COLUMBIA, S.C. -- There's always noise on game days. On a windy Sunday afternoon in January outside Colonial Life Arena, traffic snarls in all directions, fans dressed in garnet and black form long lines, and laughter seems ever present.

Inside, closer to tipoff, 18,000 Gamecock faithful -- known as the G-Hive -- bring nonstop energy, treating game day like a cross between a holiday party and a concert for their favorite band.

Welcome to South Carolina women's basketball.

For the opponent, the atmosphere -- not to mention the Gamecocks -- can be overwhelming. On this day, Oklahoma, one of eight ranked teams in the SEC, can't find any answers. The Sooners, used to running their opponents into the ground with their fast pace, lose by 41 points. Gamecocks sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley and freshman Joyce Edwards make highlight reel plays; five SC players score in double figures.

It was the 18th win of the season for South Carolina, which hosts UConn on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ABC). After a 38-0 national championship season last year, the Gamecocks are looking to run it back in 2025 -- and to cement their reputation as one of the top teams in all of college sports.

"They're who all of us are looking at in terms of being able to build the depth, the culture they have, the crowd," Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said. "This is, right now, the example in women's basketball."

But when coach Dawn Staley took over the Gamecocks in 2008, they had been to the NCAA tournament just twice in the previous 17 seasons. After finishing 10-18 and 11th in the SEC in Staley's first season, the Gamecocks were 29-5 and league champions -- with a trip to the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 -- in her sixth.

Early on in Columbia, Staley built the program's talent with regional recruits and its attendance with almost tireless accessibility. She chatted with fans, in person and on social media, stopped in restaurants for lunch and gave away game tickets, becoming the approachable face of her team, the university and the city of Columbia.

What came next was even harder: maintaining it. Staley has done that, too. From 2014-15 through 2023-24, the Gamecocks went 319-35 overall and 147-13 in the SEC. They won three NCAA titles, made another three Final Four appearances, won eight SEC regular-season and tournament titles, led Division I in attendance every year and produced two WNBA No. 1 draft picks in A'ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston.

South Carolina's dominance has changed not only the program and the SEC, but the balance of power in women's college basketball. And the No. 4 Gamecocks, 23-2 overall and 11-1 in the SEC, are once again a national championship contender. UCLA and Texas, which are also in the mix for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, are the only teams to beat South Carolina this season.

"I just came here wanting to win, wanting to be a sponge to it all," said Wilson, a three-time WNBA MVP whose South Carolina career from 2014 to 2018 helped launch the decade of dominance. "To see the legacy and longevity of this program, where it's going ... that's what we were built on, that's our culture."

Here are some of the milestones, pivotal moments, triumphs and heartbreaks over the past 10 seasons that helped South Carolina become the dynasty of women's college basketball.

April 16, 2014: A'ja Wilson announces she is staying home

A statue of Wilson was unveiled outside Colonial Life Arena in 2021, and her No. 22 jersey was retired there earlier this month. She's an NCAA champion with two WNBA titles and two Olympic gold medals. No player has had more impact on the program -- all thanks to two weekly phone calls that helped Staley land Wilson, the No. 1 recruit in the country in 2014.

Wilson grew up in greater Columbia and attended Gamecock basketball camps. Her father, Roscoe Wilson, was a former basketball player who had trained her and brought her to Staley's attention. As Wilson blossomed into a superstar recruit every program wanted, Staley realized someone else held the key to getting her to be a Gamecock.

"In every process, you have to find that person who really knows what's going [on] inside the recruit's mind. And it was her mom, Eva, for A'ja," Staley told ESPN. "I usually try to talk to recruits once a week. And then we added her mom once a week."

"Few have impacted women's basketball quite like Dawn Staley." @GamecockWBB's Dawn Staley is a legend in the game and a pioneer, whose legacy will have a lasting impact pic.twitter.com/zr61LvSmDj

SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 13, 2025

Eva Wilson told Staley that her daughter was dealing with dyslexia, something A'ja would open up about near the end of her college career to help inspire others. Staley told Eva every resource would be available to Wilson, and she would be there for her, too.

But as the time came for Wilson to publicly announce her college choice, Staley and her staff weren't sure of her decision.

"We found out like eight minutes before she was going on TV to say it," South Carolina associate head coach Lisa Boyer told ESPN. "She was heavily recruited. We were dealing with UConn, with North Carolina, with Tennessee at that point."

Tennessee coaching legend Pat Summitt had stepped down in 2012 because of early onset Alzheimer's. North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell missed the 2013-14 season battling cancer, while then-assistant Andrew Calder guided the Tar Heels to the Elite Eight, beating South Carolina in the Sweet 16. Wilson made her decision less than a month later.

"I don't know what would have happened if Pat and Coach Hatchell hadn't been sick then, if that might have changed anything," Boyer said. "But we did know how strong a connection Dawn had formed with A'ja and her family."

Wilson has had the most impact on the program, but she wasn't the first foundational recruit for Staley. That was guard Tiffany Mitchell of Charlotte, North Carolina, who picked the Gamecocks in 2012.

"Tiffany committed to me and our program before it was popular," Staley said. "She was one of the top players in the country and chose us."

