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Kevin Durant turns 37 today. He has one of the most impressive résumés in basketball history: 15 All-Star selections, 11 All-NBA (six first-team) honors, four scoring titles, an MVP, two NBA Finals MVPs, two titles, eighth most points, 12th most shots, 14th most 3-pointers and eighth most free throws in NBA history. And he’s still going!
Finals Bound!
Mercury eliminate short-handed Lynx
For the first time since 2021, the Phoenix Mercury are headed to the WNBA Finals. They’ll be hoping to win their first WNBA title since 2014, when they swept the Chicago Sky in three games. In their 86-81 series-clinching victory over the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, the Mercury followed the same formula as every other game in the series: Win the fourth quarter, and you’ll win the game.
The Mercury were down 13 points going into the final period, then they hit a depleted Lynx team with a 31-13 quarter to end Minnesota’s great season. These are the fourth quarters (and one overtime) in this series:
Game 1 (MIN win): Mercury with 10 points (3-of-17 FG), three assists, three turnovers | Lynx with 23 points (10-of-19 FG), six assists, zero turnovers
Game 2 (PHX win, OT): Mercury with 34 points (12-of-31 FG), 10 assists, two turnovers | Lynx with 21 points (9-of-24 FG), four assists, six turnovers
Game 3 (PHX win): Mercury with 21 points (6-of-17 FG), four assists, two turnovers | Lynx with nine points (3-of-16 FG), two assists, four turnovers
Game 4 (PHX win): Mercury with 31 points (10-of-12 FG), eight assists, two turnovers | Lynx with 13 points (5-of-18 FG), two assists, zero turnovers
It’s important to note that Napheesa Collier, who’s finished second in MVP voting the past two seasons, did not play in Game 4 due to an ankle injury suffered on a key (and controversial) play late in Game 3. It’s also important to note Collier was terrible offensively in fourth quarters in this series, scoring two points on 1-of-6 shooting before her Game 3 injury. Despite those struggles, they at least could have used her defense in Game 4.
While we await the Mercury’s finals opponent (the Indiana Fever forced a win-or-vacation Game 5 against the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday!), it’s worth discussing the Lynx’s other absence Game 4 absence. That was their coach, Cheryl Reeve, who was suspended for the game. Why? She lost her s*** at the end of Game 3 when Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Collier, and there wasn’t a foul called on Thomas. Granted, it was a clean steal, even though Collier ended up getting injured on the play from incidental contact. This was the statement from the league on the suspension reasoning:
“Her conduct and comments included aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing a game official on the court, failure to leave the court in a timely manner upon her ejection with 21.8 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, inappropriate comments made to fans when exiting the court, and remarks made in a post-game press conference,” the league said in a statement on Saturday.
You might be wondering: What were those remarks after the game? Reeve unloaded.
“If this is what our league wants, then OK, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,” Reeve said after the game. “It’s bad for the game. The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership team to deem those three people semifinals playoff-worthy is f—ing malpractice. I can take an ‘L’ with the best of them. I don’t think we should have to play through more than what they did.”
In the words of Owen Wilson: WOW! Our own Ben Pickman felt like the suspension was warranted, but at the same time, Reeve made valid points. I understand Ben’s line of thinking but respectfully disagree on the suspension being warranted.
Reeve’s comments, as aggressive as they were, absolutely deserve the biggest fine allowed, though. That’s what happens when you criticize the officiating in that manner. That’s a risk coaches will take at any level with postgame news conferences.
You might also remember Reeve saying the 2024 WNBA title was stolen from her team after the New York Liberty won a tightly contested Game 5. The officiating was abhorrent in that game, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was oddly wearing a New York skyline-sequenced outfit for the game in Brooklyn. Reeve had a point that night, and she has some points here, even if she crossed the line.
Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon commented on the Reeve quote with, “From what I heard, she did not tell a lie. She said the truth.”
Suspending people who question what’s going on by speaking out seems out of bounds to me. Regardless, the Mercury earned their spot in the finals, and the accomplishment shouldn’t be taken away from them. But suspending a coach over vocal and valid criticism is the real line that shouldn’t be crossed.
The Last 24
Are there more deals like Kawhi’s?
💰 Let’s compare! How does the Kawhi-Aspiration deal compare to other sponsorships? Joe Vardon asked around.
🏀 Veteran help. The Warriors are adding a big man to the roster. Al Horford has agreed to sign.
🎥 Back so soon? Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in May. He’s posting workout footage already!
🏀 Take it slow. Joel Embiid has been practicing with the Sixers sans knee brace. But he’s correct in taking things slowly.
