Austria named its squad for Macedonia, but without the NBA centre

On 30 August at 16:05 the Macedonian national team travels to Vienna for the second phase of the pre-qualifiers for EuroBasket 2029. The hosts have already published their list - head coach Aramis Naglić called up 13 players, led by Bogić Vujošević, who averaged 19.8 points a game in the qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup. The key name is absent: centre Jakob Pöltl did not receive permission from the Toronto Raptors to play for the national team. That is good news for Macedonia, but also a reminder how narrowly a national team hangs on the will of a single NBA club. Also on the list are Ershek, Friedrich, Lohr, both Kappels, Inoa Gil, Jakupović, Kapić, Zeleznik, Lanmiller, Mbemba and Kaber. Macedonia gets an opponent weakened in the most important position - which means there are no excuses.

The Buss family leaves the Lakers entirely after almost five decades

The story that began in 1979 when Jerry Buss bought the club closes with a signature. The family trust is selling the remaining 17.8 percent of the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, in a deal valuing the club at a record 12.5 billion dollars. Four of the six siblings voted in favour, which was enough. The consequence is personal: Jeanie Buss loses the role of governor, because NBA rules require that position to be held by an owner with at least a 15 percent stake. When Mark Walter took the majority last year, the agreement provided for her to stay another five years, and Iger recently said they would honour that. The family's sale made it impossible. „It is time to leave with dignity while we still can”, reads the statement - a sentence that says more than the whole deal.

Westbrook turned down two offers and decided to stop

Russell Westbrook ended his career at 38, but not because nobody wanted him. According to Marc Stein, Washington offered him a two-year contract, while Sacramento - where last season he averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 64 games - saw him behind rookie Darius Acuff Jr. Neither the terms nor the role suited him. Stein is clear that it was Westbrook who broke off the talks, not the club. There is something honest in that: a player who built an entire career on being his team's engine refuses to end up as a spare part. The market offered him a place on the bench; he chose the door.

Sokoli brought back Kostoski, while TFT and MZT are already training

Štip's Sokoli signed two players in one day, but the second is the one that matters - Aleksandar Kostoski, a former international who was the most efficient player in the Macedonian side at EuroBasket 2015 with 49 points across five games, and who has played in Macedonia, France and Romania. The club is applying for a „wild card” from the Basketball Federation to enter the Super League and clearly reckons experience is a faster route than waiting. By contrast, TFT Skopje is taking 18-year-old Ǵorǵi Cvetkovski. Two different calculations in the same week. Meanwhile champions MZT Skopje Aerodrom have already begun preparations because next season they play on four fronts - league, Cup, FIBA Europe Cup and ABA2 - while TFT, led by Boro Smilkovski, return to ABA2 where they reached the final last year.

Tickets for LeBron's first match in Philadelphia at astronomical prices

Ticket prices for Philadelphia's games have hit record levels ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season, and the opening match against the New York Knicks could become the most expensive season opener in league history. There is one reason: LeBron James runs out in the new shirt for the first time. Whether that also means a title is another story. Doc Rivers, just inducted into the Hall of Fame, coolly brought the temperature down: „The only thing I have learned about winning is that if the whole group is not ready to win, every single man, you will not win.” He cited the Knicks as an example and the change that happened to them in the middle of the series against Atlanta. Talent sells in advance; readiness is only tested in April.