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Such a scrub that GLU had to make a player with 110 passing to best that S41 record.

Awesome work buddy. Was a very fun read!

The last few games have felt like a long stretch of learning. Some nights I walked off the court feeling proud of what I brought. Other nights I walked away annoyed with myself, knowing I had more to give. That is the reality of trying to earn minutes on a team as deep as the Barons. Nothing is handed out. You get what you fight for. There were moments in this sim where I felt locked in. The game against the Hyenas was one of them. I scored sixteen and grabbed seven boards. It felt natural. The offense came to me without forcing anything. Drives, putbacks, simple plays that still mattered. Those are the nights when I feel like I can really help this team. I looked comfortable on both ends and left the court knowing I did my part. The game right after against the Jackals was another step in the right direction. I didn’t put up huge numbers, but I stayed within the flow of the game. The little things showed up. Defensive rotations. Offensive rebounds. Making myself available inside. When you’re not getting thirty minutes a night, you have to find the pockets to make an impact. That is something I am getting better at. But this stretch wasn’t all good. There were games where I struggled to get anything going. The loss to the Lions stands out. Two points. Zero rhythm. I tried to be active, but the game was moving fast and I couldn’t catch up. Shots rimmed out. Defensive assignments slipped. It was one of those nights where the frustration builds early. You want to shake it off and settle in, but the minutes move fast when you’re coming off the bench. By the time I found any kind of comfort, the game was out of reach. Those are the nights that stick with me the most. The same thing happened against Whiteout in the most recent sim. One shot attempt. No real chance to find a rhythm. Those are the games that make you look in the mirror. They test your patience. They test your hunger. You start thinking about what you can do to force your way into a bigger role. The truth is, I know what I can bring when I’m on. I’ve shown flashes. I’ve had double digit scoring nights. I’ve had games where I grabbed seven or eight boards and protected the paint. I’ve had nights where my presence inside changed the pace of the game. I know I’m capable of more than a few quiet box scores. But this league doesn’t care about what you think you can do. It cares about what you do consistently. That’s the line I’m trying to cross right now. The next step for me is simple. Keep stacking good minutes. Keep fighting through the bad ones. Keep showing that I can be trusted in bigger moments. I’m not discouraged. I’m hungry. This stretch showed me where I stand, but it also showed me where I can go. And I plan to get there. One game at a time.

Currently 1500 + words - claiming for 3 weeks.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a tournament featuring player agencies all time lineups. Since the PSanchez55 agency has produced 5 SBA players, this idea has begun to intrigue me. I’m contemplating running such a tournament, but also, file work in the sim sounds awful. While it remains to be seen if I attempt such an endeavor, I will type up this article going over many of the users who have enough creates to field a team. Disclaimer: I have no idea how legacy position eligibility worked. Team PigSnout PG: Lemony Snicket SG: Janet Snakehole SF: Johnny Karate PF: Kane Fox 😄 Othello Hawkins 6th Man: Burt Macklin 7th Man: Count Olaf 8th Man: Kane Fox Jr. 9th Man: Morgrim Shadowshield Look, if you’ve been around the SBA very long at all, you’ve come to expect a few things from PigSnout. Loyalty; consistency; and superstar, MVP caliber, HOF bigs a team can build around. So, in a tournament where I’ve decided positional eligibility applies, how does Team PigSnout stack up? Well, Burt Macklin once again finds himself coming off the bench, and Johnny Karate arrived just in time to give this team a small forward. The talent is undeniable, but can all this scoring talent thrive on one roster? Team TownBizness: PG: Hera Hernandez SG: Rasheeda Rider SF: Rasheed Rider PF: YoungBoy SBA 😄 King Kunta 6th: Adebowale Adekoya 7th: Certified Boogeyman Say what you want, but the TownBizness agency produces consistent Hall of Fame talent. The starting lineup alone features 7 MVPs and more positional awards than I feel like counting. King Kunta, considered by many to be the greatest player in league history, leads a team brimming with offensive talent. Critics will likely bring up that many of these players were the beneficiaries of the dreaded funnel strategy and that on this roster, no such team build exists. There is in fact only one ball, but it’s hard to bet against a team with likely 7 Hall of Famers. Team PSanchez55 PG: Javier Ramirez Jr SG: Isaiah Green SF: Jehu King PF: Dovydas Zukauskas 😄 Tavas Zukauskas 6th: Nile Rivers 7th: Medium Rob One First Team All-SBA at the SBA level and only a few seasons being in contention for a positional award – the PSanchez55 agency doesn’t have near the star power of many of the other teams in this tournament. In fact, the bench is made up entirely of fillers, and the starting center didn’t even eclipse 700 tpe. Dovydas is a monster- had he reached 100% of his potential maybe he is a multitime PFoty and perhaps even an MVP. And… Jehu proved he could carry a team in whatever that side season was. But, hypotheticals aside, this team is just not talented enough to compete against the HOF laden teams in this field. Team GoodLeftUndone PG: Sofija Pavlovske SG: Stephen Sheppard SF: Gareth Lennox-Upshaw PF: Marquise Washington 😄 Malik Washington 6th: Dio Brando 7th: Alex Sheppard 8th: RJ Bedard 9th: Marcus Vinson 10th: Ogi Amarou Well, this team runs 10 deep. The Washington’s do a bulk of the heavy lifting in the awards category, but Stephen Sheppard was the first SG to win MVP. The starting lineup features one of the best passing point guards of all time in Sofija, and the ultimate glue guy in, well, GLU. With the team build and insane depth, Team GoodLeftUndone should be among the better teams in the competition. Team Traphag PG: Diego Rossi SG: Elana Rossi SF: Maya Witherspoon PF: Olympia Styles 😄 Robert “Big Rob” Wadlow 6th: Pierre Manslapper 7th: Kitty O’Sullivan Krauss Team Traphag - the agency run by everyone’s favorite former commissioner features some of the best wing(wo)men in SBA history: Elana Rossi and King Kunta in OKC, Witherspoon and Shadowshield in Arizona, and of course the legendary admin superteam in Mexico with Olympia Stiles and Hera Hernandez. It’s a very strong roster despite that Deigo Rossi character. With Big Rob anchoring the paint, and a bunch of old man fillers, anything is possible. Team NothingButNet PG: Jack George SG: Kaleb Grant SF: Quedelle Reaper PF: Johnny Wick 😄 Joey Callaway 6th: Tanya West The playmaking of Joey Callaway surrounded by several exciting scoring threats make Team NBN interesting. This group showed a lot of promise, but none of these guys ever quite broke into SBA stardom. Team DeityofIce PG: Tony Marcedo Jr. SG: Colton Caesar SF: Jevon DeVaughn PF: Darren Oliver 😄 Jonah DeVaughn 6th: Juhani Pakkala 7th: Tony Marcedo 8th: Blocky Maivia Team DOI doesn’t quite have the awards case that some of the other teams will boast. Darren Oliver, of course, retired as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in St. Louis Battalion history. Despite the lack of hardware, this team does have talent. Jonah DeVaughn was an incredible scorer, but found himself in a tough scoring environment on a very offensive Rail team. TMJ was a great piece for a Monarchs team that couldn’t quite break through in the postseason. History makes for narratives, but all that matters will be how this group plays together when/if this mythological tournament occurs. Team Evans PG: Asher Moxley SG: Ragnar Lesnar SF: Black Lotus PF: DiAngelo DiBiase 😄 Giovanni Owen Allen Tatum 6th: Halo Helmsley Honestly, I am unaware of the legend of Black Lotus or DiAngelo DiBiase. Halo Helmsley means very little to me. But, I am prone to expect great things from Team Evans solely based on the existence of one Giovanni Owen Allen Tatum. Having GOAT for initials is a bold choice, but GOAT lived up to the hype. The 2x MVP and 3x Center of the Year is one of the greatest players of all time: it wouldn’t be a surprise if he led a strong Team Evans on a deep run in this tournament. Team Emidas PG: Cero Miedo SG: Emidas Blair SF: Eikichi Onizuka PF: Lefty Blairtelho 😄 Mr. X 6th: Marc Spector 7th: Emidas Blair Jr. This is the part where my confusion about legacy positions really came into play. Regardless, this roster is incredibly stacked. Miedo won multiple DPOYs as a freak PG, Onizuka won 5 positional awards across 3 positions, Blair won 4, and Mr. X was the league MVP. As with every other team, can this group mesh together and be competitive as a unit? Team Moholt PG: Michael McGrady SG: Magnum McCoy SF: Michael McGriff PF: Moses McAdoo 😄 Marcus McDyess 6th: Monroe McMahon 7th: Dennis Chamberlain Ah yes, one of the favorites going into this tournament will be Team Moholt. Featuring 5 Hall of Famers, the offensive juggernaut, and 3 of the best defensive players to play the game, Team Moholt is serious business. This roster includes a 6x OPoty and a 6x DPoty… Honestly anyone without the initials MM should probably be excluded from the team, but Dennis was a solid enough point guard. Team Fonzigg PG: Cosmo Kramer SG: Jayden Storm SF: Roope Niskanen PF: Ellen Degeneres 😄 Stone Cold Steve Austin 6th: Zander Steele Team Fonzigg has several solid SBA careers. On the FBB3 floor, this team should work great together since Fonzi has created several defensive specialists which the sim... loves. Team Beowoof PG: Hector Fuego SG: Ignacio Fuego SF: Jimmy Bunkie PF: Troy Simmins 😄 Klaus König 6th: Maksimilijan Vlatko Pejić 7th: Sailor Moon 8th: Jurgis Balchunas Team Beowoof’s frontcourt features 2 MVPs, and the backcourt combined for 5 PGoty awards. I’ll have MVP come off the bench as the super 6th man to allow the starters more room to shine. This roster has high end bigs and some of the best guard play one could ask for. Team Beowoof will be a problem in the I haven’t decided what to call this event tournament. Team Zekethatbeast25 PG: Shaka Banks SG: Prince Drake SF: Ezekiel Bridges Jr. PF: Agent Rengoku 😄 Roman Rose 6th: Ezekiel Bridges 7th: Kayin Osei With 2 Hall of Famers leading the way, Team Zekethatbeast25 makes a strong case to contend in whatever this hypothetical tournament is going to be called. Shaka Banks’ career helped the Zeke agency from meme status to genuine threat with a string of top point guard awards. Later on, Roman Rose would help carry Mexico to the first championship in team history. In terms of team fit, like many other of the top agencies, the question does become… will there be enough touches to go around? Team Ben PG: Lexie Royal SG: Ben Schneider SF: Benson Etienam PF: Dyson Royal 😄 Benson Royal 6th: Mo Fen 7th: Jerry Benson Team Ben doesn’t have the glut of superstars on the roster that many of the other teams have. They do however have Benson “How did this guy get MVP votes” Royal. And while this writer may not have been on board with the MVP campaign, it is hard to argue that peak Benson Royal wasn’t a great player to build around. Team Ben has some solid role players around their star big - anything is possible. Team TheNano74 PG: Diego Armando Campazzo SG: Gabriel Nocioni SF: Emanuel Montecchia PF: Fabrico Scola 😄 Walter Herrmann 6th: Tayavek Wolkowyski For a 4 year stretch, Fabrico Scola was the league’s most potent offensive weapon. For Team TheNano74, he is surrounded by a bevy of 3-D wings who didn’t quite embrace the anti-inside mindset. This team isn’t the most flashy, but they’re solid all around and thus dangerous. Team Brentsl PG: Samuel Austin SG: Samuel Austin Jr SF: Darrelle Seether PF: Benjamin Chevelle 😄 Gregor Clegane Back in the good ole days, Team Brentsl players dominated the league. Players named Samuel Austin won 8 PGoty awards. Gregor Clegane won 4 MVPs and a DPOY, and Darrelle Seether won 3 positional awards between SG and PF. Eighty percent of the roster is in the Hall of Fame. Because I don’t know legacy archetype positional rules, I’m not sure if anyone on the roster is actually eligible to play SF. Regardless, Team Brentsl has a ton of talent and will be a scary team to face. Team Schwein PG: Royce DLer SG: Tobias Garret SF: Omar Guiro PF: Jakša Božo 😄 Marc Nύñez Team Schwein barely fields a starting 5 without fillers, but… the group he has is very strong. Obviously Guiro is a rookie and will definitely struggle with the superstar wings in the field, but from a fit standpoint, this team is built to let the 2x PFoty Jakša Božo thrive. The team isn’t among the top contenders, but neither is the team from my player agency, so… Team Okochastar Team MattyLive3k Team JCool Team MSM Team Pandar Team Goosharp01 Team Sixersfan594 Team DB25 Team KDang Team Stevo Team Cuffy Team Cassief6 Team Theory Team Adrest Team Lemorse There are several more teams I want to look at, but we’ll save it for a future article or slowly add on to this one. If you have created enough players to form a team, and want to send me your lineup, that would be outstanding. There is still quite a ways to go to figure out how to put a tournament together including the FBB3 strategy, so if you care what pace or motion your team uses, send me that as well. This is quite an endeavor for someone who doesn’t have much experience in FBB3 besides clicking “sim to playoffs.” The more interest this gets, the more motivation I have to continue.

