This is some wild stuff happening between the circles. Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels is guarding Steph Curry nose-to-nose more than 40 feet from the basket, no space between them, two guys sharing a shirt. The other eight players on the court might as well be in another galaxy; this dance in the exurbs is its own game. The player who has the ball is somewhere behind McDaniels, far outside his sphere of interest. His mandate appears settled: He will go where Curry goes, and he will turn his attention to the ball if, and only if, he sees it in Curry's hands.

Curry is doing what he does when this happens. He's chopping his steps and raising his arms as if he's fighting through rough surf, trying to pry himself free. He swims his left arm, the one closest to McDaniels, and runs him into a Draymond Green screen. And there it is: a free patch of hardwood, a moment's peace, a place of his own. He takes a pass and sends it toward the basket, not so much a shot as a redirection, and tosses it in from about 28 feet, the ball settling in the net as if squeezed from a dropper.

This season, it feels as if each Curry basket is a victory over nature. He has always been the focus of everything around him, but never before as he is now, on a flawed Warriors team that is contending with a paradox: determined to use him less than ever at a time when it needs him the most.

"I want to do this for as long as I can," Curry says. "But the clock's ticking. We all know that."

One after another they come at him: McDaniels, Dillon Brooks in Houston, and a young guy in Memphis named Jaylen Wells, who crouched next to Curry before the opening tip six days before Christmas, the top of his head even with Curry's armpits, and followed him around just like that for the rest of the game. Curry has seen just about everything, but the look on his face indicated this Wells kid -- 6 inches taller, 21 pounds heavier and 15 years younger -- might have stumbled onto something new. No defender, judging by Curry's expression, had looked at him as if he were food.

Curry is 16 seasons into this and 36 years on Earth, and they're still there, one generation seeping into the next, making him fight for every inch. Nobody else, not Luka or Kyrie or Tatum or LeBron, puts up with this much aggravation. There's pressure from baseline to baseline, that's a given, with double-teams routinely starting at half court, from a bunch of guys either trying to make their name or keep it. "It's fatiguing, but I love it," Curry says. "It's the game within the game, and you have to find some lightheartedness in it to deal with the pressure." There are times when he'll see the second half of that double-team -- always taller, always heavier, always younger -- storming toward him at half court and laugh to himself. Are we really doing this tonight?

His movement is constant, and they track every twitch and quiver, knowing the dangers of hesitation and indecision. Lose sight of him for a second and risk humiliation. He might start one way and suddenly head the other, his body foreshadowing nothing, his dribbling quick and effortless enough to make the ball an afterthought. Or he might stand just past the 3-point line with the ball and pump-fake -- the most infinitesimal movement, the effort involved in its execution masking the effort involved to create it -- at precisely the moment you jump forward, convinced this is the one time he will not pump-fake but will instead shoot the ball directly into your outstretched hand. Or he's going to stand in that same spot while you hold your ground, determined not to fall for it again, only to watch him forgo the pump-fake and flick the ball into the air and through the faraway hoop as if he can read your mind.

"He doesn't need much space," Warriors guard Gary Payton II says. "All he needs is a fingernail."

The theme of the Warriors' season is the team doing whatever it can to maximize whatever Wardell Stephen Curry II has left. But what's left of Curry is often obscured by what is left around him. There is no other scorer to fear, no Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant or even the Jordan Poole of the 2022 championship run. He is, in the view of the rest of the NBA, alone. A solo act. Curry does it, or it doesn't get done.

And when the soloist has a bad night, the show can't be saved.

Curry is sitting in a folding metal chair outside the Warriors' locker room at Chase Center during a practice day about a week before Christmas. He has just finished a marathon body-work session he calls "the full car wash." It is a concession to age and an effort to forestall it: weight work, court work, soft-tissue massage, cold bath, hot bath, more than three hours in all. He runs off the list with a slight hint of embarrassment, as if this level of pampering is someone else's idea. He doesn't get these days as often as he'd like, but he says, "At this point, you need one of these days every once in a while."

It's another dot on the evolutionary timeline. After he felt as if he got thrown around in the 2016 Finals against the Cavaliers, he dedicated himself to the weight room, transforming himself from a young player who couldn't fill a tank top to a veteran who could moonlight as a bouncer. Now, he's looking ahead for a few down days on the schedule so he can have what might be described as an active spa day.

This is Curry's new phase. When I ask whether the season is 82 one-act plays or one long novel consisting of 82 chapters, he says, "Oh, man -- I love that. I feel like now it's 82 one-act plays where it used to be the other. You have to give so much attention to preparing yourself for every individual game." Each game forges its own identity; no longer does one bleed into the next.

Two days earlier, the Warriors lost to the Mavericks, and two days later, Curry will be held without a field goal -- for the first time in his career when he plays at least 12 minutes -- by the crouching Wells in a blowout loss to Memphis. It's the middle of a confounding stretch in which the Warriors will lose 14 of 20 games in every conceivable way, vaporizing the optimism generated by a 12-3 start. Their season feels like a hangover that hits before the first drink.

Curry sits in the folding chair for close to 45 minutes, barely moving, thoroughly digesting each question before giving a considered answer. The questions he likes the least -- pretty much every one that can be perceived as putting him above the team -- cause him to scrunch his mouth in a way that causes one of his eyes to nearly close. Eventually, the conversation veers to athletic mortality. He is acutely self-aware, especially for someone of his rank and privilege, and he says, "It's tough at times. It's scary at times. I know there are a lot less days ahead than there were before."

