Victor Wembanyama Rumors

NBA GMs Expect Thunder To Repeat, Jokic To Win Fourth MVP

October 9th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Rory Maher

NBA general managers view the Thunder as the overwhelming favorite to repeat as champions this season, according to the 24th annual GM survey conducted by John Schuhmann of NBA.com. GMs were not allowed to vote for their own team or personnel.

Eighty percent of general managers predicted Oklahoma City to win the 2026 NBA Finals, with the Cavaliers and Nuggets tied for second at 7% each. The Rockets and Knicks were the only other teams to receive votes.

If the Thunder do go back-to-back, they would be the first repeat champions since Golden State in 2018.

Still, it’s worth noting that 83% of GMs thought Boston would win its second consecutive title in 2025 during last year’s edition of the survey, and the Celtics wound up being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is heavily favored to win his fourth award in 2025/26. The Nuggets superstar received 67% of the vote and was also tabbed as the league’s best center (maximum possible 97%), best international player (93%), best passer (80%), the player with the best basketball IQ (80%), and the player who forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments (57%).

NBA GMs view Rockets guard/forward Amen Thompson as the league’s most athletic player (58%) and most versatile defender (18%), as well as the player most likely to have a breakout season (30%).

For the second straight year, Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was tabbed as the best player to build a franchise around, receiving 83% of the vote. The French center was also voted the league’s best defender (80%) and tied with Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for the league’s most versatile player (30% apiece).

Unsurprisingly, Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg is the runaway favorite to win Rookie of the Year, claiming the maximum 97% of the vote. General managers also think he’s the rookie who will be the best player five years from now (93%).

Fifty-three percent of GMs surveyed think the Hawks made the best offseason moves, while 47% believe the Magic will be the most improved team this season.

According to general managers, Milwaukee made by far the two most surprising offseason moves: waiving and stretching Damian Lillard (43%) and subsequently signing Myles Turner in free agency (30%).

Schuhmann’s survey is worth checking out in full and can be found right here.

Southwest Notes: Coward, Vassell, Wemby, Mavs

October 8th, 2025 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

It wasn’t exactly a memorable pro debut on Monday for Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward, who missed all seven of his field goal attempts, committed three fouls, and was a -22 in 18 minutes of action as Memphis lost to Detroit by a score of 128-112.

Still, while head coach Tuomas Iisalo acknowledged it was a “rough night” for the 22-year-old, Coward and the team were just happy that he was able to get back on the court for the first time since November 2024, as Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays. The former Washington State swingman missed most of last season and was held out of Summer League due to a shoulder injury.

“Now that I’ve touched an NBA court, you don’t really have to get your feet wet anymore,” Coward said. “It’s like your first time going swimming. Once you get in the pool, you’re straight. … Ultimately, it’s just getting the rhythm of the game. The shots I did take were shots I liked. That’s why I’m not worried about it. It wasn’t like I was rushing them or anything. They just weren’t falling.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

After dealing with knee and foot issues during the 2023 and 2024 offseasons, Devin Vassell made it through this summer fully healthy and is optimistic about having a bounce-back year in 2025/26 after his numbers dipped a little last season, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “It’s been huge,” the Spurs wing said. “Just being able to come into work every day and even have two-a-days to do certain things that I haven’t been able to do for a while, it’s been good. Strength-wise, conditioning-wise, on-court wise – it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been able to do that.” Vassell added that his goal is to play in all 82 games this season — his career high is 71 in 2021/22.
Michael C. Wright of ESPN is the latest reporter to take an in-depth look at a transformational summer for Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who explained why the blood clot that ended his 2024/25 season could ultimately be “beneficial.” Meanwhile, Jared Weiss of The Athletic explores how San Antonio’s plan for how to use Wembanyama has evolved, writing that the big man is acting as more of a creator on the wing and looking more like Kevin Durant than Anthony Davis.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd provided a series of injury updates on Tuesday, according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. Among them: Dante Exum remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury, and Brandon Williams, who suffered a hamstring strain early in camp, is still considered day-to-day.

