Basketball: the main stories of 21.09.2026

Nicolas Batum has called time on 18 NBA seasons. The 37-year-old Frenchman goes out as a Clippers forward, and his retirement is the only story on today's wire confirmed by two outlets. That leaves the Clippers without one of their old heads just before training camp. The club's top job is also changing hands: ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Los Angeles lawyer John Gibson has been named interim governor and chief executive while Steve Ballmer serves his suspension.

Most of the rest of the day's news concerns Atlanta. One report, citing the club, says rookie Henri Veesaar tore his ACL in practice and will miss the whole 2026-27 campaign after surgery next month. Separately, Jake Fischer reports that the Hawks and Hornets have spent this month talking on and off about a deal built around Buddy Hield and Dorian Finney-Smith. Trae Young, now in Washington, gave his account of leaving Atlanta. He said he wanted to go "the right way", without a fight.

• Detroit have offered Jalen Duren $200m over five years including bonuses, Charania reports. There is no agreement yet.
• Toronto have converted Jaden Bradley's two-way deal into a four-year, $9.3m contract, according to HoopsHype.
• At the Raptors' ceremonies for his retirement, Kyle Lowry asked the club to retire DeRozan's No. 10. A day earlier, DeRozan had called Toronto home.
• Marc Stein reports that Kawhi Leonard told Miami and other suitors he would only extend with Toronto or San Antonio.
• Doc Rivers joins NBC Sports as an analyst.
• Eurohoops reports that Joey and Jesse Bass have exclusive talks to buy Villeurbanne until early November. This follows Tony Parker saying his own Villeurbanne project had fallen through.
• According to Meridian Sport, Monaco have asked to join the Adriatic League, starting in its second division.
• The Athletic reports the NBA is weighing two arena options for a Las Vegas team.
• Gabe Vincent has turned down a Knicks camp deal, Stein reports.
• Golden State have signed Graham Ike to a two-way contract.
• A'ja Wilson scored 30 in Las Vegas's 98-77 win over Seattle and became the first player with two 1,000-point seasons. In the same game, Flau'jae Johnson scored a career-high 29.
• Caitlin Clark went 6 of 20 from the field as Indiana lost 93-77 to Washington. The Fever are now one game behind Atlanta for the No. 4 seed.
• Lisa Leslie is the first Sparks player to get a bronze statue.
• Dirk Nowitzki backed Masai Ujiri's rebuild in Dallas.
• Andrei Kirilenko said the format of Russia's return matters more than the date.
• WNBA: New York host Atlanta and Phoenix play Dallas on 22 September.