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  • Jameer Nelson wants to be ‘part of the solution’ for the Sixers. His promotion provides an opportunity to do that ‘at home.’

    Jameer Nelson wants to be ‘part of the solution’ for the Sixers. His promotion provides an opportunity to do that ‘at home.’

    During early conversations with Josh Harris and Bob Myers, new 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey asked a version of this question multiple times:

    Can we keep Jameer?

    Can we elevate Jameer?

    News popped Sunday that those inquiries had become reality. Jameer Nelson was promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations, the No. 2 front-office position under Gansey. It continues Nelson’s rise through his hometown NBA organization following a terrific playing career, which on Monday the Chester native and former St. Joseph’s star called “actually a surreal moment.”

    “Six years ago, when I started [with the Sixers], I had no idea where this journey would take me,” Nelson said following Gansey’s introductory news conference at the Sixers’ facility. “Credit to the organization for believing in me … To do it for the home team gives me goosebumps, to be honest with you.

    “I think it’s one of the things that people take for granted: when you can actually help out an organization but, more importantly, do it at home.”

    Mike Gansey plans to build around Sixers’ current core while growing the team’s culture: ‘I want fountains, not drains’

    Nelson was reportedly the primary internal candidate for the top job that went to Gansey, following a search spearheaded by Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and former lead executive during the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty. When asked about the process that ultimately resulted in Nelson’s promotion from assistant general manager, he said, “It was fun, and it’s always good to be wanted.”

    Vice president of player personnel Prosper Karangwa also attended Monday’s news conference, after The Inquirer confirmed Sunday that he had agreed to a multi-year contract extension. Fellow assistant general manager Ned Cohen and Delaware Blue Coats general manager Ariana Andonian also were present. Not spotted: Elton Brand, who is expected to transition to a new role and title after stints as the Sixers’ top front office decision-maker and as general manager under former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who was fired May 12.

    That all makes Nelson the prime example of front office continuity — he fielded questions about Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid on Monday — and deep local roots. Nelson considers himself “Philadelphia adopted,” idolizing Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant before his own successful career.

    Nelson’s understanding of the current roster, city’s passionate fan base, and media scrutiny also was valuable to Myers.

    “He has that equity with our players and the community,” Myers said.

    Jameer Nelson talks with guard VJ Edgecombe before Game 2 of the second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on May 6.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    The Sixers went 45-37 during the 2025-26 regular season, came back from a three-games-to-one deficit to upset the Boston Celtics in the playoffs’ first round, then were swept by the Finals-bound New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They also face an immediately challenging roster setup, with Maxey and Edgecombe forming a dynamic young backcourt, but Embiid and fellow injury-plagued veteran Paul George still on max contracts for multiple seasons.

    As Nelson’s 14-year NBA playing career wound down, he initially thought he would become a coach. Instead, Brand hired Nelson as a Sixers scout, before being elevated to general manager of the G League-affiliate Blue Coats. Collaborating with players and coaches in that role “[quenched] my thirst for coaching,” Nelson said, while he learned how to lead all aspects of a professional organization.

    He was promoted to Sixers assistant general manager last year. Myers noticed that Morey empowered Nelson in that position, and regularly sent him on road trips to interact with returning coach Nick Nurse. Nelson added that an unnamed “former co-worker ‘above me’ in title” challenged that, if Nelson did not make that superior better, he had “failed.”

    Mike Gansey’s career started in Cleveland. Here’s how that experience will inform his role as Sixers president of basketball operations.

    “My voice was bigger,” Nelson said of his role this past season. “Ultimately, I always had the confidence to know who I am. But it just gave me more confidence when I had a project, and I was able to accomplish the goal. …

    “You don’t have to be ‘ready.’ You have to be prepared. I’ll look at it like that: Just be prepared for everything to figure things out, and help the group make the right decision.”

    Nelson acknowledged Monday that, in past years, he has received job interest from other teams. But he wants to be “part of the solution here” and feels “responsibility to help this organization move forward.”

    Gansey understands that connection to the Sixers and Philly because of past college battles, when Gansey’s St. Bonaventure teams went 0-2 against Nelson’s St. Joseph’s squads. That is a reason why, when Gansey landed his new gig, it was “kind of a sticking point” that Nelson also received this promotion.

    “I think I got the win now,” Gansey said. “Got him on my side.”

  • Flyers Q&A: Danny Brière on Sam Ersson, Trevor Zegras, the biggest needs this offseason, and more

    Flyers Q&A: Danny Brière on Sam Ersson, Trevor Zegras, the biggest needs this offseason, and more

    BUFFALO — Three seasons are complete for Flyers general manager Danny Brière, and he is on the precipice of one of the biggest offseasons of his tenure.

    The Inquirer sat down with Brière at the NHL’s scouting combine in western New York to discuss what the future landscape looks like for the Flyers. In the first of two parts, he discusses the current squad and where things stand with free agency.

    This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. It was conducted on June 3, before it was revealed that Dylan Larkin wanted a trade out of Detroit.

    Q: You and president Keith Jones have spoken for a long time about wanting to take a step forward. How important do you think it is to add now to the roster?

    A: Well, we want to add smartly. You’re not going to see us try to go after a big-time free agent who doesn’t make sense in what we’re trying to do. The goal is still to improve the team, but not mortgage the future. I think that’s probably the best way that we can explain it. It’s got to make sense for years to come before we’re going to trade away some young assets.

    Which prospects have met with the Flyers, the latest on free agency rumblings, and other notes from the NHL scouting combine
    Q: With the free agency landscape changing, does it make you look harder at an offer sheet?

    A: I think every team will consider that. But people have to understand, an offer sheet also comes with some consequences that you have to consider before going down that road. But we have to consider it. I would say it’s probably not likely with the cap going up; a lot of teams have extra dollars to spend. But we’re definitely going to look into it, like everything.

    Q: What would you consider to be this team’s greatest need in terms of position or skill set?

    A: I think the greatest need is a top-six center. We have guys that have really stepped up. Trevor Zegras has played center at times, and he has a skill to play in that role. We’ve asked a lot out of Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak, and Sean Couturier to play some heavy minutes, and we’ve asked them to play in that role for a big part of the season. … The other place would be a high-end power-play quarterback on defense, if we could find one.

    Q: There’s obviously a lot of interesting over-30-year-old defensemen who are good on the power play available, like John Carlson and Darren Raddysh. I know you cannot comment about them specifically, but would you consider someone over 30 as a stopgap solution?

    A: I’m not saying it will happen, but we have to consider it. We have to look to see if it makes sense. Obviously, term and money will play a big role to see if it fits into what we’re doing. It’s an area that we need to improve on, and we’ve been trying to improve on. The exciting part is we’re starting to bring in some guys that have been good on the power play at different levels, when you talk about the [Porter] Martones, the [Denver] Barkeys, [Alex] Bump, even Oliver Bonk and David Jiříček. So we do have some different flavors that are starting to integrate the team. Hopefully that pushes some of our veterans that have had the chance to play on the power play the last few years, but it just hasn’t been good enough.