Southwest Notes: DFS, Eason, Bey, Spurs, Wemby, Prosper

October 2nd, 2025 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Confirming previous reporting, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka acknowledged on Wednesday to reporters, including Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), that newly added forward Dorian Finney-Smith will “probably not” be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from June ankle surgery. According to Udoka, Finney-Smith hasn’t yet been cleared for contact, though he’s doing “all the shooting and other things with treatment as well during practice.”

As Lerner writes, the Rockets are also continuing to manage the workloads of center Steven Adams and forward Tari Eason, who were coming off procedures on their right knee and left leg, respectively, last season and didn’t play in both ends of back-to-backs. Houston won’t have a back-to-back this season until the first week of December and it’s unclear whether or not Adams and Eason will get the go-ahead to suit up for both of those games.

With Finney-Smith sidelined for now, Eason will receive consideration for a spot in the starting lineup this fall, according to Udoka.

“We’ll see,” Udoka said. “Good to have athletic wing defenders that’ll do a lot of things that he does, especially with Dillon (Brooks) being gone, but still to be determined, and we’ll see what works well. It’s not just about starting with me, as you know. It’s about what fits best, as far as our group. He wants to push for that. We want him to as well. And we’ll see if he gets it.”

Udoka has spoken this week about experimenting with different types of lineups, per William Guillory of The Athletic, noting that he could try out a unit featuring Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, and Adams that would “probably be one of the biggest in the history of the league.”

We have more from around the Southwest:

Jordan Poole was the headliner of the Pelicans‘ offseason trade with Washington, but the team also added veteran forward Saddiq Bey in that deal. Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com explores what Bey, who is returning from an ACL injury that cost him the entire 2024/25 season, can bring to New Orleans, noting that he’s earning praise from his teammates and his new head coach in camp. “He’s sort of that Swiss Army Knife type of player,” Willie Green said. “He can play multiple positions, score, post up, defend, rebound. Those guys are extremely valuable to a team’s success.”
The Spurs were one of the NBA’s worst rebounding teams and put up poor defensive numbers when Victor Wembanyama wasn’t on the court last season. They’re optimistic that the offseason additions of centers Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk will help address those issues, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes (subscription required). “We wanted to be able to have that roster versatility to play a bunch of different ways and also protect the paint when Vic’s not on the floor,” general manager Brian Wright said. “I think those guys allow us to do that.”
After recovering from a blood clot and spending time traveling in China and Japan this offseason, Wembanyama embarked upon a training regimen he described as “brutal,” explaining that he wanted to “get my body back,” according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I can assure you, nobody has trained like I did this summer,” the Spurs star said. “And this is my best summer so far. I can tell the progress is just incredible. I feel better, I look stronger and the scale says I’m heavier. So everything is a green light.”
With Grizzlies big men Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey, and Brandon Clarke all likely unavailable to open the 2025/26 season, new two-way addition Olivier-Maxence Prosper is among the players making a strong case for a rotation role in the frontcourt during camp, head coach Tuomas Iisalo said this week, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media (Twitter link).

Spurs’ Fox Unlikely To Be Available At Start Of Season

September 29th, 2025 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox told reporters on Monday at media day that he isn’t expecting to suit up during the preseason or on opening night. After spending the offseason recovering from finger surgery that ended his 2024/25 season, Fox is currently dealing with a hamstring injury, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter video link).

Fox made it clear that he feels “great” and thinks he could be playing now, but suggested the Spurs are taking a cautious approach to his return.

“I don’t think I’ll be ready for opening night,” Fox said. “Well, I think I’m ready. But I don’t have that (medical) expertise.”

As Weiss points out, that makes two Spurs point guards who are at risk of missing the team’s season opener. No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper underwent surgery on his thumb earlier this month to repair a partially torn ligament — his status for the start of the regular season remains up in the air.

