Moving away from quarterback Russell Wilson after two poor seasons, the Denver Broncos drafted quarterback Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Nix played a total of 61 collegiate games in three years at Auburn and two at the University of Oregon, throwing for a total of 15,352 yards, 113 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. Coming into the draft at 24, many questioned his ability to perform at a high level for an extended period in the NFL. The Broncos, however, saw things differently.

“You look at it, it’s hard because this is new, but 24 years old is not that old for football,” Broncos general manager George Paton said after the draft. “You evaluate it, but you’re really evaluating the player, you’re evaluating the person. Evaluate how they fit in with the organization, especially for a quarterback. To me the age, they’re going to be more, especially with a guy like Bo Nix, 61 starts, we feel like he’ll be more game-ready than if we were going to draft a 21 year old.”

Much of the 2024 quarterback draft class was similar to Nix in that they had much more college experience, with Michael Penix Jr. and Jayden Daniels playing five total seasons. In an era where quarterback performances are highly unpredictable, the Broncos choose experience over potential. Though the fifth quarterback taken in the draft, Nix led all other prospects in total passing yards, finishing his career sixth all-time in the statistic.

“He really liked him, and then we went to the private workout and spent three hours with Bo in the meeting setting, and he was outstanding,” Paton said. “And we go out to the field, and he made 10, 15 throws and Sean [Payton] came up to me and said, ‘This is the guy.'”

The Broncos last had a winning season when they won the Super Bowl in 2015, and since then have had five different players lead the team in passing. Nix is the first quarterback drafted by the team since Tim Tebow in 2012 and hopes to make an impact as they move on from the departure of Wilson. Though their newest addition, Nix’s role as the Broncos starter is not yet guaranteed, as he will have to face off against quarterback Zach Wilson for the position.

Regardless of who starts in Week 1, the Broncos will now have multiple quarterback options. They’ve finished last in the AFC West in four of the past five years, but with Paton’s expectations for Nix, the hope is that they can finally make another playoff run.

NFL receiver Jarvis Landry was not on the roster for the 2023 season, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to finish his career. Previously, the five-time Pro Bowler spent four seasons each with the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. He did suit up for the New Orleans Saints in 2022 but played only nine games due to injury and was released at the end of the season. Despite being away from the game for a year, Landry is now expected to participate in the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie off-season minicamp.

His time at the minicamp will set expectations for the Jaguars and if they want to sign him to a deal and commit to him financially. Though nothing is guaranteed, Landry has a proven track record would be an excellent use for a Jacksonville team with a light receiver room. They signed Gabe Davis over the offseason, selected LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. in the most recent draft, and have Devin Duvernay, Christian Kirk and Zay Jones under contract. Landry’s career numbers dwarf the numbers of the other receivers currently on the roster and could potentially provide a big target for quarterback Trevor Lawrence next year.

Landry’s last Pro Bowl season came in 2019 with the Browns, finishing the year with 83 catches for 1,174 yards and six touchdowns. He had a successful stint in Cleveland, but the team eventually prioritized receiver Amari Cooper over Landry, resulting in his one year with the Saints and subsequent season sitting out. In 132 career games, Landry has 713 receptions for 7,870 yards and 38 touchdowns. From 2014 to 2021, Landry was fourth in the NFL in receptions and ninth in total receiving yards.

The 31-year-old Landry did have a workout with the Indianapolis Colts in December 2023, but it did not lead to a spot on the roster. Now, he is trying again with the Jaguars, and even if it doesn’t lead to a contract, it will at least show other teams he is still willing to compete.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is set to have surgery on his torn meniscus after suffering the injury in Monday’s win against the Phillies. He is set to be out for an undetermined amount of time, but at the very least, recovery will take four to six weeks. In his 29 games played so far in 2024, Trout is hitting a .220 batting average with 24 hits, 14 RBIs and a league-leading ten home runs. Trout has been one of baseball’s best players in decades, but his career has recently been highlighted by injuries, playing more than 100 games in only one of the last five seasons.

“It’s just frustrating,” Trout said. “But we’ll get through it.”

Though the injury came in the third inning of the game against Philadelphia, Trout played the the rest of the night despite feeling a soreness in his knee. As the game went on, the pain worsened for Trout, and he eventually consulted with the team’s training staff. When he woke up the next day, Trout said that he “couldn’t get out of bed,” and the team finally took medical images to show that he did tear his left meniscus.

“It was just sore,” Trout said. I was kind of telling myself maybe I just banged it on something and didn’t realize it. Then, after the game, getting treatment, it was really sore.”

After his first eight seasons in the league, Trout finished in the top two of AL MVP voting in seven years, winning the award three times. Over his career, he has hit 1,648 hits and 378 home runs, the third most since entering the league in 2011. He also has a career batting average of .299, which ranks 11th amongst all players since he entered the league. Despite Trout’s statistical numbers, the Angels have struggled to find any postseason success as a team. The team’s sole playoff appearance with Trout came in 2016 when they lost in the ALDS in a sweep to the Kansas City Royals. Since 2011, the Angels have lost more games than they’ve won, only finishing second or higher in the division three times in 14 seasons.

“Nobody wants to play more than Mike does,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian said. “He loves this. He loves everything about this. He wakes up thinking about it, and then he goes to bed thinking about it. He eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. I really feel for him.”

Since 2021, Trout has missed more than 250 games, more than half of the Angels’ total games played. Though when healthy, he is one of the best players in the MLB, injuries continue to sideline Trout on an Angels team that desperately needs his help.

The Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match this summer will now be an officially sanctioned and professional fight. Set to take place on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the bout was previously just an exhibition but will now hold professional value. The fight, set to be streamed on Netflix, will be eight two-minute rounds with each fighter using 14-ounce gloves, and the results will be shown on their official boxing records.

“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement. “Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul vs. Tyson, and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point.”

Tyson is an undoubted legend of the sport of boxing, previously ending his career with 50 wins (44 by KO) and six losses while becoming one of the most well-known athletes in the country and holding the world heavyweight championship from 1987 to 1990. Tyson’s last knockout came back in 2003, but he is known as one of the most powerful punchers in the history of the sport, and despite his old age, he still holds at least a part of that talent shown throughout the 1980s and 90s. He did face off against Roy Jones Jr. in a 2020 exhibition fight, finishing with a draw that did not go on either of their professional records.