Mitchell was the spark that lit South Carolina's torch, and getting Wilson ensured the flame wouldn't go out. Her success and popularity opened even more recruiting doors nationwide for South Carolina, while her local roots further endeared the program to fans.

Wilson has said that Staley always understood the right buttons to push and that her mother sensed that, too.

"Eva knew, just from our conversations, what we needed and what A'ja needed, and that it would be the perfect fit," Staley said. "It probably would not have worked out as beautifully if she wasn't from here. Like if she was the No. 1 recruit from the Midwest, or the Northeast or the West Coast or someplace? I don't think we would have this kind of momentum that we've built from the time she walked on campus."

March 29, 2015: Gamecocks reach their first Final Four

The Gamecocks entered 2014-15 knowing there was a huge step to take.

The season before, they won Staley's first SEC regular-season title and then made the Sweet 16. With standouts like Mitchell returning and Wilson joining them as a freshman, excitement around the program had never been higher.

Mitchell, then a junior, realized South Carolina was on the verge of something much bigger than she had dreamed when she chose the Gamecocks.

"I never knew committing would ignite such a change in the program," Mitchell said. "But I trusted Dawn and she trusted me to help change the narrative at South Carolina."

In 2015, the Gamecocks went 15-1 in the SEC, their best record since joining the conference in 1991-92. They won the SEC tournament for the first time, beating Tennessee -- the league's long-time standard-bearer -- in the final.

After cruising through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, the Gamecocks met North Carolina in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. The regional, in Greensboro, North Carolina, was closer to the Tar Heels' campus, but by this point the traveling party with the Gamecocks was enormous.

South Carolina prevailed 67-65. The first Final Four in program history was one win away. But with three minutes to play in the Gamecocks' regional final against Florida State, they trailed 67-65. Someone had to take over.

Mitchell did, with an assist and then seven consecutive points in an 80-74 win that sent South Carolina to the national semifinals in Tampa, Florida. The Gamecocks were the newcomers in a Final Four where the other three teams -- Notre Dame, UConn and Maryland -- all previously had won at least one national championship.

South Carolina lost 66-65 to Notre Dame in the semifinals. Wilson, who came off the bench that season, led South Carolina with 20 points and 9 rebounds.

For Staley, who went to three Final Fours as a player at Virginia but never won a title, was disappointed but resolute after her first trip as a coach.

"I told our team that I hope they take note of how hard it is to get to this point and how much work it took," Staley said after the loss. "We're not far off. We just have to continue and get these experiences. If we ever get to this point again, we can have different results. I want us to have a certain hunger, a certain bad taste in our mouths from being so close to competing for a national championship that it will fuel us."

April 2, 2017: Mission accomplished

Staley knew a key part of the path to the top was staying present and not jumping ahead. She said her 2015-16 team had to learn that the hard way.

"They had a taste of the Final Four. We had a pretty good team coming back, and they just didn't appreciate the process of getting back there," she said. "We were drunk on our success. And although we were good, I could almost feel the team shortchanging the process."

A No. 1 seed in the 2016 NCAA tournament, South Carolina lost in the Sweet 16 to Syracuse. Mitchell -- her college career over -- was despondent in the locker room afterward.

Staley's college career had ended with a national semifinal loss 25 years earlier. She went on to play professionally in the ABL and WNBA for 10 seasons, win three Olympic gold medals, be the United States flag-bearer in the 2004 Athens Games and was now a high-profile coach. But she knew how empty Mitchell felt.

"The big losses drive me because our players hurt," Staley said. "Really hurt. And that hurts me, deeply."

Staley funneled all that emotion into 2016-17. Wilson was a junior. Top transfer Allisha Gray -- who had played for North Carolina against South Carolina twice previously in the NCAA tournament -- joined the Gamecocks. This time, Staley said, she reminded the players to focus on every step: the regular-season title, the SEC tournament crown and each game of the NCAA tournament, which included a too-close-for-comfort 71-68 second-round win over Arizona State.

The regional was across the country in Stockton, California, with Florida State the Elite Eight opponent. The Gamecocks won 71-64, then beat Stanford 62-53 in the semifinals in Dallas.

Still absorbing the fact they had advanced to their first national championship game, Staley and her staff watched, as shocked as the rest of the women's basketball world, as Mississippi State ended UConn's 111-game winning streak in the second semifinal.

South Carolina, which had already defeated the Bulldogs twice that season, did it again in the final. Staley became the second Black head coach -- Carolyn Peck at Purdue in 1999 was the first -- to win the NCAA women's basketball title.

Boyer said the celebration at the Gamecocks' hotel that night went into the wee hours. At about 3 a.m., after most of the well-wishers had left, two coaches remained.

"I just turned to Dawn and said, 'We finally did it. What do we do now?'" Boyer recalled. "And she said, 'We've got to win another one.'"

Feb. 10, 2020: Gamecocks clear the UConn hurdle

Staley had at least one other big ticket to punch: a victory over UConn. The programs' first meeting was in December 2007, the season before Staley took over at South Carolina, and UConn won by 58 points. In Staley's first seven games against the Huskies, South Carolina lost by an average of 21.3 points. The closest the Gamecocks got was an 11-point loss in 2017.

But Staley was committed to keeping the series going.

