Last season's NBA MVP race was as back-and-forth as ever, as it came down to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets center Nikol

Oklahoma City, the reigning champs and a heavy preseason favorite to repeat, are a massive +125 favorite to win the NBA Finals for a second straight season.

Cooper Flagg made NBA history on Saturday as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers.

A big reason for that is the Mavericks' rookie tandem of Cooper Flagg and Ryan Nembhard. They ended up on the team in different ways, as the Mavs lucked into the first overall pick to select Flagg, while Nembhard somehow slipped out of the draft and they picked him up on a two-way contract soon afterwards. And they've been dynamite as of late.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Ryan Nembhard makes NBA history with another record-setting performance in a win vs. the Miami Heat.

Coby White (22 points, 6-14 FG, 9-12 FT) led Chicago in scoring on a night when Josh Giddey and Nikola Vucevic combined for just 17 points on 5-for-16 shooting. Chicago committed 18 turnovers in a 120-105 loss to the Pacers.

The Los Angeles Clippers are sending franchise legend Chris Paul home. In an early season that's had no shortage of low points, the Clippers can add another one to the pile, and the 2:40 AM local time decision on arguably the greatest player in franchise history is the worst of them.