All those long postseason runs, the four NBA titles and six conference championships, the constant battles with the younger, taller, heavier defenders, he admits it has exacted a toll. "The scales have tipped, for sure," he says. "It's more of a measured approach now. I feel like I can still get to the same peaks, but is that an every-single-night-type thing? Maybe not, but it's picking and choosing your spots and trying to manage an 82-game schedule and hopefully get to a playoff series where you're fresh."

It has led to this: The Warriors play games in December and January with an eye on April, May, and June, with coach Steve Kerr adamantly refusing to extend Curry's minutes to win nonvital games. (If Curry remains at his current pace -- 31.1 minutes per game -- it will be the least he has played in a full regular season.) It's a tricky game to play, and not without its dangers: The Western Conference is so tightly packed and evenly matched that a bad week can send a team from the No. 5 seed to out of the playoffs. Four or five minutes fewer each game without Curry can easily be the difference between a playoff spot and a play-in spot, or a play-in spot and no spot at all.

"I've been doing this for years," Kerr says. "I took a lot of heat during the pandemic season because I was sticking to my guns and playing Steph 34 minutes a game, giving him about an eight-minute break in each half. And I used a line that became infamous around here when I said, 'We're not chasing wins.' And people were like, 'Then what the hell are you doing?' and the answer was, 'We're saving Steph. We're preserving him for his career.' I probably shouldn't have said the quiet part out loud, but I'm fine with admitting a big part of my job is not running Steph into the ground."

But what if, in the end, there's not enough Steph to go around? At what point does chasing wins become the only way? There is no scorer consistent enough or reliable enough to persuade teams to ease off Curry, and the acquisition of Dennis Schroder has yet to change that. When the Warriors are good, when Curry is conducting the team like an orchestra -- knowing the individual sounds of each teammate, and calling on each accordingly -- there's nothing more melodic in sports. But when they're bad, when they're leaving their feet with no discernible plan, when they're throwing outlet passes into the third row, when they're committing the reverse miracle of turning one turnover into four, it's nothing more than a protracted screech.

Case in point: At the beginning of the Warriors' stretch of losing, they lost to a depleted Brooklyn Nets team at home. It was the kind of game the Curry-era Warriors win almost reflexively, and it had that look when they led by 18 before an eight-minute stretch in the third and fourth quarters went so bad it looked almost intentional. The answer to all of the Warriors' bad shooting and ridiculous passing and jumpy pace sat calmly on the bench, three seats to the left of Kerr, who assiduously avoided even the thought of summoning him.

"I'm not going to do it," Kerr says. "For me, it's more like this: We want to put ourselves in position to give him a chance in the playoffs. We did that when we won the title in '22; we caught lightning in a bottle and the matchups worked our way and Steph does what Steph does. We want to give him that chance again. We want that at-bat."

Kerr's methods are not punitive, nor are they selfish. If he were selfish, he would go full Tom Thibodeau and run Curry and Green out there for 40 minutes a game. The soft limit on Curry's minutes comes from collaboration. "Every day," Kerr says. "We discuss it every day." And Curry says, "That's his job. He saves me from myself a lot. There are times when I'll push the envelope, and those conversations go one of two ways: either it's no conversation at all because of his feelings about where we are that night, or there are times when I can sense an opening. When I hear, 'Tell me how you feel,' I think we can be a little aggressive here. It's kind of unspoken. It is frustrating at times when you feel you can play more, but that's why we've been successful. We all feel like we're Superman every time we go out there."

The Warriors have remained relevant for nearly every one of Curry's 16 seasons. Now, however, every game is a referendum on the impermanence of the future. A world with Curry remains fixable. A world with Curry retains possibilities.

"It's a little scary to think about what comes after this," Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy, Jr says. "Our philosophy comes from understanding we have a generational player who is still at or near the peak of his powers. And given his time horizon, it's different than if he was 25. If he was 25, there would always be a next year, but now you have to approach it like there may not be a next year."

The philosophy is sound in principle, but if this is the final stage of Curry's remarkable career, have the Warriors done enough to craft a roster good enough to allow him to give them a chance? "This team has the potential to be a championship team, but we're not there yet," Kerr says. "We're competitive every night, and we feel confident in our ability to be competitive every night. Now, whether we can do that for four rounds in the playoffs remains to be seen." The occasional dissonance on the court is a result of the franchise's attempt to infuse the team with youth while maintaining the core group of Curry, Green, Thompson and Kevon Looney, thinking they could create a seamless transition from the Curry era to whatever comes next. The "two timelines" concept, which ran aground when the Warriors selected James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, created a reluctance to trade young talent for established stars. The idea was to rebuild on the fly, or rebuild without the pain of rebuilding.

"I think the postmortem on some of the two-timeline stuff is not great," Curry says. "We picked Wiseman, who's had a rough go. It's not his fault, but we had an opportunity when we were at the bottom of the standings and had the No. 2 pick, and picked Wise. We thought there was going to be a way to bridge that gap, and it didn't work out that way. But to hear the way people talk about the 2022 championship is still fascinating to me. Because the 'surprise championship'" -- here his hands provide the sarcastic air quotes -- "was a crowning achievement based on that team we had and what we'd been through since the '19 Finals.

"So, 'Did they do enough?' That's not for me to answer, but this is a collaboration, and I just want to win, and they know that. Until it's all said and done, we want to have at least one more [title] to speak for. And that's it. That's what's left for me. That's all of it. I still love to hoop, but I love to win even more. So if we don't get it done, maybe when it's all said and done, I'll be able to answer that question better. Right now, we're still trying to figure it out."

The tenets of normative decision theory -- the concept of maximizing expected value -- mean the Warriors should go all out to make the most of a generational player. That might mean trading only for Schroder -- who knows? -- but more likely it means making a run at someone with more heft, the second scorer who isn't on the roster, the Booker to Durant, the Kyrie to Luka, the Lillard to Giannis, the Young Klay to Curry.