    Q: In the past you have brought in a veteran blueliner, like Erik Johnson, Marc Staal, and Noah Juulsen to be the seventh defenseman. Has this defense reached the point where you don’t need that player?

    A: I think we’re probably past the mentor part. If there’s a high-end defenseman that can help us, we’ll have to look at that. It might be time now to give our young guys the chance to see if they can step into those roles, from David Jiříček, Emil Andrae, Bonk, Ty Murchison, Hunter McDonald. I think those guys have probably earned the right to get a look, and hopefully we can fill that all with our younger guys from within. Maybe even guys like Adam Ginning or Helge Grans can step up their game. They could be in the mix as well.

    Is this the summer the Flyers part ways with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen?Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
    Q: Rasmus Ristolainen has always been mentioned in trade rumors. He was obviously a valuable player down the stretch and in the playoffs, but the reality is he’ll be 32 in October, in the last year of a good deal, and stayed healthy. Do you envision him here come September? Do you anticipate him being in conversations again?

    A: Yeah, I mean, we’re going to look into it. I think we have to. That’s our duty as the organization, to explore what’s out there and see if there’s something that makes sense or not. But he was so good down the stretch for us, played on the top pairing with Travis Sanheim, how good he was at the Olympics, how good he was in the playoffs. So he’s a big asset. As we talk about expectations, you trade a guy like Rasmus, and it weakens the team. So if we do it, it’s going to have to make sense for the future. It certainly wouldn’t be ideal for taking a step forward next season if we do trade him, but we have to explore everything that’s out there.

    Q: Does having players like Bonk, Jiříček, and maybe McDonald and Murchison, who showed the ability to play at the NHL level, impact things?

    A: Well, it’s good to know that we do have some players that have the capabilities to eventually step in. When is that? That’s what we don’t know. Every player kind of graduated at a different pace, but, yeah, we believe that some of those guys will be able to take some of his responsibilities. We just don’t know yet when that will happen. We knew they weren’t quite ready for that down the stretch and into the playoffs, and that was one of the reasons why we kept Risto when we weren’t able to get what we were looking for.

    The Flyers are interested in star center Dylan Larkin. Can Danny Brière get him? | Mike Sielski
    Q: Dan Vladař extension talks have surfaced. How comfortable are you with going long-term considering he’ll be 29 in August?

    A: Vladař was our MVP last year. He was our best player. He was a leader also in the locker room. He’s a guy that wants to be here, and he’s someone we want to be here. So we will definitely consider doing something with him, if he’s open to it. He’s earned it. He believed in us. He wanted to be here, and we don’t feel that we have any prospects that are quite ready to play those minutes and those games. He’s in a great tandem with Sam Ersson. It’s definitely a position that we would like to keep strong, and Dan has earned it.

    Q: But it was only one year where he carried the heavy workload and at that high of a level. How do you balance that?

    A: That was part of the reason to sign him to a short-term deal. We didn’t know the personality; we didn’t know the person off the ice. You get to know the person, you get to have a test run, basically. Knowing what I know now, I would have signed him to a four-year deal last summer. … Is he going to play that high of a level again next year? There’s no guarantee of that, and we know that. But I think he’s shown us enough to believe that he could be the guy for the future for us.

    Will the Flyers keep their goalie tandem together for another season?Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
    Q: You mentioned Ersson, who will be a restricted free agent on July 1. Where do things stand with him, and did his play late in the season change your viewpoint?

    A: Sam is a gamer, and Sam doesn’t quit. He fits the personality of the Flyers. There’s no quitting with him; even when he has a bad game, he fights back, and he comes back strong. We all know it wasn’t the ideal first half, but we have to give him a lot of credit in the way he could have thrown that season out the window and just give up. But he did not, and he got us some big wins. … We know Sam. He is well-liked in the room, great teammate, great human being, character person, so that plays a lot into it as well, and that’s why we have to strongly consider bringing him back. We haven’t made a decision yet, and we haven’t discussed an extension with him yet, but we’re looking at all options. But he did a lot of good last season and earned [the opportunity to] be considered.

    Flyers announce key fall dates

    Q: Zegras is also a restricted free agent. How are his contract talks going, and where do you see his ideal position at this point?

    A: I think it’s a great option to have him be able to play either [wing or center]. Part of the season, I thought he was more of a winger than a center, but then coming down the stretch, what he did was very good too, in the middle of the ice. I think it’s nice to have that option, to have a guy like him who’s so creative that can play a different position and help us in the middle if we need to or on the wing. Again, where it stands, I’m not worried about the contract with him and Jamie Drysdale. They’re players that we want back, and I feel they want to be part of the future for the Flyers, so my expectation is they will be there in September when camp opens.

    Q: What has it been like for you watching Drysdale’s progression as a top defender?

    A: Yeah, it’s been pretty cool to see [him] being able to adjust to the league, to see him work on his game, a student of the game, trying to find ways to improve and get better. We have to give him a lot of credit for the season that he had after — it’s admitted — a little bit of a rough start in Philadelphia. But, defensemen, you have to be patient with them. They take a long time, and it was definitely a good sign to see Jamie take a step forward.

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    Q: You have a bit of a logjam on wing. Do you think there is a spot for everyone, or do you need to clear some space?

    A: It depends on if Trevor is going to play wing or center. It depends if we ever end up finding another centerman. I think it’s pretty fair to say that we’re not looking to bring in more wingers in our top nine. I think our group is still pretty young and already able to have an impact, so we’re not going to look to bring in outside help on the wing in our top nine.

    Q: Like Ristolainen, Owen Tippett is mentioned in trade rumors often. Did it show how much you missed having him in the lineup against Carolina, and did that give you pause to keep him around?

    A: First of all, I’m not going around shopping Owen Tippett. But a lot of teams are calling about him because they like the package, the speed, and everything. It’s my job — and I’ve been very honest with Owen; I tell him that too — I have to listen. It’s been going on now for, I think, two years, so I think that shows you how much we value Owen and how much we love him. I’m not foreseeing anything going on there. Owen brings us a lot of speed, and the way he played down the stretch is a big reason why we made the playoffs, and we’re very happy with Owen Tippett.

    Q: Is there an update on his health?

    A: He did have surgery for a sports hernia. A few days after the year-end meeting, he saw the specialist, and all agreed it was better to do it. So it was taken care of right away. It won’t hamper his offseason training, and he’ll be ready to start the season.

    Q: How confident are you that Matvei Michkov will bounce back and learn from this year?

