It’s going to take more than a few losses to shake bettors’ faith in the Oklahoma City Thunder.
OKC’s NBA championship odds have remained rock solid at +135 over the past two weeks despite posting an uninspiring 7-3 record in their last 10 games. That span has included a pair of back-to-back losses to the Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Hornets as a well as a 122-120 heartbreaker to the Miami Heat.
In spite of those setbacks, the Thunder still have the NBA’s best record at 36-8 and are on pace to establish the highest net rating in league history.
Let’s dive into the latest odds as the new year gets underway.
🏆 2026 NBA Championship odds
The Thunder’s odds have moved from +230 before the season began to +135 today. Rounding out the Top 5 are the Denver Nuggets (+600), Houston Rockets (+1000), New York Knicks (+1200), and Los Angeles Lakers (+1200).
📈 2026 NBA Finals odds over time
Here’s a visual representation of how the NBA championship has odds evolved since June 2025.
We turned to the enormous computing power of ChatGPT to find out who the large language model believes will be the last team standing this season. Not surprisingly, it stuck with the defending champs.
Oklahoma City has the cleanest runway to be the best team in 2026: an MVP-caliber engine in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entering the heart of his prime, a two-way star wing in Jalen Williams, and a 7-footer in Chet Holmgren whose blend of rim protection, spacing, and feel supercharges modern schemes. That trio already drives elite half-court efficiency and a top-tier defense, and it’s backed by organizational continuity that reliably turns role players into playoff-useful pieces. Holmgren’s strength and timing appear to be fully NBA-hardened, unlocking more switching and fewer help-and-recover compromises, while SGA’s mid-range and foul-drawing remain matchup-proof in May and June.
Depth and optionality push the Thunder over the top. They can win big or small, play five-out without sacrificing rim protection, and toggle between pressure defense and conservative coverages depending on opponent. Crucially, they still have surplus picks and cap flexibility to plug the inevitable holes that show up in a long postseason, whether that’s a second unit scorer, another stretch big, or a specialist wing.
Expect a rotation stacked with plus length, shooting, and decision-making around the core; enough to outlast the West’s heavyweights and finish the job in the Finals.
This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
Verizon had a massive outage last week, leaving roughly two million customers unable to use their phones off of wifi or SOS mode for nearly a day. As an apology for the inconvenience, the company promised to refund those affected a meager $20 to their accounts—so naturally, scammers quickly got a phishing scheme up and running targeting people eligible for the credit. As reported by Android Authority, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia has issued an alert about fake Verizon “credit” messages floating around.
Verizon credit phishing scam
According to the sheriff’s office, scammers may contact you via text or email—claiming to be from Verizon—with information about the outage credit. These messages contain phishing links, which may be set up to collect personal information or account credentials or deliver malware to your device. Clicking through will likely compromise your data in some way, especially if you enter any details on a malicious website.
If you are a Verizon customer who was affected by the outage, you will receive a text letting you know that your $20 credit is available to claim in the myVerizon app, which is why you may not be immediately suspicious of the scam. Plus, since you do need to claim the funds, you may be swayed by a message that sounds urgent. Don’t fall for it.
In general, you shouldn’t click links in unsolicited communication, and you should be suspicious of any messages that prompt you to click said links, even if they appear to be from a legitimate company about a legitimate matter. As evidenced by this phishing campaign and those like it, scammers can and will impersonate trusted brands and use real events to seem more believable.
Instead, always navigate directly to the app or official website—type in the URL and check it carefully or go through your password manager—and log in using your account credentials. Once logged in, you can see any legitimate communication and take action securely. Know that scammers can easily spoof websites, so if you click a phishing link, you may not realize that you’re on a fake page.
Adding Jimmy Butler fundamentally changed who the Warriors were last season — the way they played, the heights they could aspire to, their chances of playing meaningful basketball deep into springtime once again. Losing Butler on Monday to a torn right ACL — a devastating blow that sapped every ounce of sweetness out of Golden State’s fourth consecutive double-digit win — fundamentally changes who the Warriors are this season, and threatens a devastating alteration to who they could conceivably still be in the “fading dynasty” stage of the Stephen Curry/Draymond Green/Steve Kerr era.
Even at age 36, a crisp 15 years and nearly 35,000 NBA minutes into his career, Butler remains one of the league’s best all-around players — a high-efficiency, low-mistake offensive connector; a versatile and disruptive defender; a high-IQ adaptor able to fit neatly into the flow when playing alongside Curry and scale up into a larger, more central role when Steph’s off the floor; a consistently high-floor contributor with few peers at his position.
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports illutration)
Butler is second on the Warriors in scoring, third in assists and rebounds, and leads them in steals and total minutes played. There are four players in the NBA this season averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal per game while making at least half of their shots: Butler, perennial MVP favorite Nikola Jokić, and ascendant All-Star-caliber bigs Alperen Şengün and Jalen Johnson.
