Stephen Curry

Warriors Notes: Stephen Curry, Kerr, Podziemski, Seth Curry

It’s becoming more common for NBA stars to keep playing effectively after their 40th birthday. That’s still nearly three years away for Stephen Curry, and the Warriors star told Mark Medina of EssentiallySports that he plans to take care of his body so there will be a choice to make when the time arrives.

“All I’ll say is that I just want the option and if I’m at a legitimate ability to be able to play,” Curry said. “I don’t know if it’ll make sense or if I would want to, whatever the case is. But if I can make the decision and the decision is not made for me, that’s a big, big point.”

Curry is still at the top of his game as he enters his 17th year in the NBA. He was a second-team All-NBA selection last season and an All-Star for the 11th time. He appeared in 70 games, averaging 24.5 points in 32.2 minutes per night, and remains one of the league’s most feared long-distance shooters, connecting at 39.7% from beyond the arc while leading the NBA in three-pointers attempted and made.

Intense offseason workouts are among the secrets to Curry’s longevity. His trainer, Brandon Payne, told Medina that this summer focused on strength training and speeding up his decision-making process.

“A lot of it is the foundational work that I’ve put in since I started,” Curry said. “One, I still love it. I’m blessed with being with a team around me that has helped take the spirit that I’m trying to put into it and give me the framework that keeps the body limber and loose and the injury prevention stuff. The rest of it is a toughness to get out there and do the work. I still love and want to keep it going.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Steve Kerr ponders his future with the organization in an article by Anthony Slater of ESPN that examines the coach’s long, successful relationship with Curry. Kerr, who’s entering the final year of his contract, said he wouldn’t choose to leave Golden State for another coaching job. “Management and ownership would have to want it to continue,” he said. “I would have to want it to continue. Steph would have to. I’m not finishing my contract and saying, ‘All right, I think I’ll go leave for such and such job around the league somewhere. That’s not happening.”
  • Brandin Podziemski left Friday’s preseason finale in the first quarter with an injury, Slater tweets. He suffered a left hip contusion in a first quarter fall and had to be helped to the locker room by trainer Rick Celebrini. However, he was able to return to action in the second half, suggesting he should be fine for the start of the regular season (Twitter link).
  • Seth Curry, who was waived Saturday as the Warriors made their final roster cuts, can’t return until November 11 at the earliest because the team can’t fit his prorated veteran’s minimum salary under its second apron hard cap for the first few weeks of the season. That’s why he didn’t see any playing time during the preseason, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. “Because he got here late and just because of the nature of everything, I’m trying to see other people as well,” Kerr said. “I’m not worried about Seth. He’s not worried about it. He’s coming along nicely.”

Al Horford Explains Celtics Exit, Hopes To Retire With Warriors

After returning to the Celtics for a second stint in 2021, Al Horford seemed like he was on track to spend the rest of his NBA playing career in Boston. However, at age 39, the veteran big man decided this summer to leave the Celtics because “they just weren’t in a position to offer me the opportunity that I wanted,” he explained to Nick Friedell of The Athletic.

After winning a title in 2023/24 and racking up 61 more regular season wins in ’24/25, the Celtics are expected to take step backward in ’25/26 as a result of Jayson Tatum‘s postseason Achilles tear, as well as financially motivated offseason trades involving Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Due to its desire to shed salary, the club also wasn’t in position to offer free agents like Luke Kornet and Horford the kind of contracts they’d earned.

“There was two things there,” Horford said. “I think the financial part was a component, but more than that, it was the winning part of it, trying to contend for a championship. And I think there was a lot of things up in the air — and it just felt like they weren’t in the same, that same vision, obviously, because JT getting hurt, that takes a big toll. So I think at that point I really had to — up until then I was staying in Boston the whole time.

“… I think once that offseason happened and it started to progress, it became clear to me the team had different priorities. Obviously, getting rid of Jrue, getting rid of Kristaps. And I know it’s all salary stuff, but it was like a domino effect, and it was tough for me. It was a tough decision, but my wife and I, we prayed about it. I knew that it had to be something that was gonna be — that my family had to be on board with me for us to proceed in something like this. And that was it.”

