Griffin, 20 later this month, will be the first teenager to appear in the big leagues since Elvis Luciano and Juan Soto in 2019. The No. 9 pick in the 2024 Draft skyrocketed through the minors last season, slashing .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 steals while climbing from Low Class-A to Double-A. Griffin is 7 for 16 (.438) with three doubles in five Triple-A games this year.
The rap on Griffin during his amateur days was that he had every tool but the hit tool, the most important of the bunch. It was encouraging, then, to see him ease concerns about his swing-and-miss during his first pro season. He connected on more than 75% of his attempts while showing off the power (he cleared the 114 mph threshold) and speed (he stole 65 bases) combination that gave him a high ceiling. Griffin even kept his strikeout rate under 24% during a 21-game stint in Double-A, suggesting that he wasn’t just feasting on younger pitchers or those with less raw talent. Knowing when to adjust priors is one of the trickiest parts of evaluating players. Given everything about Griffin’s year, it would be silly to ignore how much higher his chances of reaching his star ceiling are now than they were 365 days ago.
It should be noted there are not service time games being played here. Griffin did not spend enough time in the minors this year to push his free agency back. The Pirates will control him from 2026-31, though if the two sides complete their reported nine-year extension, service time will be moot, and Griffin will be tied to the Pirates for nine years.
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Griffin is being called up early enough that he will accrue a full year of service time and thus be eligible for a Prospect Promotion Incentive pick. Those are extra draft picks given to teams that do not manipulate the service time of top 100 prospects. To get a pick for Griffin, he would need to win Rookie of the Year, or finish top three in the MVP voting in one of his pre-arbitration seasons between 2026 and 2028. (The extension would also have to be signed after he appears in a game.)
The Pirates are 3-3 in the early going. Thursday is a team off-day, then they’ll take on the Baltimore Orioles in Friday’s home opener. Utility man Jared Triolo has started five of the team’s six games at shortstop. Nick Gonzales has started the other.
A nine-year extension would still allow Griffin to become a free agent at age 28.
Oct 14, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kirk Cousins during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has made some good money during his long NFL career. He’s known as a player who always signs fully guaranteed contracts. In fact, the last time his salary wasn’t guaranteed was over a decade ago, in Washington, during the final year of his rookie contract.
On Thursday, he announced that his next stop will be the Las Vegas Raiders, where he’ll mentor the likely first overall pick, Fernando Mendoza.
Dec 29, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) celebrates after a victory over the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
His deal with his new squad has turned some heads. ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed the inflated numbers in a tweet, saying:
Comp update: Kirk Cousins will sign a five-year, $172 million deal with the Raiders that in reality is a one-year, fully-guaranteed $20 million deal that also contains a club option for two years at $80M.
The Falcons will pay Cousins $8.7 million this season, the Raiders another $1.3 million and Las Vegas also agreed to pay its new QB a fully-guaranteed $10 million roster bonus on the third day of the 2027 new league year.
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And maybe most notably, it also sets another new mark: this will be the 11th straight NFL season in which Cousins’ contract will be fully guaranteed.
He ultimately used a bunch of words to describe a contract that will be shredded in a year. The last four years of the five-year deal are pretty much made up. Cousins will make $20 million for one season. Of that salary, his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, will be on the hook for $8.7 million. Las Vegas will pay the other $11.3 million.
Aug 8, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) on the sideline against the Detroit Lions in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
But there’s one caveat that Atlanta can’t be happy about. The roster bonus will be due in March of 2027. Therefore, it doesn’t count against this year’s money he’s owed by Atlanta. Cousins had $10 million of guaranteed money left on his deal when the Falcons released him. He’d make that money whether he’s sitting on a beach or playing for someone else.
These contracts have offset language, however, meaning his new salary will reduce the money the old team has to pay him. The Vikings benefit from that rule multiple times this year. Because the Bengals pay Jonathan Allen more than the Vikings owed him, they no longer owe him that money.
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Cousins found a way to get the money from the Falcons, but also make more than they would’ve paid him.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio commented, “It seems too easy, too convenient. Cousins’s market value was $20 million. The Raiders found a way to get him there by making the Falcons pay $8.7 million of it. The Falcons, frankly, should be pissed. It’s one thing to sign a guy to a one-year deal for the minimum and to stick his former team with the rest of it, like Tagovailoa and Murray did. It’s another to come up with a way to pay Cousins more than the money he’s owed by the Falcons by bumping some of the guarantee into the next year.”