Butler had averaged just under 22-5-5 on pristine .649 true shooting over the past month prior to exiting early against Miami. He was playing some of the best ball of his career, and with it, the Warriors had started to stabilize: Golden State has won four straight and 12 of its last 16, with the NBA’s second-best record and fifth-best net rating in that span.
Combine that with the degree to which Golden State had struggled to tread water in non-Jimmy minutes even with Steph on the floor — just plus-1.1 points-per-100 over nearly 500 minutes this season — and the Warriors have a pretty gnarly puzzle to solve over the second half of the season if they hope to have any chance of remaining in postseason position.
Golden State enters Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors at 25-19, in eighth place in the Western Conference — in line for their third straight trip to the play-in tournament. With Butler in the fold and playing at an All-Star level, Kerr, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Co. could reasonably harbor hopes of erasing the two-game gap between them and the fifth-place Houston Rockets, putting themselves in position to not only avoid the play-in but potentially challenge for home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. Now, though, the Warriors braintrust has to consider whether it’s likelier that they rise or fall — they’re three games ahead of ninth-place Portland, five games up on the 10th-place Clippers, and 5.5 clear of 11th-place Memphis — and how their internal projections will inform their decision-making ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Five days past the NBA’s most closely watched trade eligibility date, Jonathan Kuminga remains a member of the Warriors. Twenty-four hours ago, it seemed likely that Dunleavy would keep beating the bushes in search of a deal that could turn the out-of-favor 23-year-old into something, anything, that could improve the Warriors’ chances of making a deep playoff run. But with Golden State now in desperate need of a wing-sized person capable of putting the ball in the basket, even if it’s not in precisely the way Kerr prefers, and with the most frequently stated reason for shelving Kuminga — effectively, we can’t play three not-really-shooters who need the ball in their hands, and Jimmy and Draymond are better than Kuminga is — does that calculus change?
If and when Kerr turns back to Kuminga — which he didn’t on Monday, but which he said could happen in the days and weeks ahead — how might the fifth-year forward respond? It seems like an awful lot, asking someone who has essentially been out of the rotation for two months to suddenly start replicating the production of a top-20 player — especially considering lineups where he’s had to carry the offensive workload without Steph or Jimmy have gotten drilled over the past two seasons. If a reintroduced Kuminga struggles under these adverse conditions, does it become even more difficult to move him for a return of noteworthy value? And if he doesn’t — if he looks great — well, then what do you do with a guy you’ve signaled in every way possible that you’re ready to drive to the airport at the earliest opportunity, but who’s suddenly become a load-bearing column in your current build?
The $11 billion question hanging over all of this, in the hours after Butler’s grim diagnosis: Just what is that “current build,” now?
The premise behind the Butler trade and subsequent extension was clean, clear and evident to all who observed it. Golden State had lined up the contracts of Curry, Butler and Green to take aim at a title run in 2024-25 and 2025-26, with a possible third in 2026-27, when Green holds a $27.7 million player option. It was an unmistakable declaration of intent: As long as we have Steph playing LIKE THIS, we’re going to go for it.
And it worked, and it looked great … until it didn’t. The first run ended in the second round, after Steph hurt his hamstring against the Timberwolves; with Butler’s season now over, the second one appears to have ended before it could even get started. And now, the Warriors find themselves back where they were this time last year: with Curry still playing like this, but without a supporting cast commensurate with the frankly unbelievable level at which he continues to produce.
Maybe that gives the rest of Golden State’s roster short shrift. De’Anthony Melton is finally healthy again and playing great. Al Horford’s starting to show signs of coming around. Podziemski’s in the midst of his best run of play of the season. Moody and Buddy Hield are shooting better than 40% from 3-point land over the last month. Maybe they keep rolling, and Kerr’s able to find enough contributions from elsewhere — from rookie Will Richard, from Quinten Post, from Trayce Jackson-Davis, and on, and on — to keep the Warriors in the fight, where they’re forever one Curry flurry from delivering a knockout blow.
And maybe the injury doesn’t necessarily preclude one last big comeback run. The average return-to-play following an ACL tear is about 11 months, according to Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes; that would put Butler’s return somewhere around Christmas, meaning he’d miss roughly the first quarter of the 2026-27 season, giving Golden State a lot of runway to get up to full strength before mid-April. Maybe there are still two real bites at the apple here.
Maybe, though, Butler’s injury shakes the Warriors’ faith in the viability of that timeline — in the likelihood that, 14 months from now, a core of a 39-year-old Curry, a 37-year-old Green and a 37-year-old, post-ACL-reconstruction Butler will be good enough to win in the playoffs. If Dunleavy and Co. arrive at that conclusion, they’ll have to decide whether they’re comfortable continuing to ride what they’ve got into the sunset — appreciating that time comes for us all, that best-laid plans sometimes go awry, and that it’s worth allowing the Steph-Draymond-Jimmy core to run its course — or if it’s time to make even more drastic changes to the roster, in service of seeding the ground for the next era of Warriors basketball, whenever that might start.
