Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

LeBron James Makes Season Debut On Tuesday

November 18th, 2025 at 7:47pm CST by Rory Maher

Nov. 18: James will make his season debut tonight against the Jazz, McMenamin tweets.

Nov. 16: Lakers superstar LeBron James has been recalled from his G League assignment with South Bay and will be a full participant in Monday’s practice, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who says the NBA’s all-time leading scorer is nearing his season debut (Twitter link).

James went through at least two practices with the Lakers’ NBAGL affiliate over the past handful of days, including doing contact five-on-five work, and reportedly showed no ill effects afterward.

This will be James’ first practice with the Lakers in 2025/26, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic.

Charania reported about a month ago that James was targeting a mid-November return from the nerve issue — sciatica on his right side — that has caused him to miss training camp, the preseason, and the first 14 games of the season. Charania’s ESPN colleague Dave McMenamin recently wrote that James could make his season debut this week, possibly on Tuesday vs. Utah.

When he suits up, James will set a record by playing in his 23rd NBA season.

The Lakers have gotten off to a strong start to the season in James’ absence, currently holding a 10-4 record.

James, who extended his own NBA record by making his 21st consecutive All-NBA team in 2024/25, could see that streak come to an end in ’25/26 due to the 65-game rule. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan hold a three-way tie for the second-most All-NBA appearances with 15 apiece.

The 40-year-old forward, who also made his record-extending 21st straight All-Star appearance in ’24/25, remained highly productive last season, averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 70 games (34.9 minutes per contest). His shooting slash line was .513/.376/.782.

However, James’ ’24/25 season ended in disappointing fashion as the Lakers were ousted by Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs and he suffered an MCL sprain late in the final game.

James opted into his $52.6MM player option over the summer. He holds a no-trade clause and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.

Giannis Antetokounmpo To Miss 1-2 Weeks With Groin Strain

November 18th, 2025 at 4:20pm CST by Rory Maher

November 18: Antetokounmpo’s MRI “went pretty well,” according to Rivers, who said during an appearance on Courtside with Gale Klappa podcast that the Bucks star will “probably” miss two weeks (Twitter audio link via Nehm).

ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets that it’s a “low-grade” strain for Antetokounmpo and is expected to sideline him for a week or two.

November 17: Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo sustained a left groin strain in the second quarter of Monday’s game in Cleveland and will not return for the second half, the team announced (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).

Antetokounmpo appeared to suffer the injury on a drive to the basket, according to Nehm, who tweets that the Greek forward hobbled back down the court on defense, committed a foul, and then checked himself out of the game and walked to the locker room. Harris Stavrou of SPORT24 has a partial video of the incident (Twitter link).

Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, according to head coach Doc Rivers (Twitter links courtesy of Nehm).

“We won’t know anything until tomorrow. Didn’t look great, I can tell you that,” Rivers said. “ … He grabbed (his groin), I want to say in the first quarter and I asked him then. He said it was fine. Then I think he grabbed it again and he said it was fine. And then the third time, you know, is when it happened. But I think it happened earlier, in my opinion.”

Backup big man Jericho Sims started the second half with Antetokounmpo unavailable, Nehm adds (via Twitter).

A two-time MVP who has finished no worse than fourth in voting for the award in each of the past seven years, Antetokounmpo was off to arguably the best start of his decorated career in 2025/26 prior to the injury, averaging 32.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.3 blocks through 12 games (33.4 minutes per contest).

The 30-year-old entered Monday’s game on the injury report with a probable tag due to an unrelated issue with his left knee (patellar tendinopathy) before being upgraded to available. Rivers said last week that injury isn’t considered serious.

While it’s unclear how much time Antetokounmpo will miss as a result of the groin injury, it’s probably not a great sign that it was quickly diagnosed as a strain — even relatively mild groin strains can be tricky to recover from.

Sims and Bobby Portis are the most obvious candidates for more minutes with Antetokounmpo out for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. Myles Turner figures to take on an expanded offensive role as well.

Spurs’ Castle Out At Least 1-2 Weeks With Hip Injury

November 18th, 2025 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

After undergoing an MRI on Monday, Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been diagnosed with a left hip flexor strain, the team announced today in a press release. The injury occurred during Sunday’s game against Sacramento.

The Spurs’ announcement simply states that updates on Castle will be provided “as appropriate,” but ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter) that the reigning Rookie of the Year will be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks. That means Castle will be sidelined for upcoming matchups with Memphis (Tuesday), Atlanta (Thursday), and Phoenix (Sunday) and could miss additional time beyond that.

Castle, 21, had gotten off to a strong start this fall in his second NBA season, averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game on 50.3% shooting in his first 12 games before getting injured in his 13th outing.

The Spurs will now be without three of their top four scorers, as Castle joins Victor Wembanyama (calf strain) and Dylan Harper (calf strain) on the inactive list. According to the team, point guard Jordan McLaughlin is also expected to miss some time, having been diagnosed with a right hamstring strain after undergoing an MRI on Monday. He sustained the injury during a workout.

