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Author: Charles

Raiders, Colts Thursday Week 5 injury report

The second injury report is out for the Raiders and Colts for their Week 5 matchup. The big change for the Raiders was the status of Brock Bowers.

After practicing limited on Wednesday with his lingering knee injury, he was downgraded to not practicing on Thursday.

Showing up on the injury report was Maxx Crosby who was limited with a knee injury.

The Colts had several upgrades including the return of LB Zaire Franklin (ankle) and G Matt Goncalvez from limited to full.

Xavien Howard is not longer listed because he suddenly announced his retirement.

Still missing practice were RB Tyler Goodson (groin), CB Kenny Moore (achilles), and S Daniel Scott (knee).

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October 2, 2025
No. 1 Allegany boys down Southern, 5-1; MR rolls; BW falls in overtime; Calvary rolls | Local Sports

OAKLAND — Top-ranked Allegany scored four goals in the first half, two by way of Chris Manherz, in a 5-1 romp of Southern on Tuesday.

Allegany (8-0-1) clinched a share of the Western Maryland Athletic Conference title with a 4-0 record. There are only six conference games this season due to Northern folding its team. Fort Hill and Mountain Ridge are 2-2.

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October 2, 2025
Kelsey Mitchell shares positive update after once in lifetime injury

Kelsey Mitchell played until her wheels fell off. Literally.

There is a cruel bit of irony that this Fever season came to an end because their star player experienced a “once-in-a-lifetime” injury, as she described it. In the second half of Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Aces, Mitchell suffered rhabdo, officially known as rhabdomyolysis, which is a condition where muscles break down and release proteins into the bloodstream.

It’s a very serious injury, but one Mitchell was fortunately able to walk away from, figuratively and literally, as she rejoined the team on Tuesday night. By then, though, the Fever had lost the win-or-go-home contest in overtime, having finally run out of gas.

“I feel fine,” Mitchell said during her exit interview on Thursday. “I don’t think I could play in a real game…I probably should just take some time to kind of reset because I lost a lot of fluid. I think in that experience alone, I kind of felt scared because, for a while, my legs were so numb and so paralyzed, so to speak, that I couldn’t feel my feet.”

Mitchell said the injury was likely the result of overusage, citing that she had never played as many games or gone as deep into the postseason as she did this year. During the regular season, she played a career-high 1,381 minutes before adding another 261 to her body in the playoffs.

Considering how taxing those minutes are for Mitchell, which often include her running around the court off screens before even receiving the ball, it’s not hard to believe that played a role. That being said, it was also not something she could have really prepared for, either.

“When I got done with the Vegas doctors and our doctors, they were like ‘That’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,’” Mitchell said. “Nobody thought [about rhabdomyolysis] in Game 5 or anything like that. For me, it was just about, going forward, knowing what my body needs but I think, specifically, any athlete, competitive, if you want to be at the top of your game, you kind of just got to keep pouring in.

“So I wouldn’t have changed anything from me, if I’m honest.”

Mitchell had a much lighter, joking tone on Thursday — including playfully suggesting the number of practices from head coach Stephanie White caused the injury — which was much different than how things felt on Tuesday as Mitchell was on the floor.

She described feeling her “stomach drop” to her legs after the made 3-pointer. On the next possession, after a foul call, Mitchell said her legs locked up. She admitted to panicking at first after not being able to feel her legs. But a mixture of regaining feeling in her toes and her teammates being by her side helped calm her down.

“Without them, I don’t even think I would have got through it because when I was on the floor, I was emotional,” Mitchell said. “I think back to Aliyah Boston praying over me. I think back to Lexie Hull holding my hand. I think back to Bri Turner, she was like ‘Kels, [your legs] are going to eventually move. They’ll eventually move.’ It’s great to be able to play with the group that I play with. I can honestly say I’d go to war with them on any kind of day.”

Around the same time she began to calm down, those watching the game realized the severity of the situation as a stretcher was wheeled onto the court. It was a stretcher, though, that Mitchell had no intention of leaving the court on, even if she still couldn’t lift her legs.

