Kylian Mbappe confirmed on Friday that he will leave French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, with Real Madrid widely expected to be his next destination.
The announcement brings an end to a prolific association with his hometown team, which began when he signed from Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros.
“I wanted to announce to you all that it’s my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. I will not extend and the adventure will come to an end in a few weeks,” Mbappe, 25, said in a video posted on social media.
“I will play my last game at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.”
PSG have already secured the Ligue 1 title, their 10th in the last 12 seasons, and the Qatar-owned club will pick up the trophy after Sunday’s game against Toulouse, which will be their last of the campaign on home turf.
Luis Enrique’s side were eliminated from the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals on Tuesday when a 1-0 loss in the second leg at home sealed a surprise 2-0 aggregate defeat.
It means Mbappe will be denied the send-off he had hoped for in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1 and will end his seven-year spell at PSG without ever having won Europe’s elite club competition.
Mbappe informed PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.
The 2018 World Cup winner had never confirmed publicly he was leaving, though, far less said where he will be going next, but it appears certain that he is bound for Real Madrid.
Hummels the hero as Dortmund do PSG | 01:07
“It’s a lot of emotions, many years where I had the chance and the great honour to be a member of the biggest French club, one of the best in the world,” said Mbappe.
“It allowed me to arrive here, to have my first experience in a club with a lot of pressure, to grow as a player of course, by being alongside some of the best in history, some of the greatest champions,” he added.
“It’s hard and I never thought it would be this difficult to announce that … but I think I needed this, a new challenge, after seven years.”
Real Madrid through to 18th C.L. Final! | 01:48
Mbappe’s arrival in the capital as a teenager in 2017 came after he had helped Monaco win the league title.
After initially joining PSG on loan, his transfer fee became — and still is — the second largest in football history.
It came just weeks after PSG paid a world-record 222 million euros to sign Neymar from Barcelona.
PSG have dominated French football since their 2011 Qatari takeover, but despite also adding Lionel Messi to their line-up for two seasons, European success has remained tantalisingly out of reach for a club that has spent billions on some of the world’s best players.
The closest they came was the 2020 Champions League final defeat by Bayern Munich, when PSG academy graduate Kingsley Coman scored the winning goal against his former club.
The defeat to Dortmund this week ruled out the prospect of Mbappe facing his likely future employers, 14-time European champions Real Madrid, in this year’s final.
Mbappe did not find the net in that tie but has scored 43 goals in all competitions this season, with 26 of those coming in Ligue 1.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans burn flares as they gather outside Parc des Princes, home to PSG, after Mbappe’s announcement.Source: AFP
He will still hope to add to his club-record tally of 255 goals for PSG and win another medal in the French Cup final on May 25 — Mbappe has so far won six Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups and the now defunct League Cup twice in his seven years at his hometown team.
After Sunday’s game, PSG will complete their league campaign with away matches at Nice and at relegation-threatened Metz, before Mbappe wraps up his career with the club in that Cup final in Lille.
Mbappe was frozen out at the start of the campaign with the club putting pressure on him to sign a new deal or agree to be sold rather than simply run down the last year of his contract.
His relationship with PSG boss Luis Enrique has also come under the spotlight since he told the Qatar-owned club of his plans to leave earlier this year.
Now the worst-kept secret is out and Mbappe’s departure follows that of Messi and Neymar at the end of last season, which left PSG in a period of transition, but the loss of the France captain is an even greater blow.
He’s the all-time record goalscorer for England and Tottenham and the second-highest Premier League scorer in history.
Yet for all his goals and individual accolades, and his undeniable status as one of the greatest No.9s of the 21st century, Harry Kane just can’t win a major trophy.
The infamous ‘curse’ – once called the Tottenham curse, for the club he grew up just 15 minutes down the road from and would become a talismanic captain – now appears to have followed him to Germany.
Madrid had been the better team for most of the match, yet Kane teed up Canadian star Alphonso Davies to score the opener in the 68th minute with a screamer off his weaker foot.