On the other hand, Paul joined the sport of boxing professionally in 2020 with nine wins, six by KO, and one loss. Paul’s previous fights have come against professional athletes like NBA player Nate Robinson, UFC fighters Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva, and well-known boxer Tommy Fury. His only career loss came against Fury, and since then, he has had two consecutive knockouts against Andre August and Ryan Bourland after his hopes were dashed of being professionally ranked and challenged for a world championship.

Paul has highlighted a new form of boxing, one in which entertainment takes precedence over pure power or skill. This matchup against Tyson is another non-typical but highly entertaining matchup. The two fighters also have a 30-year age difference, which is the most significant age gap in the history of professional boxing.

Paul has been criticized in the past for his fights against lesser opponents, but his matchup against Tyson will no doubt prove his actual value as a boxer. Tyson is one of the most successful boxers in history, and though decades out of his prime, a win for Paul would at least be representative of his success in the sport.

The fight will be Netflix’s first venture into live professional boxing, but they have successfully produced a life golf event and stand-up comedy special. Though a first of its kind on a non-traditional boxing platform, the Tyson vs. Paul matchup will be one of the summer’s most highly anticipated sporting events.

The New England Patriots and defensive tackle Christian Barmore have agreed to terms on a four-year extension valued at up to $92 million, $41.8 million of which is guaranteed. The Patriots selected Barmore in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and in his 44 games, he has a total of 133 tackles and 12.5 sacks. His 2023 campaign was the most successful by far, finishing with 64 tackles and 8.5 sacks in all 17 games, as New England’s defense was seventh in total yards allowed per game.

After earning only about $2 million a year from his rookie contract, Barmore will now have an average annual salary of $21 million over the next four years and receive a $31.8 million signing bonus. He is now one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the NFL and younger than all the players with a higher annual salary.

“Three-years ago, Christian and I sat in the greenroom at the NFL Draft on night 1 and his name was not called. He would eventually slide to round 2, and that became one of the hardest nights of my career,” Barmore’s agent Nicole Lynn said in a post on X. “Fast forward and now he is one of the highest-paid DTs. God is always faithful!”

His contract is the largest deal in the franchise’s history for a player not named Tom Brady. With a new general manager, Elliot Wolf, and head coach, Jerod Mayo, the Patriots seem to be changing some of their old ways, now choosing to show loyalty through contracts like that given to Barmore. The team has also given extensions to other players from the 2020 Draft, spending more in the offseason than they have in recent memory.

Along with locking in their young and explosive defensive tackle until 2028, New England also signed receiver K.J. Osborn. It gave extensions to receiver Kendrick Bourne and tight end Hunter Henry, along with new quarterback and No. 3 overall selection Drake Maye. The Patriots have only made the playoffs once since Brady left in 2020, but with their moves under new management, they look to start a new era.

The Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Darvin Ham after the team was eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs in a 106-108 Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Ham coached in L.A. for two seasons, leading the team to an overall record of 90-74 in the regular season and 9-12 in the playoffs. The Lakers did reach the Western Conference Finals as a seventh seed in the 2022-23 season but failed to make it out of the first round this year. In December, Ham also led Los Angeles in winning the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament.

“We greatly appreciate Darvin Ham’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons, including last year’s remarkable run to the Western Conference finals,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “We all want to thank Darvin for this dedication and positivity. While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season. The organization will remain unwavering in its commitment to deliver championship-caliber basketball to Lakers fans around the world.”

The loss to the Nuggets comes particularly harsh for the Lakers, as they have fallen to Denver in the last two playoffs. L.A. only had one victory in nine total playoff games and only beat the Nuggets in only three of 10 regular season games since Ham arrived with the team.

In the most recent series, the Lakers fumbled four 20-point leads to the Nuggets, losing all of those games while being outscored by a total of 44 points in the second halves of each game. LeBron James averaged 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists, while Anthony Davis had 27.8 points, 15.6 rebounds and four assists a game. Still, it wasn’t enough to stop a comeback from Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Nuggets almost every game. James and Davis played their most total collective games since they joined powers in 2018, but it was only enough for a No. 7 seed and first-round loss. Murray also had two buzzer-beaters in the series as the Nuggets won in five games but with only a plus-11 scoring differential throughout the five games.

“It’s been a hell of a two years … I’ll tell you that,” Ham said after the Lakers were eliminated. “Sitting in this seat, it’s been a hell of a two years. A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize.”

Ham arrived with the Lakers in 2022, replacing head coach Frank Vogel, who won a championship with the team in 2020. Since that championship-winning run, Los Angeles has a combined record of 165-153 in the regular season, only making it past the first round of the playoffs once. Besides James and Davis, the Lakers have had a rotating cast of supporting players, and their lack of bench chemistry and depth could also be a factor in their lack of success and coaching.

Despite new players coming in and out not producing the results they have wanted, Los Angeles is set to have one of the highest payrolls in the NBA next season. They will owe a combined $70 million to Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Jared Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, and the combined $94 million James and Davis are set to make. All of those players except James and Russell are locked down for the next two seasons, but as seen in the past, the Lakers won’t be afraid to make moves in the offseason or through trades.

As the head coach for only two years, Ham never had more than an entire season with the same players. Once he did have a set roster, he led the Lakers to the fifth-best record in the league from February to the end of the regular season, but even that wasn’t enough to keep his job.

Now, the Lakers are looking for a new head coach. Mike Budenholzer, Tryonn Lue and even JJ Redick have all been rumored to be their potential targets. Whoever it will be, like any coach for the Lakers, expectations will be high. James’ future with the team is also in question, as he said in the final press conference that he had seriously thought about retirement but had also given credence to the idea of playing with his son, Bronny James. He only has one year left on his current contract.