“We’re not doing a stretcher man,” Mitchell said of her reaction when she saw it wheeled onto the court. “Walking out of here on a stretcher is just not going to happen. Not doing that. I was like, ‘If you guys just get me off the floor so you can finish the game, I’ll be fine.’ But I don’t know if you guys saw my feet, but they were like dangling because I had no blood flow.

“I wasn’t going to use the stretcher because I didn’t deem it fitting. Like, you were going to see me leave on my own. I think that was just making an impact on myself to say like ‘You’re going to get up and you’re going to figure it out without a stretcher.’”

Eventually, Mitchell did make her way off the court and into the locker room where she was able to watch part of the end of the game while receiving an IV before being transported to the hospital for more fluids. Without her, the Fever fought valiantly, improbably forcing overtime before coming up short.

Mitchell said that there were no long-term effects and that she would use this as a learning experience regarding her body and how to best prepare physically in the future. Still, even knowing the outcome, she would have done it all over again to compete with her teammates if given the opportunity.

“I wouldn’t have changed anything I done, any practice, any workout I done prior to because it was worth it,” Mitchell said. “I guess I played until my wheels fell off…I wouldn’t trade any of it at all. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’d trade my body in every time.”

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October 2, 2025
Las Vegas Aces vs. Phoenix Mercury: How to watch the WNBA Finals, full schedule and more
The WNBA postseason has been full of drama, from the firings of New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondelo and Dallas Wings coach Chris Koclanes, to the increasing hostility between players and the league, to say nothing of the actual playoff games that have left the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces as the last two teams standing. The Mercury defeated the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx in four action-packed games during their semifinal series, while the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Indiana Fever in a five game series that went in to overtime to determine a winner.

This year’s finals will look a little different from past seasons; the WNBA now has a best-of-seven format rather than a best-of-five series. Finals will start this Friday, Oct. 3 and will run as late as Oct. 17 if necessary. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch this year’s WNBA finals, including game schedules, channels, where to stream and more.

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How to watch the 2025 WNBA finals:

Dates: Oct. 3 – Oct. 17

TV channels: ESPN, ABC

Streaming: ESPN unlimited app, Fubo, DirecTV, and more

WNBA playoffs channel:

he best-of-seven finals will be split between ESPN and ABC.

Where to stream the WNBA finals in 2025:

ABC and ESPN are all available to stream on platforms like Fubo and DiredTV but for the most comprehensive way to watch every game of the WNBA finals in one place, you’ll want ESPN unlimited, the streaming app that gives viewers access to all 7 of ESPN’s linear channels, as well as exclusive content that streams on ESPN+, ABC on ESPN, SEC+ and more.

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How to watch the WNBA finals without cable:

ESPN’s revamped streaming platform offers thousands of exclusive live events, including every WNBA playoff game this season, plus original studio shows and acclaimed series that air across ESPN’s suite of 7 linear channels and exclusive content on ESPN+, ABC on ESPN, SEC+, and ACCNX.. The new tier costs $29.99/month or $299.99/year.

Also of note, for its first year in existence, ESPN unlimited includes “bundle” access to Disney+ and Hulu at no extra cost!

$29.99/month at ESPN

At $45.99 for your first month, Fubo TV’s new Sports + News tier gives you access to ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS, FOX, Ion and more live channels. The live-TV streaming service can cover you for the entire WNBA finals series.

Fubo subscribers also get unlimited Cloud DVR. The platform also offers a free trial period.

