On the first night of a Midwest back-to-back, the Warriors will be down several key contributors — namely stars Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green — against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
All of these guys are out for the Warriors tonight, Steve Kerr announced: Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Al Horford and Seth Curry @NBCSWarriors
A very light group tonight for the Warriors in Cleveland
Without those steady veterans, coach Steve Kerr needs a big night from Golden State’s second timeline, particularly two players who have struggled lately: Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski. Before Saturday’s matchup in Cleveland, Kerr detailed some areas he needs to see improvement from that young duo.
“Well, JK, it’s always run the floor, take care of the ball — the turnovers have been an issue lately,” Kerr told reporters. “So I’m really urging him to get up the floor instead of, you know, holding back in the backcourt and asking for the ball. I want him to be the first guy down the floor, not the last. And I think that’s been an issue the last few games. I don’t think he’s running the floor that well.”
With the Warriors down several players tonight, Steve Kerr highlights what he wants to see from Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski pic.twitter.com/2jqh4bwglK
Kuminga had a strong start to the 2025-26 NBA season but hasn’t looked quite like himself since returning from a seven-game absence due to bilateral knee tendinitis.
Podziemski, on the other hand, has been thrust into a larger role while Curry is out with a quad contusion. But in Thursday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Podziemski was a team-worst minus-20 in just under 20 minutes, while third-string point guard Pat Spencer was a team-best plus-17 in 24 minutes.
“And then with Brandin, he’s got to get off the ball early,” Kerr continued. “When he gets into trouble is when he tries too hard to make plays on his own, instead of doing what he does best, which is to move the ball and be part of a five-man group that is really executing.
“That’s why Pat has closed these last couple of games and played most of the fourth quarters, if not all, because he’s doing that. So Brandin needs to get back to just focusing on the things he does best.”
With Golden State missing practically all of their veterans on Saturday, Kerr needs Kuminga and Podziemski to return to form to have any chance at taking down a talented Cavaliers squad on the road.
Programming note: Watch the full “Conversations with Deuce & Mo” interview with Nique Clifford, debuting at 4 p.m. PT Saturday on NBC Sports California
Nique Clifford, as a rookie, already is playing with one of his favorite NBA players of all time.
After Kings point guard Russell Westbrook racked up his 204th career triple-double in Sacramento’s win over the Golden State Warriors earlier this month, Clifford joined NBC Sports California’s “Kings Postgame Live” and revealed that Westbrook is his top-three point guard in NBA history.
But in speaking to NBC Sports California’s Deuce Mason and Morgan Ragan on a recent “Conversations with Deuce & Mo,” Clifford clarified his stance on that ranking.
“It’s debatable. You can put Magic [Johnson] and Steph [Curry] in there, of course,” Clifford said. “But honestly, Westbrook has always been my G.O.A.T. for point guard my whole life. It’s just the way he impacts the game from all levels. He plays hard, his passion. He’s always been my No. 1 point guard. But you can argue Steph and Magic, of course.”
Clifford has stated on multiple occasions that Westbrook has been one of his “favorite players” growing up.
Now, Clifford gets to spend his rookie season — and Year 18 for Westbrook — being teammates with one of his idols.
The young rookie shared what has surprised him most since playing alongside the former league MVP.
“The fact that he’s still doing what he’s doing. Like how old is he? He’s been doing it so long and he’s still got that burst to him,” Clifford said. “He still has that same passionate energy and competitiveness. That’s been super impressive. Just as a teammate, he’s been a great dude to learn from. Seeing how he approaches it every day. Real professional.
“And always has the same energy and smile that you see when he’s playing. That’s who he is off the court, too. It’s been real cool to be a part of that and play with one of my favorite players of all time.”
The Kings traded a protected 2027 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder to move up in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft and secure Clifford at No. 24 overall.
Clifford has shown flashes of his potential in a small sample size thus far, averaging 4.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 19 minutes through 10 games this season.
Playing alongside several established veterans, including Westbrook, Clifford is in good hands in Year 1.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić announced the birth of his second daughter on Saturday morning, captioning his Instagram post with her name, Olivia. Dončić and his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, also have a 2-year-old daughter, Gabriela.