Horford ended up signing with the Warriors on a two-year contract worth the full taxpayer mid-level exception that includes a second-year player option and a 15% trade kicker.

While the deal didn’t officially get done until October 1 due to Golden State’s desire to resolve Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency before hard-capping itself at the second tax apron, Horford knew much earlier in the summer that he’d become a Warrior. He tells Friedell that recruiting pitches from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green played a role in his decision.

“Yeah, I had communication with them, with Steph and Draymond,” Horford said. “And that was important. It happened very fast because it was at a point where they came to me and they’re like, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you,’ and all these things. And it was one of these things that, for me, looking at this fit and the potential, it just felt right. So them reaching out to me was important.”

Given the fact that his new contract includes a second year, Horford may still have multiple seasons left in the NBA. Still, his hope for now is that he’s able to finish his career in Golden State.

“I think at this point in my career, where I see everything, that is my expectation, just to be here,” he said.

Warriors Notes: Starting Lineup, Moody, Kuminga, Podziemski

Warriors coach Steve Kerr is intrigued by the starting lineup he used in Wednesday’s victory over Portland and wants to see it in action again before the preseason ends, according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). After going with a small-ball approach in the preseason opener while bringing Al Horford off the bench in his Golden State debut, Kerr made Horford a starter against the Trail Blazers along with Stephen Curry, Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.

“That could be a really powerful combo,” Kerr said. “I didn’t have a great sense of it after the game because I was thinking so much of our turnovers and our lack of focus at times during the first half. But looking at the tape, it was a lot better than I expected for those first seven minutes or so.”

Kerr likes having more size on the court to start the game, especially with Horford, who shoots well enough from three-point range to give everyone else plenty of room to operate. The group only played together for a little more than half of the first quarter before Kerr began making substitutions, and the veterans rested in the second half.

“You can tell with all the different lineups, we know that there’s still going to be a lot to work on in terms of the chemistry and just the certain combinations,” Curry said. “That’s part of the journey of training camp. But I just like the vibe and the intentionality that we’re all coming with, understanding that we need to get off to a good start. And trying to make that happen.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • That starting group won’t be together on Sunday when Golden State faces the Lakers, Gordon adds. Kerr said Saturday that Butler has an excused personal absence for the game, while Curry and Horford will be held out. Green will start alongside Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga and Quinten Post, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
  • Moody was set to undergo an MRI on Saturday for a calf issue, Slater tweets. Kerr said it’s believed to be minor, but the imaging is being done as a precaution.
  • Kuminga and Podziemski come from different parts of the world and had polar opposite experiences as children, but they find themselves in the same position of competing for larger roles with the Warriors, observes Bruce Jenkins of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). Kuminga, who grew up in the Congo, tends to be calm and peaceful while looking the part of an NBA star, Jenkins states. Podziemski is much more of an extrovert after years of having to prove himself against elite competition.

Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Kerr, Podziemski, Horford

Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency saga was finally resolved on September 30, when the 23-year-old forward re-signed with the Warriors on a two-year, $46.8MM deal. Despite the lengthy negotiations and a contract that could make him a prime trade candidate, Kuminga tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape he’s “at peace” with his situation and doesn’t feel any anxiety about the future.

I don’t think about things like that. I let the day just tell us what’s going to happen,” Kuminga said. “But when it comes to future stuff and things like that, no. I don’t worry about things like that. I just try to get better. You never know with this life. It’s the NBA. One day you’re going to be here. One day you’re going to be somewhere else.

The biggest thing about it is just to work and just get better every day and be a winner. No matter where I’ll be, no matter if I’m going to be here or they might ship me somewhere else. I just want to get to wherever I’ll get, or be here and just be involved and win and impact right away. That is my biggest concern. I’m at that point now where I’ve got a couple years in now. So, I know what’s right and what is not right.”

Kuminga acknowledged some frustration with the way his role has fluctuated during his time with Golden State and said he doesn’t plan to bring the topic up with head coach Steve Kerr. For his part, Kerr still believes Kuminga can be an important piece for the Warriors, according to Spears.

