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When did we lose the art of enjoyment? These days, the average person loves a think piece—specifically, having their own and putting it out there for the world to see. It stems from this new access we have on the internet to each other. On ****** es like TikTok, Instagram, and X and Threads, we can reach beyond our narrow circles into the phones of literally anyone else. Out of this environment, we've normalized an even more extreme parasocial nature between celebrities, influencers, and each other. The new internet landscape involves users ****** yzing and critiquing anyone who chooses to try or put themselves out there, serving as amateur publicists, stylists, and brand-image architects. There's an element of this new world order that's thrilling—our opinions matter! But...what's that phrase about opinions again?
I'd argue that we've critiqued ourselves into mass hysteria, conflating personal opinion with expertise. Just because someone has something to say doesn't mean they actually know what they're saying. There once was a time when people took the time to learn, gain experience, and work in a specific field so they're equipped to handle certain industries. But now, everyone simply thinks they know enough about everything. And it's making fashion and entertainment commentary less fun for everyone involved.
Over the last few weeks, with Fashion Month, the Emmys, and the VMAs, we were inundated with sartorial opinions on the internet. Top of mind for me was Shailene Woodley's Emmys look.
Kevin Winter - Getty Images

#anyone #know #time

Pierpaolo Piccioli presented his Balenciaga Spring 2027 collection on Thursday in front of a packed celebrity front row, bringing together longtime house faces, a few unexpected arrivals and some names I'm very intrigued to see here.
Tiziano Raw
Lauryn Hill might be the person who makes the most sense in this front row. Some will say, yes, but under Demna. However, there is enough edge and plenty of colour in Pierpaolo's Spring 2027 collection to appeal to Ms Hill, although I suspect she'll skip the more romantic looks from the opening section.
Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga
Shailene Woodley was another person I expected to see in the front row. After the hammering she got for her Balenciaga look at the Emmys, inviting her to Paris and putting her up in a nice hotel was the least they could do.

#front #hill #collection #thursday

Brent crude climbed above $108 a barrel on Tuesday as traders grew increasingly uncertain about when Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline would reopen, with fresh Houthi attacks on the kingdom and suspended oil loadings at its Red Sea export terminal adding to supply fears.
By 1:00 p.m. ET, Brent futures had climbed 3% to $108.88 per barrel, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate up 4.7% at $106.12. A close at those levels would mark the highest settlement for either contract in close to four months, according to Reuters. Prices have risen around 20% this month as fighting in the Persian Gulf has escalated.
According to shipping industry sources who spoke with Reuters, crude loadings at the Yanbu terminal on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast had been halted as of Tuesday. Separately, sources told Reuters that Saudi officials had notified European buyers that certain crude shipments scheduled for late September would not proceed.
Saudi Arabia shut down the East-West Pipeline after drone attacks originating from Iraq struck it last week, forcing the kingdom to halt the export route it had been using to bypass the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S.-Iran war. The pipeline can move up to 7 million barrels per day. Saudi officials have described the closure as a precautionary measure but have not provided a damage ******* sment or a timeline for resuming operations. U.K. authorities fear the pipeline may remain mostly shut for six weeks, according to Bloomberg.
Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen carried out additional strikes on Saudi Arabia on Monday. According to a spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen, the group fired drones and ballistic missiles targeting the cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Taif. According to Reuters, the Houthis claimed to have struck a military air base in Khamis Mushait, with their stated targets including hangars, radar installations, runway infrastructure, and stores of ammunition.

#west #east

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Maybe it's a me thing, but I've been craving the thrill and suspense of an award show. Luckily, tonight is the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, where NBC's Law & Order star Mariska Hargitay is hosting live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. As a self-proclaimed binge-watcher, I'm all caught up on tonight's nominees, led by The Pitt with 25 nominations and Hacks at 24, breaking the record for a comedy series to date. But it's not just the potential winners getting buzz; it's the red carpet arrivals, too.
We're tuning in to see which designers tonight's attendees are wearing and get a glimpse of which trends will define 2027—or, in this case, which controversial trends. Shailene Woodley, who won her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Hulu's Paradise last week, arrived on tonight's red carpet in a look from Pierpaolo Piccioli's Balenciaga F/W 26 haute couture collection.
The trend in question? Sequin-embroidered trousers. Woodley wore the divisive pants with their runway pairing, a plunging periwinkle tank, but traded the oversize coat for a pair of burgundy opera gloves. Woodley's stylist, Karla Welch, introduced more color with a beautiful collared necklace crafted from Venetian glass by HOWL. The flooded hem hides Woodley's, I ***** ume, very tall heels.