A few hours after Ham’s termination was announced, the Lakers announced that they would fire their entire coaching staff, including assistant coach Phil Handy.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverly found himself in multiple scuffles during and after the team’s 98-120 elimination loss to the Indiana Pacers in Thursday night’s first round of the NBA playoffs. The first incident came with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, with Beverly throwing the ball at Pacers fans as a sign of frustration. After the game, Beverly also asked an ESPN reporter not to be present for an interview in the locker room after saying she did not subscribe to Beverly’s podcast. He finished the game on 40 minutes played with six points, five assists and two rebounds as the Bucks’ season ends.

Beverly was not punished in the game directly after the incident, but the league will review the footage and decide whether to discipline him. Throughout his career, Beverly has been known for being a fiery competitor, not afraid to get in someone’s face. Still, it was the first time he let his emotions out through interactions with opposing fans.

After the game, reporters interviewed Beverly in the Buck’s locker room. ESPN’s Malinda Adams attempted to ask him a question about the game, but Beverly denied a response, citing that she wasn’t subscribed to his Pat Bev Pod podcast.

“You can’t interview me then,” Beverly said to Adams as he asked her to leave the group of other reporters in the locker room.

This strange trend of Beverly asking reporters if they are subscribed to his podcast has continued since he joined Milwaukee earlier this season. Though not a new trend for reporters covering Beverly and the Bucks, it was seemingly the first time he asked someone to explicitly not interview him. Adams said that Beverly and the Bucks organization eventually apologized for his actions postgame.

Later that night, Beverly had another post on X in which he said, “But I have to be better. And I will.”

Though two out-of-the-ordinary interactions with both fans and reporters, much of Beverly’s frustrations come from the lack of performance from the Bucks team. They played without Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entire series and had to deal with lingering injuries from Damian Lillard. Many expected Milwaukee to be a title favorite at the beginning of the season. Still, due to the injuries, they eventually lost out to a young and energetic Pacers team led by Tyrese Haliburton.

Beverly averaged 8.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists while starting all six games for the Bucks this postseason. Milwaukee’s loss marks the second year in a row that it has missed the second round of the playoffs, and the team will face many difficult roster decisions as its offseason begins.

For the first time since 2005, neither LeBron James, Kevin Durant nor Stephen Curry are in the Playoffs’ second round. As a trio, they combined for ten championships, seven regular season and Finals MVPs, 44 All-Star appearances and 38 All-NBA team selections while highlighting a generation of basketball superstars. Now, a new generation of stars is arriving, and the group of players that dominated in the 2010s decade are finally starting to slow down. 

Curry’s Golden State Warriors lost in the Play-In game to the Sacramento Kings, Durant and the Phoenix Suns were swept by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, and James and the Los Angeles Lakers lost in a five-game series to the defending champion Denver Nuggets. After 20 years of these players highlighting the NBA postseason, their time at the league’s top has seemed to end quickly. 

It represents more than a generation leaving the game; it is also a new era of stars taking their spots. Edwards is one of the brightest young stars in the league, at age 22, averaging 25, 5, 5 in the regular season and 31, 8, 6 in the playoffs as he led the sweep of his idol in Durant. Edwards was the critical reason Minnesota had a top-3 seed in the Western Conference and turned a team with the longest playoff drought into a genuine title contender. However, just in his third season, Edwards has already received comparisons with Michael Jordan for his hard-nosed mentality and willingness to go up against any player in the league. Minnesota is set to match up against the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs.  

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is another young star who has quickly risen to the ranks and become one of the most valuable players in the league. He led the youngest team in the NBA to a No. 1 overall seed in the Western Conference, averaging 30, 6, and 5 on 53% shooting in the regular season. Gilgeous-Alexander is a tall and long point guard who can defend multiple positions, run the team’s offense, and provide essential experience for the other young players on the OKC roster. Along with him, the team has young stars Jaylen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who averaged at least 16 points in the regular season. The Thunder will play the winner of the Clippers vs. Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs. 

Though making his first All-Star appearance at 27 years old, Jalen Brunson has quickly become one of the best-loved players in New York Knicks history. Brunson is in his second season with the team after signing a 4-year $104 million deal in 2022 and led the team to a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with regular season averages of 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists. Brunson has averaged 34, 8, 6, including a record-breaking 47 points and ten assists in their Game 4 victory. This redesigned Knicks team under head coach Tom Thibodeau finished with their best regular season finish in 11 seasons while rejuvenating exciting basketball in Madison Square Garden. 

Reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic is only 29 years old, and the Nuggets still look like the top contender to make a run to the Finals in the Western Conference. Jayson Tatum, 26, is also playing at an All-NBA level, leading the Boston Celtics to the best record in the league and beating the Miami Heat in five games in the first round of the playoffs. 

Luka Doncic is another young player who has seen immense success in the NBA; at 25 years old has the second-most made three-pointers in Dallas Mavericks history and led the team to four playoff appearances and two 50-win seasons. Throughout the season, Doncic averaged a league-high 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game and is putting up similar numbers in Dallas’ first-round matchup against the Clippers.

Without James, Durant or Curry in the conference semifinals, the NBA looks to have finally turned a new leaf. After 20 years of absolute domination, a new era of stars looks to take their place. This does not mean that the careers of these legends are complete, but it at least shows a changing tide after two decades of success.

James is 39 years old and looks to be finally winding down his career. After the Lakers’ Game 5 loss, he hinted that he is just about ready to be done, but in the past, he has also said that he wants to play with his son Bronny James for a never-before-seen father-son duo in the league. It was the Lakers’ best regular-season finish in four seasons, but they did not make it out of the first round. 

Curry, at 36 years old, hasn’t shown the same signs of slowing down compared to teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Curry averaged 26, 4, 5 in the regular season, while Thompson had 18 points a game on 43% shooting, and Green finished with averages of 8.6 points, seven rebounds, and six assists a game. Golden State won the title in 2022 but failed to pass the Play-In tournament this year as their dynasty slowly dismantled itself. 

Durant, at 35 years old, finished the regular season averaging 27 points, 6.6 rebounds, and five assists a game while sharing a roster with All-Stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Many had high expectations for this Suns team headed into the playoffs, but after a first-round sweep to Edwards and the T-Wolves, the experiment now looks like a failure. 