It’s been an interesting fit,” Kerr told Andscape. “He’s made it pretty clear that he wants the ball and an opportunity that a lot of his cohorts get and people that were drafted near him. And we weren’t able to offer that. We were a championship team. We won the title his rookie year (2021/22) and have been in the mix the last few years. So, it’s been tough. I respect the fact that he is competing and fighting in a set of circumstances that maybe isn’t ideal for him. But the thing I keep telling him is he can play a role for us, absolutely, with his size, speed and athleticism.

He can play an important role on a very good team. He just turned 23 (on Monday). He has plenty of basketball ahead. One day, hopefully, he will look back on this as a valuable time in his career. But I know he’s frustrated. He’s made it very clear publicly. I don’t mind that, but I want him to embrace the idea that he can be a part of something special.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

  • As he enters his third season, guard Brandin Podziemski hopes to take major strides in multiple aspects of his game, writes Nick Friedell of The Athletic. In order to do so, Podziemski knows he’ll have to do a better job of regulating his emotions. “There’s a next step in evolving emotionally, and as a leader,” Podziemski told The Athletic. “Having confidence from your teammates is one thing, especially the vets, but them trusting you in big moments that could define their career. Could add another piece to their career. For them to have trust in you is a different thing, and you got to earn that over time, and I think that’s a goal of mine going into this season.”
  • Veteran center Al Horford has quickly developed impressive chemistry with two-time MVP Stephen Curry, Friedell adds in another story. “It’s a level of awareness that I’ve never really had to think about before,” Horford said of playing with Curry. “But when I’m on the floor with him, the whole mindset is trying to make the game easier for him. And for me, that is either getting him the ball, or setting a good screen, or doing anything that I can to make sure that our offense moves and flows. He’s such a smart player that it’s easy to play off of him. And sometimes he’ll kind of tell you what to do. He passed me that ball, but I knew that he was gonna cut, so I guess that’s the unspoken (chemistry) he’s talking about right there. He expected me to pass the ball and I did.”
  • Erik Spoelstra is expected to be named the new head coach of the United States’ men’s basketball team. Kerr believes USA Basketball made a great choice, per Kenzo Fukuda of Clutch Points (Twitter video link; hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “Spo’s an incredible, phenomenal coach. Watching him the last two summers, getting to know him up close… Spo was the perfect choice.”

Warriors Notes: Horford, Curry, Green, Butler

Al Horford provided a glimpse of what he can offer the Warriors as he made his preseason debut in Sunday’s win over the Lakers, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 39-year-old big man posted three points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal in 14 minutes, and Golden State was +13 in his time on the court. Horford looks like a seamless addition, and his teammates are excited to have him in the lineup.

“Obviously has a high IQ,” Stephen Curry said. “An experienced, championship-caliber player that can fit with any lineup out there. He gives us space. He gives us presence on the defensive end. You saw the pass he made to me out of the corner on the give-and-go. There’s just an unspoken chemistry that will continue to get better. He’s multidimensional as a five-man. Excited to see what that looks like for me, for Jimmy (Butler), for (Jonathan Kuminga) and Draymond (Green). Any lineup, you can throw him out there at the five and he lifts the group.”

Horford wasn’t used as a starter on Sunday, but he entered the game quickly after Moses Moody picked up three early fouls. Poole states that he still projects as the team’s starting center and will almost certainly be in the closing lineup. The Celtics took a cautious approach with Horford last season, limiting him to 60 games and not using him both nights of back-to-backs, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr plans to handle him the same way.