But Munich coach Thomas Tuchel then substituted a host of stars – including Kane – to try and defend the lead.
Instead, it slipped through their fingers, with Kane watching from the bench as Madrid struck twice in the closing stages to book their place in the final at Wembley Stadium against another German team in Borussia Dortmund.
It was Kane’s 634th game for club and country. But in all that time, he is yet to win a major trophy.
Football fans often talk about a god of football. Perhaps Kane made a deal with football’s devil – to become one of the most celebrated scorers of his era, yet never to win.
Though he now resides in Munich, having made a club-record 100m euro move in the off-season, the endless taunts of opposition fans that have dogged the illustrious striker throughout his career must hit even closer to home.
In 435 appearances for Tottenham, Kane scored 280 times – putting him beyond even the great Jimmy Greaves as Spurs’ all-time top scorer. His record included 213 strikes in the Premier League, second only to Alan Shearer’s 260.
He claimed the Premier League golden boot in three separate seasons, yet the side that Ange Postecoglou now oversees is still chasing a first major trophy since the 2008 league cup.
Only once in the Kane era did they finish in the top-two in the Premier League – back in 2016/17, when Kane scored 29 times including a stunning four hat-tricks. Spurs finished with 86 goals, their most in a league campaign since 1962-63.
Even that wasn’t enough: Chelsea still won by seven points.
Face shove denies Real Madrid goal | 00:44
There have been other near-misses for Kane in his time at Tottenham.
The most painful, perhaps, is the 2018/19 Champions League final, when Spurs lost 2-0 to Liverpool.
There was also a 2015 League Cup final (lost 2-0 to Chelsea), another loss in the same competition in 2021 (1-0 to Manchester City).
Only a couple of months after that defeat, Kane suffered the greatest near-miss of his career: when England lost a penalty shootout to Italy in the final of the (delayed) 2020 Euros – once again on the famed turf of Wembley.
Harry Kane played every single minute for Spurs and England in each of the above finals. He captained the Three Lions in the latter tournament and scored in the shootout, just as he captained them in the 2018 World Cup and won the golden boot as they reached the semi-finals.
Kane was dejected after the loss.Source: Getty Images
After all these heartbreaks, after his long years of service to his hometown team, things were supposed to be different this season.
Bayern had won the German Bundesliga 11 seasons in a row – and won five of the last 11 DFB Pokal (German Cup) tournaments in that time too. They also won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup in both 2013 and 2020 – and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League semi-finals four other times in the period between those two titles.
The German team, put simply, were serial winners: juggernauts in the way that Tottenham can only aspire to be these days.
Kane has scored 36 goals (and four hat-tricks) with eight assists already in 32 league games this season, a record season for a newcomer to the Bundesliga that will all-but-assure him of winning another golden boot.
He added eight goals and four assists in 12 Champions League games – a record for an English player in terms of goal involvements in a CL campaign.
And yet Bayern have lost the Bundesliga title, currently sitting 15 points behind Bayern Leverkusen with two games to play. Even second place isn’t assured, with VfB Stuttgart looming just two points behind them.
Bayern were also dumped out of the German Cup – the DFB Pokal – in just the second round by third-tier Saarbrücken. They also lost the German Super Cup (played between the reigning league and cup winners) 3-0 to RB Leipzig, with Kane playing less than half an hour off the bench.
It was another sad defeat for Harry Kane.Source: Getty Images
The Champions League was their last hope.
And when Kane played a delightful pass for Alphonso Davies to score a sublime goal in the 68th minute, it seemed that a finals date with their German rivals Borussia Dortmund – and a return to Wembley for Kane – was within reach.
But it all fell apart as the nigh-inevitable Madrid juggernaut fought back, scoring twice through an unlikely source in Joselu, a 34-year-old loanee from second-division Espanyol.