The clock ticks. The work continues. He is a young man, his boyish, unlined face known throughout the world, his fortune building every day. He has television shows and commercials, his own shoe brand and a bourbon. ("Nice little heat to it," he says as if reading from the distiller's notes. "Not too overpowering, some flavorful notes, some caramel.") The talk of an end, of any end, is difficult to compute. He is old in just one place: here.

"It's a very weird thing," he says. "I go to my kids' schools, and my wife [Ayesha] and I are the youngest in the parent group. And then you come here and you got young dudes calling you 'Yes, sir' now. It's very strange. I haven't really settled that yet."

Imagine for a moment being the best in the world at something. Not arguably the best -- that infernal phrase -- or one of the best, but objectively the best in the world. Imagine, for the sake of the exercise, you are the best typist in the world: fastest, most accurate, whatever other analytics pertain to the field. (WAR: Words Above Replacement?) And imagine typing is a team game, that part of your fate is determined by the performance of less-accomplished typists. They're over there pecking slowly, misspelling words, constantly backspacing to correct mistakes, and they're bringing you down.

How hard would that be? How tempting would it be to push them out of the chair and say, "Here. I'll do it"?

This is Steph Curry and shooting a basketball. He is the best shooter in the world, by every available statistical measurement. He has made the most 3-pointers, a resounding 24.2% more than second-place James Harden. He has led the league in 3s a record eight times and has the highest free throw percentage (91) in NBA history. He is among the game's most inventive finishers around the basket, and he possesses a remarkable ability to alter his shot when the situation necessitates. In the final seconds of the Christmas Day loss to the Lakers, he hit a 3 from deep in the right corner with LeBron James closing fast, and he did it by somehow altering his release in midair, shooting from his right ear instead of his chin.

"The things he does on the court are ridiculous," Warriors forward Trayce Jackson-Davis says. "Stuff nobody ever thought of before. It's his gravity, man. It's insane."

There are years of hard work involved in getting there, and years involved in staying there, but still: How can he do what he does and not wonder how more people can't do it? Does he ever want to push the bad typists out of their seats (metaphorically, of course) and assume control of the keyboard?

He laughs and looks over my head and toward the Chase Center court, forming the most diplomatic answer in his mind before he allows the words to enter the world. "There are times," he says, a little ruefully. "There are times you see people with unorthodox form or guys who haven't gotten better at shooting the ball year after year. So, yeah, you ask yourself those questions. Most of the time you have to understand how to work and what to work on. You take that for granted at this level. But sometimes, yeah, sometimes you want to help, to offer some wisdom or whatnot."

He doesn't, though, unless asked. To do otherwise would be presumptuous and possibly arrogant, so Curry is fine with asking himself those questions and leaving it there.

"He probably looks at the rest of us and wonders, 'Why am I the oddball?'" Payton says. "But it's a good odd. A very good odd."

You would not watch Curry play for the first time and call him humble. He is a flagrant but joyous showboater, and watching him perform live in front of his home fans -- first in Oakland, now in San Francisco -- is to experience thousands of people watching him with a pilgrim's awe. The place seems to expand and contract like a massive lung with each of his makes and misses.

There are impromptu moves and recurring classics. He made a ridiculous shot against the Nets, got fouled and knocked to the floor, and lay there for a good five seconds doing straight-leg crunches or some secret-menu Pilates move while shooting his index fingers in front of his chest. Particularly important shots initiate the shoulder shimmy, which traditionally takes place with his mouthpiece curving out of his mouth like a fishhook. His signature, of course, has become the "night night" move, for game-clinching shots, when he tucks his hands under his tilted head, mimicking peaceful slumber. On its face, it's a wildly disrespectful gesture that somehow offends nobody.

That's the magic of Curry. His excellence feels allowable, his celebrations earned.

"This combination of humility and cockiness at the same time? Players love that," Kerr says. "How many guys can get away with doing the night night and the shimmy? And the opponents never do anything about it because they respect him so much. After the game, he's the most compassionate guy. He takes accountability. He's so poised. He just handles himself beautifully. He's a family man, he's an incredible humanitarian. The number of lives he's impacted, and it's all genuine. Everyone can tell the authenticity. And because of that combination, everyone sees him and loves him" -- here Kerr stops and laughs, throwing up his hands at the audaciousness of all this glorification -- "and all I know is this: I don't know a single person who can say a bad thing about Steph."

In a recent postgame news conference, Green shared a story about an NBA All-Star who wanted to connect with Curry during the offseason. Once he secured Curry's number, the unnamed All-Star told Green he wanted to ask Curry a question, and he wondered how he should do it. Green told him, "What do you mean? Just ask him the question." This odd interaction, Green said, is just one indication of how "guys in the league look at Steph as this mythical superhero."

Opponents hated Michael Jordan; his excellence was seen as borderline sadistic. LeBron's is more punishing and incessant and less relatable, even at 40. Curry is treated with a reverence that is rare among competitors and teammates. He can bark at the referees ("It exhausts me," he says. "One thousand percent more than any defense. You get distracted and waste energy yelling at the refs.") and he occasionally loses it completely. ("I've thrown a mouthpiece or two ... or three ... or four.") And yet nobody seems to begrudge him anything.

"The level of adulation is very uncomfortable, honestly, and surreal at the same time," Curry says. "I was never the dude who was, 'I want to be the best player.' Not that I didn't want that, but to think you could be the best player in the world or have a skill set that is recognized as the best in the world, it never felt real. I love to win, so the competitiveness was always there, and the showmanship and entertainment value of what I bring out there -- having fun. I get all that. I'm 6-3 -- average human measurements -- and out on the court, I'm very approachable and coachable. When you mix that with the levels I've been able to reach, it's very surreal. I don't think I'll be able to appreciate it until I'm done playing."