🏀 ‘CLA’ training. This revolutionary coaching method is quietly fueling the world’s best athletes.
🏀 ⚽ European expansion. How is the NBA strategizing its Euro venture? It’s looking at soccer.
Jazz preview
Does Utah have a direction?
We are roughly three weeks away from the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, and I could not be more excited. Between now and Oct. 21, we’re going to preview a couple of teams each day, one from each conference.
We’ll be previewing in reverse order of how I think these teams will finish in their respective conferences. You have to eat your vegetables before you get the steak or the salmon or duck confit or pizza (now I’m just naming foods).
Let’s get started:
Drama Meter: You’re probably wondering why the Jazz’s meter is at a 5. The Jazz organization started floating the idea that last season was the first year of their rebuild and branded the previous two seasons of 37 and 31 wins, respectively, as the teardown years. I’ll remind you that they traded away their two All-NBA talents in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert before those two seasons. Sorry, Utah, but you’ve been rebuilding for three years.
There seems to be some unrest within the fan base and local media, asking questions about when this rebuild might yield some positive results, especially when you’re charging good money to watch a team that was 24th in offense and 30th in defense. And then there’s the whole coach situation. There is definitely pressure to show progress toward the future.
Hot Seat Meter: Will Hardy signed a contract extension through 2031 this offseason. That seat is ice cold.
Offseason question: While 28-year-old Lauri Markkanen is a phenomenal player under a long-term deal (through 2029), the Jazz are looking for the future of their franchise. Jazz president of basketball operations Austin Ainge is hoping they found that star in fifth overall pick Ace Bailey. Bailey has a ton of talent and can really put up points. We just need to see what else is there at the NBA level.
2026 free agents: Jusuf Nurkić | Georges Niang | Walker Kessler (restricted if no rookie extension) | Kevin Love
Contract talks have stalled between Kessler and the Jazz, but it wouldn’t shock me if they came to an agreement on an extension before the start of the season. Niang is a very interesting player in a contract season, with him being a career 40 percent 3-point shooter. He could be valuable at the trade deadline.
Expectations for this season: They’re extremely low. This is not a team ready to win consistently, even if Markkanen is healthy and not sitting for tanking reasons. If this team wins around 20 games and we see Bailey as a future star and a couple of other young players take a big step forward, that will be positive for Jazz fans.
Wizards preview
Washington finally rebuilds properly
This organization has been a laughingstock for years. It wasn’t managed well, and the Wizards just seemed to be content with trying to sell “stuck in limbo” as actually progressing toward something meaningful.
Over the last two offseasons, we’ve seen a great shift in the direction. They aren’t just rebuilding; the Wizards have figured out how to rebuild properly. They’re valuing the right contracts and acquiring assets. They’ve stockpiled a very fun, interesting group of young players to build with and hopefully around. And while this team probably got worse this offseason, the locker room got very strong with veteran leadership for the young core.
I love what the Wizards did in cutting out some of the aloofness on the roster while maximizing cap flexibility for next summer. Let’s jump into what to expect this season:
Drama Meter: The only potential drama with this franchise is with ownership maybe deciding to be frustrated with the product on the court. Even that seems like nitpicking their leadership and vision of the past. The Wizards are in a great place, as long as they stay the course and develop.
Hot Seat Meter: Brian Keefe is in the second year of being a full-time head coach for the Wizards after joining the organization as an assistant in 2023. The team is only 26-95 in his time as interim and full-time head coach. Maybe the Wizards could decide he’s replaceable if the development doesn’t go well this season, but he seems pretty safe.
Offseason question: The Wizards have the same question as the Jazz, and it’s about looking for a future star. I’m not sure they have that answered with anybody on this roster. Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly have potential, but I’m not sure it’s star potential. The Wizards are hoping sixth pick Tre Johnson (out of Texas) will be that answer. Even if he’s not, Johnson could be a great shooter and scorer at the NBA level.
2026 free agents: Khris Middleton | CJ McCollum | Malaki Branham (restricted) | Marvin Bagley III
It’ll be fascinating to see what the Wizards do with Middleton and McCollum before the trade deadline. Do they try to move them to hopeful contenders in exchange for assets? Will either be healthy enough to make that a good enough return for Washington? Or do they keep them in the locker room and on the court to help guide the young guys?
Expectations for this season: The Wizards are going to be terrible, but they’ll be fun and terrible. And that’s by design. This team has eight players who are 22 years old or younger in the rotation. If Johnson can be a knockdown shooter and we see big improvements from Coulibaly and Sarr, then structure will form on the court to give a glimpse of their future.
(Joe Rondone / The Republic / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)