The Los Angeles Lakers have started the 2025-26 season at a blistering pace. They have a 13-4 record and are the second seed in the Western Conference. But the starting five could still use an upgrade,

That is how loaded the early MVP race has been thus far this season. We have three former winners not only playing the best basketball of their careers, but posting some of the greatest seasons in NBA history.

One former player who's gotten involved in the Markkanen trade discussions is Chandler Parsons, who, during a segment of Run It Back on FanDuel TV, says he wants to see the Jazz star to get dealt, and if he does, to look to either the San Antonio Spurs or the Detroit Pistons.

Aldama had the best performance of his career last season when he averaged 12.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 3-pointers. He only shot 69.1% from the free throw line, but he shot 48.3% from the field and 36.8% from three. He mostly came off the bench, though, and has filled the same role again this season.

For the NBA Cup, every NBA team has specially designed courts, with brighter colors — the Lakers' is a muted yellow — and the NBA Cup championship trophy at center court as part of the logo. These are not decals placed on top of a regular court, these are specially designed courts.

The Milwaukee Bucks could be on track to get a star player back from injury in time for their NBA Cup matchup against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. The Buc

New users can get three months of NBA League Pass free, an NBA League Pass discount, with the all-new DraftKings promo code

The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. The Bounce will take a break on Thursday and Friday to enjoy Thanksgiving. In the meantime, happy birthday to Shawn Kemp (Wednesday) and Nick Van Exel (Thursday)!

The Detroit Pistons continue to be dominant through the first couple of weeks of play, climbing to the top of the Eastern Conference and 2.5 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors -- two teams that have been building momentum after a few undesirable seasons.

Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel is an impressive player to watch lately, even if you're a former NBA MVP. Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden was aske