He plays with such freedom, ebullience and unflappability that it might come as a surprise, as it did to me, to learn that Curry suffers from performance anxiety, that he approaches every game with an unsettled fear of what lies ahead. He does not appear to be suffering from any existential angst as he's scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter against the Lakers on Christmas Day; he looked equally unaffected hitting eight 3s against France in the Olympic gold medal game; same for the countless times he has tossed his conscience aside and led his team by making shots from previously unimagined distances.

"Oh, for sure I have anxiety," he says. "A lot of it is baked into the expectations I've set and the level I want to play at. It's your own expectations and awareness of what a good game is. It's a healthy insecurity of having to prove yourself every single night, which is cool. It keeps you going."

Asked to explain Curry's popularity, Payton thinks for a few seconds and then raises an index finger to indicate he has come up with something he likes. "Your favorite athlete's favorite athlete is Wardell," he says. "Doesn't matter what sport, everyone is infatuated with Wardell Curry."

Midway through the third quarter against Minnesota, Curry drives under the basket and hooks a left-handed pass to Jonathan Kuminga, who catches the ball on the right wing, about 20 feet from the basket. As Curry releases the pass, McDaniels relaxes ever so briefly, just long enough for Curry to sprint along the baseline and position himself for a corner 3.

This has been the Warriors' offense for more than a decade: the ball moving, Curry zipping everywhere at once, the defense chasing but never catching. Eventually, that fingernail of space is created, and Curry can catch a return pass and loft another 3 through the net. But this time, as has been the case more often than not this season, the ball never finds its way back. Kuminga takes a long 2-pointer, and makes it, and Curry is left in the corner, his hands waist high, ready for a pass that never comes. On its face, a successful possession; for those indoctrinated in the Warrior Way, though, the sight of Curry left open but empty-handed is a lost opportunity.

As Kerr says, they're not there yet. The burden is there, the burden his teammates put on themselves to make the most of what Curry has left, and the way the burden shifts to him as he tries to justify their loyalty. "I count it as a blessing," Curry says. "I've been playing for 16 years, and to have an expectation that your best self can be championship-worthy? I believe it. I appreciate it."

They'll keep coming at him, taller and younger and heavier, sometimes one, sometimes two. When will the body's ability to enact what the brain is seeing cease to keep up? When will the balance tip all the way over?

"I don't like wasting the rest of his time," Payton says. "I'm sure he can go for another five [years], but I don't know if he wants to do it. I treat every game like, 'Let's do this for 30.' Every game we give away is one he won't get back."

They carry each other's worlds around with them, gathering forces for his last stand. None of them, not even Curry, can account for the unknowable: Will there be enough of him left when they get there?

Cruz Hewitt, the 16-year-old son of Australian legend Lleyton, also lost on the second day of qualifying.

Watched on by his father on a packed court three, Hewitt lost 6-1 6-4 to former world number 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.

Australia's Bernard Tomic, formerly a top 20 player, also lost, beaten 6-3 6-1 by Slovakia's 21st seed Jozef Kovalik.

Britons Harriet Dart and Heather Watson made it through to the second round of qualifying on Monday.

Katie Boulter, Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Jodie Burrage, Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley all have direct entry into the main draw.

Cameron Norrie has apologised after he threw his racquet and accidentally struck a spectator during his straight-set loss to Facundo Diaz Acosta at the Auckland Classic.

British number two Norrie received a warning but avoided disqualification for the incident, which happened when he was 6-2 5-3 down.

After the former world number eight netted to give Argentina's Diaz Acosta match point, a frustrated Norrie tossed his racquet behind him and into the crowd.

The chair umpire checked the woman had not been injured before issuing Norrie with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"I was not meaning to do that and it is completely not me to do something like that," said Norrie, who grew up in Auckland.

"I apologised very quickly and I want to apologise in general. I'm not happy with how I behaved."

Diaz Acosta went on to secure a 6-2 6-3 victory just three points later.

"[The spectator] was laughing and I just said 'so sorry, I didn't mean to do that'. And she said 'yeah, I'm completely OK'. That was not a big deal," said Norrie.

"But as we saw with some other players, you can easily be defaulted if it catches them in the wrong spot or they're not looking or something."

Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the fourth round of the 2020 US Open after he accidentally hit a ball at a line judge.

Canada's Denis Shapovalov was defaulted for hitting the umpire with a ball during a 2017 Davis Cup tie against Great Britain, while in 2012 David Nalbandian was disqualified at Queen's after injuring a line judge by kicking an advertising board into his shin.

It is a sight few could have foreseen a few months ago - but now it is likely to be one of the star attractions at the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic and new coach Andy Murray have practised together in Melbourne for the first time before the first Grand Slam of 2025 begins on Sunday.

Djokovic, who is targeting a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and historic 25th Grand Slam crown, announced the surprise appointment of long-time rival and good friend Murray to his team in late November.

The pair, both 37, were born seven days apart, but Britain's three-time major winner Murray ended his playing career following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in August.

The former rivals partnered during the off-season after Olympic champion Djokovic parted ways with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic.

It is Murray's first coaching role since he retired and footage on Tuesday showed the former world number one closely watching men's record 24-time major winner Djokovic hitting at Melbourne Park.

Jannik Sinner is 23, and Alcaraz 21. That is a lot of years to concede when your opponents are as good as they are.

But Grand Slam titles have regularly been won by great players in their mid-thirties over the past decade, and Edberg has played his part.

