The video games are over. The chaos? It’s simply starting.
NBA Summer season League is underway. The transaction wire has cooled. Gamers are both courtside in Vegas cheering on teammates combating for roster spots — or off the grid, recovering earlier than one other 10-month marathon.
Nonetheless, the NBA by no means sleeps. And this weekend, seven tales lower by way of the noise in a league that one way or the other stays wired 24/7.
MAVS SHUT DOWN COOPER FLAGG
It solely took two video games.
After dropping 31 factors on 10-of-21 capturing in opposition to the Spurs, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg was shut down for the remainder of Summer season League. It was sufficient to validate what most scouts already believed: He’s the actual deal.
With Kyrie out and Anthony Davis anticipated to overlook time, Flagg can have loads of alternative to grow to be Dallas’ future face of the franchise — assuming the entrance workplace doesn’t panic and flip him for a 30-something vet.
DRAKE STARTS A FIRE
It’s secure to say that friendship is formally useless.
Drake, as soon as one among LeBron James’ loudest supporters, has turned the web page — actually. The five-time Grammy winner lined his outdated LeBron tattoo with a brand new one: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada’s MVP, champion, and Finals MVP of 2025.
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The transfer comes after Drake’s public loss in a rap battle to Kendrick Lamar, capped by Lamar’s “Pop Out” live performance in L.A. — the place LeBron was filmed dancing to “Not Like Us,” the diss observe that buried Drake’s summer time.
Clearly, it’s private now, although it doesn’t get way more intimate than tattooing one other man’s face in your pores and skin.
KLAY THOMPSON BROKE THE INTERNET
Klay Thompson’s vary extends nicely past the bounds of a hardwood courtroom.
Thompson’s off-court strikes made waves this weekend when he went Instagram official with Megan Thee Stallion. He shared the information in photographs of the 2 as a pair on his Instagram web page over the weekend, and the put up instantly went viral with some followers even going a step additional, seeking to establish Thompson as a determine within the background of one among Megan’s photos.
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It’s secure to say video games on the American Airways Heart goes to be energetic for the 2025-26 season in Dallas. May this be the NBA’s model of what the NFL has in Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift?
IShowSpeed INTERVIEWS GIANNIS
Streaming celebrity IShowSpeed met up with former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the place Antetokounmpo advised him “a lot of people want me to go [to the Knicks].”
Requested by Pace whether or not or not he’d find yourself going again to Milwaukee this summer time, Antetokounmpo stated “probably.”
The Knicks are recognized to be one among a plethora of groups holding tabs on Antetokounmpo’s availability within the commerce market ought to The Greek Freak request a commerce from Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo gained Finals MVP on the Bucks group that claimed the 2021 title, however Milwaukee has misplaced within the first spherical of the playoffs in every of the final three seasons.
KYRIE IRVING HAS BEGUN STREAMING
Along with his ACL restoration underway, Kyrie Irving is shifting gears — launching a Twitch stream and shortly discovering his footing within the media area.
The previous Nets star guard who gained a championship alongside LeBron James in Cleveland now has an energetic Twitch stream and following. In his two most up-to-date episodes, Irving has interviewed his former teammate, Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, and former Pacers middle Myles Turner, who left Indiana fresh-off an NBA Finals run to affix Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks this free company.
Irving additionally used his stream to mood expectations of an early return to the Mavericks subsequent season, which means throw out the thought of his return by the All-Star break — or possibly even into April.
JOEL EMBIID NOT YET BACK ON THE COURT
Joel Embiid nonetheless hasn’t resumed on-court exercise following April knee surgical procedure, per The Athletic’s Tony Jones. However the Sixers stay “optimistic” he’ll be prepared for the beginning of the common season.
The reigning MVP candidate stays one of many greatest X-factors within the East. When wholesome, he’s dominant — three straight seasons averaging 30+ factors on 50 % capturing. However well being has by no means been a assure: Embiid has appeared in simply 58 complete video games over the past two seasons.
If he’s proper, Philly is a contender. If not, they’re again at sq. one.
Good factor they will depend on Paul George to choose up the slack if Embiid is out.
TATUM PLAYING CHESS
The Celtics say they’re nonetheless contenders. However with out Jayson Tatum, who’s out for the season with a ruptured Achilles, it’s onerous to consider the East’s defending champs are going wherever quick.
Tatum, although, is already wanting forward — and he’s attempting to carry Damian Lillard with him.
In response to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, Tatum has been “active” in recruiting Lillard, who was waived by the Bucks after struggling his personal Achilles tear in the course of the playoffs.
A two-year vet-min deal would let Lillard acquire his Bucks cash and be a part of Boston with out consuming cap. By 2026, the Celtics may roll out a totally wholesome core of Lillard, Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White — setting the stage for a monster comeback story.
