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Anthony Edwards calls out Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic for All-Star Game effort

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Anthony Edwards put a couple of his peers on notice after being named MVP of the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

Edwards put on a show Sunday to lead Team Stars to victory in the revamped All-Star Game held at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Edwards beat both Team Stripes, comprised of fellow American stars, and Team World to win it all.

The Minnesota Timberwolves star sat on NBC’s postgame panel to discuss his performance and the redesigned All-Star format. When asked about Team World, which lost both of its round robin games, Edwards chalked it up to some of the global stars refusing to give any effort.

“No shade toward Luka [Doncic] and [Nikola] Jokic,” Edwards said before proceeding to throw shade.

“But like, they’re two of the best players in the league. They’re not trying to play in the All-Star Game.”

Team World was the clear favorite to win Sunday’s All-Star Game. The squad was made up of several top-10 players such as Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama. But Jokic and Doncic have historically given minimal effort in the midseason matchup, and that didn’t change even with the new format.

But not every European star gave a lackadaisical effort. Wembanyama vowed to make the games competitive, and the Frenchman stayed true to his word. The San Antonio Spurs center finished with 33 points on 10/13 shooting across two games played for Team World.

The NBA made the format change to World vs. USA specifically to try to motivate players like Jokic and Doncic to compete. But that didn’t happen on Sunday, as Team World failed to even reach the finals.

Perhaps NBA commissioner Adam Silver should give Jaylen Brown’s All-Star Weekend idea a shot next season.

NBA not ruling out drastic move to prevent tanking

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The NBA is keeping every remedy on the table to end tanking, even if it means ending the draft lottery format as we know it.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted Saturday during his annual All-Star Weekend press conference that tanking is currently one of the biggest issues plaguing the league. As most fans know, tanking is the widespread tactic of intentionally underperforming to improve draft seeding. While tanking does occur in other major American sports, it’s rarely as egregious as what goes on in the NBA.

According to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, league officials gathered in Los Angeles this weekend and discussed “approximately 10 solutions” to the tanking epidemic. The abolition of the rookie draft entirely wasn’t among those solutions just yet, but such a drastic move would reportedly get “serious consideration” if none of the proposed solutions were enough to address tanking.

The NBA has been using a version of the rookie draft process since the days of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. Removing the draft entirely would have its own set of problems, with teams having geographical and financial advantages in competing to sign rookies outright.

However, such a move could, in theory, completely curb tanking, given that players would most likely consider any team’s success and recent track record — or lack thereof — in deciding where to ultimately sign.

Silver and his advisors will surely go through a dozen or so options before proposing such a league-altering change to team owners and the players’ union. But if nothing works, removing the draft entirely could be an idea the league deems worth revisiting.

Seahawks poach coach from division rival to replace Klint Kubiak

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The Seattle Seahawks did not have to look far to find their next offensive coordinator.

The Seahawks officially lost OC Klint Kubiak to the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this month after the 38-year-old helped lead Seattle to a Super Bowl victory. The Seahawks have reportedly settled on Kubiak’s replacement. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Seattle has agreed to hire San Francisco 49ers coach Brian Fleury as the team’s next OC.

The move was surprising, given that the Seahawks were widely expected to keep their OC search in-house. Head coach Mike Macdonald interviewed four internal candidates: run game specialist Justin Outten, tight ends coach Mack Brown, passing game coordinator Jake Peetz, and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko.

The Fleury signing also coincided with the news that Janocko was joining Kubiak as the Raiders’ non-playcalling offensive coordinator.

The Seahawks first looked in-house to maintain continuity on a team that had just won the Super Bowl. While Fleury isn’t an internal hire, the 49ers run a similar offense to the one Kubiak implemented this past season. Fleury and Kubiak were also on the same staff when the latter served as the Niners’ passing game coordinator in 2023.

Anthony Edwards gets profane during All-Star Game interview

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Anthony Edwards accidentally let too much of his personality show during Sunday’s 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

The Minnesota Timberwolves star Edwards competed for Team Stars during the All-Star Game at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. During the first round-robin game of the day, Edwards and Team Stars prevailed in overtime over Team World, winning by a 37-35 final score.

After the victory, Edwards was interviewed by NBC’s Zora Stephenson. Edwards mentioned how San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama’s intensity for Team World helped set the tone for the entire game … but accidentally dropped some profanity in the process.