The Vikings got Kyler Murray for the same $1.3 million while the Arizona Cardinals are stuck with over $35 million. If the Raiders signed Cousins for $5 million, the Falcons would pay the remaining $5 million. If Las Vegas signed Cousins for $10 million or more, Atlanta would owe nothing.
Dec 8, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) and Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell talk after the game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
Long story short, the Falcons still owe Cousins $8.7 million of his initial $10 million, while the Raiders pay him the difference. Then, Cousins will get another $10 million next year that doesn’t count towards that Falcons money due to contract magic.
Next offseason, Cousins will likely be released and land on the open market once again, as the two-year. $80 million club option triggers in March and it would be shocking if Cousins played well enough to be worth that.
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According to Over the Cap, Cousins ranks third in NFL history in career earnings. He’ll likely be passed by some players who entered the league after him in the near future, but as his earnings appraoch $350 million, he can’t be too mad about that.
Roman Reigns had a heartfelt interaction with a young fan. He also shared a nice message for the fan.
Reigns is one of the biggest stars in the world of professional wrestling. He has gained a massive fan following over the years. Given that Reigns’ appearances are treated as box office, he always gets a huge pop when he shows up. While he puts on the tough persona of someone who doesn’t care about anyone else but himself, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Thanks for the submission!
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The OTC recently granted a wish for a young fan named Javion. The former WWE Champion even went the extra mile and posted the pictures of his interaction with the young fan on Instagram with a heartfelt message. This was out of character for Reigns.
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“It was a pleasure meeting you and your family, Javion. Keep pushing, and keep inspiring others. I can’t wait to see your growth and what you do in the future. ☝🏽”
Check out his post here:
Trick Williams wants to face Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is one of the most sought-after stars on the WWE roster. Therefore, there are a lot of people who want his spot. There are also a lot of stars who want to face The OTC to find out who is the best. One of those stars is Trick Williams.
“I would love to get in the ring with Booker T, but in the event that day has passed, I want to lock up with Roman Reigns, The Big Dog, The Tribal Chief. He said he’s the greatest, so let’s find out,” Williams said.
If Trick Williams keeps improving in the ring, then this match won’t be too far away.
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Lucknow Super Giants’ captain Rishabh Pant (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has made a strong appeal to Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant, asking him to commit to opening the batting throughout the IPL 2026 season. Pant’s batting position has been a major talking point heading into the new campaign, especially after a mixed run in the previous edition where he struggled for consistency apart from a lone century. In their recent clash against Delhi Capitals at Ekana Cricket Stadium, Pant promoted himself to the top but his outing was cut short by an unfortunate run-out. Opening alongside Mitchell Marsh, Pant added a left-right combination at the top, pushing the in-form Aiden Markram down to No.3. The LSG captain looked fluent during his brief stay, even striking a crisp straight drive off Mukesh Kumar, before a freak moment saw Marsh’s shot deflect onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end, catching Pant short. Reacting to the situation, Ashwin felt Pant should avoid uncertainty and stick to opening. “It was very unfortunate the way Rishabh Pant got out, and even more unfortunate the way he talked after the match. He was asked whether he would open the innings, and he replied 50-50. I request you with folded hands, please open in every match. Justin Langer, or whoever is there in the LSG team management, should go and tell Rishabh Pant to go out there and play freely in the powerplay. Go and play the entire 14 games as an opener,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. He further explained that Pant’s impact could reduce if he bats lower down the order. “If he comes into bat after the powerplay, the bowlers have a strategy to stop him. So, I think he should open the batting, for himself and for LSG as well,” he added. Pant’s record as an opener in the IPL remains limited. Across six innings at the top, he has scored 132 runs at an average of 22.00 and a strike rate of 128.16, including one half-century. Despite Ashwin’s strong stance, Pant indicated that his role is not yet finalised. “It’s still a 50-50 call, but you’ll definitely see me batting in the top order this season,” Pant said after the defeat. Reflecting on the run-out and the loss, the wicketkeeper-batter stressed the importance of moving forward quickly. “The best way to recover is to move on and not dwell on it too much. Certain things are beyond your control, and thinking about them only puts you on the back foot. It’s about looking ahead and staying positive,” he said. LSG will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by Ishan Kishan, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on April 5, where Pant’s batting position will once again be under the spotlight.