All three of these NBA legends are still competing at an extremely high level, but the young stars are competing at an even higher level, one that James, Curry and Durant saw throughout their Finals matchups in the 2010s decade. These stars are still putting up the numbers but are seeing different playoff success than players like Jokic, Tatum, Doncic, Edwards, Gilgeous-Alexander and Brunson. It is hard to accept after 20 years of prosperity in the league, these players aren’t the ones we’ll see in May and June, but change has to come eventually. 

It is hard to predict James, Curry and Durant’s future, but even if this was their last collective run as a group of stars, the league’s future is in good hands.

After a year with the New England Patriots, running back Ezekiel Elliott is reuniting with the Dallas Cowboys, the team that drafted him and saw the first seven seasons of his career. Elliot reportedly signed a one-year $3 million deal with his old squad, which is currently pending and contingent on a physical.

Dallas leaned into Tony Pollard as their starter, which saw Elliott leave for New England in 2023, but now, with Pollard on the Titans, it leaves an open spot for the return of one of the most prolific rushers in Cowboys franchise history. Elliott had a career-low 642 yards and three rushing touchdowns in 2023, but in his seven years in Dallas, he became their third all-time leading rusher with 8,262 yards and 68 rushing touchdowns. He ran for 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns in four seasons and made the Pro Bowl in three. His 15 rushing touchdowns in his rookie season are also tied for the second most in NFL history, only behind Eric Dickerson‘s 18 touchdowns in 1983.

Dallas has Rico Dowdle and Duece Vaughn in its running back room, but after losing Pollard, it was almost necessary for them to find one in free agency or the draft. They didn’t pick up anyone in the draft, but landing Elliott on a much lower deal than in the past will be a major help in building up the rest of the team. Though his first stint with the team may not have ended the way Elliott wanted, he returns to the Cowboys as their cemented starting running back.

“We talked about this last night too,” Dallas owner Jerry Jones said Friday night. “Is Zeke someone of interest? Yeah, he is someone of interest. I saw him play his last games with New England. I thought he played well enough to be a starter.”

Elliott led the league in rushing from 2016-2018, but his numbers slowly dropped once Pollard joined the team. Despite his success, the team went with Pollard, and in his sole season as the Cowboys’ designated starter, he ran for 1,000 yards but scored only six touchdowns in 252 rushing attempts. Dallas finished with the 14th-best rushing offense in the league, but that number remained much higher with Elliott leading the attack.

The Cowboys made the playoffs four times with Elliott but could not make it out of the divisional round last year. They finished 2023 atop the NFC East with a 12-5 record but lost to Green Bay in the Wild Card Round, with Pollard only finishing with 56 rushing yards.

Now, going into 2024, reunited with their old running back and with quarterback Dak Prescott under contract until 2028, Dallas hopes to compete again for their first Super Bowl in almost 30 years.

The Washington Commanders selected former LSU quarterback and 2023 Heisman Award winner Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Daniels’ name was in multiple rumors in the days and weeks leading up to the draft, but by Thursday, he was guaranteed to join the Commanders as their new starting quarterback. For most of the offseason, Washington kept quiet about their draft day plans but showed their satisfaction after the selection.

“We knew it was Jayden for a while,” Commanders general manager Adam Peters said. “It would have taken a lot for it not to be Jayden. The whole building, I would say, was unanimous on that one. It’s easy to see why.”

Daniels threw 77.2% for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions in his final year with the Tigers as he won the Heisman Award. He also ran for 1,134 yards and ten rushing touchdowns, leading the team to a 10-3 record and No. 13 overall final ranking. Daniels threw for almost 3,000 yards in 2022 with LSU but only finished the year with 17 passing touchdowns and taking a career-high 43 sacks.

Before his time with the Tigers, Daniels played three seasons at Arizona State, throwing for 6,024 yards, 45 total touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 29 games. In his five-year college career, Daniels finished 23rd all-time in total touchdowns and 28th in total passing yards.

“I turned on Jayden for the first time, and I couldn’t believe how good he was,” Peters said. “He was really good, the way he can process, the way he can see the field, the way he goes through his reads, the way he delivers [the ball] on time. He’s the best deep-ball thrower in the draft, and that’s even before we start watching him run. The way he runs, he just takes your soul as a defense. You think you got him, and then all of a sudden, he rips off a 40-yard run. And this is against the SEC – the best of the best.”

Despite Washington’s confidence in their pick after the draft, they stayed quiet for much of the offseason, as even Daniels was unsure he would be their selection.

“They did a pretty good job of not showing their hand too much,” Daniels said after he was selected. “[But] I was pretty confident off the conversations I had. I’m here now, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Now, with the Commanders, Daniels takes over for a team that has seen eight starting quarterbacks over the past four seasons. They also haven’t finished with a winning record since 2016; their last playoff win came in 2005. Despite that, the team is under new ownership headed by Josh Harris, a new general manager at Peters, a new head coach in Dan Quinn, and finally, a new quarterback at Daniels.

“They’re going to get someone that’s a competitor that wants to win no matter what,” Daniels said. “I want to help the team win, and at some point in the future, we’ll get this thing turned around.”

Daniels joins an offense with receivers Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson, running backs Brian Robinson and new additions Austin Ekeler and tight end Zach Ertz. For a team that has yet to finish a year with ten wins in over a decade, their latest set of offensive playmakers has the potential to bring new life into the Commanders’ organization.

The journey and subsequent recovery of Damar Hamlin has been one of the biggest stories of the NFL in recent years. Hamlin suffered a heart attack in the Buffalo Bills 2022 Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals but was saved with the help of on-field CPR and treatment. In miraculous form, Hamlin returned for the Bills in Week 4 of the 2023 season, playing five regular-season games.

For much of the season prior, Hamlin was the favorite to win the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award, but he fell short in the voting for quarterback Joe Flacco and his return with the Cleveland Browns. Hamlin was asked about not winning the prize on a recent show appearance, but in stating his support for Flacco during the award ceremony, he said his journey “wasn’t something a trophy can define.”