The former path would be perfectly respectable, if not downright honorable. In a world that’s seen the Warriors try to pull off the two timelines plan and let Klay Thompson walk, though, the latter can’t be ruled out. I don’t think that means they’re going to trade Steph in the middle of the night. (Although, y’know: Luka.) I do think, though, it means that just about anything else could be on the table, one fundamental change begetting another.
Welcome back to the world’s most accurate power rankings, where this week, before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, we are adding a wrinkle, rating 25 “available” NBA players from worst to first.
Just how “available” they are is in some question. Giannis Antetokounmpo, for example, may want out, but until he formally requests a trade, the Milwaukee Bucks will be hesitant to grant him one. Others are readily available. Some may only be parted with for the right asking price.
But all of them make some sense as trade candidates, given their situations. So, here we are to sort them based upon their talent, their contracts, their fits, their everything. Mostly: Can any of them meaningfully change a team’s championship chances? Here we try to sort them in order, mostly, based on how much each could alter this year’s title picture. Surely you will not argue.
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
One more thing before we get to the rankings: Karl-Anthony Towns. Is he available? Whispers are growing louder, if only because his New York Knicks are struggling. But I still cannot imagine a world in which the Knicks disrupt their roster — one that remains a favorite to emerge from the East — for anyone but Antetokounmpo. So we will leave him sidelined for now.
Honorable mentions: Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets; Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers; De’Andre Hunter, Cleveland Cavaliers; Malik Monk; Sacramento Kings.
25. Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors
On Thursday, Kuminga demanded a trade from the Warriors. On Friday, we discussed whether he was even a good basketball player. On Monday, Golden State’s Jimmy Butler tore his right ACL, leaving open a massive hole on the wing. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked if he will turn to Kuminga, and in a disheartened voice he said, “Sure. Absolutely.” Audition time, I guess?
24. Immanuel Quickley, Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have canvassed the market, shopping “some of their players, including RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley,” looking to see what value they might find, according to ESPN. Among their reported potential targets are Anthony Davis and Ja Morant. Why a trade partner would want the three years and $97.5 million left on Quickley’s deal is a question to which it would need answers.
The Hawks, along with the Raptors, are reportedly among the teams that remain interested in the services of Davis, even after a hand injury that could sideline him through the All-Star break. Any Hawks trade for a high-priced star would have to include the $30.7 million expiring contract for Porziņģis, whose health remains a concern. Get him on the court, though, and he would help.
22. Anfernee Simons, Boston Celtics
Over the summer, Boston was “still very much willing to talk about Simons” in trade discussions, per longtime Celtics insider Steve Bulpett, even after acquiring the former Blazers guard in July. It makes sense, given Simons’ expiring $27.7 million salary. Boston has two reasons to shop him: 1) to duck the luxury tax or 2) to roll that salary forward for a surprisingly competitive roster.
21. Nikola Vučević, Chicago Bulls
Because Vučević is on an expiring $21.5 million salary, longtime trade speculation has only rampedup this season, and Vučević himself might even want a change in scenery. To that end, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said, “I do think he’s invested and committed.” Which may make him even more tradable. The Bulls hold enough expiring money to pursue Davis, a local product.
20. Jalen Green, Phoenix Suns
While Green has not been mentioned in any well-sourced trade rumors, the Suns would almost certainly have to include his $33.6 million salary in any discussion of upgrades to a team fighting for a guaranteed playoff seed in the West. The former No. 2 overall pick has shown flashes as a 20-point scorer, though his defense and an ongoing hamstring injury are reasons for concern.
19. Herb Jones, New Orleans Pelicans
Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III are among the names the Pelicans are not willing to discuss ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, per Chris Haynes. But teams will continue to call, so long as New Orleans remains at the bottom of the standings. Jones, a 3-and-D wing who has shot 32% from distance over the past two seasons, signed a three-year, $67.6 million extension in July.
18. DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento Kings
The NBA’s worst–keptsecret: Everyone on the Kings, including Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, are available in a trade, particularly as Sacramento pursues another headliner. The Kings could even be open to a DeRozan-for-Morant swap, so long as it does not cost them much more than Devin Carter, but is that enough to persuade Memphis?
17. Zach LaVine, Sacramento Kings
As with DeRozan, there is no secret about LaVine’s availability via trade. He is owed $49 million next season, when he will turn 32 years old. He has played four playoff games in 12 years. He has always been an efficient 20-point scorer, even if he cannot defend well and commits almost as many turnovers as he registers assists. It only makes sense that his contract is up for grabs.
