Stein’s Latest: LeBron, Sixers, Magic, Blazers, Giannis
Has LeBron James played his last NBA game? That’s the question Marc Stein wondered on Saturday at his Substack.
Stein and people he trusts around the league think James is likely to play a record-extending 24th season in 2026/27, but Stein acknowledges that no one — maybe not even James — knows the answer.
James, a 20-time All-NBA member, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The 41-year-old’s “runaway preference” would be to remain with the Lakers, Stein writes, and they’re believed to be open to that scenario as well — with a caveat.
According to Stein, Los Angeles would like to bring back LeBron at a “much lower number” than the $52.6MM he made this season. However, Stein views that scenario as “thorny,” since James has never accepted the sort of discounted rate the Lakers might prefer to offer.
Still, the other teams that could appeal to James — the Warriors, Cavaliers, Knicks and Clippers — may not be able to offer him much in free agency either, Stein notes. That could make retirement a more viable option, even though Stein suspects the NBA’s all-time leading will play another season.
Stein also detailed several other items of interest in his Sunday edition of The Stein Line:
- Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, recently said the Sixers‘ new head of basketball operations would have “a lot of authority” but that he expects to be involved in major personnel and roster decisions moving forward. That has led to a “widespread belief” around the league that Myers will explore the possibility of hiring Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh for the job, according to Stein, who points out that Saleh worked with Myers in Golden State. However, Stein hears Saleh is expected to remain with Atlanta, as the 76ers would have to request permission to speak to him, and that seems unlikely after Saleh finished second in Executive of the Year voting.
- According to Stein, there have been “rumbles” about the Sixers potentially being intrigued by Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, but he’s still under contract for another year and Minnesota didn’t show any interest in letting him speak to Dallas before the Mavericks decided to hire Masai Ujiri.
- Regardless of what happens with the front office search, Stein has heard chatter throughout the season about Sixers assistant GM Jameer Nelson potentially being promoted to an “expanded role.” The former NBA point guard is highly regarded in Philadelphia and in the league and is “routinely described” as possible future GM, Stein writes. 76ers consultant Neil Olshey and Thunder executive Vince Rozman, a longtime former Sixers employee, have also been connected to Philadelphia’s front office vacancy after the team fired Daryl Morey.
- The Magic hope to hire an experienced head coach to replace Jamahl Mosley, per Stein, and Billy Donovan is still viewed as a “strong candidate” for the position despite backing out of the same job to return to the University of Florida in 2007. Tom Thibodeau is another experienced coach who remains a free agent, Stein notes.
- Sources tell the Stein Line that Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori can be added to the list of names the Trail Blazers have expressed interest in as they search for a new head coach. For what it’s worth, former Blazers head coach Terry Stotts threw his name into the hat recently as well, texting longtime Oregon sportswriter Dwight Jaynes that he’d like another crack at the job. “I would love to come back to the Blazers and Portland,” Stotts told Jaynes. Stotts, who confirmed his agent has reached out to Portland about the position, spent the last two seasons as the Warriors’ top assistant.
- According to Stein, the following statement from president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is among the reasons the Celtics keep popping up as a potential suitor for Giannis Antetokounmpo: “One of the things that we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim,” Stevens said. “And I think we do need to add to our team to do that.”
Spurs To Play Two Games In Europe Next Season
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will return to Paris, France during the 2026/27 season, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Substack) that the Pelicans are San Antonio’s expected opponent.
The Spurs split a pair of games in Paris against the Pacers in January 2025. This coming January (2027), they’re slated to play one game in Paris and one in Manchester, England, Stein writes.
Orlando and Memphis split this year’s NBA games in Europe, which took place in Berlin, Germany and London, England. Magic forward Franz Wagner and his older brother Moritz Wagner are both Berlin natives.
Stein hears the league has targeted Berlin and Paris as the 2028 hosts of the two European games.
After going 62-20 during the regular season and dispatching Portland and Minnesota in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Spurs are set to face the defending champion Thunder on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The Pelicans went just 26-56 in 2025/26, tied for the seventh-worst record in the league.