Kane, meanwhile, was substituted in a move that left commentators floored, given he is Munich’s penalty taker and a shootout was possible. Kane is also an asset in closing out games given his ability to hold up the ball and waste time, and to defend corners and crosses. His replacement was a straight swap for Eric-Maxim Chuopo-Moting – a striker who had scored just three times in 920 minutes across all competitions this season.
It wasn’t the only controversial substitution. Star attackers Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane had both been taken off already by Thomas Tuchel, with Bayern going into a defensive shell that soon backfired.
But Tuchel after the game revealed that Kane’s substitution was forced, saying “He couldn’t keep going. He played with back pain and he couldn’t keep going, his back froze up.”
Perhaps the curse had found a new way to strike down Kane’s hopes, as the England superstar was left to watch from the sidelines as his Champions League dream faded away again.
It means that this season, for the first time in 12 years, Bayern will not win a trophy.
Harry Kane left England to win trophies, joining a club that has racked up silverware with ease – and somehow came up empty despite a maiden individual campaign for the ages.
Kane has never scored or assisted in a final, outside of his penalty shootout goal in the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
And he has struggled to make an impact in many other crucial games, while key errors have also played a part in his failure to secure a single major trophy.
In the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia, and with England leading 1-0, Kane opted to shoot instead of passing to a wide-open Raheem Sterling. His shot was saved and Kane’s follow-up hit the woodwork from just a metre or so out. England would collapse late in the match before losing in extra-time.
Kane after the Russia 2018 World Cup semi-final match against Croatia.Source: AFP
Four years later, he had the chance to make amends in the World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar. This time it was against France. Kane scored a penalty, before having another attempt from the 12-yard dot late in the game with England a goal down. But Kane blazed it off the top of the bar, and the Three Lions were dumped out by the reigning champions.
That’s not to say that Kane is to blame for his failure to win a trophy for club and country – tactics and teammates have let him down time and again. But in just over a month, Kane will captain England at the Euros in Germany – and it could be the perfect opportunity to finally end his trophy curse.
The world’s fourth-ranked side enter the tournament as favourites, with Kane second-favourite to take the golden boot behind France’s Kylian Mbappe. His scoring form is set to prove crucial to the Three Lions’ hopes, and if he performs in big games, he could just prove the doubters wrong.
Having moved to Germany to win trophies and seen that turn into a disastrous 12-year low for Bayern Munich, it would be fitting for Kane to guide England to glory on the soil of his new home.
If he does so, he would not only end his own personal curse, but the one that has doomed his national team to repeated failures in their long wait for a first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup.
The Chicago Bulls spoiled superstar LeBron James’s return from a 13-game injury absence on Sunday, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 118-108 to tighten their hold on the final Eastern Conference play-in spot.
As the push to the post-season headed into its final two weeks, the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched their first playoff berth since 2018 with a 108-91 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Jarret Allen tied his season high with 24 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked three shots while All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell added 22 points for the Cavs, who are assured of one of the top six places in the Eastern Conference to avoid the play-in tournament for the seventh- through 10th-placed teams.
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It’s the first time since 1998 that the Cavaliers have reached the playoffs without James, whose 20-year NBA career has included two stints with his hometown team, where he won one of his four titles in 2016.
James said Sunday that the chance to challenge for a fifth title overall, and a second with the Lakers, had driven his rapid return from what he revealed was a torn tendon in his right foot.
All eyes were on the 38-year-old forward at Crypto.com Arena, where he came off the bench for just the second time in his career — the only other occasion coming in December of 2007 when he was with Cleveland.
27pts, 17reb, 7ast… Giddey explosion! | 00:41
James checked in to a standing ovation with the Lakers up 12-9 in the first quarter — going through his traditional hand-chalk toss near the scorer’s table before hitting the floor.
He led the Lakers with 19 points in 27 and a half minutes on court. Troy Brown and Malik Beasley added 18 apiece while Anthony Davis scored 15.
But the Bulls crashed the party, Zach LaVine scoring 32 points and DeMar De Rozan adding 17 points and 10 assists as Chicago gave themselves a three-game cushion over the Washington Wizards for the 10th place in the East.