#emmy #woodley #trends

Shailene Woodley was asked about her ex Aaron Rodgers' wild comments regarding their 2021 engagement and subsequent split.
The quarterback recently claimed that the actress wanted "to go f--- this guy" before the couple tied the knot.
Within three months, Rodgers alleged, Woodley stopped wearing her engagement ring.
If silence is golden, then Shailene Woodley's reaction to being asked about Aaron Rodgers is priceless.
The Paradise guest star and recent Emmy winner was on her way into a pre-Emmys fundraiser on Sunday night when a brave reporter shouted out a question regarding her ex-fiancé's shocking claims about their 2021 engagement and subsequent split.

#rodgers #engagement #asked #subsequent

Shailene Woodley's friends reportedly slam Aaron Rodgers after calling out actress originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Shailene Woodley's friends are defending the actress after Aaron Rodgers' recent comments.
Several friends of Woodley's reportedly spoke to TMZ and questioned why "a married dude is bringing up an ex he hasn't spoken with in over two years," one source told the outlet.
Woodley and Rodgers began dating in July 2020, and a few months later in December 2020, the Pittsburgh Steelers star proposed. The couple confirmed their engagement in February 2021.
The "Divergent" actress's friends called his behavior this week "out of character," as during their relationship he respected her privacy. While Woodley has not spoken out about Rodgers' comments, they told the outlet that they don't believe she would be comfortable with him sharing those private details about their past romance. The two broke up for good in 2022.

#rodgers #shailene #source

Aaron Rodgers is going scorched earth on two of his exes ― Shailene Woodley and Danica Patrick ― for seemingly no reason.
"I dated two women who ***** ody gives a **** about unless they drop my name," the NFL player said Thursday of the Emmy-winning actress and former racing star.
Buzz: Jimmy Kimmel Taunts 'Crazier Than Ever' Trump With 1 Vicious Reality Check
He claimed that the two women had "their version of history" and made him out to be the bad guy during an unhinged appearance on the "Not Just Football" podcast.
"I'm just like, this 'monster' of a partner and it's just ******* horse ****," he declared before asking, "No. 1: Why are you still talking about me? It's been years."

#aaron #shailene #buzz

Years after their engagement ended in early 2022, Aaron Rodgers is airing out his grievances with ex Shailene Woodley.
On Cam Heyward's "Not Just Football" podcast, the 42-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback alleged the actress, a couple of days after the engagement, expressed interest in being intimate with another unnamed man prior to their wedding.
"(Woodley) maybe felt like she was forced to make a decision; she could have said no," Rodgers, who is now married to a woman named Brittani, mused of the 2020 proposal. "Her story is I ruined her life and gave her crazy depression because I left her, but the actuality is, she told me that (statement) and she took off the ring by March."
USA TODAY has reached out to Woodley for comment.
While it's impossible to ******* yze someone and their private relationship based on one public comment, experts say the situation reflects how feelings about a breakup can linger, especially if they haven't been properly processed.

#rodgers #comment #steelers

Aaron Rodgers has sparked backlash over comments made about his previous relationships.
Appearing on his teammate Cam Heyward's podcast Not Just Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback aired out some dirty laundry pertaining to his relationships with exes Shailene Woodley and Danica Patrick.
Rodgers dated former Nascar driver Patrick from 2018 to 2020, and then actor Woodley from 2020 to 2022. The latter relationship ended in a called off engagement. He is now married to a woman named Brittani, though further details about her and their relationship are unclear.
The controversial NFL player's comments began when he was asked the question: "What do most people get wrong about you?" Instead of offering up a personal anecdote, he launched into verbal tirades against his exes.
"I dated two women who ****** ody gives a f*** about unless they drop my name," Rodgers began. "And they like to say their version of the history of what happened, and so I'm just this monster of a partner, and it's just f***ing horse s***."

