Following the U.S. Soccer Federation's settlement of an equal pay lawsuit with players from the U.S. women's national team in 2022, the organization reached a second, previously undisclosed, financial settlement with former USWNT head coach Jill Ellis, who had threatened litigation over being paid less than her men's national team counterparts, multiple sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.

The settlement came in the wake of USWNT players settling their equal pay lawsuit against the USSF in February 2022 for $24 million. Three months later, the U.S. Women's National Team Players Association, the union that represents USWNT players, successfully negotiated a landmark collective bargaining agreement with the USSF in which the players were paid equitably with those on the USMNT.

Around this time, Ellis threatened to sue the USSF if they didn't compensate her further for her time as head coach of the USWNT, which lasted from 2014-19 and included two World Cup titles.

Sources told ESPN that there was resistance among some members of the board of directors to reach a settlement with Ellis, especially given that after her resignation as USWNT coach, Ellis was paid a total of $442,5598 by the USSF to be an "Ambassador/Former Key Employee," according to a USSF tax filing for the 2021 fiscal year.

But, sources said, a desire to avoid another public battle over equal pay -- in this case with a highly respected and successful coach -- as well as the fact that insurance paid for some of the settlement, carried the day.

Sources told ESPN that, in the spring of 2022, the USSF Board authorized its legal representatives to settle for upwards of $1 million. Another source told ESPN that the final settlement exceeded $1 million, though because of the confidential nature of the settlement, there is no explicit record of a payment to Ellis in the Federation's IRS Form 990 for the 2023 fiscal year. Multiple sources indicated that the settlement amount was included in line items related to the USSF's legal expenses.

The following year, Ellis assumed the role of president with NWSL side the San Diego Wave.

A U.S. Soccer spokesperson told ESPN, "We don't discuss employment matters." Ellis had no comment.

That Ellis made considerably less than her male counterparts during her time as USWNT coach is not in dispute. For the 2020 fiscal year, a period which covered the period from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, Ellis made $746,623 in total compensation, with her base pay amounting to $516,352. She also made a $202,000 bonus for leading the USWNT to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second World Cup triumph overseen by Ellis.

In contrast, for the 2020 fiscal year, then-USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter received $1,329,492 in total compensation, with $1,222,710 of that in base pay.

The disparity was even more pronounced at the beginning of Ellis' tenure. For the 2016 fiscal year that ran from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016, -- a period that coincided with her first Women's World Cup triumph -- Ellis' total compensation was $327,332, which included a $90,000 bonus.

Over the same period, then-USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann's total compensation was $3,076,594. Klinsmann also occupied the position of U.S. Soccer technical director during this period.

The extent to which the settlement with Ellis had a ripple effect on subsequent negotiations with national team coaches is unclear. The IRS Form 990 for the 2024 fiscal year, the final year in which Vlatko Andonovski served as USWNT coach, has yet to be released. The 2023 fiscal year saw his total compensation reach $448,485.

Forbes has reported that current USWNT coach Emma Hayes's salary is around $1.6 million, similar to what Berhalter made during the most recent year of his contract. According to the USSF's most recent IRS Form 990, during the 2023 fiscal year, Berhalter made $2.3 million, which included a $900,000 bonus for qualifying the USMNT to the 2022 Men's World Cup.

One Federation source said that Hayes' compensation was what was required to pry her away from Chelsea of England's Women's Super League. But other sources, all of whom asked to remain anonymous because they weren't authorized to discuss Federation compensation matters publicly, said the Ellis settlement had an effect on the negotiations.

The issue of compensation of national team managers came up again in the wake of Mauricio Pochettino's hiring as USMNT head coach last month.

Sources told ESPN that Pochettino's base salary will be $6 million per year, with private donors picking up some of that amount. Chelsea will also be paying Pochettino a little over half of the $14 million he was owed for the remainder of his contract when he left the Premier League club earlier this year.

This has led to questions about whether Hayes' compensation would be adjusted to match Pochettino's. But multiple Federation sources tell ESPN that this isn't the case. There is neither a Federation bylaw, nor a board policy requiring the USMNT and USWNT coaches to be paid the same.

As for Ellis, while she remains in her role as president of the Wave, she currently finds herself at the center of a separate legal matter involving her tenure with the club.

