN.com, “one of my goals” is to spend his entire career with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Kobe [Bryant] did it. Tim Duncan did it. Dirk Nowitzki did it,” he said, soon after a second All-Star bid. “]
Sept. 18, 2020: Antetokounmpo won a second consecutive Most Valuable Player award, joining Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon and Chicago’s Michael Jordan as the only NBA players ever to capture the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season.
Nov. 23, 2020: The Bucks acquired Jrue Holiday, pairing the All-Star and All-Defensive guard with Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez on a championship favorite. The deal cost Milwaukee the rights to five of its first-round draft picks (2020 and 2024-27).
Dec. 9, 2020: Entering the final season of his rookie-scale contract extension, Antetokounmpo said of his deal, “I’m not focused on that. I know my agent, Alex [Saratsis], and [Bucks general manager] Jon Horst and the Bucks ownership are focusing on those discussions, but I’m just trying to focus on myself — how I can get better, how I can help my teammates get better, how can we be ready Saturday to play our first preseason game?”
Dec. 15, 2020: Facing a midnight deadline, Giannis Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228.2 million contract extension that included a player option for the 2024-25 season.
This is my home, this is my city.. I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it. 🤎🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/895tCBE9RK
July 20, 2021: The Bucks captured the 2021 NBA title, winning a fourth straight game to defeat the Phoenix Suns in a best-of-seven set, 4-2. Antetokounmpo was the Finals MVP.
Sept. 27, 2021: “Hopefully, we can give that feeling again to people,” said Antetokounmpo. “It might not be this year. Maybe it might be two years or three years down the road, but I need that feeling. I’m going to chase that feeling until my legs can’t move no more.”
May 15, 2022: Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points, as the Boston Celtics defeated the defending champion Bucks in Game 7 of the East semifinals, 109-81.
Sept. 26, 2022: “I want to win a championship,” said Giannis. “Any way or the other I get it done, the feeling I felt, it was a nice feeling. And, you know, I kind of got jealous of Golden State, seeing them in the parade and in the ESPYs. You know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you. Hopefully God can bless us to win another one.”
April 26, 2023: The Heat ousted the Bucks from the first round of the playoffs, 4-1. Antetokounmpo missed two games of the best-of-seven series to a bruised lower back.
Sept. 27, 2023: The Bucks dealt Holiday and the rights to their first-round draft picks from 2028-30 to the Portland Trail Blazers for 33-year-old, seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard.
Oct. 2, 2023: “I gotta always look out for what’s best for me and my family, for my situation, but at the end of the day, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career as long as we are winning. It’s as simple as that,” said Antetokounmpo. “What do you expect me to say? To be a Milwaukee Buck and be a loser? That’s never going to come out of my mouth.”
Oct. 15, 2023: “I always envisioned myself to be in Milwaukee for a long time,” Antetokounmpo told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “And I always say that I want to play 20 years. I want to be like Tim Duncan, like Kobe [Bryant], all those guys that played with one team for a lot of years and won the championship. But at the end of the day, before loyalty, winning comes first. We are judged on winning. I’m a winner. I want to win. And the words that I say, I feel like sometimes they’ve been taken out of proportion because I’ve said these words for four or five, six years now. And I don’t know why it’s different this time. It is different when your extension comes around, when your extension is three, four years down the road and you say those words like, ‘Hey, I want my team to be the best available team and I want everybody to be on the same page,’ nobody really cares.
“But when your extension comes around, it’s like, ‘Oh, he might leave.’ No, no, no. It’s not the case. I want the best possible team. I want to wake up every single day when I come to work and know that I have a chance to win. And I want the organization to be on the same page and not to be comfortable because we won one [title]. So, what, we going to wait 15 more years to win another one? No, no, no way.”
Oct. 23, 2023: Antetokounmpo signed a three-year, $176 million contract extension that includes a player option for the 2027-28 season, recommitting to the Bucks, even when it made more financial sense for him to wait until free agency in 2025 to sign an extension.
Oct. 24, 2023: “I had a conversation with my [brother Thanasis] … that it would make more sense for me to sign because I’d be able to — first of all, you don’t know what tomorrow holds — to have eligibility to re-sign in 2026 or I don’t remember when he told me, but that was the smartest thing to do,” said Antetokounmpo. “So I just kind of trust his thinking. But also for me, it takes kind of like focus away from that. I don’t have to think about that. I don’t need the media talks to be about my contract and if I’m going to stay, if I’m going to leave. Because I knew in my heart that I wanted to stay. … I’m committed. I’m here. And I want with my teammates to be successful and I want to win another championship.”