16. RJ Barrett, Toronto Raptors
Like Quickley, Barrett’s salary — $27.7 million this season and $29.6 million next season — makes for an intriguing match in Toronto’s pursuit of an upgrade, which is another reason why he has been linked to rumors surrounding both Davis and Morant. Barrett holds some value on his own, as the 25-year-old has averaged a fairly efficient 20-5-4 for the fourth-place Raptors.
Given the mix in Cleveland, with Evan Mobley emerging as a force in the middle, we have long wondered whether Allen would be long for the Cavaliers. Trade consideration subsided last season, as the Cavs won 64 games, but ever since they lost another second-round playoff series and started this season in search of a playoff guarantee, speculation has only resurfaced.
13. Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
Miami will be linked to whatever superstar becomes available, including if and when the Bucks decide to entertain sweepstakes for Giannis Antetokounmpo. One of the few assets the Heat can offer in return is Herro, a 26-year-old, one-time All-Star and former Sixth Man of the Year. He is owed $33 million in 2026-27. How enticing that is to a team trading a superstar is in question.
As is the case with Allen in the frontcourt, there is a logjam in Cleveland’s backcourt, where Donovan Mitchell is the premier option. Garland’s impact is somewhat redundant, and the Cavs might be looking to make better sense of their roster. For those interested, though, Substack’s Jake Fischer insists, “I just haven’t heard any credible rumblings about Garland’s availability.”
10. Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
Credit Lakers superstar LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, for entering Reaves’ name into the trade discussion, as he proposed a swap of the Lakers’ 27-year-old guard for Jaren Jackson Jr. Paul is not wrong, either, as Reaves could be owed a near-max contract at season’s end, and any quest for a star partner to James and Luka Dončić would require Reaves’ services in return.
9. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
Again: No secret has been made about the availability of Sabonis, LaVine and DeRozan. The Kings are looking to mix things up, once again, and if it costs them their best players, so be it. It is not like Sacramento is winning anything as currently constituted. And Sabonis is capable of a triple-double on any given night, although his defense might dissuade most potential suitors.
“Everybody in here who knows me, knows I’m a very loyal guy,” insisted Morant. “I got a logo on my back, and that should tell you where I want to be.” Of course, based on everything else we have heard, Morant no longer wants to be on the Grizzlies, and they no longer want him, either. As anticipated, multiple suitors have emerged for Morant, including Miami, though at what cost?
6. Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
And again: Murphy is among the names New Orleans has been unwilling to discuss. Still, “not completely no on Trey, but a pretty high price tag,” according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick. And it makes complete sense. Murphy (22-6-4 on near 50/40/90 shooting splits) is the exact kind of 3-and-D wing, with the potential for more to his game, that any rival team would want to acquire.
5. Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn Nets
It is unclear how much the Warriors’ reported interest in Porter has changed in the wake of Butler’s injury, as it was even unclear how much Golden State was interested anyhow. Detroit has discussed the idea of dealing for Porter, according to Fischer. We have seen Porter win a title. Surely another contender can convince itself he can help them win, too.
Funny thing about Giannis. He might want out. “I don’t know,” he said most recently, “I take it day by day.” He should want out, since his Bucks are bound for the lottery. But he does not want to ask out, for fear of alienating the fans in Milwaukee, per Collier. So maybe he will let his agent do his bidding. In which case, the league will line up for his services. This is Giannis, after all.
When OpenAI first announced GPT-5.2 last month, it quietly disclosed a new safety feature it called “age prediction.” Considering ChatGPT proper isn’t exactly an “all ages” kind of tool, it makes sense that users under the age of 18 should have protections in place to shield them from harmful content. The company says that users who indicate they’re under 18 already receive an altered experience to “reduce exposure to sensitive or potentially harmful content,” but if the user doesn’t voluntarily share how old they are with OpenAI, how does the company enforce these protections? Here’s where age prediction comes in.
How age prediction for ChatGPT works
On Tuesday, OpenAI officially announced its new age prediction policy, which, like other age verification systems being used by the likes of Roblox, uses AI to guess how old a user is. If the system decides that a particular user is under the age of 18, OpenAI will adjust the experience accordingly, with the goal of keeping all interactions age-appropriate.
Here’s how it works: The new age prediction model looks at both the user’s behaviors within the app, as well as the general account data. That includes things like how old the account is, what times of day the user is accessing ChatGPT, usage patterns, as well as, of course, the age the user says they are. Looking at all this data, the model determines how old the user likely is. If the model thinks they’re over 18, they’ll get the full experience; if the model thinks they’re under 18, they’ll get the “safer experience.” If the model isn’t confident, it defaults to that safer experience.
