Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Kevin Garnett joins Timberwolves organization as Team Ambassador

The Minnesota Timberwolves have announced that franchise legend and Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett has officially joined the organization as Team Ambassador, marking a historic reunion between the team and its most iconic player. Garnett’s return underscores a shared commitment to honoring the franchise’s past while building sustained success and a bold new future for Minnesota basketball fans to celebrate.

Garnett, the greatest player in Timberwolves history, will serve in a visible and active role with the Timberwolves and Lynx, strengthening the teams’ deep Minnesota roots by attending select home games, elevating the fan experience, championing community initiatives across the Twin Cities and helping shape the teams’ stories through exclusive content. The Timberwolves will honor Garnett and his profound legacy by retiring his No. 21 jersey. Details of the ceremony will be announced at a later date.

“I’m thrilled to be back home,” said Garnett. “Minnesota is where it all began, where I was young, hungry and learning how to compete at the highest level. I’m excited to be back in the Twin Cities at a time when Marc and Alex are setting a bold new vision for this franchise. Their leadership has brought fresh energy to the organization, and I’m excited to help build what’s next for the Timberwolves, our fans and this community.”

“The Big Ticket is back! Kevin Garnett is synonymous with the Minnesota Timberwolves,” said Co‑Chairmen Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. “Bringing Kevin home has been a priority since we acquired the teams. He is the greatest player in Timberwolves history, and his impact on our franchise and community is immeasurable. This is more than a reunion—it’s a statement about honoring our past while pursuing excellence and building one of the most admired sports organizations in the world. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome him home.”

Spurs sign Stanley Umude to Two-Way contract

The San Antonio Spurs recently signed guard Stanley Umude to a Two-Way contract.

In a related move, San Antonio has waived Kyle Mangas.

Umude, 6-6/210, appeared in 11 games with the Austin Spurs across the Tip-Off Tournament and regular season, averaging 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 35.8 minutes. He most recently scored a season-high 34 points vs. Stockton Kings on Dec. 19.

The San Antonio native played in 47 NBA games with Detroit and Milwaukee while on Two-Way contracts, averaging 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.4 minutes. He was also a member of the Bucks 2024 Emirates NBA Cup Championship team. In the G League, he holds career averages of 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 57 games with Austin, Wisconsin Herd and Motor City Cruise.

Mangas originally signed a Two-Way contract with San Antonio on Dec. 12, 2025. In two seasons with Austin, he has appeared in 21 games (18 starts), averaging 17.0 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 33.2 minutes.

Pacers sign Garrison Mathews to 10-day contract

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday that the team was granted an NBA Hardship Exception and subsequently signed guard Garrison Mathews to a 10-day contract.

Mathews will wear number 24 and is available for Friday’s Emirates NBA Cup game at Cleveland, which will air on Amazon Prime at 7:00pm ET.

Via the Indy Star:

Teams are allowed to sign players to hardship exception contracts if they have at least four players who have missed three consecutive games and who are expected to miss at least two more weeks. The Pacers had six players listed as “out” for Wednesday’s game against the Hornets — All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, forwards Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Johnny Furphy and guards Kam Jones and Quenton Jackson. Haliburton is out for the season, Toppin is out until at least Feb. 1. Nesmith, who missed his third consecutive game Wednesday, is out approximately four weeks. The Pacers haven’t given timelines on Jones, Jackson or Furphy but Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Jones is still “aways out” with a lower back stress reaction.

Mavs guard Dante Exum out with season-ending injury

Per the Dallas Morning News:

The 2025-26 season came to a premature end for Dallas Mavericks guard Dante Exum on Thursday, the team announced.

Exum has continued to deal with complications from a right knee procedure he underwent in the offseason, the team said, and it has been determined that a follow-up surgery will be necessary.

A further recovery timeline for Exum will be provided at a later date, but the guard will not be returning to action this season.

Exum, who had yet to appear in a game this season, also missed most of the 2024-25 season with a right wrist injury and a left hand fracture.

Cavs fined $100,000 by NBA

The NBA announced today that the Cleveland Cavaliers have been fined $100,000 for violating the league’s Player Participation Policy. The violation occurred when the Cavaliers held Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, who are both star players under the Policy, out of the team’s game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 12 for rest.

The Policy, which was adopted prior to the 2023-24 season, is intended to promote participation in the NBA’s regular season.

Injury update on Spurs guard Stephon Castle

The San Antonio Spurs have announced that Stephon Castle underwent an MRI yesterday that revealed he has a left hip flexor strain. The injury occurred in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.

In addition, Jordan McLaughlin underwent an MRI yesterday that revealed he has a right hamstring strain. The injury occurred in an on-court workout yesterday at the Victory Capital Performance Center.

Rockets notes after beating Magic 117-113 in OT

With the win tonight, the Rockets have won four in a row against the Magic after losing four straight prior from 2/25/22-10/25/23. Houston has won each of its past four games while Orlando has its three-game winning streak snapped.

The Rockets won by four points in overtime. Houston lost in double-overtime in the season opener at Oklahoma City on 10/21. The Rockets only played four overtime games in 2024-25 (3-1 mark). Tonight marked Houston’s first win of the season by fewer than seven points.

Houston held Orlando to 41.8% shooting, including 32.4% from 3-point range. Since the start of last season, the Rockets are 35-7 when holding opponents below 45.0% shooting and 31-8 when the opposition shoots 33.3% or worse from behind-the-arc.

The Rockets outrebounded the Magic by 22. Houston has outrebounded its opponent by 20+ boards in two of the past four games and three times overall this season. The Rockets have 149 more rebounds than the opposition this season. Dating back to 1975-76, no other team had a differential better than 137 boards through the first 12 games of a season.

Houston shot 25-of-29 (86.2%) from the foul line.

The Rockets have recorded 25+ FTA while shooting 85.0% or better three times this season after doing so three times in 2024-25.

Four different Rockets grabbed 10+ rebounds (Alperen Sengun w/13; Steven Adams w/12; Jabari Smith Jr. w/10; Amen Thompson w/10) while no Magic player had more than 6 boards. The last time Houston had four players grab 10+ boards in a single game was vs. Indiana on 3/13/01 (Kelvin Cato, Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Maurice Taylor).

Kevin Durant had 35 points while Alperen Sengun scored 30. The Rockets had two players score 30+ points in the same game three times last season.
Alperen Sengun had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists. It is his second 30-point game of the season and his eighth double-double, seven of which have come over the past eight games. Sengun has recorded at least 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in all 12 games this season. Dating back to 1975-76, no other player had a streak longer than seven games doing so to start a season.

Kevin Durant 35 points on 13-of-24 shooting. He had fewer than 20 FGA in each of the first 11 games of the season, which was the third-longest streak of his career. Durant has scored 30+ points in three of the past four games after doing so twice prior this season. No other Rocket scored 30+ points more than three times over the first 12 games of a season since James Harden did so nine times in 2019-20.

Reed Sheppard led all reserves with 16 points off the bench and he grabbed a career-high tying 7 rebounds. Over the past six games, he is averaging 15.7 ppg in 25.3 mpg while shooting 59.0% from the floor. Sheppard also had a steal without committing a turnover tonight. He has 19 steals with 15 turnovers overall this season.

Franz Wagner led Orlando with 29 points. He has scored 25+ points in each of the past three games, which is tied for the second-longest streak of his career (4 games from 11/12-11/18/24). Wagner shot 10-of-13 from the foul line tonight and has recorded 10+ FTA in three of the past five games after doing so once prior this season and six times in 2024-25.