Try free at Fubo

WNBA Finals Schedule

All times Eastern

Finals: Oct. 3-17
- Game 1, Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces, October 3, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
- Game 2, Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces, October 5, 3 p.m. (ABC, ESPN app)
- Game 3, Las Vegas Aces at Phoenix Mercury, October 8, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
- Game 4, Las Vegas Aces at Phoenix Mercury, October 10, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
- Game 5*, Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces, October 12, 3 p.m. (ABC, ESPN app)
- Game 6*, Las Vegas Aces at Phoenix Mercury, October 15, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
- Game 7*, Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces, October 17, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
*if necessary

WNBA playoff seeding:

1. Minnesota Lynx

2. Las Vegas Aces

3. Atlanta Dream

4. Phoenix Mercury

5. New York Liberty

6. Indiana Fever

7. Seattle Storm

8. Golden State Valkyries

More ways to watch the WNBA playoffs:
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October 2, 2025
Juan Cabal out for at least six weeks due to hamstring injury

Juventus Men’s First Team player Juan Cabal, who came off during the first half of Wednesday night’s Champions League match against Villarreal, underwent diagnostic tests this morning at J|Medical.

Those tests revealed a moderate-grade injury to the biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh.

He will undergo further tests in two weeks to more precisely determine the recovery timeline.

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October 2, 2025
Fantasy football Week 5 defense rankings (2025)
Some unusual suspects led the way defensively in Week 4, with the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans at the top in fantasy points, thanks to a pair of return touchdowns and the week’s lone shutout.
Perhaps the best bet for a defensive-minded game this week is in London, where the offensively challenged Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns clash. The Vikings will once again have Carson Wentz at quarterback, while the Browns are turning over the keys to their offense to rookie QB Dillon Gabriel.

Not surprisingly, those teams’ staunch defenses are the top two in our weekly rankings.

WEEK 5 BYES: Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, Pittsburgh

(Rankings by Elisha Twerski, whose complete Week 5 rankings for every position will be updated up until kickoff on Sunday.)

Fantasy football Week 5 defense/special teams rankings

Cleveland Browns (CLE) vs. MIN

Minnesota Vikings (MIN) at CLE

Detroit Lions (DET) at CIN

Los Angeles Rams (LAR) vs. SF

Arizona Cardinals (ARI) vs. TEN

Philadelphia Eagles (PHI) vs. DEN

Seattle Seahawks (SEA) vs. TB

Buffalo Bills (BUF) vs. NE

Kansas City Chiefs (KC) at JAC

Indianapolis Colts (IND) vs. LV

Los Angeles Chargers (LAC) vs. WAS

Houston Texans (HOU) at BAL

Baltimore Ravens (BAL) vs. HOU

Denver Broncos (DEN) at PHI

Miami Dolphins (MIA) at CAR

New Orleans Saints (NO) vs. NYG

San Francisco 49ers (SF) at LAR

New York Giants (NYG) at NO

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB) at SEA

New York Jets (NYJ) vs. DAL

Jacksonville Jaguars (JAC) vs. KC

Carolina Panthers (CAR) vs. MIA

Washington Commanders (WAS) at LAC

Tennessee Titans (TEN) at ARI

New England Patriots (NE) at BUF

Las Vegas Raiders (LV) at IND

Dallas Cowboys (DAL) at NYJ

Cincinnati Bengals (CIN) vs. DET
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October 2, 2025
Chase, St. Brown lead Week 5 fantasy football wide receiver rankings

MIAMI, Sept. 30 (UPI) — Ja’Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Justin Jefferson lead my Top 50 fantasy football wide receiver rankings for Week 5.

Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba join Chase and St. Brown in my Top 5. Davante Adams, Deebo Samuel, Garrett Wilson, Emeka Egbuka and Nico Collins are among my other Top 10 options.

Continue to monitor the status of Terry McLaurin and Ricky Pearsall, who are in doubt for Week 5.

My top waiver-wire and free agent targets for Week 5 are available here. My Top 50 running back and Top 20 quarterback rankings are available here.

All of my positional rankings will be updated until Week 5 kickoffs. Players also will be moved out of or adjusted within the rankings based on injuries. Be sure to monitor your fantasy football team lineups.

Players from the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons, who are on bye, should be benched or, in some cases, dropped from rosters.

