Biggest story of the week

NBA — Wizards Win the Lottery, Knicks Look Unstoppable
Washington landed the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Draft Lottery, kicking off the offseason while the playoffs roll on. Meanwhile, New York continues to look like the most complete team in basketball — and nobody in the East has figured out how to slow them down.

CBB — March Madness Officially Expands to 76
The NCAA finalized tournament expansion to 76 teams starting next season, marking the biggest format change since 1985. More bids, more games, more money — and a whole lot of debate about whether it was needed in the first place.

In today’s issue:

🌑 The Eclipse Recap — Who's Stopping New York?

🔥 Clutch or Cap — 2026 NBA Lottery Mock Draft

📺 Games of the Week — Cavs vs. Pistons (+ the pick)

Bing Bong

Knicks
The Knicks move on to the Eastern Conference Finals and await the winner of Cavs vs. Pistons after sweeping the 76ers. NY currently holds a top-2 offensive and defensive rating.

Thunder
Along with NY, OKC awaits its opponent for the Western Conference Finals after sweeping LA 4-0. The Thunder currently hold the best offensive rating in the NBA.

Cavaliers
Cleveland protected home court to even the series 2-2, led by Mitchell’s 43 points in Game 2. The Cavs currently post a top-5 offensive rating.

76ers
The 76ers may have been riding too high after beating the Celtics, only to get swept by the Knicks. Lack of defense and depth remain major concerns for Philly heading into the offseason.

Lakers
LA stood little chance against the NBA’s top team after getting swept by OKC. With LeBron set to hit free agency, the Lakers front office now faces a critical offseason.

Timberwolves
Although the Wolves (top-9 offense and defense) are putting up a good fight against the Spurs, San Antonio simply looks like the better team. Minnesota escaped with a five-point win, but expect a different result with Wemby back on the floor.

Indiana
The Hoosiers will be a key team to watch this upcoming season after underperforming last year. Indiana brings in a top-5 transfer class featuring proven vets like Markus Burton and Aiden Sherrell.

Florida
Bringing back one of the nation’s best frontcourts puts Florida right back in contention for the preseason No. 1 spot. The Gators are still chomping.

Illinois
Illinois returns roughly 50% of last year’s production while adding two elite guards via the transfer portal and recruiting.

Alabama
There are plenty of unknowns surrounding Bama after losing Amari Allen and Labaron Philon. Nate Oats brings in a solid portal class mixed with 5-star freshmen, but a lot depends on what happens with Aden Holloway and Amari Allen.

Purdue
The Boilers return 10 players but lose massive production: Braden Smith (now the NCAA’s all-time assists leader), plus Cluff and Kaufman-Renn, who combined for 24.8 PPG and 15.8 RPG. Those are major shoes to fill in both the backcourt and frontcourt.

Iowa
After a surprising Sweet 16 run, the Hawkeyes lose key contributors Bennett Stirtz, Alvaro Folgueiras, and Tavion Banks — production that will be difficult to replace.

The debates driving basketball

Ahhhh, everyone's favorite time of the year, the NBA Draft Lottery. Where the fate of your team, and your sanity, lies in the hands of the front office. Now for starters the NBA is still sticking to the same draft lottery structure and surprisingly the three worst teams in the NBA this year almost earned picks 1, 2, and 3. It sucks the Pacers missed out on a lottery pick after having a disastrous year, but nonetheless we'll be discussing the teams slated in for lottery selections and who they should grab based on fit.

Starting with the Wizards who received the No. 1 pick, it's a no-brainer they should take AJ Dybantsa, who was a three-level scorer (25.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 51% FG). At No. 2 the Jazz will select Darryn Peterson who is easily the best guard in the draft, which is exactly what Utah could use to fill the minutes after Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier. With the No. 3 pick, the Memphis Grizzlies will select the most dominant big man in college basketball last year, Cameron Boozer, to provide a balanced attack with Ja Morant after trading Jaren Jackson Jr. At No. 4 the Chicago Bulls will select Caleb Wilson as the Bulls are in desperate need of size, offense, and defense, which Wilson fills all of those roles. The LA Clippers could go a number of ways with questions surrounding Kawhi Leonard this offseason, but with the No. 5 pick I would expect them to swing in the direction of best overall fit & balance and that would be Keaton Wagler, who is one of the best shooters in the draft (17.9 PPG, 39.7 3P% at Illinois) and at 6'6 can be a solid defender.

