Some critical NBA cogs are rejoining sub-.500 teams, while many more are sitting out due to suspicious surgeries, as the 2025-26 season begins to wind down.
Also, we have big updates on a few of the game’s elites.
Kevin Durant Gunning for Unprecedented Fifth Gold Medal in 2028?
© Troy Taormina-Imagn ImagesCould we see 16-time All-Star Houston Rockets combo forward Kevin Durant at the L.A. Olympics in 2028?
According to Durant himself, during a new conversation with ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill, that is very much the plan.
“Hell yeah, I want to play,” Durant said. “I would love to, but I’ve got to stay on top of my game. I’m not expecting, I want to produce on the floor and make (managing director) Grant (Hill) and whoever is making the decisions, want to put me on the team. I don’t want — not just for seniority. I want to still prove I can help the team win.”
Durant, who’ll be 39 at the time of the Olympics, has won a men’s basketball record four gold medals with the U.S. team across each of the last four summer games.
The two-time Finals MVP is still very much on track to make his 12th All-NBA team this summer, as he’s been the best player on the 35-21 Rockets — the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed.
Across his first 53 bouts in his first season with Houston, the four-time league scoring champ has been averaging 25.9 points on .507/.409/.881 shooting splits, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 dishes, 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 steals a night.
Cade Cunningham for MVP?
© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn ImagesCould two-time All-Star Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham be the frontrunner for 2026 MVP honors this spring?
Longtime league insider Tom Haberstroh of The Finder notes that the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft could benefit mightily from the league’s punitive new eligibility requirements for end-of-season awards.
The reigning league MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder, remains unavailable due to an abdominal strain. He can currently afford to miss just six more contests before being eliminated from MVP or All-NBA consideration.
Three other primary All-Star contenders for the award — Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic — have missed more games than SGA already.
Jokic, a three-time MVP, has already missed 16 contests, and technically can only sit out one more game to still qualify.
Five-time All-Star Boston Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown has emerged as another late-season contender for MVP honors.
As the best player on the team with the league’s best record, Cunningham’s case is fairly easy to make. Through 50 games, the 24-year-old has averaged 25.3 points while slashing .455/.334/.810, plus 9.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds.
Dejounte Murray Returning to Pelicans for First Time in 13 Months
© David Banks-Imagn ImagesAll-Star New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray has been sidelined since Jan. 31, 2025, with a ruptured right Achilles tendon.
The former All-Defensive Teamer expects to rejoin his comrades on the 16-42 Pelicans Tuesday night, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic.
“I’ve been through so much,” Murray said of the experience, per The Athletic’s Mirin Fader and NOLA.com’s Rod Walker. “This is part of the journey. Injuries are a part of sports. It’s not how you fall. It’s how you get back up. For me, it was attacking the process day-by-day and staying level-headed and trying to find some positive and fun out of it.”
Jonathan Kuminga to Play in First Hawks Game
© Cary Edmondson-Imagn ImagesFormer champion Golden State Warriors power forward Jonathan Kuminga is expected to suit up for his first game with his new team, the Atlanta Hawks, on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
The 23-year-old has been shelved with a left knee bone bruise for a month. An extended restricted free agency run with Golden State eventually netted Kuminga a two-season, $46.8 million contract during the preseason, but Atlanta holds a $24.3 million team option for 2026-27.
Golden State flipped Kuminga and Buddy Hield’s contracts for sharpshooting, oft-hurt center Kristaps Porzingis at this year’s trade deadline.
How much actual on-court value the 24-year-old holds is anyone’s guess. The former 2021 No. 7 pick has been in and out of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s rotations since last year. He’s an athletic, downhill big, but questions about his passing and defense have limited his usefulness.
Injury Updates Around The League
All-Star Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija has been dealing with a lower back injury since Jan. 11. He ultimately departed a road victory over the Phoenix Suns just 59 seconds into the game Sunday, according to The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman. The ailment has sidelined him for 10 games, off and on, across the last six weeks. This is fairly critical for our Bulls, as Portland likely needs Avdija healthy for Portland to advance to the playoffs — and thus, give Chicago its first-round pick this summer. The Utah Jazz are taking no chances down the 2025-26 regular season’s home stretch as they eye their lottery odds. Per Chris Haynes of Amazon Prime Video, starting center Jusuf Nurkić is set to have a season-ending…nose surgery on Wednesday. Sure. Jazz guard Vince Williams Jr., acquired as part of the club’s blockbuster deadline deal for two-time All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr., had to be carried off the court during a Monday defeat to the Houston Rockets. Sources inform beat reporter Sarah Todd of The Deseret News that it is feared Williams suffered “a significant ACL injury” in his left knee. Houston Rockets small forward Jae’Sean Tate is set to sit out for the next four-to-six weeks due to a new Grade 2 right knee MCL sprain. Tate has been in and out of Houston’s rotation this month, but before that was mostly playing mop-up minutes, writes The Houston Chronicle’s Michael Shapiro. Phoenix Suns small forward Dillon Brooks will need surgery to treat a broken left hand and is expected to sit out the next four-to-six weeks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Losing the All-Defensive Team starter could be a critical blow for a 33-24 Suns club looking to make a final playoff push this spring. He had been averaging 21.2 points on a .441/.343/.856 slash line, 3.7 boards, and 1.8 dimes across his first 49 contests with Phoenix. Sacramento Kings forward De’Andre Hunter is doing his part to ensure his new team maximizes its lottery chances, too. The former lottery pick will miss the rest of the regular season recovering from eye surgery, per Haynes and Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Three-time Kings All-Star center and two-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine are also done for the year after going under the knife for a knee and hand injury, respectively. Sacramento boasts the league’s worst record, 12-45, thanks to a recent 16-game losing skid. Rookie Philadelphia 76ers power forward/center Johni Broome has torn the lateral meniscus in his right knee, per a Philadelphia team press release (via Noah Levick of NBC 10 Philadelphia). The No. 35 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, who has not been a part of the 76ers’ rotation this year, is set to consult with various doctors before deciding on his treatment. © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesHence then, the article about around the nba durant returning to olympics cade s mvp case murray and kuminga s returns more was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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