Week 5 wide receiver rankings

1. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals vs. DET

2. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions at CIN

3. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings vs. CLE

4. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams vs. SF

5. Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks vs. TB

6. Davante Adams, Los Angeles Rams vs. SF

7. Deebo Samuel, Washington Commanders at LAC

8. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets vs. DAL

9. Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SEA

10. Nico Collins, Houston Texans at BAL

11. George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys at NYJ

12. Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens vs. HOU

13. Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals vs. TEN

14. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles vs. DEN

15. Quentin Johnston, Los Angels Chargers vs. WAS

16. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins at CAR

17. Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs at JAX

18. Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars vs. KC

19. Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos at PHI

20. Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders at IND

21. Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts vs. LV

22. Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills vs. NE

23. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals vs. DET

24. Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions at CIN

25. Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings vs. CLE

26. Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns vs. MIN

27. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers vs. WAS

28. Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers vs. WAS

29. Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants at NO

30. Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots at BUF

31. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SEA

32. Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers vs. MIA

33. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints vs. NYG

34. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles vs. DEN

35. Marquise Brown, Kansas City Chiefs at JAX

36. Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins at CAR

37. Jalen Tolbert, Dallas Cowboys at NYJ

38. Darius Slayton, New York Giants at NO

39. Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans at ARI

40. Christian Kirk, Houston Texans at BAL

41. Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders at IND

42. Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints vs. NYG

43. Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans at ARI

44. Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens vs. HOU

45. Cooper Kupp, Seattle Seahawks vs. TB

46. Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos at PHI

47. Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills vs. NE

48. Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. KC

49. Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots at BUF

50. Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SEA

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes calls out coverage against the Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on September 28, 2025. The Chiefs defeated the Ravens 37-20. Photo by Jon Robichaud/UPI | License Photo

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October 2, 2025
Duke reportedly signs coach Jon Scheyer to new 6-year contract, taking him through 2030-31 season

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer has a long way to go to reach Mike Krzyzewski’s longevity, but Scheyer is off to a nice start. Scheyer reportedly inked a new six-year contract that will keep him at Duke through the 2030-31 season, per ESPN.

Terms of the deal, including its cost, were not revealed.

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Scheyer, who succeeded Krzyzewski as Duke’s head coach in 2022, has gone 89-22 over three seasons with the team. Duke made the NCAA Tournament in each of Scheyer’s first three seasons, advancing as far as the Final Four last season.

This story will be updated.

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October 2, 2025
March Madness expansion that no one asked for is almost here

The seemingly inevitable change that absolutely nobody wants appears to be closer to happening.

According to a report from On3’s Ross Dellenger, executives are “inching closer” to an agreement to expand the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to 76 teams beginning with the 2026-27 season. The expansion would feature a 12-game “opening round” played at two different sites.

The news, while not unexpected, remains inexplicable and indefensible.

Outside of a handful of head coaches, athletic directors and television executives who stand to personally (but not sizably) benefit from this, nobody associated with college basketball wants this to happen.

Fans of the sport absolutely despise the idea. Media members who cover the sport mostly feel the same. The NCAA Tournament is already the most popular postseason in American sports. There’s no obvious competitive reason for the change. And in an era where massive change is driven by money and virtually nothing else, the financial implications of expansion would seem to be minimal when put up against the pushback from just about everyone who cares about March Madness.

There is simply no logical defense when it comes to messing with one of the few things in sports that just about everyone agrees shouldn’t be messed with it.

Side note: The irony of all ironies here is that if you polled every college basketball fan in the world and asked them what they would do to change the NCAA Tournament before the better, the most common response you would undoubtedly get would be to DECREASE the field back to 64 teams like it was from 1985-2001.

Despite its best efforts over decades littered with ineptitude and head-scratching decisions, the NCAA has consistently done one thing well: Organize a tournament that captivates the American public like few other things can for three weeks ever March/early April. The event brings in about a billion dollars a year for the NCAA, a total which accounts for right around 90 percent of the entity’s annual revenue.

You would think those two sentences would be more than enough reason to leave well enough alone, and yet here we are.

