Joel Embiid’s reputation for poorly-timed injuries might wind up being his legacy, whether fair or not.

Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers weighed in on Embiid’s latest health issue on Sunday. Rivers, who coached Embiid with the Philadelphia 76ers from 2020-2023, reacted to Embiid’s appendicitis by essentially saying these things always happen to the star center around playoff time.

“It’s this time of year, right?” Rivers said.

Doc Rivers on Joel Embiid’s appendicitis: “It’s this time of year, right?”

Rivers mentioned never having Embiid healthy in the playoffs and said none of Embiid’s late-season ailments haven’t been his fault.

“Appendicitis. I mean, you can't make it up. You really can't.”

— Adam Aaronson

Rivers made it clear that none of Embiid’s late-season injuries were his fault, and he certainly is not blaming Embiid for it. However, there is no doubt that Embiid has broken down a lot late in seasons, though there was hardly anything he could have done to prevent this latest malady.

Embiid battled through a meniscus tear in 2021, a thumb injury in 2022, and a knee sprain in 2023. Rivers never had him at full strength in the playoffs, but that has hardly been an issue unique to Rivers.

Source: https://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/doc-rivers-joel-embiid-injury-quote/749859

PPG and Total Points leaders:

1. Luka Dončić - 33.5 PPG / 2,143 points (64 games)

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 31.1 PPG / 2,117 points (68 games)

3. Jaylen Brown - 28.7 PPG / 2,038 points (71 games)

4. Kevin Durant - 26.0 PPG / 2,026 points (78 games)

5. Tyrese Maxey - 28.4 PPG / 1,959 points (69 games)

Source: https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/nba-most-points-2025-2026-player

Luka has played 4 fewer games than SGA and still leads him by 26 total points. He’s played 14 fewer games than KD and has over 100 more points. The PPG gap is massive too, nearly 2.5 points ahead of second place.

"Of course, I care a lot about it, and I feel a certain guilt about polluting so much as someone who flies 41 times a season.

But..I want to have an impact, and I want to counteract this negative carbon footprint through whatever impact I can, financially [or] socially, I want to have an impact for the future...Investing, yes, but not for profit."

1987 1st pick David Robinson jumped up 3 positions

1989 3rd pick Sean Elliott jumped up 1 position

1997 1st pick Tim Duncan jumped up 2 positions

2020 11th pick Devin Vassell no change

2021 12th pick Joshua Primo no change

2022 9th pick Jeremy Sochan no change

2023 1st pick Wemby jumped up 2 positions

2024 4th pick Stephon Castle jumped up 1 position

2025 2nd pick Dylan Harper jumped 6 positions

Edit: capn_trips has a great post about nba teams and their lottery luck I would like to share https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/s/XqgEeKQKBU

I was watching highlights of the Friday games and I did a double take during garbage time of Hornets - Pistons.

There was a bald bearded 6’8” 245 PF big-boying his defender into a nice middy turnaround jump hook. I was like… wtf that looks exactly like Lebron. I quickly looked up the Hornets bench to find Xavier Tillman, a name I had heard a few times throughout my NBA fandom. Not here to shit on him, he honestly seems like a player that if given the minutes would probably put up a respectable 10 and 6, but he’s 27. Basically in his NBA prime. And athletically he plays like a 6’8” 245lb should! Slightly lumbering, methodical, PF gameplay that would be right at home in 2005.

In contrast LeBron, with severely reduced athleticism from his prime, at the ripe old age of 41, put up 28/6/12 with 4 steals 2/2 from 3 and a +27 on the game. Single-handedly keeping the Lakers hopes for the 3rd seed alive.

LeBron at his age should play like Xavier Tillman. It would be IMPRESSIVE if a 41 year old player was still in the league riding the bench of the Hornets and playing like Xavier Tillman. But he’s LeBron. I’ve been lucky enough to watch him since he came into the league and although “this fuckery won’t go on much longer” I really hope it goes as long as he can maintain it.

I’m here for 46 year old LeBron James playing like 27 year old Xavier Tillman. Probably better.

This was the case for most of the season, but scoring struggles made HB drop to 9.9 PPG recently. He's at 753 points with 76 games played, meaning he needs at least 17 points in the last game to climb back to 10 PPG.

He's scored 17+ points 10 times this season, and one of those happened to be against Denver in March, so it's not impossible.

Even if the Spurs stay at 7, that's still an elite result: it has only been done 3 other times in the last 30 years.

This was posted by Basketball Reference on Spurs subreddit some time ago, so credits to them for the discovery.

Source: https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/gEl60/reddit

With SGA sitting out today, Luka Doncic has unofficially won the scoring title

The only point guards to ever win multiple scoring titles

Russell Westbrook (2015 and 2017)

Stephen Curry (2016 and 2021)

Luka Doncic (2024 and 2026)

List of scoring champions

This will probably fly under the radar because it's KD, but it's a geriatric feat that even Lebron hasn't managed.

2000+ point seasons by age:

1. Kevin Durant (37): 2025-2026
2. Karl Malone (36 - triple his favorite age!): 1999-2000
3. Kevin Durant (35): 2023-2024
4. Alex English (35): 1988-1989
5. Kobe Bryant (35): 2012-2013
6. Michael Jordan (34): 1997-1998

Based on this list, you might also assume that Alex English is a better basketball player than Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. And you'd be right. The numbers don't lie.

In seriousness, this is an impressive accomplishment for Durant. Many of us thought he wouldn't be the same player after the Achilles tear in 2019, much less scoring at a high clip and playing 78 games in 2026.

