SGA, Jaylen Brown Named Players Of Week
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Celtics forward Jaylen Brown have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the league (Twitter links). This includes games played from March 30 through April 5.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, averaged 31.7 points, 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game in three Thunder victories as he puts the finishing touches on another MVP-caliber season. That three-game stretch included a 47-point outburst in an overtime win over the Pistons last Monday.
It’s the fourth Player of the Week award this season for Gilgeous-Alexander, who also claimed it twice in November and once in January. He and Luka Doncic are the only players to win the weekly award four times this season.
Brown earned Player of the Week honors for the third time in 2025/26 and the seventh time of his career by averaging an East-leading 31.0 points, 5.8 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game as Boston went 3-1. Celtics wings have now been named Player of the Week on each of the past two Mondays, as Jayson Tatum won the award last week.
Kevin Durant (Rockets), Cooper Flagg (Mavericks), Jrue Holiday (Blazers), Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray (Nuggets), and Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) were the other Western Conference nominees, according to the NBA.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks), OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks), LaMelo Ball (Hornets), Desmond Bane (Magic), Jalen Duren (Pistons), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) and Jayson Tatum (Celtics) were also nominated in the East.
Cooper Flagg Makes ‘Statement’ In Rookie Of The Year Race
Cooper Flagg may have flipped the Rookie of the Year race back in his direction with a weekend scoring outburst, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. After posting 51 points on Friday – the highest total ever for an NBA teenager – the Mavericks forward followed it up with a 45-point performance and a near triple-double in Sunday night’s win over the Lakers.
Flagg and former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel of Charlotte have been waging a battle for ROY honors throughout the season. MacMahon notes that Knueppel entered the weekend as a -300 favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with Flagg at +225. Flagg’s scoring spree now has him listed as the favorite at -250, with Knueppel at +180.
“I think it’s definitely some sort of statement,” said Flagg, who also had nine assists, eight rebounds, two steals and a block on Sunday. “But it just goes back to what I said: I’m confident in myself, and I know what I’m capable of. I’ll just let the rest of the stuff figure itself out.”
As MacMahon observes, Flagg has entered some elite company over the past three days. He owns three of the four 45-point games by a teenager in NBA history and is the first rookie to reach 45 points in two straight games since Walt Bellamy did it 64 years ago. Only six players have scored 45 points three times during their rookie seasons, with the others being Hall-of-Famers Bellamy, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Earl Monroe and Lew Alcindor, who were all named Rookie of the Year.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd told reporters that Flagg has special qualities that go beyond his ability to score.
“I don’t know if he’s making a closing statement,” Kidd said. “I think he’s doing what he’s been doing all season. Being able to play different positions. Being able to be uncomfortable. He’s never complained and has delivered for us. Tonight, being able to do it on national television, it’s not easy. Especially coming off a 50-ball. He wants to win, and he helped the team win tonight.”
Both Flagg and Knueppel have strong Rookie of the Year cases heading into the final week of the regular season. Flagg, the No. 1 pick last June, leads all rookies in scoring at 20.8 PPG, is third in rebounding at 6.6 RPG and second in assists at 4.5 APG. Knueppel, the No. 4 selection, leads the league with 265 made three-pointers and broke the rookie record in that category. He’s averaging 18.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 3.4 APG and is playing on a 43-36 Hornets team that’s in contention for an automatic playoff spot, while the Mavs are winding down their season at 25-53.
Lakers star LeBron James was impressed by Flagg on Sunday and made a comparison to his own rookie season in Cleveland 22 years ago, according to Christian Clark of The Athletic.
“Kidd early on got a little scrutinized because they started him at point guard at times, and I thought that was unfair,” James said. “I think it’s great to put the ball in somebody’s hands so they can just go through the rough patches. And when you go through the rough patches, it allows you to grow at a rate faster than other players. That’s what (Cavaliers coach) Paul Silas, rest his soul, did for me. My rookie year, I basically started at point guard early on. He allowed me to make mistakes and make mistakes and make mistakes and play against tough defenses and stuff like that. So, I see similarities in that.”
