NBA 101

Indy 500: Katherine Legge’s ‘Double’ dream comes to an early end

Katherine Legge’s dream of completing “The Double” came to an early end at the 110th Indianapolis 500.

The British driver was attempting one of the toughest feats in motorsports, trying to complete both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. But her Indianapolis 500 came to an end on Lap 18, as she swerved to avoid a spin from Ryan Hunter-Reay in front of her, and found the inside wall:

Two cars into the wall on Lap 18! 😳

The #Indy500 is over early for Ryan Hunter-Reay and Katherine Legge. pic.twitter.com/gtWG3Yv01Q

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 24, 2026

Here is another angle of the incident:

The first caution of the day. Ryan Hunter-Reay spins. Katherine Legge tries to avoid contact. pic.twitter.com/eg3t0tABUO

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 24, 2026

Both drivers were taken to the infield care center and checked out before being released. Legge spoke with FOX Sports following the incident:

Her #Indy500 is over, but there’s still more racing ahead. @katherinelegge is with @Ghenneberry47. pic.twitter.com/wu4yzpcjve

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 24, 2026

Legge will now head to Charlotte for the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, where she is set to start 37th. Weather conditions washed out Saturday’s qualifying session, and rain is also expected to be a factor this evening.

Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 is also sure to be a somber event, with the unexpected passing of NASCAR legend Kyle Busch earlier this week.

Another WNBA guard has been waived, but this time is different

The New York Liberty have waived guard Julie Vanloo, who was on a hardship contract with the club. But, Vanloo turned to social media to express her gratitude for the tenure.

“I’m totally okay with it,” she wrote on her Instagram story. “I knew from the start it would likely be short, and New York was amazing with their communication throughout the entire process. Very respectful.”

Julie Vanloo on her IG story:

W New York 🩵 pic.twitter.com/fVuczDsshs

— VanlooMuse (@JulieVanlooMuse) May 22, 2026

Through five games, Vanloo averaged 5.8 points and 5.4 assists per game.

Vanloo, 33, has played for the Washington Mystics, Golden State Valkyries, and Los Angeles Sparks over the past two years. Last year, she was waived by the Valkyries midseason, before joining the Sparks for the rest of the year. Vanloo was with the Sparks for training camp, but was cut before the regular season roster was finalized.

But, she signed with the Liberty, and poured in 12 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds in the season opener, a 106-75 victory over the Connecticut Sun.

“It was a tough week,” Vanloo said after that game, per The Associated Press’s Doug Feinberg. “I’m a little bit overwhelmed, and I’m just trying to take it all in. Just being waived, trying to stay positive, trying to stay confident. I had a lot of conversations with my family and my close people, and I really wanted to give up and go home because I was exhausted from a long season overseas and from giving everything I had in training camp.”

Her tenure ending likely means that Sabrina Ionescu, who has yet to play this season with a left foot injury, will soon make her debut. The team has otherwise leaned on rookie Pauline Astier at the point guard position, with Ionescu and Rebecca Allen (left leg injury) both sidelined.

Whether Vanloo will get picked up by another WNBA team remains to be seen. But during her brief Liberty tenure, Vanloo made her mark, finishing with the league’s 10th-most assists per game (5.4) and the 8th-best three-point percentage (50%).

Still, she joins a long list of players whose future is uncertain.

Taylor Jenkins Adds Darvin Ham, Patrick St. Andrews, Joe Boylan To Bucks’ Coaching Staff

Darvin Ham, Patrick St. Andrews and Joe Boylan are all expected to join new Milwaukee Bucks head coach Taylor Jenkins’ staff for the 2026-27 season.

Ham brings head coaching experience to the role, having compiled a 90-74 record across two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, including a Western Conference finals run in 2023. Ham interviewed for the New Orleans vacancy this spring before the Pelicans hired Jamahl Mosley.

The appointment reunites Ham with Jenkins, who first worked together on Mike Budenholzer’s Atlanta Hawks staff. Both later moved to Milwaukee with Budenholzer for the 2018-19 season before Jenkins departed for Memphis and Ham remained with the Bucks through 2022.

St. Andrews, a nine-year NBA assistant, also traces his coaching roots to Budenholzer’s Atlanta staff. He followed the same path to Milwaukee and later joined Jenkins in Memphis in 2023 before moving to Portland, where he has worked under interim Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter.

Jenkins addressed the bonds formed during that 2018-19 Milwaukee staff at his introductory news conference.

“They’re definitely brothers to me, for sure,” said Jenkins. “The staff that was here when I was here in Milwaukee, I remain unbelievably close friends and brothers with, supporting each other.

