David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 19

The Dallas Mavericks have gotten off to an 0-2 start to the 2025-26 NBA season, and chatter in the NBA world has centered around Anthony Davis and his conditioning. Davis underwent eye surgery in the offseason, requiring him to wear protective eyewear for the rest of his career. As the regular season has tipped-off, Davis […]

LOS ANGELES – The last time the Los Angeles Lakers squared off against the Minnesota Timberwolves, it was during last season’s playoffs when the Lakers were eliminated in five games. It was a disappointing end of the Lakers who had grabbed a top-three seed in the Western Conference. But following the Lakers’ 128-110 win on […]

LOS ANGELES – For any basketball player, no matter what level, one of the absolute most important keys to success is playing hard. But in actuality, what does playing really mean? What does playing hard actually look like when it’s manifested on the court? For Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick, he is of […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers will face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in a rematch of last season’s opening round playoff series. During that series, Lakers head coach JJ Redick ultimately benched starting center Jaxson Hayes, and the team will be without Hayes for the rematch as he was ruled out […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers welcome a familiar face on Friday in the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season. One of the Lakers’ major issues during that series was their lack of a true defensive option on Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, but they believe they may have […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have opened the 2025-26 season in thrilling fashion with consecutive double overtime games, first against the Houston Rockets and then against the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder have been led by franchise player and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is on the verge of surpassing Russell Westbrook’s franchise record after his offensive […]

Opening week of the 2025-26 season continued on Thursday with an NBA Finals rematch between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite several key players on both teams sidelined due to injury, the game did live up to the hype. The Pacers managed to send the game into overtime as All-Star big man Pascal […]

When it comes to the college basketball recruiting race, the Texas A&M Aggies and head coach Bucky McMillan landed a major recruit on Thursday with the commitment of big man Josh Irving from the class of 2026, as per Brandon Jenkins of 247 Sports. The Aggies beat out other top Division 1 programs in Louisville […]

When the Sacramento Kings opened up the 2025-26 season on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns, they were without their All-Star big man in Domantas Sabonis who has been dealing with a hamstring injury. But as the Kings prepare to face off against the Utah Jazz on Friday for their second game of the season, they […]

Since Michael Malone was fired as head coach of the Denver Nuggets last season, he has yet to resurface in any NBA coaching capacity. While Malone was mentioned as a potential candidate for the New York Knicks’ once vacant head coaching job, nothing really ever materialized there. During a segment of ‘Inside The NBA’ ahead […]

LOS ANGELES – Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors on opening night, concerns weren’t just about the team’s play, but also their potential injury issues moving forward. Both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sustained minor injures during the game, and following practice on Thursday, Lakers head coach JJ Redick […]

LOS ANGELES – During the preseason, the Los Angeles Lakers had their full lineup, minus LeBron James, for all of one games, and that was the final preseason game of their schedule. With a full slate of six preseason games this season, the Lakers had key players in and out of the lineup. During the […]

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-109, to start the 2025-26 NBA season at 1-0. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr opted to go with Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga in the starting lineup, alongside Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. Following the game, Kerr hinted at a potential starting lineup change […]

The Utah Jazz began the 2025-26 season in impressive fashion, building a 20+ point lead over the LA Clippers in the first half of their game. Aside from Wednesday being the Jazz’s first game of the season, it was also Ace Bailey’s first game of his NBA career, during which he got his first bucket […]

The Philadelphia 76ers got the 2025-26 season underway on Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics, and star guard Tyrese Maxey was already in midseason form following an offensive explosion in the first half of the game. Tyrese Maxey poured in 22 points in the first half of the 76ers’ season opener against the Celtics, while […]

With the 2025-26 NBA season officially getting underway this week, one of the more intriguing matchups was between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite a recent rash of injuries, the Grizzlies did have star point guard Ja Morant in the lineup against the Pelicans, and he wowed fans with a step-back jumper […]

The Washington Wizards begin the 2025-26 season on Wednesday night on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks, and it’s an emotional game in that it will be Khris Middleton’s first game back in Milwaukee as an opponent. Prior to the game, when Middleton arrived at the arena, he was greeted by an old friend in […]

The Los Angeles Lakers dropped their season opener, 119-109, at home against the Golden State Warriors, a game in which LeBron James did not play. James is currently dealing with a nerve injury and is expect to be out at least four weeks. Lakers head coach JJ Redick admitted there were times during the game […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers opened up the 2025-26 NBA season against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, there was a major, 6 feet 9 inch hole in the lineup with LeBron James having been ruled out for at least four weeks due to a nerve injury. Without James, the Lakers […]

LOS ANGELES – Before the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2025-26 season got underway on Tuesday, the team was dealt an injury blow. It was announced that reserve big man Maxi Kleber had suffered an oblique injury and would be sidelined for at least the next two weeks. Maxi Kleber joined the Lakers as part of the […]