What’s restricted in the “safer” version of ChatGPT
That limited experience means that someone the model thinks is under 18 will try to reduce the following content types:
Graphic violence or gore
Viral challenges that might inspire “risky or harmful behaviors”
Role play that is sexual, romantic, or violent in nature
Self-harm descriptions
Content promoting “extreme” beauty standards, unhealthy dieting, or body shaming
The company says that its approach is informed by “expert input” as well as literature discussing child development science. (It’s not clear whether how much of that input is from direct interviews and coordination with experts, and how much, if any, is from independent research.) The company also acknowledges “known teen differences in risk perception, impulse control, peer influence, and emotional regulation” when compared to adults.
AI isn’t always great at age prediction
The biggest risk with any of these age prediction models is that they’ll sometimes get it wrong—hallucination is an unfortunate habit AI models all share. That goes both ways: You don’t want someone too young accessing inappropriate content in ChatGPT, but you also don’t want someone older than 18 getting stuck with a limited account for no reason. If you experience the latter situation, OpenAI has a solution for you: direct age verification through Persona. This is the same third-party Roblox uses for its age verification, which hasn’t gone very well thus far.
That doesn’t necessarily spell doom for OpenAI. Roblox tried overhauling their age verification system for a massive user base all used to a certain type of multiplayer experience, which led to users not being able to chat with other users in newly-assigned age categories, which were often incorrect. Meanwhile, ChatGPT’s age prediction is only controlling the experience of one user at a time. To that end, OpenAI will let you upload a selfie as an added verification step if the prediction model alone isn’t enough. Interestingly, OpenAI doesn’t say anything about the option to upload an ID for verification, which other companies, like Google, have provided.
I’m not necessarily a fan of age prediction models, as I think they often sacrifice user privacy in the name of creating age-appropriate experiences. But there’s little doubt that OpenAI has to do something to limit the full ChatGPT experience for younger users. Many of ChatGPT’s users are under 18, and much of the content they experience is wildly inappropriate, whether it be instructions on getting high, or advice on writing suicide notes. In some tragic cases, minors have taken their own lives after discussions with ChatGPT, leading to lawsuits against OpenAI.
I don’t have any great answers here. We’ll just have to see how this new age prediction model affects the user experience for minors and adults alike, and whether it actually manages to create a safer experience for younger, more impressionable users.
We have a fun episode of The Dunker Spot coming your way!
Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones discuss the unfortunate season-ending injury to Jimmy Butler, and the ramifications that may have on the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga.
From there, the guys react to the All-Star starters for each conference* being announced, then try their hands at predicting who the coaches will select as reserves. Finally, they react to this most recent weekend of Unrivaled basketball.
1:47 — Jimmy Butler out for season 15:28 — All-Star starters announced 38:44 — MVP discussion 56:42 — All-NBA discussion 1:10:45 — Unrivaled takeaways from the weekend
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 13: Jimmy Butler III #10 of the Golden State Warriors looks on against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second half of an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on January 13, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Who has been the MVP of the league at the season’s halfway point? Who’s winning the Rookie of the Year race? With every team hitting the 41-game mark, let’s hand out midseason awards.
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The Midseason Coach of the Year is …
Jones: J.B. Bickerstaff, Pistons. One of the more underrated skills for a coach to have is to understand the talent you have, maximize it and get the entire roster to buy in. Bickerstaff has been able to do that, keeping Detroit at the top of the East. The great play of Cunningham is one thing, the growth of Jalen Duren is another, but when you go through the roster you see an identity where everyone contributes. This team defends and believes every night, and whatever expectation you had has been exceeded to this point.
Jensen: Mitch Johnson, Spurs. Victor Wembanyama has been in and out of the lineup, and Johnson is relying heavily on a three-guard rotation consisting primarily of players who aren’t strong natural shooters. Devin Vassell has also missed time, and when he’s played his influence has been somewhat average. Yet the Spurs are winning despite all of that. This group has fully embraced a team-first mentality, and that doesn’t happen without a high level of quality in the leadership department.
Devine: Jordan Ott, Suns. Everyone’s on their best behavior at media day: swearing that it’s going to develop a culture of relentlessness competitiveness that hinges on accountability and the non-negotiability of playing hard. Everyone says that stuff. The Suns are actually doing it, though — eighth in points allowed per possession, second in steals, third in deflections, tied for fourth in loose balls recovered, fifth in offensive rebound rate, sixth in how frequently they dial up full-court pressure, etc. — and they’re reaping the benefits, sitting at 26-17. The Suns needed a full-tilt spiritual reset in the worst way; Ott has brought it from Day 1.
Iko: Mitch Johnson. The Suns have been a revelation and Ott has been at its epicenter, but what Johnson has done is simply too incredible to downplay. I was present when Johnson was introduced by Gregg Popovich and outlined his plan to improve the Spurs on both sides of the ball. The results are clear: They are eighth in offense, third in defense, fifth in rebounding and turnover rate and, more importantly, have learned to play without Wembanyama. The improvement of Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson’s shapeshifting ability and Dylan Harper’s development all have Johnson’s fingerprints on them as well.