#dated

It started with yelling about toilets. Steve Ballmer was so serious about turning the Los Angeles Clippers into a serious franchise for the first time in their existence that he wanted to make sure no fan ever waited in a long line to use the bathroom when the team opened its new arena. Ballmer's drive to win eventually led the Clippers to courting Kawhi Leonard in free agency, fresh off leading the Toronto Raptors to a 2019 NBA championship. Leonard wanted to live in Los Angeles, yes, but he also wanted Paul George as his running mate, so the Clippers shipped out a boatload of draft picks and future two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to get him.
Leonard's people also made it known that their client wanted the type of big endorsement deals his off-putting, robotic personality couldn't land legitimately. Leonard's now infamous Uncle Dennis Robertson never tried to be subtle about his desire to secure similar off-court bags to the ones Kawhi's contemporaries like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant were landing on their own accord, and leaks of his demands circulated as soon as Leonard hit free agency.
The Clippers became so entangled in pleasing Leonard that it led to blatant salary cap circumvention, first reported by investigative journalist Pablo Torre. The NBA found enough evidence supporting Torre's claims that it hammered the Clippers with the most severe penalty in league history, stripping five future first-round draft picks, suspending executives including Ballmer, and more. That figured to be the end of the story, with the Clippers spending the next decade trying to climb out of the abyss. Torre continued to hint that there was another shoe to drop, and now that it's here, the Clippers might be in much bigger trouble than anyone first believed.
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the Clippers, according to the New York Times, and it's already issued one subpoena. While the scope of the investigation is unclear for now, the fact that the feds are watching the Clippers for under-the-table dealings potentially makes this a much bigger deal than simply breaking NBA rules.
How does breaking NBA rules amount to a federal crime by the Clippers? While there's a lot left to come out, the main idea is that the Clippers committed some level of fraud. Daktronics was a publicly traded company, the only one of the four tied up in the Leonard scandal to fit that description, while Aspiration, Lockton Insurance, and Boingo Wireless were not. Publicly traded companies have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to disclose big investments, and it sure feels like that never happened when dealing with Leonard.

#ballmer

Aaron Rodgers has spent years saying relatively little about what ended his engagement to Shailene Woodley. He has now offered a much more explicit version of events, one that does not line up neatly with the public timeline people saw at the time.
During the Sept. 10 installment of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, Rodgers said he proposed to Woodley in December 2020 and she accepted. He then claimed that only days later, she told him that before they married, she wanted to have **** with another man.
Rodgers also said Woodley had taken off her engagement ring by March 2021 and that later attempts to repair the relationship went nowhere.
Their engagement did not become public until February 2021, while reports that they had split did not emerge until February 2022.
Rodgers raised Woodley while discussing what he believes are inaccurate public narratives surrounding several of his past relationships.

#engagement #public #later #sept

Aaron Rodgers makes wild claims about ex Shailene Woodley originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Aaron Rodgers is tired of his name being dragged through the mud.
Although he seems to be happy with his new wife, Brittani, he hasn't forgotten about all the alleged lies his former flames have told about him.
And he wants them to stop.
Earlier this week, Rodgers, 42, had plenty to say about his past relationships, including his former fiancée, "Big Little Lies" actress Shailene Woodley.

#rodgers #shailene #sporting #lies

Amy Sussman / Getty Images, Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Michael Buckner / Getty Images
Related: "23 Celebs Who Have Admitted To Using Ozempic Or Other Weight Loss Medication"
Shailene hasn't commented much on the relationship or the breakup, previously noting that talking about it "always" made her cry.
Meanwhile, Aaron publicly thanked Shailene for their time together in the wake of the split, while later apologizing to her for the backlash she faced over his divisive comments about the COVID-19 vaccine.

#getty #michael

Ex-Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had one of the more candid conversations of his career on a podcast that came out on Thursday.
Speaking on Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, Rodgers spoke on a range of topics, including why his engagement to actress Shailene Woodley ultimate broke down.
According to Rodgers, the pair split at least in part due to the fact that his former paramour wanted to engage in relations with another man prior to the pair getting married.
"Then I date Shailene [Woodley]. I propose and she says yes." Rodgers said on the podcast. "Not a couple of days after that she tells me, "You know, before I get married I have got to go [sleep with] this guy"…she told me that and then she took off the ring by March [2021, after Rodgers said no]."
With Rodgers declining request, him and Woodley broke up shortly after and cancelled their otherwise imminent engagement.

