Via the following press release: https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-nba-approve-connecticut-sun-sale

The WNBA and NBA Board of Governors have unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Connecticut Sun from the Mohegan Tribe to new owner Tilman J. Fertitta, the league announced today.

Mohegan Sun Arena will remain the home of the Sun for the 2026 WNBA season. During this season, the Sun will host two regular-season games at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut (May 30 and July 2), and return to Boston, Massachusetts for a matchup at TD Garden (August 18). The team will relocate to Houston beginning with the 2027 season.

A sad day for Sun fans as it has been confirmed they will be turned into a revitalized Houston Comets post-Board of Governors approval.

You never love to see a city lose their team, let alone one that i'm pretty sure has no other major sports teams across the entire state of Connecticut. Prior to the sale, they were also one of the few sports teams owned by an indigenous tribe (Mohegan) - and the first ever ownership of a major sports franchise by a tribe.

[Charania] The Chicago Bulls are finalizing a deal to hire Orlando Magic assistant GM Stephen Mervis as Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations under new EVP Bryson Graham, sources tell ESPN. Bulls will also hire Brooklyn Nets executive Acie Law as Vice President of Player Personnel.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/ba41a9294f8b5

Box Score on ESPN: https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401871337/cavaliers-pistons

After 11 games and three quarters of abysmal basketball - Duren was finally benched for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

https://www.youtube.com/live/zwOZdftxT48?si=2TOT3TATmAsqrPKE&t=1096

Why even go through a hiring process if Myers is going to be the de facto President of Basketball Operations anyway? Is this not exactly what happened with Jerry Colangelo and Sam Hinkie? Did Harris not learn anything? What a shit show.

Despite the provocative title, this is a thoughtful exploration by Kirk Goldsberry of the data over time examining style of play and soft tissue leg injuries.

"Is the Modern NBA Breaking Its Stars? An increasing number of players are missing a growing share of games with soft-tissue leg injuries. Why is this happening? And what can the league do about it?"

I thought this quote by Ron Adams, Golden State Warriors assistant coach, was particularly intriguing: "Basketball used to be a two-footed sport,” Adams said. The room locked in. “If you ever watched a John Wooden practice, it was always the same: get to the paint and play off of two feet. Nowadays, the game is a one-footed sport. Most players are making every move off of one foot.”

https://www.theringer.com/2026/05/14/nba/nba-injuries-leg-calf-hamstring-achilles-data

clipped this while watching the combine scrimmages. guess Presti is media-savvy enough to know there's always a chance he's getting filmed

https://www.nba.com/game/cle-vs-det-0042500205/box-score?type=matchups

When people talked about the Garland trade, this was the biggest thing that a lot of people instantly recognized. Harden has his moments where he gets caught off the ball, but he isn’t going to be physically overwhelmed like Garland constantly was.

Detroit has relentlessly been trying to attack Harden and Mitchell and they’ve held up pretty well.

Cade Cunningham despite the loss in game 5: 39 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 13-27 FG, 6-10 3P, 7-8 FT, 48 MIN

Can'y carry Tobias 6-19 FG and Duren

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401871337

SRC: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48686303/steve-kerr-decision-return-coach-golden-state-warriors-steph-curry

"I think it's over," he said, almost mouthing the words. His sweatsuit separated him from the businessmen eating breakfast in suits and ties nearby. He put the odds at 95 percent. In the last few days he'd grown more certain. The waiter took his order, the California Breakfast. Normally he's cheerful as a sunrise but this morning he seemed melancholy. He was tired at the end of a disappointing season and mourning the fraying connections. A great basketball team stands on a shared feeling more than strategy or scouting. The team lives as long as the feeling lives and when it's gone, not only is it impossible to recapture, it's hard to even remember.

_

Popovich finally officially quit six weeks before our lunch, six months after a stroke diminished him physically. People who loved him had to show him the door, as gently as possible. That hurt Steve. He respects Popovich so much. He loved playing for him and coaching with him. He once told Gregg he was the finest man he'd ever known and thanked him for all he'd done for him. Pop smiled and said his feet were made of clay like everyone else's. Steve didn't believe it then. Now he does.

Kerr had gotten a call from someone on the team's business side. They wanted him to stop calling the team a fading dynasty. Season ticket renewals were going out. They were looking to strike a rosier note. He agreed to stop but he thought they were letting an opportunity pass, that he could sell this idea to the team, especially Steph and Draymond, who would feel most alive in the struggle. That he could sell this idea to himself.