Poll: Who Should Be NBA Rookie Of The Year?
The Mavericks fell to 24-53 with a loss to Orlando on Friday night, but it was another huge night for No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who became the youngest player – and the first teenager – in NBA history to score at least 50 points in a game, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
Flagg set a new career high by racking up 51 points on 19-of-30 shooting. The performance increased his full-season scoring average to 20.8 points per game, which ranks first among rookies. Among qualified rookies, he also ranks third in rebounds (6.6), second in assists (4.5), second in steals (1.2), and second in blocks (0.9) per game.
The 19-year-old is on track to become just the fourth rookie since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 to average at least 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game, notes MacMahon. The other three are Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Luka Doncic.
“He should be Rookie of the Year. It’s unbelievable,” head coach Jason Kidd said of Flagg. “The country is not watching the same thing that we get to watch on a daily basis. The things that he’s done, he’s in rare air. He’s with the GOAT when you talk about MJ and what he did in his rookie year — and as a teenager.”
However, Flagg isn’t the current frontrunner for Rookie of the Year recognition. That honor belongs to his former college teammate Kon Knueppel, who earned 80 of 100 first-place votes in a Rookie of the Year straw poll recently conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Flagg received the other 20 first-place votes).
Knueppel, who has played 12 more games and 227 more total minutes than his former Duke co-star, has averaged 18.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 31.5 minutes per contest as a rookie for the Hornets.
Two major factors have given Knueppel the edge over Flagg in the eyes of many voters. For one, he’s having the best shooting season of any rookie in NBA history. The fourth overall picks leads the NBA with 264 made three-pointers and is knocking down 43.1% of his attempts, which also puts him among the league leaders in three-point percentage. Flagg isn’t having a bad shooting season – he has made 51.8% of his two-pointers – but he has converted just 29.3% of his shots from beyond the arc.
Additionally, while the Hornets are hardly a juggernaut, the emergence of the young squad has been one of the most fun NBA stories of the last few months. Charlotte hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016 and got off to an 11-23 start this season, but has since improved its record to 42-36. The team, which currently holds the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, has a real chance to end its postseason drought, and Knueppel has played a crucial role in that turnaround.
Flagg’s boosters would argue that it’s not his fault the banged-up Mavs essentially entered tank mode midway through the season and that he doesn’t have the same sort of supporting cast Knueppel does in Charlotte, where LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Miles Bridges are also having big years.
There’s even a recent precedent for a star rookie on a bad team winning Rookie of the Year over a fellow standout who had an important role on a playoff team — Victor Wembanyama of the 22-60 Spurs beat out Chet Holmgren of the 57-25 Spurs in 2024. But Wembanyama, who averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game while leading the league in blocked shots, was even better two years ago than Flagg has been this season.
We want to know what you think. With apologies to VJ Edgecombe and a few other notable members of 2025’s draft class, Rookie of the Year has become a two-man race this season. So should Flagg or Knueppel win the award?
Vote in our poll and head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Who should be this season's NBA Rookie of the Year?
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Cooper Flagg (Mavericks) 50% (497)
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Kon Knueppel (Hornets) 50% (490)
Total votes: 987
NBA Tells 13 Teams To Look For New Regional TV Deals
The NBA has informed the 13 teams affiliated with Main Street Sports Group that they’re free to seek new in-market media rights deals ahead of the 2026/27 season, reports Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal.
Main Street, previously known as Diamond Sports Group, runs FanDuel Sports Network, which broadcasts local and regional TV games for the Thunder, Spurs, Pistons, Cavaliers, Clippers, Heat, Timberwolves, Magic, Hornets, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Bucks. However, the company is headed for insolvency and will discontinue broadcasting for those teams when the regular season concludes on April 12.
“FanDuel Sports Network has reached agreements with the NBA and NHL to broadcast games and other programming through the end of the 2026 NBA regular season and the end of the first round of the NHL playoffs,” a Main Street Sports Group spokesperson said in a statement to Sports Business Journal.
