But something has shifted this year. It’s like a jolt of energy hit the locker room. The team’s chemistry is the best it’s been in a while—guys are genuinely enjoying playing together, supporting each other, and buying in. Leading the charge? Joel Embiid, who’s playing like an All-Star again.
All-Star bench players haven’t been revealed yet, and while it’s tough to crack the East frontcourt with how stacked it is, Embiid is right there in the conversation. Besides Nikola Jokic, he’s basically the only center averaging over 25 points per game league-wide right now. If he keeps this up, he should be a lock.
With a healthy Embiid leading the way, and Tyrese Maxey playing at an MVP-candidate level next to him, this Sixers team has no real ceiling. The roster mixes young upside with Hall of Fame-caliber vets like Paul George, and the pieces are starting to click. We’re sitting in a solid spot in the standings, and the Eastern Conference looks weaker than usual—especially with stars like Jayson Tatum (Achilles) and Tyrese Haliburton dealing with major injuries that are keeping them sidelined or limited.
The trade deadline is right around the corner, and it’s a must that the Sixers act as buyers. Daryl Morey needs to add the right depth or a missing piece to maximize this win-now window before those other teams get their guys back healthy.
The Associated Press named Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua a finalist for their Offensive Player of the Year
As the Los Angeles Rams are preparing to face the Seattle Seahawks for a chance to go to Super Bowl LX, one of their players is making headlines for his performance during the regular season. The Associated Press named Rams wide Receiver Puka Nacua as one of five finalists for their Offensive Player of the Year.
Nacua also earned Pro-Bowl and First-team All Pro Honors for his performance this past season. The 24-year old has been with the Rams since they drafted him in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft.
This past season, Nacua had a league-leading 129 receptions and 1,715 total yards, second highest in the NFL, to average 13.3 yards per carry, and had 11 touchdowns as the Rams went 12-5. Additionally, he was a part of an offensive squad that averaged 30.5 points per game, which was the highest in the NFL.
His most recent game was Jan. 17 against the Chicago Bears in the divisional round, where Los Angeles won in an overtime thriller. Nacua had 56 yards on five receptions in that game.
The other four finalists for the award are: Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The winner of the award will be announced Feb. 5. Fellow Ram quarterback Matthew Stafford was named a finalist for the MVP.
The Rams will take on their division rival Seahawks Jan. 25 at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Once a spark off the bench, now the franchise pillar lighting up the league at 30.9 points per game—Maxey’s growth story is fueling the Sixers’ resurgence and a promising future in Philly.
Back in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers landed at pick 21 and snagged a promising guard from Kentucky named Tyrese Maxey. At the time, Philly was already a playoff team stacked with stars like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons (pre-drama era). For a late first-rounder, opportunities were slim—Maxey started as that instant-offense, change-of-pace spark off the bench. The tape showed flashes: quick first step, smooth pull-up, endless motor. But nobody predicted this kind of leap. What Maxey has become isn’t luck or inheritance—it’s earned through relentless growth, adaptability, and that signature breakneck pace.
Fast-forward five-plus seasons, and Maxey’s trajectory feels like buying Bitcoin early: steady climbs turning into explosive gains. He’s arguably a top-5 player in the league right now. Through 36 games this 2025-26 season (as of mid-January), he’s averaging 30.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. His shooting splits? 48.0% from the field, 40.9% from three, and 87.6% from the line—edging dangerously close to that elite 50/40/90 club on massive volume (22.4 FGA, 9.2 3PA). That’s not just scoring; it’s efficient, high-level production while playing nearly 40 minutes a night as the engine.
But stats only tell part of the story. Maxey’s real glow-up shines in leadership. Embiid and Paul George have both publicly shouted him out this season—calling him the guy who’s taken over as captain. With injuries and load management hitting the bigs hard in recent years, Maxey stepped up vocally and energetically. He’s sparked a team-wide resurgence in intensity, moxie, and belief. The Sixers, sitting at 22-16 and climbing in the East standings, feel different because of his presence—constant energy, accountability, and that “we got this” vibe.