    A: I am very confident that Matvei will step up to where he was the previous year, and more. I think it was a tough season. It was a trying season. I believe he’s learned a lot. At the end of the day, he still finished with 20 goals and over 50 points in a trying season. We’ve said it before: Other than Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini, there aren’t too many guys that don’t have downs in their career, and I’m sure even those guys have had them at some point.

    Development is not an easy, straight arrow going up the whole time; you see that happen to a lot of players in their second year. You have maybe a little bit of a letdown because you think, “I survived, it went pretty well the first year, and you think it’s going to be easy.” Most of the time, the guys bounce back from that, and I expect the same thing from Matvei. He’s so talented, can beat you many different ways, and I expect him to come back with a vengeance and to want to show everybody. Just knowing how competitive he is, I expect him to want to show everybody who he can be.

  • Folarin Balogun has delivered on his promise with the USMNT. Now a long-awaited World Cup is here.

    Folarin Balogun has delivered on his promise with the USMNT. Now a long-awaited World Cup is here.

    IRVINE, Calif. — When the U.S. men’s soccer team left Qatar after the last World Cup, the repeated lament was the lack of a No. 1 striker.

    Folarin Balogun’s name wasn’t entirely new at that point. Born in New York to Nigerian parents and raised in London, he had played for a U.S. youth squad in 2018. He started playing first-team club soccer at England’s Middlesbrough in the first half of 2022, and a brief hot streak there got him on U.S. fans’ radar.

    The next European season brought Balogun’s real breakout and a bigger spotlight. Now not only did the U.S. want him, but so did Nigeria and the England program of which he played on youth clubs from 2018 to 2021.

    For a stretch of spring 2023, the noise resembled college football teams recruiting a five-star high school quarterback. U.S. fans flooded Balogun’s Instagram page with comments, then-manager Anthony Hudson dropped hints about conversations, and even then-England manager Gareth Southgate was pulled into the chattering class.

    Folarin Balogun on the ball during Monday’s U.S. practice, the only open one the team will have leading up to the World Cup.Jonathan Tannenawld

    In March, it really looked like a recruiting circus. Around that month’s FIFA window, Balogun was spotted courtside at an Orlando Magic game, then at Yankees spring training, with U.S. Soccer’s help behind the scenes.

    Two months later, Balogun committed to the U.S. program. And in the three years since, he has lived up to the hype, with nine goals in 27 games, including one in the first World Cup tuneup vs. Senegal. Both numbers would have been higher if not for long stretches of 2024 and 2025 missed because of injuries.

    The USMNT has momentum going into the World Cup, even after a loss

    Now comes the biggest moment. Balogun, 24, almost certainly will be the Americans’ starting striker at the World Cup, beginning with Friday’s group stage opener against Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif. (9 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62).

    “I feel like my individual journey is a bit full-circle now, approaching the World Cup,” he said Monday, the opening day of the U.S. team’s stay at its World Cup base camp. “Especially with the World Cup being here, the opportunity to represent my nation in front of a home crowd is going to be something special for me, for my family, for my friends, and for the team. So I’m definitely looking forward to it and very proud.”

    Folarin Balogun (center) among his teammates at Monday’s practice.Jonathan Tannenawld

    His teammates know what he brings to the squad.

    “His movements: left, right, being able to hold a ball up and bring other players in, and then his movement in behind,” U.S. centerback and captain Tim Ream said. “Just being in positions, and getting himself into goal-scoring positions, is something that we’ve been crying out for for a long time with the team and the group, and he brings that.”

    Former Union sporting director Earnie Stewart takes pride in helping build the USMNT’s World Cup team

    Ream sat next to Balogun on the podium, so he joked about being wary of giving too many compliments. But he went on with them anyway.

    “He’s probably the most annoying striker for me to have to deal with in training because he is so quick with his movements,” Ream said. “Physically strong and able to seemingly glide past people.”

    Balogun admitted that being so close to the World Cup doesn’t feel real yet, but he knows the time is coming.

    “I think it’s probably going to start to feel more real to me when I’m lining up and preparing to go out on to the pitch and I’m hearing the fans shouting and screaming,” he said. “I definitely think it will be real to me the closer I get, but this is the first opportunity for me to play in a World Cup. So I don’t really have any expectations, and I’m just trying to stay present, stay in the moment, soak everything in.”

    Sergiño Dest is finally fulfilling his potential with the USMNT, right in time for the World Cup

    There were a few moments to enjoy on Monday, when the U.S. held an open practice for fans, its only one of camp. A full house of 5,500 fans attended at Championship Soccer Stadium, home of the second-tier USL Championship’s Orange County SC, with free admission through registration with the city of Irvine. U.S. Soccer said there were over 32,000 applicants.

    Quite a few of them cheered for Balogun specifically, along with the many “USA!” chants that rose all morning.

    Fans cheering for Antonee Robinson as he walked onto the field.Jonathan Tannenawld

    “As I said before, it’s just coming to a full-circle moment, being able to perform on the biggest stage and give back to the fans,” he said. “That’s something I’m looking forward to doing, and I’m just happy I have the opportunity to do that.”

    And he hasn’t forgotten that whirlwind time leading up to his commitment and what it showed him about soccer’s growth in the United States.

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    “I just remember an immense amount of appreciation from the fans,” Balogun said. “I didn’t realize at that moment how big football, soccer, was here in America. And to really feel that in full force was something that was inspirational for me. It made my decision easier.”

    Alejandro Zendejas autographing a fan’s American flag after practice.Jonathan Tannenawld
  • Shane Victorino Boys & Girls Club getting a facelift as All-Star festivities come to Philly

    Shane Victorino Boys & Girls Club getting a facelift as All-Star festivities come to Philly

    There’s a new addition to the list of All-Star events coming to Philadelphia this July.

    In partnership with America 250, MLB Together is working to achieve 250,000 volunteer hours pledged leaguewide. It now includes an All-Star week project to refurbish the Shane Victorino Nicetown Boys & Girls Club as it approaches the 15-year anniversary of its opening in September 2011.

    April Brown, MLB’s senior vice president of social responsibility, said MLB Together works with the host club during All-Star week to carry out projects within the community.

    MLB Together’s legacy projects include work with the Veterans Multi-Service Center, Ashburn Field refurbishment at FDR Park, Tree House Books, Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park, Miracle League, and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Garden Mobile.

    One of the MLB Together legacy projects includes work on the Philadelphia Stars Negro Leagues Memorial Park.Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer

    On July 11, the plan is for more than 100 volunteers to descend upon Victorino’s Boys & Girls Club.

    “We’ll be rolling up our sleeves and painting the teen room, putting together some new furniture, decorating, and doing some internal work, in addition to some external work,” Brown said. “Some planting and some weeding and taking care of the baseball field, which is literally across the street from the Boys & Girls Club.”