Pelicans Expected To Hire New Head Coach Within Next Few Days
The Pelicans formally confirmed their search for a new head coach at the end of the regular season, but over a month later, they have yet to hire anyone for the job. Will Guillory of The Athletic expects New Orleans to finalize its coaching decision “early this week” (Twitter link).
Executives at last week’s draft combine speculated that Jamahl Mosley is the reason for the Pelicans’ hiring delay, writes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). New Orleans has been linked to Mosley since at least November, Stein notes, and the team is believed to be waiting to see if Mosley will emerge has a “full-fledged prime candidate.”
According to Stein, Mosley still had two years left on his contract when he was fired by Orlando a couple weeks ago, giving him the option to step away from coaching for a time if he so chooses. The 47-year-old was the Magic’s head coach for five years and was an assistant for 15 seasons before that.
Rod Walker of NOLA.com reported at the beginning of May that Bucks coaching associate Rajon Rondo, Nets assistant coach Steve Hetzel, Bucks associate head coach Darvin Ham and James Borrego were the frontrunners for the Pelicans’ coaching job. Borrego finished out 2025/26 as the team’s interim coach after Willie Green was dismissed 12 games into the season.
At the time, Walker viewed Rondo and Hetzel as the favorites for the position. A subsequent report from Jake Fischer stated that Hetzel and Ham made “strong impressions” on Pelicans team officials during the search.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Named 2025/26 NBA MVP
6:52 pm: Gilgeous-Alexander has officially been named MVP of the 2025/26 season, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
According to the league, the Canadian superstar received 83 of a possible 100 first-place votes and 939 total points (Twitter link). Nuggets center Jokic (634 points) was the runner-up, with more first-place (10) and second-place votes (48) than Spurs center Wembanyama, who finished third at 569 points.
Lakers guard Luka Doncic (250 points) was a distant fourth in voting, while Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was fifth (117 points).
8:57 am: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win his second straight Most Valuable Player award, multiple sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). The formal announcement will be made Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, just before the start of Game 7 of the Cavaliers–Pistons series.
The Thunder guard put up similar numbers to his MVP campaign from last year. In 68 games, he averaged 31.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists while shooting 55.3% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range. He helped Oklahoma City post a league-high 64 regular season wins and sweep its way through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
SGA is the 14th player in NBA history to claim back-to-back MVP honors and the first since Nikola Jokic did it in 2021 and 2022. Charania notes that he’s the first guard to win consecutive MVPs since Stephen Curry and the first backcourt player ever to average at least 30 PPG in a season while shooting better than 55% from the field. He also joins Michael Jordan as the only players to average at least 30 points and five assists while shooting 50% for four straight years.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 20 points in every game he played this season, reaching a milestone previously only accomplished by Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. His league-leading plus/minus rating of +788 for the season is far ahead of runner-up Victor Wembanyama, who was at +682.
Gilgeous-Alexander has a chance to move into the record book alongside Jordan, Bill Russell and LeBron James as the only players ever to win consecutive titles and back-to-back MVP trophies, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link).
ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out that SGA currently ranks 34th in the league in salary, and that his current figure at 24.8% of the cap will dip to 24.6% next season (Twitter link). He’ll move near the top in 2027/28 when his super-max extension kicks in.
Jokic and Wembanyama are the other finalists for this year’s award. Although Charania’s report takes the drama out of tonight’s announcement, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press states that Jokic still has a chance to join Russell and Larry Bird as the only players ever to finish in the top two in MVP voting for six consecutive years (Twitter link).
Cavs Starting Max Strus Over Dean Wade For Game 7
6:44 pm: Cleveland’s starting lineup change is official, per Pistons PR (Twitter link).
6:37 pm: The Cavaliers are expected to make a change to their starting lineup for Sunday’s do-or-die Game 7, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who reports that Max Strus is “likely” to get the starting nod at small forward over Dean Wade.
Wade, who is known for his defense, has started all six games of the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup vs. Detroit, averaging 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per contest. He has only attempted 14 shots in the series, but has made half of those looks (seven).
