Jack Tien-Dana

Victor Wembanyama is now clot-less, in mind and body as the Spurs begin their great leap forward.

By rediscovering the parts of himself that he's shed with time, Kevin Duran can make the Rockets a great team.

For an NBA star, growing older is the same as growing smaller. Your game shrinks, you take up less space. At 35 years old, Chris Paul was the best player on a Finals team in 2021; as a 39-year-old, he had the 16th highest usage rate on the Western Conference’s 13th best team. Now in his 40s, LeBron James is a liquor salesman with a bad back. It’s not that you become worse—you just become less.

Since 2015, over 15,000 miles of high speed rail has been built in China —and another nearly 20,000 miles will be built by 2035. This year, researchers at Zhejiang University invented an adhesive “ bone glue ” that can heal fractures in minutes. It’s the Chinese century. And now they have their very own Nikola Jokic.

On a roster full of mannered, patterned players, Josh Hart provides the necessary chaos- he seizes the areas of the court that his more gifted teammates neglect.

For just about his entire career, Joel Embiid has been one of the NBA’s most dominant players—and perhaps its most dominant narrative figure. He was the crown jewel of the Process; the author and victim of postseason high-drama; the B-side to Nikola Jokic in contentious MVP debates that played out along epistemologic, analytic and racial fault lines. Every season of the last decade has been informed by either his presence or his absence. His life—the sin waves of tragedy and triumph, loyalty and betrayal—became a rich text for fans and pundits to pick through or project upon. Now, though, with the Sixers off to a 7-4 start, Embiid has receded to the background.

There are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. Of those 15, five of them are already dreaming of next year, lacking the talent (Nets, Hornets, Wizards) or functional Achilles tendons (Celtics, Pacers) to compete this season. Of the remaining ten, the Magic, Bulls, Hawks, Bucks, Raptors and Sixers aren’t true threats, on account of being the Magic, Bulls, Hawks, Bucks, Raptors and Sixers. Of the remaining three, the Knicks can’t square their best offensive lineups with their best defensive ones and the Cavs, fundamentally, don’t have the juice. Of the remaining one, the Pistons are 17-5, winners of 15 of their last 18 games.

In the early 2000s, the Moneyball-era Oakland A's found themselves on baseball's vanguard by looking beyond the stats you'd find in a box score, but in 2026, teams have trashed the box score entirely.

In seven of the eight first round series, the winning team either had the better point guard or had LeBron James.