Feb 20, 2026; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford (3) jogs to the dugout in the first inning against the San Diego Padres during a Spring Training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
The Seattle Mariners activated shortstop J.P. Crawford from the 10-day injured list on Thursday.
Crawford has been sidelined due to a sore right shoulder and missed the first seven games of the season. His throwing shoulder began ailing him during spring training and his last game appearance was March 11.
The Mariners optioned infielder Ryan Bliss following Wednesday’s loss to the New York Yankees. The club also placed right-hander Ryan Loutos on waivers Thursday after initially designating him for assignment on Tuesday.
Crawford played in one rehab game at Triple-A Tacoma and went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old Crawford has played more games at shortstop (855) than anyone else in Mariners’ history. Alex Rodriguez played in 786 games at the position from 1994-2000.
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Crawford is entering his eighth season with the Mariners. He batted .265 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs in 157 games last season. The HR and RBI totals were the second-highest of his career behind the 19 home runs and 65 RBIs in 2023.
In nine big league seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (2017-18) and Mariners, Crawford has a .248 career average with 67 homers and 344 RBIs in 930 games. He won the Gold Glove in 2020.
Bliss, 26, was hitless in two at-bats with two strikeouts this season. He played in 11 games for Seattle last season and batted .200 with one homer and three RBIs.
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In 45 big league games over three seasons, Bliss has a .210 average with three homers, 12 RBIs and seven steals.
Loutos, 27, never pitched in a major league game for Seattle. He is 1-0 with a 10.67 ERA in 15 relief appearances with the St. Louis Cardinals (2024), Los Angeles Dodgers (2025) and Washington Nationals (2025).
As Tiger Woods steps away from golf and won’t be playing in the Masters next week, another golf legend won’t be on the grounds at Augusta National Golf Club.
Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson released a statement Thursday saying he won’t be playing in this year’s tournament.
“Unfortunately, I will not play in the Masters Tournament next week and will be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter,” Mickelson’s statement on social media said.
Phil Mickelson plays a shot from the fifth tee during LIV Golf South Africa at The Club at Steyn City in Johannesburg March 20, 2026.(Johan Rynners/Getty Images)
“I wish everyone the best of luck and will be watching.”
Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley also released a statement after Mickelson’s decision.
“We know how much Phil loves the Masters tournament, and he will be missed by everyone in Augusta next week,” Ridley’s statement said. “He has our complete supports as he takes time to be with his family.”
The 55-year-old Mickelson missed four LIV Golf events earlier this year, and he noted he was dealing with a “family health matter.”
Phil Mickelson walks the 16th fairway during LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind., Aug. 16, 2025.(Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
He was on the course in South Africa two weeks ago, leading his HyFlyers GC squad for the event. Mickelson finished tied for 48 in the event.
Mickelson’s Masters announcement comes after Woods stepped away from golf “to seek treatment” following a DUI arrest after a rollover crash Friday in Jupiter Island, Florida.
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Woods, a 15-time major winner and five-time Masters champion, and Mickelson sat atop the golf world, beginning in the late 1990s and through the 2010s. While Woods usually sat atop the world golf rankings, Mickelson was his toughest competitor, winning six majors over his storied career.
Phil Mickelson of HyFlyers GC walks on the first green during the semifinals of the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort Aug. 23, 2025.(Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
Michigan State hockey captain and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Matt Basgall have found a professional franchise to call home, amid his time with the Spartans coming to an end.
Basgall will be headed to the San Diego Gulls, the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. He will be heading to San Diego on an ATO contract. An ATO amateur contract is a short-term agreement allowing amateur players to play for a professional team without losing their amateur status.
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Basgall will look to get himself a three-year entry level contract with his performance.
