NBA 101

Payton Pritchard, Celtics Agree To Two-Year, $44.2M Extension

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard has agreed to a two-year, $44.2 million contract extension, plus a mutual option in the 2029-30 season, CAA co-head of basketball Austin Brown and agent Max Saidman told ESPN on Tuesday.

Pritchard — the 2024 NBA champion and 2025 Sixth Man of the Year — cashes in on a fully guaranteed two-year max extension to keep him a key long-term member of the retooled Celtics after the 6-foot-1 guard averaged career highs in points (17), assists (5.2) and rebounds (3.9) last season.

The mutual option for Pritchard and the Celtics allows for either side to opt-in for the final season of his contract in 2029-30, which also opens the window for extension conversations that summer.

Game Preview: Utah Jazz vs San Antonio Spurs

After splitting their first two preseason games against the Nuggets, a new opponent is rolling into Salt Lake City. The San Antonio Spurs, runner-ups from last season and my pick for the eventual 2027 NBA champion, are coming to town, and will bring match-up problems that I can’t wait for the Jazz to try to solve. If Victor Wembanyama plays (and that is a big “if”), this preseason game will give us a unique opportunity to watch the Jazz, in a low-stakes environment, attempt to solve the player who seems destined to rule the West for the foreseeable future.

I’m particularly interested to see how what lineups the Jazz roll out in this one. Preseason is a time for experimentation, so I would not be shocked to see a starting lineup against the Spurs that Will Hardy has no intention of starting once the regular season comes around. Will Josh Okogie get his chance with the starters? Will Keyonte sit, giving Darryn Peterson some point guard reps? Will Hardy give Blake Hinson a shot with more established players? If ever he wanted to try these scenarios out, now is the time.

Once again, all eyes will be on Darryn Peterson. After he struggled in game 1 against the Nuggets, his shotmaking popped in the rematch. How will he fare against the notoriously physical Spurs backcourt? This is, once again, assuming that he plays – I would not be surprised if the injury report before this game looks eerily similar to what we became accustomed to during March and April of last season.

Utah Jazz vs San Antonio Spurs—How to Watch:

Who: Utah Jazz vs San Antonio Spurs

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

When: 7pm Mountain Daylight Time

How to Watch: KJZZ, Jazz+ (in market) or NBA League Pass (out of market)

Spurs release new ABA-inspired Classic Edition uniforms and court

It’s a not a new season without new alternate uniforms in this day and age, and the Spurs have released their new Classic Editions: a retro throwback to their ABA origins in honor of the 50th anniversary of the American Basketball Association’s merger with the National Basketball Association back in 1976.

“Honoring our ABA roots through this Classic Edition uniform gives us an opportunity to celebrate the history that helped shape the Spurs and our city,” said Jordan Mandelkorn, vice president of marketing, creative and retail at Spurs Sports & Entertainment. “From the original design worn at HemisFair Arena to the special court with the ABA 50^th anniversary logo, this season-long celebration will connect generations of fans to our past while carrying that legacy forward into the future.”

The uniform features a silver base, grounding the team in a core color that reflects the early identity of the franchise. The arched Spurs wordmark returns in its original form on the jersey, worn by the first players to ever represent the city in the early ‘70s and now carrying forward their legacy. Directly above the jock tag, a special ABA anthem tag honors the league that brought the Spurs to the NBA. The shorts will feature the original black diamond backdrop framing the Spurs logo. The team’s patch partner, Ledger, appears on each jersey, symbolizing the commitment they share with the Spurs to build upon past greatness as the next generation forges forward into the future.

Each thread tells a story, and every detail carries us forward.

A closer look at our new Classic Edition uniform 👀🧵@Ledger | #PorVidapic.twitter.com/VP7YTH5npL

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 12, 2026

A classic uniform called for a classic court this season 🔥🏠@Ledger | #PorVidapic.twitter.com/jeFvRcrsZS

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 12, 2026

The Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA first came to San Antonio in 1973. They were initially going to be renamed “The “Gunslingers” before it was changed to the Spurs (probably a good idea), although there is debate as to whether the change was the result of a contest or one of the owners being from the small town of Spur, TX. They soon joined the NBA as part of the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, along with the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and then-New York Nets. The Spurs saw early success in the ABA and NBA, led by George Gervin and James Silas, and although it would take until 1999, they because the first former ABA team to win an NBA title — five, to be specific — and held that distinction until the Nuggets won it all in 2023.

