Victor Wembanyama is unquestionably one of basketball's brightest young stars. In his third NBA season, he led the San Antonio Spurs to the Finals.

San Antonio ultimately lost the series to the New York Knicks in five games. Wembanyama earned several individual honors, including his first Defensive Player of the Year award and All-NBA selection.

The French-born Spurs forward opened the 2026-27 season under enormous expectations. The 7-foot-4 star was a preseason favorite to win the NBA MVP award, while San Antonio entered the season as an odds-on favorite to win the championship.

The postseason also marked a notable shift in how the public viewed Wembanyama. Once a widely beloved sports figure, he was increasingly cast by some as a villain.

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A series of on-court incidents fueled claims that Wembanyama had become a "dirty" player. One of those situations surfaced in the Western Conference semifinals, when his elbow made contact with then-Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid.

During the Finals, many Knicks fans grew furious at times over Wembanyama’s defense against Jalen Brunson.

Once viewed as a conquering hero, Wembanyama was quickly cast as a New York sports villain. But he insisted the criticism does not faze him.

"No, it didn't because I'm not paying attention to this ... during the Finals. I don't think any player on either team really is," Wembanyama told "60 Minutes" when asked about his portrayal as a villain in a clip released Thursday ahead of Sunday’s full sit-down interview.

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Although Wembanyama said he tunes out much of the noise, he does not appear eager to let the villain label stick. He added that last season’s playoff run taught him where to draw the line between playing with a competitive edge and going a step farther than he should, acknowledging that he crossed it at times.

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"It showed my limits more than anything else. Going out there, you need to play basketball. You don't need to beat the s--- out of people. [laughs] If you wanna win, at least," Wembanyama said while reflecting on the lessons he learned from last season’s playoff run.

Wembanyama also drew public attention before some Finals games began. He was seen standing with his arms crossed during the U.S. national anthem before Game 1, but reportedly was not on the court for the anthems before Games 3 and 4.

He has not publicly explained why he stood with his arms crossed before Game 1 on June 3. Wembanyama has played in all five of San Antonio’s regular-season games this season, averaging 25 points per game.

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The Spurs return to action Saturday, when they host the Timberwolves.

Charles Barkley did not appreciate seeing LeBron James practicing his golf swing on the court during the middle of the national anthem ahead of his Philadelphia 76ers debut earlier this month.

President Donald Trump blasted James after the incident, calling him a "total disgrace," and while Barkley made it a point to say he doesn't care what the President has to say about anything, the two see eye to eye when it comes to James disrespecting the anthem.

"I don’t pay what President Trump says any attention, first and foremost, at all," Barkley began when asked about the moment on SiriusXM NBA Radio. "But I thought that was very disrespectful, practicing your golf swing in the middle of the anthem. I always stand for the anthem. I just think it’s important. We live in the greatest country ever where you can always protest, but I think you have to be very careful with the anthem."

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This is not the first time James has decided that the middle of the national anthem was an opportune time to work on his golf swing.

Last Christmas, while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, James got in a few practice swings ahead of his team's eventual loss to the Houston Rockets.

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While Barkley mentioned always being allowed to protest, it doesn't appear that James was protesting anything in this instance, but instead simply not being able to stand still and disrespecting the anthem in the process.

"I look at it, I'm supporting the troops when I stand for the national anthem," Barkley continued. "I'm standing there for free speech, so even though I believe in free speech, I think you have to be very careful with the anthem. I always stand for the anthem. I think it's important, and I think it's significant."

James' faux golf swings in the middle of the anthem have understandably drawn attention and criticism, but perhaps the most disrespectful stunt he's pulled during 'The Star-Spangled Banner' came back in 2023.

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As a late arrival to his courtside seats at USC to watch his son, Bronny James, play for the Trojans, LeBron made his entrance during the middle of the anthem, with a hat on, and sat in his seat while the rest of the arena was standing and showing respect to the United States.

Ernie Johnson will retire as host of "Inside the NBA" after the season, the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer announced in a social media video on Wednesday.

Johnson, 70, will continue covering the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for CBS and Turner Sports.

The announcement generated two separate discussions across the industry. One about Johnson’s legacy. The other concerns the obvious. His departure creates an opening on one of the most prestigious and popular shows in sports media.

