Basketball: the main stories of 15.09.2026

The WNBA's next commissioner will be chosen with at least one player having had a say. Sophie Cunningham said she raised the subject directly with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, whose league holds a controlling stake in the women's competition, ahead of Cathy Engelbert's departure at the end of the year. It is the only confirmed story on the wire today, and it lands with the collective bargaining agreement unresolved, which is what gives a player's opinion on the appointment its weight. Engelbert leaves after six years; no shortlist has been made public.

Two of the day's larger items sit in Boston. Paul George, by all accounts settling into the role the Celtics signed him for, told his first press conference that Jayson Tatum remains the team's star and that he has no intention of taking attention from him, one outlet reports; the same club's Neemias Queta, a starter for the first time last season, said he was glad to have Mitchell Robinson on his side rather than opposite him, though the signing has cost him a guaranteed place. Elsewhere Rimas Kurtinaitis stepped down as Lithuania head coach, his entire staff going with him, according to a single report citing the national federation. And Steve Kerr, in a run of remarks carried by one outlet, said he had decided a fortnight before the end of last season that he was leaving Golden State, told nobody, and changed his mind; he also dismissed the LeBron James talk as speculation and said the answer to a failed rebuild will be squad depth.

• One outlet reports that Kawhi Leonard, whose move to Toronto was completed yesterday, is close to a two-year extension there.
• The Clippers have given Bradley Beal the No. 3 worn by Chris Paul; Brian Windhorst called the decision wrong.
• Trent Redden and Marc Hughes are expected to become the Clippers' main decision-makers, per one report.
• The EuroLeague has split technical fouls into two categories and rewritten its unsportsmanlike rules for 2026/27.
• Željko Obradović says Panathinaikos managed only a handful of joint sessions before the season, with several players unwell — the club was among those hit by illness last week.
• Kostas Sloukas called Obradović the greatest coach in European basketball and said this season could be his last if he cannot meet expectations.
• Extension talks between Jalen Duren and Detroit have turned sour, with the centre said to feel disrespected.
• Denver are weighing a move for free agent Cam Whitmore; John Konchar has interest from Miami, New York, Orlando and Toronto.
• Montrezl Harrell, 32, trained with the Rockets' G-League side hoping for another NBA contract.
• Napoli signed centre Caleb Tarczewski, back in Italy after four years in Japan; Avtodor are taking MBA guard Timofei Shikalov on a one-year loan.
• Nikolai Arzyamov, a former Avtodor Saratov coach, died at 80.
• NBA owners expect $500-600m apiece from expansion fees, Windhorst said.
• CSKA defend the VTB Super Cup with Lokomotiv Kuban and Anadolu Efes among the challengers.