As we approach the All-Star break, Maxey’s fan voting has him locked in the top 3 in the Eastern Conference (trailing only Giannis in some tallies, neck-and-neck with others for starter status). It’s well-deserved—he’s been that consistent force. After inking his massive extension in summer 2024, the future is built around him. Pair that with this year’s draft steal, rookie VJ Edgecombe (already showing star flashes in the backcourt), and you’ve got the dream young duo every team envies. Speed, scoring, defense, chemistry—the Sixers’ guard room looks set for years.
This season, Maxey has been straight-up incredible. Whether he’s pulling off James Harden-level step-back threes from deep, blowing by defenders for acrobatic finishes at the rim, or dissecting defenses with his vision, he looks unguardable at times. Opponents are game-planning specifically around him now—doubling early, switching everything, sending help from the weak side. And he still finds ways to drop 30+ (he’s hit the mark in over half his games). That explosiveness, combined with smarter decision-making and leadership, has elevated him from bench spark to true franchise pillar.
Maxey’s not just carrying the torch—he’s lighting the way for what’s next in Philly. With Embiid and George healthy and clicking more, and Edgecombe growing fast, the ceiling feels limitless. Tyrese Maxey isn’t just evolving; he’s arrived.
Arlington Heights running back Carson James (1) beats Brewer cornerback Jaiden Carrigan (12) to the end zone during the second half of a UIL Conference 5A D1 Bi-District playoff game between Arlington Heights and Brewer at Farrington Field in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025.
Bob Booth
Special to the Star-Telegram
The UIL Texas high school football bi-district round is over, and several Fort Worth-area players rose to the occasion. Which player had the best game?
You tell us. Vote for the Star-Telegram Fort Worth-area High School Football Player of the Week.
The poll will remain open until 4 p.m. Thursday.
See a good performance in the bi-district round? Send a Player of the Week nomination to the Star-Telegram (cbaggarly@star-telegram.com).
Charles Baggarly is a high school sports editor and reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He graduated from TCU in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and served as TCU 360’s sports editor. Connect with Charles on Twitter or via email.
The two-way superstar received the award in a unanimous honor
Shohei Ohtani has added yet another milestone to a career already overflowing with them. The Dodgers’ two-way sensation was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player, earning the award unanimously for the fourth time in five seasons, a run of sustained excellence.
Ohtani’s 2025 campaign was as complete as any he’s had, blending elite power at the plate with a successful return to the mound after his second Tommy John surgery. He hit .282 with a .392 on-base percentage and a .622 slugging mark, while launching 55 home runs, the most ever by a Dodgers player in a single season. He also led the NL in adjusted OPS (179), reaffirming his position as the league’s most dangerous hitter.
On the pitching side, Ohtani worked carefully back into form, posting a 2.87 ERA over 47 innings. While the volume was limited, the impact wasn’t. Every Dodgers opponent knew the challenge of preparing for a player who could change a game in fundamentally different ways depending on where he was positioned that night.
Speaking through an interpreter, Ohtani said the unanimous result made the moment even more meaningful. “Everything has to do with your teammates,” he said, adding that individual awards ultimately mean less than postseason success. “At the end of the day, we want to be playing for a World Series.”
With four MVPs before turning 32, Ohtani now stands in a category that previously seemed reserved for legends. Only Barry Bonds, who collected seven, owns more. No player in baseball history has ever won four MVP awards in a five-year window while contributing simultaneously as a hitter and pitcher.
Ohtani also achieved another unprecedented distinction this year: he became the first player in MLB history to win both an MVP award and a championship within his first two seasons with a franchise. For a Dodgers team built for October, the accolade is both a celebration and a reminder of the player anchoring their championship window.
Many factors contribute to Hayao Miyazaki’s mastery of the animated medium. His imaginative worlds. Their impeccable art design. A unique blend of nature, magic, and technology, all of which fascinate the 82-year-old creator, who has just released his maybe-final film, The Boy and the Heron.