Unexpectedly Good Fortune For the Miami Vice? The Miami Vice, according to GM Karolina Černá, were set to be along the lower 10 of the 22 teams, yet 22 games in and they seem to be doing well for themselves. With 6/12 games won from home and 5/10 on the road, the Vice see themselves around 11th or 12th in the league, tied to the Thunderbirds at 11-11 vs Toronto's 12-12. Their worst loss to date was against the Mexico City Ocelots at 90-131, but they've been on an up and down roller coaster lately. Early into the season, around the start of November, the Vice would win 4 games in a row against some of the lower rated teams. Sure, that might not mean too much to most, as anyone and everyone can seemingly win against the worst teams in the league, but unlike their disastrous preseason performance, the vice have been scoring a lot better with about a -3 point difference in the regular season compared to -27.8 in the preseason. They're scoring a lot more and they're able to do that thanks to two of the players on their team. SOREN SKYSTARK requested a trade a while ago yet was never traded. Whether no interest was found or an interesting trade popped up that would happen on draft day, the public will never know until the offseason. Despite being a playmaker, he's vital to the Vice's future, although they might want to look to the draft to solve that future if they want to keep Skystark on the roster. As a centerpiece after Reaper's departure to the Bullets this offseason, Skystark has been putting the team on his back with some high quality performances. In this season alone, Skystark has gotten 5 triple doubles, including preseason ones, and has managed to squeeze out 10 assists in 13 of the 22 games he's played this season. With passing games like that, it's no wonder the Vice are so desperate to keep him around. Though faced with a "lesser" role than San Diego, MALACHI VOYAGER is finding it nice and comfy scoring for the Miami Vice right now. Signed to a short term one-year deal, it seems that Voyager's going to have a pretty comfortable future in Miami if he's kept for the long term. It was most likely a one-year deal as to make space for the future and to not get hopes up, but the Vice do need what they can get. Rumor has it that he's been offered an extension, so we'll see where that goes. Currently, Voyager has gotten a season high of 50 points, almost reaching his career high of 52. With an incredible performance like that, it'd be stupid to not keep him for the future, whether as a 6th man or as a starter while Red Panda Queen develops. AAHMEK WALKER IV can do it all; he can shoot, he can pass, and he can rebound. Mostly known for his lovely passing displays, Walker's someone who can walk the ball up the floor and turn it into a 7-second basket or toss it around until the team scores. While averaging roughly the same amount of assists as usual with a bit more points thanks to his boosted role on Miami, Walker's allegedly been unhappy with his assist totals. There's not much to talk about when it comes to assists being low though; he's right around the typical number for his career, averaging roughly 0.3 assists more than last season with Washington. He's a very jack of all trades, master of none player. With Red Panda Queen on the bench in favor of Voyager's scoring and experience it'll be interesting to see how far the Vice will go in the season. Sure, most of their wins have been against the lower rated teams, but their schedule doesn't look all too packed with any single games taking them to places they wouldn't be 100% comfortable in. It'll be fun to watch this all unfold.

The Boston Minutemen are going through a transition without their longtime leader. They no longer have the offensive powerhouse in Certified Boogeyman nor the dangerous 3D players of yesteryear. The team is now relying on 4 young players in the last 2 drafts to lead them to a brighter future. Center | Bigger Barda He is a defensive big that has been very efficient with his scoring down low. He was the biggest steal of last season's draft and is turning heads as a successor to the Boogeyman. He is currently averaging 18.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.6 stocks. He looks to keep improving and taking the next step of being a dominant big man. Power Forward | Obsidian Starquake He is a more dominant defensive presence than Barda. He plays both forward positions, but his ability to stop the top-scoring wings has been impressive this early in the season. He has averaged 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.7 stocks. The team is looking for him to take the next step on defense while working on his three-pointer to spread the floor and provide more spacing. Point Guard | Orion Skystark Another steal in the draft 2 drafts ago. He is scoring at will, averaging 32.8 points while getting 10.0 assists and 2 stocks per game. He has been elevating his game with his scoring and passing and hopes to fill in a lot of the scoring void for the Boogeyman. He plans to be one of the main scorers on the team going forward and will need a duo to help him out on the offensive end. Bench | Nikola Luffy The newest rookie on the team is looking to be a balanced big man. He has shown some solid promise playing both the center and power forward in limited minutes. He is averaging 4.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 stocks in only 16.4 minutes per game and looks to be incorporating his newly improved 3-point shooting to help from the bench. This team has these four young prospects to develop over the next several seasons, and they will see if they can contend for the playoffs this season and how they add to the team going forward in future seasons. Will the new GM next season allow the team to grow together? Or will they look to add via free agency to speed up the development? The team currently relies on three veteran players. Small Forward | Christopher Randle A traditional 3-D forward, he has been a do-it-all sort of guy coming in from Montreal to help support Boston. He has been providing the steady play the team needs and has done a great job in getting the 19.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.6 assist, and 3.3 stocks to be the guy the team relies on. Shooting Guard | Kutu Ceesay He has been a Minuteman all his career, and he has not disappointed. His sharp shooting and efficient play have helped his teammates throughout his career, as he is not looking for the spotlight. He averages 20.0 points 8.9 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 3.7 stocks to also provide the steady veteran leadership and presence the young roster needs. Bench | Olufemi Adeyemi The old veteran that plays three positions and provides leadership, maturity, and professionalism while teaching the young guns of the team. He has shown how important work ethic and being focused are while showing the young players how to play off-ball. This most likely is their last season with the team, so the team will look to pick his brain as best as they can. He has played the star to now, bench glue man so he helps lighten the mood during slumps and makes sure people don't get too confident during their winning streaks. Words: 622