May 2, 2024: The Pacers eliminated the Bucks from the first round of the playoffs, 4-2. Antetokounmpo missed the entirety of the opening-round series to a strained left calf.
Feb. 19, 2025: “I don’t think that I would ever text [and ask for a trade],” Antetokounmpo told Greece’s COSMOTE TV. “I am not this kind of guy. They would have to kick me out.”
April 29, 2025: The Pacers defeated the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, 4-1. A healthy Antetokounmpo played the entire series, averaging a 33-15-7 across 37.6 minutes per game.
July 1, 2025: In order to sign Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million contract, the Bucks waived and stretched the final two years of Lillard’s deal, committing to carry an annual salary of $22.5 million through the 2029-30 season for the point guard not to play for them.
August 2025: According to Charania, the New York Knicks — the one team Antetokounmpo “wanted to play” for outside of Milwaukee — called the Bucks about their star, and the two sides entered a weeks-long “exclusive negotiating window” to no avail.
The Bucks and Knicks reportedly engaged in trade talks this offseason. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Patrick McDermott via Getty Images
Sept. 23, 2025: “Look, I hope it never happens, but I’m expecting it to,” Antetokounmpo said of the possibility of a trade in an interview with Greece’s Sport24. “Just because you’ve given a lot to the team doesn’t mean the team won’t do what’s best for itself.”
Sept. 29, 2025: “Guys, every summer, there’s truth to every report. It’s the same thing I’ve been saying my entire career,” Antetokounmpo said on media day. “I want to be on a team that allows me and gives me a chance to win a championship. I think it’s a disservice to basketball to not want to compete at a high level, to want your season to end in April. It’s pretty much the same. I had the same thoughts last year. I had the same thoughts two years ago. I had the same thoughts five years ago in 2020. It’s never going to change.”
Dec. 2, 2025: Antetokounmpo “cleaned up” his social media, removing a ton of Bucks-related content, though not all of it. Speculation swirled about why he had done this then.
Dec. 3, 2025: Antetokounmpo and his agent resumed “conversations with the Bucks about the two-time NBA MVP’s future — and discussing whether his best fit is staying or a move elsewhere,” Charania reported. A resolution was expected “in the coming weeks.” Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo suffered a right calf strain, which would cost him eight games.
Dec. 18, 2025: “My agent is talking to the Bucks about it,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “He’s his own person. He can have any conversation he wants about it. That doesn’t — at the end of the day, I don’t work for my agent, my agent works for me. …
“I personally have not had the conversation with the Bucks. I’m still locked in, locked in on my teammates and most importantly locked in on me getting back healthy. …
“This is the most I’ve ever been talked about in my career. I’m in my house, with my kids and all that, and the TV is like, ‘Oh, Giannis is going to the Memphis Grizzlies, or Giannis is going to the Detroit Pistons.’ Which, hey, man, I’m not gonna lie: I’m the hottest chick in the game.”
Dec. 27, 2025: Asked if he wants to be in Milwaukee, “I’m here,” insisted Antetokounmpo, who returned from injury in 25 minutes of a victory against the Chicago Bulls. “I’m here. I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. I’m here. It’s disrespectful towards myself and my teammates. I wear that jersey every single day. Disrespectful to the organization, my coaching staff, and all the people that work hard for me to come out here and say, ‘I don’t want to be here.’ Don’t ask me that question. I’m here. I’m putting on the jersey, and as long as I’m here, I’m going to give everything I have, even in the last second of the game.”
“As of today,” he added. “You know how they say this thing about your significant other, or your wife, you always have to say, ‘As of today.’”
Jan. 13, 2026: As the Bucks were being blown out at home by a Minnesota Timberwolves team that was playing without Anthony Edwards, Milwaukee fans began to boo their team. Antetokounmpo soon responded by booing the hometown crowd, declaring, “Boo this.”
“I was definitely booing back,” he added. “When I get booed, I boo back. I’ve been doing it all season. … I play basketball for my teammates. I play basketball for myself and my family. When people don’t believe in me, I don’t tend to be with them. I tend to be against them.”