    The center, which was created to give kids a space to play and grow, originally was a century-old facility that was going to close. With the help of the Shane Victorino Foundation, the building was refurbished to open the Boys & Girls Club.

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    The 2008 World Series champion, two-time All-Star, and four-time Gold Glove winner said the day the club opened has remained his favorite moment in its 15-year history, but to now renovate it with the help of the MLB is surreal.

    “Having the 250th anniversary [of America] and Major League Baseball All-Star Game, if you had told me that I’d be partnering with MLB, Major League Baseball and their projects, and what they’re trying to do with the Boys & Girls Club, it’s definitely a pinch-me moment,” said Victorino, who played eight of his 12 MLB seasons with the Phillies. “It means a lot to me as far as where it is today.”

    Shane Victorino is a World Series champion and four-time Gold Glove winner.Yong Kim/Staff Photographer

    Brown said the volunteer outings are a “great opportunity to bring everyone into the fold” and create a community off the diamond when events like the All-Star Game bring attention to baseball. During the World Baseball Classic, MLB Together participated in a beach cleanup in Miami and has been working in New York before heading to Philly in July. Fans can get involved at mlbtogether.com/a250 to volunteer in their communities.

    “I think at the end of the year when we achieve the 250,000 hours, it will be about the hours, but it will be about the community that was connected across the country,” Brown said. “Every place where we play our game, all of our 30 major league clubs and our 120 minor league clubs are all a part of this initiative, so that unifying connector of everyone rolling up their sleeves and doing good for others, it will be what’s most important.”

  • ‘A breath of fresh air’: Jamie Apody’s role at Fox 29 expands following difficult 6abc departure

    ‘A breath of fresh air’: Jamie Apody’s role at Fox 29 expands following difficult 6abc departure

    Ahead of anchoring her first Philly sportscast in more than two years (947 days for those counting), Jamie Apody’s focus was squarely on her feet.

    “I’m mostly rusty with high heels. Oh god, it’s a disaster,” Apody said Monday night before making her debut as a sports anchor on Fox 29.

    Apody, who spent 18 years as part of 6abc’s Action News team, is getting an expanded role at Fox 29. In addition to her regular appearances on The Phantastic Sports Show, which began in 2024, Apody will anchor the station’s Saturday 10 p.m. newscast and pop in elsewhere as needed.

    “It’s not a full-time thing, but who knows? Maybe it’ll become that. That’d be awesome,” Apody said. “But I’m so thrilled to be doing what I love again.”

    The expanded role will also include reporting, which will put her back into the stadiums during a busy year for Philly sports, featuring the World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game, and the Eagles heading to London.

    “I’m more than ready,” Apody said. “I do think it’s going to be a little weird … not to mention starting with a different station’s name on the microphone after all this time.”

    Jamie Apody has been working with Fox 29 since 2024.Fox 29

    She certainly has plenty of experience. For the bulk of her tenure at 6abc, Apody anchored the 5:30 p.m. edition of Action News five days a week and was a regular at the city’s stadiums covering the teams.

    All that ended when she lost her job in 2023, a gut-wrenching experience Apody wasn’t even able to talk about publicly until almost a year later. Her unexplained departure and lengthy absence was the talk of the town, and some viewers launched a Change.org petition asking 6abc to bring her back.

    It was even difficult for Apody to return to Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field as a fan, something she avoided for about a year. Ultimately, she was forced back to the stands by her three young sons, all of whom are diehard Philly sports fans.

    “It was really hard. Harder than I thought,” Apody said. “For a while there, those stadiums and ballparks really reminded me that I wasn’t able to do what I love more than anything, so it was hard for me to face. I actually made the choice not to face it.”

    After leaving 6abc, Apody reached out to most of the stations around town and had meetings with both NBC10 and CBS3. But she really hit it off with Fox 29 executives Jim Driscoll and Dennis Bianchi, and said working for the station has been “a breath of fresh air,” recalling the words of former 6abc sports director Gary Papa, who hired her in 2006.

    “He once told me, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know. You don’t even know what you know,’” Apody recalled. “The first time I walked in the door [at Fox 29] two years ago, I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing.”

    She’s not the only Action News alum at the station. Former 6abc sports anchor Jeff Skversky, who also sparked speculation by his sudden TV exit in 2021, joined Fox 29 as a freelance reporter in 2025 after first contributing to The Phantastic Sports Show.

    “I think it’s such an amazing fit,” Apody said of Fox 29. “I almost wonder what things would have been like if our paths crossed earlier.”

  • Trump attends ’Nova Knicks game and they end a 13-game playoff winning streak. Coincidence?

    NEW YORK — The ’Nova Knicks finally lost.

    All it took was Donald Trump.

    The least-loved New Yorker since Boss Tweed, the Donald on Monday took it upon himself to ruin pregame plans and pleasures of thousands by becoming the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

    It tracks: Trump always seeks to steal the shine from winners, and the Knicks, fueled by NCAA champs Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges, were winning like nobody’s business. They had won 13 consecutive playoff games and held a two-games-to-none lead over San Antonio when they took the court at Madison Square Garden.

    Trump’s presence created traffic snarls and ingress nightmares, and he was buried by boos during the singing of the national anthem, but nobody in the joint paid him much mind after that. He’d wanted to sit with Spike Lee and Larry David courtside, but the Secret Service (and perhaps his more sane advisers) persuaded him to retreat to a suite. There, in the shadows, he rested as the streak ended, a 115-111 downer in Game 3.

    Then, he fell asleep.

    You can’t make it up.

    Later, Trump blamed Karl-Anthony Towns. He wasn’t wrong.

    Look, it wasn’t all Trump’s fault, or KAT’s fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault, really.

    Well, maybe it was the refs’ fault. That’s what Knicks coach Mike Brown claimed.

    “They outshot us 14-3 [from the line] in the third quarter. Maybe we did foul. But they fouled, too,” Brown said. “If they do this, 24-8 [in the second half], in Game 4, it’s going to be tough to win.”

    It will be interesting to see the league’s reaction to Brown’s comments, since he was fined twice in 2024 for interactions with officials before he was fired by the Kings.

    His players had no axe to grind.

    The Mike Gansey era has begun. Where do the Sixers go from here?

    “That didn’t cost us the game,” said Towns, who finished with just 11 points. “We turned the ball over. We didn’t execute. We didn’t do the things that got us 13 straight wins in a row.”

    It was a very non-’Nova-Knicks night, the sort they cannot afford against an assemblage like San Antonio’s.

    The Spurs won nine more regular-season games than the Knicks. Third-year center Victor Wembanyama finished third in MVP voting this year and was Defensive Player of the Year, De’Aaron Fox was an All-Star this season, Keldon Johnson was this season’s Sixth Man of the Year, and guard Stephon Castle won Rookie of the Year last season.

    Wemby had 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. Castle has 23 points. Fox had the dagger and eight assists.