"People will shy away from playing them, but for me, it was more magnetic to play them," Staley said of the Huskies. "Because they were the standard, and you're always measuring yourself against them.

"It hurt me when we used to lose by 20 points. You change things up -- one year we tried to take the air out of the ball. You have to learn how to beat them."

The Gamecocks' celebrated freshman class of 2019-20, led by Aliyah Boston and nicknamed "The Freshies," finally cracked the UConn code. South Carolina won 70-52 behind 13 points and 12 rebounds from Boston.

South Carolina then won the SEC tournament and was 32-1 and ranked No. 1 when the NCAA announced the 2020 men's and women's basketball tournaments were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In early May, Staley had a milestone birthday: 50. Amid so much uncertainty in the world and an extension of her time as Olympic coach with the Tokyo Games delayed to 2021, Staley said she recommitted to her next big goal: getting the Freshies a national championship.

April 3, 2022: After a crushing ending, the Freshies finish the job

After leading the nation in attendance the previous six seasons, the Gamecocks had to adjust to mostly empty arenas in the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 restrictions. The 2021 NCAA tournament was played in a bubble in San Antonio.

South Carolina, a No. 1 seed, won its second-round game over Oregon State on March 23. Two days later, Gamecocks assistant coach Jolette Law's mother, who had been battling illness, died in her hometown of Florence, South Carolina.

If Law left the bubble, she wouldn't be able to return for the rest of the tournament.

"It was the hardest, most painful time in my life," Law said. "After we won the SEC tournament, I went to the hospital and saw my mother. We talked, listened to gospel music, she kept saying she was tired. But in your mind, you don't think your mom is going to die."

Law asked Staley not to tell the players, hoping not to distract them.

"But when I didn't show up at dinner, they wanted to know why," Law said. "Those kids wrote letters to me, and they made a video for me. I knew my mom would want me to stay and finish this out with them."

The Gamecocks advanced to the national semifinals against No. 1 seed Stanford. Boston's putback at the buzzer bounced out, and South Carolina lost 66-65. Boston doubled over in tears, her reaction so raw even some Stanford players comforted her while their teammates were celebrating.

"Aliyah, all our kids, were just devastated. And I had to go home and bury my mother," Law said. "But God said, 'If you trust me, if you lean on me, I will give you the strength to be able to do what you need to do.'"

Just as the players helped her deal with her personal loss, Law said she and the staff helped them deal with the game loss. Having overcome her own recent grief, Law had the perspective to help Boston deal with her heartbreak.

"She finally started to get over it that summer," Staley said. "But then she had to relive it, because [the video] kept being plastered all over the place. So then we talked about, 'The only thing to do to get past it would be to come back and win the championship.'"

Boston followed Wilson as a superstar post recruit; they had different personalities, but a similar resolve. Boston spent the next summer improving her diet and strength. With a strong 2022 season, she was on her way to being the National Player of the Year, and South Carolina had lost just one game as it headed into the 2022 SEC tournament.

It lost the SEC final 64-62 to Kentucky on a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left. But that disappointment didn't rattle Staley; she said she thought it made the Gamecocks more determined going into the NCAA tournament.

They faced UConn -- and coach Geno Auriemma, 11-0 in NCAA finals -- for the title.

"There was a lot of talk about Geno being undefeated in national championship games. I was like, 'Well, I am, too. I'm 1-0,'" Staley said, laughing.

That became 2-0 in Minneapolis after a 64-49 victory, the second-fewest points UConn had ever scored in an NCAA tournament game. The fewest (47) had come 30 years earlier.

Boston had 11 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks. The image of her from the 2021 semifinal loss had stayed with her, not as failure but as fuel.

"I don't want anyone to use a photo of me crying ever again," Boston said.

March 31, 2023: A full reset after an imperfect ending

Unlike the 2021-22 season, Staley said in 2023 that she didn't think the Gamecocks needed a loss to refocus. The Freshies were now seniors ready to deliver South Carolina's first perfect season. Everything pointed to it. Everyone expected it.

But the Gamecocks lost in the national semifinals when Iowa's Caitlin Clark scored 41 points and led the Hawkeyes to a 77-73 upset.

Afterward, Staley was furious about many things, including the officiating and the fact that as the overall No. 1 seed, South Carolina played a Saturday-Monday regional schedule instead of Friday-Sunday, which meant the Gamecocks got one fewer day of rest before the Final Four than Iowa.

"With every loss, I fine-tooth-comb everything," Staley said, adding she later talked privately to the semifinal officials. "I got stuff off my chest. I said something to all of them. I've mended those things."

Five Gamecocks seniors were picked in the 2023 WNBA draft, led by No. 1 Boston. It was a tough summer for Staley trying to adjust to what she knew would be a very different kind of team.

"I said during that time, 'I don't know how much longer I can do this,'" Staley said.

Law and the rest of the staff helped her move forward.

"One day, we were sitting in her office, and she was just like, 'OK, guys, our season this year is going to be a white, blank canvas. Give me your thoughts,'" Law said. "We just went around the room, and it was almost like a little retreat. We started talking about what we could do with that canvas. It was like breathing life back into her."

That's when Staley accepted she couldn't treat this team the same as any previous group.