#shailene

Aaron Rodgers discussed his relationship with Shailene Woodley in a new interview.
He and the actress were together for nearly two years.
Rodgers married a woman named Brittani in 2025.
Aaron Rodgers opened up about his relationship with Shailene Woodley in a new interview. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, 42, explained why they ended their engagement after nearly two years together.
"I proposed to Shailene and she said yes. Now, she maybe felt like she was forced to make a decision. She could have said no," he told teammate Cam Heyward on the latest episode of his "Not Just Football" podcast. "A couple days after that she tells me, 'Before we get married, I gotta go **** this guy.'"

#rodgers #aaron

The Los Angeles Clippers are still reeling in the aftermath of a cap circumvention scandal. For their part in helping Kawhi Leonard secure millions in off-the-court, "no-show" endorsement deals, the franchise had to give up five first-round picks and $30 million, culminating in one of the most severe penalties in NBA history.
Through it all, Kawhi escaped the scandal relatively unscathed. Besides a $700K fine, he didn't face any major consequences, and even his trade to the Toronto Raptors remains completely untouched. And yet, even now, the Clippers have yet to finalize the trade, leading some executives to suspect they are considering some sort of revenge against Leonard for how he's turned his back on the team.
"The Raptors, I'm told, are eager to consummate the trade after initially placing it on hold July 9 (to guard against a Leonard suspension or the outright voiding of his contract) and still firmly believe that the deal will happen as agreed upon and intended. Ditto for Leonard and his camp," wrote NBA insider Marc Stein. "Yet the delay has naturally led some league observers to wonder aloud whether the Clippers are holding off — or considering something even more drastic — to spite Leonard for so readily accepting the league's punishment rather than invoking his right to pursue an appeal. Any formal appeal within the NBA's auspices in such matters, remember, must be initiated by the player in question rather than the team according to league by-laws."
The Clippers have given up everything for Kawhi, and they set themselves back 10 years just to make him happy. From his very arrival, Kawhi was making outlandish requests and even forced the Clippers to give up five first-round picks (along with future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) in a deal for Paul George. By the end, the total cost of Leonard's services amounts to 10 first-round picks (not counting SGA), and it was all for a team that never made the Finals.
So when the Clippers were caught holding the bag in the cap circumvention scandal, they naturally expected some level of cooperation from Leonard, someone they moved heaven and earth to appease. Instead, he settled with the NBA right away, avoiding more severe penalties while stripping the Clippers of any power to fight back.

#clippers #leonard #first

Viola Davis, Eiza Gonzalez, Cynthia Erivo, and more stars sat in the front row to witness the Ralph Lauren spring 2027 show, which was held at the Jack Shainman Gallery on Wednesday in New York as part of New York Fashion Week. The stars helped bid adieu to the open-toe shoe season by putting on a wide range of leather boots and shoes to usher in the colder months in NYC.
Others like Rachel Brosnahan stayed right in the middle, opting for a closed-toe pair of mules. The celebrities' Ralph Lauren looks consisted of muted tones and colors, paired with dark boots in chocolate brown and black, also by the designer. Ahead, see what shoe styles the stars wore at the Ralph Lauren NYFW show.
More from WWD
Elle Fanning Revives Mob Wife Mentality at Coach's Spring 2027 Show
Gabrielle Union Brings Out Ferragamo's Trendiest Suede Mules to the 2026 U.S. Open

#show #stars #york #mules

Fall fashion was fully in focus for front row guests at the Ralph Lauren spring 2027 ready-to-wear show held at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City on Wednesday. Viola Davis, Rachel Brosnahan and more turned to the American designer's fall 2026 collection for their attire, while Cynthia Erivo turned back time to an early 2010s selection from Ralph Lauren.
Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo captured the dramatic romance of Ralph Lauren's fall 2013 ready-to-wear collection, which was inspired by the designer's journey to Russia.
More from WWD
Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo and More Stars Front Row at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2027 Show in New York

#erivo

Aaron Rodgers is dropping more clues about the woman he says he's married to.
During the Thursday, September 10, episode of the Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, 42 — who has kept his wife, Brittani, entirely out of the spotlight — was asked if she actually existed given what's been said online.
"Yeah," Rodgers said, adding that he doesn't care about what others may think.
"In 2017, I met my wife, and at the time she was leaving the States and going back to Europe," he began. "And my biggest regret is not begging her to stay or just proposing right there because that sent me into a tailspin."
The Super Bowl champ had two failed relationships after that. He dated former pro race car driver Danica Patrick from 2018 to 2020, and then he was in a relationship with Shailene Woodley, whom he was engaged to in 2021.