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It’d be hard to argue that Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was not among the 15 best players in the NBA this season. He’s the league’s third-leading scorer and the only All-Star on a team that has all but clinched a spot in the 2026 playoffs. Dig through the all-in-one metrics — Box Plus/Minus, PER, VORP and the like — and he pops up in the top 15 more often than not. He’s having the most efficient shooting season of his career while remaining a plus defender — a notable development considering he’s a back-to-back All-NBA choice.
Yet Edwards won’t make All-NBA this season as he’ll fall short of the league’s controversial 65-game threshold thanks to his absence on Thursday against the Detroit Pistons with a right knee injury and illness. He can technically still appear in 65 games. But he can’t rack up 65 eligible ones (playing at least 20 minutes), because in Minnesota’s third game of the season, he left having played only three.
Missing out on All-NBA isn’t just a legacy matter for Edwards. It has tangible consequences. An All-NBA selection would have assured him supermax eligibility for the contract extension he is eligible to sign in the 2027 offseason. Now, despite already having two All-NBA picks in his back pocket, he’ll have to make it again next season to ensure that eligibility. All because, in the end, he will have missed somewhere between one and seven too many games.
If a system in which voters have the power to determine how much money a player can earn but not the amount of unavailability should dictate whether or not they can earn that extra money sounds broken to you, you’re not alone. The NBA’s 65-game awards eligibility minimum has come under fire throughout the 2025-26 season, and while Edwards is the first especially prominent borderline case to officially be ruled out, he likely won’t be the last.
Cade Cunningham, Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard are each one missed game away from ineligibility. A number of other prominent players — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and LeBron James, for instance — were never really in the hunt because of early-season absences, but those absences weren’t all necessarily created equal.
Take James. He is capable of playing in no more than 61 games this season, his fate essentially sealed by his 14-game absence to open the season. Yet he has played 1,844 minutes this season. Victor Wembanyama, who will be eligible if he plays three more times in San Antonio’s last five games, has played 1,784. He’s participated in six more games, but in terms of minutes, he has actually played about a game-and-a-half less than James has. The rule has no allowance for such situations.
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Nor does it weigh awards by prestige. When Jokić returned from his knee injury in January, it allowed him to re-enter the MVP race. However, one more absence and he not only misses out on a chance at MVP, but All-NBA as well. We all agree MVP is more historically meaningful than All-NBA. The rules even make that explicit. When supermax eligibility is determined, a player needs to make All-NBA either in the most recent season or in two of the previous three. However, an MVP at any point in the previous three seasons creates eligibility. Yet there is no distinction made between how much a player needs to play to win MVP or be named Third-Team All-NBA.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently argued that the 65-game rule is working. The consensus among fans and media seems to differ. It really depends on your definition. If the goal of awards is to establish an accurate historical record, it’s not clear what problem the rule really addresses. Voters weren’t frequently going rogue and picking 55-game MVPs. When we look back on the 2025-26 season, we’ll remember Edwards and Cunningham far more than the less deserving players who claim their spots. If the goal is to ensure that only worthy players get those bigger contracts, the rule is directly counterproductive. Minnesota would eagerly give Edwards a supermax deal with or without an All-NBA choice next year, but the borderline player who takes his spot is probably less deserving of such a contractual bump.
If these are indeed the goals of the rule, then at the very least, these sorts of common-sense exceptions are needed. The reason not to create such exceptions or meaningfully reexamine the rule is if it exists primarily as a carrot for players to chase, something to compel them to play in games they might otherwise have sat out. Considering Silver cited the idea that “there’s not nearly as much discussion around load management as there was, in part because the teams and the players have responded” to the rule, it seems like that’s the case.
And if so, it’s a shame, because Edwards really didn’t need a reason not to load manage. Before this season, he’d missed 19 games in five years. It took legitimate injuries to keep Edwards from playing 65 games, injuries that voters likely would have been more willing to forgive if given the choice.
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Instead, a season in which Edwards was almost indisputably a top-15 player won’t receive the historical or financial recognition it deserves. He wasn’t the first player punished by this broken rule, and he won’t be the last.
Manchester United are among several clubs monitoring Sandro Tonali’s situation at Newcastle ahead of the summer transfer window
16:55, 02 Apr 2026Updated 16:56, 02 Apr 2026
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Sandro Tonali has reportedly been offered to Real Madrid amid interest from Manchester United. The Manchester Evening News understands the 25-year-old is admired by the Reds and has emerged as a potential replacement for Casemiro, who is set to leave at the end of the season.
