Sixers Notes: Embiid, Backcourt, Oubre, Game 2 Tweaks
The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid in their Game 1 loss to the Celtics, but he is working to get back on the floor after being diagnosed with appendicitis that required surgery earlier in the month, Adam Aaronson writes for the Philly Voice. According to the team, Embiid has begun a strength and conditioning program in an effort to return to play, but he remains without a definitive timeline.
While the former MVP dealt with a variety of ailments this year, his presence has been crucial for the Sixers, who went 24-14 with him this season and just 21-23 without him. Embiid holds career averages of 25.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 15 career playoff games against the Celtics.
While Philadelphia still hopes Embiid will suit up in the first round, it would likely take the team extending the series past four games to make that happen, Aaronson notes.
We have more news from the Sixers:
- Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have established a close-knit chemistry throughout their first season together, writes Gina Mizell of the Philly Inquirer. The duo has managed to form a playful bond while simultaneously holding each other accountable and pushing one another to improve. “We’re hard on each other, and then we also understand,” Edgecombe said about their occasional on-court spats. “Every time he has something to say, I know it’s always coming from a place of love.” Maxey called the rookie his “little brother,” while Edgecombe said he hopes the duo will go down in the history books together.
- It took a while for Kelly Oubre Jr. to find his ideal NBA path, but with the Sixers, he has blossomed into a more mature, well-rounded veteran, Mizell writes. Head coach Nick Nurse often praises the athletic wing for his ability to fill whatever role is needed, which Nurse said is crucial, especially given the lineup inconsistency the team has dealt with over the last couple of years.
- After losing Game 1 to Boston by 32 points in a game they never led, the Sixers will need to make some adjustments if they want a chance to steal a game on the road, Aaronson writes. Cutting down on unforced errors, especially communication breakdowns on defense that lead to open looks for Celtics shooters, will be paramount. The team also needs either Edgecombe or Paul George to step up and take the role of secondary scorer behind Maxey. George told Maxey after Game 1 that the Sixers hadn’t made the Celtics feel like it was a playoff game, allowing them to get into a rhythm early and not doing anything to make them uncomfortable, according to Tony Jones at The Athletic.
NBA Announces Finalists For 2025/26 Awards
The NBA has announced the finalists for this season’s major awards, including Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Clutch Player of the Year.
The MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year finalists were announced at halftime of the NBC broadcast of Game 1 between the Pistons and Magic, while the league’s official account tweeted the rest.
Most Valuable Player
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
The leaders of the three top teams in the Western Conference all have strong arguments for MVP. Jokic became the first player to lead the league in rebounds and assists per game while also averaging 27.7 points. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31.1 PPG and led the Thunder to the league’s best record despite the fact that multiple starters missed substantial time this season. Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a league-best 3.1 blocks per game while emerging as a lock for Defensive Player of the Year.
Rookie of the Year
- Cooper Flagg (Mavericks)
- Kon Knueppel (Hornets)
- VJ Edgecombe (Sixers)
This race is expected to come down to the former Duke teammates. Knueppel played a key role for a resurgent Hornets squad, becoming the first rookie to lead the league in made three-pointers while averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in 81 appearances. Flagg’s Mavs finished well out of the postseason picture, but he showed massive star upside, averaging 21.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG while scoring at least 42 points in four separate games. Edgecombe averaged 35.0 minutes per game over 75 contests, posting a well-rounded 16.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 4.2 APG.
Coach of the Year
- Joe Mazzulla (Celtics)
- J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
- Mitch Johnson (Spurs)
Mazzulla and Bickerstaff each led massively overperforming teams that managed to dominate the Eastern Conference despite having players in and out of the lineup all year. Johnson helped navigate a tricky guard rotation and spacing issues as the Spurs posted the second-best record in the league.