LOS ANGELES – Although LeBron James will be sidelined for the Los Angeles Lakers’ opening night game against the Golden State Warriors, the game will still have plenty of star power with Luka Doncic on one side and Stephen Curry on the other. While Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry probably won’t be guarding each other […]

When the Los Angeles Lakers tip-off the 2025-26 NBA season, they will be without LeBron James as he recovers from a nerve injury. With James sidelined possibly until mid-November, the first few weeks of the Lakers’ season are going to be Luka Doncic’s time to shine. Ahead of the start of the Lakers’ season, we’ll […]

With NBA teams in the process of finalizing their rosters for the 2025-26 season opener, the Milwaukee Bucks were one of the teams with important decisions to make regarding some of their recent draft picks. Needing to get down to 15 standard contracts, the Bucks opted to keep Andre Jackson Jr. and Amir Coffey, and […]

The start of the NBA regular season is an important time for many players as it is also a deadline for contract extensions. With the 2025-26 season set to tip-off on Tuesday night, the day before was the deadline for many players from the 2022 draft class, and some notable players did not receive a […]

The Memphis Grizzlies have had an unfortunate stretch of bad luck when it comes to injury issues over the past few seasons. The Grizzlies were dealt another blow on Monday before the start of the regular season when it was announced by the team that Ty Jerome suffered a calf injury and would be reevaluated […]

LOS ANGELES – Every season, NBA teams invite multiple players to training camp and preseason, players that have absolutely no shot at making the team’s final regular season roster. But what the general public might not see is the behind the scenes work that those players put in on a daily basis. For Los Angeles […]

The Louisville Cardinals and head coach Pat Kelsey have landed a surprising recruit for the 2026-27 season former G League guard London Johnson, as per Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68. The commitment is the second such move of this offseason as earlier this month Santa Clara received a commitment from Thierry Darlan who […]

When the Illinois Fighting Illini open up the 2025-26 season, they will an intriguing newcomer on their roster in big man Zvonimir Ivisic. Ivisic committed to Illinois after entering the transfer portal following last season, and he’s one of the more skilled centers in the Big Ten. But there was one major change that Zvonimir […]

When the Minnesota Timberwolves tip-off the 2025-26 season, they will have one of the brightest young stars in the NBA on their side in Anthony Edwards. But as the three-time All-Star enters his sixth season in the league, one thing that still eludes him is an NBA Finals appearance. An NBA Finals appearance has also […]

LOS ANGELES – During the Los Angeles Lakers’ 117-116 loss to the Sacramento Kings during their final preseason game, reserve big man Jaxson Hayes exited early after he suffered a wrist injury. After the game, Lakers coach JJ Redick revealed that X-rays came back negative but that he wouldn’t have a definitive update until practice […]

When it comes to developing as a big man in basketball, there is one former NBA star whom players seem to flock to in Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon is considered one of the best players of all-time, and one of the most skilled centers ever. San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was among the latest to […]

The Portland Trail Blazers had a busy weekend leading up to the 2025-26 season opener. They locked in a couple of key members of their core on contract extensions with Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Carmara. NBA teams had a deadline this weekend to cut down their rosters to the league mandated maximum, and teams also […]

The Portland Trail Blazers made it a priority to lock in key pieces of their core before the start of the regular season, beginning with a contract extension for defensive star Toumani Camara. The Trail Blazers continued to lock in their roster, agreeing to a contract extension with Shaedon Sharpe on Sunday, as per Shams […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers reconvened from the offseason earlier this month, it was the first time that Luka Doncic would have a full training camp and preseason with the team. Doncic was acquired by the Lakers in the now infamous trade ahead of last season’s deadline, and he had to acquiesce […]

There’s a reason why San Antonio Spurs’ rising star Victor Wembanyama has the nickname of ‘The Alien.’ Since his rookie season in 2023-24, Wembanyama has left fans, media and even fellow players speechless with his seemingly inhuman feats on the court. Victor Wembanyama was at it again during a recent Spurs’ preseason game when he […]

On paper, the Dallas Mavericks would appear to have a contending roster in the Western Conference. With the arrival of No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, it’s almost enough to erase the bad taste left by the Luka Doncic trade last season. But Mavericks fans are going to have to wait to see their team […]

The Chicago Bulls come into the 2025-26 NBA season as a team hoping to finally have some direction after a few years of not being good enough to be anything more than a play-in team, but not bad enough to kick start a rebuild with a high enough draft pick. But as they begin the season, […]

The Memphis Grizzlies have had unfortunate injury luck over the past couple of seasons, and it appears as if that brutal streak has carried over into the start of the 2025-26 NBA season. The Grizzlies are already without starting point guard Ja Morant due to an ankle injury, and on Saturday the team announced that […]

With the start of the 2025-26 NBA season set to tip-off on Tuesday, many teams are in the process of trimming their training camp rosters to get down the maximum of 15 standard roster spots and three two-way contract spots. Some roster cuts have been a little surprising, while others, such as the Los Angeles […]