David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 3

After pulling off a blockbuster trade to acquire Kevin Durant, the Houston Rockets had vaulted themselves into potential contender status. Those hopes and notions took a major hit this week with the announcement that starting point guard Fred VanVleet suffered an ACL injury, in all likelihood ending his season prematurely. What is a positive for […]

The Sacramento Kings are one of those teams that’s seemingly stuck in ‘no-man’s land.’ That is, a team that is not bad enough to get a high draft pick and accelerate a rebuild, but not good enough to be a threat in the playoffs. With the Western Conference shaping up to be as tough as […]

When it comes to WNBA free agency, a lot of players have cited facilities as being one of the biggest concerns in terms of making their free agent decisions. As a result, WNBA teams have been quick with announcements regarding team-specific practice facilities. In the case of the expansion team Portland Fire, they will share […]

With NBA media days already jumping off and training camps set to open at the end of the month, the Philadelphia 76ers took the opportunity to announce they would bring back an old jersey design for the 2025-26 season. Among the promo images for the 76ers’ announcement was a photo of second-year guard Jared McCain […]

When Hakeem Olajuwon roamed the court, the Houston Cougars were a powerhouse making it to three straight Final Fours and three national championship game appearances. So it would make sense that Houston would recruit Hakeem Olajuwon’s son, Aziz. But Aziz Olajuwon turned down the Cougars in favor of Stanford this weekend, as per Joe Tipton […]

Following a tumultuous 2024-25 season in which the Dallas Mavericks were heavily criticized, to put it mildly, over the shocking Luka Doncic trade, the team is ready to compete off the heels of drafting Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick. With NBA training camps set to open at the end of the month, […]

Houston Rockets rising star big man Alperen Sengun had a coming out party this summer at EuroBasket for Turkey. Turkey ended up in the gold medal game, and to get there they had to beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece in the EuroBasket Semifinals. The Milwaukee Bucks star struggled in that game being guarded by Ercan […]

It must be the dull days of the NBA offseason when hypotheticals start making headlines. One debate that has seemingly garnered steam on social media is whether or not former NBA star Tracy McGrady would have NBA titles playing alongside a prime Shaq like the late Kobe Bryant did. A few months ago, Tracy McGrady […]

Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson made WNBA history on Sunday becoming the only player to have won the MVP Award four times. Wilson was presented with the award ahead of the Aces Game 1 matchup of the WNBA Semifinals against the Indiana Fever. During the presentation, Aces head coach Becky Hammon had a special […]

The underdog Indiana Fever kept on rolling on Sunday following their 89-73 takedown of the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals. Although the Fever are without star guard Caitlin Clark due to injury, Clark has been very vocal on social media during the team’s playoff run. Clark continued her social media […]

The Washington Wizards have assembled an intriguing mix of young players with potential for the 2025-26 season. With two-way contracts, NBA teams are able to keep tabs on young players they are interested in without having to use a standard roster spot. The Wizards made such a roster move this weekend with the late offseason […]

The results of the WNBA’s MVP voting were released this weekend, and Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson made history becoming the first player to win the award four times. The complete results of the voting were revealed by Meghan L. Hall of USA Today Sports, and one of the most surprising MVP votes was […]

When the 2025-26 season officially opens later next month, the Washington Wizards will be chuck-full of young prospects as they continue to navigate a rebuild. The Wizards are not going to be contending for anything anytime soon, but they have managed to assemble an intriguing group of prospects. Playing time is going to be crucial […]

When the 2025-26 season officially opens later next month, the New Orleans Pelicans are a team looking to turn things around and compete in the Western Conference. Going back to last season’s trade deadline, the Pelicans made a couple of trades to shake up their core in trading Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors and […]

With the 2025 WNBA season in the books for the Dallas Wings, there is no question that Paige Bueckers is their franchise player for now and the foreseeable future. It’s not just on the court, but off the court as well as the star guard has amassed quite a following. Fresh off winning the Rookie […]

When the 2025-26 season officially opens later next month, the Toronto Raptors are hoping to be among the teams vying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have not made the playoffs since the 2021-22 season, but with a few teams in the East taking a step back, they could be the […]

With NBA training camps set to open at the end of the month, the Jonathan Kuminga free agency drama threatens to drag into that for the Golden State Warriors. At the forefront of the negotiations is Kuminga’s request for a player option in a new contract, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. Another potential […]

Following four seasons under Ben Johnson, the Minnesota Gophers opted to go in a different direction, parting ways with Johnson and hiring Niko Medved as head coach. With the 2025-26 season not even underway yet, Medved still got to the recruiting trail already landing two recruits for the 2026-27 season. Minnesota added a third recruit […]

Following the Achilles injury to Jayson Tatum during the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, the Boston Celtics pivoted their focus for this upcoming season. They traded high-priced veterans such as Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, while taking fliers on younger talent like Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott and Luka Garza. The Celtics continued the trend of […]