Defensive Player of the Year
- Chet Holmgren (Thunder)
- Ausar Thompson (Pistons)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
Wembanyama is the overwhelming favorite to win this award, ranking first in total blocks, blocks per game, defensive rating, and defensive rebounding percentage this season. Holmgren was second in blocks per game for the league’s top defense, while Thompson proved himself to be arguably the best perimeter defender in the league with his combination of off-ball defensive play-making and point-of-attack dominance.
Most Improved Player
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks)
- Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
- Jalen Duren (Pistons)
Both Avdija and Duren were first-time All-Stars this season, while Alexander-Walker earned a starting spot on his new team and raised his scoring from 9.4 points per game last season to 20.8 PPG this season on .459/.399/.902 shooting splits, all career high percentages.
Sixth Man of the Year
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (Nuggets)
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Heat)
- Keldon Johnson (Spurs)
Hardaway cracked 40% from three this season for the first time in his career while shooting 6.9 attempts in his 26.6 minutes per game. Most importantly for the injury-plagued Nuggets, he played 80 games, including six starts, and was the team’s fifth-highest scorer. Jaquez had an impressively well-rounded contribution off the bench, posting career-highs of 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. Johnson was a crucial scoring hub for the Spurs bench units while adding offensive pop when the starters struggled to score.
Clutch Player of the Year
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards ranked first and second, respectively, in clutch scoring per game, while Murray was second in total clutch points behind the Thunder star and shot the most efficiently from three of the guards.
Brett Siegel of Clutch Points notes (via Twitter) that the awards will be announced in the coming days and weeks, starting with Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, April 20.
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Brown, Walsh, Vucevic, Garza
Jayson Tatum is grateful for his 16 regular season games, but the chance to compete for a title is the real reason he worked so hard to come back from a torn Achilles tendon, writes Jay King of The Athletic. The Celtics star will see his first playoff action on Sunday since suffering the injury in the second round last May.
“I didn’t even know if I was going to play this year,” he said, “so I get the opportunity to be a part of the team and play in the playoffs. I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Tatum admitted it can be “frustrating at times” to not fully be back at 100%, but he and the team were very successful in the games that he played. Boston went 13-3 with Tatum in the lineup and outscored opponents by 10.5 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court. He was on a minutes restriction in most of his games, but still averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per night, and his stats improved as he got used to playing again.
“I’m excited,” Tatum added. “My perspective has changed these last 48 weeks (since the injury). I remember when I got injured, there was a lot of uncertainty. The playoffs wasn’t a sure thing. And now that I get that opportunity, couldn’t be more happy.”
There’s more from Boston:
- The Celtics believe Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still improving in their ninth season together, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe states in a subscriber-only piece. It’s an unusually long run for NBA teammates, and it has enabled both players to move into the top 10 on the career scoring list for the franchise. “I think it’s great, it’s been a historic sort of run,” Brown said. “We were able to deliver a championship in 2024. Unfortunately we had our opportunities in the past that got away from us, but we’ve been right there for a long amount of time. We gained a lot of experience. I personally gained a lot of experience. It’s been a pleasure.”
- After holding Tyrese Maxey to 1-of-9 shooting as his primary defender in a November game, Jordan Walsh is eager for the chance to match up with the Sixers guard in the playoffs, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “Just taking away tendencies and then knowing the small things that get under his skin,” Walsh said. “But I think the biggest thing is, like I’ve been saying all year, not letting the guy do what they want to do. Make them go to their second option, their third option, their second move, stuff like that. Like, if he wants to go right and do a step-back, just don’t let him do that. Make him do something else. And then usually we’ll live with the end result.”
- Coach Joe Mazzulla will face a tough decision on whether to give most of the backup center minutes to Nikola Vucevic or Luka Garza, Brian Robb of MassLive notes in a mailbag column. Vucevic is only shooting 43.9% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc since being acquired from Chicago in February, but he’s a more experienced option and Robb points out that the team’s overall net rating has been fine with him on the court.