“They came out with a sense of urgency tonight,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “We came out a little flat, turned the ball over early. We weren’t aggressive enough, physical enough.”
The Lakers, who had gone 8-5 in James’s absence, saw their three-game winning streak end.
They slipped from eighth to ninth in the Western Conference, half a game ahead of Oklahoma City and half a game behind New Orleans and Minnesota.
James said seeing his teammates claw out wins in his absence had spurred his injury return.
“It definitely changed my mindset on me coming back and trying to be a part of this. Well, I don’t even want to say changed my mindset. It just enhanced what I was trying to do as far as my workouts, as far as my treatment and everything.”
Luka Doncic will cop an automatic ban after yet another 40-point game.Source: AFP
BROWN GOES OFF AS JA BACK FROM SUSPENSION
Elsewhere, Jaylen Brown scored 41 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 137-93 home rout of the San Antonio Spurs.
The injury absence of leading scorer Jayson Tatum was no problem for the Celtics, who kept the pressure on Milwaukee in the race for top seed in the East.
Ja Morant returned to the Memphis starting lineup after coming off the bench in his first two games back from suspension, scoring 27 points to lead the Grizzlies in a 123-119 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta.
Desmond Bane added 25 points as the Grizzlies, second in the West, fended off Atlanta’s late challenge to push their winning streak to six games.
The Dallas Mavericks’ downward spiral continued with a 110-104 loss to the Hornets in Charlotte, where Mavs star Luka Doncic received his 16th technical foul of the season, which will trigger an automatic one-game suspension.
After failing to make a basket in the first quarter Doncic finished with 40 points, but it wasn’t enough to stave off a second loss in three days to the hapless Hornets — who are second-to-last in the Eastern Conference.
The Sydney Kings, New Zealand Breakers and Tasmania JackJumpers are all one win away from the NBL Championship Series but the Cairns Taipans almost pulled off the stunner in Game 1 against the defending champions and can’t be ruled out.
The four teams in the NBL semi finals were confirmed on Sunday with the Taipans eliminating the Perth Wildcats and now both series’ are delicately poised with the Grand Final teams to be locked in by Sunday.
The first team into the Grand Final could come as early as Friday night with the Cairns Taipans hosting the Sydney Kings in Game 2.
Sydney beat Cairns 95-87 but the Taipans did open up a double-figure lead at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday even without Keanu Pinder and Tahjere McCall, and will fancy their chances to force the series to a deciding Game 3.
Taipans and Breakers earn playoff wins | 01:25
The other semi-final series is already confirmed to be going to a Game 3 with the Tasmania JackJumpers beating the New Zealand Breakers 89-78 in Game 2 at MyState Bank Arena on Thursday night.
That Game 3 will be played at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Sunday with the Kings to also host the Taipans at Qudos Bank Arena should the Snakes prevail in Game 2 on Friday on their home court.
TAIPANS SHARPSHOOTER TAKES OFFENCE TO KINGS COMMENTS
Jonah Antonio had the best performance of his NBL career in Wednesday’s Game 1 for the Cairns Taipans but Sydney Kings coach Chase Buford talked about taking advantage of him up the other end creating another level of intrigue for Friday’s Game 2.
The story of the first half of Wednesday night’s Game 1 between the Kings and Taipans at Qudos Bank Arena very quickly became little used Cairns sharpshooter Antonio.
He is in his first NBL season and did arrive with the reputation of being a knockdown shooter, but he just hasn’t been able to find a regular spot in the Taipans rotation and had made just 14 three-pointers all season long in just a total of 184 minutes.
However, he was unleashed by coach Adam Forde on Wednesday night and started throwing rockets starting with a three-pointer on the quarter-time buzzer.
The 25-year-old originally from Perth before playing college at both Wake Forest and UNLV and then spending last season in the Czech Republic hit another four three-pointers in the second quarter to help the Snakes open up a 12-point lead.