Haberstroh: Mitch Johnson. San Antonio hasn’t had the full complement of Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper for half the season and yet it’s emerged as the second-best team in the loaded West. The first-year head coach has pulled all the right levers and scoffs at your NBA Cup hangover talk.
The Midseason Defensive Player of the Year is …
Jensen: Victor Wembanyama. Dear NBA, the games played requirement for awards is officially nuts if Wemby goes his third straight season without winning DPOY, which in about 15 years should probably be named after him. The 7-foot-5 dynamo takes away everything. Shots at the rim, passing in the midrange area, corner 3-pointers, and everything in-between. His athleticism, length, and defensive IQ are all off the charts, and virtually all of his opponents rave about him after games. Come on now.
Jones: Victor Wembanyama. His impact on the defensive end of the floor is a massive reason why the Spurs have been able to hang near the top of the Western Conference. A consistent presence in the paint, his weakside help consistently forces offenses to make decisions night in and night out. It’s not just his ability to erase space, rotate or protect the paint, it’s the communication and awareness to ensure he’s consistently in the right spot at the right time.
Haberstroh: Victor Wembanyama. I love that he and Chet Holmgren are going toe-to-toe — or fingertip-to-fingertip — for this award. The edge goes to Wemby for me because this is an individual award. The Thunder defense is elite no matter who steps on the floor. Wemby is the sole reason why the Spurs have a top-five defense in the NBA.
Iko: Victor Wembanyama.There is no other player that alters opponents’ offensive game plans more aggressively than him. He’s the reason why the Spurs’ defense is menacing. Teams take the most shots from the perimeter and fewest at the rim when he’s on the floor (I wonder why that is), and don’t even think about getting easy baskets in transition.
Devine: Victor Wembanyama. Just 45.4% of Spurs opponents’ shot attempts come in the paint when Wembanyama is on the floor; they convert those shots at league-worst levels when he’s out there. The Spurs allow a microscopic 105.8 points per 100 possessions in his floor time, and 117.4 points-per-100 without him; he is, in effect, the difference between San Antonio defending like the Thunder and defending like the Pacers. There are other reasonable answers — Rudy Gobert in Minnesota, Holmgren in OKC — but to me, the most obvious answer feels like the right one.
The Midseason Sixth Man of the Year is …
Haberstroh: Jaime Jaquez Jr., Heat. The NBA leaders in points in the paint are a bunch of All-Stars with the exception of one bench player: Jaquez. The UCLA product has bounced back after a dreadful sophomore slump, nearly averaging 15-5-5 off the bench for a winning team in Miami.
Iko: Keldon Johnson, Spurs. He is the current favorite to win the award, according to BetMGM, but aside from that, let’s talk about the seventh-year guy who’s had to embody a different role nearly every season. He’s shooting a career-best from 3 (42%) and from 2 (63.3%); he’s among the upper echelon in rebounding rate; and he’s simplified his approach to basketball and seen it pay ultimate dividends for the Spurs. This just feels like a San Antonio year.
Devine: Isaiah Stewart, Pistons. You can just stuff your instant-offense guards and wings in a sack, Mister. Beef Stew is an all-around physical menace who leads the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage allowed at the rim, who has turned himself into a credible frontcourt floor-spacer (36% from 3-point range) while also having the best interior finishing season of his career, and who has played a massive role in Detroit’s rise to second in the league in defensive efficiency and the top spot in the East. Stewart makes his impact differently than the kind of high-scoring ball-handlers who typically get this award, but that doesn’t mean the impact he makes is any less forceful, vital or worthy of recognition.
Jensen: Keldon Johnson. This guy used to average 22 points per game, but has totally rebranded himself as a complete buy-in guy who does whatever is asked of him. He’s rebounding better than ever, taking more shots from around the rim, and moving the ball with intent, all while coming off the bench and embracing his own role. It’s a major success story for both him and the Spurs.
Jones: Jaime Jaquez Jr. There are a variety of bench players who have really impacted their teams, so this could get even more interesting in the second half of the season. As of now, I salute Jaquez for how he’s helped lift Miami’s offensive attack. A shift to more spacing, more drive-and-kick and more cutting has been helped by Jaquez’s consistent ability to get into the paint and not only finish but showcase improved decision-making.
The Midseason Most Improved Player is …
Iko: Deni Avdija, Trail Blazers. It’s hilarious to recall Avdija was the throw-in piece in the Malcolm Brogdon deal; this is a man averaging a stunning 30/7/7 since the calendar flipped to 2026. How do you argue against a fellow who’s been trusted with carrying Portland’s entire offense on his shoulders all while keeping the Blazers in the thick of the play-in? Look no further than the home-and-home against the Rockets for a microcosm of how important Avdija is to winning basketball. Sometimes all you need is a push. Or a trade away from the Wizards.