“We have to preserve all our older guys as best we can to have them ready for the playoffs. That’s the idea,” Kerr said. “But no question, he’s still got it. He’s incredible player. Great fit for us.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Kerr gave limited playing time to his veterans in the preseason opener, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Curry, Green, Butler and Horford all played 15 minutes or less and were out of the game by halftime. Curry looked to be in midseason form already, scoring 14 points while shooting 5-of-7 from the field and sinking three three-pointers.
  • Kerr began the game with a small lineup using Green at center, but he told reporters that may not be the plan for the regular season (Twitter video link from Anthony Slater of ESPN). “It doesn’t mean Draymond is going to be logging heavy minutes at the five,” Kerr said.
  • Butler was thrown into the fire of a playoff race when the Warriors traded for him in February, states Ann Killion of The San Francisco Chronicle. He expects to benefit from having the offseason and a full training camp with the team. “I get to do this thing from day one,” he said. “Be with the guys from day one and do what we started out to do. … I’m super hyped and I’m super excited. We’re going to have to go out there and produce and get it done. We know that. But we are just so joyful. We’re so happy to be able to compete with one another, and do what we set out to do. Do what I want to do for the first time — win a championship. I smile knowing that it’s a really great chance for us.”

Warriors Notes: Seth Curry, Injury Risks, Butler, Jackson-Davis, Podziemski

At a news conference following Thursday’s practice, Seth Curry explained why he decided to join the Warriors after resisting the idea of teaming up with older brother Stephen Curry throughout his career, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Seth told reporters that he was trying to “create my own path” in the NBA, and playing in his brother’s shadow would have interfered with that.

Coach Steve Kerr agreed with that reasoning, saying it would have been awkward to have both brothers on the team earlier in their careers.

“I don’t know if the timing was right (for Seth to join us) over recent years,” Kerr said. “We probably didn’t have playing time for him. He was in a place where he was going to teams and playing a lot, making money. It just feels like (Stephen and Seth are) both at a point in their careers where this makes a ton of sense. I’m thrilled to have Seth.”

While Steph became a legend in the Bay Area, the younger Curry faced a different journey, working his way up through the G League and playing for nine teams over the past 11 years. He has been a deadly outside shooter wherever he has gone, and Gordon notes that his career percentage of 43.3% from beyond the arc is slightly better than his brother, who is considered possibly the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history.

Seth holds a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, and he’s expected to be waived before the start of the regular season. The plan is for him to rejoin the team at some point during the season on a pro-rated veteran’s minimum deal due to the Warriors’ hard-cap situation.

“Everybody’s excited about it,” he said. “Instead of watching more games, it should be just easier to watch my game, which is easier on everybody. Everybody is excited about it, except maybe my dad (Dell Curry). He didn’t want me to leave Charlotte.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Golden State will likely become the first team in NBA history with four starters who are at least 35 years old, so Kerr will have to be cognizant of playing time to minimize injuries, Gordon states in a separate story. Thirty-nine-year-old Al Horford joins Stephen Curry (37), Jimmy Butler (36) and Draymond Green (35), and the team has reserves Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield who will both turn 33 during the season. “We don’t want to be in a position where you’re chasing (a playoff berth) down the stretch of the season,” Curry said. “It felt like every game was a playoff game for two straight months and then you transition into a very tough seven-game series and then you’re 48 hours from a round two, Game 1. It was a very condensed high level of basketball.”
  • Butler missed practice Friday and Saturday while recovering from a rolled ankle and Kerr considers him a “question mark” for Sunday’s preseason opener, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). Trayce Jackson-Davis has a taped right thumb and is also considered questionable.
  • Brandin Podziemski was used as a starter at Thursday’s practice, but Kerr said nothing has been decided yet, per Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).

Steve Kerr Doesn’t Anticipate Contract Extension Talks Until After Season

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has only one year left on his contract but doesn’t plan to talk about an extension until after the season, Anthony Slater of ESPN reports.

“I don’t anticipate any negotiation during the season,” Kerr said. “Who knows — maybe it all comes up at some point, and they come to me. But I’m not the slightest bit concerned about it. I don’t think about it. I just think it makes perfect sense for all of us [to wait].”

Kerr is entering his 12th season as Golden State’s head coach but states he hasn’t lost his fire to pursue more championships with the organization.

“I love my job,” Kerr said. “I love what I’m doing every day. I can’t wait to get to the building. Hopefully, I’m here for another few years. But I think it makes sense for the organization and for me to see where this thing is at the end of the year — where they are and where I am. Hopefully, that means we run it back, we keep going with this group, that’d be awesome. But I like the fact we can do it how we want it.”