He had 17 points to half-time on 5/6 three-point shooting and while he ended the night with a career-best 20 points on 6/9 shooting from beyond the arc, Kings coach Buford didn’t mince words afterwards.
Jonah Antonio defended himself online. (Photo by Emily Barker/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
When talking about Antonio post-match, Buford did credit Antonio’s shooting performance but actually felt that him playing more minutes than usual might have benefited the Kings as his team tried to take advantage of him defensively.
The Kings did do a good job of creating mismatches and caught Antonio undersized and out of position matched up with their bigs on several of occasions. Buford was quick to point out that despite Antonio’s shooting heroics, the Taipans were outscored by four with him on the court.
That felt a little harsh and Antonio was quick to respond cryptically on Twitter afterwards adding some extra spice to Game 2 in Cairns on Friday night.
As for what Buford said, he made his feelings clear about trying to take advantage of Antonio.
“We just let Antonio go nuts. He made shots, give credit to him, but we could have guarded him a whole lot better than we did,” Buford said.
“The fact that they had Antonio come in and flame torch us in that second quarter, and he’s still minus-four. He’s got to deliver that to make up for his deficiencies at the other end of play against us, and it will be hard to replicate that performance.
“I thought we did a really good job in the second half on Waardenburg as well, I think he was a key for us in the way we wanted to guard him.
“In the second half we did a much better job and on DJ Hogg, he takes seven attempts from three but only made one and I thought we had a lot of good contests on him.
“To not allow him to make a bunch of triples is important. We might have given up threes to them, but we dominated the rim and I think we can dominate anybody at the rim especially with this group’s outs.”
Taipans’ Jonah Antonio in action. Picture: Brendan RadkeSource: News Corp Australia
JACKJUMPERS LOOK TO REPEAT THE DOSE
The Tasmania JackJumpers find themselves in familiar territory. Last season they pulled off a shock on the road in the semi finals to knock out Melbourne United in Game 3 and now the chance presents against the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday.
What a story the JackJumpers were in their inaugural NBL season. With nobody giving them a chance of success and then being shocked they even reached the playoffs, even fewer gave them a sniff of knocking off the regular season champion Melbourne United in the semi finals.
That was even more so the case when Melbourne won Game 1 before Tasmania forced that series into a decider by winning Game 2 at MyState Bank Arena.
The rest is now history with the JackJumpers winning that Game 3 in Melbourne to reach last season’s Grand Final to become one of the best stories in Australian sport as the ultimate underdog story.
They might not quite have pulled off the championship losing in the Grand Final to the Sydney Kings, but the mountain was perhaps even steeper to climb this season.
Fans are getting behind the JackJumpers. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Once again they were written off by all and sundry, but they found a way to reach the finals once more from fourth position and then earned a spot directly in the semi finals by beating the Cairns Taipans in Far North Queensland last Thursday.
However, the JackJumpers were missing their floor general Josh Magette, captain Clint Steindl and had no answers in Game 1 of the semi finals against the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday.
The Breakers won 88-68 with the JackJumpers unable to have much impact defensively and then not get anything going offensively shooting just 33 per cent as a team and star imports Milton Doyle and Rashard Kelly combining for just 22 points on 5/19 shooting.
That meant the JackJumpers were up against it even with Game 2 at home on Thursday night against the Breakers.
It was a tight contest for three quarters and just when the Breakers were threatening to take control up five late in the third, the JackJumpers went on an 11-0 scoring run to take charge and end up winning 89-78.
It was a stirring performance in front of their raucous home crowd and now the chance presents back in Auckland on Sunday in Game 3 for the JackJumpers to repeat what they did last season and shock a team at home to reach the Grand Final.
Coach Scott Roth has no doubt his team is up for the challenge.
The JackJumpers continue to prove the doubters wrong. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“You know that these opportunities don’t come along very often and to be in a Game 3 to get to the Grand Finals in our second year is just an incredible effort by my players, and really by staff to put us in this position again,” Roth said.