Sixers Notes: George, Celtics Matchup, Maxey, Embiid
The Sixers and Celtics played four times during the regular season, but those meetings don’t offer much insight into the current version of both teams, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). Three of those games were early in the season and the final one took place March 1, shortly before Jayson Tatum returned from his Achilles injury. Philadelphia’s Paul George also missed all four games, either because of injuries or suspension.
Coach Nick Nurse talked about the importance of having George to help slow down Tatum and Jaylen Brown when the first-round series starts Sunday afternoon. George, who has averaged 21 points per game and shot 41.5% from three-point range since returning from the suspension, sidestepped a question at Saturday’s practice about the Sixers’ underdog status.
“That sounds like a little bulletin board material right there,” he said. “We’ve given them their respect. But at the end of the day, man, it’s competition. We’ve got to go and compete. They’ve got to go and compete. That’s just what it boils down to. … We’re not going to back down. They’re not going to back down.”
There’s more on the Sixers:
- Boston has two obvious advantages heading into the series, Mizell adds in the same piece. One is three-point shooting, where the Celtics rank third in makes per game (15.5) and eighth in percentage (36.7%), while the Sixers are 22nd (12.3) and 23rd (34.9%) in those categories. The other is Boston’s huge advantage in offensive rebounding, which was on display in the March 1 game as the Celtics pulled down 19 offensive boards and scored 30 second-chance points. “The last game we played against them, we lost because we didn’t rebound,” Dominick Barlow said. “I think that’s going to be the game.”
- Philadelphia will need big scoring numbers from its backcourt combination of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe to have a chance in the series, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Maxey is looking forward to being back on the playoff stage in the wake of last year’s disastrous season. “Being in the playoffs means everything,” he said. “It means everything, man. The way last season went, I just didn’t want to have that feeling again. I challenged myself last summer, and I feel like I rose to that challenge. We’re here now, and we’re in the playoffs and that’s what matters the most.”
- Joel Embiid‘s status is uncertain as he recovers from an appendectomy, and Nurse refused to speculate on whether his star center will be available beyond the series opener (Twitter video link from PHLY Sports.) “I’m preparing for Sunday’s game, and I know he’s not playing in that one,” Nurse told reporters. “That’s all — we’re just zeroed in on trying to see, can we go in there and get ready to battle.”
And-Ones: Rivers, Awards, Playoff X-Factors, Wemby, Morant
In a podcast appearance with Bill Simmons of The Ringer (Twitter video link), Doc Rivers suggested his coaching career might be finished. The 64-year-old stepped down as head coach of the Bucks earlier this week.
“We met about seven weeks ago, me and (Bucks) ownership,” Rivers said (hat tip to Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports). “We had a great meeting. They asked me what I wanted to do. One of the owners says one plan is, ‘If we do this, you can hang in there for a year or two.’ I literally said, ‘Oh, no, no, no.’
“I told my coaches, I’m done. I loved coaching. Loved it. I had a lot of success at it, had way more ups than downs. But at the end of the day, I’ve given 47 years or whatever, I don’t even know how old I am … with no off time. I just wanted a break. I want to get away. The grandkids and just life in general, man. Right now, I can tell you, Bill, I think it was time, so I’d be surprised if I coached another game, I’ll put it that way.”
Rivers, who will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, compiled a 1194-866 regular season mark (.580) over the course of 27 seasons as an NBA head coach.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports and Tim Bontemps of ESPN have released their full 2026 NBA awards ballots. While both media members have the same top-five finishers for Most Valuable Player, with Luka Doncic fourth and Cade Cunningham fifth, the order of the three finalists are different. O’Connor has Victor Wembanyama as his MVP, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, whereas Bontemps had SGA winning his second straight MVP award, with Jokic the runner-up and Wembanyama in third.
- In another story for Yahoo Sports, O’Connor lists his playoff X-factors for every team competing in the postseason. Celtics center Neemias Queta, Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson and Spurs guard Dylan Harper are a few of the players mentioned.