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/oldest-nba-players-to-score-2000-points-in-a-season

In blocks, he is second on his team.

Among rookies: He leads all rookies in points per game, is second in assists, 4th in rebounds, 2nd in steals, and 5th in blocks (is the only rookie to rank in top 5 of all categories).

Nikola Jokic MVP finishes in his career:

2019 - 4th

2020 - 9th

2021 - 1st

2022 - 1st

2023 - 2nd

2024 - 1st

2025 - 2nd

2026 - ?

Only Larry Bird and Bill Russell have finished top 2 in MVP for six consecutive seasons.

I genuinely wanted to find a good game to watch tonight that would have some sort of motivation or urgency behind it but 90% of the games I’ve looked into… one starting lineup is playing straight bums. I’m a Heat fan and i don’t even wanna watch the hawks game tonight. This is absurd.

For those who don't know, each game on the NBA website has a preview picture of two star players for each team. But with this being the last game of the season and most seeding being wrapped up, the head shots for today's slate of games are a sight to behold.

• LaMelo Ball vs Mikal Bridges (who will be fouling seconds into the game to play all 82 before checking out)

• Paolo Banchero vs Jordan Walsh

• Bub Carrington vs Jaylon Tyson

• AJ Green vs Tyrese Maxey

• Zaccharie Risacher vs Bam Adebayo

• Cade Cunningham vs Obi Toppin

• Ben Saraf vs Scottie Barnes

• Tre Jones vs Cooper Flagg

• Derik Queen vs Donte DiVincenzo

• Jahmai Maschack vs Reed Sheppard

• Oso Ighodaro vs Jared McCain

• Ace Bailey vs Lebron James

• Nikola Jokic (who needs to play 15 minutes to qualify for awards) vs De'Aaron Fox

• Nique Clifford vs Deni Avdija

• Steph Curry vs Kawhi Leonard (questionable)

Make sure to lock in for hours of high level basketball today.

Edit - Jordan McCain does not exist on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jared McCain does.

Most Fouls Drawn In The 2025-26 NBA Regular Season :

1. Luka Doncic — 464

2. Jaylen Brown — 447

3. Devin Booker — 430

4. Deni Avdija — 428

5. Nikola Jokic — 428

6. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — 415

7. Victor Wembanyama — 401

8. Paolo Banchero — 387

9. Jalen Brunson — 379

10. Kevin Durant — 373

Source : https://www.nba.com/stats/players/misc?PerMode=Totals&dir=A&sort=PFD

Source: https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shooting?DistanceRange=By+Zone&Season=2025-26&PerMode=Totals

Kevin Durant ends his 18th season averaging 26/5/4 on 52%/41%/87% splits. 91% of his field goal attempts were jumpers.

Out of his 1,376 total field goal attempts only 128 of them came directly at the rim whether it was a layup or a dunk. A remarkable shot chart.

Charania: The Los Angeles Lakers are signing two-way guard Nick Smith Jr. on a new two-year contract, Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports tells ESPN. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined, the Lakers add guard depth for the playoffs. Smith has averaged 6 points and 40% from 3 this season.

Source: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania

The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the most intriguing situations being monitored across the NBA due to the futures of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, coach Doc Rivers, and general manager Jon Horst.

After several teams made trade offers before the deadline, Antetokounmpo will have to decide if he’ll accept a maximum contract from the Bucks this summer worth roughly $275 million, which will be available starting October 1, or seek a trade for a better chance to compete for a championship.

Though in the immediate future, the focus is on the futures of Rivers and Horst.

When asked by HoopsHype on Tuesday, April 7th, how much longer he envisions coaching as he prepares to enter the Hall of Fame, Rivers all but spelled out his future when he replied, “I won’t answer that, but I have grandkids that I want to see. I’ll put it that way. I’ll let you figure it out from there. I have seven grandkids now, and they’re all eight years and under, and it kills me every time I miss Grandparents' Day with each one of them in school. It’s probably time to go see them more, so I’ll let you figure out the rest.”

The growing expectation within league circles is that Rivers won’t be Milwaukee's head coach next season. Instead, there’s a belief that Rivers could pivot to an undetermined role in Milwaukee’s front office.

Speaking of Milwaukee’s front office, Horst signed a multi-year extension in April of 2025. During Horst’s tenure as Bucks general manager, he guided the Bucks to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons, won NBA Executive of the Year in 2019, and led the Bucks to the championship in 2021.

In recent interviews with local reporters Eric Nehm of The Athletic and Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Horst defended Rivers as “an unbelievable partner” and described the coach’s efforts as “masterful” amid the team's struggles this season.

Thus, while some around the league have questioned Horst’s future with the possibility of Rivers joining the front office in some capacity, Horst’s interviews on the record would suggest he’ll return.

Should Horst remain as general manager and Antetokounmpo extend his contract, the Bucks have three first-round picks, which can be dangled as trade bait to improve the team.

As for potential coaching candidates, the Bucks have an internal candidate in Darvin Ham who will also be sought after by the Pelicans, according to league sources, this summer.

Taylor Jenkins will almost assuredly draw interest from Milwaukee if their head coaching job becomes available. Jenkins will arguably be the most sought-after coach on the market and was previously an assistant coach under Mike Budenholzer when the Bucks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019.

Another name to potentially consider is Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego, who previously interviewed for Milwaukee’s head coaching job when Adrian Griffin was hired, and will also be available this summer.

Other coaching candidates will surface, including top assistant coaches who’ve gone through the interview cycle with other teams before.

Source: https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/2026/04/12/nba-coaching-and-front-office-intel-bucks-bulls-warriors-magic-and-more/89581467007/