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BBNBA Media Day Recap: AD's goggles, Johnson's cowboy hat, and Toppin's media gig

Zack Geogheganby: Zack Geoghegan4 hours agoZGeogheganKSR
2025 Media Day photos of Anthony Davis (left), Keldon Johnson (middle), and Jacob Toppin via Imagn Images
2025 Media Day photos of Anthony Davis (left), Keldon Johnson (middle), and Jacob Toppin via Imagn Images

The majority of NBA teams used Monday as their annual preseason Media Day. Local and national reporters covering franchises all over the country were able to spend time with players and coaches to see what’s been happening since last season came to an end.

You can probably guess what the players had to say, too. Media Day is filled with all the classic sports-isms. They know how to filibuster and give media-friendly answers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is excited for the Thunder’s opportunity to repeat as champions, while Denver’s Jamal Murray is eager to be the team that knocks SGA off that path and gets back to the Finals. Immanuel Quickley has a chip on his shoulder with the Raptors, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham talked about how their roles are expected to increase in year two, Cason Wallace wants to be an even better defender with the Thunder, and on and on and on…

Again, a lot of that player talk is repetitive. What we’re here to talk about is the other stuff that happened during Media Day — the stuff that goes beyond how a player improved their individual game during the offseason or what their goals are for the 2025-26 campaign. You know, the fun stuff. With at least 30 former Kentucky players expected to make an opening day roster, there was plenty to discuss. Preseason games begin later this week.

Anthony Davis channeling inner Horace Grant

Anthony Davis is donning the protective eyewear this season — and perhaps for the rest of his professional career. Now a member of the Mavericks alongside Kyrie Irving (who will miss most/all of the season due to injury) and Cooper Flagg, Davis will be the top dog in Dallas. And he needs to be able to see properly to make the most of that opportunity. He revealed that he had offseason surgery to repair a detached retina in his right eye. As a result, doctors are telling him he has to wear special eyewear whenever he’s on the court.

So don’t be shocked when Davis is running up and down the floor this season with giant goggles on his face. “You’ll see me in the Horace Grants this year,” he told reporters.

2v2: Bam/A’ja vs. Wendell/Angel

Heat center Bam Adebayo is dating one of the best WNBA players of all-time, A’ja Wilson. With Adebayo listed at 6-foot-10 and Wilson checking in at 6-foot-4, there might not be a more dangerous on-court couple in basketball than the Bam-A’ja connection. But Magic center Wendell Carter, who is rumored to be dating WNBA star Angel Reese, believes he and his significant other could beat Adebayo and Wilson in a 2v2 battle. Carter is calling for an 11-0 win.

But I’m not buying it. No disrespect to Carter and Reese, but I’m taking Adebayo and Wilson every single time in that 2v2 showdown — you won’t get much better than an elite defensive player and one of the greatest women’s players of all-time as a couple.

Devin Booker’s man cave

This technically wasn’t part of Media Day, but Suns guard Devin Booker recently showed off his incredible man cave with streamer iShowSpeed, but it deserved a mention since the video dropped Monday. Booker gave iShowSpeed a full house tour as the two met for the first time. While Booker’s man cave definitely called us all poor (it’s filled with classic cars and a 200-inch TV), he does come off as a genuinely nice dude. We love to see that.

Keldon Johnson’s cowboy hat

Keldon Johnson might be from Virginia, but he’s fully embraced his new Texas home. The Spurs forward rocked a crisp black cowboy hat during his Media Day interviews. Him having to answer serious questions while dressed in full uniform with a giant cowboy hat on is what can make Media Day so unexpectedly interesting. But that’s not even the most noteworthy part of his appearance. Johnson, only in year seven as an NBA player, is the longest tenured player on the Spurs roster.

Jacob Toppin: Hawks beat reporter

As a reporter myself, one of my favorite interview bits is when a player or coach chimes in to cosplay as a media member during scrums. From the Kentucky men’s basketball side of that, Malachi Moreno and Braydon Hawthorne did this with Jasper Johnson earlier in the summer. It usually makes for funny moments and a realistic look at the personality of the people we usually only think of as basketball players. Hawks forward Jacob Toppin put on his reporter hat when his teammate, Onyeka Okongwu, was up to answer questions. Although he didn’t seem to get the response he was looking for…

A few injury updates

Now for some not-so-fun topics. It was revealed that a minor hamstring injury will keep Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox sidelined for the start of the season, but he isn’t expected to be out for too long. Heat guard Tyler Herro is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after recently undergoing foot surgery, but says he’s already “ahead of schedule as far as the swelling.” He’s already joking with head coach Erik Spoelstra that he’ll be ready in six weeks. We shall see — the Heat will need him back sooner than later. And lastly, Lakers’ rookie forward Adou Thiero is experiencing swelling in his knee and has yet to be cleared for the start of training camp.

Basketball season is almost here, folks.

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2025-09-30