As Slater notes, the team’s three aging star players — Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green — all have two years remaining on their current contracts. Curry and Green remain staunch Kerr supporters, according to Slater. Though there’s no guarantee Kerr will remain beyond this season, the fact that he wants to remain with the Warriors along with the brass’ strongly support, it would be a huge surprise if he’s not coaching there again next season.

Kerr is currently working off a two-year, $35MM extension he signed during the 2023/24 season.

“I’m very comfortable going into the season with a year left,” Kerr said. “I’m so aligned with [general manager] Mike [Dunleavy] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. We talked about this — there’s no reason for discussion or concern. This is kind of a point in our relationship where let’s just see how it is at the end of the year.”

Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Horford, Green, Podziemski, Butler

Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency remained unresolved when the Warriors took part in their media day on Monday, but it was a major topic of discussion. Stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler all addressed the standoff in their respective media sessions, with Green predicting that “everyone will forget (the situation) and move on” if Kuminga signs a contract and “plays great” in 2025/26 (Twitter video link).

“As leaders on the team, you have to acknowledge what’s going on and don’t make it more than what it is, other than a team trying to figure out the situation that’s front of us and the challenge that’s front of us,” Curry said, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Knowing JK’s situation, knowing the new faces that we’re adding to the roster, we talk about it every year going into a training camp what it’s going to take for that particular team to win.

“This is a little different because you have a guy that’s trying to figure out his situation, and we respect that process. It’s going to play out, and when he’s here, ready to work, like we expect him to be locked in on doing what he needs to do to help us win.”

Although the Warriors have reached a multiyear contract agreement with Al Horford, that deal almost certainly won’t be finalized until after Kuminga’s free agency wraps up, which will allow the team can maximize its cap flexibility. That meant Horford wasn’t in attendance at media day either, though Golden State’s veterans expressed excitement about the impending addition — without mentioning Horford by name.

“If we’re talking about a guy like that, he’s won it, which I really, really respect,” Butler said, per Poole. “And he’s been in this league for a long time for a reason. Elite defender. Can make shots. Plays basketball the right way. Super smart. More than anything, he wins. So, wherever that guy ends up, I know he’s going to help that team.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

  • Only five players in NBA history – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Scottie Pippen – have made at least 10 All-Defensive teams, Green, who has earned the honor nine times, will be looking to join that group in 2026, Poole writes for NBC Sports Bay Area. “That’s my motivation,” Green said. “To go and try to make another All-Defensive team and join that list. It’s an amazing list. All first-ballot Hall of Famers. To try to put myself, my name, in the hat with those guys … that would be a dream come true.”
  • Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski underwent procedures on his wrist and his core in the spring. However, Podziemski is not expected to miss time this fall as a result of those surgeries —  he was back on the court as of August 1 and was fully cleared for all basketball activities a couple weeks ago, tweets ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
  • The Warriors are looking forward to their first full season with Butler on the roster, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who looks at the mini-camp the star forward hosted at his home in San Diego earlier this month. “It was important for me to welcome those guys, like my family, into my home and have a good time and let them in a little bit of my life,” Butler said.
  • While it has taken a while to set the roster for the coming season, Curry is optimistic about the Warriors’ ability to compete in 2025/26, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “We’re just trying to carry the momentum that we have from last year,” the two-time MVP said. “Getting through an 82-game season is a challenge for every team, but especially a veteran team. But the way that we finished and the record that we had — obviously, before I got hurt during the second round (of last year’s playoffs), we were a relevant threat, and I think we’ve gotten better.”

Warriors Notes: Curry, Kuminga, Kerr, Lacob

Warriors star Stephen Curry isn’t panicking as the offseason drags along without his team making a roster addition, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Personnel moves have been on hold as Golden State’s front office tries to resolve a stalemate with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. Al HorfordDe’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Seth Curry are among the candidates to sign with Golden State once Kuminga’s situation is settled, and Stephen Curry doesn’t have any anxiety about the situation with training camp still roughly six weeks away.

