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On this date in 1975, Bob McAdoo won the MVP award. In the previous season (his second in the NBA), he finished second in MVP voting to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. McAdoo averaged 34.5 points in the 1974-75 campaign to lead the Buffalo Braves to a 49-33 record. His 2,831 points are the eighth-most points ever scored in a season. Only Wilt Chamberlain (four times), Michael Jordan (twice) and Kobe Bryant have scored more in a season.
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Gearing up
West’s top four teams are on fire
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “You want to be playing your best basketball as you enter the playoffs.” Actually, it might have been a basketball coach. Napoleon died 76 years before basketball was invented. But the message is true regardless of who said it. Flipping the proverbial switch is a dangerous game when it comes to success in the playoffs.
In the Western Conference, the top four teams are currently on fire. The Thunder have lost once in their last 16 games. The Spurs are on another double-digit win streak and have barely lost in two months. The Lakers keep racking up wins as they secure the No. 3 seed in the West. And the Nuggets are back to their winning ways. All four of these teams are surging right now, and we may even have to hold space for the Timberwolves and Rockets if they get back to their potential.
How important is it to be hitting your peak two weeks before the playoffs begin? While it’s not a prerequisite for winning a title, the last two champions were on fire as they entered the playoffs. The Celtics won 27 of their last 33 games in 2024 before rolling through the postseason with a 16-3 record. Last year, the Thunder won 22 of their final 25 games, winning by historic margins before finding their way to the trophy.
Let’s examine the top four West teams and how much this collective stretch might set them up for a title run.
Thunder: 15-1 with a +9.6 net rating in the last 16 games.
16th in offense (eighth on the season), first in defense (first on the season) during stretch.
Record versus top 10: 7-1 | Record versus middle 10: 3-0 | Record versus bottom 10: 5-0
Oklahoma City is still trying to get healthy, and more specifically, get Jalen Williams back to the level of player we saw last season when he was All-NBA and All-Defense. The Thunder offense being mediocre during this stretch is interesting, because it shows they have another gear to still hit. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defense are carrying OKC. And the Thunder are doing this against a good cross-section of good versus not good teams. The Thunder look the most poised for a title run when you factor in their championship experience from a year ago. Title threat level: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Spurs: 26-2 with a +14.4 net rating in the last 28 games
First in offense (fourth on the season), second in defense (third on the season) during stretch.
Record versus top 10: 6-2 | Record versus middle 10: 11-0 | Record versus bottom 10: 9-0
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Of the four teams, this is the longest current stretch of dominance by far. San Antonio has been playing like this for two months, although you can see the schedule has been quite favorable. The Spurs’ two losses came via blowout against the Knicks and the Nuggets squeaking one out. This level of offense is fueled by Victor Wembanyama playing absurd basketball, and everybody around him is attacking at a super high level. They’re playing so well that it’s getting easier to ignore their lack of playoff experience. Title threat level: 🏆🏆🏆
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Lakers: 16-2 with a +10.2 net rating the last 18 games
Fourth in offense (seventh on the season), ninth in defense (20th on the season) during stretch.
Record versus top 10: 5-2 | Record versus middle 10: 3-0 | Record versus bottom 10: 8-0
I’m much more interested in the defensive execution during this stretch for the Lakers than I am in everything else. That’s still their biggest question going into the postseason. Can they actually defend? It looks great right now, but they’ve also played a pretty easy schedule during these 18 games. The losses were to Denver and Detroit, so no shame there. Maybe Luka Dončić has become so dominant that the defensive questions won’t need big answers. L.A. plays the Thunder tonight. Title threat level: 🏆🏆🏆
Nuggets: 10-2 with a +10.6 net rating the last 12 games
Second in offense (first on the season), ninth in defense (21st on the season) during stretch.
Record versus top 10: 2-1 | Record versus middle 10: 4-0 | Record versus bottom 10: 4-1
It’s the shortest stretch of the four teams, but this is coming at a very necessary part of the season. The Nuggets are starting to get healthy, as they pray Aaron Gordon’s hamstring stays intact. Denver had a confusing loss to Memphis and a fun loss to the Lakers. It’s one of the few teams to take down San Antonio the last two months. If this team gets healthy, then the defensive performance becomes more believable as sustainable. We know the Nuggets can score but they need to defend and that only happens with Gordon and Peyton Watson healthy. Title threat level: 🏆🏆🏆🏆
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The last 24
👀 Game recognize game. Cue the Spider-Man pointing meme. Wembanyama is changing the game like Steph Curry once did, and Curry talks about what he sees in Wemby in this exclusive interview with our Jared Weiss.