#aaron #Football #steelers

Aaron Rodgers is calling out his exes, claiming that there have been several false narratives made about him when it comes to his dating life.
The NFL star, 42, opened up like never before in a two-part episode of the podcast, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward. In the Thursday, September 10 episode, Rodgers revealed actress Shailene Woodley lied about their split back when their engagement ended in 2022.
"I propose and she says yes. Now, she maybe felt like she was forced to make a decision. She could have said no," he said. "But not a couple days after that she tells me, you know, 'Before we get married, I gotta go [expletive] this guy,' and I'm like — because her story is that I ruined her life and gave her crazy depression because I left her. But [in] actuality, she told me that, then she took off the ring by March."
Rodgers went on to say the couple tried "a couple of times" to reunite, but "nothing ever happened."
"And there wasn't even a relationship in 2022 to break off," he added. "She literally told me, 'I don't want to be with you' after we tried some sort of reconciliation in 2021. There's just a lot of narratives out there that are just not true and they portray things a certain way because they can get away with it."

#episode

Aaron Rodgers is speaking out about his past romantic relationships
In a guest spot on Not Just Football, the NFL star laid bare the details of the end of his engagement to Shailene Woodley
Rodgers claimed Woodley spoke about cheating on him while they were together
Aaron Rodgers is speaking out about his past relationships, including his former fiancée, Shailene Woodley.
In a guest spot on his Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Cam Heyward's podcast Not Just Football on Thursday, Sept. 10, the veteran quarterback shed extensive light on the end of his engagement to the Divergent alum.

#rodgers #woodley #shailene #relationships

By Enas Alashray, Nayera Abdallah and Jana Choukeir
CAIRO/DUBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis attacked four cities in the south of U.S. ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding more than 70 people and setting oil installations ablaze in what appeared to be a major expansion of the six-month-old Middle East war.
The Houthis, who ‌control most of Yemen's populated areas including the capital, said they had launched a broad operation deep into Saudi territory. They used drones and missiles to strike a ‌Saudi airbase in the southern city of Khamis Mushair, and targets belonging to Saudi Arabia's state oil company in nearby Abha, Najran on the Yemeni border and Jazan, a major Red Sea port.
Saudi authorities described blazes at the sites and said women and children were among the 73 people hurt. The reports of such large numbers of wounded suggested the attacks were among the biggest carried out against Saudi Arabia since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February.
Confirmed images of the aftermath of the attacks in the Saudi cities were not immediately available. The Houthis released pictures of an explosion of what they said were trucks from Saudi Arabia they had struck at the border in another area.

#saudi #major #enas

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may have been among the early contributors for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final, but it was captain Ishan Kishan who eventually stole the show with a breathtaking double century against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Sooryavanshi opened the innings for East Zone and made a brisk 44 off 37 deliveries. During the match, former India cricketer and commentator Vivek Razdan used Kishan's remarkable innings to offer some advice to the teenage batter.

"Sooryavanshi sahab, now you have to learn from players like Ishan Kishan. Once you are set, you have to learn how to play a long innings," Razdan said on commentary.

The message came as Kishan continued to pile on the runs and turn the final into a one-sided contest.
Resuming on 385/4, East Zone's batters showed little sign of slowing down. South Zone turned to the new ball in search of wickets, but Mohammad Siraj and MD Nidheesh struggled to make an impact.

Kishan immediately put pressure on the bowlers, collecting consecutive boundaries against Siraj before taking on Nidheesh. ***** ar Kushagra also joined the ***** ault as South Zone rotated between pace and spin.

Kushagra eventually completed his sixth first-class century, scoring 101 from 132 ***** with eight fours and five sixes. His dismissal shortly before lunch finally gave South Zone a breakthrough.