In July, following accusations of creating a toxic work environment, Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit against Brittany Alvarado, the team's former video and creative manager. This was followed by a subsequent lawsuit filed by five former Wave employees against the club and the NWSL alleging multiple forms of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. Ellis is not named as a defendant in the new lawsuit, although she is mentioned throughout.

Hansi Flick has been involved in some of the biggest games in football as a player, assistant coach and manager, but Saturday's trip to Real Madrid -- his first Clásico as Barcelona boss -- may end up topping the lot. Those who have been involved in the fixture detail a pressure, media environment and political edge unrivaled by almost any other game. Others say the tension around the match makes it impossible to enjoy the actual 90 minutes of football.

Flick has conducted himself well as Barça coach so far. He has not complained about the club's tricky financial situation, a series of long-term injuries or about having to turn to the youth teams to fill out his squad. It has helped that results have accompanied him: nine wins from 10 games in LaLiga and a three-point lead over Madrid at the top of the table heading into this weekend's showdown at the Santiago Bernabéu (stream LIVE at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+).

However, all that good work could go out the window should his side fail to get a result in the Clásico. It is the game that is circled in red as soon as the fixtures are announced. For some Barça fans, beating Madrid is even more important than winning the league. It's important to get that message across to coaches when they arrive from abroad.

The late Terry Venables, Barcelona coach between 1984 and 1987, said in an interview in 2017: "People stopped me in the street and told me: 'Terry, you'll never win LaLiga, but don't worry, as long as you beat Madrid, everyone will be happy.'"

Venables coached in a different era, mind. Barça hadn't won LaLiga for a decade when the Englishman took over. He won the title in his first season. Now they are expected to win the league every yearb and the pressure has increased substantially.

"This is baloney," Henk ten Cate, Frank Rijkaard's assistant at Barça between 2004 and 2007, told ESPN when asked whether beating Madrid is what matters most. "The title is the most important. It takes away a little of the shine when you don't win a game against Madrid but you win the title, but winning the title is still the most important because it means over the season you are the best team."

The truth is, the two teams are often so evenly matched that these games have a direct impact on where the title goes. Winning the Clásico and winning the title cannot be separated. Madrid won both Clásicos last season and won LaLiga; if Barça had won them both, they would have clinched the title.

"I would say there is a heightened sense of anticipation going into these games and that's created, I suppose, from the outside," Paul Clement, Carlo Ancelotti's assistant at Madrid between 2013 and 2015, told ESPN. "The media, the coverage, the talk amongst the fans, it's building. You sense that and you feel that. You also know that you're going to have an impact on where the title goes. They're six-point games."

A rivalry beyond football

Most derbies pit two teams from the same city against each other, or at least two teams from the same geographical area. The Clásico brings together two different parts of Spain: Madrid, the capital city where central government is based, and Barcelona, nearly 400 miles to the east in Catalonia, a region of Spain where there is an ongoing push for independence.

"It's different from all of the other derbies you play in the world because this is the more political one," Ten Cate adds. "You have the establishment in Madrid and then Catalonia, the free spirits of Catalonia and the Catalan people. So it's more than a game, it's also politics.

"This is what makes it extra different from all of the other matches you will play. For instance, in the Netherlands you have Ajax-Feyenoord, which is hot. You have Chelsea-Arsenal, Manchester United-Manchester City, Liverpool-Everton, those are derbies but on a different level."

That element of the rivalry even surprised Venables during his time in Catalonia, who said back in 2017: "The ferocity was far more severe than I thought it was. I mean it was just, everything geared around the football club and the fixture, even politics is linked in with the club."

The fact the fixture is so consequential to where the title could end up, and laced with historical and political significance, means that an intense media atmosphere and an immense pressure on all those involved builds to a crescendo in the weeks leading up to the game. Bobby Robson, Barça coach for the 1996-97 season, had coached the England national team and clubs all over Europe before moving to Camp Nou, but even he was surprised by the level of criticism he and his side faced at times.

"This is the phenomenon of Barcelona," Robson told the BBC in 1996. "It's what they call here the entorno [the environment around the club]. It's not the pressure from inside, it's from the outside.

"The day that Barça are one point behind Madrid is a day of panic. They don't like that because they are afraid they might lose the next game and go four points behind Madrid and this a complete and utter disaster. So they're always on that verge of despair if you like."

It's a feeling Ten Cate recognises. He tells ESPN: "This is something created by the press. Weeks before the game they already start talking about it. Players who are not fit, if they can make it in the game against Madrid. In the meanwhile you still have to play two or three matches before you play Madrid."