While there were questions in the offseason about the Spurs’ logjam at point guard, the team’s depth will come in handy in the near future. Even with Castle, Harper, and McLaughlin on the shelf, San Antonio should get star-level production at the position as long as De’Aaron Fox stays healthy.

Fox’s season debut was delayed due to a hamstring injury, but he has started each of the club’s past five contests and appears to be rounding into form — he has averaged 26.0 points and 10.5 assists in his past two games.

Cavs Fined $100K For Violating Player Participation Policy

November 18th, 2025 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have been fined $100K for violating the NBA’s player participation policy, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

The violation took place on November 12, last Wednesday, when the Cavaliers sat both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley for rest purposes during the first game of a back-to-back set. The Cavs played in Miami that night before heading home to host the Raptors on Thursday.

The NBA’s player participation policy was modified ahead of the 2023/24 season in an effort to reduce instances of teams holding out star players during the regular season. Under the policy, the NBA defines a star as a player who has made an All-Star or All-NBA team within the past three seasons. Both Mitchell and Mobley meet that criteria.

Although teams are permitted to rest those star players under certain circumstances, an investigation is automatically triggered any time a team rests more than one healthy star in the same game. Cleveland likely would have avoided a fine if they had held out Mitchell on Wednesday and Mobley on Thursday, or vice versa.

A team violating the player participation policy for the first time is fined $100K. A second violation would cost the Cavs $250K.

Suns Sign Bouyea To Two-Way Contract, Waive Huntley

November 18th, 2025 at 11:24am CST by Dana Gauruder

November 18: The Suns have officially signed to Bouyea to a two-way deal, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets.

November 17: The Suns are signing guard Jamaree Bouyea to a two-way contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

Bouyea has been toiling in the G League with the Austin Spurs while awaiting another NBA opportunity. San Antonio signed and waived him on Oct. 18 with the intent of having him play with the club’s G League affiliate. Bouyea had a two-way contract with the Bucks before they waived him in October.

Bouyea has appeared in a total of 19 NBA games for five teams. He had brief stints with Miami, Washington, Portland and San Antonio before making five appearances with Milwaukee last season. Bouyea, who went undrafted in 2022, has averaged 2.8 points and 1.3 assists in 12.0 minutes per game during those NBA appearances.

CJ Huntley, Koby Brea and Isaiah Livers had been occupying Phoenix’s two-way contract slots, but the Suns waived Huntley to open up room for Bouyea, the team announced (via Twitter).

A 23-year-old forward, Huntley was signed as an undrafted rookie out of Appalachian State and has yet to appear in an NBA game.

Nikola Jokic, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Week

November 17th, 2025 at 5:18pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week, while Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has won the award in the East, the NBA announced on Monday (via Twitter).

Jokic, who won the weekly honor in the West for the second straight time (19th overall), had another phenomenal week, even by his lofty standards. He led Denver to three road victories, averaging 39.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.7 steals on .737/.643/.889 shooting splits.

Jokic’s week was highlighted by a 55-point outburst against the Clippers in which he recorded 52 points, 11 rebounds and six assists through only three quarters, the first player to have such a stat line through three periods since the NBA began play-by-play tracking in 1997/98, per the Nuggets. He notched another three points and one rebound in two-plus minutes in the fourth, shooting 18-of-23 from the field, 5-of-6 from three, and 14-of-16 from the line in 34 minutes.

The Nuggets have won seven straight games and are currently 10-2, only trailing the 13-1 Thunder in the West. Jokic, a three-time MVP who finished as the runner-up in the two seasons he didn’t win the award over the past five years, is averaging career highs in several statistical categories in 2025/26.

Johnson had a spectacular stretch of games himself in winning his first Player of the Week award. The 23-year-old guided Atlanta to a perfect 4-0 record on the team’s Western Conference road trip, the first time the Hawks have gone undefeated on a West trip spanning at least four games since 1970/71. He averaged 24.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.5 steals on .603/.571/.783 shooting.

Johnson had a historic stat line on Thursday in Utah, recording career highs in points (31), rebounds (18), assists (14) and steals (seven), the first player to meet all of those statistical benchmarks in a game since steals became an official stat in ’73/74. The Hawks are now 9-5, tied for the No. 3 seed in the East.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, Lauri Markkanen and Alperen Sengun. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Scottie Barnes, Jaylen Brown, Pistons two-way guard Daniss Jenkins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Franz Wagner were nominated in the East.

Derrick Jones Jr. Out At Least Six Weeks With MCL Sprain

November 17th, 2025 at 4:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee during Sunday’s loss in Boston and will miss at least six weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter).

According to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Clippers were “relieved” that Jones’ injury wasn’t more serious.

The injury occurred late in the second quarter when Jaylen Brown lost his dribble and dove to retrieve the ball just as Jones was reaching for it (YouTube link). The incidental contact resulted in Jones’ knee bending inward at an odd angle, with Jones immediately grabbing at his knee in pain. The high-flying swingman had to be helped off the court and was unable to put any weight on his right leg.