The Spurs will sport their new Classic Edition uniforms and court nine times during the 2026-27 regular season, beginning on November 4 when they fittingly host the Dallas Mavericks. What do you think of the new unis, Pounders? It’s far from their first grey/silver uniform, but these are pretty slick, and the extra meaning behind them definitely adds some significance. Plus, there couldn’t be a more rad duo for rolling them out than Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant.

𝐀 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭.

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔-𝟐𝟕 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦.

🔗 https://t.co/5eJDcXeUqh@Ledger | #PorVidapic.twitter.com/2xz6vzLKmB

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 12, 2026

Honoring our ABA roots that helped shape our team and city.@Ledger | #PorVidapic.twitter.com/RGynWkKOgz

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 12, 2026

A BTS look at our Classic Uniform set 🎥🎬@Ledger | #PorVidapic.twitter.com/61vgcDzB3r

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 12, 2026

How Kimi Antonelli can clinch the F1 Drivers’ Championship in Austin

With the Singapore Grand Prix in the books, the Formula 1 grid will go quiet for a week, until the United States Grand Prix.

And a champion can now be crowned that weekend in Austin.

Kimi Antonelli is on the doorstep of his first F1 Drivers’ Championship, and could mathematically clinch that title at the United States Grand Prix later in Austin.

Here is how.

F1 Drivers’ Championship standings

Here are the current standings, including only the drivers that still have a mathematical chance at winning the F1 Drivers’ Championship this season.

Position	Driver	Team	Points	Wins
1	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	340	8
2	George Russell	Mercedes	238	3
3	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	229	1
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	221	2
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	215	1
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	201	2

How Antonelli can clinch at the USGP

This weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix marked the final F1 Sprint race of the season. Six race weekends remain, all in the standard Grand Prix format, meaning that on paper 150 points are up for grabs — 25 points are awarded to the winner of each Grand Prix.

That number will drop to 125 after the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

That means that to clinch the title in Texas, Antonelli needs to leave the Circuit of the Americans with at least a 125-point lead over his rivals in the title chase. He will head to Austin with a 102-point lead over teammate George Russell, and a 111-point lead over Lewis Hamilton, putting Antonelli in position to clinch in Texas.

A win in Austin, coupled with favorable results from Russell and Hamilton, would get the job done. If Antonelli wins the United States Grand Prix he would move to 365 points on the year, 127 points ahead of Russell and 136 points ahead of Hamilton before their results are factored in.

Which means Russell needs to finish eighth or higher in Austin to remain alive in the title race, and Hamilton needs to finish fourth or higher to remain alive, should Antonelli win the United States Grand Prix. We will return to these two drivers in a moment.

A win from Antonelli would eliminate Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen. At the moment Antonelli has a 139-point lead over Norris, and with a win in Austin that would extend to 164 points, and a second-place finish from Norris would only cut that margin down to 146, outside of striking range. With Leclerc, Antonelli has a 125-point lead, which would grow to 150 points with a win in Austin, and a P2 from Leclerc would only cut that margin down to 132 points, outside of striking range.

As for Verstappen, who is in prime form at the moment, Antonelli enjoys a 119-point lead over the Red Bull driver. An Antonelli win at the United States Grand Prix would grow that to 144 points, which Verstappen could only cut down to 126 points with a P2, just outside of striking range. Remember, only 125 points are available after the United States Grand Prix.

Now let’s talk about Russell and Hamilton.

Antonelli has a gap of 111 points to Hamilton at the moment, and if Antonelli wins in Austin, that would grow to 136 points. If the Ferrari driver were to finish second, he would cut that gap down to 118 points, which would keep Hamilton alive. Simply put, if Antonelli wins in Austin, as long as Hamilton finishes in the top four, he would remain alive. Should Antonelli win — and grow his lead over Hamilton to 136 points before we calculate the Ferrari driver’s finish — then a P5 from Hamilton would trim that gap by ten points to 126.

With 125 points remaining available.

As for Russell, if he finishes eighth or higher, he would remain alive in the title fight even if Antonelli wins in Austin. If he finishes ninth, he would be exactly 125 points behind Antonelli if the Italian driver were to win the United States Grand Prix, with five race weekends left. He could then — theoretically — win the rest of the races while Antonelli finished outside of the points in all of them, and finish tied with Antonelli on points.