Dončić has missed the Lakers’ past two games to travel back to his native Slovenia to be with Goltes for the birth. Head coach J.J. Redick said on Friday that Dončić could return for Sunday’s game at the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers are 16-6 and rank third in the Western Conference, and they’ll be keen to have their NBA-leading scorer back, whether it’s Sunday or Wednesday for their NBA Cup quarterfinal game. Dončić is averaging 35.3 points per game and 8.9 assists, good for fourth in the league.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić announced the birth of his second daughter on Saturday morning, captioning his Instagram post with her name, Olivia. Dončić and his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, also have a 2-year-old daughter, Gabriela.
Dončić has missed the Lakers’ past two games to travel back to his native Slovenia to be with Goltes for the birth. Head coach J.J. Redick said on Friday that Dončić could return for Sunday’s game at the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers are 16-6 and rank third in the Western Conference, and they’ll be keen to have their NBA-leading scorer back, whether it’s Sunday or Wednesday for their NBA Cup quarterfinal game. Dončić is averaging 35.3 points per game and 8.9 assists, good for fourth in the league.
Former NBA player Chandler Parsons is now co-host of the podcast “Run It Back.” (David Calvert / Getty Images for American Century Investments)
Three words perfectly summed up what LeBron James has been trying to tell us most of his life.
His pass to Rui Hachimura in the closing seconds of Thursday’s game led to the game-winning basket. With that pass, James sacrificed a chance to score at least 10 points in an NBA-record 1,298 consecutive games. When the game is on the line, the sports industry wants stars like him to take the last shot because that’s how the industry traditionally defines greatness.
People say: “Jordan would’ve shot it. Kobe would’ve shot it.” And ever since Sports Illustrated put James on the cover in 2002 — next to the words “chosen one” — he has been trying to tell us he defines greatness differently.
He reiterated that after the game against Toronto, when asked what feelings he had toward his scoring streak ending.
“None. We won.”
The sports industry, the machine, will discuss whether to feel the same way.
But we can’t pretend he hasn’t been telling us the same thing for more than 20 years: All he cares about is making the right play for the team. He’s been saying that since the S.I. cover. And that has been particularly true since creating his own media company, Uninterrupted, back in 2014.
He and Yankees great Derek Jeter, who started the Players Tribune that same year, are pioneers when it comes to modern athletes telling their own stories. And in the decade since, it’s been captivating watching athletes move beyond the gatekeeping of traditional media and the limitations of social media to create podcasts and produce documentaries (or at least try) — all to tell their own stories.
That’s not to say every time a group of former or active players steps in front of a mic, brilliance is heard. In fact, a lot of what we hear is just retelling stories we’ve heard a thousand times, only with less structure. Oftentimes there are ego-driven attempts to rewrite history under the guise of “setting the record straight.” As if we don’t have Google and can’t see the record for ourselves. But it is in their own words, which adds something to the discussion. And because there’s more of it, I’m finding some of the best stuff out there isn’t from the gods of the game like James, but the near-mortals.
Take “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV. The sports media machine is driven by stars, but the league is mostly made of voices like the ones on that show. The players who didn’t lead teams to heights and whose faces never made it to the cover of a magazine. And until recently, most of the insight from most of the players was just lost because we didn’t hear their voices. But now — particularly this season, with networks investing heavily in athlete-driven NBA content — more sources are bringing more texture. People like “Run It Back” co-host Chandler Parsons.
“I like the inside info, and I like the takes from the other guys,” Parsons said about hearing from the non-superstars. “I like hearing from Draymond Green and hearing what he has to say through his eyes and not through a third party…. As an athlete who has been in my shoes and played the game at the highest level, I respect their takes and I respect their opinion.”
In the early days of Monday Night Football, Howard Cosell, the original sports media provocateur, often griped about former NFL players leaving the field and walking into the booth. He would say sports media was the only profession where someone with no experience could be handed a big check to do the job at the highest level. That was back in the 1970s, when TV networks were few and media-savvy athletes like the great Muhammad Ali were even fewer.