That list leaves out one very important yet underrated piece of Miyazaki’s success: a collaborator who not only hasn’t won an Oscar, but has never even been nominated for one. Composer Joe Hisaishi, who’s worked on all 11 films Miyazaki has directed since 1984’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, is Studio Ghibli’s unsung MVP.
I will admit up front that I know almost nothing about music theory. I’m just a naive listener who’s passionate about these soundtracks. Watch this video if you want to understand more about the actual composition principles that help Hisaishi’s scores resonate.
But from my uneducated perspective, the 73-year-old Hisaishi’s greatest strength is his versatility. Even though many of Miyazaki’s protagonists occupy similar roles, he makes very different movies, from close character studies to delightfully strange fantasies to sprawling environmentalist sagas. And Hisaishi—whose real name is Mamoru Fujisawa; his pen name is inspired by Quincy Jones—manages to keep pace with those changes in direction, using each soundtrack to reflect the genres at hand.
“When I look back I’m amazed that I could write music for these very different films,” Hisaishi toldThe New York Times recently.
And while Hisaishi’s work is often slower and focused on character, he can also score an action scene with the best of them. “The Dragon Boy” from Spirited Away is fast-paced and frantic, building and building and building until an ultimate crest and denouement.
The Ghibli soundtracks offer a wide variety in both substance and style. Some of Hisaishi’s pieces rely mainly on a lone piano, like the powerful “Ask Me Why” from The Boy and the Heron. For others, he calls on choirs. He also evinces an electronic influence, especially in his earlier work on Nausicaäand My Neighbor Totoro.
All the while, he terrifically fuses Eastern and Western influences. Hisaishi’s music “connects with people, regardless of their culture, and that’s really powerful,” James Williams, the managing director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, toldThe New York Times last year. “What Joe has done is somehow retain that integrity of Japanese culture, brought in that Western tonal system and found a way for the two to retain their identities in perfect harmony.”
That nimbleness allows Hisaishi to tap into the emotions of so many varied characters, which he describes as his chief goal when scoring Miyazaki’s films. “It’s about emotion, something the character might be feeling,” Hisaishi toldthe Times.
Thus he offers the melancholy of Spirited Away’s “One Summer’s Day” and the hopefulness of Kiki’s Delivery Service’s “A Town With an Ocean View”—pieces that both score the opening adventures of two young girls yet diverge in mood as they parallel the heroines’ opposing outlooks on life.
“A Town With an Ocean View” might not be my absolute favorite Hisaishi track—it’s near the top, but if I had to pick just one, I might lean toward the wistfulness and grandeur of Nausicaä’s opening theme—but I consider it the most emblematic of what makes his work so appealing. When it starts to play in Kiki’s, the titular witch is just arriving in said town, enthusiastic about exploring the world and in awe of all the new sights and sounds around her. The peppy, vibrant music perfectly captures this open-minded, inquisitive, coming-of-age sensation.
In a sense, all of Miyazaki’s movies channel this desire for exploration. If there’s another common thread among Hisaishi’s compositions, it’s an ability to convey this feeling of curiosity and mystery, as at the start of Kiki’s, in Spirited Away’s “A Road to Somewhere,” and throughout much of The Boy and the Heron.
Miyazaki’s creations shine because they fill viewers with a sense of wonder and blend the fantastical with the personal, and Hisaishi’s soundtracks are a crucial component in balancing the two poles. “San and Ashitaka in the Forest of the Deer God” is almost religious in its invocation of awe, yet it also keeps the characters centered in a key moment in the Mononoke tale.
I admit I have a personal bias toward Hisaishi because of my connection to his music. At our wedding last year, my wife walked down the aisle to Howl’s Moving Castle’s “Merry-Go-Round of Life.” And mere days after pitching this piece to my editor, I discovered that Hisaishi was my top artist for 2023 on Spotify Wrapped.
There’s a reason for this ranking: My wife and I moved this year, and we used a Ghibli playlist as background accompaniment while packing, unpacking, painting, and building new furniture. (We joked while listening that we were the “Very Busy Kiki” the track references.)
