NBA Announces 2025/26 All-Defensive Teams
The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2025/26 season (Twitter links).
The teams are determined by a panel of 100 media members, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.
Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama was this season’s lone unanimous First Team pick, earning the maximum allowable 200 points after being named to the First Team by all 100 voters. DPOY runner-up Chet Holmgren fell short of being a unanimous pick, earning 93 First Team votes and four Second Team votes.
The honorees are as follows, along with their point totals (Twitter link):
First Team
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (200 points)
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder (190)
- Ausar Thompson, Pistons (166)
- Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (151)
- Derrick White, Celtics (146)
Second Team
- Scottie Barnes, Raptors (130)
- Cason Wallace, Thunder (94)
- Bam Adebayo, Heat (71)
- OG Anunoby, Knicks (67)
- Dyson Daniels, Hawks (50)
The All-Defensive teams have been positionless for the last three years. Previously, each team was required to have two guards, two forwards, and a center, but that’s no longer the case. This season’s First Team leans more heavily toward rim protectors, while the Second Team features a wider variety of guards and wings alongside forward/center Adebayo.
This year’s All-Defensive squads feature a number of first-time honorees. Holmgren, Thompson, Barnes, and Wallace had never previously been named to an All-Defensive team. Wembanyama (2024) and Daniels (2025) had earned First Team honors once apiece prior to this year, while Anunoby made a Second Team in 2023.
Gobert is the most accomplished of these defenders — the four-time Defensive Player of the Year has now made nine total All-Defensive teams and is an eight-time member of the First Team. Adebayo is also no stranger to All-Defensive recognition either, having now made two First Teams and four Second Teams. White, meanwhile, got a First Team nod for the first time after previously making the Second Team twice.
There are four players across the league who would’ve earned bonuses if they’d made an All-Defensive team, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), but none of them made the cut. That group includes Thunder wing Luguentz Dort, whose $500K bonus for All-Defense had been considered “likely” because he made the First Team in 2025.
That $500K will come off Dort’s cap hit this season and will reduce his 2026/27 team option by $500K to roughly $17.7MM, since the bonus is considered “unlikely” going forward. If Dort’s team option is exercised, his $500K bonus would continue to count for apron purposes next season despite not counting toward his cap hit, and he could still earn it if he makes an All-Defensive team next season.
Besides the 10 players who made All-Defense, 15 other players showed up on at least one ballot. That group was led by Spurs guard Stephon Castle (46 points), Rockets guard Amen Thompson (46), Warriors forward Draymond Green (40), and Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (28), each of whom was named to the First Team on between four and eight ballots.
Clippers guard Kris Dunn, who had 14 points, would have rounded out a hypothetical “third team.” Notably, his $5.7MM salary for 2026/27 would have become fully guaranteed if he had made an All-Defensive team. Still, it’s a pretty safe bet that Dunn will be retained through June 30, at which time his full salary will become guaranteed anyway.
The rest of the players who received All-Defensive votes, including Dort and former Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, can be viewed here (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Wemby’s Impact, FAs, World Cup Qualifiers, Okobo
Rival teams are watching what Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are doing in this postseason with interest and trepidation, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick details, front offices around the NBA – recognizing that Wembanyama will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come – are thinking hard about ways to combat him.
“Teams will definitely have to start figuring out, ‘How do we get through this guy?'” an Eastern Conference executive said. “So you look at it, and it’s like, ‘What do we need? How do we build our team to get better to compete against (Wembanyama and the Spurs)?’ Trust me, it’s on everybody’s mind. Teams will try to find ways that they can build a roster out to beat the Spurs, just like they are to beat OKC.”
That executive pointed to Utah’s mid-season acquisition of Jaren Jackson Jr. as a move that may have been made with Wembanyama in mind, since the Jazz now have three athletic frontcourt players – Jackson, Walker Kessler, and Lauri Markkanen – to throw at the Spurs star. That same exec also suggested that a prospect like 7’3″ Michigan center Aday Mara could see his draft stock rise as teams seek players capable of slowing down Wembanyama.
Wembanyama’s impact could even have a ripple effect on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s trade value this offseason, as one Western Conference executive told Amick: “Giannis is a matchup solution for Wemby, so I could definitely see teams factoring that in when they’re discussing trading for him.”