The Swede was part of Roger Federer's coaching team in 2014 and 2015, and is sure Djokovic's fire still burns brightly.

"These guys have a lot of people around them and they just love being out there. Especially with Novak chasing a lot of records, I think that's motivation enough," he said.

"He's still extremely fit, so that's going to give him at least a chance, even if it's going to be really difficult this time round."

What is clear when speaking to Edberg is how the top players now feel no psychological barrier to winning in their thirties. While the length of the season remains brutal, he says smarter scheduling helps.

"If I look back on my own career, I think what in many ways burnt me out was playing Davis Cup," he explained.

"We went to six Davis Cup finals in a row - it meant playing until December and then starting the season again.

"That really shortened my career when I look back at it. Physically, I could have played for another five years.

"At the time I was playing, the chance of winning Slams at 30 or 31 was very, very poor. That has changed now."

Edberg retired in December 1996 aged 30, after yet another appearance in a Davis Cup final.

Former England scrum-half Danny Care says he will remain with Harlequins next season for his 20th campaign with the club.

Care, 38, has made a club record 386 appearances for the London outfit, including 11 so far this season.

"I will be at Harlequins next season, I ain't leaving - I love it too much, I can't give it up yet," he told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

"Hopefully a few Quins fans will be happy with that.

"That game [the 'Big Game' 34-34 Premiership draw against Leicester in December] probably reminded me again just how lucky I am, fortunate, to still play this game we love and to still play for the club that I love.

"I'm not going to give it up while I enjoy it."

Brown made 74 appearances for Dragons and scored five tries.

"I've been lucky enough to spend my entire playing career with the Dragons, something I've truly cherished and am incredibly proud of," said Brown.

"I'd like to send a massive shout out to my team-mates - both past and present - and to the loyal Dragons fans for your continued, unwavering support.

"Everyone's help and support over the years has not gone unnoticed by my family or I, and we will be forever grateful.

"Finally there is a huge thank you to the Dragons for sticking by me and supporting me while I tried my best to get this neck to play ball."

Dragons interim head coach Filo Tiatia said: "We're all disappointed Leon is retiring, but fully understand the decision he has now taken.

"I have enjoyed working with Leon. He's left no stone unturned, with his dedication and professionalism, and developed as a leader in my time with him."

Some NHL awards races are actual races. There are leaders, but ones that are looking over their shoulders at a pack of candidates closing in fast.

Other NHL awards races currently look at lot like when Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt would race: Everyone is just going to have to be content with second place because their leads are that insurmountable.

Again, the operative word is "currently." This is the NHL Awards Watch for January. We have a lot of season to go.

We've polled a wide selection of Professional Hockey Writers Association voters anonymously to get a sense of where the wind is blowing for the current leaders. We've made sure it's a cross-section from the entire league, trying to gain as many perspectives as possible.

Bear in mind that the PHWA votes for the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Lady Byng finalists; broadcasters vote for the Jack Adams; and general managers handle the Vezina.

All stats are from Hockey-Reference.com, Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.

Jump ahead:
Ross | Richard | Hart
Norris | Selke | Vezina
Calder | Byng | Adams

Art Ross Trophy (points leader)

Click here for the updated point-scoring standings.

Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy

Click here for the updated goal-scoring standings.

Hart Trophy (MVP)

Leader: Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
Finalists: Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers; Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

A couple of things happened since the last NHL Awards Watch.

After leading the MVP race last month, Kaprizov's lower-body injury put him out of the Wild lineup. Through Sunday, he had missed six of Minnesota's 40 games this season. His stats remain stellar -- 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points -- but other Hart contenders haven't spent that kind of time off the ice.

The other significant happening was the entirety of Nathan MacKinnon's December. The Avalanche star had seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 13 games, helping Colorado go 10-3-0 while being named the NHL's first star for the month. Through 40 games, MacKinnon led the NHL with 65 points and 51 assists and led the Avalanche in scoring by eight points over Mikko Rantanen.

MacKinnon won the Hart last season. The NHL hasn't had back-to-back MVPs since Alex Ovechkin won the award in 2007-08 and 2008-09. The way MacKinnon's going, it could happen again.

And yet, Kirill Kaprizov still got the majority of the first-place votes from those canvassed this month.

"In the true spirit of the award, there is just no way Minnesota is anywhere close to the unexpectedly good team they are this year without Kaprizov," a voter said.

But the MVP race behind the Wild star has changed dramatically. Last month, Kaprizov finished atop the Hart straw poll with 88% of the vote. This month, he earned only 37% of the first-place votes. MacKinnon is right behind him. So are the other players who received first-place votes this month: Draisaitl, Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner. All of them have compelling MVP cases.

"It's getting crowded at the top, but Kaprizov is still producing more at even strength than any other player," a Kaprizov voter declared. "MacKinnon has Rantanen, Draisaitl has McDavid, Kucherov is too power-play dependent."

"I'm picking Kirill Kaprizov," another noted. "But if Colorado gets their stuff sorted for good and takes off, MacKinnon might run away with it. Central Division is where it's at."

MacKinnon won the Hart last year with 51 goals and 140 points. He's nowhere near that goal pace, but his points-per-game pace (1.63) isn't far off from his pace in his MVP season (1.71). He was the clear second choice with 26% of the first-place votes. MacKinnon was in the top three in the November Awards Watch, didn't receive a first-place vote in December and has come roaring back this month.

"MacKinnon's surge and Kaprizov's injury changed the face of that Hart race," a voter concluded.

"He not only leads the NHL in scoring but kept the Avalanche afloat long enough for them to swap out both goalies and look more like a serious contender," another explained.