After all that listening, I can say with confidence that Hisaishi’s music works outside the context of the films too. There’s a reason that so many YouTube videos of Ghibli music collections have millions of views. Hisaishi’s pieces have—and this is a very technical music term—good, relaxing vibes. He’s also done plenty of accomplished work beyond these soundtracks: other film scores, solo albums, a concert tour.
Yet it is his partnership with Miyazaki for which he is best known, and it’s in Miyazaki’s movies that his melodies resonate strongest. Hisaishi and Miyazaki really are animation’s answer to John Williams and Steven Spielberg. (Except unlike Hisaishi, Williams has five Academy Awards and 53 nominations. Give Hisaishi his proper due, Academy voters!)
At this point, I am half inclined to just keep listing tracks that work so wonderfully. I’ve barely even touched on Totoro or Castle in the Sky or half of the beautiful melodies in Spirited Away. But there’s a new task at hand, because the Boy and the Heron soundtrack is now available. My favorite so far is either “A Trap,” which is fast and tense, or “Sanctuary,” which swings the other direction: slow and calming. But it’s still early. I have a lot more listening to do.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 27: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks looks to pass as Kyrie … [+] Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets defends during the second half at Barclays Center on October 27, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Mavericks won 129-125. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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Before the start of the 2022-2023 NBA season, Luka Dončić was widely regarded as a strong candidate to walk away with the annual MVP award.
The only potential hiccup, which remains an unknown for now, was team success and whether or not the Dallas Mavericks could find their way to 50 wins.
While the Mavericks are just four games into their season, sitting at 2-2, the play of Dončić has been undeniable. The 23-year-old superstar is looking fitter than ever, and has thus been capable of handling an even bigger load of the offense, which almost defies logic considering how much he usually carries.
Dončić is netting 36.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game. While some may be inclined to call those numbers unsustainable, it’s at worst a modest decline we can expect – if any at all – given how often he’s been close to a 30-9-9 line.
Dončić is sporting a few outlier numbers in the efficiency department, which we’ll have to wait to see if they even out. He’s hitting 50% of his shots, having hit roughly 45% in every season besides his first.
His two-point percentage sits at a ridiculous 63.6% efficiency, despite the fact he’s never even cracked 58% there before. And it does so while sitting on an incredible volume of 16.5 attempts per game.
(In fairness, he’s struggling from three-point territory, hitting just 26.3% on over nine attempts per game, far below that of years past.)
It’s difficult to identify what is just a streak, and what looks like a new norm.
One area where he looks much improved is the free throw line, and fans are assuredly hoping his current 86.1% free throw percentage is a sign of newfound confidence from the charity stripe. Dončić has an unfortunate history from the line, having often bricked key trips to the foul line for varying reasons. He sat at 73.7% for his career coming into this season, it seemed a conundrum how something with that good of a touch couldn’t excel at that area of the game.
Well, for now he is.
More important than the numbers is his on-court growth, and how it relates to his long-term potential.
Dončić has always been formidable in his ability to decelerate on the fast break, and he’s arguably the most patient player in the game, as he will squeeze every single second out of a shot clock, looking for the best opportunity. Yet, somehow, he’s successfully sharpened those skills even more, refining himself to a point where the game looks almost like it runs in slow-motion for him, when he’s reading angles, and is determining the next course of action.
It further underlines how players with high levels of understanding of the game will more often than not realize their potential, even if their athletic prowess aren’t top-shelf.
(Dončić does have elite side-to-side movement due to his impeccable footwork, but he’ll never be among the fastest or highest jumping players in the association.)
The Slovenian does look slimmed down, and thus faster than usual, but he remains a half-court magician who’ll mostly utilize his skills in slower settings, which was on full display in Brooklyn, when he put up 41 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists, and three steals against the Nets, leading Dallas to a tough overtime win.
He routinely maneuvered around several defenders, often overcoming help from the weak side, and using his wide frame to absorb contact while planning his next move.