Jones: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Hawks. There is always a debate on what exactly this award should mean, and there are a lot of names that could be added to the list. There is a world where people point to Jalen Johnson, Jalen Duren and Dillon Brooks for their contributions. Keyonte George, Collin Gillespie and Anthony Black have consistently turned heads. I point to Alexander-Walker. Opportunity is everything, but to go from averaging single digits to 20 points a night is not easy.
Haberstroh: Deni Avdija. The Blazers have missed more games due to injury than any team in the NBA, and yet they’re .500 in the West. It’s all because of Avdija, who’s now one of three players to average at least 25 points, six rebounds and six assists this season. It’s him, Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić. His first All-Star honor is coming any day now. If he keeps this up — every value metric has him as a top-15 player this season — so should his first All-NBA appearance.
Devine: Keyonte George, Jazz. This time last year, George was shooting under 40% from the floor with a too-high-for-a-lead-guard turnover rate while profiling as one of the NBA’s worst defenders. Now, he’s averaging 24 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds per game, looking like a completely different, more composed and more aggressive offensive player. (He’s even showing — slightly — improved block and steal rates.) Reasonable arguments can be made for making-the-All-Star-leap dudes like Avdija and Duren; here, though, I’ll shout out someone who looked like he might be circling the drain on his way to being out of the league, but has done the work to climb back into consideration as a cornerstone for his franchise.
Jensen: Nickeil Alexander-Walker.It’s between Avdija, George, and Alexander-Walker for me. I lean toward Alexander-Walker because of that surprise factor. We saw Avdija wrap up 2024-25 on a high note, so this doesn’t register as a major surprise. However, George is playing out of his mind, and if Utah had been just a slightly better team, I might have rewarded him for that. There’s still time, though.
(Washington, D.C., January 20, 2026) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins today signed the official commissions of all Senate-confirmed officials serving at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), marking one year since the start of President Trump’s historic second term in office.
The Dodgers aren’t just playing season-by-season these days. They’re aiming at history. They’ve won the last two World Championships, and after acquiring closer Edwin Díaz and outfielder Kyle Tucker, they’re well positioned to win a third.
Los Angeles currently stands at +225 to have the October dogpile; the Yankees (+1100) and Mariners (+1200) are the distant second and third choices at the moment. There are actually 11 teams crammed between +1100 and +2500; you can make a lot of pitches for championship clubs after the Dodgers. But any reasonable person would admit the Dodgers are the obvious favorites.
When Tucker was added to a name-brand lineup that already has three past MVP winners (Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman), there was an instant discussion as to whether or not the Dodgers have the best offense in fantasy baseball history, or the best team in fantasy baseball history. The offensive floor is very high for this team. The Dodgers have ranked top five in runs scored for eight straight seasons (2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st, 4th, 1st, 5th, 5th). They just added Tucker, the top offensive player from the free agent market. Ohtani remains a unicorn.
I get the excitement for “greatest ever” types of discussion, but I’m generally going to throw cold water on these types of things. A lot can go wrong en route to history.
Let’s try to unpack some of this. How could this Hollywood team go off script?
It’s an older team
The Tucker addition made a lot of sense for a team that just didn’t need an outfielder; it needed a younger outfielder. Look at the seasonal ages in this lineup:
Ohtani, 31
Betts, 33
Freeman, 36
Tucker, 29
Will Smith, 30
Max Muncy, 35
Teoscar Hernández, 33
Tommy Edman, 30
Andy Pages, 25
Betts had a 104 OPS+ last year; 100 is league average. Hernández was at 103. Freeman’s production the last two years was under his career norm; he was merely the No. 46 hitter in 5×5 value despite playing 147 games. Muncy will likely fall into a platoon; he’ll be on the heavy side of it, but it will cost him some at-bats.
It’s commonly accepted that an offensive player’s peak is somewhere in the 26-29 range. It doesn’t mean players in their 30s can’t still be stars, and at this point, it would be foolish to ever doubt Ohtani on anything. But sometimes we have to let actuary vibes sneak into our fantasy discussions.
It’s not an aggressive running team
Given the power up and down the Los Angeles lineup, you can understand why manager Dave Roberts doesn’t look to manufacture runs. Only two regular L.A. players had double-digit steals last year — Ohtani swiped 20 bags (the 59 the previous year always felt like a do-it-once thing) and Pages stole 14 bases. Betts (eight steals) and Freeman (six steals) have mostly shut down this part of their games. Edman was once an aggressive runner in St. Louis; he attempted just four steals last year. Gridlock is alive and well in Southern California.