“We are preparing to wind down our operations upon seasons’ end unless we reach a strategic transaction. We’re pleased to finish out the NBA and NHL seasons, and we appreciate the collaborative relationships we have enjoyed with our team and league partners as well as the connections we have fostered with local fans.”
While this has been an expected outcome for months, it leaves nearly half of the teams in the league without in-market broadcasting contracts for next season. According to Friend, the 13 teams could opt for over-the-air channels or streaming options (or both), but whichever route they take, the league has been urging those clubs to sign one-year agreements or to at least have an opt-out after one season, so they can join the streaming hub for local broadcasts the NBA plans to launch down the line.
While previous reporting indicated the NBA might try to launch that streaming RSN hub for 2026/27, it didn’t come up at last month’s Board of Governors meetings, Friend writes, and teams are operating as though it won’t be ready until ’27/28 at the earliest. DAZN has been aggressively reaching out to those 13 clubs to try and secure media rights with an eye on possibly running the streaming RSN platform.
As Friend details, DAZN could have competition for that national streaming project, with Amazon, YouTube TV and the ESPN app all potentially in the mix. DAZN also has competition for local rights, as multiple teams are considering streaming-only options instead of having over-the-air broadcasts. Victory+ (streaming only), ViewLift (Altitude for Denver and Monumental for Washington) and Kiswe (Jazz) are the other companies vying for regional streaming projects.
None of the 13 teams have received rights fee payments from Main Street in 2026, but multiple sources tell friend each club could receive up to 60% of its lost TV money once dissolution agreements are finalized with the NBA and Main Street.
Those lost payments impacted the latest salary cap projection for 2026/27, decreasing it by $1MM. It’s unclear whether the projection might bounce back slightly if part of that lost money is recouped or if that was already factored into the most recent estimate.
Pacers Sports and Entertainment CEO Mel Raines confirmed to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star that Indiana is seeking a new broadcast partner for next season.
“We’re throwing a very wide net and looking to both potential over-the-air partners and direct-to-consumer partners and looking at every possible option to reach as many of our fans as we can next season over local television,” Raines said.
Hornets’ PJ Hall Out Indefinitely With Right Ankle Fracture
Hornets big man PJ Hall has been diagnosed with a right ankle fracture, according to the NBA’s official injury report. The news was first noted by Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).
Hall, a second-year center out of Clemson, is on a two-way contract with the Hornets. Charlotte has yet to make an announcement regarding how much time Hall might miss. He was in a walking boot on Thursday, per Boone.
Based on the nature of his injury, there’s essentially no chance Hall will play again by April 12, when the regular season ends. Two-way players are ineligible to compete in the postseason, and since he’ll likely be out several weeks, there’s no real reason for the Hornets to promote him to a standard contract, which would make Hall postseason-eligible.
Hall opened the season on a two-way deal with Memphis. The Grizzlies waived him mid-November, and he caught on with the Hornets about five weeks later.
The 24-year-old has averaged 6.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game across 12 NBA appearances with Charlotte. He hasn’t played with the Hornets since February 22, having spent extended time in the G League with the Greensboro Swarm.
Hall has put up big numbers with the Swarm, averaging 18.9 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 1.7 BPG on .602/.329/.792 shooting splits in 23 games (29.6 MPG). He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer if the Hornets give him a qualifying offer, which is equivalent to another two-way contract covering one year.
In other Hornets injury news, starting center Moussa Diabate is questionable to suit up for Friday’s game vs. Indiana due to left ankle soreness. Forward Grant Williams, who returned from a torn ACL in January, is out on the second night of a back-to-back.
Hornets Notes: Knueppel, Miller, White, Williams
Kon Knueppel continued his remarkable rookie year Thursday night by setting the Hornets‘ franchise record for most three-pointers in a season, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press. Knueppel hit four shots from beyond the arc in a win over Phoenix, giving him a league-leading 261 and surpassing Kemba Walker‘s total of 260 during the 2018/19 season.
“I think maybe I’ve surpassed my expectations for myself a little bit,” Knueppel said.