The most logical explanation for why, despite everything, expansion seems inevitable revolves around greed. No amount of money is ever enough, which is why college basketball fans are going to be force fed multiple tournament games featuring power conference teams with losing conference records playing ugly basketball in front of small crowds starting in March of 2026.

The problem with this argument is that the financial benefits of tournament expansion really aren’t that great.

The current television rights agreement between CBS Sports/Turner and the NCAA runs through the 2032 tournament, and the addition of any early round games would have little to no bearing on that deal.

“Right now there’s no guarantee there’s any additional revenue,” one commissioner told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander. “One of the main sticking points is that without more revenue, how do you pay for more games? How do you pay for more travel? How do you pay for more expenses of an expanded tournament? And on the flip side of it, if you expand, you’re devaluing basketball units at that point. Without more revenue it creates more problems.”

Adding to the point: The current television ratings for the four “First Four” games that are played in Dayton each year on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the “real” tournament starts are … not great. The numbers belabor the point that the 2001 move from 64 to 65 teams — a move made because power conference officials didn’t want to lose an at-large bid after a handful of teams left the WAC to form the Mountain West Conference — was the original minor sin that is now on the verge of blossoming into a deadly sin.

March Madness fanatics are willing to ignore the TruTV contests, and will even fill out brackets on Sunday-Wednesday of tournament week without knowing (or caring) who is going to win the four games in Dayton, but the early round becomes almost impossible to ignore if the number of teams participating jumps from four to 12.

The biggest argument in favor of tournament expansion surrounds the idea of access.

There are 364 teams in the sport.

Great power conference teams are left out every year.

Look at UCLA in 2021 and VCU in 20111.

This will get more mid-majors into the field.

Why are people so mad about more basketball?

Let’s be clear: This has never been about access.

No major American sport has greater access to its ultimate postseason than college basketball does. The reason? Conference tournaments.

Almost every team in Division-I college basketball automatically qualifies for its conference tournament, which means almost every team in Division-I college basketball has the opportunity at the end of its season to play until it loses.

Had an injured star player in the first half of the season that tanked your tournament resume? You can win your conference tournament and make the Big Dance. Had some chemistry issues early on that got fixed in the second half of the season? You can win your conference tournament and make the Big Dance. Played horrible basketball for absolutely no logical reason for the first three months of the season but are now playing splendidly? You can win your conference tournament and make the Big Dance.

The power conference head coaches and administrators who seem to be the only ones in favor this will tell you that this is a numbers game. More and more teams keep making the jump to D-I, and because of that, bids are being taken away from some of the best power conference teams in the sport. Oh, and those mid-major Cinderellas you guys love so much? They’re also getting less of a chance to shine.

It’s a disingenuous argument on both fronts.

Sure, the Division-I level of college basketball has been adding teams on a consistent basis for decades now (364 teams are set to participate in 2025-26), but over that time, the stranglehold that power conference teams have had on bids to the Big Dance has only grown stronger.

Over the last 10 years, a total of 362 NCAA Tournament at-large bids have been handed out. Out of those 362, 304 of them went to schools in a power conference. That’s 83 percent. If you can’t get your power conference program into the field of 68 over the course of 3-5 years, you probably deserve to have your job performance questioned.

Three of the first four teams left out of last year’s NCAA Tournament were power conference squads Indiana, West Virginia and Ohio State. The fourth was the Mountain West’s Boise State, a team from the best conference outside of the sport’s Power 5.

Make no mistake about it, these new early round games will be loaded with power conference teams that have records right around .500 and have spent the previous four months proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are too average to compete for the sport’s biggest prize. We didn’t need to see Indiana versus Cincinnati in March last year. We saw more than enough from both teams between November and February to know exactly who they were.

No one is claiming that this is a change that’s going to make college basketball diehards or casual March Madness bracket fillers abandon the event entirely. It’s just going to make every aspect of the event a little bit worse. The build-up to March will be a little bit more dull. The two weeks of conference tournament action will be a little less exciting. Filling out a bracket will be a decent bit more tedious. The added games themselves will be overwhelmingly forgettable. And all this will happen for no justifiable reason.