Still, there’s no obvious answer for stopping this sort of unique player who looks capable of becoming one of the league’s all-time greats.
“He’s a problem from inside the half court, and there’s just no one like that,” an exec said to Amick with a laugh. “At least Shaq was human in the sense that you needed three centers to bang with him. You’ve got 18 fouls (to work with). Maybe one was skilled, and the other two could hold him up while the other guys get rest. But there’s no archetype like (Wembanyama) — no player ever. It’s a problem, and it’s going to be a problem for 15 years.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks takes a closer look at 20 of this summer’s top free agents, breaking down what sort of contract he’d offer each player. Marks’ hypothetical offers include five years and $180MM for Pistons center Jalen Duren, four years and $155MM for Lakers guard Austin Reaves, three years and $130MM for Wizards guard Trae Young, and two years and $40MM for Warriors forward Draymond Green.
- Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, Wizards big man Alex Sarr, and Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher are among the players included on France’s preliminary roster for this July’s FIBA World Cup qualifying games (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Serbian head coach Dusan Alimpijevic told Mozzart Sport that Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is expected to suit up for the Serbian national team during both World Cup qualifying windows this offseason, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays.
- Former NBA guard Elie Okobo has been named the Most Valuable Player of France’s top basketball league (LNB Elite), Askounis writes for Eurohoops. Okobo, who appeared in 108 regular season games for Phoenix from 2018-20, averaged 16.7 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game with an outstanding .621/.506/.883 shooting line in 24 domestic league games for AS Monaco in 2025/26.
- Kevin Sweeney of SI.com explores how new eligibility requirement guidance distributed by the NCAA could impact international players looking to play college basketball going forward.
Wolves Notes: Edwards, Offseason Changes, Reid, Dosunmu
The course for the Timberwolves‘ season was set by a strategic decision coach Chris Finch made shortly before opening night, Chris Hine of The Minnesota Star Tribune writes in a subscriber-only piece. Finch replaced veteran point guard Mike Conley in the starting lineup with Donte DiVincenzo, making Anthony Edwards the team’s primary ball-handler. Although he believed in the move at the time, Finch referred to it at Saturday’s end-of-season press conference as an “original sin” that the team could never overcome.
“Flipping Ant to the point guard spot just on the eve of the season, it certainly helped with Donte,” Finch said. “But it probably didn’t put everybody in the best position there, Ant included.”
Hine states that the adjustment wound up affecting the team on and off the court. Conley posted the worst season of his career before being traded in February and ultimately re-signed; Edwards’ pairing with Julius Randle never became as smooth as the organization had hoped; and Edwards’ increased play-making responsibilities seemed to impact his defense.
The lack of an experienced point guard to make sure everyone felt like they were contributing to the offense created a “moodiness” that several players referenced during their exit interviews. Hine cites a “detrimental impact” if certain players weren’t getting the shots they expected, even when the team was winning.
Sources told Hine that it didn’t take much for players to get into a “funk” and affect the team’s overall performance. Finch points to better “connectivity” as one of the themes for the offseason, and Naz Reid notes that the West’s top two teams, the Thunder and Spurs, seem to be on the same page more than the Wolves are.
“Being consistent, not moody, and having that competitive edge we had last year and the year before,” Reid told reporters. “… You can’t get anywhere if you’re fighting yourself, so I think that’ll help for sure.”
There’s more from Minnesota:
- The Wolves are expected to explore major changes this offseason, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. He notes that president of basketball operations Tim Connelly opted to keep the core of the team together after losing in the conference finals last year but is expected to aggressively seek trades this summer. Minnesota was among the teams that contacted the Bucks about Giannis Antetokounmpo before the deadline, and that pursuit will likely resume over the next few weeks. Krawczynski reports that talks with Milwaukee seemed to affect the locker room, particularly Randle, who was rumored to be headed out in a potential deal.
- Krawczynski expects changes to focus on the frontline, where Rudy Gobert ($36.5MM), Randle ($33MM) and Reid ($23.3MM) will combine to make nearly $95MM next season. Center Joan Beringer showed promise as a rookie, and the Wolves will want to give him more playing time in his second year.
- Reid was playing with a lingering shoulder injury he experienced around the All-Star break, Hine tweets. “There were times I couldn’t even shoot the ball, for real,” he said.