Now for the Brooklyn Nets with the No. 6 pick in the NBA Draft, they will select the best point guard available in Darius Acuff (23.5 PPG, 6.4 APG, 44.0 3P%). Brooklyn has solid rim protection with Claxton, but after trading Cam Thomas they need to land a guy at the PG spot and Acuff fits that perfectly. Next at No. 7 the Kings will select Kingston Flemings, lol Kings selecting Kingston, as it's time to land a guy who will be ready to go alongside this somewhat veteran cast. Flemings (16.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 5.2 APG) can come in and make an impact on both sides right away. With the No. 8 pick the Atlanta Hawks select Mikel Brown Jr. (18.2 PPG, 4.7 APG, 34.4 3P%) who is the playmaker/shot-creator Trae Young is, but at 6'5 and a better defender. Dallas had an amazing draft landing the No. 1 pick in Cooper Flagg last year, but now they follow it up with the No. 9 pick in Brayden Burries (16.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 39.1 3P%). Burries brings spacing and a much needed shooting punch to help balance the offense around Flagg. It's been a roller coaster of events in Milwaukee, but with Giannis Antetokounmpo open for trade negotiations I expect the Bucks to draft an option who can fill the void right away alongside the experienced pieces on the roster, and they will select Yaxel Lendeborg with the No. 10 pick. Lendeborg was a do-it-all kind of guy out of Michigan, and although the shooting has questions, I expect his impact to still translate at the NBA level.

And at No. 11 I expect the Golden State Warriors to select Aday Mara, who was one of the best rim protectors in the country and can operate as a facilitator, which fits the Warriors' offensive system perfectly. Not to mention he solves a problem the Dubs have had for a long time, which is size. At No. 12 OKC will select Karim Lopez (11.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 50.2 FG%) who, if developed properly, can be a phenomenal prospect as he fits the defensive-slashing wing mold OKC has been acquiring as of late. The Heat had a tough loss in the play-in against the Hornets, but they look to add more scoring depth as the defense has never been a major issue for coach Spoelstra. Miami will select Labaron Philon Jr. (22 PPG, 5 APG, and 39.9 3P%), one of the most prolific scoring guards in the country this past season. And lastly with the 14th pick in the NBA Draft the Charlotte Hornets select?? Hannes Steinbach (18.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 57.7 FG%), who led the country in rebounds per game and absolutely dominates the interior, which Charlotte (one of the best 3P shooting teams last year) lacked.

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The NCAA Tournament is officially expanding from 68 to 76 teams starting next season, with the announcement finalized May 7th. Eight more bids, eight more First Four games, and a whole lot of debate about whether March Madness needed fixing in the first place. Geno Auriemma, UConn's women's head coach and the most decorated coach in college basketball history, said it best: "It's a money grab."

Here's why he's right. The tournament wasn't broken. The first weekend of March Madness is the best four days in sports — there's a reason the format hasn't meaningfully changed since 2011. The "expansion fixes the bubble" argument falls apart fast: those eight new bids aren't going to mid-majors getting screwed by the committee. They're going to 19-13 power-conference teams who finished 9th in the SEC and lost in the second round of their conference tournament. They're not adding Cinderellas, they're adding bad teams with Quad-1 wins and bad losses, and asking fans to pretend a 24-team Opening Round is appointment television.