“It’s different, for sure,” the two-time MVP told reporters on Thursday at his youth basketball camp. “But my confidence is built on the identity we were able to create over the last third of the regular season last year and the playoff journey.”

Curry added, “We have a really good team,” but acknowledged there’s a “need for some pieces to help get us to the next level.” 

As he prepares for his 17th NBA season, Curry explained that his offseason routine has “evolved drastically” and his workouts now emphasize “checking off all the boxes of movement and skill set that’s relevant to my game.” He doesn’t seem to have any lingering effects from the strained left hamstring that forced him to miss nearly all of the second-round playoff loss to Minnesota.

“Pacing myself nice,” he said. “Ready to finish the summer strong. … When you see me whenever Media Day is, should be primed and ready to go.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Six of the top eight players selected in the 2021 draft already have lucrative extensions in hand, but Kuminga hasn’t been able to reach an agreement on a modest salary with Golden State, notes Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. Landing with an established team, Kuminga didn’t receive the regular rotation role and consistent minutes that top-seven picks usually get. Add that to a depressed market where none of the top restricted free agents have landed an offer sheet, and it’s easy to understand Kuminga’s frustration. “He apparently thinks he’s at the Cade CunninghamScottie Barnes level, where he should get that type of contract,” a league source told Kroichick. “… It’s really a quandary. I think it’s bad for the Warriors and bad for him.”
  • Appearing on the Glue Guys Podcast (YouTube link) Steve Kerr talked about the frustrations of trying to work with young players in the midst of a hectic NBA schedule. “We don’t practice anymore,” Kerr said. “So we have to develop these 19-year-old kids who are coming into the league without much practice time. … Frankly, I’m not great — I’m an older coach. … So I lean on the young (coaches).”
  • As vice president of basketball development Kent Lacob leaves the organization, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic explores the reasons behind his decision and the stressful journey to break the news to his father, Warriors owner Joe Lacob.

And-Ones: Free Agents, 2026 Draft, Next Summer, 2024 Re-Draft

While most of the top free agents of the summer class of 2025 have either re-signed or joined new teams, there are still some potential impact role players on the market outside of the well-reported restricted free agent group.

Al Horford, Russell Westbrook and Amir Coffey sit atop Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report‘s list of best-available low-cost free agents. Horford has been heavily linked to the Warriors (as have Pincus’s fifth- and sixth-ranked free agents in Gary Payton II and De’Anthony Melton) and reporting has strongly suggested he’ll ultimately end up there once the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved.

Westbrook and the Kings have been frequently connected too, but reporting has suggested Sacramento might not have a spot for the former MVP if Malik Monk and/or Devin Carter aren’t traded, so it’s unclear where Westbrook would end up if the Kings decide they don’t have room in their backcourt.

As for Coffey and Pincus’s No. 4-ranked player Ben Simmons, there have been fewer definitive reports linking them to one team or another. Simmons has been connected to the Kings, Suns, Knicks and Celtics, but there hasn’t been much media traction involving Coffey.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Ahead of the 2025/26 collegiate season, the 2026 NBA draft class looks top-heavy, with three players in A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson who are in contention to be selected No. 1 overall, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes. Karim Lopez of the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers is Wasserman’s highest-ranked international prospect in the August update of his top-50 list, while Jayden Quaintance of Kentucky is the highest-ranked returning player (No. 4 overall) after he started 24 games for Arizona State in his age-17 season.
  • Looking ahead to next offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks details the headlines that should dominate the news cycle, including the futures of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. James will be an unrestricted free agent next year, and it’s unclear whether he will finish his career with the Lakers. Meanwhile, Curry, Jokic and Antetokounmpo could all be free agents in 2027 if they don’t sign extensions before then.
  • One year removed from the 2024 draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic re-drafted his top 20 from last year’s rookies. Zaccharie Risacher had a strong rookie season, but slipped from No. 1 to 2 in Vecenie’s re-draft, with 2024/25 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle overtaking him for the top slot. Jared McCain (from No. 16 to No. 3) and Jaylen Wells (from No. 39 to No. 9) are the biggest risers in the top 10, while Ajay Mitchell jumped from No. 38 to No. 12.