The season began with a six-game preseason that offered mixed signals. The team finished the preseason at 3-3, showing occasional flashes of strong offensive execution but also revealing early defensive concerns. The narrow win against the Ironmen and the convincing victory over the Monarchs suggested potential, while losses to Rush and the Prowlers hinted at inconsistency. Still, preseason is often about rotations and experimentation, and the final preseason win versus the Knights at least provided momentum heading into opening night. Unfortunately, that momentum did not carry into the start of the regular season. The first five games resulted in five losses, dropping the team into an early 0-5 hole. The defense struggled most noticeably during this stretch, allowing 153 points to the Bullets and 132 to the Minutemen. Many possessions ended with late shot contests or transition mismatches, and there were clear communication issues on switches. Offensively, the scoring wasn’t terrible, but the lack of stops forced the team to play catch-up constantly. At 0-5, confidence could have easily collapsed. But on November 15th, the narrative shifted. The 126-90 win over Rail snapped the losing streak and injected life into the locker room. The very next day, the team traveled and beat Rail again — this time by an even larger margin, 137-95. Those back-to-back wins marked a turning point. Suddenly, pace control improved, defensive rotations tightened, and second-unit contributions became meaningful. The offense seemed to settle, with better shot distribution and fewer forced possessions. The run continued with a win over Vice, pushing the record to 3-5. The team then traded close results, including competitive games against the Maulers and Minutemen. But the key highlight was the November 23rd win at Inferno, where the team demonstrated composure on the road and held Inferno to limited second-chance points. That performance showed maturity. Then came the November 26th rematch versus Inferno — another win, and one fueled by resilience in late-game situations. From late November into early December, the team looked confident. Wins against the Prowlers and the Monarchs brought the team back to .500 at 7-7. Even with setbacks against Vice and Battalion, the team responded by defeating the Monarchs again and then grabbing a strong road win at the Knights, evening the record at 9-9. At that point, the team had gone 9-4 since starting 0-5 — one of the most impressive turnarounds in the league to that point. The final listed game, a narrow 135-137 loss to Inferno, was disappointing but revealing — this team can now compete with anyone. The early-season version of this squad would have folded in a shootout like that. The current version battles. If the team continues building defensive consistency and maintaining its balanced scoring approach, a playoff push is entirely realistic. This is no longer a team struggling to find itself — it is a team that has learned how to win.

After losing in the Semi-Finals to the Eventual Champions the Los Angeles Rush there was a lot of questions of what was the future going to be for this team especially with the roster that they had and can they get back to the Semi-Finals next season? In the Off-Season Tsuyu Asui decided to retire from the team so they had to replaced him by adding Ricky Williams in a trade with the Milwaukee Maulers, then the Monarchs made another trade acquiring Tiffany Park from the Pittsburgh Ironman for Dovydas Zukauskas. In Free Agency they signed John Badger to a 2 year contract overall the Monarchs was able to add some pieces and with Tony Marcedo Jr being the 6th man for the team it will be a interesting season to watch. Kawhi Stoudamire has worked on his Defense and Athletics to make sure that he would be able to step up in his 2nd year with the Monarchs and make progress as a individual so far he is averaging 31 Points, 3.6 Rebounds, 7.1 Assists, 3 Steals shooting 52% from the field, 86% from the line and 38% from downtown but the team is 8-12 which is a disappointing start considering they are hoping to make the playoffs. It will definitely take a while for the team because they added a lot of new pieces and they are hoping to get the chemistry going with 62 games left in the Regular Season. Kawhi on the roster: "You are intrigued by the team that we have added when you get Ricky Williams who is a floor General and can play great defense that make my job a lot easier as I can focus on Offense and Defense then you got Tiffany Park who is going to be intriguing as she is in her 3rd year going to become the 2nd option for the team. In Free Agency John Badger was signed to a 2 year contract it is great to have a player that have championship experience on our team that can push us over the top. Right now we are struggling out of the gate due to all the moving parts on the team but I feel like we can turn it around it with 62 more games to play and the practice reps that we will get out there." On Improving the team: "I feel like the best way to improve is to work on the chemistry of how we all fit together because Williams, Park and Badger has been added to the team to go with myself, Marc Núñez and Tony Marcedo Jr. The key for us to improve is to be a better offensive team when you are 15th in the league in Points, 12th in Field Goal Percentage, 12th in Three Point Percentage and 9th in Free Throws I believe we will definitely get better as we got capable offensive players on the team. The other thing that is hurting the team is the turnovers which starts with me because I'm leading the league in turnovers and that is disappointing because I can't keep on costing us games like that."