Jan. 21, 2026: “We’re not playing hard,” he said after his team fell to 18-25. “We aren’t doing the right thing. We’re not playing to win. We’re not playing together. Our chemistry’s not there. Guys are being selfish, trying to look for their own shots instead of looking for the right shot for the team. Guys trying to do it on their own. At times, I feel like when we’re down 10, down 15, down 20, we try to make it up in one play, and it’s not going to work.”
Jan. 23, 2026: Antetokounmpo re-injured his right calf and declared himself out until “end of February, beginning of March.” The Bucks have not provided a more official timetable.
Jan. 28, 2026: The Bucks “are starting to listen” to “aggressive offers” from “several teams” for Antetokounmpo, who “is ready for a new home ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline,” and he has been, really, dating back to the end of last season, according to Charania.
Just a day after I wrote about the Brewers notably inviting two catchers to spring training, they’ve tacked on another catcher to that group.
Veteran catcher Reese McGuire, who spent last season with the Cubs, has agreed to a minor league deal with Milwaukee with an invite to major league spring training, per Curt Hogg.
McGuire, 31 in March, was a first-round pick by the Pirates back in 2013. He’s appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons with four different teams, including the Blue Jays, White Sox, Red Sox, and Cubs. His best season came back in 2019, when he appeared in 30 games for Toronto and totaled 1.0 bWAR, hitting .299/.346/.526 with five homers and 11 RBIs.
He appeared in 44 with Chicago in 2025, functioning as the primary backup to Carson Kelly. He hit .226/.245/.444 with nine homers, 24 RBIs, and 17 runs scored. He’s also considered an above-average catcher in terms of framing, blocking, and his throwing arm, catching eight of 31 would-be stealers in 2025 (25.9%) and sporting a career caught-stealing rate of 27.1%.
While William Contreras is the clear starter behind the plate for Milwaukee, McGuire will compete with Jeferson Quero and a few other minor leaguers for the backup job this spring. If the coaching staff feels that Quero needs a little more time to develop, it isn’t inconceivable that McGuire breaks camp with the major league squad at the end of March.
McGuire also doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, so if he enters the season on the Brewers’ MLB roster, the team won’t be able to option him whenever Quero is ready.
The Houston Rockets will be without Steven Adams for the rest of the season.
Adams underwent season-ending surgery on his left ankle on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Adams had already been out indefinitely with the sprained ankle, though there was no timetable provided for him to return.
Adams went down in the team’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this month. He was trying to guard Zion Williamson at the rim, but Adams immediately grabbed his left ankle after landing back down on the court from contesting a shot. He crashed to the floor and had to be helped off the court back to the locker room.
Steven Adams appeared to have injured his leg and had to be helped back to the locker room —
Rockets coach Ime Udoka initially said that Adams had a “severely sprained ankle,” but that nothing was broken. While specifics aren’t known, the injury was clearly something Adams wasn’t going to be able to recover from quickly.
Adams has averaged 5.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in Houston this season, his second with the team. Clint Capela has largely stepped in to replace Adams in his absence behind starter Alperen Şengün.
Adams is now the second major injury the Rockets are dealing with this season. They are also without point guard Fred VanVleet, who went down with a torn ACL during a workout in September.
Houston currently holds a 28-16 record entering Wednesday night’s game with the San Antonio Spurs. While they are in fourth in the Western Conference standings, they are just two games back from the Spurs in second place.
News broke Wednesday, a mere eight days before the NBA trade deadline, that “Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for a new home” and his Milwaukee Bucks “are starting to listen” to “aggressive offers” from “several teams,” according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The two-time NBA MVP might actually, reportedly, be available?!?!
Lots of people have THOUGHTS. Among them is 35-year-old Jae Crowder, who played parts of two seasons as Antetokounmpo’s teammate on the Bucks in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
WE WERE 30-13 BTW. TO BRING IN DOC. THIS IS WHAT STARTED THE AVALANCHE https://t.co/BGh2ZaulRx
Crowder pointed to Jan. 23, 2024, two years ago this week, when the Bucks fired head coach Adrian Griffin, as “what started the avalanche” to Antetokounmpo’s inevitable exit.
He is not (entirely) wrong.
The Bucks were 30-13 at the time, though they were a mess. Assistant coach Terry Stotts had resigned following an alleged verbal altercation with Griffin, and Antetokounmpo, just as today, was not happy with his team’s effort. “There was no pride,” he said. Milwaukee adjusted its defensive scheme midseason, reverting to principles installed under previous coach Mike Budenholzer, and a general consensus, honestly, was that Griffin was in over his head.