“I heard some people were in an uproar. I did at first, I’m not gonna lie. I did, a little bit, just because you know I’m a competitor myself,“ Hamlin said. “Any competition you put me in, I want to win. I clapped for Joe as he went on stage and clapped for him as he went off. . . . It wasn’t something that a trophy can define.“

Hamlin’s on-field collapse, along with his recovery and eventual return to play, captured the attention of the entire NFL world. Despite his return to the Bills in never-before-seen form, Hamlin’s limited stats were a big reason he ended up losing the award.

He played 111 snaps and only two tackles on the year and missed a key fourth-down conversion for Buffalo in the playoffs. Flacco, instead, gave his career a late boost as he played the last five regular-season games with the Browns, throwing for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns while helping the team make the playoffs.

“I truly feel with my journey, my comeback per se, it wasn’t a worldly thing. It wasn’t something that a trophy can define,“ Hamlin said. “God gave me his trophy of still waking up every day, still living, still breathing. Having a healthy life. Having a healthy family. Being blessed with every opportunity I’m placed in right now.“

Hamlin was a sixth-round pick from the Bills in 2021 and is under contract with the team for the remainder of the year.

For the first time in over 80 years, the Chicago Bears held the first overall pick of the NFL Draft and selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams’ arrival with the Bears wasn’t a surprise, as he has been the favorite to be taken first overall since he won the Heisman Award in 2022. Williams played a year at the University of Oklahoma before transferring to USC. He had a college career passing percentage of 66.9% for 9,782 yards with 120 total touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

“I didn’t know how I was going to react in the moment,” Williams said after he was picked. “I was trying to think through it in my head throughout the process, but nothing feels better than actually being in the moment, actually getting that call. You know, I don’t feel nervous; I don’t feel any of that. I was anxious and ready to go, just ready to get the call so I could walk out there on stage and just finally be back on a team is honestly what I’m excited for.”

Chicago previously drafted Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields with the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, but after three up-and-down years, he signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason. Before Fields, the Bears drafted UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky with the second overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Like Fields, Trubisky was in and out of the starting lineup for his four years with the Bears and was never able to find his footing as the team’s cemented starter. Williams, instead, comes to fix the Bears’ lingering quarterback issue after one of the most successful college careers in recent years. They were also the only team who visited with Williams before the draft.

“I felt good at that point,” Williams said. “Getting around the guys, the coaches, the executives. And so, I was around the facility mainly…Obviously, the facility is where I’m going to be at for the majority of my time, throughout weeks and days. I was around the guys in the facility, and I felt comfortable. I felt good. I was happy and ready to go.”

In his freshman season with the Sooners, Williams battled with Spencer Rattler for the starting position. He eventually landed the role and finished the year with 27 touchdowns and four interceptions. Following his success and searching for an easier starting role, Williams transferred to USC, where he reunited with his old head coach, Lincoln Riley.

In 2022, Williams had one of the most dominating years in recent college football memory, leading the Trojans to an 11-3 record while throwing for 4,532 yards, 42 touchdowns and five interceptions. Though losing in the Cotton Bowl to Tulane, Williams walked away from the season, winning both the AP College Player of the Year and Heisman Awards. USC came into 2023 returning only a few starters and struggled heavily to protect Williams on the offensive line. Despite the team finishing with only a 7-5 record, he ended the year throwing for 3,333 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions. Along with his 93 passing touchdowns in three years, Williams also finished with 27 rushing touchdowns for almost 1,000 rushing yards.

Despite being one of the oldest teams in the league, the Chicago Bears single-season throwing record is famously the lowest in the NFL, with Erik Kramer throwing for 3,838 yards in 1995. It was a feat expected to be broken by both Fields and Trubisky after they were brought in, but neither was able to get within 600 yards in their combined seven seasons with the team. However, Williams comes to the team known for his gunslinging ability and lack of fear of throwing the ball downfield. Many expect him to be the help needed for a team known for its strong defense but with desperate struggles to find a reliable quarterback to lead them to playoff success.

“When you talk to his teammates, they don’t like him; they love him,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said about selecting Williams. “His leadership, how he brings people together, he’s intentional with his leadership. Same goes with the staff. I’m having a hard time finding a person that doesn’t like him or even love him and thinks that he can reach the highest limits. The feedback’s been good.”

To help Williams find playoff success and perhaps the team’s single-season passing record, the Bears drafted Washington receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Odunze was the third receiver off the board but finished the year as the leading receiver in college football with 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns. He played four years for the Huskies, ending his career with 3,060 yards and 25 total touchdowns in 36 games.

Zaccharie Risacher, the projected No. 1 overall pick, has officially declared for the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft. Risacher, a 19-year-old from France, is playing on the JL Bourg team in the French LNB Elite league, averaging 10.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.

“It’s always been my dream to get to the best league in the world,” Risacher told ESPN. “I’ve been putting the work in for this since I was a kid. JL Bourg has given me an incredible opportunity to showcase what I can do.”

Risacher has played 60 games since August and is expected to play more as the French season continues through mid-May. That amount is expected to be much larger than any other player in the upcoming draft, as most prospects played a maximum of 40 games in American college basketball. Most recently, JL Bourg reached the EuroCup Finals, where Risacher shot 56% from deep and was named the tournament’s Rising Star, becoming the second-youngest player ever to win the award. He also was named to the French national team in February and is expected to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

At 6’10”, Risacher has the height of a forward or center but plays like a guard, with the ability to shoot coming off screens or the dribble. He also can guard most positions and is often asked to guard the opposing team’s best player on the court. As a tall scorer with great defensive ability, from afar, Risacher shows signs of both Kevin Durant and fellow countryman Victor Wembanyama. 

“There are a lot of things I can bring an NBA team,” Risacher said. First of all, my No. 1 strength is my shooting. Then, my defensive ability. And lastly, my ability to do what’s asked of me, using my versatility—I can rebound, handle the ball if needed, finish above the rim, pass the ball. Whatever you ask me to do, I will do it and do it well.”