“I ain’t gonna lie, Wemby set the tone,” said Edwards. “He came out playing hard, so it’s hard not to match that. So s–t, that’s what happened. Sorry for my language, that’s what happened though.”

Here is the video (but obviously beware of the bad language).

Now a four-time NBA All-Star, Edwards hit a clutch three to send the game into overtime and also played strong defense on Team World’s Norman Powell to close out regulation. Team Stars would fall in their next round-robin game of the day though, losing to Team Stripes by a 42-40 final score.

Meanwhile, Edwards is no stranger to dropping obscenities during interviews. In fact, the 24-year-old has been fined multiple times by the NBA for doing just that during regular season games.

Byron Buxton is frustrated with the Twins

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One of the last veterans left on the Minnesota Twins is not too happy with the team.

Longtime Twins outfielder Byron Buxton spoke this week to Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. During the interview, Buxton revealed that he is frustrated with the Twins for not shooting down the trade rumors that surrounded him earlier this offseason.

“All it takes is for somebody at the top to go to the media, ‘We’re not trading you,’” said Buxton. “Trade rumors stop, and now we don’t have those conversations. That’s how simple this could get.”

Amid their woeful 70-92 season in 2025, the Twins have embarked an almost total rebuild. Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, and Harrison Bader were among the notable names that they sold off at the trade deadline last July.

Meanwhile, Buxton, 32, was an All-Star as well as a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2025 as he hit .264 with 35 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases over 126 games. Having debuted for the Twins in 2015, Buxton is the team’s longest-tenured player … but also now one of the best remaining trade assets on the roster.

Back in December, we learned that Buxton was willing to waive his no-trade clause for multiple teams in order to facilitate a move out of Minnesota. Now it appears that Buxton’s stance may have been borne out of frustration with his longtime team amid their roster teardown.

Draymond Green wants to become commissioner of the NBA

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Draymond Green wants to go from the suspended one to the one doing the suspending.

The Golden State Warriors star Green went viral this week for the comments that he made on the latest episode of his self-titled podcast. Green made the laughable remarks that he would like to become the commissioner of the NBA one day.

“I would love to [become commissioner],” said Green. “I always want to see this league grow. You know, in my time in this league, I’ve had my fair share of hiccups. But I hope and I think that I’ve done more good than bad.”

In fairness to Green, the idea was originally proposed on the podcast by his guest co-host Skip Bayless. But there are still plenty of reasons why the former Defensive Player of the Year is the longshot of all longshots to succeed current NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

For one, sports commissioners tend to have legal backgrounds due to the inherent tasks of contracts, labor disputes, media broadcast rights, etc. that come with the job. For another, Green himself is not exactly the poster child for ambassadorship and goodwill, even among current NBA players.

The 35-year-old Green had a long history of dirty plays on the court (which he has also added to multiple times this season). He recently even made some racially-charged remarks about European players a few months ago. So while some former NBA All-Stars such as Joe Dumars, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Kiki Vandeweghe have since gone on to serve in executive roles for the league, we probably won’t have to worry about “Commissioner Draymond” any time soon.

Steph Curry made the most ridiculous shot from NBC’s pregame set

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At this point, we already know Steph Curry can hit pretty much every shot if given enough opportunities. Still, he pulled one off Sunday that is a bit much even for him.

Curry made an appearance on NBC’s set at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Ca., as he is sitting out the game due to injury. That did not stop him from getting a few shots up at the invitation of Vince Carter and Carmelo Anthony.

NBC’s set was positioned in the stands to the right of the basket and slightly behind the backboard. Curry hit the rim twice, uncorked an errant shot, and then managed to hit it on his fourth try.

Very few players could make that shot given ten tries. For Curry, though, it is hardly an issue.

Unfortunately, this is all we saw from Curry at Sunday’s All-Star festivities. He was dealing with a knee injury prior to the All-Star break, and it is problematic enough that he is sitting out the game itself. Clearly, the knee cannot be feeling that bad if he can still drain a shot from that angle.

Steph Curry makes a statement about his plans for next season

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Steph Curry is ready for one more go … during NBA All-Star Saturday night.

The Golden State Warriors star Curry appeared on the NBC broadcast before Sunday’s 2026 NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. During his appearance with the “NBA Showtime” crew, Curry revealed that he plans to compete in the Three Point Contest next year.

Curry also said that he intends to “bring some people,” including reigning Three Point Contest winner Damian Lillard and former Splash Brothers co-star Klay Thompson. Here is the video.