But at least one person — Crowder — disagrees, and he was in that locker room.
The Bucks finished the 2023-24 season 49-33, posting a 19-20 record under Rivers. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Indiana Pacers, just as they had to the Miami Heat under Budenholzer a year earlier. They were no better in the 2024-25 campaign, going 48-34 and losing in the opening round (again to the Pacers). They are 18-27 this season.
It really has been an avalanche.
Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that the Bucks did not re-sign Crowder at the end of the 2023-24 season, and he has not played in the NBA this year.
Also, Damian Lillard tore his Achilles last season. That was kind of a big deal, as was the oft-injured Khris Middleton aging into his mid-30s. Injuries happen. People age. Both Lillard and Middleton have been jettisoned in favor of younger, worse players. Teams devolve.
Or perhaps, as Crowder suggested, there was one single incident that precipitated this saga.
Obviously, the MacKenzie Gore trade is the biggest move the Nationals have made in the past week. However, there have been a few minor moves that you may have missed. I wanted to take a look at some of the news items that have been lost in the shuffle. Between minor league signings and spring training invites, there is plenty to talk about.
The first move I want to discuss actually happened today. It was reported that the Nats signed veteran infielder Sergio Alcantara to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite. The 29 year old has appeared in 193 MLB games, getting into one for the Giants last year.
Dominican infielder Sergio Alcántara signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals, per sources.
Alcántara, 29, appeared in one MLB game with the San Francisco Giants in 2025 season.
Alcantara is a sure handed switch hitting shortstop, who should provide solid organizational depth. He is pretty buried on the depth chart, but if injuries hit, there is a chance that Alcantara could be called up at some point this season.
Another move announced in the last day or so is that the Nats out-righted Andry Lara to Triple-A. Lara was DFA’d on January 20th, but cleared waivers. He will remain in the Nats organization, but is off of the 40-man roster.
RHP Andry Lara, who was DFA’d last week, cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Rochester.
This is good for both sides. Lara was clearly not ready for the MLB. Now that he is off the 40-man, the 23 year old can focus on sharpening his craft in the minors without worrying about being shuttled back and forth. It is nice to see that the Nats were able to keep him in the organization. While it has not been announced yet, he should get an invite to Spring Training.
Speaking of Spring Training, the Nats announced their internal non-roster invites. It is not a large list, but notable prospects like Seaver King and Caleb Lomavita will be invited. Interestingly, Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana were also invited to MLB camp despite being injured.
Being in a big league camp should be a good learning experience for these youngsters. The full list of non-roster invites for minor league free agent signings has not been announced yet. We know players like Warming Bernabel and Matt Mervis will be there.
Some other players who will be there are Trevor Gott, Zach Penrod and Tres Barrera. The Nats announced the minor league signings of those three a few days ago. Gott and Barrera have been in the Nats organization before, and have both played for the big league team back in the day.
The Nationals have signed the following players to Minor League contracts with invitations to 2026 Major League Spring Training:
Out of the three, Penrod is probably the most interesting. He has real control problems, but has a 95 MPH heater with life from the left side. I do not think he will break camp with the team, but it would not be a surprise if we see him at some point.
One more arm the Nats signed to a minor league deal is Bryce Montes de Oca. The towering righty is coming back from his second Tommy John Surgery. Prior to the surgery, de Oca’s fastball lived in the upper 90’s. If he can show that sort of velocity again, he will have a chance to stick with the Nats.
The Nationals have signed right-handed pitcher Bryce Montes de Oca to a Minor League contract with an invitation to 2026 Major League Spring Training.
None of these moves are earth shattering, but they are worth going over. Maybe one of these arms has some sort of surprise breakout season. This year is going to be all about players showing what they have. The Nats are not going to be very competitive this year, so plenty of players will get chances. Hopefully a couple of these guys can stick and become pieces for the future.