"I am a coach that can meet players where they are," Staley said. "I just didn't think I would ever have to go that far. I'm OK with moving 75% to their 25. But they took me to 90. The consistent thing was they worked hard, but they had fun doing it. I thought it was too much fun.

"Then I just realized, 'This is who they are.' You could mess that up thinking about how regimented and disciplined you had to be. We just gave into it. We just start laughing with them sometimes."

April 7, 2024: The perfect ending

The Iowa loss was painful to think about and worse to rewatch. One image stood out: South Carolina guard Raven Johnson dribbling, wide open, behind the 3-point arc, and Clark waving her off, as if to say, "Don't worry, she's not going to shoot it."

South Carolina needed more perimeter shooting, and guard Te-Hina Paopao, a transfer from Oregon, fit the bill. Johnson also worked on her shooting, preparing for what she called her revenge tour.

South Carolina made 163 3-pointers and shot 31% from behind the arc in 2022-23. That jumped to 253 and 39.5% in 2023-24. Johnson, who shot 24.1% (14 of 58) in 2022-23, improved to 35.0% (25 of 80). And Paopao led the way with 87 3-pointers on 46.8% shooting from downtown.

Khadijah Sessions, a Gamecocks player from 2012 to '16 and now one of South Carolina's assistant coaches, said Staley is always open to changing tactics.

"She adjusts with the times," Sessions said. "She understood in this day and age, you have to shoot the 3 more."

The closest South Carolina came to a loss last season was in the SEC tournament semifinals against Tennessee. Down 73-71 in the closing seconds, Staley put the game in the hands of 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso. Cardoso made the only 3-pointer of her college career for a 74-73 victory.

At the Final Four, the Gamecocks faced Iowa again, this time in the championship game. The demons from 2023 were gone. South Carolina won 87-75, and Staley had her third NCAA title.

South Carolina became the 10th Division I women's basketball team in the NCAA era to have a perfect season. UConn has done it six times; South Carolina, Tennessee, Baylor and Texas once.

"Going from where we were to where we went," Staley said, smiling and shaking her head, "I still can't believe it was that team that went undefeated."

Ten months later, the Gamecocks are in the hunt for the 2025 title. In that 101-60 win over Oklahoma on Jan. 19, Paopao, who returned to South Carolina for a fifth season, was one of the five players to hit double figures. The performance showcased South Carolina's depth, even after losing junior forward Ashlyn Watkins to an ACL injury in January. Seven South Carolina players average between 12.3 and 7.2 points per game.

Law said everyone likely assumes now it's easy to recruit to South Carolina because of all the Gamecocks' success.

"That's not the case at all, because you've got to recruit that much harder," Law said. "Everybody else is saying, 'Why would you want to go there? They're loaded. You're not needed. Come here and be the star.'

"We had to change our approach. We sell our culture: Do you want to be a part of a dynasty, be among other women that are trying to win championships?"

Staley thinks back to South Carolina's first NCAA title in 2017, at a time when UConn had won the previous four in a row and seemed invincible with its triple-digit winning streak.

"We gave everybody else hope then," Staley said. "Because we weren't quite a powerhouse yet. We were still up-and-coming. So it was a win not just for us, but for the overall game."

Now the Gamecocks set the standards they once chased.

"When you're successful, there are direct correlations to your habits," Staley said. "When you've won one championship, you know what contributes to you getting another one. And then another. And you just try to keep it going."

Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford will sit out at least six weeks because of a Grade 3 sprain of the MCL in his right knee, sources told ESPN on Thursday night.

Gafford suffered the injury during Monday's loss to the Sacramento Kings. The team announced the next day that he would be reevaluated in two weeks.

Gafford took to Instagram on Thursday and wrote in a story: "Y'all wait for me...Be back soon."

The severity of Gafford's injury means the Mavericks will be without their top three big men for weeks after the All-Star break.

Sources said All-Star forward/center Anthony Davis, the headliner of the return package in the Luka Doncic trade, was expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks as the Mavericks proceed with caution in his recovery from the left adductor strain suffered in his Dallas debut.

Dereck Lively II, who had been the Mavericks' starting center, has been sidelined for a month because of a stress fracture in his right ankle and remains in a walking boot. Reserve center Dwight Powell has sat out the past 14 games because of a strained hip.

The Mavericks managed to win back-to-back games over the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat with 6-foot-7 two-way player Kessler Edwards starting at center.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is calling on the NBA, Formula 1 and major international soccer clubs to end multimillion-dollar deals with Rwanda's autocratic government.

The NBA, whose recent Africa expansion is centered in Rwanda, was the latest to receive a letter from Congo officials. Soccer teams Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain and racing's Formula 1 received similarly worded pleas in recent weeks.

In her letter Thursday to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, DRC Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner questioned the NBA's morality, calling on Silver to consider whether the league's "commitment to social justice and respect for human rights" aligns with its business ties to Rwanda, which the DRC blames for a surge in violence in its country. The letter asked Silver to sever the league's dealings with Rwanda, "If not for your own conscience, then at least in solidarity with the innocent victims of Rwandan aggression."