But he would lose to Antonelli on countback, or tiebreakers.

An Antonelli win in Austin would move him to nine wins on the season. And if Russell won out from there, he would finish with … eight wins. Wins are the first tiebreaker, so if the two were to finish level on points, the title would be decided by the number of wins and since Antonelli would have nine and Russell would have eight, the title would be Antonelli’s.

However, there are some other factors to consider …

What about Qatar and Abu Dhabi?

Nothing in this world happens in a vacuum.

Including Formula 1.

Hostilities in the Middle East between the United States and Iran already forced the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and required moving the Bahrain Grand Prix to Malaysia. As things stand right now, the final two races of the season are set for Qatar in late November, and Abu Dhabi the following weekend at the start of December.

F1 has not announced a decision on those races — and news is expected later this month — but the sport’s governing body already cancelled Rally Saudi Arabia, as the World Endurance Championship was slated for a race in Saudi Arabia in mid-November.

Which does not bode well for Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

So, hypothetically for the moment, if we remove those two races from the schedule, then only four race weekends remain this season. And in that scenario, only 100 points are available to those drivers chasing Antonelli.

And since Russell is closest at 102 points behind … in this scenario Antonelli has already clinched the title.

Now, F1 has floated the idea of adding a race in Imola at the end of the season, should circumstances force a cancellation of both Qatar and Abu Dhabi. In that scenario, with five races remaining, a maximum of 125 points are available to the drivers over those events.

And Antonelli would need a lead of 100 points over each of his rivals to clinch the title in Austin, if the season were to finish with Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, and Imola.

What do we know for sure?

Antonelli heads to Austin with a chance to clinch his first title, and SB Nation will be on the ground covering it live.

Want to stay updated on all the latest F1 news? Download the brand new SB Nation app and join our F1 Community! There, you can read all the latest from the paddock and talk about Formula 1 all year long with fans from around the world!

Jaguars holder Logan Cooke just delivered an all-time NFL performance

In the National Football League, there are a few positions that fans do not even think about until something bad happens.

Holding for place kicks is one of those positions.

That is considered a routine part of the game, almost an automated task you could imagine pulling off yourself while watching games from your couch. But it is a lot harder than it looks, and there are a lot of moving parts. From making sure the field goal unit is set, to catching the snap cleanly, to placing the ball down on the right spot and spinning the laces away from the kicker, and finally getting the angle of teh ball right based on the kicker’s personal preference.

It is also something I did for four years in college, so I know what it looks like when it goes right … and how it looks when everything goes haywire.

That brings me to Jacksonville Jaguars punter — and holder — Logan Cooke, who had a starring role in Jacksonville’s stunning 19-17 win on Sunday.

Jacksonville lost long snapper Ross Matiscik to a shoulder injury early in Sunday’s game in London against the Philadelphia Eagles. That forced Liam Coen and the Jacksonville coaching staff to turn to defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton to handle the snapping duties against the Eagles.

While Hamilton’s first long snap Sunday, on a punt, was perfect things were less accurate after that.

Before diving into these clips, let’s talk about the holding operation. Cooke holds for Cam Little, a right-footed kicker. What happens before the snap is this: Cooke will take his spot around seven yards behind the ball, get into his stance, put his left hand down to mark where the ball will be placed, and then brace his left elbow against his left leg as a guide. Cooke does this so that after he catches the snap, he brings the ball back with both hands and the left leg stops that movement, enabling him to place the ball where Little expects it.

You can see that in the image below, as Cooke has his left elbow pinned to the inside of his left leg, waiting for the snap. In a clean operation he’ll catch the snap, pull the ball back with both hands, drive his left elbow into his left leg to guide him, place the ball down with his left hand, and spin it with his right to get the laces out:

That’s when everything goes as it should.

But when it does not, the holder needs to work a little magic.

Following a Jacksonville touchdown Hamilton, Cooke, and the Jaguars field goal unit came into the game to attempt the extra point. Hamilton’s snap was high, but watch how Cooke is able to catch the snap, get the ball placed and then … GET HIS LEFT FOOT OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE CAM LITTLE KICKS IT:

What a play by @Jaguars P Logan Cooke to catch the high snap and save the PAT @PHIvsJAX on NFL Network
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/8CKtLI2F2l

— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026

Even though Cooke has to adjust to catch the high snap, he gets the ball down where Little is expecting it. However, the adjustment Cooke makes to catch the snap moves his left foot a bit, and into the path of Little’s swing. So Cook lifts that foot up a bit, giving Little a clear path to the football.