Strus, meanwhile, has averaged 10.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG while knocking down 38.3% of his three-point attempts through six games in the second-round series (29.2 MPG).
According to Fedor, there are several reasons why head coach Kenny Atkinson is opting to make the change, but offense is the primary factor. The Cavs have struggled to score against Detroit’s stout defense, which ranked second in the league during the regular season.
As Fedor writes, Atkinson has spoken about Strus’ impact throughout the Pistons series, praising his “energy, tenacity and defensive ball pressure.”
Atkinson made a similar change in the first round against Toronto. Wade started the first four games of that series before turning to Strus for Game 5 and 6. Wade was moved back to the starting lineup for Game 7 against the Raptors.
Pistons’ Robinson, LeVert, Huerter Available For Game 7
May 17: For the second consecutive game, Robinson, LeVert and Huerter have been upgraded to available after initially being listed as questionable, tweets Patterson.
May 16: The Pistons have listed guard/forwards Duncan Robinson (low back soreness), Caris LeVert (right heel contustion) and Kevin Huerter (left adductor strain) as questionable for Sunday’s do-or-die Game 7 against Cleveland, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link).
All three players were also listed as questionable for Friday’s Game 6 win in Cleveland, which evened the second-round series at three games apiece. Robinson, LeVert and Huerter were all upgraded to available prior to that victory.
Huerter reportedly received an injection prior to Game 6 after aggravating his adductor injury, which had caused him to miss two-plus weeks. He didn’t end up playing on Friday, but Robinson and LeVert both played significant roles with the Pistons facing elimination for the fourth time this postseason.
Robinson, who was limited in Game 4 due to the back issue that caused him to miss Game 5, recorded 14 points (including converting four of his seven three-pointers), two rebounds, two assists in 20 minutes. The veteran shooting guard has been a key floor spacer and secondary play-maker in his first season in Detroit. He came off the bench in Game 6 for the first time this season (Daniss Jenkins got his second straight start).
LeVert, meanwhile, had eight points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes on Friday. The veteran wing is facing his former team with a chance to advance to an Eastern Conference finals vs. New York.
Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox, Luke Kornet Questionable For Game 1
The Spurs have listed starting point guard De’Aaron Fox (right ankle soreness) and backup center Luke Kornet (left foot soreness) as questionable for the opening game of the Western Conference finals, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. The defending champion Thunder will host the Spurs for Monday’s Game 1.
As Weiss notes, Fox has been playing through the right ankle issue for a while. The 28-year-old was also listed as questionable near the end of the second-round series vs. Minnesota, but didn’t miss any time as a result of the injury.
After averaging 18.6 points, 6.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 31.0 minutes per game across 72 regular season appearances, Fox has put up very similar statistics thus far in the playoffs. Through 11 games, the two-time All-Star has averaged 18.8 PPG, 5.8 APG, 3.5 RPG and 1.1 SPG in 33.2 MPG.
Kornet had six points, six rebounds and four blocks in 14 minutes during Friday’s series-clinching victory over the Wolves. The veteran big man has appeared in every 2026 postseason game for San Antonio to this point, averaging 5.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 1.2 BPG in 16.5 MPG.
Jalen Williams Available For Game 1 Of Western Finals
May 17: Williams isn’t listed on the injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Spurs, per Rylan Stiles of SI.com. That means the one-time All-Star will be available for the Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
May 15: Thunder star Jalen Williams provided an update on his return from a left hamstring strain on Friday via his YouTube channel, as Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman relays.
Williams, who suffered the injury a few weeks ago in first-round series against Phoenix, said the second-round sweep of the Lakers gave him extra time to recover. The 25-year-old was spotted at Friday’s practice then released the vlog update later in the day, Martinez notes.
“I haven’t had to rush back from my hamstring stuff at all,” Williams said. “I’m actually taking extra days now then what was even originally planned because we were up 3-0 (on the Lakers), so there was no point in going into this series and possibly hurting myself before we have to play the Timberwolves or the Spurs. I’m about to go into another series healthy.”
