Basketball: the main stories of 28.09.2026

The Clippers will start the season without Brandon Ingram. According to the club, as reported, the forward is still recovering from a partial Achilles tear found in the off-season. The report did not say how long he will be out. The news comes while the club is under an NBA investigation into alleged salary-cap circumvention. Kawhi Leonard refused to discuss the investigation at Toronto's media day and said he wanted to get back to basketball.

According to one outlet, Minnesota won both of the WNBA's main individual awards. Cheryl Reeve was named coach of the year after a 33-11 regular season, a day after Breanna Stewart led New York past her top-seeded Lynx. Olivia Miles was the unanimous rookie of the year after averaging 19.8 points, 6 assists and 4.7 rebounds a game. The playoffs also began. A'ja Wilson scored 38 points, equalling her playoff career high, and took 16 rebounds as Las Vegas beat Indiana 102-85. Golden State beat Dallas 104-80, the most points in the club's two-year history.

• Rhyne Howard scored 26 as Atlanta beat Washington in Game 1.
• Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports reports that Nikola Jokić could sign a $360m deal with Denver next summer, which would be the largest contract in NBA history.
• The Athletic reports that Jalen Duren did not take well to Detroit's five-year, $200m offer, which comes with weight clauses.
• Michael Scotto reports that Detroit will waive Gary Harris.
• Marc Stein reports that Utah traded Walker Kessler partly because his camp said he would leave in free agency.
• Stein also reports that Dallas wants to keep Dwight Powell, which could mean cutting or trading another player.
• Kristaps Porziņģis will miss the start of Golden State's training camp with a health issue.
• Minnesota hope Donte DiVincenzo can return during the season.
• Alexander Shcherbenev of Zenit will have surgery on a torn cruciate ligament.
• Olympiacos re-signed Bryant Dunston, 40, and George Papas.
• The Euroleague will use an AI system to assign referees.
• Philadelphia signed a multi-year jersey patch deal with Bloom Energy.
• Greg St. Jean will replace Bob Beyer, who has retired, on the Lakers' staff.
• Stephon Castle says San Antonio's squad has no ego. A day earlier, NBA assistants had named the Spurs title favourites.
• LeBron James says he seriously considered joining the Knicks before they won the title in June.
• Paul George says he wishes he had come to Boston sooner.
• A video has emerged of Isaiah Stewart punching Drew Eubanks in an arena tunnel in 2024.