Tonali is viewed as someone who could play a major role in the Reds’ midfield rebuild and is understood to have an agreement with Newcastle allowing him to leave after three years at the club. Several Premier League sides are monitoring his situation, with Newcastle set to miss out on Champions League football, a factor that could make it harder for them to keep hold of him.
However, Spanish newspaper Diario AS (via Football Espana) claims Real Madrid have been given the chance to sign Tonali, having already carried out their due diligence this season. The Spanish giants are said to have sent a scout to Newcastle to watch the Italian in person.
That said, Tonali is not considered a ‘first‑choice’ target for Madrid, who would reportedly need to rule out other options before moving for him.
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With interest in the midfielder growing, his agent Giuseppe Riso previously suggested his client’s future would be decided after the World Cup. He said: “Everyone is waiting for the World Cup, and then a thousand situations arise, but everything starts after.”
With Italy failing to qualify for the World Cup, there is no longer any reason to postpone a decision on his future. Italy’s defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties sealed their fate, with Tonali the only Azzurri player to score in the shootout.
And while Riso said a decision would come after the World Cup, he conceded: “The transfer market essentially starts when the tournament ends. Clearly, you start setting up many negotiations now.”
Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson has made it clear that Sandro Tonali will only be allowed to leave on the club’s terms this summer.
“We haven’t got an overall strategy with regard to players out, necessarily,” he told Sky Sports when asked specifically about Tonali. We think through what players might or might not want to do this summer.
“But if an [Alexander] Isak-like scenario presents itself again, any player under contract is going to leave on our terms and we’re going to maximise the opportunity that might represent for the club. Going forward, our strategy is to buy well and sell well.
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“Buying well does not necessarily mean spending the most money. It means working in the marketplace for the players that generate the most value for this club rather than the fee paid for them.
“So there are a multitude of things we need to employ, including developing our own, looking for opportunities in the marketplace and making sure we are maximising our opportunity within the available price we can produce.”
However, with the Magpies likely to miss out on Champions League next season, a competition the Italian is keen to play in, the situation could tilt in United’s favour.
Newcastle have already been linked with a potential replacement for Tonali in French midfielder Kephren Thuram. According to Calciomercato IT, Juventus would be willing to sell him this summer for around €60million (£52m) if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Confusion around Floyd Mayweather’s rematch with Manny Pacquiao is set to continue, with the American insisting that there must be a major change between their fight, despite having already signed contracts for the spectacle.
Mayweather agreed to an exhibition contest against Mike Tyson late last year but then it was unveiled that he would return to the professional scene with a comeback against long-term rival Pacquiao this September.
However, last weekend, Mayweather claimed that he had not signed for a professional encounter and that the fight will instead be his third exhibition bout of the year – rather than an intriguing pro return at the age of 49 years old.
Speaking to ESPN, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, Jas Mathur, claimed that ‘Team Mayweather is insisting on the fight being changed from a sanctioned professional bout to an exhibition’ but that the fight remains on, despite ‘TBE’ being in breach of his contract.
“As of right now, the fight is still on. There is no termination of any sort, and he has signed for a professional fight.
“Floyd is officially in breach of his contract. He’s been in a breach since the day he went out and said what he said on Saturday and he’s officially in a breach as of yesterday.”
Further drama is sure to unfold regarding the event, especially given that, according to Mathur, Mayweather has already profited after taking out an advance on his fight purse.
The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history.
Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego.
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To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the second of two players who wore the No. 77 jersey for the Warriors.
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Mar 21, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Golden State Warriors center Omer Yurtseven (77) shoots over Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
That player would be Golden State big man alum Omer Yurtseven. After ending his college career at Georgetown, Yurtseven went unselected in the 2020 NBA Draft, playing in other leagues until he signed with the Miami Heat in 2021.
The Tashkent, Uzbekistan native played the first two seasons of his pro career with Miami. He also played for the Utah Jazz before he signed with the Dubs in 2026, and he remains with the team at the time of writing.
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During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Yurtseven wore only jersey No. 77 and put up 3.2 points and as many rebounds per game.
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All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
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