The NBA launched the Basketball Africa League, its first league outside North America, five years ago in Rwanda's capital of Kigali. The NBA has said the U.S. government encouraged it to do business in Rwanda, and when asked about the DRC letter, a league spokesman said, "We will continue to follow U.S. government guidance everywhere we operate."

The DRC earlier called on Arsenal, Bayern Munich and PSG to end their "blood-stained" sponsorship deals and on F1 to end ongoing talks with Rwanda over its bid to host a future grand prix event.

"We have been closely monitoring the developments relating to the DRC and Rwanda and continue to do so," an F1 spokesman wrote in an email to ESPN, adding of potential race sites, "We assess any potential request in detail and any future decisions would be based on the full information and what is in the best interests of our sport and our values."

The letters come amid violence driven by the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 and as many as 4,000 Rwandan troops, according to the United Nations.

Kayikwamba Wagner calls Rwanda President Paul Kagame an "imperialist autocrat" whose army and support of the M23 has led to the displacement of more than 700,000 people and more than 3,000 deaths in eastern Congo. Kagame has been likened to Russian President Vladimir Putin and accused of orchestrating a range of human rights violations.

Kayikwamba Wagner asked in the Thursday letter whether the NBA was aware that Rwanda's actions have left "thousands trapped in Goma without access to food, water, or security."

Central to the conflict in the DRC are vast amounts of valuable minerals used to make smartphones, laptop computers, electric vehicles and many more electronic staples. The U.N. and DRC have accused Rwanda of backing the M23 to steal minerals and seize control of mines in the Congo. In her letter to Silver, Kayikwamba Wagner asked, "How certain are you that blood mineral cash is not being used to fund the sponsorships for the [Basketball Africa League]?"

ESPN previously reported that the NBA's partnership with Rwanda was central to establishing the Basketball Africa League, which launched in 2021; each of the first four championships were played in Kigali at a $104 million arena built in less than a year. As part of a five-year contract extension signed in 2023, Rwanda pays the NBA's business entity in Africa $6 million to $7 million annually in exchange for teams displaying "Visit Rwanda" on their jerseys and the Kigali arena hosting some playoffs. Rwanda's national airline, RwandAir, also is the league's official travel partner.

In an interview Tuesday with Sky News, Kayikwamba Wagner said the soccer teams' Visit Rwanda deals are "advertising for a country that is wreaking havoc in the Great Lakes Region and that is de factor a warmonger."

Kagame told CNN last week that the DRC's letters to the soccer teams are a "wasted effort," adding, "I think they should direct the effort towards managing their own problems, their own politics properly."

The United States, along with the other countries that make up the G7, recently condemned the offensive in Eastern Congo and urged the M23 and the Rwanda Defense Force to end their attacks.

Last season, Burundi's Basketball Africa League team was removed from competition after forfeiting two games because its players refused to wear jerseys that displayed the Visit Rwanda logo. Burundi had closed its border with Rwanda after accusing Kagame's government of supporting rebel fighters in Burundi.

HOUSTON -- The Golden State Warriors go into the All-Star break feeling much more confident about their season with Jimmy Butler III on their side.

The Warriors improved to 3-1 since trading for Butler with a 105-98 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on Thursday.

"He's a franchise changer," Warriors power forward Draymond Green said about Butler. "He's done that everywhere he's gone, and he is helping revitalize what we got here. The belief amongst this team, now that he's arrived, as opposed to what it was before he got here, it's night and day."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Butler is the finisher they have desperately needed to give Stephen Curry, who finished with 27 points and two big fourth-quarter 3-pointers, some help down the stretch of tight games.

Butler finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. When the Warriors watched a 24-point lead dwindle to 91-89 with 6:03 left, Butler returned at the 4:42 mark with the lead at four. The Warriors went on a 9-2 run with Butler scoring four points.

"Jimmy, he's a real deal," Kerr said. "I mean, just a complete basketball player, methodical, under control all the time, plays at his own pace, never turns it over, sees the game and then can get to the line frequently. Great closer, not in the traditional sense where he's going to be Kevin Durant and make four straight midrange jumpers, but it's more of a complete game. Get to the line, make the right pass, get somebody else an open look, get a defensive stop, get a rebound. He's a fantastic player."

Butler was beating himself up for not being undefeated as a Warrior. The Warriors' 111-107 loss at the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday still stung.

"We should be 4-0," Butler said. "I am not going to lie to you. I have been sick to my stomach because of it since I got here. But we are going to figure it out. We are going to go streaking."

Considering the Warriors got to their hotel around 3:30 a.m. after the loss in Dallas and nearly let a 24-point lead slip away, Green said Thursday's game could have easily gone the other way if not for Butler's presence.

"We let one get away last night, but this one tonight, we would've lost," Green said. "But just having a guy like that changes everything for us. So after four games ... the assessment [on Butler] is, it's great."

Right-hander Kendall Graveman and the Arizona Diamondbacks are in agreement on a one-year contract, sources told ESPN's Jesse Rogers on Friday.

The deal has a base salary of $1.35 million, and he can make up to $3.3 million with performance bonuses, per source.

The Diamondbacks are adding Graveman with the hope that he can recapture his prior frontline reliever status after missing the 2024 season following shoulder surgery. The deal is pending a physical.