- The Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA) has named Spurs center Wembanyama the winner of the Magic Johnson award for the 2025/26 season, per a press release. The award “honors the NBA player who best combines excellence on the court with cooperation and grace in dealing with the media and fans.” Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) was the runner-up for the second straight season, while Stephen Curry (Warriors), Jaylen Brown (Celtics) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) were the other finalists.
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has purchased a stake in the Metropolitans 92, Wembanyama’s former team in France, according to Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “I’m excited about how this first season with the Metros is going,” Morant told ClutchPoints. “They represent the culture, just like we do. I like what we are building and hopefully we get to take it into NBA Europe.” Morant made the investment alongside his media and business venture company, Catch12.
J.B. Bickerstaff Wins Coaches Association Award
Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has won the Michael H. Goldberg award for the 2025/26 season, earning Coach of the Year honors from the National Basketball Coaches Association, according to a press release.
This award, introduced in 2017 and named after longtime NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg, is voted on by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, none of whom can vote for himself.
It isn’t the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by media members and is represented by the Red Auerbach Trophy. The winner of that award will be announced later this spring.
Bickerstaff has guided the Pistons to a remarkable turnaround since taking over as their head coach during the 2024 offseason. Coming off the worst season in franchise history, Detroit improved from 14-68 to 44-38 in Bickerstaff’s first year at the helm, then took another huge step forward in 2025/26, finishing the season with a 60-22 record. It was just the third 60-win season in team history and the first in two decades.
The Pistons had the NBA’s second-best defensive rating (108.9) and tied with the Spurs for the league’s No. 2 overall net rating (+8.4) in 2025/26, despite missing leading scorer Cade Cunningham for 18 games.
The NBCA Coach of the Year award has frequently been a bellwether for the NBA’s Coach of the Year honor, which bodes well for Bickerstaff. In seven of the nine years since the award’s inception, the winner has gone on to be named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, including in 2025 when Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers won both awards.
Still, there’s a crowded field of candidates for Coach of the Year. The NBCA noted within its release that seven different coaches earned votes for its award, “reflecting the depth of coaching excellence in the NBA this season.”
Besides Bickerstaff, Mark Daigneault (Thunder), Mitch Johnson (Spurs), Charles Lee (Hornets), Joe Mazzulla (Celtics), Quin Snyder (Hawks), and Tiago Splitter (Trail Blazers) each received at least one vote from their fellow coaches for this year’s NBCA award.
Details On NBA’s Playoff Bonus Money For 2025/26
The pool of bonus money for NBA playoff teams this season is worth approximately $36MM, according to Kurt Badenhausen and Lev Akabas of Sportico.
The top six teams in each conference earn bonuses based on their regular season records, while the 16 playoff teams also receive a chunk of money from the playoff pool, increasing the value of their payout with each series win. That bonus money is divvied up among the players on each club’s 15-man roster.
Teams eliminated in the play-in tournament aren’t entitled to any of the playoff bonus money, even if they had the seventh- or eighth-best regular season record in their conference.
The breakdown for 2026’s playoff pool money is as follows (rounded to the nearest thousand), per Sportico:
Regular season achievements:
- Best record in NBA (Thunder): $896K
- No. 1 seeds in each conference (Pistons, Thunder): $784K per team
- No. 2 seeds (Celtics, Spurs): $628K per team
- No. 3 seeds (Knicks, Nuggets): $471K per team
- No. 4 seeds (Cavaliers, Lakers): $384K per team
- No. 5 seeds (Raptors, Rockets): $297K per team
- No. 6 seeds (Hawks, Timberwolves): $210K per team
Postseason achievements:
- Teams participating in first round (all 16 playoff teams — the 12 listed above, plus the Sixers, Trail Blazers, and Friday’s play-in winners): $481K per team
- Teams participating in conference semifinals (eight teams): $586K per team
- Teams participating in conference finals (four teams): $980K per team
- Losing team in NBA Finals: $3,921,000
- Winning team in NBA Finals: $9,078,000
A team that makes a deep playoff run will cash in on more than one of the bonuses listed above.