Dončić appears to have reached the point in his career where his experience level, his skill set, and his confidence have come together, and the result is the perception of a game that’s slowed down to his eyes, affording him more time to scan the floor, and more time to react to changing defenses.
Will Dončić win MVP? It’s tough to say, as the award is often tied closely to team success. If we disregard that however, Dončić would have plenty of arguments to look like the favorite.
Six weeks into the 2022 NFL season, the league’s Most Valuable Player race is starting to come together, highlighted by a host of quarterbacks emerging as candidates. The leader of the AFC’s only one-loss team owns the best Vegas odds and the most first-place votes from our panel, while the QB of the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team has skyrocketed through the first third of the season. Those jockeying for the frontrunner spot have 12 more weeks to make their case.
We asked a group of analysts — Stephania Bell, Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Courtney Cronin, Jeremy Fowler, Dan Graziano, Matt Miller, Sal Paolantonio, Jason Reid, Mike Tannenbaum, Seth Walder and Field Yates — to vote on the top players in the MVP race right now. Then we used those 12 sets of rankings to give our top five candidates, using Heisman Trophy-esque scaling for each ranking to determine how the field stacks up.
We’ll also look at a few names who have seen their MVP stock either spike or plummet in the early going, and ESPN analytics writer Seth Walder also weighed in on an under-the-radar MVP-caliber player. Here’s a look at where things stand after six weeks.
Early season returns reveal an undisputed truth: Allen is the best quarterback in the NFL, an honor he began wrestling away from top AFC rival Patrick Mahomes in last year’s playoffs. Allen entered the season with the best odds to win the MVP and strengthened his case against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6 by outdueling Mahomes in a 24-20 thriller, which he capped off by leading a 76-yard, come-from-behind scoring drive with a little more than a minute remaining.
That was the second game-winning drive he’s led the Bills on this month (the other was in a 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens) and his first fourth-quarter comeback since Sept. 27, 2020. Allen is the first starting quarterback to beat Mahomes twice at Arrowhead Stadium. He leads the league in passing (both in yards and yards per game) and his 753 passing yards over the last two games are the most in a two-game span in Bills franchise history.
Hurts’ ascension — where he’s seen vast improvement in areas such as completion percentage (66.8%, ranked ninth), passer rating (98.4, fifth), average release time (2.76) and yards per attempt (8.2, second) — has Philadelphia off to its first 6-0 start since 2004. The 24-year-old QB has won nine games in a row dating to 2021, tied for the longest win streak by an Eagles starting quarterback in 22 years, and he is the fifth player in league history to pass for 1,500 yards and rush for 250 through his team’s first six games.
The Eagles boast the most offensive balance of any team in the NFC (394.5 yards per game, ranked third; 26.8 points per game, fourth) with a steady run game and explosive passing attack. Hurts has played a big role in what the Eagles are doing on the ground, with 11 more carries on designed runs (38) than any other quarterback and 16 of those coming in the red zone, according to Next Gen Stats. He’s also completing a career-high plus-2.7% of his passes over expectation, the third highest in the NFL.
A lot was made about how the Chiefs offense would function without wide receiver Tyreek Hill. His absence has forced Mahomes to spread the ball around and become a more efficient, patient passer. Through six games, Mahomes and Allen are tied for first with 17 touchdown passes. Mahomes continues to be incredibly effective when under pressure, ranking first in touchdowns per pass attempt and third in first downs per pass attempt, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
But the pressure he faced late in Week 6 determined the outcome for the Chiefs. Against the Bills, Mahomes accounted for 92% of Kansas City’s offense when he threw for 338 yards, two touchdown passes, two interceptions and completed 63% of his passes. While Allen led Buffalo on a touchdown drive to take the lead late, Mahomes responded by throwing an interception while under duress, his third pick on a game-winning drive attempt dating to last year’s AFC Championship game.
Jackson’s MVP candidacy is on hold — for now — after a hot start. He ranks third in touchdown passes and leads all players in yards per rush (8.1) and yards before contact per rush (6.3), becoming the first player to be top 5 in both categories through the first six weeks of the season since the NFL-AFL merger, according to Elias.