As Reed relates, Knueppel didn’t feel like he had a great offseason after being selected with the No. 4 pick and wasn’t sure what his role would be as he arrived in training camp. That changed quickly as he played his way into the opening night starting lineup and has remained there throughout the season.
Knueppel credited Charlotte fans with inspiring him through their response as he neared the record on Thursday.
“You definitely feel it,” he said. “It makes the ones that go in real, real sweet, but it is also like pretty reassuring as a shooter when the ones you miss the crowd (lets out) an audible like ‘ooooh.’ That’s reassuring as a shooter that fans believe in that every shot you take is going in.”
There’s more from Charlotte:
- Brandon Miller also set a team record by making a three-pointer in his 54th consecutive game, eclipsing the mark set by LaMelo Ball, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer notes in a subscriber-only story. Coach Charles Lee said Miller has evolved into more than a scorer in his third NBA season, which is an important part of the Hornets’ success. “As the whole team really started to take a jump, Brandon became more vocal about wanting to become a two-way player,” Lee said. “I thought that his actions backed it up even more as we started putting him on a lot of the primary scorers while also playing through him offensively, and he’s giving it to us at both ends. His ability to play long stretches during the game is helping us. So I’ve been really impressed with helping elevate our team to another level.”
- The February trade for Coby White continues to pay dividends as he scored 19 points off the bench and helped Charlotte rally in the second quarter after Phoenix built an early lead, Boone states in the same piece. The Hornets will face a decision this summer on White, who is on an expiring $12.9MM contract. “It’s been a great luxury to have,” Lee said. “Coby’s done a really good job of finding a way to get up to speed quickly and make an impact on both ends of the floor. I see him get more and more into a rhythm every game he has. The fact that I can use him in a lot of different ways is really, really good.”
- Thursday brought a return to Charlotte for Suns center Mark Williams, who was back on the court after missing 15 games with a left foot stress reaction, Boone adds. Williams, who spent the first three seasons of his career with the Hornets, received a tribute video before he checked into the game midway through the first quarter. “It was cool,” he said. “I got some mixed emotions, but yeah it’s good to be back. Obviously, this is where I was drafted, where my career started, the organization that took a chance on me. So, mixed emotions really though for sure. As in good and bad? Happy and sad? “A little bit of everything. I was here, they traded me twice. Yeah, so I’ll just leave it at that.”
NBA G League Announces ROY, DPOY, COY Award Winners
Clippers two-way guard Sean Pedulla has been named the NBA G League’s Rookie of the Year for the 2025/26 season, the league announced in a press release.
Pedulla, who went undrafted out of Mississippi last June, averaged 23.6 points, 6.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 28 combined games (32.0 MPG) with the Rip City Remix (the Trail Blazers‘ affiliate) and the San Diego Clippers this season. He posted a shooting line of .443/.369/.845.
Pedulla ranked first in points per game and second in assists per game among rookies who qualified.
The 23-year-old signed a two-way contract with Los Angeles in February. He has made four NBA appearances with the Clippers this season, averaging 3.3 PPG in 5.8 MPG.
Raptors two-way guard Alijah Martin and Clippers two-way forward Norchad Omier finished second and third in voting for the award, respectively, per the NBA (Twitter link).
The NBAGL also announced the Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach of the Year award winners. Dallas Legends (Mavericks’ affiliate) center Jamarion Sharp won the former award, while Mexico City Capitanes coach Vitor Galvani won the latter.
Sharpe averaged 7.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and a league-high 3.9 BPG across 25 regular season appearances for the Legends (24.9 MPG). Lakers two-way guard Chris Manon and Martin of the Raptors finished second and third in voting, respectively.
Galvani guided the Capitanes to a 24-12 record in his first season with the team, who entered the G League playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. It’s the first NBAGL playoff appearance for the league’s lone independent club.
Greensboro Swarm (Hornets‘ affiliate) head coach DJ Bakker and Osceola Magic head coach Dylan Murphy finished second and third in voting, respectively.
All three awards were voted on by G League head coaches and general managers, according to the NBA.