For example, if the Thunder win the championship, their payout from the playoff pool would be worth more than $12.8MM in total — that amount would include their bonuses for posting the NBA’s best record, claiming the West’s No. 1 seed, making the first round, making the conference semifinals, making the conference finals, and winning the NBA Finals.
The total amount of the playoff bonus pool, which is based on a formula connected to basketball-related income (BRI), is up 3% from last season, according to Badenhausen and Akabas.
Sixers Clinch Playoff Spot, Will Face Celtics In First Round
The Sixers got 31 points from Tyrese Maxey on Wednesday as they claimed the seventh seed in the East with a 109-97 win over the Magic. Maxey broke open a tight game by scoring seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to give Philadelphia a victory in front of its home fans. Orlando lost the opportunity to host the play-in matchup by falling to Boston on Sunday in the final game of the regular season.
Sixers players got a pregame surprise as Joel Embiid greeted them in locker room for the first time since undergoing an emergency appendectomy last week in Houston, according to Dan Gelston of The Associated Press. There’s still no timetable for Embiid to return, but he felt well enough to watch Wednesday’s game from the bench.
Adem Bona got the start at center in place of Embiid, but veteran Andre Drummond had the more effective night, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. Drummond finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks in nearly 32 minutes and helped to offset Orlando’s natural advantage on the boards. Drummond also went 2-of-3 from three-point range, and Neubeck observes that he has become more comfortable knocking down corner threes.
Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds in his first postseason appearance and pushed the ball on the fast break several times in an otherwise slow game, Neubeck adds. He noted that Orlando’s vaunted defensive guards had trouble keeping up with Edgecombe when he reached full speed.
“I was tweaking a little bit tonight,” Edgecombe said (Twitter video link). “… I guess that happens when you let a kid play in such a high intensity game. I was out there having fun. If I gotta play wild for us to win, I’ll play wild.”
The Sixers’ victory sets up a first-round series against the Celtics, with Game 1 set for 1:00 pm ET on Sunday. The NBA announced that this will be the 23rd playoff meeting between the two teams, making it the most frequent matchup in the league’s postseason history.
The Magic will host the Hornets at 7:30 pm ET on Friday with the No. 8 seed in the East up for grabs. The winner will face the Pistons in the first round with the opening game set for 6:30 pm ET on Sunday.
Magic Notes: Sunday’s Loss, Banchero, F. Wagner, Bane
Head coach Jamahl Mosley has bemoaned the Magic lacking a sense of urgency throughout the season, and it was a talking point again after Sunday’s loss in Boston, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. The Magic had a chance to secure the No. 7 seed and home court advantage for Wednesday’s play-in contest vs. the Sixers, but instead they’ll travel to Philadelphia for their first of two chances to advance to the playoffs.
“It was a must-win game, at least I thought,” forward Paolo Banchero said. “I just think we didn’t come out with urgency. It’s frustrating, honestly.”
According to Beede, Orlando led by 16 points early in the game, but a disastrous third quarter turned out to be too much to overcome. Banchero finished with a triple-double (23 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds) and was plus-two in 38 minutes during the five-point loss, though he shot just 7-of-22 from the field and had six turnovers.
“I definitely didn’t play my best basketball,” Banchero said. “I think collectively, we just have to have more urgency. We can’t expect to win just because guys are out.”
Here’s more on the Magic:
- As Beede notes, the “guys” Banchero was referring to on the Celtics included the team’s entire starting lineup and several key reserves. Boston was already locked in as the No. 2 seed in the East and only had eight players available, but four of them — Baylor Scheierman (30 points), Ron Harper Jr. (27), Luka Garza (27) and John Tonje (13) had career scoring nights. “They hit a ton of shots, we turned it over, gave them a couple extra opportunities and that was a big portion of the ballgame,” Mosley said. “But you’ve got to give Boston a hell of a ton of credit for the way they came out with those seven-eight guys and played their tails off.”