On a field goal attempt later in the game, a similar situation played out: A high snap, a great adjustment from Cooke, and a final move with his left foot to clear the path for Little:

Another high snap, but @Jaguars P Logan Cooke brings it down and makes sure Cam Little still gets the kick through@PHIvsJAX on NFL Network
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/V6CDORtZS3

— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026

Here is a better look at it:

Fantastic grab from Logan Cooke on a high snap to get the ball down

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) 2026-10-11T15:54:05.444Z

The kicking operation did seem to impact how Coen handled some fourth-down decisions on Sunday. At the end of the half the Jaguars faced a 4th-and-goal from the Philadelphia 1-yard line, and rather than try a field goal to make it a 14-10 game, Coen left his offense on the field.

A jet sweep was stopped for a six-yard loss.

Midway through the fourth quarter Jacksonville again faced a 4th-and-goal decision, now trailing 14-10, and Coen kept the offense on the field. A Trevor Lawrence pass fell incomplete.

There was another high snap later in the game, following an incredible touchdown reception from Parker Washington Jr. Hamilton’s snap was high, but Cooke still managed to get the ball down, but the timing may have been off as Little pulled the kick to the left.

That looked for a moment as if it would be a deciding factor in this game, as the Eagles responded with a field goal in the closing minute to take a 17-16 lead. But on the ensuing kickoff, Jaguars returner Ameer Abdullah ripped off a 53-yard return, getting Jacksonville into field goal range for Little.

And giving Cooke one more chance to pull off something special as well.

Once again, Hamilton’s snap was high, but Cooke got the hold down, Little split the uprights, and the Jaguars had a stunning 19-17 win:

UNBELIEVABLE. JAGS WIN.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?! pic.twitter.com/O7x8JTgPeK

— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026

But when it comes to Cooke, holding is one of those specialties that you do not think about until you have to. And usually, in those situations, it is because something has gone terribly wrong.

But sometimes, iit is because a holder has dome something rather special.

Like Cooke did Sunday in London.

Karl-Anthony Towns ‘Very Disappointed’ By Knicks’ Decision To Pause Extension Talks

Karl-Anthony Towns said Sunday he was caught off guard by the New York Knicks’ decision to delay contract extension talks until later in the season. The team announced late last week that it would not negotiate with eligible players until then.

“It was news to me,” said Towns. “Very disappointed, to say the least. Let’s state the obvious: It’s a business, but there is business on the court for us to handle.”

Towns is one of four Knicks eligible for extensions, along with Josh Hart, Miles McBride and Tyler Kolek. Towns has been the most outspoken of the group about his frustration.

The Knicks’ offer to Towns has centered on a deal worth close to $200 million in total, league sources said. Towns is eligible to sign for up to a four-year, $276 million extension.

The Knicks face tight financial constraints. Owner James Dolan has instructed the front office not to cross the second apron, which has complicated negotiations following the team’s NBA championship.

The timeline now hinges on Towns’ $61 million player option for next season. He must decline it by Oct. 19 to negotiate with the Knicks during the season.

If he does not, New York cannot legally discuss an extension with Towns or his representatives until after the season. Towns would then be officially entering the final year of his contract.

Josh Hart ‘Not Too Stressed’ About Knicks Stopping Extension Talks

New York Knicks wing Josh Hart was asked about the team tabling extension talks for eligible players, such as himself. Hart didn’t seem as worried about the situation as teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles McBride seem to be.

“Everything is going to work out. I’m not really too stressed over it,” Hart said. “I’m not putting too much into it. We have expectations, so it’s good we are able to focus on the season.”

Hart has two years left on his contract. This season, the veteran wing is owed $20.9 million. Next season, the Knicks hold a $22.4 million team option for Hart. In order for Hart to extend after October 19, New York would need to decline that team option first. As things play out, Hart was honest that their next deals would occasionally be on the minds of the extension-eligible players.

“There will be days where we don’t think about it,” Hart said. “There will be days where it’s top of the mind. We’re humans.”