Here’s more on the Spurs:

In more positive health news, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson confirmed that big man Victor Wembanyama has been medically cleared to return by both the team and the NBA after his 2024/25 season ended early due to a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder (Twitter video link via Weiss). “He’s been ramping up. He’s been in a really good place,” Johnson said.
After making a modest 42.8% of his field goal attempts, including 28.5% of his three-pointers, in his first NBA season, improving his shooting efficiency is a goal for reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle in year two, he tells D.J. Siddiqi of ESportsInsider.com. “With live reps, I feel like that’s the best way you can learn is to keep seeing different defenses,” Castle said. “Different variations, options, and on a different possession. Just repping it out, really with a lot of defenders, just getting a lot of shooting reps.”
The Spurs put out a press release on Sunday announcing several promotions and additions within their basketball operations department. Notably, the team has named three new assistant general managers. Senior director of strategic and basketball insight Hao Meng, senior director of basketball strategy Niraj Mulji, and vice president of basketball operations Dave Telep have all been promoted to assistant GM roles.

And-Ones: ESPN Survey, S. Cash, Bargain FAs, More

September 23rd, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

A panel of 20 coaches, executives, and scouts around the NBA polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps overwhelmingly picked Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current best player in the NBA, with Jokic receiving 19 votes while Lakers guard Luka Doncic earned the last one.

However, the predictions for 2025/26 MVP were more divided — Jokic leads the way with seven votes, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (five), Doncic (four), and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (two) each received multiple votes, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards each got one too.

The panel polled by Bontemps also predicted who will be the NBA’s best player in 2030 (Wembanyama received 16 votes), who will win Rookie of the Year in 2025/26 (Cooper Flagg earned 19 votes), and where LeBron James will be when the 2026/27 season begins — seven respondents expect him to still be a Laker, while five said he’ll be retired and eight believe he’ll be with a new team.

Those coaches, executives, and scouts also believe the Hawks (seven votes) had the best offseason of the NBA’s 30 teams, while the Pelicans (nine votes) had the worst summer. And they nearly unanimously picked the Thunder to repeat as champions. Just two respondents chose the Nuggets to win the 2026 title, while the other 18 stuck with Oklahoma City.

Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:

After being let go by the Pelicans in April, former WNBA star and veteran NBA executive Swin Cash is joining Amazon Prime Video for the 2025/26 season, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Cash will have the role of “front office insider” on Prime Video’s NBA studio show, then will become a studio analyst for Amazon’s WNBA coverage.
Thomas Bryant, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Delon Wright are among the unsigned players identified by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report as bargain free agents who are capable of helping any NBA team.
John Hollinger of The Athletic views the Thunder (62.5 wins), Clippers (48.5), Warriors (45.5), Bulls (32.5), and Jazz (18.5) as the five teams who are the best bets to exceed the over/under win projections set by oddsmakers for the 2025/26 season.

Georgia Surprises France, Poland Ousts Bosnia At EuroBasket

September 7th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Sunday produced another shocking upset at EuroBasket, as Georgia defeated France to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time ever, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.

Kamar Baldwin and Tornike Shengelia each scored 24 points and Shengelia added eight rebounds in the 80-70 victory. Orlando center Goga Bitadze also chipped in eight points. The French team got 14 points from Sylvain Francisco and 12 from Guerschon Yabusele.

“We said from the pregame meeting that we are playing to win,” Shengelia said. “We are happy to be here, but we are not satisfied.”

Next up for Georgia is a meeting on Wednesday with Finland, who took down Serbia on Saturday. Loaded with NBA talent, the French and Serbian teams were expected to be top contenders for the gold medal.

“We missed sometimes some easy shots,” French coach Frederic Fauthoux said after watching his team shoot 35% from the field, “so this is basketball.”

France was undersized with Vincent Poirier having to withdraw just before the start of the tournament due to right knee issues and Victor Wembanyama, Mathias Lessort and Rudy Gobert also unavailable. However, Georgia’s Sandro Mamukelashvili told reporters after the game that it wouldn’t have mattered if France was at full strength, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews.

“I wish them nothing but the best, but right now I can text Victor Wembanyama and tell him we just beat France,” the former Spurs center said, “and it’s too bad he was not here because we would beat them with him too.”

Poland kicked off Sunday’s elimination games with a 90-82 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milanti adds in a separate story. Former NBA guard Jordan Loyd led the way with 28 points, and Mateusz Ponitka contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Poland will face unbeaten Turkey on Tuesday in a quarterfinals matchup.

