Aces, Victor Wembanyama play bully ball. Plus, previewing the Spurs and Sixers

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On this date in 1993, Michael Jordan retired from basketball for the first of three times. This was following three straight championships. He went on to play minor league baseball with the Chicago White Sox before eventually coming back for three more championships. Also on this date, my sister was born. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t read this, but I urge her to subscribe! If she doesn’t, I will reveal her age one year from today!

What A Weekend

Aces get historic, and Wemby plays the bully

After a disastrous, 10-point second quarter, the Phoenix Mercury were only down nine points heading into the second half of Game 2 of the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces. Steal one in Sin City, and the Mercury would be looking great going back home in search of their first title since 2014. The Mercury had a lot of time to put pressure on the Aces.

The Aces were in a similar position deep into the third quarter in Game 1 when they were down nine points. Their defense clamped down, and Dana Evans knocked down three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to take back Game 1 to maintain homecourt advantage with a 89-86 win. Going into the second half of Game 2, the Aces knew just how quickly momentum could switch in this series based on their own Game 1 comeback.

Aces guard Jackie Young wasn’t about to let that happen. She set a WNBA Finals record with 21 points in the third quarter, just one shy of tying the playoff record. She helped balloon the lead to 83-61 before the Aces settled into a 91-78 victory to take a 2-0 series lead. I guess you could say the Aces were able to put the Mercury in retrograde. Please keep reading and don’t unsubscribe.

The Mercury now have to win four of the next five games to win the title. They looked so good against the Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals, and the Aces looked so vulnerable in their two series wins to get to the finals. But they’ve seemed to settle in. Young finished with 32 points, and A’ja Wilson had 28 points, 14 boards, and three assists.

Elsewhere this weekend …

Look at Wemby be physical and mean!

Speaking of big performances, Victor Wembanyama somehow became a star of the basketball weekend, despite the San Antonio Spurs not playing a preseason game. How did that happen? Wemby had a big moment in an intrasquad scrimmage for the fans. You’re probably thinking, “Z-Money, why are we just blowing scrimmage plays out of proportion? Is the algorithm that desperate?”

1) Your instinct is correct. Nobody calls me that. 2) Yes, the algorithm is always that desperate, if not more. 3) Just watch what he does to Luke Kornet on this transition play and then make up your own mind.

Bonsoir! It is a meaningless play in a meaningless scrimmage. Maybe Kornet gave way because he doesn’t want to hurt the franchise guy. But Wemby is 1) noticeably stronger in general and 2) looking much more physical with the mean streak you wouldn’t expect him to learn from a summer trip with the monks. Finishing with the Shaquille O’Neal leg kick on the dunk is fun!

Zion Williamson looks explosive! 

Speaking of meaningless preseason opponents, the New Orleans Pelicans are playing preseason basketball in Melbourne, Australia! We’re not going to focus on Zion Williamson doing stuff against the Melbourne United squad. That’s not an NBA team. What we can focus on is how quick and explosive Zion looks with his new slimmed-down physique.

Check out these five buckets that were clipped for social media, and it’s fun to get a little excited about what a healthy Zion could be this season! Those were his only five buckets in 16 minutes of action. He finished with 15 points and five assists.

Speaking of jumping: VJ Edgecombe! 

The Philadelphia 76ers had a lot of options with prospects and/or trades with the third pick in the draft. They explored their options but pretty easily selected VJ Edgecombe out of Baylor. The explosive off-guard has so much potential, and he could be a massive piece for this team for a very long time. As the Sixers played the New York Knicks in the NBA’s embracing of Abu Dhabi, we got a moment with VJ showing OG Anunoby what he can do.

VJ is short for Very Jumpy! Actually, I’m being told his name is Valdez Edgecombe Jr., so that’s not true. OG quickly made a business decision in the air to get out of the frame as fast as he could.

Clickbait update: Bronny James struggled 

Were you on social media this weekend? If your answer is no, then kudos to you. That’s the move. If your answer is yes, then you probably saw as many aggregation accounts as possible mention that Bronny James struggled in his preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. He had eight points, five rebounds, and two assists in 24 minutes, but he was 1-of-12 shooting the ball. He commented after he didn’t have his legs under him. Here’s Law Murray with five observations from the game.

The Last 24

Giannis back with the Bucks after illness

🦌 He’s back! Giannis Antetokounmpo is back after a bout with COVID-19. Time to go to work. 

🏀 Great depth. The Clippers have a very good problem, for once. Figuring out an 11-man rotation. 

🖼️ Get it framed! A Warriors rookie was excited to take a picture with teammate Steph Curry. 🎵Look at this photograph!🎵

🏀 “I’m here now.” That was Jonathan Kuminga regarding his new Warriors contract. Well, that’s encouraging? 