“They’ve made a tremendous impact on me, both personally and professionally, basketball-wise. The intimate nature of our job, we’re around each other all the time. You’re having great debates in coaches’ meetings, in the locker room, on the plane rides. You’re doing things out in your communities, road cities, wherever it is. You’re sharing a lot of time together, and how we pour into each other, those connections were immediate.”

Boylan rounds out the trio, having joined Jenkins’ Grizzlies staff in 2024-25. He previously served three seasons under Chris Finch in Minnesota and spent over a decade in player development with several NBA organizations. Boylan is a noted practitioner of the Constraints-Led Approach to player development.

Dunc’d On: The NBA Media Landscape with Andrew Marchand

De’Aaron Fox Will Be Game Time Decision Again For Game 3 With High Ankle Sprain

De’Aaron Fox will be a game time decision for Game 3 again with a high ankle sprain. Fox was out for both Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Fox initially played through the injury in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves and aggravated it in Game 6 when the San Antonio Spurs closed out the series.

The Spurs could also be without Dylan Harper in Game 3 after he suffered a hamstring injury in Game 2. Stephon Castle has been left to take on the vast majority of ballhandling duties for the Spurs.

Fox averaged 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 31.0 minutes over 72 games during the regular season for the Spurs.

LeBron James Says Free Agency Decision Could Stretch Into August

LeBron James said he has not yet turned his attention to whether he will play a 24th NBA season, telling listeners of his podcast “Mind the Game” that a decision on his future is unlikely before late July or August.

James enters the offseason as a free agent, giving him full control over his next destination. However, James could find it challenging to sign with a contender beyond the Los Angeles Lakers for anything similar to his contract this season.

“I’m still in the moment of just taking my time,” said James. “I haven’t even really thought about it too much. Obviously, I understand that I’m a free agent and I can control my own destiny — being here with [the Lakers] for the foreseeable future or if it’s going somewhere else.

“But like, I haven’t even really got to that point…I think at some point in June, late June, as July rolls around — free agency starts to get going and as July rolls around and maybe into August, we’ll start to kind of get a feel of what my future may look like.”

A return for a 24th season would extend James’ own record for the longest career in NBA history. He spoke alongside co-host Steve Nash on the podcast, released Thursday, more than a week after the Lakers’ second-round playoff exit against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

James said a family vacation planned after Memorial Day remains his immediate priority before any basketball decisions are made.

Victor Wembanyama’s Agent Consulted Rob Pelinka To Apply Kobe Bryant’s Training Philosophy

When Victor Wembanyama’s agent, Bouna Ndiaye, needed to create a training program to satisfy his intellectual curiosity and relentless drive, he called Rob Pelinka, the Los Angeles Lakers lead executive who spent years as Kobe Bryant’s agent.

Ndiaye saw in Wembanyama the same consuming drive and approach to his craft as Bryant, and believed a conventional training path would fall short of what his client required.

“The way they think is different,” Ndiaye told ESPN. “The way they play, the way they stretch themselves. Just their curiosity. How they study and watch things. They’re both very creative on how to solve a problem.”

Pelinka recounted how Bryant had spent summers studying great white sharks to sharpen his defensive instincts and arranged a private tour of the Sistine Chapel to absorb lessons about creating something extraordinary under impossible conditions.

The problem Ndiaye needed to solve for Wembanyama was specific. The 7-foot-4 center needed to become more physical inside without adding bulk that would compromise his unique athleticism and flexibility. He needed to impose his will closer to the basket against opponents 30 to 50 pounds heavier, while preserving the fluidity that makes him impossible to replicate.

The answer was the Shaolin Temple in China’s Henan province, where Wembanyama spent nearly two weeks last summer training under 34th-generation warrior monk Master Yan’an. The customized kung fu program focused on controlling his center of gravity, generating force from multiple positions, and resisting contact, directly mirroring the double-teams and physical punishment he faces nightly in the NBA.

The mental component proved equally demanding. Wembanyama meditated for up to 90 minutes at a stretch alongside 100 monks, rose at 4:30 each morning to train in forests and on uneven hillside tracks, and completed a nighttime climb up a 1,500-step mountain path in total darkness as an exercise in awareness and courage.

Wembanyama played a career-high 49 minutes in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City, posting 41 points and 24 rebounds while displaying the kind of balance and body control under contact that Master Yan’an had specifically trained him to develop. Master Yan’an watched Game 1 and noted Wembanyama’s body control as he was pushed by defenders.

“Power comes from inside,” Master Yan’an said. “I would look at him and say: You are not a cat; you are a tiger. For power to come out, you have to change the inside first.”

“His conditioning is second to none,” Ndiaye said. “We’re getting into that period of the year where you’re playing every other day, and Victor is still looking so good physically, and I think this is the result of all this work.”