- Re-signing Ayo Dosunmu, who was acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline, should be an offseason priority, states Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Wolves hold Bird rights on Dosunmu, who will be eligible for to sign a three-year, $52.4MM extension until June 30. Marks points out that the team would have to unload at least $58.5MM in salary to be able to re-sign Dosunmu to a deal in that range without triggering a second apron hard cap.
- Edwards is also extension-eligible this summer, Marks adds, but only at $121.6MM over two seasons. He’s likely to wait a year and could be in line for $300MM over four seasons in 2027 if he earns a spot on the All-NBA team.
Wolves Notes: Edwards, Roster, Giannis, Randle, Hyland
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards made an unusual gesture during Friday’s Game 6, congratulating the Spurs during a timeout with Minnesota down 33 points at home with 8:01 remaining (YouTube link). Edwards said it was an acknowledgement that San Antonio was the better team, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN.
As Medcalf writes, the Timberwolves have now lost three consecutive playoff elimination games by an average of 27 points. They lost at home to Dallas in Game 5 of the 2024 Western Conference finals, at Oklahoma City in Game 5 of the 2025 Western finals, and at home to San Antonio on Friday in the conference semifinals.
When asked if there were any common themes during those three losses, Edwards replied, “Good question. No comment.”
According to Medcalf, Edwards said he was content with the current roster, but he also said the Wolves didn’t prepare like a championship contender.
“I feel like you’re supposed to build championship habits or playoff habits in a regular season,” Edwards said. “No, we didn’t build the habits during the regular season.”
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic views Edwards’ gesture as a sign that the 24-year-old guard recognizes the Timberwolves have been passed in the West’s hierarchy and believes it was a message to the front office to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. As Thompson observes, while Edwards publicly said the roster wasn’t an issue, he also suggested his teammates didn’t take advantage of the double teams he faced. “It was no struggle,” Edwards said of handling the defense’s extra attention. “Just trusting in my teammates, trusting in the next action we’re going to make something happen. And I feel like we did, man. We just couldn’t make enough shots to win the game. I think that’s just what it came down to.” That’s not exactly a bold statement, considering Julius Randle (three points on 1-of-8 shooting), Rudy Gobert (zero points on 0-of-4 shooting) and Jaden McDaniels (13 points on 4-of-13 shooting, five fouls in 23 minutes) combined to score 16 points on 5-of-25 shooting in Game 6.
- According to Medcalf, Edwards said the following when asked how the Wolves can catch up to the Thunder and Spurs, with other teams lurking in the West: “I don’t know, man. I don’t think that’s a question for me.“
- Randle, who was a game-worst minus-34 in 23 minutes, looks “miscast” as a No. 2 option when playing against title contenders, according to Thompson, who points out that Game 6 was so lopsided because San Antonio’s secondary stars — including Stephon Castle, who had a game-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists — dominated. Randle had no answers for trying to score on Victor Wembanyama throughout the series, Thompson writes.
- Backup guard Bones Hyland hopes to re-sign with Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “It feels like where I belong so I definitely want to come back,” Hyland said.
Timberwolves Notes: Edwards, McDaniels, Lineup, Dillon
Star guard Anthony Edwards didn’t sound concerned after the Timberwolves were blown out in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup against the Spurs, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN.com. Minnesota briefly tied the game in the third quarter before San Antonio reeled off a massive run in the third quarter.
“I don’t see nobody in our locker room that’s too worried,” Edwards said. “There’s another basketball game. Come out, put your boots on and get ready to go to war.”
Here’s more on the Timberwolves, who are on the brink of elimination heading into Friday’s Game 6:
- Foul trouble has plagued Jaden McDaniels throughout the series, Slater notes, and Edwards acknowledged that needs to change for the Wolves to be successful. The 2023/24 All-Defensive second-teamer picked up five fouls and played just under 30 minutes in Tuesday’s lopsided loss. “Everything starts with Jaden McDaniels, trying to keep him out of foul trouble,” Edwards said. “He’s so important to the team. It hurts everybody when he gets in foul trouble. Some tough calls being made out there against him. Not too much we can say.”
- Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert have struggled in the second-round series, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who wonders if head coach Chris Finch might insert Naz Reid into the starting lineup in place of one of those veterans for the do-or-die Game 6. While a lineup change is a possibility, Minnesota’s primary issue has been committing too many game-plan mistakes against a sharp San Antonio team that has taken full advantage of those miscues, Krawczynski writes. “It’s a little bit everything — not knowing the game plan, executing on offense,” Edwards said. “We know they’re gonna come out to be physical defensively. We know how to go against that. And then us defensively, we know our coverage, what we’re supposed to be doing when they’re in pick-and-roll, and I think we’re just not doing it enough.”
- The Timberwolves have hired Michael Dillon to be their new chief financial officer and chief operating officer, per a team press release. Dillon, who was most recently CFO of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, also spend eight years with MLB’s Houston Astros.
Timberwolves Notes: Edwards, Reid, Wembanyama, Gobert
Anthony Edwards left his teammates in awe by scoring 36 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, during Game 4 of the Timberwolves’ second-round series against the Spurs, according to The Associated Press’ Dave Campbell.
Edwards missed the clinching Game 5 against Denver in the first round due to a hyperextended left knee and bone bruise. He’s gutted through all four games against San Antonio, playing 40 and 41 minutes in the past two games entering Tuesday’s Game 5.
“Honestly, I think he would just now be coming back if he was like a normal human being, but he’s not,” guard Mike Conley said. “We’re thankful for what he’s sacrificing for us and putting us on his back,” Conley added. “We expect it from him. He expects it. So we just try to keep him healthy, keep him going forward.”
“We’re lucky to have him. He’s special, no doubt, especially given what he’s been fighting through over the last month and a half,” coach Chris Finch added.
Here’s more on the Timberwolves:
- Edwards drew some extra motivation on Sunday. His thoughts centered around his mother, Yvette Edwards, who died from cancer on Jan. 5, 2015. It was his first career win on Mother’s Day. “I just wanted to win for my mom,” he said, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “It was that simple.”
- Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama was ejected in the first half of Game 4 after elbowing Naz Reid. It was a powerful blow but Reid wound up playing 31 minutes and contributing 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. “If only y’all knew who my mom and my grandmother are,” he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I get a lot of my toughness from them. My mom used to walk damn near an hour and 45 minutes to work. That’s what my mom taught me. You get knocked down, get right back up.”
- Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert have a deep bond. Gobert first met the Spurs star when the latter was 13 years old. The Frenchmen have had to put their friendship aside in this series, Anthony Slater of ESPN writes. “[We talk] in regular times. We say ‘hi’ [on the court]. Our families see each other. But we are focused,” Gobert said.
Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Bryant, Johnson, Team Chemistry
Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert have a long history together, with Gobert serving as something of a mentor for the Spurs‘ superstar as he was growing up, Tim Reynolds writes for The Associated Press.
“He’s meant a lot as a role model,” Wembanyama said. “There’s lots of (ways) that he inspired me and I think he should inspire more people in terms of taking care of your body. He should be a model for all big men. So, I would say that’s the main thing.”
Gobert was similarly complimentary of his fellow Frenchman, both on and off the court.
“I’m very excited to watch him grow every day, to see his work paying off,” Gobert said. “Outside of the talent, he’s someone that has a very unique soul, a very unique mind and nothing is an accident. It’s not an accident that he’s having the success that he’s having.”
Now the two Defensive Player of the Year winners are set to face off in Round 2 of the NBA playoffs, with Game 1 on Monday, and Wembanyama is excited to go up against a player he has long looked up to.
“It’s even more fun if I’m meant to play against Rudy,” he said, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.
We have more Spurs news:
- Rookie forward Carter Bryant is being listed as questionable for Game 1 on Monday with a right foot sprain after the team had previously stated that everyone was healthy heading into the second round, Tom Orsborn writes for the San Antonio Express-News. Bryant played 9.2 minutes per game in the first round, hitting four of his nine three-point tries.
- Head coach Mitch Johnson wants his team, and himself, to “embrace the mundane” and not get caught up in the ups and downs of a playoff series, Orsborn writes. “I think the one thing that stuck with me at times is as much as you want to do (more) and as far as your mind wanders, you just keep doing the same thing (you did in the regular season) and do it better,” Johnson said. This is the message that Johnson has preached since the season started, and it becomes even more important in the playoffs. Stephon Castle had a simpler way of putting it. “Don’t get lackadaisical, don’t get satisfied, just stick to what is working,” Castle said. “Don’t get bored of doing things the right way.”