Graveman, 34, has the 15th-best ERA among relievers since 2021, when he converted to the bullpen full time with the Seattle Mariners. He pitched there and Houston before signing a three-year, $24 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. He was traded back to Houston and pitched well before undergoing labrum surgery in January 2024.

He is likely to grab a late-inning spot as long as his performance is as electric as it was pre-injury. He complemented a heavy, hard sinker with a solid slider and changeup, flipping in a curveball occasionally and relying more on a four-seam fastball. After posting a 1.77 ERA in 56 innings in 2021, Graveman put up ERAs of 3.18 and 3.12. He has struck out 193 in 187 innings and saved 24 games since 2021.

Graveman will join a bullpen that returns left-hander A.J. Puk and right-hander Justin Martinez working high-leverage spots, along with right-handers Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson and left-hander Joe Mantiply. Whether the rest of the bullpen is filled with pitchers who don't make the rotation or hard throwers like right-hander Drey Jameson will be for spring training to decide.

Ichiro Suzuki plans to do more than just be inducted into the Hall of Fame this July. He also intends to donate his entire personal collection to the museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Former National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum president Jeff Idelson announced the news while sharing a previous discussion with Suzuki on a recent "Refuse to Lose" podcast.

"It culminated with him wanting to follow in the footsteps of Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver, two players who pledged their entire collections to Cooperstown," Idelson said. "Ichiro said, 'I want to be the third much later in my life.'"

Idelson, 60, served as the president of the Hall of Fame from 2008-19. He returned as interim president in 2021 after Tim Mead stepped down.

Idelson and Suzuki, 51, have shared a relationship that continued past the latter's baseball career.

Suzuki earned an astounding 99.9 percent of the vote last month to become the first Japanese-born inductee. He will enter the Hall of Fame alongside CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, Dave Parker and Dick Allen when he is inducted on July 27.

Suzuki batted .311 with 3,089 hits, 509 stolen bases and 10 Gold Gloves despite debuting at age 27 in 2001, when he won the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards for the Seattle Mariners.

After 11-plus years with Seattle, Suzuki was traded to the New York Yankees in 2012 and played three years with the Miami Marlins 2015-17 before ending his career with cameos the next two seasons for his original club.

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Ronald Acuña says he has almost completely recovered after tearing his left ACL while playing for the Atlanta Braves last May.

Acuña, the 2023 National League MVP, estimated his knee at 90-95%.

"I feel great," Acuña said Friday. "When they tell me I need to be there that day, I'll be there."

Acuña injured his left knee May 26 on a stolen-base attempt at Pittsburgh and had surgery June 4 with Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Acuña tore his right ACL on July 10, 2021, had surgery with ElAttrache 11 days later and missed the Braves' run to their first World Series title since 1995. He returned on April 28, 2022, after missing Atlanta's first 19 games.

He hit .337 with 41 home runs and 106 RBIs in his MVP season, leading the major leagues with 73 stolen bases.

"We think getting him back is going to be big," general manager Alex Anthopoulos said.

Compared to his previous experience with an ACL, Acuna said he "would feel more stable."

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman reported to camp Friday after missing the team's first two days of workouts, insisting he is ready to make 30-plus starts and will not change his role.

The problem: Stroman isn't projected to make the Yankees' starting rotation.

"I won't pitch in the bullpen," Stroman said. "I'm a starter."

It has been a turbulent offseason for Stroman. Personally, he said he lost his home in Malibu in last month's wildfires in Southern California. Professionally, he has been included in constant trade rumors, with the Yankees looking to move their sixth starter's $18.5 million salary a year after signing him.

Stroman reported to camp Tuesday for his physical but chose not to show up the next two days for workouts. Though every other Yankees pitcher and catcher reported as expected Wednesday and Thursday, players are not obligated to report for spring training until Feb. 22, per Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement. A year ago, entering his first season with the Yankees, Stroman was in attendance from the beginning of workouts.

"At this stage in my career, I put a priority on getting my body ready," said Stroman, who turns 34 in May. "I don't think there was a need for me to be here the last few days, given the climate."

So why did Stroman show up Friday?

"Just felt like today was a good day to come," Stroman said. "Valentine's Day, I felt like the vibes were going to be proper."

Stroman said he is "very detached" in the offseason and that he learned of the trade speculation through his mother and other people around him. He maintained the rumors did not upset him.

"I'm so grounded at this point," Stroman said. "Nothing can really faze me. I know who I am as a pitcher. I can compete at any level, with any team. If I'm here, if I'm not here, my body's ready to roll. I'm ready to go out there and give 30-plus starts."

Manager Aaron Boone on Thursday said the rumors swirling around Stroman entering the season and his decision not to show up for workouts made for "a little bit of an awkward situation." He said he had spoken with Stroman since seeing him Tuesday, noting that he was "nudging" him to report to camp. He said he and a few coaches had a "fun, good talk" with Stroman in his office Friday morning.

"He really is in a good frame of mind," Boone said.

Stroman, who is entering his 11th major league season, signed a two-year contract with a conditional third-year player option worth $37 million guaranteed before last season. Stroman can opt into an $18 million salary next season if he pitches at least 140 innings this year.