The Arizona Inferno have always been a team that rides emotion. Even when the roster changed, when the faces on the floor shifted and the rotations looked uncertain, the one constant was that this franchise played with a heartbeat. Through highs and lows, through thick and thin, through double-overtime heartbreaks and wild desert nights, the Inferno have always burned hot. But through the first 17 games of this season, that fire has felt… off. The Inferno stand at 5–12, ninth in the Western Division, and every one of those 12 losses has carried a distinct sting. It hasn’t been for lack of effort — it’s been about chemistry, timing, and finding that elusive identity that used to come so naturally in Phoenix. This team is talented. You don’t start a season with a frontcourt featuring Kalel Ganar and Dara Storm without believing you can compete. You don’t assemble versatile scorers like Seventy Seven, Ball Hog, and Gilles Mahomes II without thinking you can win shootouts. And yet, so far, the Inferno have looked like a team still trying to figure out who they are — not in terms of talent, but in terms of rhythm. Let’s take a deep look at how this season has unfolded — the good, the bad, and the flickers of promise that still make the Inferno one of the league’s most fascinating teams to watch. --- 🌋 A Tale of Starts That Never Settle It’s hard to explain the Inferno’s season without mentioning their inconsistency out of the gate. In their opening stretch, Arizona showed flashes of brilliance — the kind of basketball that made fans think this might be the breakout year. Fast, aggressive, confident ball movement. You could feel the crowd at Desert Heat Arena lean forward with anticipation when the ball swung from Ganar to Mahomes to Ball Hog, leading to a thunderous finish. But the runs haven’t lasted. In too many games, especially against defensive-minded teams like the Maulers and Vice, Arizona’s offensive flow disappeared. Possessions became stagnant. The spacing shrunk. The pick-and-roll, which had been their bread and butter in preseason, suddenly felt rushed and forced. A team that thrives on energy has found itself struggling to create it. And yet, buried under the frustration is a stat sheet full of clues. Arizona can score — they’re averaging over 110 points per game, which puts them in the middle of the pack offensively. The real problem isn’t putting points up; it’s what happens on the other end. Opponents are scoring nearly 127 per game, a glaring number that tells the real story of this 5–12 start. --- 🧱 Defensive Gaps and the Growing Pains of the Paint For all the love that the Inferno frontcourt gets — and it deserves plenty — there’s no denying that interior defense has been an Achilles’ heel. Kalel Ganar, at 7'3", is a physical marvel. He’s shooting efficiently and anchoring the team’s rebounding, but he’s often stranded trying to cover too much ground. The Inferno’s perimeter defense has been porous, and when opposing guards penetrate at will, it forces Ganar to rotate late or pick up fouls. Dara Storm, at 6'7", brings energy and length, but he’s still learning positioning at the pro level. He’s a forward who plays with a center’s mentality — eager to contest everything, sometimes at the cost of leaving shooters open. You can’t fault his effort; you can only hope his instincts catch up with his heart. As a result, teams are shooting 57% from the field against Arizona, one of the highest marks in the league. For a fan base that’s used to seeing hard-nosed defense and fast-break fire, that’s tough to watch. But defense isn’t just about size — it’s about communication. The rotations look late, and too many possessions end with two Inferno players closing on the same man, leaving a corner shooter free. Those are chemistry issues, not talent issues, and they can be fixed. The question is: how long will it take? --- 🔥 Bright Spots: Ball Hog and Seventy Seven Keep the Flame Alive Every rough start has its silver linings, and for the Inferno, they come in the form of two high-energy playmakers: Ball Hog and Seventy Seven. Ball Hog, the 6'9" forward with one of the most unique offensive toolkits in the league, has been everything his nickname suggests — in the best way possible. He’s taken on the scoring load night after night, averaging nearly 20 a game while shooting an impressive clip from midrange. What stands out isn’t just his ability to score, but how he does it: with flair, with confidence, with that old-school “give me the ball and get out of the way” mentality that’s as entertaining as it is effective. Beside him, Seventy Seven has quietly become the heartbeat of the offense. The 6'11" center-forward hybrid has been relentless inside, finishing through contact, fighting for boards, and stepping into the occasional three-pointer when defenders sag. He’s not flashy — he’s efficient, physical, and determined. Together, Ball Hog and Seventy Seven have carried the scoring when the Inferno’s guards have gone cold. They’ve also become leaders by example, showing the kind of fight that can keep a locker room together even when the record doesn’t look kind. --- 🌀 Guard Play and the Search for Consistency If there’s one area that’s held the Inferno back more than any other, it’s backcourt consistency. Trey Carter and Mina Ashiro have both had their moments, but the point guard rotation has been unstable. Carter’s passing vision is sharp — he can thread needles and push the pace — but turnovers have been costly. Meanwhile, Ashiro brings energy and scoring bursts, yet sometimes struggles to control tempo when games tighten up. Out on the wings, Clover Violet and Allen Tony bring a mix of speed and shooting, but neither has found the reliable rhythm fans hoped for. Violet’s defensive metrics have dipped, and Tony’s shot selection has been erratic. When the guards aren’t connecting, it puts immense pressure on the frontcourt to produce at a level that’s unsustainable. What the Inferno need is a steady hand — a guard who can slow the game down when chaos erupts. Whether that comes from internal growth or an eventual roster addition remains to be seen. --- 🌡️ The Inferno Identity Crisis Every team faces a crossroads in the early season where it must decide what kind of basketball it wants to play. For the Inferno, that moment is now. When they’re at their best, Arizona runs the floor with pace, punishes mismatches in the post, and moves the ball with unselfish energy. When they’re at their worst, they get stuck in half-court sets, taking low-percentage shots and leaving themselves exposed in transition defense. That split personality — run-and-gun vs. grind-it-out — has defined their season so far. The question isn’t whether they can score; it’s whether they can score their way. Too often, the Inferno have adjusted their style to match opponents rather than forcing opponents to adjust to them. It’s a small distinction, but in this league, it’s everything. The best teams impose their will. The Inferno are still learning how to do that consistently. --- ⚡ The Bench Mob and the Hidden Spark It’s easy to overlook, but the Inferno bench has quietly given fans reason for optimism. Players like Gilles Mahomes II and Ulyo Okoro have stepped into expanded roles, showing flashes of what the future could hold. Mahomes brings length and defensive versatility, while Okoro is an underrated glue guy — the kind of player who doesn’t fill the box score but makes the right rotations and extra passes that stabilize a second unit. Still, depth remains a work in progress. In too many games, the bench minutes have been inconsistent, forcing the starters to log heavy time and late-game fatigue. That, more than anything, has contributed to the blown leads that haunt this record. --- 💬 The Fans Deserve Better — and the Team Knows It If there’s one thing you can’t question, it’s the passion of the Arizona Inferno fan base. The team sells out every game at 5,000 capacity, and even through tough nights, the energy in the building doesn’t fade. You can feel it — the pride, the frustration, the hope that maybe tonight’s the night it all clicks. That loyalty hasn’t gone unnoticed. Players have spoken about how much it means to play in front of a crowd that stays engaged no matter the record. The fans want effort, fire, and heart — and this team has all three. What’s missing is execution. It’s not a matter of willpower. It’s a matter of timing. --- 🧩 Small Fixes, Big Impact When you look at the numbers and watch the film, you start to see a pattern: the Inferno are just a few possessions per game away from being 9–8 instead of 5–12. That’s how fine the margins are. A missed box out here, a turnover there, a late rotation on a corner three — they all add up. If Arizona can tighten those details — improve defensive communication, limit live-ball turnovers, and rediscover their ball movement — the record could flip fast. They’re not being blown out; they’re being edged out. And that’s both the frustration and the promise of this team. --- 🔄 Looking Ahead: The Turning Point There’s no denying the hole they’ve dug, but there’s also no denying the potential for a turnaround. The schedule doesn’t get easier — upcoming games against the Thunderbirds, Rail, and Rampage will test their resilience — but that’s exactly the kind of stretch that can forge a team’s character. If they can string together back-to-back wins, rebuild confidence, and rediscover their rhythm on both ends of the court, the Inferno could reignite faster than anyone expects. There’s too much talent, too much pride, and too much unfinished business for this group to fade quietly into the standings. --- 🌅 Conclusion: Waiting for the Spark Every Inferno season tells a story. Sometimes it’s a triumphant one — of overachievement and grit. Other times, like this year, it’s a slow burn. But the season isn’t over. Far from it. This 5–12 record doesn’t define them — it tests them. It forces them to ask the tough questions, to look inward, to rediscover why they play. Because the Inferno, at their core, aren’t just a team built on talent; they’re built on attitude. When that attitude comes roaring back, when Ganar controls the paint, when Ball Hog heats up, when the bench rallies behind every defensive stop — the fire will return. And when it does, the rest of the league better watch out. Because no blaze burns hotter than one that’s been smoldering, waiting, and ready to ignite again.

Wolf Chan: A Sudden Free Agent? And with the sixth overall pick the Washington Wild select: Wolf Chan from Beaumont Barons. For Wolf Chan being selected in the draft was not something he had expected as he had not a single scout reach out to him prior to the draft. In terms of the Washington Wild this turned out to have a reason, the team would soon cease to exist. He does not know if it was known at the time, but he figured it likely was and that is why they didn’t reach out. He was excited to join the Wild, especially as ‘wrahh we go wild’ was something he had posted on multiple game threads in the season prior, trying it to make it his catch phrase, he is a wolf after all. But with the sudden disappearance of the Washington Wild, he would now find himself in a unique situation. He now is a rookie and suddenly he becomes a free agent, the world would be at his feet you would assume. But with the Washington Wild GM moving towards the Mexico City Ocelots spot, he had already promised him he would join him and move teams together with him, especially as it was one of the gm’s that had been trying multiple times to sign players from the same agency as Wolf Chan in the past, and almost every time he missed out due to them signing with a different team. This time however, would be different, mainly due to all the attempts in the past, Wolf Chan told the gm he would be rewarded for his continuous efforts, and he committed to signing to the Mexico City Ocelots. There was one other good friend of Wolf Chan reaching out, but for once Wolf Chan had to disappoint him, as this time he would opt to go the other way. While Wolf Chan knows going with his friend is likely the easiest route to success, he also did not want to betray the GM that drafted him just this season. While Wolf Chan had expected more GM’s to reach out now he would become a free agent, he is also glad he did not have to disappoint many of them by saying he had already agreed to sign with a team. If it is the good choice for his career? Only time will tell, but for now Wofl Chan hopes that Ocelot fans also will be going wild each time he enters the court. With the Ocelots also having another player of the OrbitingDeath Agency in Legendary Defender Voltron, it does look that the agency will put all the pressure on the Ocelots to perform instead of spreading their chances for a title, so this is a really risky move on their part if they wish to chase for more championships. But Voltron also mentioned to the GM that he would like to stay with the team longer after they got him multiple defensive player of the year awards in a row. Words: 506

Seventeen wins. Second in the league. The Barons are right in the hunt, and every night feels like a statement. We’re clicking — offense, defense, chemistry — everything’s falling into place. Still, there’s that quiet part of me that isn’t satisfied. Watching the opening tip from the bench while the crowd’s buzzing never sits right. I want to be out there, banging in the paint, setting the tone early. That hunger doesn’t fade just because we’re winning. Coming off the bench teaches you patience. You don’t get the rhythm the starters have; you’ve got to make your own. One second you’re reading the game from the sideline, and the next you’re hearing your name. There’s no easing into it — you hit the floor, and you’ve got to produce immediately. That’s the job, and honestly, I’ve started to take pride in it. The last few games have been solid. Around fourteen minutes a night, about eight to ten points, a handful of boards. Against the Lions, I dropped fifteen and grabbed six. Against the Whiteout, I went for fourteen and twelve — my best all-around game so far. It’s not star numbers, but it’s progress. Every time I check in, I’m trying to make it impossible for Coach not to play me. This team’s built deep. Koric’s putting up MVP numbers, Elbow Drop’s cleaning glass like it’s personal, and our wings can light it up from anywhere. That kind of depth wins games, but it also means minutes are hard to come by. So instead of complaining, I’m learning to carve out a lane for myself. Energy, rebounding, interior defense — that’s how I stay useful, that’s how I build trust. I won’t lie though — it burns sometimes. You feel like you’ve done enough to earn a little more run, and then the rotation stays the same. But I’ve realized frustration doesn’t get you anywhere. Work does. So I’m in early, staying late, studying film, asking questions. If I’m going to change my role, it’s going to be through effort, not words. The Qureshi name carries weight, but it also carries history. A long line of players who battled, who fought, who came close — but never got the ring. That’s what drives me. I’m not just playing for myself; I’m playing to finally close that chapter, to bring something home this family’s never had. So yeah, I’m still coming off the bench. For now. But I’m not settling there. I’m building, piece by piece, night by night. When my chance comes, I’ll be ready — not because I expect it, but because I’ve earned it. Until then, I’ll keep doing what I do best: stay locked in, play hard, and keep earning it the hard way.