Draisaitl was third in the voting (16%), right ahead of Eichel (11%). The Oilers star led the NHL in goals through Sunday with 29 tallies, well ahead of the five players tied with 23 goals. His 59 points were second to MacKinnon for the NHL lead. According to Evolving Hockey, Draisaitl leads the NHL with 22.6 expected goals above replacement.

Draisaitl helped keep the Oilers on point as teammate Connor McDavid dealt with an injury. But McDavid has played only three fewer games than Draisaitl -- and trailed him by only five points for the team lead. The season Draisaitl won his only Hart Trophy (the COVID-shortened 2019-20), he played seven more games than McDavid and tallied 13 more points.

Eichel's having the best regular season of his career. Through Sunday, the 28-year-old center led the Golden Knights with 52 points in 39 games -- nearly 20 points clear of the second-highest scorer, Mark Stone (33 points).

That Eichel had played 14 more games than Stone is exactly the point: As Vegas has had more guys out of action than a casino where the house always wins, Eichel has been the constant, playing every game and playing extremely well. His career high for points is 82 in 2018-19 with Buffalo. He's on pace for over 109 points this season.

"He's the best player on the best team, but most impressive is how Eichel has emerged as a defensive force," one Jack backer explained.

They're right about his defense, which has been improving each season since his 200-foot game earned accolades during the 2023 Stanley Cup run. Internally, Vegas has talked about Eichel getting a Selke push this season. The Knights give up just 2.16 goals-against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 with Eichel on the ice. It should be noted, however, that Kaprizov has him bested in goals-against per 60 (1.88) and expected goals against per 60 (2.05) this season.

Kucherov, who won the Hart in 2018-19, has led the Lightning in scoring all season. Through 35 games he had 55 points, 10 points better than the team's second-leading scorer Brayden Point.

Marner received a first-place vote for holding down the fort while Auston Matthews was out with an injury. Marner has 56 points in 41 games, 13 more than the Leafs' second-leading scorer William Nylander, while continuing to be an exceptional defensive forward, too. It's a heck of a case he's making in a contract year.

Marner has never finished in the top 10 for the Hart. Quinn Hughes was seventh for the award last season, when he won his first Norris Trophy. So he's on the radar in the MVP race and pulled in one first-place vote.

In a tumultuous season for the Canucks -- from infighting to injuries -- Hughes has easily been their best player: 42 points in 34 games, including 34 assists. He's not leading all defensemen in points nor ice time, but he's leading the Canucks in both. Hughes leads Conor Garland (29 points) by 13 points for the team lead.

So it's a very crowded field and could become even more crowded if Connor Hellebuyck starts getting the credit for the Winnipeg Jets' outstanding season. The NHL hasn't had a goalie win MVP since Montreal's Carey Price in 2014-15.

"I was this close to putting Hellebuyck down for MVP," said a voter who ultimately broke for Kaprizov instead.

While he didn't earn a first-place vote, it would be foolish to discount McDavid from the race. He's won NHL MVP three times and been a finalist for the award six times in 10 seasons. With 54 points in 36 games -- his 1.50 points per game average is fourth in the NHL -- he's just a stride behind the rest of these players.

Norris Trophy (top defenseman)

Leader: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Finalists: Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks; Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets

No major changes in the Norris race order, which we're sure will go over well in Vancouver.

Makar's lead has narrowed from earning 75% of the first-place votes to 58% from our panelists this month. His 49 points in 40 games led all defensemen through Sunday's games. That's impressive, but not nearly the total Makar's incredible start (24 points in 15 games) seemed to portend. He's a plus-13, skating more on average (25:31) than Hughes (25:08) but less than Werenski (26:28).

After getting dinged for his defense in last season's Norris voting, Makar's underlying numbers are strong: The Avalanche are giving up 2.04 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 when he's on the ice and have an expected goals-against of 2.14. Makar won the Norris in 2021-22 and finished third in the next two seasons.

One Makar voter anticipated some backlash for their choice. "Blah, blah, blah, you only pick points. But the dude is unreal and controls the game from the blue line. A total freak show," they quipped.

"He leads all blueliners in goals and assists," another Makar voter noted. "Quinn Hughes' injury may prove the difference in what was shaping to be a tight race."

Hughes, last season's Norris winner, missed four games after Christmas with an undisclosed injury. His return is imminent, which is good news for a Vancouver team whose offense struggled to score just seven goals in his absence. Hughes (42 points in 34 games) had a razor-thin points-per-game lead (1.24) on Makar (1.23) entering Monday's games.

Another factor for Hughes: He's second in the NHL in expected goals above replacement (18.5) and has added three wins to the Canucks, per Evolving Hockey. Makar (13.7 xGAR, 2.3 WAR) was a distant fifth in both categories.

Hughes garnered 26% of the votes.

"The Canucks' performance without the injured Hughes over the past few games underscores his importance to the team and gives him a slight edge over Cale Makar this time around," a Hughes voter noted.

"It's hard to argue with a plus-18 goal differential at 5-on-5," another added.

Hughes play a ton at 5-on-5 (21:12) -- more than Makar, in fact (19:34). He doesn't play much at all on the penalty kill (11 seconds per game), while Makar does (2:12).

Werenski also plays in all three situations for the Blue Jackets. In fact, he plays more than any other skater in the NHL, at 26:28 per game on average. Werenski has 12 goals and 33 assists in 40 games. He entered Monday second to Makar in goals and points on the season.

"More people should be talking about Zach Werenski," a Makar voter declared.

"The thing that stuck out to me the most [since December's Awards Watch] was how much better the Blue Jackets are with Zach Werenski on the ice," a Werenski voter said. "His impact is noticeable on both ends of the ice -- the way he drives play, his defensive ability -- and that is how he manages to be a plus-player on that bad of a team. He should be rewarded for that."