Parsons graduated from the University of Florida with a journalism degree, so perhaps he avoids the scorn of Cosell’s ghost. Still, without the explosion of streaming networks and podcasting, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t have heard much from him and others like him, just because they weren’t household names. It was his appearance on another athlete-driven podcast, “All the Smoke,” that elevated him as a viable NBA analyst.
“I had no idea I wanted to do this,” Parsons said.
Same for Matt Barnes, who along with Stephen Jackson, started their podcast “All the Smoke” after careers in the NBA and stints with traditional media. To understand how popular it is today: Since joining YouTube in 2019, the show has amassed more than half a billion views, has landed interviews with Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Michelle Obama and Gov. Gavin Newsom and has grown into a full-fledged production company.
Barnes, who is the CEO of All the Smoke Productions, told me that because of the increase in NBA content in the so-called manosphere, there can be pressure to give takes for clicks. (I told him that sounded familiar.)
“There are some athletes in this space who say some of the craziest s—,” Barnes said. “I feel like if I put the work in and have deep, meaningful conversations, I’ll go viral for something that’s an interesting story.”
Case in point: “Smoke” was among the first media outlets to have NBA legend Dwyane Wade on to talk about his transgender daughter. It was a powerful episode that a decade ago would never have been initiated by former athletes. That’s not just a reflection of the times changing. It embodies how players now see themselves, and speak for themselves, in these changing times.
Players and former players are the new voice of the NBA. They’ve always been there. They just needed to be heard.
Mets youngster Ronny Mauricio made his 2025 Dominican winter league debut with LIDOM on Friday night and showed off his power.
In his second at-bat of the game, Mauricio took a 1-2 low-and-in fastball and launched it an estimated 401 feet to give his team — Tigres del Licey– a 3-0 lead.
Mauricio, who was the team’s DH, finished 1-for-5 with two strikeouts, but that blast was a welcome sight for the young infielder and the Mets.
The 24-year-old is playing in winter ball for the first time since he suffered a knee injury that required surgery in 2023, which wiped out Mauricio’s 2024. This past season, Mauricio showed flashes but was not consistent enough at the plate to warrant everyday playing time, especially when the team was in the midst of a playoff spot.
Mauricio finished the year slashing .226/.293/.369 with an OPS of .662 to go along with six home runs and driving in 10 RBI across 61 games.
With the roster in flux, Mauricio will look to try and make a roster spot this spring, but he’ll have to beat out Brett Baty, who had a bounceback 2025. There’s also a chance Mauricio will get traded this offseason. His performance at winter ball this year could go a long way for teams to take a chance at the once-touted prospect.
And with a 10-foot jumper in the first quarter of a 117-98 win, the 37-year-old reached the latest milestone of his illustrious, 19-year career. Durant, a four-time NBA scoring champion, needed just four points to become the eighth player in league history to score 31,000 career points.
That’s rare air also inhabited by LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain.
Granted that’s the same group Durant accompanied when he cleared the 30,000-point threshold in February last season, but that list of names remains incredibly impressive.
It’s not out of the question Durant passes Jordan’s mark of 32,292 career points sometime this season. He’ll need to stay healthy, but if he accomplishes that feat, he’ll move up to fifth on the leaderboard, first jumping Chamberlain (31,419) and Nowitzki (31,560).
James, in his NBA-record 23rd season at 40 years old, leads the pack, and it’s not particularly close. He’s got 42,268 points to his name, 3,881 more than Abdul-Jabbar, who is second all-time.
Durant came into the Friday night matchup averaging 25 points per game in his first season with the Rockets while shooting 49.3% from the field, including 37% from beyond the arc.
Through his first 17 games with the team, he had finished with 20 or more points 14 times, reaching or eclipsing the 30-point barrier on six occasions.
Durant scored the bulk of his points with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were the Seattle SuperSonics when he was drafted No. 2 overall out of Texas.
He won a pair of rings with the Golden State Warriors. Since, he’s starred for the Brooklyn Nets, Suns and now the Rockets.
Although the success of Durant’s teams has ebbed and flowed, his scoring has been a constant in an ever-changing NBA landscape.