The SBDL season is back in swing and with that the Jurupa Valley Jackals are back to work. Starting off the season 12-5 as the 3 seed, most people would want to celebrate their successes, but here we would rather call out what needs to be worked on to improve the team. Today I'm going to look over the 5 losses and try and pinpoint what improvements the team should make for the future. Loss #1: Jackals 97 - 108 Lightning Rough start to the season here as the Lightning outdid the Jackals to get things going. Individually, the game doesn't look as bad, but a -6 turnover margin was a contributing factor in the team taking 19 less shots than the Lightning. Despite relative efficiency from the field, the rebound and assist deficits show how the Jackals struggled to create and that gave the Lightning a higher volume of opportunities in this season opener. If the Jackals want to be a contender in the future, shot creation is vital. Moving the ball around more and giving other players than Craig Pelton opportunities could help spread out the offensive load of the team and create a more dynamic offense that wins more games. Loss #2: Jackals 100 - 124 Whiteout Coming off of a blowout victory over the Whiteout in the second game of the season, a loss to fall to 1-2 is not what the Jackals needed momentum and morale-wise. The main factor in this one is foul trouble. Although it was only a -2 foul deficit for the Jackals, you can see in the minutes played that important starters were too quick to get into foul trouble and despite a decent offensive performance, too much was allowed on the defensive end, leading to 124 points from the Whiteout. The Jackals need to improve team defense to stay out of losses like this, but I don't knock the physical defense that leads to these fouls because that's what wins teams playoff series in the long run. Loss #3: Jackals 97 - 133 Barons After a couple bounceback games, the Jackals drop another one to fall to 4-3. It looks like in this one Konic Korcs just had his way. 22/25 from the field is unacceptable no matter how talented the player. Craig Pelton has shown tremendous offensive upside, but contenders need to be lead by guys who can do it on both ends of the ball. If Pelton is gonna allow other scoring PFs to put up numbers like that, it's going to be hard for the Jackals to compete in a lot of late playoff games. Loss #4: Jackals 109 - 118 Barons Interestingly enough, this is the closest Jackals loss of the season. The Barons are proving to be a force in the league this year and the Jackals have not been able to find an answer to their abilities quite yet. The guys did well to stay disciplined on defense, but at the end of the day if Pelton and SBDL want to take the offensive load the way they did this game they need to just make more shots. It's a pretty cut and dry statement, but the rest of the team did everything right to make this game winnable, but Pelton needs to step up and make some plays in big games like these to take down top tier teams. Loss #5: Jackals 86 - 120 Resistance Lastly, a blowout against the resistance. A lot went wrong in this game, so it's hard to pinpoint specific issues that can be worked on. At the end of the day, the team had 36 fouls and every player played much less than they normally would. It just comes down to playing disciplined, team defense to avoid foul trouble once again if they want to compete for 48 minutes every game.

Agent Eight forces her eyes open as she hears the alarm of her phone go off with the sound of the default alarm song. She once considered replacing it with one of her favorite Squid Sisters songs, but she had once heard that a good way to start hating a song was to have it as her alarm. She shakes her head awake as she turns off her alarm before checking her schedule. "Hmmm... It looks like a free day for me.." she mumbles to herself as she walks towards the bathroom to bursh her teeth. "So why did I put that alarm on... oh, right!" She quickly brushes her teeth and puts a bit of deodorant on before getting dressed and heading outside to the streets of Thunder Bay, jogging down the sidewalk. Even if she is an Octoling and not a human, she still had to do her best to keep in shape, and jogging is one of her favorite hobbies. However, she wasn't just jogging to jog today, as she had scheduled a Make-a-wish visit with the Thunder Bay Resistance for a kid named Charlotte who survived a really bad flu. Charlotte seemed excited to meet her in particular, and she was not one to like disappointing people. She soon reached the house where Charlotte lived and knocked on the door. A woman opens the door, smiling and holding back tears as she sees Eight. "Oh wow, you actually came here!" The woman says in a bit of disbelief. "My name is Sasha, and i am Charlotte's mother." "Nice to meet you, Sasha." Eight says, smiling "is Charlotte here here right now?" "Oh yes, she is in her room right now! Come on, I'll let you meet her. " Sasha leads Eight through the house until they get to a door with the name "Charlotte" on it "ok I'm sorry, but I have to ask before you go in: is there going to be an SBA expansion into Inkopolis, or are the rumors just rumors?" "I doubt that will happen, admittedly," Eight shrugs "the logistics alone would make it a pain" "Yeah I figured, I just had to ask" Sasha says before Eight enters the room, along with a cameraman. As soon as Charlotte, who was wearing a Thunder Bay Resistance jersey, saw Eight, she gasped and ran up to hug Eight, making Eight giggle a bit. "Agent Eight!" Charlotte says as she hugs Eight "you're actually here!" "Yep, I am!" Eight smiles "now I heard that you were a brave girl when you were sick" "Yeah, I sure was!" Charlotte smiles "can I show you a couple of pictures I took at one of your games?" "Why, of course you can!" Eight says before Charlotte went through a small cabinet before showing Eight a couple of pictures she took from courtside "You are one of my favorite Thunder Bay players!" Charlotte smiles "umm, could you maybe sign it?" "I would be glad too!" Eight giggles before she signs her name on both of the photos. Sh alao reached into a box and gave Charlotte an Agent Eight jersey that she herself signed. "Thank you so much, Miss Eight!" Charlotte smiles "You're welcome" Eight smiles "now I heard that you have a basketball hoop outside, so lt me show you a few moves that I have..."

After losing in the 1st round of the playoffs to the New York Rail the focus for Storm Malone was to work on his defense as the General Manager and the Coaching Staff want him to be the anchor for the Defense as they feel like Malone is the perfect guy to lead the Prowlers identity on the Defensive side. The Prowlers used the off-season to sign Point Guard Finn McBuckets who played for the Oklahoma City Rampage to a 2 year contract he averaged 16.4 Points, 7.2 Rebounds, 8.1 Assists, 2,4 Steals shooting 47% from the field 70% from the line and 42% from downtown. They also signed Power Forward Keishin Kamado to a 3 year contract who previously played for the Seattle Knights averaging 29.8 Points, 9 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1.7 Steals, 2.5 Blocks Shooting 54% from the field, 88% from the line and 28% from downtown and nearly given the Knights their 5th Title as a franchise losing a tough 7 game series to the Rush. In the Playoffs Kamado averaged 32.1 Points, 10.3 Rebounds, 4.2 Assists, 2.6 Steals and 3.3 Blocks shooting 57% from the field, 92% from the line and 33% from downtown and they brought back Donzila McGuff for a one year deal you have to wonder if this is McGuff last year as he is still looking for his 1st championship in his 11th season. With the roster all set for the Prowlers Malone was able to work on Post Defense, Shot Blocking, Stealing and Perimeter Defense during the off-season and he want to see how much progress he had made from working on it. Malone on the Roster: "We are definitely confident that we made a lot of improvement in the off-season when you added Finn McBuckets who is a intriguing Point Guard that can defend and be a very unselfish Floor General for the team and then you got a Excellent Power Forward who nearly led the Seattle Knights to the SBA Title last year in Kamado. It is a great off-season for us and now it is up to us the players to make sure that we would be able to step up when we get on the court and we are looking forward to see how far we can go as a team." On the Off-Season activity: "I have made sure that I focused on Defense throughout the off-season as the Coaches and the Front Office counted on me to make sure that I would be the Anchor for the Defense so I was worked on every facets of it whether it was Post Defense, Shot Blocking, Perimeter Defense or Stealing. I feel like we have enough pieces that can contribute on the offensive side with Kamado and Montoya leading the way and you can sprinkle in some of McBuckets, McGuff and myself if needed. But on the Defense I have to make sure that the identity of the Philadelphia Prowlers is for us to still be one of the top defensive teams in the league and if we aren't then I know that it is on me because I didn't do enough."