Reaching that mark would require starting for the majority of the season. Barring a setback, the Yankees' five-man rotation will consist of Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt. Boone said the club is unlikely to deploy a six-man rotation.

"Never say never," Boone said. "I mean, I don't necessarily see us doing that, but we'll see where we're at. Again, that's a long way away."

Stroman surpassed the 140-inning threshold in 2024, logging 154 innings on his fourth major league team with a 4.31 ERA across 30 games (29 starts) during the regular season.

As in 2023, when he was an All-Star for the Chicago Cubs, it was a tale of two halves for Stroman: He posted a 3.51 ERA in 19 starts before the All-Star break and a 5.98 ERA in 10 starts and a relief appearance in the second half. Stroman also struggled at Yankee Stadium, tallying a 5.31 ERA in 16 home starts compared to a 3.09 ERA on the road.

Stroman didn't pitch in the playoffs during the Yankees' run to the World Series. He said not pitching in October did not bother him. The question now is whether he will throw another pitch for the Yankees again.

"Everyone in that clubhouse, I have nothing but love for and they all know that," Stroman said. "We all have a great relationship in there, from the staff and the employees all the way down. You can freely go ask anybody. I love everybody in that clubhouse. This is part of the business. It has nothing to do with my love for anybody in there."

MESA, Ariz. -- Three and a half years after deciding to retool their major and minor league rosters at the 2021 MLB trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs believe this is the season it should pay off with a playoff appearance.

The Cubs haven't hidden their sense of urgency that has separated this winter from recent ones. From the moves the front office made to what has been said as the team reports to camp, Chicago has one thing in mind: playing October baseball for the first time in half a decade.

"I think we're in a competitive window," president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said when the Cubs reported this week. "I think we've gotten better each year. I think we're at a place where we have a chance to be really good and we've been trying to really maximize our resources within our budget to make sure that we can do that."

As they enter the heart of what they believe is their next contention window, the Cubs aren't spending like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets (hence a slower rebuild after moving on from the 2016 championship core) but they aren't the Pittsburgh Pirates or Milwaukee Brewers either. The Cubs were one of nine teams with a payroll that exceeded the luxury tax limit last season and six of those teams reached the postseason. The Cubs were not one of them, and while ownership wants that to change in 2025, they were outbid by the Boston Red Sox for top remaining free agent Alex Bregman.

The team still is littered with $20 million-caliber players even without Bregman, such as newly acquired outfielder Kyle Tucker, whose arrival this winter signaled the shift in strategy. The Cubs traded three players, including a recent first-round draft pick, for the soon-to-be free agent Tucker.

"You don't make a trade for Kyle Tucker if you don't feel like you have a really strong team going into that year," general manager Carter Hawkins said. "And so certainly I would say objectively we've improved year over year in terms of just the talent level that's on the field -- and in the three-plus years I've been here, this is certainly the most talented team we've had."

The projection systems agree, with predictions as high as 87 (ESPN BET) to 90 wins (PECOTA) and a National League Central-best 84.9 wins that gives them a 39.3% chance of winning the division, according to ESPN's Bradford Doolittle. Whether they reach the loftiest projections, the team is primed to take a leap forward in Craig Counsell's second year as manager after back-to-back 83-win seasons.

"It should feel like this all the time," Counsell told ESPN earlier this week. "From that perspective, it makes me happy that we have high expectations.

"When you trade for a great player and he has one year left on his contract, that tells you a lot."

Counsell acknowledged the team had to "rebuild a few things" after trading former stars Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez in 2021. The process ate up a lot of the five-year contract Hoyer signed after Theo Epstein stepped down in November 2020. With this season left on his deal (and no extension imminent), Hoyer is well aware of the consequences this year could have on his future.

"I've been here for 14 years and sort of generally in my career, I haven't had much uncertainty," he said last weekend. "And so I think with uncertainty does come a level of anxiety. I think that would be a lie to say that it doesn't."

That feeling wasn't lost on his handpicked manager. It wasn't long ago that Hoyer shocked the baseball world when he plucked the well-regarded Counsell from division rival Milwaukee and made him the richest manager in the game. Now Hoyer's fate -- at least in part -- is dependent on Counsell getting the best out of the team the front office has built.

"That makes it fun in my opinion," Counsell said. "It provides a lot of clarity. And I've said that to Jed. It's like, 'Let's go.' I think that's how he sees it. It can give you a lot of clarity in how you do things. We're excited to try and do it together. I hope he's here for a long time."

As the Cubs' position players report to camp Friday, here is what could make or break a playoff-caliber season in Chicago.

The stars have to play like stars

Despite the talent bubbling up at Triple-A and a new group of depth players on the major league roster, Counsell acknowledged his best players need to carry the day. Perhaps that's the case for any roster, but with a team projected in the mid-80s win range that is often near the bar for playoff entry, there is little room for underachieving.

"Everything matters when you're trying to get extra wins," Counsell said. "You get it from wherever you can. Every decision is trying to add to that. ... We're going to rely on our regulars. We need production from our regulars, offensively and defensively."