He reminded everyone of his age-defying consistency with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting Friday against the Suns while adding another notch to a star-studded scoring belt.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks have each won the NBA Cup in the past two seasons, can they do it again in 2025? Here’s how to watch the 2025 NBA Cup. (Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images)
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters
The final 8 teams of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup tournament have been determined, and by Dec. 16, a winner will be crowned. The winners of the NBA’s annual in-season tournament will earn upwards of $500,000 apiece in prize money, and while we don’t know yet who will take that cash prize home, we do know it won’t be last year’s champs the Milwaukee Bucks, they were eliminated when the New York Knicks clinched their group.
The NBA Cup began roughly five weeks ago with the group stage; The league’s 30 teams were divided into six groups of five, and after each team played everyone in their group, the team with the best record advanced to the knockout stage. Two wild card teams with the best second-place records also got a spot in the quarterfinals. From here on out, it’s a single-elimination tournament. The four quarterfinals matchups, held on Dec. 9 and 10, will feature games between the San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, the New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic. Semifinals and the Championship Final will be held on Dec. 13 and 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
You can catch all of the remaining NBA Cup games on Prime Video, the platform holds exclusive rights to the playoffs and Championship Final in December. Find out how to watch the rest of the NBA Cup games below.
How to watch the 2025 NBA Cup:
Dates: Now through December 16
Streaming: Prime Video
2025 NBA Cup schedule:
Below is a list of every remaining playoff game in the 2025 NBA Cup.
All times Eastern
Tuesday, Dec. 9
6 p.m.: Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic
8:30 p.m.: New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors
Wednesday, Dec. 10
7:30 p.m.: Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
10 p.m.: San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Saturday, Dec. 13
5:30 p.m.: East Semifinal, Teams TBD
9 p.m.: West Semifinal, Teams TBD
Tuesday, Dec. 16
8:30 p.m.: Championship Final, Teams TBD
2025 NBA Cup Groups:
East Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards
East Group B: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
East Group C: New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets
West Group A: Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz
West Group B: Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans
West Group C: Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs
What channels do I need to watch NBA Cup games live?
While many games in the group stage were televised on broadcast TV, the playoffs will stream exclusively on Prime Video.
How to stream 2025 NBA Cup games:
You can catch every playoff game as well as the Championship final on Prime Video.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 05: Lamont Roach Jr. looks on before a pre-bout press conference with Gervonta Davis at Burr Gymnasium on the campus of Howard University on December 05, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Timothy Nwachukwu via Getty Images
Lamont Roach is seemingly entering stardom at an ideal moment considering the resurgent nature of younger American fighters in the wider, international pound-for-pound picture.
The former super featherweight world champion is a rare exception in a sport that too often rewards, or at least overlooks, bad behavior.
Whether it’s Ryan Garcia’s abhorrent comments about George Floyd and the KKK, controversial influencer Andrew Tate entering Misfits amid numerous outstanding sexual assault allegations, or the steady drumbeat of drug scandals involving Janibek Alimkhanuly (meldonium), Joseph Parker (cocaine), and Subriel Matías (ostarine), the spotlight is often pointed at the worst parts of boxing.
Roach is the antithesis, and it’s largely because of his underreported work with at-risk youth in his hometown of Capitol Heights, Maryland. And it’s not just things he does in the gym, but more broadly in the community, too. “I partner with the DC [Public] Library where we do events and implement boxing programming throughout the summer, in different libraries and certain schools,” he told Uncrowned ahead of Saturday’s fight against WBC interim super lightweight champion Isaac Cruz.
“I’ve done visits and outreach events to talk to kids who might be ‘at-risk’ [because of] what they could fall into, to get them back in line, and give them someone to reach who is successful in his own right, and that they can do it too if they focus on doing the right things.”
Boxing is renowned for its access, and this puts it at odds with more mainstream sports.
Whether it’s the training facilities of nearby NFL franchise Baltimore Ravens, or the MLB team Baltimore Orioles, established outfits like that typically operate — and train — behind closed doors.