Whiles Jones’ stats are fairly modest — he was averaging 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on .540/.341/.786 shooting in the 12 games (26.0 minutes per contest) leading up to the injury — his absence will certainly be felt by the Clippers. The former dunk contest winner is an offensive lob and transition threat and one of the team’s best defenders.

Third-year wing Jordan Miller also exited Sunday’s game with an injury — he aggravated the left hamstring strain that caused him to miss the first three weeks of the season, Murray notes (Twitter links). It’s an unfortunate setback for the 25-year-old, who scored a career-high 22 points in his season debut on Wednesday.

Miller, who is on a two-way deal with Los Angeles, has been ruled out of Monday’s back-to-back in Philadelphia with left hamstring soreness, but isn’t expected to miss extended time, according to the team (Twitter link via Murray).

Rookie guard/forward Kobe Sanders, another two-way player, will get his first career start on Monday, tweets Murray.

Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who is dealing with right ankle and foot sprains, has resumed on-court work and is nearing his return, though it’s unclear if he’ll resume playing during L.A.’s ongoing road trip, which wraps up next Tuesday at the Lakers, Murray adds.

Wembanyama Sustains Left Calf Strain, Out Multiple Weeks

November 17th, 2025 at 3:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been diagnosed with a left calf strain after undergoing an MRI, the team announced in a press release. The French center suffered the injury in Friday’s loss to Golden State.

While the Spurs didn’t give a return timeline for the former No. 1 overall pick, ESPN’s Shams Charania hears Wembanyama will miss a few weeks (Twitter link).

Through 12 appearances this season, Wembanyama has averaged 26.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and a league-high 3.6 blocks in 34.7 minutes per game. He’s second in the league in rebounds per contest (Nikola Jokic is at 13.0) and holds a shooting slash line of .500/.345/.857.

The 21-year-old big man missed his first game of the season on Sunday due to the injury — head coach Mitch Johnson indicated Wembanyama experienced soreness in his calf on Friday and would undergo testing.

According to Michael C. Wright of ESPN (Twitter link), Wembanyama was wearing a “small sleeve” on his calf in the locker room following Sunday’s win, but was otherwise in good spirits and didn’t seem to be in any pain. Still, San Antonio is known for being cautious with injuries, and calf strains are notoriously tricky to manage — they can also lead to more severe injuries.

Both Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Wright (Twitter links) hear Wembanyama will be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks, confirming Charania’s reporting.

Backup center Luke Kornet and veteran big man Kelly Olynyk are among the Spurs who could receive more playing time with Wembanyama out.

Second-year guard Stephon Castle was also hurt recently, having suffered a hip injury on Sunday which prevented him from returning from the victory over Sacramento (Twitter link via Matthew Tynan). It’s unclear if the reigning Rookie of the Year will miss additional time as a result of the injury.

Several noteworthy players — including Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Wembanyama and Spurs rookie Dylan Harper — have been diagnosed with calf strains in recent weeks.

Ja Morant Out At Least Two Weeks Due To Calf Strain

November 17th, 2025 at 12:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has a Grade 1 right calf strain and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the team’s PR department tweets.

Morant injured his calf on Saturday during the team’s road game at Cleveland. He played just six minutes in that contest, then underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.

It’s just the latest development in what has already been a tumultuous season for Morant. He had been dealing with right ankle soreness prior to the calf strain.

Trade speculation surrounding Morant began a couple of weeks ago after he had a disagreement with the coaching staff during a loss to the Lakers. Head coach Tuomas Iisalo reportedly confronted Morant about his effort level and focus during halftime and following the game, and Morant expressed frustration over Iisalo’s unorthodox substitution pattern.

The situation has been calmer since Morant returned from a one-game team suspension. The Timberwolves are one of the teams reportedly keeping an eye on Morant, who is in the third season of a five-year extension worth $197.2MM. He’s averaging 17.9 points, his lowest output since his rookie year, and 7.6 assists.

Morant has gained a reputation of being susceptible to injuries. He hasn’t appeared in more than 61 games in any of the past four seasons. He served an NBA suspension to open the 2023/24 campaign, then appeared in only nine games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. He was limited to 50 games last season.

Given the timeline of his last injury, Morant will miss a minimum of eight games, beginning with a nationally televised game against San Antonio on Tuesday.

Paul George Expected To Make Season Debut Monday

November 17th, 2025 at 12:13pm CST by Eli Cohen

Nov. 17: George is expected to make his season debut tonight, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

Nov. 16: Paul George has been upgraded to questionable for the Sixers‘ game against the Clippers on Monday, relays Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (via Twitter).

George has missed the team’s first 12 games as he looks to return from offseason knee surgery, and this marks the first time he has been listed as questionable.

Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports reported earlier in the day that George was a full participant in the Sixers’ Sunday practice, as was Joel Embiid.

George, in his 16th year, is looking to bounce back from his least productive season since 2011/12, his first with the Sixers. He averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on .430/.358/.814 shooting splits in ’24/25.

The Sixers have gone 7-5 in George’s absence, despite Embiid appearing in just six games. Trendon Watford, who was a limited participant in today’s practice, is among the players who has filled in for George — Watford has started the past four games and is averaging 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per contest.