'Half the world is watching you'

All that surrounds this fixture can make it difficult to enjoy the fact you have reached the pinnacle of the game: coaching either Barça or Madrid in one of the biggest fixtures, if not the biggest, in club football.

"The atmosphere was spectacular," Quique Setién, who was Barça coach for a Clásico in 2020, tells ESPN. "There is so much tension involved in the fixture and you really feel it. You know that half the world is watching you, how you play, what you do.

"It's electrifying. More because of the pressure and the responsibility you have than for actually enjoying [the games] as I did somewhere like [lower-league side] Lugo, where during my six years I enjoyed football.

"[Coaching in the Clásico] is totally different because enjoying football at a big club is more difficult. Everything is conditioned by the result and by winning matches. There is a lot of responsibility. The pressure is huge. You feel it on the streets and around the club. At these big clubs, you have to win. That's the norm. Nothing else is good enough."

The sensation was similar for Clement, who also worked with Ancelotti at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. He says: "I can't remember enjoying the games, I have to say. And you can imagine, that's as an assistant, so imagine the pressure on the coach. I've had that feeling as an assistant coach and the feeling you get is different when you're a head coach, the pressure. I can only imagine the feeling that Carlo has during those games."

Blocking out the noise

Despite all the factors at play, most of the coaches insist routine -- and staying true to yourself -- is the best way to prepare for the games. Jordi Roura, who worked as Tito Vilanova's assistant in the 2012-13 season and was interim coach for several months due to Vilanova's illness at the time, tells ESPN that the approach with the players never changed. However, he acknowledged much more work went on behind the scenes when the Madrid games came around.

"You have to, where possible, try and reduce the excitement levels when preparing the team," he says. "Don't say anything too different. The game sells itself. Everyone already knows how big this game is. The local lads live in a different way, but those that come in from elsewhere quickly realise what it means.

"From a coaching perspective, in our time, we would analyse eight matches of each upcoming opponent. For the Clásico, that would go up to 12. We also had a playbook at the start of each season. We would always try and reserve some of those plays or dead-ball strategies for the Clásico, to add that element of surprise. We knew that Madrid would be looking at everything as well, so we wanted to keep some things back for those fixtures."

As Venables told John Toshack when the Welshman took the Real Madrid job in 1989: "At the end of the day, if you try and listen to [all the noise] you're going to come unstuck. You know that. You have got to just say, I am not going to listen. Because if you try to please everyone, you please no one and if you do it your way and it goes wrong, you're going to be happy with yourself."

That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it once the full-time whistle goes. Venables said in 2005 that his first Clásico -- which was also the first league game of the season -- in 1984, a 3-0 away win, was the best moment of his career.

Ten Cate doesn't remember his first -- a loss -- too fondly. But a 3-0 win at the Bernabéu in 2005, when Ronaldinho was given a standing ovation by the home supporters, left its mark and showed there are moments when the rivalry can subside.

"[You enjoy it] if you finish the game as the winner," he says. "I remember winning in Madrid when the white part of the stadium was applauding Ronaldinho. He played so extremely well that game that it was like football from another planet. And people recognised that."

Flick has been in the game long enough to have an idea of what awaits him. But he's new to the Barça job and he's not yet experienced the Clásico rivalry from the inside. He will take to the Bernabéu dugout on Saturday thinking not only about how to deal with Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior -- fresh from his stunning hat trick in the Champions League on Tuesday; something his own player Raphinha replicated the following night -- but also the occasion itself.

It's games like this and the atmosphere that surrounds them that wore many of his predecessors down. Pep Guardiola walked away after three years, as did Luis Enrique. Lose on Saturday and Flick may get a taste of what exhausted his predecessors so much. Win and he will share in their euphoria.

ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Moises Llorens contributed to this report

Alexis Lafreniere and the New York Rangers have agreed on a seven-year contract extension for the first overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The new contract for Lafrenière, 23, will carry a $7.45 million average annual value (AAV) and runs through the 2031-32 season. After three NHL seasons that didn't live up to Lafrenière's lofty draft position, last season was a breakout for the Quebec-born left wing.

Lafrenière had 28 goals and 29 assists (57 points) in 82 games. He was outstanding in the Rangers' run to the Eastern Conference finals, with 14 points in 16 games, tying Vincent Trocheck for the team lead in goals (8).