Kishan, meanwhile, remained in complete control.

The East Zone captain repeatedly found gaps in the field and punished anything loose. Even when South Zone introduced part-timers Devdutt Padikkal and Shaikh Rasheed, the flow of runs did not stop.

Kishan brought up his double century from 270 ***** and continued attacking thereafter. He raced beyond 250 before fatigue briefly forced him to retire from the field.

East Zone continued marching towards a massive total, eventually crossing 600 and then 700. When Mohammed Shami was dismissed for a quick 28, Kishan returned to the crease with the possibility of reaching an extraordinary triple century.
Kishan's pursuit of 300 ultimately came to an end when he was caught near the long-on boundary. The left-hander departed for a monumental 270 from 334 ***** , having smashed 30 fours and seven sixes.

His innings was the eighth-highest individual score in Duleep Trophy history and formed the backbone of East Zone's mammoth 708 all out.

Razdan had earlier highlighted not just the quality of Kishan's batting but also the physical demands of staying at the crease for such an extended period.

"Every person who is present here at this time stood up and applauded this innings. Because this is not just technique, this is not just temperament, this is also match fitness. To stay out there for so long in such heat and play an innings like this. What an innings by Ishan Kishan."

Kishan's marathon effort, alongside Kushagra's century, ensured East Zone posted more than 700 for only the third time in first-class cricket history at Chepauk.

Ajay Mitchell predicted to become one of the breakout players of the 2026-27 NBA season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have made some major changes ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season. Of course, the core players are still there, but it does mean that Ajay Mitchell is set for a bigger role. He will play a massive role in the backcourt alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
It is yet to be decided whether he will be the starter alongside SGA, as he will be competing against Cason Wallace for that role. Even if he plays off the bench, Mitchell will be a big part of the Thunder's potential success in the 2026-27 season.
With rotation players like Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, and Lu Dort all leaving the Thunder, the team needs a boost from the remaining players. Mitchell must play a big role because they need his contributions on both sides of the floor.
He is a decent defender who can fill the Dort void, but he will be mainly relied upon for his offensive contributions. Mitchell is a natural scorer who can create his own opportunities, but he can also set his teammates up with good passes.

#play

Victor Wembanyama gets a big shout-out from French UFC fighter Ciryl Gane originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Over the past decade, it has become clear that basketball is one of the biggest sports in the world. The rise of international players is a testament to this because there has not been an American regular-season MVP since James Harden's MVP in 2018.
Players like Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been dominant as non-American players. However, it seems San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama is ready to carry the torch moving forward as the best player to come out of France, a country that's well-known for producing some elite athletes.
As the current UFC interim heavyweight champion, Ciryl Gane knows what it's like to succeed. He is, in fact, a two-time holder of that **** le, so he is quite successful in his mixed martial arts career. The orthodox heavyweight striker stands out in the UFC with his natural talent and light feet despite being a 6'4" fighter.
Just like Gane, Wembanyama shares some traits with his fellow Frenchman. Being a giant who can move light on their feet is certainly a good trait to have, but it matters the most in a sport like basketball.

#ciryl #fighter

Over a decade later, one of the most shocking moves in NBA history still requires a lot of brain power to process. Kevin Durant's decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2016 is one of those history-altering events whose ripple effects can still be felt today.
After giving up a 3-1 series lead in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Durant joined the arch-rivals to team up with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. That quartet of first-ballot Hall-of-Famers made the following couple of years skippable as they cruised their way to back-to-back NBA championships.
You know the story by now. The Thunder went all in to keep Durant. And despite their organizational pleas and pitches, it wasn't enough to convince the NBA superstar to stick around and run it back. His exit took a decade to get over as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped heal the scars with a Larry O'Brien trophy in 2025.
In one of an endless supply of perspectives on Durant's decision, Dion Waiters weighed in with his two cents. He appeared on the 'Real Talk with MJ' podcast in Oct. 2024 to reflect on his exit and how it affected the role player's next move as he signed a last-resort one-year deal with the Miami Heat in the aftermath.
"We was in the WCF up 3-1 against Golden State. Tricked it off, bro. We're supposed to went to the Finals against Cleveland," Waiters said. "I feel like we would've beaten Cleveland. We just messed up at the right time, bro."

