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๐ Five things to know Monday
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the 2025-26 NBA MVP. With his second win in as many years, Gilgeous-Alexander became just the 14th player in league history to secure back-to-back MVP honors. The Thunder star outdid Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokiฤ in voting thanks to his 31.1 points per game on the league’s best team. He undoubtedly hopes that this is not the only hardware he grabs this year, though. If Gilgeous-Alexander leads Oklahoma City past two more opponents and wins another championship, he will write another chapter in his growing legacy.
- Aaron Rodgers will play another season in Pittsburgh. The long-awaited decision is in. Following months of uncertainty over whether he would re-sign with the Steelers or call it a career, Rodgers agreed to a one-year deal (worth $22 million guaranteed) to return to the Steel City. While a segment of the fanbase might be ready to move on and hand the keys to a younger option, Rodgers’ return might be for the best as he keeps the Steelers in playoff contention while allowing the youngsters to develop at their own pace.
- Aaron Rai became the first English player to win the PGA Championship in 107 years. A breakout performance at Aronimink Golf Club also saw Rai snap a streak of 10 consecutive American winners.ย Rai was an unlikely championย as he entered the tournament +75000 to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy, yet he finished three strokes clear of the pack to secure the first major victory of his career. The 31-year-old also secured himself a $3.69 million prize with his underdog victory. Further down the leaderboard, it was not such a stellar showing for the game’s biggest stars. Scottie Scheffler made note of some “absurd” pin locations during his T-14 finish while Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood headlined a laundry list of big names to miss the cut.
- Conor McGregor’s UFC return is set for July 11. After five years away from the Octagon, the MMA legend will fight Max Holloway in a rematch during the UFC’s International Fight Week. The return of a transcendent fighter is another feather in the UFC’s cap in what is shaping up to be an absolutely massive summer for the promotion. The odds put McGregor in uncharted waters as a considerable underdog, and while he has quite the cross-division track record as a former featherweight and lightweight champion, our Brent Brookhouse does not foresee the Irishman taking this welterweight bout.
- Napoleon Solo won the 151st Preakness Stakes.ย The horse and jockey Paco Lopez closed with the third-shortest odds despite missing out on the Kentucky Derby, and after taking the lead around the far turn, Napoleon Solo held on to give trainer Chad Summers a Triple Crown debut to remember. Post-time favorite Taj Mahal, meanwhile, finished 13 lengths back in 10th place. A payday is in store for Gold Square LLC, Summers, and Lopez, who will share the $1.2 million first prize.
๐ Do not miss this: NBA conference finals begin tonight
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Only four teams remain in the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The Thunder and Knicks took the weekend off and awaited their opponents, and following Game 6 in the Western Conference and Game 7 in the East, they now know what it will take to get to the NBA Finals.
The Spurs wrapped up their series with the Timberwolves (who once again fell just short of the conference’s elites) on Saturday to set up a battle of MVP finalists in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama. Sunday night, the Cavaliers dispatched the Pistons in a Game 7 blowout — with four players scoring at least 23 points — and made it clear that Cade Cunningham can’t do it all for Detroit.
The Western Conference finals open Monday night with Game 1 in Oklahoma City. If you need a reason to tune in, here are two — Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander, two of the game’s brightest stars. Also, Brad Botkin identified five big questions that will determine which of the conference’s top two seeds will clinch a spot in the Finals.
Botkin also happens to be a lone wolf in our staff picks. He is the only one of six NBA writers to pick the Spurs, but he concedes that it will take seven games for them to pull it off.
- Botkin:ย “I’m betting on the Wemby effect to trump all other factors in this series. He’s the defensive version of 2014-15 Stephen Curry in the way he warps the geometry of the court. Because of that, those Warriors were ready to win it all before people were ready to accept that fact, without the years of ‘playoff bruises’ everyone thinks you need to endure first, and San Antonio is going to win not only this series but the whole damn thing for the same reason.”
๐๐ NBA Draft Combine risers and fallers
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The most elite prospects have been in a tier of their own since early in the college basketball season, if not before, and not even the NBA Draft Combine could shake up the top of the board. The expectation is that the draft will really start at pick No. 5 after AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson are all accounted for.
Who teams will target behind that group is up for debate after a week of workouts in Chicago. A number of players improved their stock at the combine, including just about everyone on the NCAA champion Michigan roster. Our Adam Finkelstein explained why Morez Johnson Jr. was among the multiple Wolverines who helped themselves over the past few days.