"The Columbus Blue Jackets sit nowhere near sniffing-distance of a playoff spot if Werenski isn't averaging 1.13 points per game while logging almost 27 minutes every night," another Werenski voter pointed out.

These three defensemen dominated our voters' ballots. The only other two names mentioned were Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, who was seventh for the Norris last season after finishing fifth one year earlier; and Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson, who continues to thrive under head coach Spencer Carbery. He was second for the Norris in 2019-20.

Calder Trophy (top rookie)

Leader: Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
Finalists: Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens; Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers

Last month, we likened Macklin Celebrini to a marauding T-Rex chasing a Jurassic Park jeep, as Matvei Michkov frantically glanced in his side mirror to discover that objects may be closer than they appear.

In other words, it was only a matter of time before the San Jose Sharks rookie had the body of work voters needed to put him over the Philadelphia Flyers rookie in the Calder race, and here we are.

"Sometimes, the obvious answer is the correct answer," a Celebrini voter concluded.

After finishing second to Michkov in the December NHL Awards Watch, Celebrini pulled nearly 90% of the first-place votes from our panelists to take control of the rookie of the year race.

"A must-watch player already," a Macklin backer said. "He's absolutely electric despite having little help around him."

Entering Monday's action, Celebrini (28 points) trailed Michkov (29 points) by one point despite playing eight fewer games thanks to an early-season injury. Celebrini's 0.93 points-per-game average was tops among all rookies. He also led all rookies with 13 goals, one more than Michkov.

"Matvei Michkov had the head start, but the wonder kid in San Jose has made up for lost ground," a voter said.

Celebrini is seeing significantly more ice time (19:48) than the Flyers rookie (16:31) on average. In fact, Celebrini is second only to Hutson, a defenseman, in average ice time for rookie skaters.

"Not many rookie forwards skate almost 20 minutes per game," a voter declared.

"I lean Macklin over Michkov because of the two-way skill and effort he regularly shows on a lesser team," another added.

Michkov still has a strong case and could end up sweeping the goals and points titles among rookies, both of which have been harbingers for forwards winning the Calder. He's feasted on the power play for the Flyers, with five goals and 12 points, which led all rookies. While Celebrini has managed to keep up with Michkov as far as highlight-reel moments, Michkov has thrived under -- or despite? -- the "tough love" of John Tortorella's coaching.

"Michkov has restructured a broken power play with ease. He's reminded us the extent of impact one majestic player like him can truly have on a team's complexion," a voter explained. "I anticipate changing this to Celebrini by the end of the year, but I'm also anticipating an extremely close call."

Michkov is the only other player to earn first place votes for the Calder. Based on the number of mentions he received on voters' ballots, we're comfortable putting Hutson in that third spot just ahead of Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf.

Hutson has 27 points in 39 games while skating 22:34 per game for the Canadiens. To put into perspective how much Hutson has lapped the field among rookie defensemen: The next highest scoring rookie defenseman, Nolan Allen of Chicago, is 21 points behind.

The Canadiens defenseman is a minus-8, fourth worst on the Habs for players with at least 15 games played. That's with Montreal having sheltered him with 63% of this zone starts coming in the offensive zone.

Wolf, who was third overall last month, is 12-6-2 in 20 games, with a .913 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average, to go along with two shutouts. Those are easily the best numbers for any rookie goalie with at least 10 appearances. With the Flames in the thick of the wild-card race, he should not be counted out for Calder consideration.

But right now, it's just "consideration." It remains Celebrini vs. Michkov, with Celebrini clearly ahead in the race.

Vezina Trophy (top goaltender)

Note: The NHL's general managers vote for this award

Leader: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Finalists: Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils; Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals

This is Connor Hellebuyck's Vezina to lose, but our voters didn't make it unanimous.

Hellebuyck is 24-6-2 for the dominant Jets, with a .926 save percentage, a 2.09 save percentage and five shutouts -- leading the NHL on all of those categories for goaltenders with at least 20 appearances.

He won his second Vezina Trophy last season and looks very much poised to win a third. Since 1981 -- when the NHL changed the criteria of the Vezina Trophy to no longer just honor the goalie who played the most games on the team that gave up the fewest goals -- only three goalies won the Vezina more than twice: Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. All legends and all Hockey Hall of Famers.

"It is 'Helle-back?' Perhaps 'Helle-back-to-back?'" a voter quipped.

"Five shutouts and the season isn't half over. He'll be on Hart ballots, too," another voter predicted.

There was another goalie that snagged a first-place vote and it was a surprise: Thompson, the Capitals netminder who came over from Vegas in the offseason.

The Capitals have been one of season's best teams and Thompson has been a big reason why. In 20 games, he's an incredible 16-2-2, with a .916 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average. Compare those numbers to what Washington's other netminder Charlie Lindgren has posted (10-8-1, .900 and 2.70) and the contrast is stark.

"Thompson has been so incredibly efficient. Sixteen of his 20 appearances qualify as quality starts (80%)," the Thompson voter noted. "When the goals dried up for the Capitals following their hot start -- and Alex Ovechkin was injured -- Thompson kept them on track."

The other Vezina spot could go to Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild, who was in the top three in last month's NHL Awards Watch. He certainly has the numbers: 18-6-3 in 27 games, with a .926 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average. He also leads the NHL with 13.5 goals saved above expected per Stathletes.

But the goalie with the highest down-ballot mentions was Markstrom. He's 19-8-2 with a .911 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average. He hasn't been perfect, and has just 3.1 goals saved above expected this season, but a handful of voters believe he belongs in the Vezina conversation, such as it is.

"This is not a conversation by any stretch of the imagination," a Hellebuyck voter opined.