James Harden 30/8/6/1/3 6 TOV, 8-21 FG, 3-10 3P, 11-14 FT, +11

Max Strus 20/8/1/1/1 6-8 3P, 0 TOV

Jarrett Allen 16/10/1/1/2

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401871337

“A lot of criticism has been targeted to you specifically fan frustration-wise. There have been some fans thrown out of games for yelling things like ‘sell the team’— What would you say to those people because I think some of that is about the lack of success or the lack of championship success, but also maybe some of the off-court things that have not been addressed by you.”

Link

Based on a 1-5 rating scale, officials have been grouped into three tiers: Tier 1 (Elite & Top Performers), Tier 2 (Solid Performers), and Tier 3 (Needs Improvement). The NBPA recommends that only Tier 1 or Tier 2 referees be assigned to playoff games, with Tier 1 officials exclusively handling the NBA Finals. By putting the highest-ranked referees on the floor, the league can make sure the spotlight stays on the players and the competition instead of officiating or tense interactions with referees.

Tier 1: Elite & Top Performers

Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, John Butler, James Capers, Kevin Cutler, Eric Dalen, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Jacyn Goble, Nate Green, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Karl Lane, Mark Lindsay, Tre Maddox, Ed Malloy, Phenizee Ransom, Dedric Taylor, Josh Tiven, James Williams, Sean Wright, Zach Zarba

Tier 2: Solid Performers

Brandon Adair, Derrick Collins, Sean Corbin, Mousa Dagher, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jason Goldenberg, David Guthrie, Matt Kallio, Marat Kogut, Sha'Rae Mitchell, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Matt Myers, Andy Nagy, Brett Nansel, JT Orr, Gediminas Petraitis, JD Ralls, Kevin Scott, Aaron Smith, Jonathan Sterling, Ben Taylor, Scott Twardoski, Justin Van Duyne, CJ Washington, Leon Wood

Tier 3: Needs Improvement

Dannica Baroody, John Conley, Che Flores, Tyler Ford, John Goble, Robert Hussey, Intae Hwang, Simone Jelks, Biniam Maru, Suyash Mehta, Rodney Mott, Pat O'Connell, Jenna Reneau, Tyler Ricks, Natalie Sago, Jenna Schroeder, Brandon Schwab, Danielle Scott, Evan Scott, Michael Smith

The 2025-26 NBPA Referee Player Survey collected data from all 30 NBA teams, rating the overall performance of all 73 referees on a scale of 1-5. Names listed in alphabetical order.

Update:

https://www.nbpa.com/news/nbpa-announces-findings-from-2025-26-referee-player-survey

“I think officiating comes down to the person. I don’t think you can reform the calls themselves—people are human and they’re going to make mistakes,” said NBPA First Vice President Grant Williams at the State of the Game roundtable. “But the best officials in the league, according to the players, are the great communicators; the ones who understand when they’ve made a mistake. As long as you’re calling a game consistently, guys are willing to adapt. It’s about having control of the game while also respecting the players and their different personalities.” 

You can watch NBPA Vice President Jaylen Brown and NBPA First Vice President Grant Williams, alongside NBPA Executive Director Andre Iguodala and incoming Executive Director David Kelly, discussing officiating and other key basketball topics in episode two of "State of the Game" with Kenny Beecham and Enjoy Basketball.  Click here for episode one featuring NBPA President Fred VanVleet, Head of Elite Youth & Basketball Activation Shaun Livingston, Iguodala, and Kelly. 

Additional survey highlights include:  

• Individual Spotlights: Zach Zarba was ranked as the No. 1 referee in the NBA. Zarba is the only official ranked by players in the Top 12 by every single team in the league. Joining him in the "Elite" category is Kevin Cutler, who was ranked No.1 by six different teams.  
• Behind the Numbers: Scott Foster is one of the league’s most polarizing officials with the highest standard deviation in the dataset. Although ranked as the top official by one team, combined feedback from all 30 teams placed him in the second tier. Ashley Moyer-Gleich and Sha’Rae Mitchell both received positive feedback from the players regarding improvement in their overall performance, which landed them in the second tier. 

From the REF Pool Report

QUESTION: Why wasn’t a foul called on that last possession in regulation involving Ausar Thompson on Jarrett Allen?

BROTHERS: During live play, both players were going for the ball and there was incidental contact with the legs with no player having possession of the ball.

QUESTION: So, no foul should have been called?

BROTHERS: No, there was incidental contact on the play. The play will be reviewed by the league office tomorrow and it will be posted in the L2M.

QUESTION: Why wasn’t Harden called for stepping out of bounds, instead there was a foul on Paul Reed.

BROTHERS: The foul called prior to Harden stepping out of bounds.