The Deep 3 Podcast - 10 NBA Predictions That Will Come True In 2026 | TD3 Clips

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

Predicting 2026 NBA events before they happen! #nba Check out the TD3 merch: https://the-deep-3-shop.fourthwall.com/ Listen on Spotify!: https://open.spotify.com/show/3elbbqVumwqz8wlIdknsLW Listen on Apple Podcasts!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-deep-3-podcast/id1657940794 Follow us on TikTok!: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedeepthree Follow us on Instagram!: https://www.instagram.com/thedeep3podcast/ Isaac's twitter: https://twitter.com/byisaacg Mo's twitter: https://twitter.com/Mojo99_ Donnavan's twitter: https://twitter.com/Dsmoot3D Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know, this is a New Year's show. We're looking forward to 2026. Donovan, what are things that you are going to go out there on a limb right now? And what are your predictions for 2026 in the NBA? Let me get this together. We asked Donaldman to put together a list as a resident hater, our resident slanderer, big picture thinker. What do you predict it's going to happen in the NBA this year?

All right. 10 things. Number one, 2026 would be the last season that the NBA All-Star game will be played. Whoa. And what are we doing in place of that? I don't know yet. They will figure something out, but the All-Star game

will not be played after this year. It has the last couple of years have been as bad as it's ever been. It's been an embarrassment of staying on the league. They're trying to switch up formats every two years, no type of consistency. You can feel them grabbing for any straw that they can. I think at a certain point,

Adam Silver is just going to look up and say, hey, you guys don't want to play hard. We can't make you guys do it. We're getting rid of the game. Because it's become something where after All-Star weekend, it doesn't matter what happens. Monday morning comes and everybody says, man, that All-Star game was bad. What can we do to fix it?

I got a proposal for y'all. So you know how we're doing like Team versus World or USA versus World? What if, depending on your matchup, I don't know. Let's say who's someone like, yeah, let's say Nicole Yokic is faced off with Bam out of buy or something like that. Bam is team USA Yokic's team world or whatever Bam out of bio

If Nicole Yokic outplays you You have to go back to his home country For five years minimum That's gonna make these guys Hoop Day ass off man What? You're gonna banish me To live in Serbia for five years

You have to play hard It's a jail sentence And we're gonna get the All-Star game Right back where it deserves to be You don't care about hoops I love this idea What do they? I mean can they really disband the All-Star game, though.

I feel there might be too much history to actually to spend the All-Star game. I think they might have to just continue to try to find a way to make it good and just going to suck forever. I disagree. I mean, they got rid of the actual Pro Bowl in the NFL. They have played that for a long time and they switched it into, like, events. You can still have All-Star Saturday night and you can still have other events around it. But Sunday and the All-Star game being the main, being like the capstone of the weekend, that's not going to happen. But here's the thing.

They have to pick All-Star as Accolates have to exist. So they got to do something. You'll still pick them. Yeah, but what do they do? They don't play. Yeah, this guy's an All-Star. Yeah, you have distinctions. But they're going to score 300 points in an All-Star game,

and it's going to be the most disgusting thing we've ever watched. Well, that's one less ad spot for YouTube TV, though. They'll figure something up. How do we survive without that Sprite sponsorship? I don't know. Adam keeps coming up with great addition, so we'll figure something about. We need those big ass logos on the court. Damn.

All right. Number two. either the clippers or the pelicans will get the number one overall pick okay why one of those two is this like a conspiracy assumption it'll just be funny right but both of those teams are obviously terrible bad they're going to be at the top of the lottery with you know whatever odds that they have i just think it'll be funny if the pelicans who made a bad trade everybody said it was bad at the time and then they get punished oh hey i forgot you're picking the two teams that don't on their picks?

Yes. Okay. So either the Thunder or the Hawks get the first round being about. It will be, honestly,

that Thunder getting the first one pick is by far the funniest outcome. Whether you like the Thunder or hate them, it's fucking

hilarious for the clippers to make them a juggerna even more so. Exactly. It would be funny. So that's, I'm speaking

it into existence right now. It's funny until they do in your team in every single night. It's funny

until they win 80 games a year. Yeah. Shit's real funny until they have small Shay and Big She with AJ DeBons

next to him. God, man. We'll see. Number three, Darius Garland will be traded this year. What's you? I'm not sure yet. Okay. Probably Sacramento.

Damn, you want to banish Darius? I'm sorry. I like Darius. You're going to do him like that? It's not me. I'm not making the call. I'm just saying I think it's going to happen. He will get traded though.