- Finkelstein: “Johnson didn’t need to play five-on-five to help his draft stock. He measured bigger than expected, at 6-foot-9 without shoes, had a massive 7-foot-3.5 wingspan, and an NBA-ready 250-pound frame.”
It wasn’t all good, though. Five turnovers in five-on-five action made Dailyn Swain a faller among potential first-round prospects, and Koa Peat’s new shooting mechanics backfired and became a talking point among scouts.
Peat’s stay-or-go decision will now be important to follow before the deadline on May 27. Finkelstein says the Arizona freshman asked team executives whether he should stay in the draft or head back to school. He also wonders whether Kentucky’s Malachi Moreno — who reportedly emerged as a target in the mid- to late-first round — is simply using leverage to get more from the Wildcats.
- Finkelstein: “The fact that Moreno chose not to play five-on-five, while higher-ranked bigs like Rueben Chinyelu, Tarris Reed, and Flory Bidunga all opted in, was also being viewed as an indication that Moreno’s representation was being very deliberate about controlling how the big man was being perceived. Ultimately, most still expect him to return to school.”
๐ NFL Week 1 lookahead
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Last week’s schedule release set the stage for the 2026 NFL season, and among the most obvious facts of the slate is that Week 1 should be tremendous. Once the preseason concludes and teams embark on their 18-week journeys, the league will immediately feature a batch of can’t-miss matchups.
I ranked all 16 of the season-opening contests, among which are a Super Bowl rematch and a colossal NFC West battle. Here are the top five:
- Patriots at Seahawks
- 49ers vs. Rams
- Bills at Texans
- Broncos at Chiefs
- Bears at Panthers
Additionally, the odds for all of those Week 1 contests are already set, and our Tyler Sullivan weighed in with his own predictions. He likes the 49ers to at least cover a 2.5-point spread against the Rams in the NFL’s inaugural Australia game, and he’s not counting them out as the outright winner. Check out the rest of Sullivan’s picks.
Our schedule analysis expands well beyond just the Week 1 lineup. Here are four more breakdowns of the slate:
๐๐ The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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- Manchester City are FA Cup champions following a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the final. Their triumph is a bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming season, while Chelsea continued their downward spiral with the loss. Xabi Alonso will be tasked with turning around the Blues following his appointment as manager.
- Clay Holmes will be out for “a long time” after he broke his leg in the Mets’ Subway Series loss on Friday, and Jordan Westburg is set to miss the rest of the Orioles’ season with a partially torn UCL.
- The Phillies are back above .500 after winning 15 of their past 19 games. At the same time, Kyle Schwarber showed why he is the most beloved man in baseball.
- It took all of 17 seconds for Ronda Rousey to defeat Gina Carano in her return to MMA.
- It’s only the start of Year 3, but Caitlin Clark is already the WNBA’s career leader in 20-point, 10-assist games.
- Michigan has a building block for its national title defense with Elliot Cadeau announcing his return.
- A commitment from top-ranked tackle Mark Matthews gives Texas A&M the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle.
- Jose Fernandezย called out the Wings’ “selfishness”ย during their two-game losing streak.
- The Guardians moved Steven Kwan out of the leadoff spot for the first time in nearly four years.
- USMNT defender Chris Richards suffered an ankle injury, but he could be in for a very quick recovery.
- Chelsea Gray showed off her clutch gene once again with a game-winner in the Aces’ victory over the Dream.
- Arnold Allen swept Malquizael Costa on two of three scorecards to win by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night.
- A soon-to-be-announced Senate bill could codify NCAA rules and bring reform to college sports.
- Two years into her underwhelming tenure, Stanfordย women’s basketball coach Kate Paye is accused of fostering a “toxic” environment.
- On his path to a potential title bout, Gunther defeated Royce Keys on WWE SmackDown.
- Celtic controversially defeated Hearts to win the Scottish Premiership.
- We ranked the 26 most feared defensive players and 10 most complete rosters in college football.
- In a redraft of the 2025 NBA rookie class, the top five went unchanged, but the rest of the lottery looks much different.
๐บ What we’re watching Monday
- โฝ Burnley at Arsenal, 3 p.m. on USA Network
- โพ Guardians at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on FS1
- ๐ Stanley Cup playoffs: Canadiens at Sabres, Game 7, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
- ๐ Mystics at Wings, 8 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
- ๐คผ WWE Raw, 8 p.m. on Netflix
- ๐ NBA playoffs: Spurs at Thunder, Game 1, 8:30 p.m. on NBC
- โพ White Sox at Mariners, 9:40 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
- โพ Dodgers at Padres, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network
- โพ Giants at Diamondbacks,ย 9:40 p.m. on Peacock