“I just think in this game we were just trying to make sure we took a swing at them and making sure we’re not going to walk out of this game, win or lose, second guessing what we do in general and how we continue to try to play throughout most of the season.
“I thought we had moments where we were really good and smart in some areas, and some areas we need to clean up but I just thought our aggression in a win or go home situation, I just thought let’s swing. And these guys swung.”
JackJumpers fans celebrate. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
MVP MAKES A STATEMENT IN KINGS’ GAME 1 WIN
Anyone unsure of the credentials of Xavier Cooks as the league’s MVP this NBL season only needed to watch the way he dominated Game 1 of the semi-final series on Wednesday night against the Cairns Taipans.
If anybody still questions if Cooks deserved to be MVP this NBL season they didn’t watch Wednesday’s semi-final Game 1 against the Cairns Taipans where he was the major difference in Sydney’s eventual 95-87 victory.
Unfortunately we won’t get to see that marquee power forward match up Keanu Pinder sidelined with a fractured orbital socket for the Taipans and who knows what impact he could have had, but Cooks was able to show all of his all-round abilities.
Whether it was being a primary ball handler, throwing down dunks or finishing around the rim or crashing the boards or creating for his teammates, Cooks was at the peak of his powers.
Xavier Cooks leads from the front. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
He finished the night with 27 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block on the back of shooting 11/19 from the field.
It’s a dazzling stat-line but his actual performance was even more significant than the numbers suggest with the Kings outscoring the Taipans by nine points in the 33 minutes that he was on the floor.
Whether the Snakes tried to guard him with the size of Sam Waardenburg, the smooth moving DJ Hogg or with Lat Mayen or Majok Deng, they couldn’t quell his influence and the league’s MVP put his team on his back.
It’s far from the first time. After all, Cooks is already a championship winning captain and Grand Final MVP. But for him it wasn’t about proving anything personally or any grudges with the Taipans, he simply wanted to do what he could to get close to winning back-to-back titles.
After a slow start with the Taipans leading by 12 during the first half, Cooks was delighted with his team’s response.
Xavier Cooks made a statement. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“It was very frustrating and to give up 60 points in a half is unacceptable for any team, that’s unbelievable,” Cooks said.
“Antonio came out and hit some crazy shots, but he’s a good shooter and we’ve got to be locked in there. That really slowed our pace down, but we brought the energy and figured it out in the second half.
“My intent was to just bring the energy. I don’t really ever come out and say I’m going to get 20, that’s not my game style. I can control my effort levels and I try to go out and play as hard as I can, and get on the boys for not playing hard. It worked out.
“It’s nothing personal in this match up, I’m just fired up to bring the energy because it’s playoff time. I’ve got a lot of respect for those boys on the other side of the court and it’s nothing personal.”
BREAKERS VOW NOT TO LET OPPORTUNITY SLIP
The New Zealand Breakers have overcome everything thrown at them this season with nothing coming easy and they are determined to not let the chance slip to take advantage of hosting Sunday’s semi-final Game 3 against the Tasmania JackJumpers.
On the back of a horror last two years through COVID, the Breakers deserved things to be a little easier in NBL23 but it’s been anything but that throughout the season.
Whether it’s a tough injury run, some rough travel schedules, an enforced break thanks to COVID or even floods and cyclones at home in Auckland, the Breakers have had plenty thrown in their path this season.
Xavier Cooks wins NBL MVP | 00:45
However, they have answered every challenge, never wanted to make any excuses and that’s why they ended the regular season in second position and are still one win away from reaching a first Grand Final appearance since 2016.
New Zealand dominated the opening game of their semi-final series at home to the Tasmania JackJumpers on Sunday.
The Breakers won the game 88-68 on the back of having eight players scoring at least seven points in a tremendous team performance where they shot 53 per cent from the field, hit 9/21 from downtown and put in a commanding defensive showing.