Spurs Notes: 2025/26 Season, Wembanyama, Sochan

September 5th, 2025 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

As part of her team-by-team series previewing the Rockets’ Southwest rivals, Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) spoke to Spurs beat writer Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News, who weighed in on San Antonio’s offseason moves, reasons for optimism entering the fall, and what a successful Spurs season would look like.

According to McDonald, the Spurs would likely consider 2025/26 to be a success if they increase their win total into the 40s and are at least in the play-in picture, if not among the Western Conference’s eight playoff teams.

While a full season from mid-season trade acquisition De’Aaron Fox, another step forward from Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, and a promising first year from Dylan Harper would help the team achieve that goal, McDonald stresses that the Spurs’ fortunes will ultimately hinge on what they get from Victor Wembanyama after he missed the second half of the ’24/25 campaign due to a blood clot.

Here’s more on the Spurs:

Although Wembanyama hasn’t played in a game since February, having sat out the ongoing EuroBasket tournament, he has taken part in some full-court runs recently at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link). “Just so you know, (he) is said to have looked quite stellar,” Stein writes.
The Spurs announced on Friday that their annual open scrimmage at Frost Bank Center will take place on October 4, McDonald writes for The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). As McDonald notes, while there’s no guarantee Wembanyama will participate in that scrimmage, it could very well be the first opportunity that Spurs fans will have to see the former No. 1 overall pick in game action in nearly eight months.
In a subscriber-only story for his Substack, Paul Garcia of The Spot Up Shot weighs the likelihood of a Jeremy Sochan rookie scale extension, exploring what the forward brings to the table for the Spurs, what a deal might look like, and whether it makes sense to put if off until the summer of 2026, when Sochan can become a restricted free agent. We also considered the possibility of a Sochan extension in our Spurs offseason check-in last week. October 20 is the deadline for him to sign a new contract.

Trae Young, Hawks Not Expected To Discuss Extension During Offseason

August 10th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

There are no plans for extension talks between Trae Young and the Hawks this summer, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscriber link).

As Fischer indicated during a Bleacher Report live stream on Thursday, Young and his camp have been resigned for a while to the idea that he’ll have to play out the final guaranteed year on his current deal. He’ll face a decision on a $49MM player option next summer.

Fischer reports that when Young was represented by Klutch Sports, Rich Paul viewed him as a potential partner for Victor Wembanyama. At the time, Paul was hoping to get one of his points guards to the Spurs, whether it was Young, De’Aaron Fox or Darius Garland.

Fischer states that Fox’s contract expiring a year before Young’s brought a sense of urgency to his future, along with Fox’s desire to relocate to Texas. San Antonio acquired him from Sacramento in a three-team deal in February and gave him a four-year max extension last week.

Young is now represented by CAA, and Fischer makes it clear that he’s not looking to force his way out of Atlanta. The Hawks appear to be a legitimate contender after upgrading their roster over the summer, and Fischer states that Kristaps Porzingis may be the best scoring forward Young has ever teamed up with.

Fischer notes that Atlanta’s improvement could boost Young’s chances of earning All-NBA honors this season, which would increase the maximum value of a five-year contract into the $335MM range.

Sources tell Fischer that Young is disappointed that the Hawks haven’t reached out to him about an extension. However, that could change if he pushes them back toward the playoffs. If it doesn’t happen, he may wind up as one of the top free agents in next year’s market.

Fischer adds that Young’s strong relationship with coach Quin Snyder adds to the optimism that a new deal will eventually get worked out.

Southwest Notes: Lively, Flagg, Giannis, Wembanyama, Sengun, Durant, Smith Jr.

August 4th, 2025 at 6:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks center Dereck Lively II has only two years of NBA experience but he’s playing a mentorship role to top pick Cooper Flagg, according to Jake Rogers of Dallas Hoops Journal. Naturally, they have a college connection, as both were one-and-dones at Duke.

“I’ve probably known him for a couple of years now, at least two or three,” Lively said. “He’s always been the same smiling, joking kid. I’m glad he’s been able to stay grounded, not letting the spotlight overwhelm him. Whether he’s in the gym or hanging out at the house, he’s always just being Coop.”

Lively has stayed in frequent contact with Flagg since the draft.