🏀 He’s back. Speaking of Curry, he could return from his knee injury on Sunday, and he brought back his famous pregame warmup show last night. We shouldn’t even debate whether he should have shut it down for the season, Sam Amick writes.
🌍 Big money. NBA Europe has received a lot of bids for teams. Including $1 billion offers!
☀️ H(ire) to the Izzo? Michigan State legend Tom Izzo was approached for the Suns job last offseason. He nearly took the position.
🏀 Ivey’s fall. Jaden Ivey was recently waived following his controversial comments. He wasn’t always like this.
👩🍳 Good eats. What’s a secret to the Cavaliers’ success? They go all out when it comes to feeding players — and their familes.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
About last night
Tatum messed around and got a …
Celtics 147, Heat 129: Jaylen Brown poured in 43 points and Jayson Tatum had a triple-double with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists. Both teams combined for 45 made 3-pointers with the Heat knocking down 24. But Miami could not stop the Celtics from making 58 percent of their shots. The Heat (40-37) fell to 10th in the East.
Hawks 130, Magic 102: Nickeil Alexander-Walker continues his Most Improved Player campaign with 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting, and Jalen Johnson added 18 points, 14 boards and eight assists. The Magic shot 19 percent from three and had 18 turnovers in the game. Atlanta (44-33) is now a full game up for the No. 5 seed.
Spurs 127, Warriors 113: The Warriors had nine players available last night, and six of them were undrafted. The Spurs did not take mercy on them. Wemby became the fourth fastest to get a 20-point, 10-rebound game. He had it in 12 minutes and 55 seconds. He finished with 41 points and 18 rebounds with three dimes and three blocks.
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Let’s head to the Dunk Tank!
- 76ers 153, Wizards 131: Paul George had 39 points in 30 minutes, Tyrese Maxey put up 28 points and nine assists and VJ Edgecombe had 23 points and 10 assists. Tank score for Washington is 9/10.
- Knicks 130, Grizzlies 119: The Grizzlies made it a little interesting after a 48-30 first quarter for the Knicks, but Karl-Anthony Towns’ 20-11-11 performance without Jalen Brunson brought the win. Tank score for Memphis is 7/10.
- 🚨🚨HORRIBLE LOSS ALERT — Kings 123, Raptors 115: Precious Achiuwa had 28 and 19 against his former team, and the Raptors dropped into the Play-In Tournament for now. Tank score for Sacramento is 0/10.🚨🚨
- Pacers 145, Bulls 126: The Bulls turned it over 20 times for 32 points, and Pascal Siakam had 25 as the Pacers dominated. Just their sixth double-digit win. Tank score for Chicago is 10/10. Tank score for Indiana is 1/10.
- Rockets 119, Bucks 113: Ousmane Dieng had 36 points and 10 assists, but Reed Sheppard’s 27 and Alperen Şengün’s 25 were too much for the Bucks. Tank score for Milwaukee is 4/10.
- Nuggets 130, Jazz 117: Nikola Jokić had 15-17-12, and Jamal Murray went for 37. Tank score for Utah is 7/10
Just for kicks
How to choose the shoes for hooping
One of the absolute best reporters in the basketball world is The Athletic’s James Edwards III. Not only is he so good at tapping in with the team he’s covering (previously: Pistons; currently: Knicks), but he also finds great stories to make you think about aspects of the game you might have never truly considered. He did that this week with a story on the sneakers players wear during games.
This isn’t like most of us grabbing one or two pairs of shoes we’ll hoop in, and then just wearing them until the tread on the sole is gone or they’re too flimsy to support your ankles. Well, apparently that’s the case for Jarrett Allen; the Cavaliers’ big man will only play in a certain Kyrie Irving shoe from Nike. Some players grab a new pair almost every game, and some will stick with a pair until a winning streak is over. It’s such a fascinating look into how basic equipment needs meet superstition — or just personal preference.
This story spoke to me on so many levels. I’m shoe-obsessive. And there are only a few shoes I would play in over the years. For years, I would only play in Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2k4s, and when they re-released them earlier this year in the exact colorway I loved (red, white and blue), a big wave of nostalgia hit me. I wore out a few pairs until I eventually moved on to the Kyrie 1 Australian colorway. I eventually tried moving to the Kyrie 3, but they never grabbed me the way the 1s did.
Basketball shoes for fashion are always different, and I’ve certainly committed to a lot of different styles and colorways. It’s a billion-dollar industry for many reasons, but separating the fashion from the hooping is so different when it comes to basketball shoes. I’ll always hunt out new pairs of the shoes I love on secondary markets or hope for re-releases. But it was cool for JE3 to give us a perfect glimpse into how NBA players go through their process of selection. Again, make sure to read his story.