    They are a very, very good team.

    The Knicks trailed by five with 9 minutes, 18 seconds to play when Brunson, who leads the Knicks like he led the Wildcats, returned to the game. That set the scene for another comeback, like Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers or Game 2 on Friday in San Antonio, Texas. Those comeback wins branded these Knicks the same way the gritty, deep Villanova teams were branded when the won NCAA titles in 2016 and 2018 under Jay Wright.

    Alas.

    The Knicks got 32 points from Brunson. They got 16 points and nine rebounds from Josh Hart. But they got just two points from Bridges, the hero of Game 2 just three nights before.

    Alack.

    Whether it was the 13-game run, the 53-year drought, or the presence of the president, Brunson & Co. were making no excuses.

    “There are going to be a lot of distractions, positive and negative,” Brunson said. “Most important is how we compose ourselves as a team, and we have to make sure we have accountability as a team.”

    Mikal Bridges is in his second NBA Finals. His grit comes from his mom.

    To be fair, it was thrilling to the end.

    Brunson hit a putback-and-one, a jumper as the shot clock expired, and a three-pointer with 33.7 seconds to play that cut the lead to three points, but Fox’s jumper with 12.2 seconds and two late free throws from Castle were just enough.

    You felt early that not even the steely pedigree forged on the Main Line almost a decade ago would be enough Monday.

    Wembanyama had nine points and a blocked shot in the first five minutes. Bridges committed two fouls and a turnover and had his shot blocked in the first four minutes.

    That’s how the Spurs built a double-digit lead. A constellation of stars of stage and screen looked on, hoping for a sweep, the sweetest possible end of a 53-year title drought. From Lee to David to Ben Stiller, they all felt it. The Knicks seemed … affected. Tight. Flat.

    Mostly, anyway.

    The Knicks took their first lead when Brunson — who else — canned a 25-foot three-pointer with just over four minutes left before halftime. He hit it over Wembanyama, reluctant to extend his defense too far, lest Brunson burn him to the basket again.

    About a minute later, with the Knicks down by four, Castle bulldozed Brunson while pursuing an offensive rebound. Hart scored on the ensuing possession and tied it at 54. Hart’s trey gave the Knicks the lead again, and Brunson dropped another 25-footer on Wemby. Brunson’s feed with 9.6 seconds soon sent Towns to the line, where he made both free throws, the end of a 14-3 run, and the Knicks’ halftime lead was 64-57 after they dominated the second quarter, 42-24.

    But the Spurs won the third quarter by eight, scored the first six points of the fourth, and held off the valiant ’Nova Knicks.

    They resume the series Wednesday, but don’t expect Trump to be back.

    Knicks fans might burn down the city.

  • Meet Penn’s four NCAA outdoor track and field championship qualifiers

    Meet Penn’s four NCAA outdoor track and field championship qualifiers

    Penn will be well represented at the NCAA outdoor track and field championship this week.

    Four members qualified to compete in Eugene, Ore., from Wednesday to Friday: junior sprinter and hurdler Ryan Matulonis, freshman thrower Jessica Oji, senior long distance runner Lily Murphy, and senior high jumper Kampton Kam.

    “We’re representing distance running, sprinting, jumping, and throwing,” Murphy said. “We have a pretty wide variety of personalities and grades going on this trip, but I think it’s very representative of the diverse community that Penn track is.”

    Added Matulonis: “It’s definitely super motivating. We may all be from different training groups, and we don’t practice together. But at the end of the day, we’re all able to unite because of the fact that we all wear the Penn stripes. I think it just kind of goes to show how deep our program goes.”

    All track events will air on ESPN or ESPN2, while field and combined events will be available to stream on ESPN+. Here’s what to know about each Penn athlete and the journey they took to get to outdoor track and field’s biggest stage:

    Ryan Matulonis, 400-meter hurdles

    Matulonis, a three-time Ivy League champion, was the only male Penn track athlete to advance past the NCAA’s East first round in Lexington, Ky. In the quarterfinals of the 400-meter hurdles, Matulonis achieved a personal-best of 49.25 seconds to place second and punch his ticket to Eugene.

    Although he qualified for the championship, Matulonis was hoping to break the Ivy League 400-meter hurdles record — held by former Quaker Bruce Collins — in the first round in Lexington.

    Duke Lacroix’s soccer career has taken him from Penn to Haiti’s World Cup team

    “It was great to make the national meet, but I missed the record by a 100th of a second,” Matulonis said. “[The Ivy League] record is 49.24, and I ran 49.25. So that one stung a little bit, but I still got another shot to race it.

    “Winning was definitely very motivating. That competitive spirit really helped me get to where I am today, and obviously that never goes away. But as you start to get closer to some of these numbers — that when you’re a freshman, they’re not as in reach — and then you start to creep closer to them, and those are things that you start to have in the back of your mind as well that you’re going for.”

    Ryan Matulonis set a personal record in the 400-meter hurdlers in the NCAA’s East first round.Penn Athletics

    Matulonis will likely need to break the conference record to finish first in the 400-meter hurdles finals, which are held on Friday (at 6:27 p.m.). The national champion in the event has finished faster than his personal-record every year since 1996. First, he will have to advance past the semifinals, which are slated to begin Wednesday (7:14 p.m.).

    Jessica Oji, shot put

    In December, at her first collegiate meet, Oji broke the Ivy League indoor shot put record. During the indoor season, she broke her own record two more times. Then, in the outdoor season, she broke the Ivy’s shot put record.

    Oji was the only Quaker to qualify for both indoor and outdoor NCAA championships this year. At the indoor championships, she placed seventh in the shot put.

    Penn freshman Jessica Oji qualified for the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships this year.Penn Athletics

    After placing first at the Penn Relays, Oji said her dominant start is just the beginning.

    “I’ve always wanted to win [the Penn Relays] while wearing the Penn stripes,” Oji said in April. “It’s been a huge goal for me. When I committed here, I was like, ‘I have to win this meet all four years.’ This is just the start of it.”

    She will have a chance for a championship finish in the women’s shot put final on Thursday (7:15 p.m.).

    Lily Murphy, 10,000 meter

    Last season, Murphy was injured and unable to compete in the East First Round. So, when it was her turn in Lexington, the senior had more nerves than usual.

    “I was really nervous going into the regional meet, but once I got out there, once the gun went off, I was like a different person,” Murphy said. “I was just so happy to be back there … A switch kind of flipped, and I was just trying to enjoy it.”

    Lily Murphy qualified for the NCAA track and field outdoor championship in the 10,000 meter event.Courtesy of Penn Athletics

    Murphy finished fifth overall in the 10,000 meter with a time of 32 minutes, 53.30 seconds.