Sun vs. Fire Live Stream: Watch WNBA Season 2026 on Fubo

The 2026 WNBA regular season brings a compelling inter-conference showdown to the Pacific Northwest tonight, Monday, May 18, as the Connecticut Sun travel to the Moda Center to face the league’s newest expansion franchise, the Portland Fire. Connecticut is searching desperately for their first win of the campaign following a challenging opening schedule. Meanwhile, Portland aims to protect home court and move to an even .500 record in front of their booming Rose City fan base. Watch all the action live on Fubo.

Connecticut enters tonight’s clash coming off a hard-fought 101-94 loss to the Las Vegas Aces, where rookie guard Hailey Van Lith shone brightly with a team-high 17 points. Supported by a dominant interior performance from Aneesah Morrow-who secured a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double-the young Sun roster is showing rapid progression. The Fire counter with a versatile unit built during the expansion draft, led by Canadian superstar Bridget Carleton, who recently put on a 26-point masterclass against New York, and explosive French guard Carla Leite. Witness this clash of styles live on Fubo.

The primary tactical battle will highlight the battle under the rim. Portland’s interior duo of Luisa Geiselsöder and Megan Gustafson will be tasked with clamping down on Morrow and the athletic forward Aaliyah Edwards. Out on the perimeter, the defensive tenacity of Connecticut’s Saniya Rivers and Kennedy Burke must disrupt Leite’s playmaking to stifle Portland’s transition offense. Expect a passionate, high-energy atmosphere as Portland fans pack the arena to back the Fire. Catch the game streaming live on Fubo.

Connecticut’s urgent hunt for Win #1 versus Portland’s cohesive expansion system will be the deciding factor tonight. You can catch every fast break, block, and clutch shot live on Fubo.

How to Watch Connecticut Sun vs. Portland Fire

Tonight’s regular-season matchup between the Sun and Fire will be available to watch live on Fubo.

Category	Details
Date	Monday, May 18, 2026
Tip-Off Time	10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT
Live Stream	Fubo
Venue	Moda Center, Portland, OR

Sun vs. Fire Game Preview & Odds

Oddsmakers have the expansion Fire as narrow favorites tonight, respecting their strong performance on home floor earlier in the week. However, the Sun’s desperation and high-energy backcourt make them a popular choice to cover the narrow margin.

Betting Line	Fire -2.5
Over/Under	168.5
Moneyline	POR -140 | CON +115

Prediction: This game will likely feature massive swings as both young rosters adapt to the pace. While Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow will keep Connecticut striking distance throughout the fourth quarter, Bridget Carleton’s late perimeter execution in front of the home fans should seal it for Portland. Final Score: Fire 86, Sun 81.

Players to Watch

These stars are anchoring the rotations for their respective squads early in the 2026 campaign.

Sun Key Performers (Season Averages)	PTS	REB	Notes
Hailey Van Lith (G)	15.3	2.1	Coming off 17 pts vs. Aces
Aneesah Morrow (F)	12.3	10.3	Averaging a double-double

The expansion Fire look to their international talent and draft picks to push the offensive tempo.

Fire Key Performers (Season Averages)	PTS	AST	Notes
Bridget Carleton (F)	18.5	3.0	Shot 6 threes in last win
Carla Leite (G)	14.0	5.5	Leading team in assists

Stream the WNBA on Fubo

Fubo is your premier streaming destination for all the marquee action of the 2026 WNBA season. Don’t miss a single minute as the Sun and Fire lock horns in this cross-conference battle.

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Donovan Mitchell’s Best Extension Option Is Waiting Until 2027, Complicating Cavs’ Position

Donovan Mitchell faces a significant contract decision this summer with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the most advantageous one for him is complicated for the franchise. Mitchell is under no obligation to act before 2027, and that reality is a source of discomfort for the organization.

Mitchell’s current deal pays him $50 million for 2026-27, with a player option worth $54 million for the following season. The Cavaliers would prefer to replace that option year with a new contract as early as July, when they could offer four years and up to $272 million.

But waiting serves Mitchell far better financially. With 10 years of NBA service time in 2027, he would be eligible to sign a five-year deal worth approximately $350 million, along with perks including a no-trade clause. That represents a substantial difference in total guaranteed money, particularly for a player who would be in his mid-30s by the time the additional season came into effect.

The tradeoff is that waiting would make Mitchell an unrestricted free agent, a cloud that would hang over the franchise throughout next season.

Mitchell has given Cleveland no reason for concern since arriving in 2022 via a trade with the Utah Jazz. He extended his contract in 2024 and has never publicly indicated any desire to leave. The Cavaliers understood this moment would arrive regardless of the team’s performance when they agreed to that extension.

Since the Washington Wizards signed Bradley Beal to his five-year, $251 million contract with a no-trade clause, there has been doubt across the NBA that any players would receive a no-trade clause again on a contract of that length unless they were true perennial MVP candidates.