Jackson is at his strongest early in games, with 12 of his 13 touchdown passes coming in the first three quarters. On the flip side, four of his six interceptions have occurred in the fourth quarter. His QBR in the first three quarters is better than fellow MVP candidate Hurts, but his QBR in the fourth quarter is worse than Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
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2:06
Marcus Spears discusses Lamar Jackson’s fourth-quarter struggles and how he can fix them.
A quarterback or running back has won the MVP every year since 1987, but Parsons deserves consideration after a strong start to the season, as he is tied for first in total pressures (31) and second in sacks. Aside from a 26-17 loss to the Eagles where Parsons was largely contained, Dallas has won games this season due to a dominant defense. The Cowboys went 4-1 during a stretch where quarterback Dak Prescott was injured thanks in large part to the defense, which leads the league in sacks (24) and is third in points allowed (98).
Herbert set a record for the most passes thrown (57) without a touchdown in the Chargers’ 19-16 OT win over the Denver Broncos on Monday, according to Elias. He’s still in the MVP conversation thanks to where he ranks in passing yards (fourth), touchdowns (sixth), interception percentage (fifth), passing first downs (eighth) and QBR (eighth), but he’ll have to go on a run over the next 11 games to be in contention with the frontrunners.
For the first time in the Super Bowl era, the Giants have posted four upset wins in their first six games of a season in large part due to the identity they’ve established with Barkley, who looks like the best running back in the league. He leads the NFL with 771 yards from scrimmage and his four touchdowns this season are two more than he had in the combined 15 games he played in 2020-21. At minimum, he’s a front runner for the NFL’s comeback player of the year award.
Cousins broke the Vikings’ franchise record for consecutive completions when he started 17-of-17 in a Week 5 win over the Bears and followed that up by throwing for two touchdown passes in a win over the Miami Dolphins. Coming off his third Pro Bowl season, the 34-year-old has yet to throw for 300 yards in a game but his efficient play has the Vikings off to a 5-1 start.
Smith leads the NFL in completion percentage over expectation (plus-9.6%), according to Next Gen Stats, and leads the NFL in completion percentage (73.4%) through six weeks. He’s thrown for 1,502 yards and nine touchdown passes, which ranks ninth and eighth, respectively, among qualified starting quarterbacks. The Seahawks would be nowhere close to a .500 record without Smith, which is why the franchise should consider him as an option at QB beyond this season.
Burrow bounced back after the Bengals got off to an 0-2 start, and he has completed more than 62% of his passes in each of his first six games. In a come-from-behind win over the New Orleans Saints, the Bengals’ QB completed 28 of 37 passes for 300 yards and three touchdown passes and didn’t turn the ball over. With Atlanta, Cleveland and Carolina coming up, Burrow could work his way into the MVP mix.
Rodgers is struggling to compensate for a diminished supporting cast. He had a total QBR of 17.0 in a loss to the New York Jets, which was his second worst of the season (10.8 vs. Minnesota Week 1). Last year’s MVP has six turnovers through six games after turning the ball over four times all of last season. He’s lost three fumbles this season after losing two in the previous two seasons combined.
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1:42
Field Yates breaks down Aaron Rodgers’ dismal fantasy season.
Bradberry is worthy of a top-10 MVP vote, in my view. His nearest defender numbers from NFL Next Gen Stats are outrageous. Among outside corners with 125 coverage snaps Bradberry ranks:
Second in yards per coverage snap (0.5)
First in targeted EPA by a wide margin (minus-25.8)
Second in completion percentage over expectation (minus-20%)
First in receptions allowed over expectation (minus-8.0)
To put the second number in context, the Bengals have recorded plus-28.7 EPA on Joe Burrow dropbacks this season (I’m mixing between NGS and ESPN EPA models here — not ideal, but you get the point). To record a level of production as a corner that’s in the same ballpark as a higher-end QB is incredibly valuable. Yes, a bunch of that was generated on a deflection that he turned into a pick-six off Jared Goff but it was hardly a one-off: Bradberry has been superb the whole year.