Selke Trophy (best defensive forward)

Leader: Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Finalists: Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils; Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs

Barkov earned 42% of the first-place votes, which slightly down from his total last month (50%) but puts him in position to win back-to-back Selke trophies and his third Selke in five seasons.

The Panthers have a 2.06 goals-against and a 1.87 expected goals-against per 60 minutes with Barkov on the ice. The Panthers get 60% of the high-dander chances. He's also winning an exceptional 61% of his faceoffs this season while putting in work on the penalty kill as well.

"Aleksander Barkov is still the guy," a voter concluded.

While Barkov remains on top of the Selke leaderboard, the finalists from the December Awards Watch have changed. Out are Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers; in come Hischier and Marner.

Hischier was second in the Selke voting in 2022-23. He wins 55.8% of his faceoffs and leads the fifth best penalty kill in the NHL, as the forward with the most short-handed ice time on average for New Jersey. His underlying numbers aren't stellar from a defensive standpoint, although he wins a good amount of puck battles. But he's a player that certainly passes the eye test as a defensive force for New Jersey.

The same goes for Marner, a winger whose speed and tenacity make him a terrific defensive player. He leads the NHL in turnovers created (8.67) and steals per 60 (2.18) for players with at least 700 minutes of ice time, per Stathletes. He's the ice time leader for the eighth best penalty kill in the NHL.

It's here we note that a non-center hasn't won the Selke Trophy since 2002-03, when Dallas Stars winger Jere Lehtinen captured the award for the third time.

Reinhart was one of five other players to receive a first-place vote, is listed as a center although he plays on Barkov's wing. He has slightly better defensive metrics than his center, and also plays on the penalty kill.

Cirelli also received a first-place vote. He wins 51.7% of his faceoffs and he's an outstanding penalty killer, with two goals and two assists shorthanded. His underlying numbers (3.51 expected goals against per 60 minutes) don't mount a strong argument at the moment. Keep in mind that Cirelli was selected for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off as a defensive specialist, and that certainly raises his profile.

Anze Kopitar won the Selke in 2015-16 and 2017-18. He's having an outstanding season for what might be the best defensive team in the NHL. The Kings have a 1.66 goals-against per 60 minutes when Kopitar is on the ice.

Jordan Staal has been searching for his first Selke win for 15 years, and finished second for the award last season. He's once again the linchpin at forward defensively for the Hurricanes, who have a 1.69 goals-against average per 60 minutes when the center is on the ice.

The other player to receive a first-place Selke vote was Jack Eichel. As mentioned earlier, the Golden Knights believe his name should be in the hat for this award. Vegas gives up 2.16 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 with Eichel on the ice, and he's an effective penalty killer, too.

Barkov leads, but this is certainly still a competitive race.

Lady Byng Trophy (gentlemanly play)

This is the part where I mention that the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play should be voted on by the league's on-ice officials or by the NHL Players' Association instead of the PHWA.

Traditionally, this award goes to a player with a top 20 point total and the lowest penalty minutes among those players. Brayden Point is 16th overall in scoring with 45 points, and had only two penalty minutes through 33 games. But keep an eye out for Anze Kopitar, who won the award in 2015-16 and 2022-23. He's 34th in scoring (39 points in 38 games) and also has just two penalty minutes. What a race!

Jack Adams Award (best coach)

Note: The NHL Broadcasters' Association votes on this award.

Leader: Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals
Finalists: Dean Evason, Columbus Blue Jackets; John Hynes, Minnesota Wild

Alex Ovechkin has 19 goals in 23 games this season. When he fractured his leg in November, there wasn't just concern about the state of his NHL all-time goals record chase. There was concern that it might derail what had been a stellar start for the Capitals, who went 13-4-1 with Ovechkin in the lineup through Nov. 18.

In between his injury and Ovechkin's triumphant return to the lineup on Dec. 28? The Capitals went 13-6-2, thanks in no small part to the steady leadership and strong fundamental systems of Spencer Carbery.

The second-year coach had Washington with the Eastern Conference's top points percentage heading into Monday's games. They were the top scoring team in the league (3.72 goals per game) and sixth in goals against (2.64).

Perhaps that's why Carbery was the only unanimous choice in any category in this month's NHL Awards Watch.

"He's going to run away with this, and for justifiable reasons," a voter declared.

While Evason and Hynes didn't get any first-place votes, they both received a lot of love down the ballot from our voters.

Hynes coached the Wild through some injury adversity to get near the top of the Central Division, with strong underlying defensive numbers.

"Hynes deserves a little love here," a voter argued.

Evason, in his first season with the Blue Jackets, has Columbus right at the Eastern Conference wild-card bubble after 40 games. He also has something that other candidates don't have: an emotional backstory, as Evason helped lead this Blue Jackets team through its grief following the tragic death of star forward Johnny Gaudreau before the season.

"The job Dean Evason is doing in Columbus, given everything that franchise has endured, is remarkable. To have them remotely close to a playoff spot is a huge feather in his cap," a voter explained. "If Columbus gets in, he may beat Carbery and Hynes, but those two have their teams playing consistently solid hockey."

Other coaches mentioned by our voters include Los Angeles Kings first-year coach Jim Hiller, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper and Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. The Winnipeg Jets' Scott Arniel, who was in the top three last month, did not receive a mention.

"Steven Stamkos is gone, Mikhail Sergachev was traded and they're one of the highest scoring teams in the league, one of the top in goal-differential, and radically turned their 5-on-5 play around," a Cooper backer noted.

"Considering injury list and goaltending woes, though, Jared Bednar should get more love in this category," another voter said.

Other coaches will get love. But it's hard to imagine any one of them breaking through the infatuation with Carbery this season.