For years, college basketball fans have fretted over the powers that be within the NCAA eventually screwing up the one and only thing they consistently get right. We appear to be on the precipice of their latest attempt to do just that.

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October 2, 2025
Sacramento Kings 2025-26 season preview: West playoff contender or Beam Team pretender?
The 2025-26 NBA season is here! Over the next few weeks, we’re examining the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and win projections for all 30 franchises — from the still-rebuilding teams to the true title contenders.

2024-25 finish
- Record: 40-42 (9th in West, eliminated in play-in tournament)
Offseason moves
- Additions: Dennis Schröder, Nique Clifford, Dario Šarić
- Subtractions: Jonas Valančiūnas, Jake LaRavia
Can Zach LaVine help lift the Kings in the loaded West? (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The Big Question: Which direction are the Kings headed?

It seems like just yesterday that the Kings were Lighting the Beam, riding good vibes to a 48-34 record and their first playoff appearance since the 2005-06 season. Domantas Sabonis was an All-Star for the first time in the Western Conference, and De’Aaron Fox was an All-Star for the first time ever. They were surrounded by young talent, and their trade of Tyrese Haliburton had not yet come to haunt them.

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Two seasons have past since, and though they have made the play-in tournament each time, they do not have another playoff appearance to show for it. Gone is Fox, who they traded for Zach LaVine, someone who has played four playoff games in 11 seasons. Following that midseason deal in February, Sacramento finished the season with a 15-18 record — owners of a bottom-10 defense — and lost its play-in opener.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

Then, the Kings watched as Haliburton made a miraculous run to the NBA Finals for the Indiana Pacers.

Sabonis, the prize in return for Haliburton, is still there. He is still a great offensive player, capable of posting a triple-double on any given night, and he is still a detriment to fielding a title-caliber defense.

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Likewise, LaVine is an incredible individual scorer, but he offers little in the way of defensive resistance. The same could be said of a 36-year-old DeMar DeRozan, another great individual scorer. Problem is, when last LaVine and DeRozan shared the wings together on the Chicago Bulls, they won only 39 games.

In Fox’s stead there is newcomer Dennis Schröder, the EuroBasket MVP. His performance as the point guard for Germany this summer was the latest reason to believe in his ability to make a similar impact on the NBA level, but we have 12 seasons of evidence that suggests otherwise, and he is no defensive savior.

This team is not without talent. Everyone mentioned above is a good player — three All-Stars and the best player in Europe this summer, to be fair. There are also recent first-round picks Keegan Murray, Devin Carter and Nique Clifford, all of whom carry with them considerable promise. Keon Ellis is a 25-year-old member of their core. (It seems they are looking to trade Malik Monk, though he is there, too.)

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And together this group could generate a top-10 offense, but, man, that defense is going to be hard to overcome, especially in this West. They currently have the 11th-highest projected win total in the West, according to BetMGM, which would put them outside the play-in picture for the first time in four years.

So, which direction are they headed?

Best-case scenario

Everyone jells and plays to the best of his ability, and the Kings are a surprisingly exciting offense — one that moves the ball and scores from all three levels, including the midrange, where DeRozan is still king. They remain committed to defense, even if they are not that talented on that end, and they squeeze out another play-in tournament bid, with a real chance to emerge for a first playoff appearance since 2023.

If everything falls apart

The defense is so bad that the Kings stop playing the sort of offense that can win games and start playing hero ball. Everyone is vying for his next contract, only we can all see that, and none of their top pieces — Sabonis, LaVine or DeRozan — holds any trade value. They hinder the development of Sacramento’s recent draft picks, and there is little hope next season will be any different, save for another lottery pick.

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2025-26 schedule
- Season opener: Oct. 22 at Phoenix
The Kings, I fear, are the same old Kings again. Take the under. Pray for pingpong balls.

More season previews

East: Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

West: Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • Los Angeles Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz
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October 2, 2025