- Forward Franz Wagner was on a minutes restriction in his sixth game back from a high ankle sprain, Beede adds. The German star had 20 points and four rebounds in 26 minutes, but didn’t score efficiently (7-of-18 from the field) and was wearing a wrap on his left leg while on the bench. “I’m trying to push through and get as much time out there as I can,” Wagner said. “I feel all right. … For sure, it’s frustrating but there’s only one way to get past that and that’s to push through it and do it in a smart way. But to go to that point consistently, and that’s all I can do.”
- Desmond Bane appeared in all 82 regular season games in 2025/26 for the first time in his career, but Mosley’s plan to limit the 27-year-old’s minutes on Sunday backfired, per Beede. The sixth-year wing played the first six minutes of the game and the original plan was to sit out the remainder of the contest. However, after the Magic fell behind in the third quarter, Bane wound up playing nearly the entire fourth period, finishing with 18 minutes. “I kept my mind ready to go, my body ready to go, riding a bike, putting heat on my knees and stuff like that,” Bane said. “But I don’t think coach really wanted to (put me back in), just to protect me. Keeping me healthy was his main goal. But I appreciate him letting me go back in the game and giving me a chance to try to help us win.”
- Both Wagner and Bane struck an optimistic tone following Sunday’s loss, according to Beede. “I’m excited,” Bane said. “We’ve got an opportunity to go and play postseason basketball. Not everybody gets to say that. That’s not something that everybody gets to experience so I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
Projected NBA Taxpayers For 2025/26
As we outlined in February, a total of 14 teams projected to be taxpayers prior to an eventful trade deadline week, with the 16 non-taxpayers on track to receive about $13.8MM apiece in tax distribution money at that point.
However, the Celtics, Nuggets, Suns, Mavericks, Sixers, Magic, and Raptors all ducked below the luxury tax line with their pre-deadline transactions, while a few other teams remained in the tax but took steps to significantly reduce their end-of-season bills.
As a result, seven NBA teams project to finish over the luxury tax line in 2025/26, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Here are those seven clubs, along with their projected tax penalties:
- Cleveland Cavaliers ($68.7MM)
- Golden State Warriors ($67.9MM) *
- New York Knicks ($44.4MM)
- Los Angeles Lakers ($22.2MM) *
- Houston Rockets ($7.2MM)
- Los Angeles Clippers ($6.7MM) *
- Minnesota Timberwolves ($6MM)
Total: $223.1MM
Note: Teams marked with an asterisk are paying repeater tax rates.
While the projected tax payments are quite similar to the ones from a couple months ago, the total is up slightly overall. That’s because the Warriors, Rockets and Timberwolves signed players to fill out the back ends of their rosters. The Lakers will undoubtedly finalize their roster today — they have one standard opening ahead of Sunday’s deadline.
Based on the current figures from Marks, each non-taxpayer is projected to receive a payout of about $4.9MM. That figure is determined by cutting the total league-wide tax penalties in half, then dividing them evenly among the non-taxpaying teams (in this case, 23 clubs). The projected payout was at $4.8MM in February.
In 2024/25, 10 taxpayers paid a total of $461.2MM in penalties and the 20 non-taxpayers reportedly received $11.5MM apiece. This season’s projected distribution payment of $4.9MM is the lowest figure since 2020/21, according to Marks.
It’s worth noting that the tax penalties could still change again before the 2025/26 league year ends. According to Marks (Twitter links), 36 players had a total of 133 different incentives in their contracts entering the fall, and 15 of those bonuses are still up in the air entering the final day of the regular season. Some of those bonus situations may not be resolved until the playoffs end.
The Warriors, Lakers, and Clippers would all be subject to repeater penalties in 2026/27 if they’re taxpayers again next season. Additionally, the Bucks, Celtics, Suns, and Nuggets would pay repeater rates if they’re in the tax in ’26/27, since all four clubs were in the tax for three straight years from 2023-25. They’ll each need to spend one more season as a non-taxpayer in order to reset the repeater clock.