The Cavs, they are a broken team. They're probably going to fire Kenny Ackinson and trade Darius Garland, tear this thing down to as many studs as you can have left, and that's going to be it. Just retool the team around Evan Mowley and Donovan Mitchell. Yep. They need to trade them to Dallas. And like, it's such a bad pill to swallow because they probably have to change something.

And there's not a lot of good outcomes outside of trading Darius. Like trade Jared Allen. All right. Cool. Slightly change your team up. It's not really a gigantic identity shift. Facts. Ah, man.

This is so bad. Okay. I would so want to keep Darius, though. I feel that. But Kings, they are on the list. Ew. Next up. Actually, a King's prediction.

The Kings will make a dumb trade in 20th. 26th. Oh, you can bet that in every single year. They're going to make a trade regardless and they're always going to lose. Does he Fandu offers Oz for Kings losing a trade? Probably not, but I know Adam Silver should roll back the prop bets. Let's roll them forward. Let's bet on the downfall of a king. Let's add more prop bits. I'm going to get so motherfucking rich. That's easy money, man. That's too easy. I'm going to bet on the king's doing something stupid and the Pelicans doing something stupider. That's how you boost. I'm going to get bans. That's how you boost the economy right there. That's how you boost my pocket.

All right. Next up. The New York Knicks will make the NBA final. This It's going to happen. Okay. This is the year. Now, I said that we're going to win the title before the season. I still believe that. But 100% we're making the finals and nobody's beating us. Yeah.

It's not going to happen. You guys are never making the finals. Like, it's not going to happen for the rest of this decade. For the rest of your fucking life. Yeah, like it's not happening. I guarantee you. And they will take advantage. They will do it.

The Knicks are going to, the Knicks are going to make the NBA final. Okay. I promise. We're talking to a GM. Or you can shoot. down to date. You think I'm fight my homie body.

Kill my homie body. No, no, no. I'm just 500, man. I'll give you his address. I'll please, God. No. No, he's fucking head off. No, mine, please, please.

We do need the Knicks in the finals, though. Like, we're dying for a class. It was so fun. No, we need fun. We need a classic. finals right now no matter how it goes the last few have been very low aura finals and you know the days of these super teams like we don't have lebron and curry coming out the woodwork right now so we're not really going to be able to at this current state i think hit the levels we knew when

we were teenagers but we need some war in the finals no no more indiana basketball the finals it was great when we had it we need the new york nix losing to either anthony edwards or shaggildos i need to be in new york i will if that happens i'm beating you every day from the garland i am being outside of that stadium every single day. Like them winning would be great for the vibes of the NBA but also them losing would be cool because I think if they're there we need it. The new, yo, the city of New York is going to be in chaos. It would be hilarious.

Lakers versus Nix would be insane. I think Shay being the Nix would be good for the Thunders like having them be some iconic team that people actually like I think being Knicks would help that and the most or by far would be Anthony Edwards rising to be best in the world caliber by beating the Knicks. Yeah, if you want the title on the road in MSG

Yeah, it would be crazy. Adam Silver's number one option should be Anthony Edwards takes down the Knicks. All right. Next one. Jason Tatum will play in a playoff game this year. I like it. At this point, they're good enough. Bring him back if he wants to. If he's capable of doing it without getting hurt, without jeopardizing the long-term health of his lower body, let him play because this team can make the finals. You're talking about, oh, the Knicks are going to be in the finals? Not if Jason

Tatum and Jaylon Brown have anything to say about it. We were going to go up 3-1 when he hurt himself anyways. We were going to win that series and we'll do it again back to back here. Now we'll beat him all as a cripple. And not when George Ross is there. Listen, man, don't show up on the court if you're not ready to play. No, man. You better be ready. Would it be cool if he comes back?

Oh, dude, I just had a vision. I just had a... We're writing fan fiction. I just had a Dasso-Raven moment. Jason Tendon comes back to start the playoffs. First round, they play the Knicks and he gets revenge. He gets it back in blood, beats them. Ends their season of disastrous fashion when they should be in the finals.

Like they did it in him last year? Yeah. I'd cry. No, that would do. so much. That's damn mirror. I won't say anybody tears their Achilles, but Jalen Brunson shit his pants on the court.

Defecates on the court. You keep his name my son. Pants full of doo-doo. Physically, like Paul Pierce. Now, next one. Dog's not going to lose his mind. Oh, my Shayla. That was crazy. Yeah, I don't know why he did that.