His statistics might be lower than this year’s college basketball stars, but Risacher joined his current team in a more minor role than his previous squad. The transition was similar to that of Wembanyama, who joined a top team to gain more attention but sacrificed shots and minutes simultaneously.

Along with Risacher, Alexandre Sarr is another French prospect expected to be taken with one of the first few picks in the 2024 Draft. The 7’1″ 18-year-old played with Overtime Elite before joining the Perth Wildcats of the Australian Basketball League for their 2023-24 season. Sarr finished the year averaging 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in only 17 minutes per game and missing almost a month with a hip injury.

With Risacher and Sarr potentially being selected with the first two overall picks, the rise of French-born basketball players is becoming increasingly evident. Ten NBA players have been born in France, including  Rudy Gobert, Nicholas Batum and Evan Fournier. But Wembanyama has quickly become the most well-known French player in the NBA and is now leading a new generation of overseas talent embodied by players like Risacher and Sarr.

The 2024 NBA Draft will take place on June 26 and 27, with the Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers and Charlotte Hornets all with the highest odds to land the No. 1 overall pick.

Despite a historic 31-point comeback, the Dallas Mavericks fell at home to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Though they fought back from a seemingly insurmountable lead led by Kyrie Irving’s 40 points, seven rebounds and five assists, the series is now tied up at two games a piece. After the game, Luka Doncic said he thought he was letting Irving down with his performance in the recent losses.

“I just got to help him more. I feel like I’m letting him down, so I got to be there, I got to help him more. He’s giving everything he has and been amazing for us the whole series,” Doncic told reporters after the game.

Doncic finished Game 4 with 27 points, 10 rebounds and ten assists for his fourth career playoff triple-double. He only shot 1/9 from three-point range in the loss, and throughout the series, he only shot 38.6% from the field, a career low in the postseason. Though he continues to average nearly a triple-double, efficiency has been Doncic’s primary concern in this series. He has also been dealing with a knee injury throughout the series, starting the day as questionable but eventually suiting up for the game.

“It’s hurting, obviously,” Doncic said. “But it shouldn’t be an excuse. Just came out sloppy. We’ve got to be way better than that.”

Despite the poor start, Doncic and Irving manufactured one of the biggest comebacks in NBA history on Sunday night but ended up falling just short. Dallas was outscored by 23 in the first quarter and was down by 31 in the second, but somehow, they found a way to keep the game within distance. The Mavericks finally regained the lead with 2:15 to go in the game with the help of an Irving layup, but the offense of the Clippers never stopped. Los Angeles scored 12 points in the final two minutes, including big shots from  Paul George and James Harden, to leave Dallas with the series tied 2-2.

The Clippers shot 53.8% from the field and 62% from the three-point range. Both George and Harden finished with 33 points, but their best offense game of the series was almost foiled by Irving and Doncic’s combined 69 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists.

Los Angeles’s two wins in the series have come without Kawhi Leonard. They have looked like the team many expected to see when they traded for Harden at the beginning of the season. Leonard is only averaging 12 points so far this postseason. Still, the Clippers have picked up the slack and have four other players averaging double-digit scoring, including 26 per game from Harden and 21 from George.

Jalen Brunson set a Knicks franchise record as his 47 points and ten assists helped New York beat the Philadelphia 76ers 97-93 in Game 4 of the opening round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

OG Anunoby scored a critical 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Josh Hart scored four points, five assists and 15 rebounds, helping the Knicks take a 3-1 series lead. Joel Embiid scored 27 points and ten rebounds for the Sixers, but they shot only 35.4% as a team compared to 43% and a plus-10 rebounding advantage for New York. Philadelphia ended the game by missing its last 11 field goal attempts.

Brunson’s 47 points were a franchise playoff record for the Knicks, and he is the first player in team history to finish with at least 40 points and ten assists. He is also one of two players to be involved in at least 70 points in back-to-back playoff games, as he ended with 39 points and 13 assists in their Game 3 loss.

“Jalen’s a great player,” Anunoby said about Brunson after the game. You come to expect it. You expect him to make every shot. He’s a great player. Even when he was cold the first couple of games, you knew he would turn it around—just ’cause we see him every day.”

The last two games’ scoring has been an extreme bounce back for Brunson, as in Games 1 and 2, he combined for 16/55 shooting. Since then, he’s combined for 86 points and 23 assists, and despite their bad start, throughout the series, he is averaging 28.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

As the heart and soul of the Knicks team this year, Brunson averaged a similar 28.7 points and 6.7 assists in the regular season as he led New York to a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. It was the Knicks’ best regular season in over a decade, and Brunson was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. He signed a four-year $104 million deal with the team in 2022 after a successful campaign with the Dallas Mavericks, and since then, his value has only risen. When Brunson arrived with the Knicks, many questioned if he could be a team’s first option. Since then, he has become one of the most famous athletes in recent New York history.

“I think we learned that throughout the course of the season,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the win. “Jalen has played at such an incredible high level all season long, and we can play off that.”

The Knicks’ rebounding advantage was a critical factor in pulling out the win in Philadelphia, led by a combined 31 rebounds by Anunoby and Hart. New York grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter and only allowed two second-chance points from the Sixers. New York has six players averaging more than 10 points per game in the playoffs, including Anunoby, Miles McBride, Isaiah Hartenstein and Donte DiVincenzo. Hart also played a significant role for the team throughout the first four playoff games, as he was second on the team in points, with 21 per game, and first in rebounds, with 11.3 per game. Though only 6’4″, Hart has been playing power forward and has been dominant over Tobias Harris on the other end of the floor.

Though they had the lead at halftime and with only a few minutes remaining, Embiid and Philly’s chance to win the series just slipped away. After the game, Embiid said he was “disappointed” with the energy from home fans in Wells Fargo Center as the game neared an end.

“Disappointing,” Embiid said.”I love our fans. Think it’s unfortunate, and I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously, you got a lot of Knicks fans, and they’re down the road…I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been here for ten years. Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They’ve always shown up and I don’t think that should happen. Yeah. It’s not ok.”