That had them in the box seat to be the first team to win their way into the Championship Series, but playing in Hobart hasn’t been fruitful for the Breakers now the last two years and that continued on Thursday night.
Tasmania prevailed 89-78 with New Zealand unable to get the same bite at the defensive end while offensively, they shot just 44 per cent overall and 6/23 from beyond the arc.
The positive is that they now get to host Game 3 on Sunday back at Spark Arena with the winner to advance to the Grand Final.
Maor has full faith in his team. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Coach Mody Maor continues to have full faith in what his group can produce and this is the time where all that work during the season to earn home court advantage needs to pay off.
“I honestly don’t think it’s going to be very hard to refocus for the next game,” Maor said.
“We never expected it to be easy, these are the playoffs of the NBL and every team that comes here is great. This is supposed to be high level competition and you’re supposed to be challenged and tested, and this is exactly what we’re looking forward to.
“We went through a really tough season and played well through it in order to earn home court advantage. It’s a huge thing in playoffs, I’m happy to bring Game 3 to Spark Arena and I’m really looking forward to it.”
NZ Breakers lock in second spot in NBL | 00:57
INTRIGUING VETERAN POWER FORWARD DILEMMA
Perth Wildcats captain Jesse Wagstaff has earned the right to make his own decision on his playing future, but there’s every chance his retirement could open the door for a long-awaited homecoming for seven-time Adelaide 36ers MVP Daniel Johnson.
Now that the Wildcats season is over after their loss in the Play-In Game to the Cairns Taipans, captain Wagstaff has a decision to make whether or not to continue a career that has seen him play 446 games and win six championships.
He deserves to be able to make that decision himself and there’d be nothing wrong with him deciding to play a 15th season, but what he chooses to do could have a significant impact on the immediate future of one of his great rivals, Johnson.
This time last year it would have been almost unfathomable to imagine Johnson ending his career anywhere but in Adelaide. While he grew up in Perth, he’s now settled in Adelaide where he’s played 366 of his career 414 NBL games and with seven club MVP’s to his credit, he’s a 36ers all-time great.
What does Jesse Wagstaff’s future in the NBL hold? (Photo by Emily Barker/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
There has constantly been intrigue over whether he might get to play for his hometown team one day, but with the Wildcats being well stocked for power forwards during his career including Shawn Redhage and Wagstaff, it’s just never been a good fit.
That’s not to say overtures haven’t been made. It did almost happen a decade ago when Rob Beveridge was Wildcats coach, but ultimately Johnson went to Adelaide and has put together a standout career.
So much so that no other current player has scored more points or collected more rebounds. He has been quite the reliable force whether coached by Marty Clarke, Joey Wright, Conner Henry or for the last two seasons, CJ Bruton.
However, Johnson’s minutes and overall production were at the lowest in a decade in his Adelaide time this season as he and coach Bruton clearly weren’t seeing eye to eye.
That appears to mean that Johnson’s NBL career would likely continue outside of Adelaide in NBL24 despite the fact he has built a life and family in the City of Churches.
Should Wagstaff decide to retire, it feels a natural fit for Johnson to get that long-awaited opportunity to play in Perth. One of the Wildcats’ all-time greats, Damian Martin, feels it makes sense should it all come together.
Is a reunion on the cards for Daniel Johnson? (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“I don’t think they go after Daniel and then say that DJ’s in and then say that unfortunately we’re pushing Jesse out,” Martin said on SEN.
“I think they wait to see what Jesse wants to do and will be respectful. Knowing that DJ probably wants out of Adelaide and he’s from Perth, they have probably made an initial call at least just to gauge that if Jesse steps aside and says this is it for me, then they can quickly pull the trigger on Daniel.
“But they would also make it very clear I would assume to DJ that it’s only available if Jesse makes the decision to retire. They might even fast track Jesse’s decision because two weeks after the final game of the Grand Final Series is played, that’s when free agency begins.
“You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think that agents aren’t talking to other GM’s right now, but you can’t any sign any deals or announce them until the two-week period is over.”