That wasn't always the case last season. High-priced shortstop Dansby Swanson may have lost the Gold Glove award with his play in April, then slumped at the plate midseason. Swanson was battling a sports hernia injury that he didn't disclose until after the season, so his ramp-up will be a little slower this spring. Same goes for second baseman Nico Hoerner, who had flexor tendon surgery on his throwing arm. He could miss a few days at the start of the season. Both are going to be counted on, especially if rookie Matt Shaw is the starting third baseman.

In the outfield, Ian Happ has put up reliable 115 to 120 OPS+ seasons while dynamic center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is just beginning to figure out how dangerous his skill set can be. And if this is the year Seiya Suzuki -- now the designated hitter -- can put together a solid six months, the Cubs offense could explode.

But the key to the lineup will undoubtedly be Tucker. He has the ability to impact a game in a way no other Cub can -- and it comes in his free agent season.

Before they traded for Tucker, Hoyer raised eyebrows when he said his players needed to "exceed" expectations, leading fans to wonder why the team wasn't just acquiring players with higher ceilings. Now that the club has one, it needs the best version of him with others filling their roles. It's a good offense that could be great if it clicks.

Who's on third?

Bregman wasn't one of the Cubs' primary targets entering the offseason, so perhaps they're not overly disappointed or surprised he's not on their team. But his potential fit at third base had fans salivating as the winter played out. Well at least until Wednesday night, when Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox.

Adding Bregman would have pushed those projection models over 90 wins and given the Cubs a clear path to the postseason. The road to October remains a little less clear with Shaw the likely Opening Day third baseman, but the Cubs believe he could open some eyes around the league.

Shaw is the No. 23-ranked prospect in all of baseball entering the season, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel, but comes in a little undersized for the hot corner. At 5-foot-9, he has power that would certainly play at second base, but he'll be relied on to provide pop playing at a corner.

Michael Busch (who hit 21 homers in 152 games last season) is also on the smaller side for his position at the other infield corner as a 6-foot-1 first baseman.

"It's not the biggest group on the corners," one scout said. "But that doesn't mean they can't slug. Busch outperformed some expectations last year."

Not having traditional sluggers at the corners also means the true power hitters on the team -- Tucker, Swanson, Suzuki and Happ -- are going to be relied on even more.

The bullpen must deliver

The Cubs blew six games that they led entering the ninth inning last season -- third most in baseball. Six is also exactly the number of games Chicago finished behind the third NL wild-card team. In overhauling their bullpen for 2025, the urgency to lower that number came by adding experience.

The Cubs acquired five pitchers -- Ryan Pressly, Eli Morgan, Ryan Brasier, Matthew Boyd and Caleb Thielbar -- who took the mound in the playoffs over the past two seasons and four of them pitched last October.

"When I looked at the roster in spring training this year, compared to last year, I think that was the No. 1 thing," pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. "It's not only the number of bodies but the amount of major league caliber pitchers that have been there and done that."

Acquired from the Houston Astros late last month, Pressly is the biggest name and could fill a crucial role for a bullpen searching for a competent closer after cycling through one failure after another last season. There were plenty of ninth-inning options on the free agent market this winter, but budget constraints along with Chicago's overall feelings on many of them outside of Tanner Scott (who chose the Dodgers over the Cubs last month) led to a trade for Pressly.

"I want to be somebody that all these guys can lean on," Pressly said in his introductory news conference. "Any questions that they have, on or off the field, I want to be that guy for them."

Counsell added: "When you pitch in those situations, your team is like 10 minutes away from a win. That's what makes it feel like more for guys that pitch in that situation. We rightly assign some credit for guys with experience there."

With a revamped lineup and bullpen entering a crucial season, the Cubs hope they are just a smooth ninth-inning away from enough wins to be one of the last teams standing in October.

Before Packer heads into Six Nations camp as England's vice-captain, she will captain Saracens in the Premiership Women's Rugby league against Exeter Chiefs on Saturday.

Nine points separate second and fifth in a highly competitive PWR league, Saracens are in third and know victory over fifth-place Exeter would book their spot in the semi-finals.

However, pipping second-place Harlequins to a home semi-final spot is Packer's side's ultimate aim.

"We need to make sure that against Exeter we maximise the score and come away with five points and a good performance," the 108-cap flanker added.

"We are at the back end of the season now which is knockout rugby and we aren't usually when it comes to the league. It is knockout rugby to get into the top four. We want to get a home semi-final against whoever it is."

Gloucester-Hartpury, who sit top of the PWR, are chasing a third PWR title in a row, but have lost three league games this campaign, with Harlequins also losing three times.

"Usually the top two teams would lose one or two games max in the regular season. You would never get it quite all over the place like this league has gone," Packer added.

"It is really exciting for the PWR. It shows the calibre of players playing in all the teams and you have to show up every game.

"The best league in the world is here at the PWR with the competitiveness week in and week out."

Harlequins v Bristol Bears on Friday (19:45 GMT) is the first of four PWR matches that will be shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app in the run-in to the season finale.

Defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury's final regular-season match, when they take on Harlequins, will follow on 21 February.

BBC Sport will then show one of the semi-finals on the weekend of 1/2 March and the final, live from London's StoneX Stadium, on 16 March.

BBC Sport is the home of women's rugby this year with the Women's Six Nations kicking off in March and exclusive coverage of this summer's Women's Rugby World Cup in England, starting on 22 August.