The 37-year-old Curry is universally considered to be the greatest three-point shooter of all-time. He also notably competed in the Three Point Contest seven total times already, including two victories in 2015 and 2021.

But Curry has not participated in the contest for five years running now (ever since his win in 2021). Now it appears though that Curry will be going for a third Three Point Contest title in 2027, which would tie him with Lillard, Larry Bird, and Craig Hodges for the most wins of all-time by a single player.

NBA All-Star Weekend 2027 is set to be held at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., home of the Phoenix Suns. Curry is not participating in this year’s All-Star Weekend in Inglewood due to a persistent knee injury, but he definitely plans to take part in the All-Star festivities come next season.

Tom Wilson got into a fight at the Olympics

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Fighting in hockey is strongly frowned upon in Olympic play, but that did not stop Tom Wilson on Sunday.

Wilson fought French defenseman Pierre Crinon, who had delivered a forearm to the head of Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon during the third period of Sunday’s group stage game. The scrap came with roughly seven minutes left in the third period and the Canadians already ahead 10-2.

Unlike in the NHL, fighting in Olympic hockey is an automatic game misconduct, so Wilson was ejected. However, he is not expected to face any further discipline for the incident.

Wilson is, of course, one of the NHL’s most famous agitators, and it is hardly a surprise that he would get into it even at the Olympics. He has been accused of dirty play a number of times, and has some lengthy suspensions to his name as well. On the other hand, teammates undoubtedly appreciated him standing up for MacKinnon.

Wilson also opened the scoring for Canada on Sunday and later contributed an assist, giving him a Gordie Howe hat trick at the Olympics.

John Harbaugh reveals how close he came to hiring Rex Ryan as his DC

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New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh wound up hiring former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to the same position on his staff. Harbaugh admitted, however, that a much more prominent name was strongly considered for the position.

Harbaugh said he had extensive talks with Rex Ryan about potentially taking the Giants defensive coordinator job. He ultimately opted for Wilson thanks in part to a strong recommendation from Jesse Minter, who is succeeding Harbaugh in Baltimore.

“I talked to Rex about that job at length,” Harbaugh told Ian O’Connor of The Athletic. “Rex is a guy I love and have a lot of respect for.”

Harbaugh openly talked about Ryan as a possibility for the job before, and apparently he was not just saying it to be nice. It would have been Ryan’s first coaching position since he was fired as head coach by the Buffalo Bills in 2016.

Wilson is not as established as Ryan in terms of name recognition, but the 43-year-old is younger and has proven his ability to coach in the modern NFL. That may have played into Harbaugh’s thinking too.

Ryan has publicly mused about returning to coaching during his on-air roles at ESPN. That will probably continue, though it remains to be seen if he will ever get another opportunity to coach in the NFL.

Red Sox executive takes shot at Alex Bregman

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Boston Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy offered up a rather brutal assessment of Alex Bregman’s offseason departure.

Bregman left the Red Sox after one season to join the Chicago Cubs despite Boston’s stated hope to bring him back. Addressing the media Sunday, Kennedy was quite clear in saying that, in his mind, Bregman had simply not wanted to play for the Red Sox anymore.

“If Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately, he’d be here,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy was defending the team’s decision not to offer Bregman a no-trade clause as part of a new contract. That was said to be one of the key reasons Bregman opted for the Cubs’ offer instead, though others have claimed the Red Sox botched the negotiation in other ways.

Bregman’s departure renewed criticism from Red Sox fans about the organization’s perceived unwillingness to go the extra mile to keep top players. The Cubs signed him for $175 million over five years, a price the Red Sox apparently were not willing to match. Boston will make that out to be Bregman’s problem, but it is not clear whether fans will actually believe them.

LeBron James addresses retirement speculation

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LeBron James on Sunday once again addressed speculation that this could be his final NBA season.

James held a press conference prior to Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game and was asked the inevitable question about his playing future. The Los Angeles Lakers star kept things simple by essentially saying he would figure it out later.

“I want to live. When I know, you guys will know,” James told reporters.

James has consistently refused to offer any clues as to whether this could be his final NBA season. More recent claims have suggested that next year could function as a retirement tour for him, albeit with a different organization.

James continues to play at a reasonably high level, so if he calls it quits, it is unlikely to be for performance-related reasons. The 41-year-old is averaging 22 points, 7.1 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game so far this season. He became the oldest player in NBA history to notch a triple-double on Thursday night.