Despite the fact that we’ve hit this lull period here in the offseason, there’s still a fair number of players out there who are available via free agency. In fact, there’s actually plenty of starting pitchers who are still on the market at the moment. Jon Heyman of the New York Post recently took note of this via a social media post:
Tyler Anderson and Walker Buehler, too! You could form 3 plus decent rotations with starters still available https://t.co/WXsCUc9Rcd
Two of the names that Heyman mentioned in his own post that he quoted were Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt. As it turns out, those two players are now currently linked because the Atlanta Braves are reportedly interested in potentially bringing either one of those guys in. Heyman was the one who linked the Braves to those two while he made an appearance on MLB Network. He’ll start talking about the Braves interest in Giolito (and Bassitt as well) at around 4:20 during the video below:
All the way back in November, Alex Anthopoulos did state that the team would be looking for pitching during the offseason. They accomplished the goal of fortifying the bullpen (with the retention of Raisel Iglesias and the Robert Suarez signing being chief among their offseason acquisitions) and now they’re apparently looking to make sure that their starting rotation is fortified for the upcoming season as well.
Lucas Giolito will be entering his Age-31 season here in 2026 but he’s coming off of a bit of a bounce-back season in 2025 where he stuck with the Red Sox for the entire season after bouncing between three clubs in 2024. He produced an ERA of 3.41 (80 ERA-) and a FIP of 4.17 (99 FIP-) over the course of 26 starts and 145 innings pitched for Boston. That was good for 2.0 fWAR in 2025, which gave him his most productive season since 2021 which is when he capped off a very good three-year run with a 4.1 fWAR season back then.
Giolito has certainly had his ups-and-downs since 2021 and he’s also coming off of an elbow injury that ended his season prematurely in September. However, he did end up making a recovery early enough to where he’s essentially had a full offseason to work out instead of rehabbing so the obvious hope for any team that would sign him is that he’ll be ready to go once spring training and the regular season rolls around.
Alternatively, Chris Bassitt has been very steady since the 2019 season and any team who brings him in knows what they’re likely going to get — even as he enters his Age-37 season for the upcoming season. Bassitt has made 188 starts since 2019 and thrown 1087.1 innings across that span and over the course of all that time, he’s sat on an ERA of 3.60 (87 ERA-) and a FIP of 3.94 (93 FIP-).
That is about as steady and reliable as it gets over a long run and he also proved it in the Postseason for the Blue Jays last season. He made seven appearances for Toronto over the course of their long playoff run and notched a 10.38 K/9 rate alongside a 1.04 ERA and a 1.52 FIP while coming out of the ‘pen for the Jays. That type of reliability goes a long way and also seems to fit what the Braves would like to have whenever they actually do dip their toes into the free agency water. This is a club that values experience and a proven track record and it appears that Bassitt has both of those qualities.
I’d be pretty happy with either one of these pitchers joining the rotation (especially considering that neither of them will have the penalty associated with the Qualifying Offer attached to them), as they would certainly help add a period to some of the lingering question marks surrounding this rotation. Atlanta still currently has a very solid rotation on paper but as we’ve seen with the past couple of seasons, injuries can tear that paper up in a hurry. If Atlanta does choose to bring in one of these guys, they could at least be satisfied knowing that Giolito is coming into this season healthy and Bassitt has been consistent (even though he is aging) for a good and long while, now. We’ll see what happens when it comes to one of these two potentially joining up with the Braves ahead of this upcoming season.
Kevin Durant didn’t sugarcoat it. After the Rockets held Victor Wembanyama to a ]
Combine all his pull-up attempts from both midrange and from 3, and he’s shooting 34.5%, only a tick better than the 33% he posted in both prior seasons. This season, Wemby ranks 41st of the 46 players to take at least 150 of those shots. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is first (48.2%) and Durant is decimal points behind at 47.8%.
Wemby just turned 22. He’s the same age as a college senior. He can’t rent a car without paying extra. He’s not a finished product. The pull-up numbers have plateaued, sure. But he is much more fluid getting into his shots. Three years ago he looked like a baby deer learning to dribble. Now he’s crossing guys over while also turning the ball over less than he ever has. And he’s generating more of his own shots as a result: dribble-jumpers make up 31% of his total shots, up from the 25% in his first two seasons. That number was only 18% during his final year with the Metropolitans 92 before being drafted first overall in 2023.
By the time Wemby is in his prime, maybe all these reps as a shot creator will pay off. After all, he does have touch. Wembanyama has made 81.6% of his free throws in his career, and his catch-and-shoot 3-point success has risen each season. This year, he’s making a blistering 44.7% of those 3s — up from 37% last year and 29% as a rookie. That’s excellent progress, and adds to the belief that someday it’ll translate off the dribble.