- While it’s unclear where the 2025/26 Spurs will rank in team history in terms of greatness, it’s increasingly clear they’re one of the franchise’s most close-knit teams ever, Orsborn writes in a separate piece. “Guys like being around each other,” De’Aaron Fox said. “Guys like hanging out.” The Spurs look to be well-rested heading into the series.
Mavs Unlikely To Get Permission To Speak To Tim Connelly
Even before the Timberwolves pulled off an unlikely Game 6 win over Denver on Thursday without Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu available, the Mavericks had grown pessimistic about the likelihood that they’ll be granted permission to speak to Tim Connelly, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
Connelly, the Timberwolves‘ president of basketball operations, was among the “big names” cited a month ago as potential targets for the Mavs as they seek a new top basketball executive. Several of the candidates identified in that report were viewed as essentially pipe dreams, but there was said to be a sense among some rival teams that Connelly might be open to a new job.
However, multiple reports since then have suggested that Minnesota is motivated to lock up Connelly to a longer-term extension, and Stein suggests Dallas is unlikely to get the opportunity to meet with him.
While it may have been trending in that direction even before Thursday night, the Wolves’ upset victory to advance to the second round likely only increased team ownership’s desire to keep Connelly in his current position.
Rudy Gobert, whom Connelly memorably gave up five first-round picks to acquire during his first year on the job, played a crucial role in slowing down three-time MVP Nikola Jokic during that first-round series, while 2024 first-rounder Terrence Shannon Jr. came up big when thrust into a starring role in Game 6, scoring 24 points and grabbing six rebounds.
Additionally, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid, each of whom has received a long-term commitment from Connelly’s front office, stepped up to help Minnesota advance to round two, and Dosunmu – a 2026 deadline acquisition – had a massive series before missing Game 6 due to a calf injury.
Connelly signed a five-year contract when he was hired by the Timberwolves in 2022, so he has one year left on that deal.
The Mavs, meanwhile, parted ways with their president of basketball operations, Nico Harrison, during the 2025/26 season and had Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi finish the year as co-interim GMs. Both Finley and Riccardi are among the candidates for the permanent job, even as Dallas considers more experienced candidates.
NBA Reviewing Nuggets-Wolves Altercation At End Of Game 4
After struggling in Game 3 — he shot just 7-of-26 from the field in the loss — Nuggets center Nikola Jokic praised Minnesota’s defense and acknowledged he needed to score much more efficiently ahead of Game 4, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
Jokic didn’t find much more success in Game 4, however, scoring an inefficient 24 points and failing to convert any of his six field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, per Anthony Slater of ESPN. The three-time MVP’s frustration boiled over in the closing seconds of Saturday’s 16-point loss, when he was ejected for angrily confronting Jaden McDaniels, who decided to make an open layup rather than run out the clock (Twitter video link via ESPN).
“I don’t regret it,” Jokic said of the incident after the game. “Because he scored after everybody stopped playing.”
Timberwolves forward Julius Randle was also ejected as part of the incident, which occurred in front of Minnesota’s bench, Slater notes. The league is actively reviewing the altercation to determine if additional penalties are warranted, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).
As Slater writes, McDaniels has been an antagonist in the series, calling a number of Nuggets poor individual defenders after the Wolves pulled out a comeback win in Game 2.
“I don’t know,” McDaniels said when asked if he was in the Nuggets’ heads. “I said what I said, and I just come hoop every night.”
The Nuggets were up four at halftime on Saturday and were thoroughly outplayed in the second half by a Wolves team missing its starting backcourt — Donte DiVincenzo tore his right Achilles in the first quarter, while Anthony Edwards hyperextended his knee in the second period.
Jokic is averaging 25.0 points, 14.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 39.0 minutes per game in the series, but he’s also committing 4.0 turnovers and his shooting line is just .391/.185/1.000. The Serbian big man called his performance in the series “average,” then later credited Rudy Gobert‘s outstanding defense, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic.