VHL Affiliate Check

An Affiliate Check is a PT you can do once a month, for 1 TPE. In order to perform an Affiliate Check, you must post a link in your Affiliate Check thread to a VHL.com quote or point task. It grants you 1 TPE. You are also required to have one player in the affiliate league and copy paste or extremely similar quotes won't be tolerated. Users attempting to skirt the spirit of the rule are subject to League review and may be banned from participating in this task. All TPE earned from Affiliate Checks will be Uncapped, and is usable by both SBDL and SBA players alike. A new thread for posting will be made every month.

What an interesting offseason it was. We got to see the Rush finally win a title after two close tries. We got to see Certified Boogeyman win another MVP to cement his place among the greats. We got to see a solid draft class getting onto teams and some trades happening. We got the news of contraction, with 4 teams looking to be contracted at the end of the season and GMs taking over for 4 of the existing teams. What is in store for the next SBA season? The first question is how many of the four teams will make a strong push to the playoffs and see how far they go? They all have nothing more to lose and have the freedom to go to any team afterwards. Where they land is an interesting topic to follow, but until then, how far the four teams go - from making the playoffs to going deep into them - will be a topic to follow. How will the vets do this season? R.J. Bedard, Onyeabor Nnamaka, and Dovydas Zukauskas all have regressed a bit. Certified Boogeyman retired. Who will now take the mantle and be the most dominant player in the league? Will we see a guard like Montoya take over as MVP? Will Bedard or Nnamaka have one last big run like the Boogeyman? Will Larrubia, Archambeau, or Kamado take that next leap to stardom? Lastly, how will the Boston Minutemen do? Will they be able to successfully transition with their youth? Or will they go through periods of rebuilding? I can't wait to see how the new season transpires to see how the questions above get answered. Words: 277

The Quiet Months: When the Off-Season Turns from Rest to Restlessness By Staff Columnist — SBA Insider Network There’s a stillness that settles over the sport once the final horn sounds. It’s supposed to feel like peace. Instead, it often feels like purgatory. For a few fleeting days, maybe even a week, the silence is welcome. Bodies ache. Minds hum. Players exhale after months of living on adrenaline and alarm clocks. They sleep in. They heal. They find beaches, mountains, families, or isolation. Then the quiet becomes too loud. What was meant to be a season of recovery starts to feel like withdrawal — a kind of off-season boredom that grips both the professionals who play the game and the fans who live for it. The arenas go dark, the highlight reels stop updating, and the rhythm of competition fades. That rhythm, it turns out, was the pulse of everything. --- The Calendar Collapse During the regular season, life revolves around structure: shoot-around, lift, film, travel, tip-off, repeat. Every day has a purpose. Every minute has a direction. Then, overnight, it’s gone. Players wake up without an itinerary. They find themselves pouring cereal at 10 a.m., wondering what to do next. The routine that once exhausted them suddenly feels like something they can’t live without. For many athletes, that structure is identity. Without it, the days blur. The gym becomes optional. The competitive edge dulls — not out of laziness, but out of disorientation. What do you chase when there’s nothing left to chase for months? --- Fans Feel It Too The off-season isn’t just hard on players. It’s brutal on fans. During the season, every night offers a narrative — underdogs rising, contenders flexing, rivalries burning. Social feeds light up, debates rage, and the next matchup is always just hours away. Then, nothing. No game-day routines. No energy. No reason to refresh the score app. You can feel the communal heartbeat slow. It’s in the quiet of living rooms once filled with the sound of broadcasters and sneakers squeaking. It’s in the absence of highlight clips that usually dominate timelines. It’s in the strange emptiness of evenings that used to belong to the game. The off-season makes you realize how much of your year revolved around that energy — and how empty it feels when it’s gone. --- The Illusion of Rest People outside the sport often romanticize the off-season. They imagine months of relaxation, beaches, and luxury — a well-earned vacation. The truth is more complicated. Sure, there’s travel. There’s family time. There are days with no alarms. But there’s also pressure — to improve, to stay relevant, to return stronger. There’s no such thing as true rest when the next season is already looming. Every player has seen what happens when someone wastes the off-season. Someone else takes their minutes. Someone else earns the contract. Someone else keeps the hunger burning while others cool off. The boredom is real — but the fear of being left behind is even more powerful. So players lift. They run. They analyze film. They grind quietly, trying to stay sharp while pretending to rest. It’s not really an off-season. It’s just the preseason that hasn’t started yet. --- When Time Slows Down There’s a psychological shift that happens during the off-season — one that can be hard to describe unless you’ve lived it. The world slows down. The clock loses meaning. Without games to anchor the week, time stretches like taffy. Players joke about “off-season brain” — the fog that creeps in when competition disappears. They forget what day it is. They lose that spark of constant readiness. Everything feels… suspended. The hardest part isn’t the physical break — it’s the mental idleness. That constant need to be in motion doesn’t just turn off. It has nowhere to go. So they fill the gaps — workouts, interviews, training camps, side hobbies. But the truth is, none of it feels the same as walking into a packed arena, hearing the crowd, and knowing it’s go time. That energy can’t be replicated. And its absence is deafening. --- The Search for Purpose The great secret of every professional sport is that competition provides clarity. When the game is happening, every goal is obvious: win tonight, improve tomorrow, survive the grind. Without it, purpose becomes abstract. Some players throw themselves into training; others into charity work or mentorship. A few use the quiet to pursue degrees or business ventures. But for many, there’s a gnawing emptiness that those things can’t quite fill. The roar of the crowd, the rhythm of the game — it’s a kind of oxygen. When that oxygen disappears, they start to question things they never questioned before. Who am I without the game? What’s next if it all stops? Am I doing enough to be ready when it returns? That self-reflection can be healthy. It can also be haunting. --- The Economics of the Off-Season Even for teams and leagues, the off-season creates anxiety. Ticket offices go quiet. Merchandise sales dip. Streaming numbers fall off a cliff. Marketing departments scramble to keep fans engaged with “off-season content.” Front offices try to spin every signing, every rumor, every trade into something to talk about. Because they know: silence is dangerous. In a world of constant entertainment, fans have options. If the sport doesn’t hold their attention, something else will. And every off-season, a few fans drift away and don’t come back. Keeping the fire alive during these months is a battle in itself. --- The Players Who Thrive in the Boredom But not everyone suffers in the quiet. Some players need it. They use the off-season like monks use solitude — a time for reinvention. They rebuild their bodies, refine their craft, and find peace in the grind itself. These are the ones who walk into next season transformed — stronger, sharper, focused. You can always tell who embraced the boredom and who let it eat them. For the dedicated few, the silence is opportunity. For everyone else, it’s temptation — to slack off, to drift, to lose momentum. That’s why coaches always say the real winners of next season are built right now, when no one’s watching. --- The Off-Season Myths There are three great myths about the off-season: 1. That players are resting. Most aren’t. They’re training, traveling, rehabbing, meeting agents, and trying to balance a life that doesn’t pause. 2. That teams are idle. Front offices are the opposite of idle — they’re wheeling, dealing, scouting, drafting, and planning for months ahead. 3. That fans stop caring. They don’t. They just go quiet. They wait. They count down the days until there’s something to care about again. The boredom of the off-season is shared, universal, and almost sacred — because it proves how much the game matters to everyone involved. --- The Human Side of Stillness Strip away the contracts, stats, and media cycles, and what you have left are people — athletes who have spent most of their lives defined by motion. To suddenly stand still can feel like standing outside your own body. The habits that carried you for years — the film sessions, team flights, packed arenas — all fade. You start to feel… ordinary. For a few months, the game forgets you. That’s a strange kind of loneliness — not painful, just hollow. And it’s what drives so many back to the gym early, long before anyone asks them to return. They’re not running from rest. They’re running toward purpose. --- Why the Off-Season Matters Anyway As frustrating as it feels, the boredom serves a purpose. It resets perspective. It reminds players what they love — and why they love it. By the time training camp rolls around, that boredom turns to fuel. The first whistle, the first scrimmage, the first shot through the net — they all hit harder because of the silence that came before them. The off-season is a test of patience, identity, and inner drive. The ones who survive it return hungrier than ever. The ones who fight it return drained before the season even starts. Either way, it changes everyone. --- A Sport Waiting to Wake Up Somewhere right now, a gym light flickers on before dawn. A player laces up shoes no camera will ever see. A coach scribbles on a whiteboard, planning drills for next month. An arena staffer checks the seats, waiting for the crowd that will soon return. That’s what makes this sport special — the quiet always ends. The boredom is just the pause before the heartbeat kicks again. And when the first game of the new season tips off, the months of silence will vanish in an instant, replaced by that familiar thunder. Players will remember why they love the grind. Fans will remember why they missed it. And everyone, for a few beautiful hours, will remember that the wait was worth it. --- Until Then The off-season stretches on, and the boredom lingers — heavy, dull, familiar. But beneath it lies anticipation. Every passing day brings the next chapter closer. Every empty court will soon echo again. And every restless player will soon find their rhythm. That’s the paradox of the off-season: the stillness feels endless, but it’s always just the calm before the storm. The boredom doesn’t mean the game is fading. It means it’s getting ready to roar again.