The fourth-year wing was limited to a career-low 33 regular season appearances in 2025/26 due to offseason wrist surgery and a pair of right hamstring strains. He last played on April 22, when he injured his opposite hamstring in Game 2 vs. the Suns.
Williams, whose rookie scale max extension begins in 2026/27, averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 28.4 minutes per game during the regular season. He was excellent in the first two games against the Suns, averaging 20.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.0 RPG and 1.0 SPG while shooting 61.5% from the field in 26.0 MPG.
Ajay Mitchell was Oklahoma City’s secondary ball-handler and attacker with Williams out, but he should still receive plenty of playing time in the conference finals even if Williams is back, according to Martinez. The Thunder are still waiting to learn their opponent; San Antonio currently holds a 3-2 lead over Minnesota ahead of Friday’s Game 6.
And-Ones: Social Justice Award, Wemby, Leg Injuries, McGrady
Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Pistons forward Tobias Harris, and Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr. are the five finalists for the 2026 Social Justice Champion award, the NBA announced in a press release.
“The annual award honors a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and will receive the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trophy for advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically disadvantaged,” the release states.
“The NBA Social Justice Champion will be announced during the Conference Finals of the 2026 NBA Playoffs and receive a $100,000 donation from the NBA for a non-profit organization of his choosing.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is unlikely to suit up for the French national team for a pair of 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying games in early July, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops, but the former No. 1 overall pick is expected to be available during the second qualifying window in late August. San Antonio’s deep playoff run — the Spurs are set to face Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals — is the reason why Wembanyama probably won’t play for Team France in July.
- Kirk Goldsberry of The Ringer takes a data-focused look at the NBA’s significant rise in soft-tissue leg injuries and considers what measures the league could take to mitigate them.
- Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady relaunched his Ones Basketball League at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando on Friday, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “I thought it was a great atmosphere,” McGrady said of the rowdy crowd. “Orlando showed a lot of support. I thought the guys played extremely well, played hard. … All in all, I think it was a great showing. And hopefully the crowd that was here got an opportunity to see some good basketball and understand what we’re trying to build.” Beede passes along more details about the one-on-one league, which will conclude on July 1 with a prize of $100,000.
Southeast Notes: Hawks’ Draft Picks, Jakucionis, Magic
The Hawks will likely have at least a couple top guard prospects available to choose from when they’re on the clock with the eighth overall pick, writes Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscriber link).
Atlanta found success in the second half of last season without using a traditional point guard, but if the team wants to find a play-maker to replace Trae Young, Darius Acuff, Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler, Mikel Brown and Brayden Burries are among the players who could still be on the board.
If the Hawks decide to go with a wing or a big man, Nate Ament, Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg and Jayden Quaintance could be options, as Cunningham and his Atlanta Journal-Constitution colleague Lauren Williams suggest (subscription required).
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- In the same story, Williams lists a handful of players the Hawks might consider with their second first-round pick at No. 23 overall. Houston big man Chris Cenac, Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz and Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson are a few of the prospects mentioned. Atlanta also controls a late second-round selection (No. 57), Williams notes.
- Kasparas Jakucionis opened his rookie season in the G League, but he became a Heat rotation regular about a third of the way into 2025/26, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The Lithuanian guard, who turns 20 years old later this month, impressed head coach Erik Spoelstra with his work ethic and competitiveness. Now the 2025 first-round pick is trying to level up his game this offseason. “Just get stronger in the weight room,” said Jakucionis. “And then on the ball and off the ball, just work on my handles, try to get tight on my handles, get into the paint with two feet, try to make the right read from there. Get some more paint touches, for sure. And off the ball, it’s just about spacing, shooting, and running basically.”
- Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel examines what moves the Magic might make this offseason aside from hiring a new head coach to replace Jamahl Mosley. Pulling off another major trade might be more complicated since the Magic have fewer draft assets at their disposal after last summer’s Desmond Bane blockbuster, Beede observes, and their free agent additions might be limited to minimum-salary players due to their financial situation.