    Now, she is back at the championship meet. She will race in the 10,000 meter final on Thursday (7:56 p.m.) in a competitive heat. New Mexico sophomore Pamela Kosgei, the defending national champion in the event, qualified for this year’s race and is looking to defend her title.

    But Murphy, who is running her final meet as a Quaker, is not letting her nerves get the best of her.

    “I’ve surprised myself before,” Murphy said. “I think just being able to test the waters but also just go out there and give it my all and see how far I can go against this competition — there’s something uniquely exciting about that.”

    Kampton Kam, high jump

    Unless Matulonis advances to the final, Kam will be the last Quaker to compete in Eugene. The high jump final is slated for Friday (4:30 p.m.).

    Like Murphy, the meet will mark Kam’s last at Penn. The six-time Singapore national high jump record holder graduated from the Wharton School three weeks ago. With the majority of his teammates and friends leaving campus, Kam has been looking for new motivation leading up to the national championship.

    Over four years at Penn, Kampton Kam has qualified for three NCAA outdoor championships in the high jump.Penn Athletics

    “It’s been four good years, and just to see some of my friends leave it kind of like — not drains you, but it just makes you feel … how can I keep going [if] I don’t see them anymore? It does affect you a little bit that way. But definitely super happy to make it to finals after regionals, and just have one last dance with the team.”

    In Lexington, Kam defied projections. Clearing a 2.16-meter bar, he finished fifth overall despite being ranked 11th in the region going into the meet.

    Friday will mark his third consecutive appearance in the meet, but he has yet to win a championship.

  • He wrote the book on sports gambling’s rise. Here’s what he thinks you should know.

    He wrote the book on sports gambling’s rise. Here’s what he thinks you should know.

    Moments after Purdue University soundly beat Grambling State in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Carson Barrett turned to his phone.

    The Purdue guard, playing with a torn right meniscus, had sunk a three-pointer in the game’s final minutes to put his team up, 78-50. But amid the happy afterglow of victory, Barrett’s phone filled with venom.

    “I hope you f— die,” read one text message that he received.

    “Kill yourself for taking that 3 you f— worthless loser,” added another.

    It’s the opening anecdote of the book Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling, an exploration of the fallout from a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed states to enact individual sports betting laws. The decision has resulted in gambling becoming an omnipresent part of everyday American life.

    Barrett became a harassment target because his three-pointer ensured that Purdue would cover a 27-point spread, explains author Danny Funt, a journalist who has written for the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the New Yorker.

    While researching “Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling,” author Danny Funt interviewed officials at FanDuel and DraftKings as well as people who suffered from gambling addiction.Handout

    Funt revisits critical moments in how gambling was embraced, like NBA commissioner Adam Silver writing an op-ed for the New York Times in 2014 that called for sports betting to be legalized and regulated. Silver claimed that nearly $400 billion was wagered annually on sports. But that eye-catching sum, Funt writes, was actually just a thinly sourced guesstimate.

    Once states began legalizing sports betting, professional leagues abandoned their once- impassioned opposition to having any association with gambling, and entered into lucrative partnerships with sportsbook companies.

    But some ex-league officials who spoke to Funt — including former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent — expressed lingering concerns.

    “What’s going to happen is. it’s going to get out of hand. Gamblers will start fixing games,” Vincent correctly predicted. “And when that happens, Congress will intervene.”

    Funt retraced the evolution of sportsbook companies FanDuel and DraftKings, and spoke with unnamed officials at each company about their business practices, including VIP managers who offer benefits — like free Super Bowl tickets — to bettors who consistently wager and lose large sums.

    He also interviewed Nigel Eccles, a FanDuel cofounder.

    “I love games that are beatable,” Eccles told Funt. “Unfortunately, what they’ve done with sports betting in the U.S. is turn it into a game that you can’t win, because if you win, they shut your account.”

    Yet Everybody Loses isn’t told strictly through the eyes of executives and policymakers. Funt also interviewed ordinary people — a fifth-grade teacher in Connecticut and a college student from Washington Township, Gloucester County — whose lives were derailed by an all-consuming gambling addiction.

    Inquirer reporters recently spoke to Funt, 34, about the research he conducted for his book, which was published in January by Simon & Schuster.

    This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

    You interviewed sportsbook industry officials. Was there anything they said that surprised you?

    To hear an executive at a company say: ‘If you think about it, my job was to basically slowly bleed someone dry.’ We understand that’s the essence of gambling, but to hear an executive use those words was striking.

    And there were definitely a lot of things that I didn’t expect. I didn’t realize the scope of the online VIP business at all. The things they’ll do to pamper those customers, the specifics of it blew me away: Throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game or playing pickup basketball on an NBA court.

    The point of doing that is so these customers feel like [VIP managers] are their friend. So if they ever think of pulling back on their betting, they’ll lose all these perks — but also lose a friend that they’ve made.

    Should regulators consider limits to prop bets or in-game microbets?

    That’s something that these companies have invented, essentially, to give you a million ways of constructing same-game parlays, which are their most profitable product. So they want you to bet on limitless things, so you can construct an infinite number of same-game parlays.

    The other thing with these in-game bets — which is the fastest-growing side of betting, and you can see companies like DraftKings really pushing them — is that it’s a road to compulsive behavior, if you’re betting on a minute-by-minute basis.

    You could definitely restrict those bets, as far as the variety and abundance of them. But you could also mandate more of a responsibility on the operators to pick up on risky behavior from their customers, and intervene accordingly.

    Funt has written for The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal.Handout
    What do you think about the gambling content that young people encounter on social media, television and at sporting events?

    As far as kids go, there are a lot of data points that are really alarming. I live in Charlotte. Half of the calls to the problem gambling hotline in North Carolina are coming from parents who are so concerned about their kids betting.

    There are a lot of things that made [betting] mainstream, but I have to think having A-list movie stars and our heroes in sports pitching [these products] constantly has to have an effect on kids.

    A lot of people I talk to — whether it’s educators, health experts, or lawmakers — this potential epidemic of gambling among kids is what they’re most worried about.

    You write about sportsbook customers who had winning streaks, and then were stunned to find that the companies limited their accounts.

    That limiting comes as such a surprise to people. They think, based on the premise of legalization, that there is a relatively level playing field. Then they learn that no, the deck is stacked against you.

    If you do anything that shows you’re a competent bettor, you’ll get cut down to being able to bet only pennies on an NFL game. It feels grossly unfair. There are some states looking into regulating that.

    But the advertising so clearly says that this is a way to make money. I just walked by an ad for PrizePicks, which said, basically, make money because you know sports.

    What’s your perspective on prediction markets, which allow people to wager on everything from Hollywood awards shows to military conflicts?

    I mainly think of them as a workaround — they offer gambling by a different name, and avoid paying state taxes. But by and large, I think they’re sports-betting operators. So the question becomes: Is this the logical extension of Americans wanting to bet on more and more stuff?