🏀 The Thunder are almost too young to drink. But will they have a potential NBA title hangover?

🗃️ Topps is back! The NBA license for trading cards is back with Topps. They’ve announced their new set.

Spurs renaissance

2025-26 Season Preview: Are Spurs ready for primetime?

As you may remember from last week, we started previewing all 30 teams for the upcoming 2025-26 season in reverse order. Just to bring you up to speed if you don’t remember or didn’t see it, here’s where we are in the West so far:

15. Utah Jazz

14. New Orleans Pelicans

13. Phoenix Suns

12. Sacramento Kings

11. Portland Trail Blazers

Some of these are separated by maybe a game or two, as the West is usually packed tighter than one of those rolled-up mattresses you buy online. We continue our previewing this week with maybe the most intriguing team in the league — the aforementioned Spurs. Once they won the 2023 Draft Lottery, we knew Wembanyama would have them at the forefront of NBA discussions. He’s been cleared of the deep vein thrombosis he suffered last season, and the Spurs drafted Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick after more lottery fortune. Are we going to start to see all of this potential realized this season? Let’s dive in!

Drama Meter: The only real drama for this team surrounds the health of Wemby. By all accounts, he’s good to go, but blood clot issues are always going to provide concern in the aftermath. There shouldn’t be any drama with the roster outside of that.

Hot Seat Meter: After Gregg Popovich had to step down due to health reasons, it didn’t take long for the Spurs to elevate Mitch Johnson from interim to full-time head coach. No need to take the temperature of his seat.

Offseason question: We only saw five games with De’Aaron Fox and Wemby together post-trade before Wemby’s season ended. They grabbed Kornet and Kelly Olynyk in the offseason to provide help inside, so the veterans are solid. A healthy Spurs team should be in the Play-In Tournament.

2026 free agents: Harrison Barnes | Kelly Olynyk | Jeremy Sochan (Restricted) | Lindy Waters III | Jordan McLaughlin

We could see Sochan get an extension this month to avoid restricted free agency. I’d be shocked if Barnes or Olynyk are moved by the trade deadline. Despite the Fox trade last season, we typically don’t see the Spurs make in-season trades.

Expectation for this season: This team should absolutely be in the Play-In Tournament and have a great shot to win a playoff seed. There is still a lot of youth on the roster with Stephon Castle and Harper (and their wings), but the Spurs have a lot they can do here. Only a Wemby injury would keep the Spurs from being in the mix.

Need a cheat code

2025-26 Season Preview: 76ers hinging on health again

Another preseason, which means another conversation wondering what the Philadelphia 76ers can be if they’re healthy and wondering whether or not they’ll be healthy. What’s the definition of insanity again? Before we jump into that, let’s update you on the reverse rankings of the East so far in our preview venture:

15. Washington Wizards

14. Brooklyn Nets

13. Charlotte Hornets

12. Toronto Raptors

11. Chicago Bulls

And that puts the 76ers in our last Play-In Tournament spot in the preview process. Why? Because I have no idea what to do with the Sixers. They missed so many games last year (Joel Embiid 63, Tyrese Maxey 30, Paul George 41, Jared McCain 59, etc.), they can’t possibly do that again, right? As with every Sixers season since 2014, this season will go as the health of Joel Embiid goes. And so many of us are just hoping he can stay on the court and be the MVP-level player we know him to be.

Drama Meter: They signed Paul George in the summer of 2024, and hopes were high. Then disaster struck across this roster. Drama is going to be high with the Sixers until they remain healthy and show us what they can do, or they decide to blow it up and go another direction. “It is what it is” should be on the Sixers’ media guide every year.

Hot Seat Meter: Usually when a team keeps failing to realize their expectations, the coach is the first one to take the fall. Even if injuries are the reason for it. It makes me wonder if Nick Nurse, who’s 71-93 in Philly, can survive another bad season when Daryl Morey needs someone to blame.

Offseason question: I wish I had a positive answer to that question about their health. We’ve had a lot of these discussions and will continue to until Philly proves we shouldn’t.

2026 free agents: Quentin Grimes | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Andre Drummond | Kyle Lowry | Eric Gordon

Grimes is the interesting one in the future free agent group. He decided to sign the qualifying offer after a killer finish to the season. He’ll be unrestricted next summer, and he could be playing for upwards of $20 million annually.

Expectation for this season: They’re low, and they should be low. That doesn’t say anything about the accumulation of talent on this roster. If they’re healthy for most of the season and postseason, I think they could make a deep run in the East. I just don’t know how you expect that.

(Photo: Ian Maule / Getty Images)

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