The defenders will say expansion grows the game, opens doors for more programs, gives more kids the March Madness experience. Sure, but let's not pretend that's the actual motive. The NCAA just lost the amateurism model, is paying athletes directly through revenue sharing, and is staring down a multi-billion-dollar legal bill from House v. NCAA. They need cash, and 76 teams generates more inventory, more ticket sales, more ad revenue, and more leverage at the negotiating table. Good for the bottom line, but meaningless for the product. Geno called it like it is, and the rest of us should too.

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Brunson on a heater

JALEN BRUNSON
Most 10+ point 4th quarters in NBA postseason since 2022-23
(18 — leads all players in that span)

DETROIT PISTONS
65+ blocks AND 65+ steals through first 8 playoff games
(first team since the 1993 Rockets)

DONOVAN MITCHELL
35+ points and 10+ threes in a single playoff game
(first Cavalier in franchise history)

ILLINOIS
Returning 3 starters who averaged 10+ PPG last season
(56% roster continuity per EvanMiya — projected top-5 roster)

MARCH MADNESS
First major tournament expansion since 1985
(44 at-large bids now — up from 37, biggest field change in 41 years)

The biggest headlines in basketball

🚨 NBA Stars on the Move. Per Shams, the Bucks are "open for business" on Giannis trade calls entering the combine, with the Warriors, Heat, Wolves, Cavs, Celtics, Knicks, and Lakers all in the mix. Meanwhile, per Brett Siegel, Brad Stevens is set to evaluate Jaylen Brown's trade market after Boston's 3–1 collapse to Philly. Two of the league's biggest names are officially on the table.

📝 Coaching Carousel. Per Shams, Steve Kerr agreed to a new two-year deal to return as Warriors head coach, locking in stability as Golden State eyes a Giannis pursuit. Charlotte also extended Charles Lee heading into his third season after engineering a 25-win improvement — the largest year-over-year jump in franchise history — and the No. 1 net rating in the NBA from January 1 on. On the college side, per Pete Thamel, Iowa finalized a 6-year extension for Ben McCollum after his Elite Eight run, beating out North Carolina's coaching search.

🗣️ NBA Player Survey Sparks Debate. The Athletic's anonymous player poll named Alperen Şengün the league's "most overrated," while Jalen Johnson and Derrick White tied for "most underrated." Players also pushed for fewer back-to-backs, harsher referee accountability, and rule changes favoring defense.

📋 March Madness Expands to 76. The NCAA finalized tournament expansion this past week, adding 8 bids and additional First Four games starting next season. Geno Auriemma already called it what it is: a money grab.

🎰 Players Era Restructures. College basketball's $1M NIL-backed Players Era Tournament is moving to a 24-team bracket format split into "Players Era Sixteen" and "Players Era Eight," with ESPN now the exclusive broadcast partner. Alabama, Houston, Michigan, Gonzaga, Kansas, and Florida are already in the field.

Must-see matchups + the pick

Storyline: Cleveland travels to Detroit with the series tied 2–2 after both teams protected home court. Now the question becomes: who steals one first?

Numbers to Know:

Matchup: Cleveland's balanced offense vs. Detroit's suffocating defense.

🎯 Hoopvalor Pick: Check Instagram @hoopvalor

Storyline: Series tied 2–2 after Minnesota took Game 4 without Wemby (ejected). He's back, the Spurs are home, and Castle + Harper have been the story nobody saw coming.

Numbers to Know:

Matchup: San Antonio's balanced two-way attack vs. Minnesota's defense and another Edwards eruption.

🎯 Hoopvalor Pick: Spurs

🐺 Timberwolves vs. Spurs (Game 6) — 5/15, (TBD) If San Antonio takes Game 5 at home, this one in Minnesota becomes elimination — or the close-out if the Wolves steal one on the road.

🚗 Cavaliers vs. Pistons (Game 6) — 5/15, (TBD) Back in Cleveland with the series likely still tight. Cavs defense will be the deciding factor.

Moments, memes, and culture

Deandre Ayton’s play as of late has Steven A. Smith going on another one of his rants:

That’s Volume 19.
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Catch you courtside. 🏀
— Hoopvalor