The Indiana Fever pulled off the unthinkable on Thursday when they defeated the Atlanta Dream, 87-85, in Game 3 of their opening round series of the WNBA Playoffs. While the Fever were without several key players due to injury, the Dream were 100 percent healthy. That’s probably why all nine of ESPN’s experts picked the […]

If Game 2 of the opening round series of the WNBA Playoffs between the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream was any indication, fans are certainly tuning in to see a potential underdog emerge victorious. That came true on Thursday when the Fever eliminated the Dream, 87-85, in Game 3 to advance to the WNBA Semifinals […]

During the Indiana Pacers run to the NBA Finals last season, one player who stood out in particular in addition to Tyrese Haliburton, was his backup in TJ McConnell. McConnell endeared himself to Pacers fans when he single-handedly tried will the team back in Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder following Haliburton’s injury. TJ […]

The Wofford basketball team was at the forefront of a major story this week when it was revealed that six players on the team were found to be ineligible due to reportedly using a campus meal plan while living off of campus. In the initial report, it was said that the NCAA had a hand […]

With the WNBA hitting an all-time high in fan popularity, it’s no surprise that, that momentum has carried over into the playoffs. While some of the league’s biggest names are not in the postseason such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, that doesn’t seem to stop fans from watching. Earlier this week Game 2 of […]

Over the past couple of seasons, the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks have been developing a bit of a rivalry. The rivalry kind of took route when the Pacers defeated the Bucks in the inaugural in-season tournament when Tyrese Haliburton used Damian Lillard’s ‘Dame Time’ celebration. It crescendoed when Giannis Antetokounmpo angrily confronted several members […]

When it comes to outspoken voices on podcasts, perhaps there is none greater than former NBA player Patrick Beverley. The latest comments to garner headlines from Patrick Beverley were about Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, comments that ultimately received a bewildered response from Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant responded to Patrick Beverley on […]

With the explosion of the transfer portal in college basketball, it’s made that much harder for high school basketball prospects to land a coveted Division 1 scholarship upon completing their senior year. For incoming South Carolina State Bulldogs transfer Rayniel Wright, it was precisely the reason why it took him a little longer to get […]

The Vanderbilt Commodores experienced a major turnaround in just one season under new head coach Mark Byington. After seven straight years of missing the NCAA Tournament, and five losing seasons in that time frame, the Commodores reached the postseason, albeit losing in the round of 64. The success seems to have gotten noticed by potential […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Sparks lost franchise cornerstone Nneka Ogwumike to free agency ahead of the 2024 WNBA season, the team was officially in rebuilding mode. But even in a rebuild, teams need capable veterans on the roster, leaders who can keep the team together. For the Sparks, part of that role […]

LOS ANGELES – Coming into the 2025 WNBA season, one player in particular on the Los Angeles Sparks roster who was looked at as having a potential breakout year was Rickea Jackson. Jackson showed incredible promise as a rookie a year ago, and seemed primed for a big role in new head coach Lynne Roberts’ […]

Although the Dallas Wings did not make the WNBA Playoffs this season, they still received postseason honors with star guard Paige Bueckers being named the league’s Rookie of the Year. In winning the Rookie of the Year Award, Paige Bueckers also brought distinction honors to UConn Huskies as well. Over on the NBA side, San […]

With NBA training camps set to open next month, there is one major name still on the free agency market without a contract in Golden State Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. The Warriors were unwilling to engage in potential sign-and-trade opportunities and have held firm on their offer, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett […]

The New York Knicks decided to shake things up this offseason, firing Tom Thibodeau after their Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Indiana Pacers, and hiring Mike Brown as their new head coach. While the bulk of the Knicks’ roster was already complete, the team still had two-way contract slots available. The Knicks made a […]

The Minnesota Lynx struck first in their opening round series of the WNBA Playoffs against the Golden State Valkyries with a 101-72 Game 1 win. The series will now shift to the Valkyries home court for Game 2. But during the game, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve noticed something different about the officiating following halftime, […]

Liberty struck first in their opening round WNBA Playoffs series against the Phoenix Mercury with a 76-69 Game 1 win on the road. With the series shifting to the Liberty’s home court for Game 2, the win could have come a major cost. Liberty star forward Breanna Stewart suffered an apparent knee injury during the […]

The WNBA has hit record popularity among fans, coinciding with the ushering in of young, rising stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, players whose popularity surged while they were still in college. This past WNBA All-Star Weekend drew record levels of viewership. For Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts, someone […]

The Los Angeles Sparks’ 2025 season came to an end on Thursday following their 98-68 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. The Sparks had already been eliminated from playoff contention after the Seattle Storm’s dramatic win against the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday. But as the Sparks prepared for their offseason to begin, there were […]

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese sent ripples through the WNBA world recently with her comments regarding her current Sky teammates. As a result, the Sky benched Reese for only the first half of their Sept. 7 game against the Las Vegas Aces. While there has been much debate as to whether or not Angel Reese […]

Looking to get back to championship contender status, the Denver Nuggets have had a strong offseason. The Nuggets made several moves to add impact players to their roster including the trades for Jonas Valanciunas and Cam Johnson and the free agent signings of Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Nuggets made a late offseason […]