The problem today? Wemby is taking only 3.2 of those 3s off the catch this season — slightly less than half of what he attempted last year. No matter how good you are, you still gotta take the easy ones. That’s true behind the arc. It’s true at the rim too.
Is Wemby ‘floating around the perimeter’ too much?
When Wembanyama gets to the restricted area, he’s automatic. He makes 76% of unassisted at-rim shots, which includes self-created drives from the perimeter, post-ups, isolations, or when he handles in transition. And he makes 87% of at-rim shots when the ball is passed to him, which includes lobs, cuts, rolls and other assist opportunities. Both are elite numbers. Combined, he’s the best in the league: Among 102 players with at least 100 total attempts in the restricted area this season, he leads the whole NBA at 82%. Even better than Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But Wemby takes only 3.5 shots per game in the restricted area, which ranks 51st of the same group of 102 players. Norm Powell takes more (3.7). Marvin Bagley takes more (3.9). Lauri Markkanen — a stretch big who lives beyond the arc — takes 5.1 per game. Giannis leads with 8.1 per game. Should that number be higher for Wemby?
Well, when Giannis was 22 he was taking only 5.5 restricted area shots per game and he didn’t have the jumper that Wemby does. It wasn’t until Antetokounmpo’s first MVP season in 2018-19, at age 24 and entering his physical prime, that he exceeded eight at-rim shots per game. Wemby is still young, adding strength, and already has more layers to his offense than Giannis has ever had.
When I interviewed Wembanyama following his rookie season, I asked who the players were that he studied most while growing up. KD and Giannis were fittingly the two players mentioned. Turns out, he’s statistically already in the same stratosphere as The Greek Freak at the rim. And the French Freak is putting defenders on posters too. But does Wemby need Durant to sit him down and show him the perimeter math?
Not exactly. Because here’s the thing: Wemby is a shape-shifter. His shot distribution swings wildly depending on who’s next to him. The pattern is clean: When Wemby shares the floor with a backcourt of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper — San Antonio’s two young guards — he takes 34.1% of his shots at the rim. With just Castle? 28.5%. Just Harper? 22.7%. Now add De’Aaron Fox. Fox and Castle together: 18.0%. Fox and Harper: 15.8%. Fox alone: 15.6%.
Wemby’s at-rim rate literally cuts in half when Fox is on the floor. Instead, Wemby takes a lot of 3s. Two-thirds of his catch-and-shoot 3s have come when he shares the floor with Fox. Wemby will often stand out on the perimeter to make space for Fox to do what he does best as an All-Star guard with a downhill style. Meanwhile, Castle and Harper get out of Wembanyama’s way by spacing behind the 3-point line, or they look for him on his rolls to the rim with more regularity.
Wemby’s distribution of dribble jumpers and all self-created chances is constant, regardless of the lineup combo. What changes is how he serves as a finisher. So Durant isn’t necessarily wrong about Wemby’s affinity for creating his own jumpers. But the data suggests his at-rim frequency is less about Wemby’s choice and more the Fox Effect.
And the team is no worse for it. No matter the combination of guards, Wemby’s shooting efficiency stays nearly equivalent and every group dominates offensively.
At least in the regular season. Fox doesn’t feel like he’s stepping on Wemby’s toes now. But will that change come playoff time? Castle and Harper have some of the worst “gravity” numbers in the league — a new metric released by the NBA that measures how much defensive attention a player commands. Defenses don’t respect their ability to score, and why would they? They’re young and inefficient. But in a January game, who cares? Nobody’s game-planning that hard yet. The question is what happens in April or May when Oklahoma City or Denver or even Houston have three days to prep. At that time, will the lack of knockdown shooting around Wembanyama become an issue?
Wemby, because he’s a genius and an athletic freak and apparently incapable of being bad at anything, will probably find a way. It’s on the Spurs to optimize the groups around him as he continues to “float around” outside and work on his shooting off the bounce.
If Wembanyama becomes anywhere near as dominant in the creation category as he is in every other, Durant’s game plan won’t work anymore. Because right now, Wemby is in his third year and already a game-wrecker on defense who, on offense, leads the league in rim efficiency at 82%, shoots 45% on catch-and-shoot 3s, and contorts his entire offensive game to fit whoever’s standing next to him.
All while “still working on his jump shot.” What happens when he figures it out?