It’s been a while. Feels weird saying that, but it’s true. The Qureshi name has been around this league for generations, and now it’s my turn to carry it forward — Saheel Qureshi VI, a center with something to prove. When I showed up again, I felt that familiar mix of nerves and nostalgia. The locker-room banter, the media buzz, the sound of sneakers on hardwood — it all came rushing back. But what really hit me was the history. This name isn’t new here. It’s been through every position, every storyline, every high and low you can imagine. The first Saheel Qureshi started it all as a PG/SG, the fearless kid who didn’t know when to stop shooting. He laid the foundation — rough edges and all. Then Jr. came along and refined it, turning swagger into results. He was the one who finally brought home some hardware — Shooting Guard of the Year — still the crown jewel of the family. III shifted things inside, playing C/PF, showing everyone that a Qureshi could bang in the paint too. He had grit, and he earned respect the hard way. After him came IV, the dreamer. A talented SG/PG with potential written all over him — but he never made it to the SBA. Life got in the way before he could get his shot. Then there was V, the SG/PF who was supposed to bring the family back to form. He had flashes of brilliance, but let’s be honest — he was sub-par at best. Consistency never came, and neither did the spotlight. That’s where I come in. VI. The reboot. The reset. The one who’s not here to chase ghosts or live off nostalgia. I’m not pretending to be Jr. 2.0 or trying to recreate some old glory run. I’m a Center, and I’m here to own the paint. The goal is simple — dominate quietly. No drama, no excuses, just hard screens, strong boards, and a presence that can’t be ignored. It feels different this time. I’m older, calmer, and honestly more grounded. The league’s evolved — the pace, the talent, the competition — but so have I. I’m not chasing awards anymore; I’m chasing respect. Respect from teammates who trust me to anchor the defense. Respect from opponents who think twice before driving my way. Respect from the league that once saw “Qureshi” as just a familiar last name on another box score. This time, I’m here for the long haul. The Qureshi line has had stars, disappointments, and everything in between. But every version added something to the name — even the ones who fell short. They taught me that legacy isn’t about trophies. It’s about showing up again and again, refusing to let your story end unfinished. So yeah, the sixth Qureshi is back. The name’s got weight to it, and I plan to make sure it still means something. Call it a comeback, call it redemption — whatever it is, I’m here to make it real.

Nicely done I would like to see more of the ballot work.

In an effort to be clear with my thought process when voting, here was my ballot and my logic as to why I voted as I did in as clear of a manner as possible. I want to be able to do the best job possible in future endeavors of voting for awards, so I want to be able to reassess my voting logic if necessary. Thus, feel free to comment on any critiques y’all have or inconsistencies y’all find. Without further ado, here is my ballot (in the order that they were presented in the awards show). Rookie of the Year: 1. Johnny Karate 2. Kawhi Stoudamire 3. Kayson Moore The above was my ballot for ROTY. While yes Karate was one of my players on the Battalion, I felt that he deserved top billing. He entered onto a Battalion team filled with talent and immediately became one of their most trusted scorers. He led rookies in points by a wide margin of 7.9 points and also did so with the 3rd best efficiency (only behind Makhtar Dione and Storm Malone) out of all of the rookies that I heavily considered for ROTY. He also put up respectable numbers throughout the rest of the stat sheet and led rookies in PER, VA, and EWA. Looking at some of the other rookies that had stellar seasons, the main ones that stood out to me were Stoudamire, Moore, Machiatto, Malone, and Dione. I liked the stat totals and efficiency that Stoudamire was able to put up on a team that wasn’t devoid of talent, so it’s not like he walked in and was immediately the best player on offense and defense like some of the other rookies. Also, I had Moore as 3rd on my ballot because he just seemed to on average have better stats all-around than the other 3 rookies that made my top 6. Maybe I should have taken into account usage a bit more in my considerations, but I can’t change that now. Additionally, putting more thought into it, I realize that I was probably undervaluing Machiatto’s defensive impact (especially compared to the other 5 that I was considering for ROTY). However, I left him off of my ballot because of the gap between him and the others in scoring and his significantly worse efficiency at scoring (he had a TS% of .509 and a PPS of 1.10, while the next worst was Stoudamire with a TS% of .588 and a PPS of 1.32). In the same way, I was probably underestimating Malone’s efficiency given he also averaged less minutes than his competitors for ROTY. In the end, I feel like my ballot for ROTY seemed to prioritize the ability to score and score efficiently, while also incorporating the ability of the player to impact the game in more than just scoring (which led to Stoudamire and Moore being chosen over the field, given both of the former averaged 8.5+ more points than Machiatto and stuffed their stat sheets more than Malone and Dione). 6th Man: 1. Clyde Cannon II 2. Hera Hernandez 3. Obsidian Starquake My vote for 6MOTY was a lot more straightforward. In my opinion, there were not a ton of viable players for the award due to not many bench players getting consistent, quality minutes. In the end, I liked the scoring, efficiency, and defense for Cannon put him over the edge for first. Then came Hernandez with slightly lower scoring and defense than Cannon, but improved assist numbers. Last came Starquake because I liked the defensive impact that he made. Most Improved: 1. RJ Bedard 2. Manuel Montoya 3. Tez Wells The next award I will discuss is MIP. This might be a really interesting one given I left the award winner completely off of my ballot. That is because I felt that all of the three players I have on my ballot made larger jumps in their play. RJ Bedard increased his output by 9.4 points per game (ppg), 2.1 rebounds per game (rpg), and 0.5 stocks per game (stpg). He did all of this while making a massive leap in efficiency (an increase of .032 in TS% and 0.14 in PPS) and only increasing his usage by 2.6. Next I had Montoya, who increased his output by 10.6 ppg and 1.6 rpg. However, the main reason why I did not have him above Bedard is because Montoya put up a worse assist/turnover (A/T) ratio and worse scoring efficiency, all while also posting a larger increase in usage (an increase of 8.6). Lastly, I had Wells third on my ballot. This is because his output increased by 12.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 assists per game (apg), and 0.9 stpg. Wells falls third because part of his increase was due to a large increase in minutes (with an increase in usage of 4.5), but he stays above the other competitors for third due to how Wells also saw an increase in efficiency (which the major competitors did not show). As for Martin, he only increased his output by 6.4 ppg and 1.0 rpg while posting roughly similar numbers in scoring efficiency and having a usage increase of 5.3. On the other hand, Larrubia (who ended up third in the final tally) posted a decrease in scoring of 6.4 ppg while also posting no major increases elsewhere across the board. GMOTY: 1. Fonzigg 2. Goosharp 3. Jeff I voted for fonzigg first due to their dominance this season (and how they were significantly better than other teams throughout the season). I voted for goosharp second due to the increase in wins from the previous season to the latest one. I voted for jeff third due to the increase in wins and how well he was able to do without any major star players on the team. In an effort to not have this go on forever (and due to not having the time to do so), I plan to be a bit more brief regarding the positional awards. Looking through my ballot again, I am seeing that a few things that stood out to me in my voting was that I definitely had an emphasis on both efficiency and making an all-around impact on the game. So without further ado, here was how I voted for the positional awards as well as the two penultimate awards. PGOTY: 1. Manuel Montoya 2. Sofia Pavlovske 3. Kitty O'Sullivan Krauss I look for PGs that can drive the offense forward and make an all-around impact. Montoya was the best in that manner in scoring (no one else that I was deeply considering was within 10 ppg of Montoya), was among the best in efficiency (only Demirel was significantly better), was the 2nd best PG at rebounding, led all PGs in stpg, and still put up very respectable numbers in apg with 9.4 (good enough for 14th in the league). For second, I leaned towards Pavlovske due to being the next best scorer while also leading the league in apg. For third, I ended up deciding on Krauss due to similar reasons as Pavlovske, just a little bit worse in most stats while having a bit better efficiency and rebounding. I heavily considered putting Demirel at second or third due to the difference in efficiency between him and the other two PGs. However, I ended up deciding against it because Demirel only led Pavlovske in efficiency and by 0.3 stpg. In the same way he only led Krauss by 2.8 ppg, 0.4 stpg, and in efficiency. SGOTY: 1. Kianna Ann Marcoux 2. Folarin Osaze 3. Corey Caius I again seemed to lean a bit towards an all-around impact on the game and scoring efficiency for this award. Osaze led Marcoux in ppg (by 3.1), rpg (by 0.7), apg (by 0.9), and A/T (0.18). However, I chose Marcoux due to having significantly better efficiency (a difference of .040 TS% and 0.12 PPS) and putting up better defensive numbers (0.4 more stpg). Lastly, I put Caius third on my ballot. While he was a better scorer than both Marcoux and Osaze (6.5 ppg more than Osaze and 9.6 more than Marcoux) and had good efficiency (was roughly halfway in between the two players in TS% and PPS), he was a significantly worse passer (he had less than half the number of assist while also having roughly the same number of turnovers) and to me his scoring did not outweigh that. SFOTY: 1. Louis Archambeau 2. Sergio Larrubia 3. James Knight Jr. As has been the case with previous positional player awards, I leaned towards all-around impact once again. This led to Archambeau being first on my ballot due to the best all-around stats and by far the best efficiency. Next I had Larrubia and Knight Jr., but I leaned towards Larrubia due to the better efficiency. PFOTY: 1. RJ Bedard 2. Dovydas Zukauskas 3. Certified Boogeyman This was probably the hardest positional award for me to decide because I felt that there were five standout candidates: Bedard, Zukauskas, Boogeyman, Dawson, and LeftUndone. All five of them were strong candidates and I felt like I was trying to split hairs as I was deciding. However, I decided on Bedard as first due to him being the best all-around player (in terms of non-scoring stats) and having the 2nd/3rd best efficiency (was .003 lower than Zukauskas in TS% but 0.03 higher in PPS), while also being 5th in the league in ppg at 36.7 (which was only 8 ppg behind Boogeyman). Next, I had Zukasukas ahead of Boogeyman due to putting up more non-scoring stats and having better efficiency. Then, I had Boogeyman for his scoring being just a bit too much for the other 2 candidates to overcome in other areas. I was contemplating putting Dawson ahead of Boogeyman due to Dawson being arguably the 2nd best PF in non-scoring stats and having the highest efficiency, but I ended up not doing so due to the sizable gap in ppg. I felt that LeftUndone also deserved recognition, but in the end I left him off my ballot due to LeftUndone not standing out over any of the other candidates in any one particular metric. COTY: 1. Onyeabor Nnamaka 2. Traffic Cone 3. Duke Silver I have Nnamaka first due to stuffing the stat sheet in every way. He was 2nd among Cs in ppg (only 0.6 behind Martin for 1st) while also leading Cs in scoring efficiency. Next, I have Cone due to him being one of the best defensive players in the league, being productive in all facets of the game, and having decent efficiency to go with it. Lastly, I have Silver primarily due to scoring and efficiency, but also from putting up respectable numbers throughout the rest of the stat sheet. I contemplated putting Martin 3rd due to his ppg numbers. However, I leaned towards Silver instead because Martin’s better scoring and rebounding numbers were not enough in my opinion to offset Martin having worse defensive numbers and efficiency. Defensive Player: 1. Legendary D Voltron 2. Traffic Cone 3. Armando Dawson This award seemed pretty simple to me. Voltron led the league by a wide margin in stpg with 6.7 (second had 6.0 and third had 5.6) while also anchoring a top 5 defense in the league. Cone was 2nd because he was 4th in stpg while leading the league’s best defense. Dawson was 3rd due to leading the league in steals per game (which is uncommon for a big), having respectable stpg numbers, and anchoring a top defense. I was contemplating whether I should have Nunez or Adediran third, but I decided against it due to poor defensive efficiency for Nunez and Dawson anchoring a slightly better defense than Adediran. Thinking back maybe I should have had Adediran ahead of Dawson, but I can’t change it now and it wouldn’t have made a difference so I’m not going to worry about it too much. MVP: 1. RJ Bedard 2. Dovydas Zukauskas 3. Onyeabor Nnamaka For MVP, I tried to value both individual statistics and total impact on the player’s team when coming to my decision. This resulted in me having my top 3 as Bedard, Zukauskas, and Nnamaka. I realize that maybe I should have had Boogeyman or Cone on my ballot in second and/or third place instead of one of those three players. On one hand, if I had weighed the impact the player had on their team more than I should have had Boogeyman on my ballot (due to perhaps being more impactful given he had less star talent around him). However I decided against this due to how (in my opinion) both Zukauskas and Nnamaka put up better stats while also leading their teams to similar records. On the other hand, if I had weighed the success of the team more than I should have had Cone on my ballot (due to being the best all-around player on the best team) and Bedard off of my ballot (due to “only” leading his team to the playoffs). However, I leaned against this due to how I would argue that it is not a clear cut decision that Cone was the best player on the Rush and how Bedard led a team that was devoid of talent to the playoffs. Those were just my (not so) brief ramblings about who I put on my ballot for SBA awards and why I voted for them. Feel free to ask any questions you may have about my ballot or point out any inconsistencies in any of my logic because all feedback is greatly appreciated. Word Count: roughly 2322