The Dodgers manage like they’re in the playoffs already
The Dodgers seemed to learn a lesson in the 2021-2023 pocket, when they banked a ridiculous 317 regular-season wins but never made it to the World Series. They’ve settled for 98 and 93 wins the last two years and finished each with a championship. It’s not that they’re not trying during the regular season, but they accept it merely as a precursor to the games that matter in October. They’re basically already in the playoffs — they’ve qualified 13 straight years and now 40% of MLB clubs make the tournament — and with that, you can tread carefully during the six-month seasonal slog.
This strategy will affect how much fantasy value their starting pitchers accrue. Whenever any L.A. hurler has a small burp to his shoulder, elbow or forearm, he’s probably getting some rest. The Dodgers have the personnel to run a six-man rotation anyway.
Last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto made it to 173.2 innings; no one else on staff got to 113 innings. In 2024, only two LAD pitchers got past 90 innings, and no one qualified for the ERA title. The team cap was a modest 131.2 innings back in 2023.
Yamamoto was the World Series hero last year and maybe he’s capable of breaking this strategy. But given the ages and injury histories of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and even Ohtani, I’d be very careful of how I project them on the mound. Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki (expected to start again) also have tempered ceilings.
So I’ve tried to pump the breaks a little bit on the runaway expectations. But what if the 2026 Dodgers hit the high end of their range? What historical teams are they chasing?
The greatest fantasy baseball teams of MLB history
The best OPS+ team of all time was the 1927 Yankees (127), the canonical answer for best offense ever. They’re followed by some teams you actually might have seen; the 2023 Braves, the 2017 Astros (aided by the trash cans), the 1976 Reds and the 2024 Dodgers. Other teams in the top 10 include the 2019 Astros, 2019 Yankees and 2019 Twins. The 116-win Mariners club from 2001 ranks 11th.
Nobody is likely to score 1,000 runs in today’s MLB; that mark has only been done three times. The 1932 and 1936 Yankees did, along with the 1999 Indians (my pick as the best offense in the fantasy era). We’ve seen 17 teams from the past 25 years make it past 900 runs; that’s a good target for the Dodgers. Los Angeles scored 906 runs back in 2023.
The home run record stands at 307; the 2023 Braves and 2019 Twins hold that post. The best L.A. homer season came in 2019, when they hit 279. The ball was lively that year, you probably recall. The Dodgers thumped 249 homers in 2023 and 244 last year; they will likely be around that number for the new season.
Maybe you’d prefer a modern metric view of all this. If we look at all the fantasy-era offenses by their collective offensive WAR (using Baseball Reference), the 2007 Yankees percolate to the top (40.0). They’re followed by the 2001 Mariners, 2023 Braves, 2017 Astros and 2024 Dodgers. Last year’s Dodger club had 29.1 oWAR as a team, the 62nd-best offense in this query.
Great offense, sure. But a long ride from the top of the list.
Hey, the future is unwritten. Maybe Tucker will finally get some injury luck to go his way and will post a career season. You never say never with anything related to Ohtani. Betts and Freeman are already Hall of Famers by résumé; maybe they have another golden season left. Smith could easily beat all the other fantasy catchers. Hernández is a run-producing star. The pitchers might not make 25 starts, but there are stars up and down the rotation. Díaz is a lights-out closer, too.
Should be a blast of a season. It’s a shame Vin Scully isn’t still around to add his words and poetry.
The 2026 NBA Finals will begin on Wednesday, June 3, and end on Friday, June 19, should the title need seven games to be decided.
According to Sports Media Watch, this will be the first NBA Finals since 1970 to not have a game scheduled for a Sunday. Typically, the league’s final playoff series of the season has begun on a Thursday and ended on a Sunday if a Game 7 was necessary.
There is also the potential uniqueness of an NBA Finals game airing on a Saturday night (Game 5), something that has only happened once since 1981.
2026 NBA Finals schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, June 3 Game 2: Friday, June 5 Game 3: Monday, June 8 Game 4: Wednesday, June 10 *Game 5: Saturday, June 13 *Game 6: Tuesday, June 16 *Game 7: Friday, June 19 *if necessary
(all games begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
There are two factors playing into how the NBA and ABC devised the schedule for this year. First, ABC is also airing the Stanley Cup Final, which will take place around the same time. Then you have the World Cup, which begins on June 11 and sees the United States begin its tournament on June 12 at 9 p.m. ET in Los Angeles.
The second group game for the USMNT is a week later on Friday, June 19, at 3 p.m. ET, hours before a potential Game 7.
Since 2017 and 2018 when the Golden State Warriors went back-to-back, the NBA has seen seven different champions. Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder topped the Indiana Pacers in the first seven-game NBA Finals since 2016.
As of Tuesday, the Thunder remain on top of the NBA with a 36-8 record. Behind them in the overall standings is the 31-10 Detroit Pistons and the 30-13 San Antonio Spurs.