Brush fire breaks out just before the Daytona 500

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NASCAR is set to kick off its season Sunday with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., but an unexpected issue popped up less than an hour before the green flag.

Fans and media members observed a brush fire that broke out behind turn one at Daytona. While not extremely close to the track, the fire was close enough to be clearly visible from the speedway.

Making matters worse, high winds were blowing the smoke and haze toward the track.

There were no indications that the start of the race would be impacted, though the fire’s proximity to the track certainly makes it worth keeping an eye on. Drought conditions have impacted Florida for some time, though rain is in the forecast later Sunday.

It has been a rather bizarre weekend for fires at sporting events. Ideally, this one will not have much of an impact for the race itself.

Bryce Harper still sounds frustrated with Phillies

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Bryce Harper still might have some lingering hard feelings toward the Philadelphia Phillies and team president Dave Dombrowski over offseason comments.

Harper addressed Dombrowski’s offseason remark about the first baseman not having an elite season in 2025 at spring training on Sunday. He said he was not drawing any motivation from the comments, but suggested that he was bothered by the comment being made publicly when he believed such things were to be kept in-house.

“When we first met with this organization, it was, hey, we’re always going to keep things in house, and we expect you to do the same thing. When that didn’t happen, it kind of took me for a run a little bit.

“My numbers weren’t where they needed to be. I know that. And I don’t need to be motivated to be great in my career or anything else. That’s just not a motivating factor for me. For Dave to come out and say those things, it’s kind of wild.”

Harper made it quite clear during the offseason that he was bothered by Dombrowski’s comments. The Phillies president had said Harper’s 2025 season was not elite by his standards, and questioned whether the first baseman could post such numbers again.

Dombrowski was not necessarily wrong. Harper hit .261 with 27 home runs last season, which is good but not star-level production. Harper simply seems to have thought that did not need to be aired publicly, and would have liked to see the organization stick up for him.

Penny Hardaway was angry about Utah State running up the score

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Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway had words for the Utah State Aggies after what he saw as needless showboating during the Aggies’ 99-75 win.

With the game already well in hand, Utah State closed on a 13-2 run with virtually no letup despite the lopsided score. Most egregiously, guard MJ Collins threw down a windmill dunk when he simply could have run out the clock on the game.

Hardaway was visibly unhappy in the handshake line and could be seen chastising both Collins and Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun. He later told Memphis radio that the Aggies’ play down the stretch had been totally unnecessary.

“We came out here to play this game. You gotta have more class than that,” Hardaway said. “It ain’t even just that last one, it was just the rest of them.”

Piling on points when a game is already decided is generally frowned upon no matter the sport. In this instance, Collins could have easily held the ball and ran down the clock, though Hardaway seemed to take offense at all their play down the stretch.

Hardaway is probably feeling a lot of frustration over how poorly the season is going, and that may have factored into his reaction too. Memphis fell to 12-13 with the loss, though they are 7-5 in conference play.

Jaylen Brown accuses police of shutting down his event

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Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown accused Beverly Hills police of shutting down an event he was holding Saturday night without a good reason.

Video emerged showing Brown being confronted by a police officer at a culture and leadership panel he was hosting in Beverly Hills during All-Star Weekend. The officer tells Brown that the event is being shut down because it lacks a permit, and when asked what constitutes an event for permit purposes, the officer says the situation is “beyond my pay grade.”

Brown posted on X about the panel’s cancellation, calling the city of Beverly Hills “trash” and adding that he was “offended” at being shut down. In the video, he had said he felt like he was being targeted with the shutdown edict.

Details were scarce on the event Brown had been seeking to hold. He described it as a panel about “the future of culture” featuring streamers and influencers.

Brown was voted as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, even though the event itself will take place with a USA vs. World format. He recently shared his own idea to make the All-Star Game more compelling for fans.

Carter Bryant makes tough admission about his dunk contest experience

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San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant had the Slam Dunk Contest in his grasp Saturday night, but let it slip away in the final round.

Bryant was unable to land a between-the-legs alley-oop dunk in the final round of the dunk contest, effectively conceding the win to Miami’s Keshad Johnson. After the contest, Bryant admitted that he was devastated by the outcome, and was even near tears after falling short.

“Losing is the worst thing on planet earth. It’s the worst feeling,” Bryant admitted. “It just runs deep. It stings. It hurts. So, I mean, it is what it is, but it is not going to be a feeling that’s forgot.”

