Basketball Intelligence For 2/26/25
Diana Taurasi ends a career of immense achievement, the Sixers aren't the league's biggest disappointment, Luka doles out his first dose of revenge, and more...
DIANA TAURASI RETIRES
WNBA legend Diana Taurasi announces retirement after unmatched basketball career
Adam Gretz, Yardbarker
Diana Taurasi, WNBA's all-time leading scorer, announces retirement
Michael Voepel, ESPN
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Diana Taurasi says goodbye to the game she helped grow
Chantel Jennings, The Athletic
“Her retirement may seem like even more of a blow because it comes on the heels of so many other WNBA greats who have left the floor for the last time in recent seasons — Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker. Now add Taurasi to that list. The league is turning over to a new generation that’s running a path paved by the greats, like Taurasi. Like others who have helped build legacies and dynasties, these retired stars won’t get to be a part of some of the fruits of their labor as the game continues to reach new heights.”
Mercury star Diana Taurasi announces retirement after iconic, 20-year WNBA career
Ben Pickman, The Athletic
Diana Taurasi, WNBA's all-time leading scorer, retires after 20 years in the league
Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News
Diana Taurasi retires from Mercury after 20 seasons as WNBA's all-time leading scorer
Jason Owes, Yahoo! Sports
LEAGUEWIDE
Is there any precedent for this disastrous Sixers season?
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball
Amazingly, there’s another team this season on track to do even worse in the New Orleans Pelicans, who are working on the third-worst plus-minus among those aforementioned 775 teams. (There are some extenuating circumstances with the massive, 2024-Grizzlies-esque volume of injuries there.)
Among the 20 worst teams in plus-minus, though, only two of them — the 2006 Rockets and the 2022 Lakers — were projected for more wins coming into the season than were these Sixers. And those teams underperformed their preseason over-unders by 19 and 19.5 wins, respectively. The 2008 Bulls had the same projection of 50.5 wins, and they underperformed by 17.5 wins. So, among the teams expected to win 50-plus games, this group appears to be the most disappointing.
NBA News and Rumor Roundup 2/26/2025
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops
The 7 Best NBA Players You've Never Heard Of
Jeremias Engelmann, 5x5
10 NBA Storylines to Watch Before Final Stretch
Eric Pincus, Bleacher Report
It's All About How You Start
Owen Phillips The F5
NBA Power Rankings: Where all 30 teams stand entering the regular season's stretch run
Ben Rohrbach, Yahoo! Sports
The Sixers Are the NBA’s Loudest Circus — But the Pelicans Are the Real Sideshow
Neil Paine, Neils’ Substack
The Rundown
Aaron Bollwinkel, Live. Breathe. Ball.
The real stress test for this new Lakers defense is going to come in the playoffs, when the game slows down and interior play becomes more important, as the battle for extra possessions can be the difference-maker in a series. Right now, Los Angeles is relying heavily on the likes of Jaxson Hayes and Alex Len—players who you’re fine with being innings eaters during the season but feel like potential problems when the games get important. Whether this is sustainable feels unlikely, but for a group that should have little problem producing offense, if this new Lakers defense can prove to be legitimate for the long run, it’s not just the addition of Luka that should have the LA faithful in their typically overly-optimistic lather.
Why Luka Dončić’s first game against Mavericks was only the beginning of NBA’s new rivalry
Zach Harper, The Athletic
Who are the longest-tenured coaches in NBA history?
Alex Kennedy, ESPN
NBA Power Rankings: Most important stretch for all 30 teams
NBA Insiders, ESPN
TEAM NEWS
ATL: Dyson Daniels pushing all-time defender status in first year with Hawks
Ben Grunert, Soaring Down South
ATL: Time is fleeting for Hawks to make use of Trae Young’s brilliant season
Ken Suguira, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATL: Collective experience on Hawks bench making it easier to get on same page
Lauren Willaims, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This season, the Hawks rank third in the NBA behind the Grizzlies and Warriors in bench points per game. With the addition of LeVert, Mann and Georges Niang, as well as the shifting Clint Capela from the starting unit, the Hawks still have a top-five second unit that has averaged 44.6 points per game in seven games.
BOS: Jrue Holiday is starting to rev his engine
Jacob Issenberg, Celtics Blog
BOS: ‘We wanted this one:’ Short on players but big on revenge, Celtics hold off Raptors in win
Gary Washburn, The Boston Globe
BOS: Game Report: Celtics 111, Raptors 101 - Severely shorthanded C's hold off Toronto for sixth straight win
John Karalis, Boston Sports Journal
CHI: Can Matas Buzelis win ROY?
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
DAL: Luka Doncic reminds Mavericks of his generational talent in statement win over old team
Mike Curtis, The Dallas Morning News
DAL: Luka Dončić shows Mavericks why decision to trade him could age horribly
Sam Amick, The Athletic
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