Speaking to sources Wednesday, no one was confident in who would succeed Johnson just yet. For one, "Inside the NBA" remains a TNT production, despite moving to ESPN airwaves last season. Skydance Corporation, which owns TNT and CBS, controls the show. ESPN does not.

That said, ESPN will likely influence the decision. Malika Andrews, ESPN’s current NBA host, is a plausible candidate.

Andrews hosted the network’s NBA Finals coverage before the deal with "Inside the NBA." She currently hosts ESPN’s daily basketball show, "NBA Today," and its pregame show, "NBA Countdown."

The question is whether Andrews can preserve the show’s signature off-the-cuff identity. She has struggled in the past when covering topics involving serious issues.

She previously teared up on set while discussing the Supreme Court’s decision to return abortion laws to the states and falsely claimed that the Constitution prohibits doing so. It does not. Andrews also made false claims about Kyle Rittenhouse carrying weapons across state lines. Not ideal.

Adam Lefkoe is the other candidate frequently mentioned by sources. Lefkoe is a TNT employee who previously hosted a Tuesday edition of "Inside the NBA" and has filled in for Johnson in recent years. He also has a rapport with Shaquille O’Neal, who will remain an analyst on the show. Lefkoe and O’Neal co-host "The Big Podcast."

After Lefkoe and Andrews, opinions were mixed regarding other candidates. Qualified NBA hosts are not simply waiting for an opportunity.

Most of ESPN’s top hosts are occupied elsewhere. Mike Greenberg and Scott Van Pelt host NFL pregame shows. Rece Davis hosts both the football and basketball editions of "GameDay."

Laura Rutledge works across the NFL and college football and should be in line to succeed Van Pelt in the coming years. Each would be a quality replacement for Johnson, but for one reason or another, they may not want the job.

Another potential factor is Charles Barkley.

Barkley has said this will also be his final season on the show. However, he has made that claim many times before, only to return the following year. Barkley’s departure could dramatically change the show’s style.

Former ESPN commentator Jalen Rose is reportedly his likely replacement, as disappointing as that may be.

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Bluntly put, the options to replace Ernie Johnson are not ideal. It is therefore fair to question how promising the future of "Inside the NBA" is.

The father of Golden State Valkyries star Tiffany Hayes wasn't shy about blaming the WNBA for playing a potential championship-clinching game at 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday.

"I think it’s the league’s fault," Renard Hayes told OutKick outside State Farm Arena before Game 6 between his daughter’s Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream.

"It’s the league’s fault. And pretty much the Atlanta organization."

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He wasn’t alone in questioning the arrangement. Fans outside the arena described taking time off work, pulling children out of school and traveling hours to attend a game originally scheduled for 8 p.m.

The WNBA moved Game 6 to the afternoon to accommodate a doubleheader at State Farm Arena, where the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks were scheduled to host the Cleveland Cavaliers that night. Golden State entered Thursday with a 3-2 series lead and a chance to win its first championship.

Hayes, who said he lives in Florida, could make the early start work, but he expressed concern for the people who couldn’t.

"It’s kind of a shame about how they couldn’t handle the situation better or couldn’t be more prepared," he said.

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For Golden State fans watching in California, the game’s start time was 9:30 a.m.

"Probably have to take a break off work, take the day off or whatever like that," Hayes said. "But for me, I’m good with it. I’m okay with it."

He pointed to Golden State’s experience relocating a playoff game to San Jose last season as an example of having an alternative ready. He also questioned whether the Dream’s roughly 3,500-seat regular home, Gateway Center Arena, could have accommodated the demand for a Finals game.

Moving to State Farm Arena created room for more fans, but moving the start time created another obstacle to getting them there.

"We came from four hours away, so we’re not too thrilled. But we’re here," one Dream fan told OutKick, adding that the child accompanying her was out of school for the game.

Another Atlanta fan said she had been able to get off work, but recognized that others wouldn’t have that flexibility.

"For all of the other Dream fans, it’s not ideal," she said. "We would have rather played at nighttime."

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Another fan declined to appear on camera, telling OutKick she had called out sick and didn’t want her boss to see her at the game.

A father attending with his wife and two children offered a clarification after his interview: "We’re responsible parents, we swear!"

He said the children had attended school for two hours before leaving and completed all their work.

