The Good, Bad, and Ugly Of Week 24 Of The 2025-26 NBA Season

With just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, Week 24 of the schedule brought fans both triumph and tragedy. From a historic scoring barrage to potential playoff-altering injury reports, here is the breakdown of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from across the league.

THE GOOD:

If anyone doubted the hype, the Dallas Mavericks rookie may have just ended that conversation, as well as who should be Rookie of the Year. Cooper Flagg went nuclear this week, dropping 51 points against Orlando, followed by a 45-point encore against the LA Lakers. At just 19, he became the first teenager in NBA history to record a 50-point game, joining Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as one of the few rookies to post multiple 40+ -point performances.

Flagg isn’t just dropping buckets for the Mavericks; he is also doing his best to fill up the box score, adding 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals, and a pair of blocks in his last 73 minutes of action. Not only is he playing like the best rookie in the league, but more importantly, Flagg is also providing the Mavericks and their fans with hope for the future.

THE BAD: 

Whether he is a member of the Milwaukee Bucks at the start of next season or not, Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to finish out this season on the court. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since March 15 due to a hyperextended left knee and bone bruise. With the Bucks eliminated from the postseason and just a handful of meaningless games left on the schedule, Milwaukee seems to want to keep its star on the sidelines, despite Antetokounmpo claiming that he is healthy and ready to play. 

The NBA launched an official investigation into the Bucks for potential violations of the Player Participation Policy, as the two parties have clearly stated conflicting health reports. “For somebody to come and tell me to not play or not to compete it’s like a slap in my face,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “So, I don’t know where the relationship goes from there.” For what once seemed to be a career-long marriage, the Bucks and Antetokounmpo could be headed for a messy breakup. 

THE UGLY: 

It doesn’t get uglier than this. The LA Lakers were completely embarrassed by the OKC Thunder in a 139–96 blowout, a 43-point loss that was worse than the score suggests. Not only did the team lose on the scoreboard, but more importantly, they lost two key players as the season heads into the playoffs. Both Luka Dončić (Grade 2 hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 oblique injury) left the game and are expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks. The Lakers seemed to have finally found their rhythm, losing just two games in March and seemingly solidifying themselves as the third seed in the Western Conference. 

Now, with the loss of two of their three top scoring options and playmakers, they have lost their first two games in April and head into the playoffs hitching their wagon to a 41-year-old superstar. With the playoffs looming, the Lakers’ title hopes just went from "contender" to "complete uncertainty" in a single night.