But Gyms like Roach’s NoXcuse Boxing Club — 35 miles from the Ravens and Orioles — operate with an open-door policy, especially for kids. They offer training and cookouts in a place to burn energy and socialize safely, giving young people somewhere structured to go.
“The main thing boxing facilitates is discipline,” Roach said. “It uses discipline very well to get them a grasp on how to navigate through the tough and challenging hurdles in sport, and then they apply that to life as well. ‘If I can be disciplined here, I can apply it in real life.’ That’s what boxing really does for at-risk youth.”
Roach’s own pathway to prominence has been forged in that discipline.
He’s a technical fighter whose style favors intelligence over power. His championship run at 130 pounds and his foray into lightweight have shown resilience, consistency and an adaptability rooted in discipline.
He’s already fought once this year in a majority draw with Gervonta “Tank” Davis. It’s a fight many believed Roach deserved to win, and it would have become the most meaningful victory of his career, even beyond his wins over Jamel Herring and Hector Luis Garcia.
Unfazed, Roach pivoted toward “Pitbull” Cruz, a rugged, no-nonsense Mexican pressure fighter, whom he meets at lightweight on Saturday, Dec. 6 atop a PBC card in San Antonio, Texas.
“I’m excited, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “Things have been put off for a long time and I feel like it’s going to be a coming-out party, all over again.
“The atmosphere is going to be crazy, but that’s one thing I’m not worried about. This is going to be a fire-fight, and that’s going to be fun for me. I hope ‘Pitbull’ has his boots laced up because I’m ready to rock-and-roll, for sure.”
Though the end of the year has been somewhat sluggish for the U.S. boxing calendar, the sport has been on a tear in recent weeks, with a four-fight card in Riyadh showcasing many of the best fighters in American boxing, including Devin Haney, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and David Benavidez.
The first six rounds of the Haney vs. Brian Norman Jr. fight showed skills from Haney that put him on par with some of the best pound-for-pound boxing we’ve seen in recent years.
Lamont Roach stunned the boxing world in March with his performance against Gervonta Davis.
Al Bello via Getty Images
And Roach sees Cruz bringing the best out of him and his style, just like how Norman’s forced the best out of Haney, who dropped his rival in the second round en route to a straightforward decision that showed off his laser-like jab.
“Isaac is the perfect dance partner for me,” said Roach. “I am going to capitalize, bring the same energy [as Haney], and be tactical.”
Should Roach do to Cruz what he was doing for the bulk of the fight against Davis then it will provide an extraordinary springboard for even greater things in 2026, he said.
“That will be a minimum three-fight year, if we get on the ball right after this,” Roach said. “My goal is to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters and I’m taking a step in the right direction. Beating ‘Pitbull’ in another weight class might put me somewhere close to the top 10.”
Few would bet against him, particularly because of the shake-up in recent times of how younger Americans are beginning to establish themselves as the very best in the sport.
Per Uncrowned’s own top-10 pound-for-pound rankings, for example, Terence Crawford continues to dominate the top spot, but “Bam” Rodriguez is in hot pursuit in fifth, with Benavidez tied sixth, Shakur Stevenson tied for eighth, and Haney as a new entrant at 10th.
If Cruz gets him close to that group, beating one of them would push him even higher. “Me and Shakur are on a collision course to meet one day and, when we do, it’ll be a big fight for the fans,” said Roach, who added that he loves the shake-up of younger Americans beginning to dominate the top spots once again.
“We’re coming into a new era and hopefully we get it together and start fighting each other. … That goes for all the weight classes. The lighter weight classes do it — look at what ‘Bam’ is doing, collecting belt after belt. That’s a bad man, and he’s definitely in my top five.
“David Benavidez is younger than me and doing the things he’s doing. He dominated at 168 [pounds], moved up, and he’s putting a beating on them guys at light heavyweight. Now he’s fighting Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez next year.”
It all means one thing for Roach: “American boxing is putting itself back on the map.”
Considering the “beautiful landscape at 135,” it may not be long before Roach punctuates his own place on that map. Because while boxing rarely rewards the good guys, if Roach beats Cruz and forces his way toward Stevenson, the sport may finally have no choice.