#back #golden #decade

When the Los Angeles Clippers dealt a 20-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the move seemed like the ultimate push to put the Clippers in championship contention.
Yes, the Clippers gave up a haul of future picks, but they formed their dream star duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. As much promise as Gilgeous-Alexander showed in his lone season in L.A., the Clippers wanted to win now. To them, making a deal involving trading SGA gave them the best chance to do that.
Though Gilgeous-Alexander was initially distraught at being shipped off to a new team, the move did remarkable wonders for his development. Now, it is clear the deal wasn't a hindrance to SGA's career; it was a blessing in disguise.
Clippers players loved Gilgeous-Alexander in the locker room and bought stock in the Canadian's potential.
Clipper vet Lou Williams grew a bond with SGA and respected his disciplined work ethic for a young player. In just one year, Gilgeous-Alexander left an indelible impression on his teammates.

#alexander #move #gave #deal

As the calendar flips to September, we're officially in the quiet zone of the NBA year. Not much will go on until the final days of the month. All of the major offseason moves have already happened. Teams across the league enjoy some serenity before the marathon starts back up again.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the 2026-27 season as co-title favorites — alongside the San Antonio Spurs. Even with their offseason departures, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren should keep them in the middle of the ***** le hunt.
With nothing else happening, Thunder Wire will regularly conduct Thunder Mailbags over the remainder of the offseason. In this edition, a social media user asked in the DMs — could Alex Caruso's regular-season role change with so many departures?
The Thunder added Caruso in a rare one-for-one player trade with the Chicago Bulls in June 2024. It was one of two offseason moves made that summer that signaled their readiness to take the next step as a serious ***** le contender. Safe to say the win-now move paid off. OKC won the 2025 NBA championship in his first year there and almost won another this past year.
In those two playoff runs, Caruso has been one of OKC's five most important players. Especially when you compare his pedestrian regular-season numbers. He's averaged 6.6 points on 43.3% shooting, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 ***** ists in the regular season. He's shot 32.2% from 3. And in the playoffs, those numbers jump up to 9.9 points on 46.2% shooting, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 ***** ists. He's shot 42.7% from 3.

#regular

After falling short of their back-to-back ambitions, the Oklahoma City Thunder are ready to get back in the saddle. Even after their offseason of cost-cutting moves, they're viewed as arguably the top **** le favorite again. That's what happens when you have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
The Thunder have everything that it takes to win the 2027 NBA championship. This group has one ring in hand — with the hopes of adding another. As long as those three are around, OKC will always be in the **** le picture.
Thunder Wire recently simulated the Thunder's upcoming season in the new NBA 2K27 video game. Thunder fans might straight-up hate the final result. Let's look at how OKC's campaign played out as it hopes to bring home a second championship.
For transparency, injuries and trades were turned off in this simulation. So all 30 NBA teams had the same rosters and rotations available throughout the entire season. It was at Hall-of-Fame difficulty. With that taken into account, let's look at how things turned out:
The Thunder make NBA history once again. They're the first seed for the fourth consecutive year. That's only the sixth time that has happened ever. They went 59-23 and had to wait until the regular-season finale to cool their jets. The Spurs and Timberwolves also had the same record. OKC had the tiebreaker over the two.

#back #championship

For the third year in a row, Yahoo Sports is simulating a full NBA season in the latest entry in the NBA 2K franchise — NBA 2K27.
Last year's simulation proved to be shockingly accurate. Not only did NBA 2K26 predict the Knicks to win the NBA Finals and Jalen Brunson to be named NBA Finals MVP, it also nailed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's repeat bid for MVP, Victor Wembanyama's Defensive Player of the Year nod and Cooper Flagg's Rookie of the Year victory. It even had the Wizards as the league's worst team, albeit with half of the wins the real-life version managed to muster.
All things considered, it was safe to say one of the best simulation video game experiences on the market walked the walk.
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For those new to this series, here are the rules: We select one team, at random (Miami Heat) and run through a MyEras season with CPU trade offers turned off, with G-League, scouting and rotational decisions set to automatic. The simulation is halted to record the NBA Cup winner, at the end of the regular season and before the NBA Finals.

#season #simulation #league #jalen