    Kalshi’s CEO has said their ambition is for people to bet on literally everything, eventually. But I’m curious if that’s a viable business. I don’t think the average person wants to put in the time to bet on legislation, or the weather tomorrow, or who’s going to win at the Oscars. I think that is sadly feeding people who have an addiction.

    The Inquirer will continue to report on issues related to the growth of gambling addiction — among teens and adults — across Pennsylvania. If you, or someone you know, wants to speak with a reporter, please contact David Gambacorta or William Bender at dgambacorta@inquirer.com and wbender@inquirer.com

  • Ten years into life as a star, Christian Pulisic arrives at the World Cup he has long dreamed of

    Ten years into life as a star, Christian Pulisic arrives at the World Cup he has long dreamed of

    FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — A decade later, the headline from the front page of The Inquirer back then still stands out.

    “Pa. teen is rising star of American soccer,” it said — and yes, we mean the actual newspaper, not just the internet. “Christian Pulisic dazzles on big stages.”

    A few weeks after that, a then-17-year-old phenom born in Hershey came to Philadelphia as a U.S. national team player during the Copa América Centenario. He didn’t play in the Americans’ game here, but his presence alone was enough to draw attention and another round of headlines.

    How many have there been since then? Too many to count, no doubt. But another from along the way still resonates now.

    A clipping from the front page of The Inquirer on May 29, 2016, the first time Christian Pulisic was featured in the newspaper.Inquirer Archives

    It was five years ago, this time in the business section — a feat of its own kind, along with his goals and assists.

    “In soccer and marketing, Christian Pulisic is attracting fans and fame,” the big type declared, for a feature noting how rare this was for an American men’s soccer player.

    Christian Pulisic’s first USMNT goal since 2024 lifts a big burden ahead of the World Cup

    Now here he is at age 27, on the cusp of one of soccer’s rarest privileges: playing in a World Cup on home soil. Pulisic is still very much an American poster boy, even as the sport has grown so much that he’s no longer the only one.

    There are so many ways to measure the time that has passed. But doing so keeps bringing the mind back to the word decade.

    How has it been that long already?

    A clipping from the front page of The Inquirer’s business section on Feb. 7, 2021, putting Christian Pulisic in the spotlight again.Inquirer Archives

    “I think of that every once in a while, and it is pretty crazy,” he told The Inquirer in an interview earlier this month, when he had a rare moment to not be as rushed as he is after games or in news conferences. “In some ways I still feel like I’m a young player. And then I realize, you see guys playing now born in [2006], and it makes you think: ‘like, wow, I really have been around for a while.’”

    Not that he is old, for the record. His age is a soccer player’s prime, right on time for the biggest stage of his life.

    From 2022, our feature on how Christian Pulisic’s ‘fearless’ drive made a kid from Hershey a World Cup star

    “I still feel like I have a long road ahead of me,” he said. “It is crazy, though, that I’ve been doing this for so long. It’s not easy to maintain this level and to keep going, and I’m happy and I’m just so blessed that this is what I get to do.”

    A national star, but still a hometown hero

    The arrival of this World Cup has brought Pulisic a new round of endorsement deals, joining what was already a long list. They’re all on his Instagram page if you want to see them, and some are even on that old-fashioned platform called television commercials.

    There sometimes feels to be a contrast between seeing him in so many ads and knowing he isn’t much of a talker on camera. He never has been, and though he has opened up more with age, he’s still never going to be the most chatty. He admitted as much again in this interview.

    “I’m obviously in this position, and I think in some ways, it’s important to give my opinion on some things, and I get it,” he said, “People want to hear from me at times, and I’ve gotten more comfortable with it. But no, I haven’t changed really much, I would say.”

    FIFA has gone to great lengths to appeal to American soccer fans. But they got us all wrong. | Kerith Gabriel

    He added that for “people that know me and have spoken to me, it’s definitely not how people view me, and I’m OK with that. I think there’s a lot of athletes like that.”

    And though these times seem oversaturated with commerce, some of Pulisic’s deals genuinely pull at the heartstrings — including his own. When a Hershey native gets his name and likeness on the city’s world-famous chocolate bar, that counts for something extra, and the company’s ads nailed the tone.

    “I think I’ve officially made it,” Pulisic says in one of them, a staged phone call with his mother. “Happiness is knowing home is already rooting for you,” a chocolatier says in another, as he ships a box of bars to Milan, the player’s club soccer home. On arrival, a doorman delivers them to Pulisic, and he looks genuinely moved.

    Even the biggest food conglomerate imaginable has a genuine place in Pulisic’s heart. He was one of countless kids who’d go to McDonald’s after a game. Now he’s one of nine global soccer stars on the fast food chain’s soda cups and combo meals, along with legends David Beckham, Ronaldinho, and Thierry Henry, and four big names who’ll play this summer: Canada’s Alphonso Davies, Mexico’s Santi Giménez, South Korea’s Son Heung-Min, and Spain’s Lamine Yamal.

    Alejandro Zendejas wears his emotions on his sleeve, including the joy of going to the World Cup

    “Driving home from soccer tournaments, the amount of times stopping at McDonald’s and picking up a nice meal there,” he said, “to now be a part of this, have this FIFA World Cup meal, have a chance to win one of my cups — obviously it’s something I just never expected.”

    Even though Pulisic was speaking on the sponsor’s behalf, you can take a moment to say there’s significance in an American being in such company. Some years ago, longtime Inquirer writer Mike Jensen got a chance to interview Pelé when offered by one of the Brazilian legend’s sponsors. That was news on its own, as Pulisic’s turn is now.

    ‘Exactly where I’m meant to be’

    Though Pulisic spends most of his days abroad, and his family moved to Florida a few years ago, he still says Hershey “will always be home.”

    The USMNT World Cup roster has its strongest Philly accent in over 90 years

    He spoke of “that house I grew up in,” and how “when I think of home, that’s what it is. That’s where I grew up and spent most of my life.”

    He knew who he was speaking to, for sure, and for how long The Inquirer has chronicled his career. But these words also sounded genuine.

    Christian Pulisic (right) has 33 goals and 20 assists in 85 games for the U.S. men’s soccer team.Jonathan Tannenwald

    “I’m really proud to be from there, and that’s it,” Pulisic said. “It’s kind of sad that I don’t get to go back as much as I’d like to, with such a busy schedule during the year. But Pennsylvania, whenever my friends always talk about who they rep, Pennsylvania, that’s me. I rep Pennsylvania, central and eastern PA — it’s always a big part of my life.”

    That includes being a 76ers fan, albeit casually these days; and it is, he admitted, “the only Philly team I really do support.” But that has rarely been a secret. His longtime allegiance to the NFL’s New York Jets, in particular, has been written about plenty.