Several fans questioned why the NBA’s regular-season game received the evening slot while the WNBA’s potential championship clincher was played during the workday.

"We should have been prime time," one Dream fan said.

The father who brought his family called the arrangement "kind of disrespectful to the Dream," pointing out that the Hawks were only beginning their season.

The Hawks agreed to move their game to 8 p.m. to accommodate the doubleheader. But fans who spoke with OutKick argued that the Finals should have received priority.

One Valkyries supporter said the women deserved more respect and should have gotten the prime-time slot. Still, he welcomed the opportunity to play in a much larger arena.

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"It’s awesome that it’s being played at State Farm Arena rather than a 3,500-seat arena," he said. "So with that being in mind, I think that’s a win regardless."

Not everyone objected to the early start.

One Dream fan said she was fine with it and encouraged people who couldn’t attend to support the team wherever they were. A Valkyries fan who had arrived from San Francisco at 6 a.m. dismissed the suggestion that she might be tired.

"No. We’re ready," she said.

The league announced the scheduling change Monday, three days before Game 6, with tickets going on sale that afternoon.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert praised the sellout crowds at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 and emphasized the opportunity to accommodate thousands more fans. The league also announced plans for a coordinated promotional push with its broadcast partners to build awareness of the new start time.

OutKick asked the WNBA why it chose the afternoon start, what alternatives it considered and whether it was concerned about the potential impact on viewership. The league has not responded.

USA Sports, which is airing the game on USA Network, acknowledged that the afternoon start wasn’t ideal for attracting a television audience.

"The daytime window isn’t perfect from a TV audience perspective, but the league had to make a really difficult decision taking a lot into account across multiple stakeholders," a USA Sports spokesperson told OutKick in a statement.

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"What was important to us was to ultimately be a good partner and to be part of the solution here."

The fans outside State Farm Arena found ways to make Thursday work. Some took time off, and others brought children who otherwise would have been in school.

Hayes was happy to be there for his daughter, but that didn’t mean he thought the league had handled the situation well.

The ongoing legal battle between the LSU Tigers and the Southeastern Conference took another turn on Wednesday afternoon inside the same courthouse that has drawn plenty of attention over the past two months.

Former St. John's basketball player RJ Luis has been fighting to play this season for Will Wade and the Tigers, but SEC rules prohibit him from taking the court for LSU due to him signing an NBA contract or having professional experience.

At first, Luis was granted the ability to participate in the upcoming season thanks to an order granted by a Louisiana judge based off a lawsuit filed against the NCAA over its eligibility rules pertaining to the members of the 2022 class who felt as though they should have been enjoined with new guidelines established.

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Now, thanks to an injunction granted by a Louisiana judge, RJ Luis has provided LSU with protection to roster him this season if they have the fortitude to continue battling the SEC. The latest injunction granted allows Luis to practice and play with LSU until a Nov. 13 hearing in Baton Rouge, allowing LSU the legal power needed for the Tigers to roster RJ Luis without facing penalties from the SEC.

But, will LSU follow the court's ruling?

Remember those athletes Lane Kiffin thought about rostering at LSU?

During the time between the order being granted and Wednesday, there has been another case that saw both the SEC and LSU added to a lawsuit that pertained to the eligibility of athletes.

As OutKick previously reported, a judge in the 19th Judicial District Court of Baton Rouge granted an injunction for former athletes that had NFL 'experience' in Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris.

It was at the injunction hearing for those two athletes where SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was called to the witness stand, testifying for over three hours on the Thursday before LSU opened the season against Clemson.

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Thanks to a ruling by Judge William Jorden in the favor of the athletes, both players were eligible to be rostered by Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers without punishment from the SEC.

But, the threat of recourse by the conference, along with a federal lawsuit filed by the SEC that very same week, saw the LSU athletic department make the decision to keep them off the team.

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Now, nearly two months later, LSU basketball coach Will Wade technically has the same decision to make.

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After Will Wade noted that he would be following SEC guidelines pertaining to former professional athletes not being added to the official roster, he now faces another decision that should not be that difficult to make, unless he's worried about being sued.

Attorney Tony Clayton, who is also part of the legal team for Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, told reporters outside the Baton Rouge courthouse on Wednesday that since he added both the conference and LSU to the amended complaint, it provides his client with a path to play this season despite what the SEC guidelines say.