Embiid scored 50 in the Sixers only win of the season, while in their three losses this series he has averaged 30 points per game. Tyrese Maxey is the only other player for Philly to average more than 12 points per game, scoring 31 points per contest this postseason.

New York can wrap up the series and advance to the second round with a win in Game 4 on April 30 at Madison Square Garden.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid announced that receiver Rashee Rice will be a virtual participant in the team’s opening offseason program. Dallas Police arrested Rice following a six-car crash he caused due to racing with another person on the highway. The team awaits a legal ruling before deciding on Rice’s long-term future in Kansas City.

“We’ll just see how it goes. I want to keep gathering any information from the law enforcement people, and we’ll just see where everything goes from there. Let the process take place,” Reid said. “Well, yeah, listen, as long as he’s learned from it, that’s the important part of it. We’ll take it from there and see what takes place. Right now, we’re just kind of gathering everything and trying to make sure we have all the bases covered.”

Rice caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns in his 2023 rookie campaign with the Chiefs. The 23-year-old also caught six passes for 39 yards in the team’s Super Bowl win over the San Fransisco 49ers and was second among rookies in receiving yards throughout the season. Last year, Rice was also the second-leading receiver for Kansas City, only behind tight end Travis Kelce.

With Rice potentially missing the entire season or more as he and the team await the ruling, the Chiefs have a decision to make in the upcoming draft. Reid hinted that the team is looking to take a receiver with their 32nd overall pick, but they could go the other direction if they have faith in Rice’s future. Reid also said the team is interested in finding a new left tackle, which could also come through the draft.

“I’d tell you those two positions he’s (General Manager Brett Veach) looking at, but he’s also going through everything, so we’ve got spots and depth that we can use really everywhere, and we’ll just see how the whole Rashee thing goes,” Reid said. When it’s all said and done, we should have players in there ready to go.”

To replace Rice’s role on the team, the Chiefs have eyed Texas wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell, Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstrey as potential options in the draft. In a year when many teams are looking to take a quarterback, Kansas City is instead looking the other way, and it could land a steal with the final pick of the first round.

Behind Kelce and Rice, who led the team in receiving, were Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdez Scantling, Justin Watson, Kadarius Toney, and Noah Gray. However, none even managed half as many yards as quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ top two targets. Kansas City is set to return most of these players in 2024, but the team struggled throughout the season with dropped balls and missed routes, and the loss of Rice could prove even more fatal in that department.

Shohei Ohtani hit his 176th career home run in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Sunday night win against the New York Mets, breaking the record for most home runs by a Japanese-born player. Hideki Matsui was the previous record holder, hitting 175 home runs in 5,033 plate appearances, but Ohtani did it in only his 2,979th appearance. Ichiro Suzuki is the only other Japanese player to hit more than 50 home runs in the MLB, hitting 117 in his 19-year career.

“I’m happy personally,” Ohtani said through an interpreter after tying Matsui’s record last week. “It’s an honor to be on the same stage as him, and obviously, it’s a big deal in the Japanese baseball industry. So I’m going to look forward to the next one.”

Ohtani is still behind Matsui in overall career home runs as he hit 308 out of the park for the Japanese league Yomiuri Giants. Ohtani has 48 home runs in the Japanese league, but his total still sits at half of Matsui’s if all competitions are considered.

“His presence, his ability as a player, he’s just a great player,” Matsui said about Ohtani through an interpreter. The numbers on my end are just not comparable. I’m sure many fans have their expectations regarding what he may do and accomplish. As far as myself, my hope is just that he stays healthy.”

Ohtani’s home run on Sunday was also his fifth of the season, making him the second most successful Japanese-born hitter for the franchise. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, born in Japan due to his father stationed overseas, holds the record with seven home runs hit in his three years with the team from 2002-2004. With Ohtani only playing 25 games this year, he is also destined to break that record, most likely pretty soon.

Ohtani has hit a .364 batting average and a .430 on-base percentage during the year. He also currently leads the MLB in doubles, extra-base hits and overall total bases.

Coming off winning the 2023 AL MVP and signing a record-breaking 10-year $700 million contract with the Dodgers, the investment is paying off. And though he had surgery and isn’t expected to pitch this season, Ohtani’s stats continue to break records and draw more and more attention to him and the team.

Despite his success, Ohtani is still involved in the controversy regarding his previous interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, and his gambling debts. If found guilty, Mizuhara could face up to 30 years in prison. Ohtani and his camp have continued to shy away from Mizuhara and the case, saying they want to focus on baseball and leave the distractions behind.

As of April 24, the Los Angeles Dodgers hold a 14-11 record and are the top team in the NL West.

Following his three years with the New York Jets, quarterback Zach Wilson is the newest member of the Denver Broncos. New York took Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but he never cemented himself as the starter and franchise leader in New York.

Instead, he looks for a fresh start leading a team hoping to shake off from their time with Russell Wilson. In addition to landing Wilson, Denver also gets a seventh-round pick while having to give up a sixth-round pick in the deal. The Jets, meanwhile, will still have to pay part of his $5.5 million salary next season, but they hope that Aaron Rodgers will stay healthy and take his place as the established starter.

Wilson’s three years in New York were eventful, with him moving in and out of the starting position. With Wilson at the helm, the team went 3-10 in his rookie year, throwing for 2,334 yards, nine touchdowns, 11 interceptions and taking 44 sacks. Wilson only played nine games in his second year, throwing for six touchdowns and seven interceptions while the team once again missed the playoffs.

Rodgers was initially thought to be the fix in 2023, but Wilson once again became the team’s starter after his injury in the season’s opening game. He threw for a similar 2,271 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, but the team went 4-7 with Wilson starting and missed the playoffs despite having a top-3 defense in the league. In his Jets career, Wilson only played in 34 games while throwing for more touchdowns than interceptions, was the second-most sacked quarterback, and the team failed to finish a season with more than eight wins in that span.

For the past two seasons in Denver, Russell Wilson was in a similar situation as the Jets quarterback, unable to put up the expected numbers and lead the team to the playoffs. Instead, he went to Pittsburgh and joined a team and fanbase looking for a fresh start. The Broncos are still expected to pay much of Wilson’s contract, so they added Wilson from the Jets as a budget option for this year. They also have Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci as the other quarterbacks on their roster.