He's plugging holes. We will get a playoff series with Wembe versus Yokic. I need it. I need it so bad. please that's like Godzilla man versus Kong oh my god that's nasty work I don't know when it's going to be if it's going to be in the first second or third round

but they will match off match up for hopefully seven games and we will get that in 2020 we need that we're talking about we need a certain level of aura back in the playoffs maybe versus Yokic will restore the feeling I'm ready for the playoffs to start right now I ain't gonna lie get you for that what they need to be because they're probably be the two seed so probably got to be the second round if the

spurs can get to the three seed Right now, right now, the two and the three. Oh, they're right of three right now? Yeah. Okay, second round. Let's get it. Yes, I need that to maintain. Deer Fox with Jamal Murray, it'd be fun too.

A nice little chain to be snatched with a little rivalry. That would be fun. Best Kentucky guard? Mm. I see the vision. I see the storylines. They're both fighting for a second behind Maxie. You're right.

Yeah. All right. Last three. In 2026, Anthony Edwards will release. an album I think he's been working on something I think he's been in the stew I think he has something to say

where are you getting these visions from what do you think he has something to say I think what has been pent up in his chest what do you think his rapist style is going to be like who's in an emulate like young nudie or something not a little baby for sure have you seen him freestyle before or heard him I can't remember off the top of my head

there's one freestyle of him when he was I think he was freshly out of Georgia and he was freestyle in the car during the COVID during COVID time or whatever it was hilarious right little baby yeah I do think that the album is on the way every summer and add something to his game

and I think rapper will be what it is this year and you know what that's a good prediction because every NBA star does it KD, LeBron Steph everyone does it he's up next okay the Los Angeles Clippers will sue Adam Silver because of the punishment that he is going to put out on them.

I think that they are going to, I think that the punishment is on the way. And I think that the Clippers are not going to be happy. And they are going to, they're going to try to extend this. And Steve Balmer is going to be like, I'm the richest man in this league. I will buy every team myself. You can't do this to me. I'll see you in court, Mr. Silver. You did a subpoena, Pablo Tori.

He's like, you listen to this guy. Come on. Now, what are we actually doing you? No, great. You want to do some journal? And you want to revive real media? Here's $200,000 on legal fees. That's what I'm saying.

They're going to take the All-Star game out of the Intuit Dome. And Steve Balmer is going to lose his mind. And he's going to make it his ultimate life, life's work to take down, take down Adam Silver. Okay. If I go down, every goes down with me. Damn, real evil, evil villain from a movie. We might not have an NBA in 2027 because Steve Ballmer is going to be so vengeful.

He will be the most hated man on the planet. He topples the organization. It's going to get crazy. He's the kingpin. And last, but certainly not least, in 2026, I'm telling you right now, there will be an episode of the Mind the Game podcast where LeBron and his family are together and he announces his retirement on Mind the Game. On Mind the Game. He's going to do it on his own platform. He's going to do it on his own terms and he would do it with his family surrounding him.

I can honestly see that happening, right? Like nothing so far that he said in any type of interview has indicated that he has. real love for the game still going past this year. And he keeps like he keeps telling us this and wages the need to. They asked him, oh, Kianti George, I'm going crazy. What do you think about that? Yeah. Man, I just watch golf on YouTube these days. I know. Yeah. He's going to let you know, I'm old. Like, yeah, they asked him, how do you still feel about playing Christmas Day? He was like, listen, I love it. Been watching since I was kid, but I'd rather be home. Yeah. You know, I wouldn't rather be here if I didn't have to. Come on. Everybody. Stop doing this to me.

Damn it. Also, my feet hurt. My knees hurt. My back hurt. My head hurt. Authorit's don't forget. But yeah, so it will be a very, very planned retirement announcement on his own platform. I think there's any world in which he's keenly aware that we all think he's his media attention horror and we'll do all this and maybe he just retires up the blue because he thinks it's aura farming? Yes, 100%. That's definitely in the car is where he just like tweets like Finn.

Like he's just over. I'm out. Like you know, Jordan had the I'm back thing. He's just like, I'm out. Yeah. That's so dope. Like there's a world world in which he's just like it's over. Dude, the internet's going to explode when it happens, right?

He just text Shams, I'm out, and he can tell Shams, post a screenshot of this. I'm going to be in this bitch having a mental breakdown. I'm going to be in shambles. I'm going to lose my mind, man. I'm not going to know how to act. He said, LeBron, keep playing or I will die. That's all I got, man. You think I'm fucking playing.

You think everything's a game, LeBron? Facts, bro. Oh, my God.