“It’s a little bit of everything. You know, I’m not shooting the ball really well, especially from the three, and you know, Rudy is doing a good job with being physical, testing the officials, contesting shots,” Jokic said. “You know, he’s a really good defender. And not just him, they play very good … they’re big, long, tall, handsy, trippy, they’re bumping you, so… I think I answered (your question).”
Here’s more on the Nuggets, who are in a 3-1 hole ahead of Monday’s Game 5:
- Although Aaron Gordon was able to play 23 minutes on Saturday, he was clearly limited physically and head coach David Adelman suggested after the game the veteran forward might not be active for Game 5, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. “It was unfair for me to keep him out there,” Adelman said. “I felt like he was really laboring in the first half. … We’re going to have to decide what we do for Game 5.” Gordon, who was one of the players who appeared to leave the bench during the fracas, missed Game 3 due to a left calf injury.
- Both Gordon and Christian Braun said after Game 4 that the Nuggets were still frustrated after blowing a 19-point lead in Game 2, when they had a chance to go up 2-0, according to Quick. “It’s incredibly frustrating, just dwelling on Game 2,” Gordon said. “You know, not taking care of home court. So that’s the hard part about trying to let go, um, and focus on the next game, but knowing that we’ve let opportunities slip.”
- “Just an embarrassing first four games of the series,” Braun said (Twitter link via Durando). “We’ve just gotta show up in Game 5 and play well in front of our crowd. We owe that to them. We owe that to them to show up and play well.”
Northwest Notes: Henderson, Watson, Gobert, Edwards
It hasn’t been an easy season for Scoot Henderson, who didn’t play until February due to a torn hamstring. In fact, it’s been an up-and-down first three years in the league for the guard selected third overall by the Trail Blazers in the 2023 draft.
However, Henderson enjoyed a career night on Tuesday, scoring 31 points in a 106-103 victory that tied the series with the Spurs at one game apiece. His head coach, Tiago Splitter, was blown away by the performance, Ramona Shelburne writes for ESPN.
“I don’t know if I have words for it,” Splitter said. “That was the best game of the season for him, maybe his career. To have a game like that in playoffs against a great team like the Spurs, it’s something else. Not just offensively, but defensively. He carried us, scored when we needed, got stops and really won a game for us.”
Henderson, at one point, was considered the 1B draft prospect to Victor Wembanyama‘s 1A, which led to the two players facing off in an exhibition game when the point guard was with the G League Ignite and Wembanyama was still a member of the Metropolitans 92. Both players showed the best of what they could do in that exhibition, but since then, Henderson has dealt with injuries and has struggled to find his rhythm.
“I’m so blessed to even play in a situation like this,” Henderson said. “Playoffs, third year, younger team, with great vets. The picture couldn’t have painted itself better.”
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- Peyton Watson is still working his way back from a hamstring strain as he seeks to get back on the court for the Nuggets. He has been ruled out for Game 3 of the series against the Wolves, but was able to get some work in on the side of Denver’s practice today, Anthony Slater writes for ESPN. Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette adds (via Twitter) that Watson was mostly working out with and against the coaching staff on Wednesday.
- The Timberwolves believe that Rudy Gobert‘s performance against Nikola Jokic through two games is emblematic of why voters made a grave mistake this season, Tyler King writes for The Denver Gazette. “It’s a joke that he wasn’t a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year,” head coach Chris Finch said after the Wolves won Game 2. King notes that Jokic went 1-for-8 in Game 2 when guarded by Gobert, and seven of those shots came in the fourth quarter. “I know who I am,” Gobert said. “It’s not the first time I get disrespected, probably not the last. If they want to disrespect greatness, take it for granted or whatever, sooner or later, they’ll realize the impact.”
- Anthony Edwards‘ stats for the Timberwolves in Game 2 were impressive, but it was his “superstar energy” as he fought through pain in his knee that really fueled his team, writes Dave Campbell of The Associated Press. “It definitely uplifts me,” Julius Randle said. “I feel like I can’t let him down. If he’s out there battling, then there’s no excuse why I can’t give my best and make the extra effort plays and just go out there and compete at the highest level.” Edwards finished the game with 30 points and 10 rebounds despite clearly being bothered by the knee ailment that kept him out for 11 of the team’s last 13 regular season games.