Bryant had the only 50-point dunk of the night and would have been a worthy winner. Unfortunately, luck abandoned him at the worst possible time, forcing him to throw down a pedestrian dunk in the final round that Johnson was able to beat.

Bryant’s effort had to be appreciated, especially in the context of some of the other attempts Saturday night. Whatever the case, it is at least refreshing that the dunk contest seemingly meant a lot to some of its participants, who really wanted to win it no matter how much it has declined in prestige.

NBA All-Star Saturday looked depressing with seemingly empty arena

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The festivities during NBA All-Star Saturday no longer put butts in seats like they used to.

During a weekend that was supposed to highlight the NBA’s brightest stars and young talent, the headline for most was how empty the arena was during NBA All-Star Saturday, which features the three-point shootout and slam dunk contest.

Photos and videos taken during Saturday’s events spread across social media, with many pointing out that there were far more empty seats than those occupied by screaming fans.

The Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., tried to conceal the poor attendance with bright LED lights that lit up every seat. But some felt the lights highlighted the lack of fans more than anything.

It didn’t help that the night’s main event, the dunk contest, was devoid of any star power. Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson won the event with a forgettable performance, besting a laughable effort from Jaxson Hayes and a near-injury-inducing attempt from Jase Richardson.

Tickets to watch the NBA All-Star Saturday cost hundreds of dollars, and it’s no surprise that fans weren’t willing to shell out funds to get through the Intuit Dome gate. The NBA would have been better served by distributing those tickets for free to fans off the street or elementary school kids who probably would have been cheering their hearts out.

Ron Harper throws shade at LeBron James’ parenting style

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LeBron James probably won’t appreciate the jab Ron Harper made about the four-time MVP’s parenting style.

Harper was fielding questions alongside his two sons, Ron Harper Jr. and Dylan Harper, during NBA All-Star Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. The Harper sons both participated in the Rising Stars event the night prior.

One reporter asked the elder Harper if he had envisioned his two sons eventually making the NBA. LeBron caught a stray with Harper Sr.’s answer.

“I’m not LeBron James. I’m not going to tell my kids what they have to do,” Harper Sr. said.

“I just want them to play, and enjoy the game. … Once upon a time, I told them that with every opportunity that you have, you should get a chance to play in the NBA.”

Ron Harper Sr.’s words were in reference to James using his influence to get his son, Bronny James, a roster spot on the Los Angeles Lakers. While the USC product does have some talent, questions have been raised about Bronny getting special treatment thanks to his last name.

The Harper youngsters had different but equally stunned reactions to their dad doing his best LaVar Ball impression at LeBron’s expense.

“Yooo,” Ron Jr. said while looking at Dylan, who felt the need to cover his face in embarrassment.

Dylan was probably realizing that he may be the one to have to deal with the repercussions of his dad’s comments. Ron Sr. has long been retired, while Ron Jr. doesn’t get much playing time as a two-way player for the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers and Dylan’s San Antonio Spurs no longer have any regular-season matchups remaining this year. But if the Lakers and Dylan’s San Antonio Spurs face off in the NBA playoffs, James may be out for revenge.

Jaylen Brown pitches new event to save NBA All-Star Weekend

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Jaylen Brown believes he has the fix to spark interest in NBA All-Star Weekend again.

The Boston Celtics star spoke to reporters Saturday ahead of his first-ever start in the NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. With ratings for the weekend’s festivities going down the drain over the years, Brown put his creative hat on and pitched a new event to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

Brown touted that a 1-on-1 tournament could be the answer. The Celtics star admitted that he’s been tuning into the 1-on-1 tournament hosted by Unrivaled that features several WNBA stars and believes a similar format could stoke the competitive fires among him and his peers.

“I actually love watching it, because it reminds me of the purity of the game,” Brown said. “It’s mano-a-mano. It’s got people on the court talking trash. You’ve got to play two sides. You’ve got to be the offensive player and the defensive player. I think that’d that to be great.”

Brown added that the event could allow some players to call out others they want to face, as fighters do in boxing and the UFC. The Celtics star even named players he would want to take on in such a contest. Brown’s hit list includes the likes of Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, and Donovan Mitchell.

The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend hasn’t exactly been setting social media ablaze with memorable moments. The NBA dunk contest was a disaster that saw one contestant nearly suffer a concussion.

If the new USA-World format of the All-Star Game doesn’t save the weekend, Silver may want to give Brown’s idea a shot.

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