    Tyler Adams isn’t as worried as fans are about the USMNT’s lack of defensive midfield depth

    (Pulisic has a small tie to the Union, too, having played for one of the club’s youth teams in a tournament in 2012. Asked if any photos exist somewhere, he said they probably do, but he doesn’t have them.)

    On the field, he arrives at this World Cup in the company of teammates who are also longtime friends, especially Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Haji Wright, and Alejandro Zendejas.

    “It just feels like this is exactly where I’m meant to be,” Pulisic said. “I’ve known some of these guys for so long, and so now to share the biggest stage with them, it’s incredible. We talked about it, we dreamed about this together.”

    He described the moment as “everything we could have imagined and more, and we’re just thankful that this is what we get to do.”

    The USMNT has momentum going into the World Cup, even after a loss

    Their World Cup opener is nearly here, which almost feels hard to believe after so long.

    “The American fans are excited,” Pulisic said, “and that just gives us such a boost. It can really carry us through games.”

    He knows as well as anyone could.

  • The Mike Gansey era has begun. Where do the Sixers go from here?

    The Mike Gansey era has begun. Where do the Sixers go from here?

    Really, there wasn’t anything that Mike Gansey could have said that would have changed the expectations for the 76ers.

    Which is good, because he didn’t say much.

    Gansey’s first news conference as the 76ers’ president of basketball operations offered little in the way of detail about the team’s path forward. He acknowledged that Joel Embiid and Paul George are players who are currently on the Sixers roster. He noted that Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are, too. He explained that he and his front office will attempt to select the best possible player with the No. 22 pick in the NBA draft later this month. You could say Gansey’s plan was short on specifics, except there weren’t many generalities, either.

    “I just got here,” the 43-year-old Ohio native and longtime Cleveland Cavaliers personnel man said at one point while prefacing one of his comments.

    All of this was to be expected. Smart, even. There is some short-term value a new hire can reap from winning the first news conference. But it often is outweighed by potential long-term damage he can sow. Look at Gansey’s three immediate predecessors. Each was haunted, even undone, by the narrative they sold at the outset.

    Sam Hinkie’s biggest problem wasn’t The Process itself. It was his explicit acknowledgment of it. Daryl Morey was ultimately defined by his unabashed and steadfast belief in the power of veteran superstars rather than his draft night successes. In between was Bryan Colangelo, who went all-in for Markelle Fultz as the Sixers launched a Welcome to the Moment marketing campaign.

    There were no slogans from Gansey on Monday. The surest sign that the Sixers have entered a new era is that we have no clue what it will look like. For more than a decade, the team has conducted its day-to-day business within the framework of a grand and easily articulated strategic vision. The Morey/Colangelo years were as well-defined a process as Hinkie’s capital-P Process years. Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, James Harden, George, every veteran backup center who used to be an All-Star. Star hunting, in the mortally immortal words of Brett Brown.

    Gansey, meanwhile, explained his vision only in the broadest, most abstract terms. He spoke of a desire to create “alignment” throughout the organization and remarked that he expected that he and coach Nick Nurse would be “attached at the hip.” On a couple of occasions, Gansey said he wanted to build an organization with people who are “fountains, not drains.”

    “We’ve got to do the work, you know?” Gansey said. “Obviously, draft coming up, for example, you’re talking to plenty of coaches, people that have been around these guys, and you want to bring in good people here. If they don’t want to be here, or you don’t feel they can fit with our culture, then we don’t want it. We want people that want to be in Philadelphia and we want guys that — I want competitiveness. I want toughness. I want guys that hate to lose. Those are the kind of people I’m going to try and target and want to bring onto this roster.”

    Mike Gansey expects to be “attached at the hip” with Sixers head coach Nick Nurse.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    The first part of that comment is the important part. The Sixers have no magic bullet to shoot nor rabbit to pull. They likely are going to need to build a team the old-fashioned way. With Embiid and George under contract at roughly $115 million per year combined for the next two seasons, the most the Sixers can spend in free agency is $15 million (via the nontaxpayer mid-level exception) plus minimum-level contracts.

    “I don’t look at it as a timeline,” Gansey said. “I just look at like we have those four and we got to maximize those four. Obviously, VJ and Tyrese are younger, but Paul and Joel can still play at a high level. We were 24-14 when Joel played, and obviously the playoffs coming back from Boston. Like, we got to rely on those four and obviously keep [them] on the floor and then just build around them.”

    The important work over these next couple of seasons could look a lot like the roster grind Gansey helped preside over during his time with the Cavaliers, when he was Cleveland’s point man on the draft and related talent. Two rotation members from this year’s Eastern Conference finals team were Dean Wade, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019, and Sam Merrill, initially signed to a 10-day contract in 2023. A third, Jaylon Tyson, was selected at No. 20 overall two years ago.

    Mike Gansey plans to build around Sixers’ current core while growing the team’s culture

    One of the shrewder value plays swung by Cavs president Koby Altman during Gansey’s time with the team was the signing of restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen to a four-year, $67 million contract via a three-way sign-and-trade with the Cavs and Chicago Bulls. One year later, the Cavs made Markkenen the centerpiece of a trade package (along with three firsts and two pick swaps) that landed them star guard Donovan Mitchell. Two years later, Markkanen signed a five-year max contract extension with the Jazz.

    The most intriguing variable in the Sixers’ strategic decision-making is a competitive landscape that could be on the verge of shifting dramatically in the favor of teams such as theirs. In the new framework, a team that narrowly misses the playoffs would have better lottery odds than the four worst teams in the league, meaning the Sixers won’t have much of an incentive to bottom out or blow it up to maximize their chances of a successful rebuild.

    Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment president Bob Myers (right) helped hire Mike Gansey and will work closely with him. At left is Sixers managing partner Josh Harris.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    The dominant operating strategy for the next few years would seem to be playing it smart but honest: prioritize the three-to-five-year-plan while making this year’s team as good as possible within the constraints. The Eastern Conference landscape likely will get a lot tougher next season. With Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton returning to the 2024-25 Eastern Conference champs and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum fully recovered from Achilles surgery, the East should have at least three teams (including the New York Knicks) well out of reach of the Sixers.

    That doesn’t include the Detroit Pistons or the Cavs, both of whom have a 60-win season within the last two years. Nor does it include the Miami Heat, who are a perpetual threat to shake up the offseason, especially with a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade lurking. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets ended the season on runs of 26-11 and 28-12. Factor in a talented Orlando Magic roster that underperformed in 2026, and the Sixers easily could enter the season as the eighth- or ninth-best team on paper, regardless of what they do this offseason.

    “We’ve got to find an identity,” said Bob Myers, the longtime Golden State Warriors executive who hired Gansey and will work in conjunction with him as president of sports at Sixers parent company, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. “We just don’t have one.”

    At this point, there isn’t much else to say.