After a grueling freshman season in the SBDL, Craig Pelton has taken no time off before ramping up for the new year. Working hard into the playoff series where the Jackals fell short last season, he says that he was majorly disappointed in his and the team as a whole's performances. He says he took last year as a learning experience and he's going to pick up where he left off, developing his jumpshot, improving his feel for the game, and overall making his skillset more applicable at the professional level. Uncapping alongside defensive menace Magnus Stenberg, Pelton says he's excited to see what the duo can accomplish in the upcoming year. He says that he's ready to be the main man and act as an engine to power the Jackals offense as he works to become an effective scorer at all three levels. On his goals for the season, Pelton had more comments for the media. He said he's gunning for an OPOTY level season and hoping that a scoring input like that can power the team to another playoff berth and hopefully a deeper run. However, he said at the end of the day he just wants to prove himself to be a valuable SBA piece that teams can look at in the draft as a future star. He admits his game isn't polished enough to be looked at yet, but he's ready to put in work and mold to whatever teams may need. He says that he grew up watching highlights of the Rooklyn teams from the 50s and the Bullets are his dream destination, always wanting to live near New York and play for a storied franchise. For that reason he's also mentioned the Rail as a team he'd love to play for in the future. At the end of the day, Pelton just wants to make sure his name is known and people respect his game. He knows that the team comes first, but he's focused on ensuring that whilst getting his team wins that the people watching the games can't ignore him like he was ignored growing up. He wants to be a household name at Greendale Community College in Colorado in the way that alumnus Porter Rose has a hold on the school. It's not easy to get that kind of status at a high prestige junior college like Greendale, but Pelton has repeatedly proven that he's willing to put in the work to achieve his lofty, ambitious goals and anyone who doubts him is likely to regret it with this upcoming season. If you haven't already, now's the time to start paying attention because Pelton and the Jackals are prepared to put the league on notice and run the SBDL this season.

Another week to throw together another beautiful article, this one however, is different. If you’re wondering why I will gladly tell you. Jordan Cook is now a champion, and wow, it is a great feeling. I’d highly recommend if you’ve never won a SBA Championship I’d go get you one, it is the best feeling. The only issue is though, in order to win one you will have to beat the Los Angeles Rush who have been overwhelmingly impressive, but they are starting to age and maybe some other teams will have a chance but it’s not likely. The Rush are run so incredibly well by fonzi that there may never be a fall off, unless of course he was to stop GMing the team but that's not something we want to talk about and not what we are here to discuss anyways. Winning a championship in a sim league is always such an incredible feeling, it means your articles are paying off, it means your weekly updates are paying off, and to be the guy that was the GM or setting strats makes it that much more sweet. Now I certainly wasn’t in that position for the Rush win, but I have been there for other leagues and it is absolutely incredible. It means that not only did you win that ring, you helped a whole team of real people get there and win it. It really makes you wonder what winning a championship in a real professional league feels like. If winning a sim league one is so sweet I can only imagine the feeling of a real championship, imagining winning the NBA Finals or the Super Bowl is just an unreal feeling. Let’s talk Jordan Cook goals for this upcoming season, the goal is to just become an even more overwhelmingly good defensive player. The 3 point shooting has leveled up the offensive production a lot so defense can be the main focus for quite a bit, and maybe I can loop back around to offense a little later in my career, but I guess that remains to be seen. For me, Dame, I’m unsure what the future holds, I have some interest in GMing, I absolutely love GMing in sim leagues and basketball is one of my favorite sports so it would be awesome to GM over here, only issue is my personal life has been incredibly busy as of late, so I wouldn’t have much time to GM in yet another league. It's even starting to get slightly difficult to get these point tasks done each week, when for a while there I was getting them done right at roll over and getting all my earning done almost immediately. I am really looking forward to this next SBA season. I think the Rush have a chance to repeat, and then we will see what the team looks like after that. Maybe next season is the one to test free agency? Maybe not, playing with Tim Bradford makes it hard and he and Jordan Cook are very close friends. I guess we will see when the season is over.