Thunder’s Daigneault, Hawks’ Snyder Named Coaches Of The Month
Mark Daigneault of the Thunder has been named March’s Coach of the Month for the Western Conference, while Quin Snyder of the Hawks has earned the honor in the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
There were no shortage of strong candidates for Coach of the Month recognition in the Western Conference. Daigneault’s OKC squad maintained its spot atop the NBA’s standings by posting a 14-1 record in March, but JJ Redick of the Lakers (15-2) and Mitch Johnson of the Spurs (14-2) also had excellent months. They were nominated for the award too, along with Tyronn Lue of the Clippers (12-6), according to the league (Twitter link).
Snyder, meanwhile, guided the Hawks to a 13-2 record in March, which moved them from play-in territory into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference standings. That made him the top choice among a group of nominees that also included Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers, J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, Mike Brown of the Knicks, Charles Lee of the Hornets, and Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.
Daigneault and Johnson are the only coaches to win multiple Coach of the Month awards this season, claiming two apiece, while Suns coach Jordan Ott also earned the Western Conference honor in January. In the East, five separate coaches were named Coach of the Month, with Snyder joining Bickerstaff (October/November), Mazzulla (December), Lee (January), and Atkinson (February).
Luka Doncic, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Month
Lakers guard Luka Doncic and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for March in the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (Twitter link).
It was a monster scoring month for Doncic, who became one of just 10 players in league history to pour in 600 points in any calendar month. He did so across 16 contests, for an average of 37.5 points per night. That run included a 60-point game, a 51-point game, and five additional outings of at least 40 points.
The star guard also contributed 8.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game while posting a shooting line of .492/.392/.794. The Lakers went 15-2 in March (14-2 when Doncic played), and the 27-year-old was even recognized for his defensive contributions — he was a Defensive Player of the Month nominee after averaging 2.3 steals per night.
The Hawks have been another one of the NBA’s hottest teams as of late, with Johnson playing a crucial role in their recent success. Atlanta went 13-2 in March (11-2 when Johnson played) and he averaged 22.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 8.5 APG while shooting 48.9% from the floor, 39.2% from beyond the arc, and 80.7% from the free throw line.
Johnson’s best games of the month came against conference rivals, including a 35-point, 10-rebound performance vs. Philadelphia on March 7 and a 24-point, 15-rebound, 13-assist triple-double against Orlando on March 16.
It’s the second time this season and the seventh time in his career that Doncic has been named a Player of the Month. He beat out fellow nominees Kevin Durant of the Rockets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder, Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers, Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs, and Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray of the Nuggets, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
Johnson, meanwhile, is a first-time Player of the Month winner. The other nominees in the Eastern Conference were his Hawks teammate Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Cavaliers guard James Harden, Magic teammates Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane, and the Knicks duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Sixers’ Edgecombe, Kings’ Raynaud Named Rookies Of The Month
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe has been named the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month for March, while Kings big man Maxime Raynaud has won the award for the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
Edgecombe’s win prevents Hornets wing Kon Knueppel from achieving a clean sweep of Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards this season. Knueppel earned the honor for October/November, December, January, and February. He was among this month’s nominees in the East, along with Wizards forward Will Riley, per the league (Twitter link).
But it’s Edgecombe that claimed the honor after an impressive March in which he averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 32.7 minutes per game across 13 outings. He posted a solid .454/.361/.895 shooting line for the month, strengthening his case for a spot on this season’s All-Rookie first team.
Over in the West, Raynaud is the third player to receive Rookie of the Month recognition this season, joining Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (Oct./Nov., Dec., and Jan.) and Spurs guard Dylan Harper (Feb.), both of whom were nominated for the March award along with Jazz forward Ace Bailey.
Injuries to Kings centers Domantas Sabonis and Drew Eubanks have cleared the way for Raynaud to play a significant role in Sacramento’s frontcourt since the All-Star break. In 15 March appearances (all starts), he put up 17.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG on .595/.444/.784 shooting. His most impressive individual stretch came when he had back-to-back 30-point games on March 17 vs. San Antonio and March 19 vs. Philadelphia.