“I’m making sure he feels as comfortable as possible, giving him any little detail or advice. I remember how frightened I was at 19. He’s only 18,” Lively said.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has carved out a Hall of Fame worthy career but he’s also into collecting memorabilia of other NBA superstars. His current target is Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, he told Brooks Peck of The Athletic during an appearance at the National Sports Collector Convention. “I want Wemby’s first rookie card ever,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think he’s gonna be one of the best players in the league in the next couple of years. I think he will have a very great career moving forward, so — maybe like a jersey, his first jersey or his first basketball shoe when he played his first NBA game, or the first ball that he played with and scored his very first point. You gotta go with Wemby, Steph (Curry), LeBron (James), MJ (Michael Jordan). Those are great investments.”
Rockets center Alperen Sengun believes the offense will thrive with the addition of Kevin Durant. Sengun, who will play for Turkey in EuroBasket, made his comments to Anadolu, Turkey’s state-run news agency (hat tip to RocketsWire). “I’m excited to play with Durant. Everyone is excited to play with him. It doesn’t matter his age — ultimately, he’s Kevin Durant. I have no doubt he will bring a lot to the team,” Sengun said. “He’s very experienced, and we have some very young players. I think he’ll open up the game for us. He’s incredibly effective both offensively and defensively.”
Along the same lines, Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. said he believes playing with Durant will be a learning experience, RocketsWire relays via an interview with Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson. “Kevin Durant is one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball,” Smith said. “It’s going to be great for me to learn from him, and see what he does, day-to-day… and just soak up as much game as I can. It’s going to be fun playing alongside him and going to battle with him.”

Southwest Notes: Spencer, Marshall, Nembhard, Wembanyama

July 19th, 2025 at 10:20am CST by Rory Maher

In an exclusive interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer discussed the “shocking” trade that sent Desmond Bane to Orlando, how his competitive fire was stoked by growing up playing against older brother Pat Spencer, and what he has learned from Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., among other topics.

After spending his rookie season on a two-way deal with Memphis, Cam Spencer signed a four-year standard contract with the Grizzlies on Monday. The 2024 second-round pick is thrilled to have an opportunity to stay with the team long term.

“I’m super excited,” Spencer told Medina. “There’s no other organization that I’d rather compete with. I’m super grateful. It makes you think about all of the people that helped you get to this point. But I’m more motivated than ever. I told (general manager) Zach (Kleiman) that I’m going to prove him right every single day. I’m going to get after it for him.”

Spencer is also looking forward to a full season under new head coach Tuomas Iisalo, who had his interim tag lifted in early May.

“Coach Tuomas coming in, I think we have a lot of momentum going into this year,” Spencer said as part of a larger quote. “He’s been great. He’s a super-smart coach and very personable as a player. He really communicates what he wants from us out there on the court. I think we’re all going to be on the same page in a big way this year.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Mavericks wing Naji Marshall is coming off a 2024/25 season in which he averaged career highs in points (13.2), rebounds (4.8), assists (3.0) and steals (1.0) and minutes (27.8) per game, while shooting a career-best 50.8% from the field. However, Dallas failed to make the playoffs amid a wave of devastating second-half injuries. While the 27-year-old said he was “pretty good” last season, he believes he has “more in the tank he can accomplish” in ’25/26, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “No question (that a deep playoff run is the next step). Just win,” Marshall said. “It’s beautiful. I feel good. I feel like we have all the right pieces to do what we all want to do. I’m looking forward to it.”
After going undrafted out of Gonzaga last month, Ryan Nembhard quickly agreed to a two-way contract with the Mavericks. The 6’0″ point guard, who led all Division I players in assists last season, tells Christian Clark of The Athletic that signing with the Mavs wasn’t a coincidence. “They showed the most love (during the pre-draft process),” Nembhard said. “I think they really wanted me. They showed the most care for me. And I feel like I have a chance to come do something over here.” The 22-year-old averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.7 APG and 2.7 RPG in three Summer League games in Las Vegas.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama did kung fu training with monks at a Shaolin temple in China this offseason and believes the sessions helped him improve his “mental focus” and taught him “more about how to achieve optimal body positioning through a better range of movement,” sources tell Michael C. Wright of ESPN. The French center thinks the training will help him on the court as he prepares for his third season, Wright adds.