Denver also has the No. 12 pick in the upcoming draft and could use that to land another quarterback on a team-friendly deal. Regardless, the move from New York to Denver will at least give Wilson a new opportunity to jumpstart his career in a less demanding sports media environment. Wilson signed a four-year $35 million rookie deal with the Jets and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Jamal Murray hit a walk-off shot from the baseline to cap off a 20-point comeback from the Denver Nuggets against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. Two minutes into the second half, the Lakers held a 68-48 lead, but the Nuggets made a strong recovery to force a tie with 30 seconds left. 

LeBron James missed a jump shot to give Los Angeles the lead, and Murray ran down the court to hit the game-winning buzzer-beater.

Murray went 6/8 for 14 points in the fourth quarter, but before his final shot, it was somewhat of an off-night for the All-Star. By the end of the game, he had shot 9/24 from the floor and finished with 20 points, three rebounds and five assists.

“I told my teammates when I was struggling, ‘I’m going to look for y’all,’ and every single one of them told me to keep shooting,” Murray said postgame. “They told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep hunting, and when I had the ball with two seconds left, I knew once I had made a couple, the next one should go down, as well.”

Aside from Murray’s game-winner, Nikola Jokic led Denver for most of the night. The presumptive league MVP finished with 27 points, 20 rebounds and ten assists. His stat line ties Wilt Chamberlain for the most 20/20/10 triple-doubles in a playoff game in NBA history. His four times reaching the mark are also the four most recent occurrences, the last time before Jokic came 20 years ago from Kevin Garnett in 2004.

Denver outscored Los Angeles 57-40 in the second half. James finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists, while D’Angelo Russell had 23 points, three rebounds and six assists. Anthony Davis ended the game with a team-high 32 points and 11 rebounds after a near-perfect 11/12 start in the first half but went on to shoot only 3/7 the remainder of the night.

Davis was also in foul trouble for much of the second half, some of which came from calls the Lakers saw as questionable. Los Angeles finished Game 2 shooting four fewer free throws than Denver, but it had a 19-6 advantage in that department in Game 1.

Following the Game, James and Davis walked out of their postgame press conferences, with James heavily criticizing the officials and replay center.

“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” James said. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive,” James said. “What the f— do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Russell also posted comments about the third-quarter call that was initially ruled a shooting foul in favor of the Lakers but overturned after a Nuggets challenge. The Lakers shot 48.7% as a team on the night, but much of that came from James, Davis and Russell, as the rest of their roster combined for 7/24 shooting. Similarly, Denver only shot 44.3% as a team on 13/35 from their supporting cast but ended the game making seven straight makes.

Denver leads 2-0 as the series moves to Los Angeles. The game will be held on Thursday night.

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey combined for 69 points in the Philadelphia 76ers’ last-minute loss to the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Both came into Monday as questionable with injury and illness, but Embiid’s 34, 10, 6 and Maxey’s 35, 9, 10 weren’t enough to win on the road. Philadelphia had a five-point lead with less than a minute to go, but a Josh Hart steal and a Donte DiVincenzo three-pointer helped the Knicks secure the victory and go up 2-0 in the series.

Despite having their two-star players and a late lead, the Sixers couldn’t hold off the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. One reason for the loss could also be the officiating, and the 76ers said they intend to file an official grievance with the NBA for multiple missed calls throughout the game. Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse had complaints about the referees after the game.

“I called timeout. The referee looked right at me and ignored me. It went into Tyrese. I called timeout again. Then the melee started,” Nurse said. “I guess I’ve got to run out on the floor or do something to get his attention. I needed a timeout to advance it. It would’ve been good. I couldn’t get it.”

Embiid, who played on Monday despite leaving Game 1 after being poked in the eye and dealing with a lingering knee injury, also raised questions about the officiating throughout the series. Regardless, he claimed the Sixers are still in a position to advance to the second round.

“We’re good,” Embiid said. “We’re going to win this series. We’re going to win this. …We’re the better team.”

Maxey missed the team’s morning shootaround and was questionable coming into Game 2 with an illness. Despite that, he led the team in points, defensive rebounds, assists and minutes, playing all but four minutes the entire night. He hit three three-pointers in the first quarter to help the Sixers grab an early seven-point lead, but along with Embiid, needed help to get the job done against the much more balanced Knicks team. Maxey and Embiid were the only players for Philadelphia to score more than 10 points on Monday night and are averaging a combined 65.5 points per game in the series, more than half of the team’s 102.5 playoff average.

For the Knicks, the Game 2 win was something they could have only dreamed of with a minute to play. They were down most of the night, shooting only 40.7% from the floor as a team, but had a solid second half to bring the game back within closing distance.

With 30 seconds left, Jalen Brunson hit a three-pointer to bring the lead down to two. Then, Hart stole the ball from Maxey on the inbound pass, feeding it to DiVincenzo to give New York the lead. DiVincenzo missed, but Isaiah Hartenstein came up with the offensive rebound, and the ball eventually got back to DiVincenzo, where he hit a three-pointer to take a one-point lead with 13 seconds left.

Hartenstein then blocked Maxey’s layup attempt with six seconds left, giving the Knicks the ball and two free throws. Maxey ran up the court for one final tying attempt and passed it to Embiid, who tried a last-second three-pointer but missed.

The Knicks finished the last 30 seconds of the game on an 8-0 run, as the first team in playoff history to win a game in regulation after being down by five with half a minute remaining. New York had five players score at least 10 points, with Brunson and Hart leading the way with stats of 24, 8, 6 and 21, 15, 3 respectively.

The Knicks won the first two games of the series at home but with an average margin of victory of just five points. The 76ers have been unhealthy but are still getting great performances out of their stars, and now have back-to-back games at home. New York still has the upper hand in the series but must take advantage of a short-staffed Sixers roster that relies heavily on their top talent. The Knicks have Brunson as their undoubted leader, but big games from Hart, DiVincenzo and Hartenstein, like on Monday, are the key to their success.

Game 3 of the series is on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.