"My client, Mr. Luis, felt that it was in his best interest to file this claim against LSU and the SEC because of the commissioner's actions and the commissioner's threat," attorney Tony Clayton told NOLA.com,

"LSU may be intimidated by ‘Kim Jong’ Sankey, but we're not."

Okay, that's not going to sit well with the conference, as they continue fighting LSU in federal court, in a separate case.

Does RJ Luis actually think he will be rostered by Will Wade this season? Well, attorney Tony Clayton pointed out why in his legal filing he brought LSU into this fight, and why he thinks this provides the Tigers with cover from conference rules.

"The reason why we brought LSU into the suit is because LSU is being threatened by Mr. Sankey," Clayton told NOLA.com. "LSU is a great institution. Coach Wade is a good guy, a good coach, but both of them need to be forced to allow RJ to play basketball since he's obviously qualified. And not have the threat of the SEC, which is threatening LSU. In effect, stopping coach Will Wade from letting this kid exercise his fundamental right to play basketball."

But, if you've been paying close attention to what has taken place over the past two months, this might actually come down to monetary damages, and not RJ Luis playing basketball for LSU this season.

According to multiple sources, attorneys for the two former football players could end up bringing a civil suit against the SEC over the coming weeks that seeks damages for them not being rostered by Lane Kiffin and LSU.

In their eyes, it's the SEC's threat of action against LSU if they were to roster these athletes that prevented them from playing this season.

So, could the injunction granted to RJ Luis on Wednesday, which remains in effect until a Nov. 13 hearing, be the next step in the former St. John's basketball star's lawsuit against the SEC as he seeks monetary damages?

Or, maybe a settlement with all athletes somehow tied to LSU in these cases.

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Nothing should surprise you any longer when it comes to matters involving both LSU and the SEC with former professional athletes.

Not even a long game that plays out inside courtrooms from Alabama to Baton Rouge.

Legendary "Inside the NBA" host Ernie Johnson announced Wednesday on X that he will step away from the show after the 2026-27 NBA season.

Johnson, 70, revealed in the video that he has dealt with heart issues and underwent bypass surgery 14 months ago. He said he wants to slow down and spend more time with his wife and five grandchildren.

"I've been hosting 'Inside the NBA’ for a long time. This is my 37th year, and I've long described it as a get-to job. Still amazed that I get to do this for a living. Now, as the years have gone by and I turned 70 this past summer, folks have asked me, 'So, how long are you going to keep doing Inside?' Well, I want to take a couple of minutes of your time to answer that. This will be my last season. Totally my decision. It's just time," Johnson said in his video.

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Johnson clarified that he is not retiring from broadcasting entirely, only from "Inside the NBA." The broadcaster said he recently launched a production company, 32 Bow Ties, and plans to continue working on March Madness coverage and other projects for TNT and CBS .

"So why now? Total honesty here. I've always prided myself on my preparation, the hours I put in every day getting ready for the next show. I've always loved that part of my job, but I've always vowed that if that ever became more of a challenge than it is a joy, then I'll know it's time to step away. And now after 37 seasons, it's time," Johnson said.

He cited his heart issues and his desire to spend time with family as a contributing factor in his decision.

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"This isn't a case where my doctor said, ‘You need to stop working.’ It's nothing like that. But here's the deal. Going through that has made me treasure even more every second with my amazing wife of 44 years, Cheryl, and being Poppy to our five grandchildren. So, I just want to slow down a bit, spend more time I'm enjoying that," Johnson said.

He said it has been an honor to work for decades alongside Shaquille O’Neal (who joined the show in 2011), Charles Barkley (2000) and Kenny Smith (1998). Johnson joined "Inside the NBA" in 1990, one year after its creation.

Johnson is not the only "Inside the NBA" personality planning to retire after the 2026-27 season. Barkley announced last month that the season would be his last.

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"I've just started a new production company called 32 Bow Ties, geared toward telling feel-good stories in sports. So, this is by no means the end. It's just a turning of the page. And I'll forever cherish every chapter we have written with inside the NBA," Johnson said.

"And lastly, I just want to say thanks to you. Thanks for your loyalty, for your love, for your support, and on this day for your understanding. We'll see you on TV tonight."