In his fifth NHL season, Lafrenière has 155 points (79 goals, 76 assists) in 305 games. Through seven games this season, Lafrenière has 4 goals and 3 assists, averaging a career best 17:51 per game in ice time.

"It's a confidence that built last year to him being one of our best players in the playoffs," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said earlier this month. "You have to be carrying some confidence to try and pull off some of the stuff that he did successfully [in the playoffs]. It seems like he has picked up right where he left off last year, when he made some plays that were pretty special."

Details on Lafrenière's contract were first reported by PuckPedia.

The Minnesota Vikings have lost left tackle Christian Darrisaw, one of their top players and among the best at his position in the NFL, for the season because of injuries to the ACL and MCL in his left knee, coach Kevin O'Connell confirmed Friday.

Darrisaw suffered the injury late in the first half of the Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. The Vikings placed him on injured reserve Friday afternoon and, in the corresponding move, activated tight end T.J. Hockenson to their 53-man roster from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

"He's clearly one of our offensive pillars that we have leaned on a lot," O'Connell said of Darrisaw, "and it's going to be a significant loss. But we've all got to do a little bit more."

Veteran David Quessenberry replaced Darrisaw in Thursday's game, but O'Connell said Vikings coaches were discussing multiple options for the position moving forward. Left guard Blake Brandel has played left tackle in the past, and guard Dalton Risner is eligible to be activated from injured reserve. The Vikings also drafted tackle Walter Rouse in the sixth round this spring.

"I thought [Quessenberry] settled in and did some things to help us," O'Connell said, "but yeah, whether when you talk about that mentality of trying to get the best five guys in there, not only those five options but then what's the rest of the depth look like? I do feel like this is where your O-line depth that we felt good about throughout training camp and then leading into the season gives you possibilities and we'll continue to have that dialogue within our coaching staff and we'll figure out what the best plan of attack is moving forward, and I do think there's multiple options on the table with that and that's what we've got to figure out."

Darrisaw, 25, has been the Vikings' starting left tackle since they made him the No. 23 pick of the 2021 draft. He has battled a series of injuries but performed well enough to merit a four-year contract extension worth up to $113 million.

The injury occurred while Darrisaw was blocking with 35 seconds remaining in the first half. Rams safety Jaylen McCollough fell into the side of his left knee, and team medical officials helped him walk directly to the locker room as the Vikings finished out the half.

The Vikings had taken possession of the ball at their own 3-yard line, but they had all three of their timeouts. Rather than having his team kneel the ball to close out the half, O'Connell said he wanted to see whether the offense could potentially move into position for a score. The Rams also had a timeout, which would have required the Vikings to kneel twice within a narrow space between the line of scrimmage and the end zone.

"They had dime defense on the field," O'Connell said, "so I thought we could maybe pop a run. Don't know if we were necessarily targeted versus that group out there, which I think if we are, maybe that ball's got a chance to [move]. If we get off and rolling with the timeouts we had left at the time, get that first down, then there's a chance to maybe try to dial some stuff up and not give them any chance at doubling us up there with them starting out the second half."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James is expected to travel on the team's upcoming road trip from Oct. 28-Nov. 6 and then begin shuttling between the active roster and the franchise's South Bay G League affiliate, sources told ESPN on Friday.

The Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Tuesday's season opener, making history as LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father-son duo ever to play in an NBA game together. L.A. next faces the Phoenix Suns on Friday night (10 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Crypto.com Arena and then hosts the Sacramento Kings on Saturday before traveling to Phoenix, Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit and Memphis.

LeBron spent 11 of his first 21 years in the league with the Cavaliers. He was about to begin his second season with the Cavs when Bronny was born, Oct. 6, 2004, in Akron, Ohio, making for a momentous occasion when the Jameses return there next Wednesday.

The G League draft is Saturday, and team training camps run through Nov. 7.

As Bronny James and his representative, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, discussed development throughout his predraft process with NBA teams, sources told ESPN that the concept of the G League was welcomed. Those sources said Paul advocated for a standard contract -- not a two-way deal -- predraft while making clear he and Bronny, selected by L.A. in the second round with the No. 55 pick, were fully aware and open to the development process.

When LeBron made his first comments about plans for Bronny's rookie season at media day last month, he spoke about how in sync the Lakers are with their G League affiliate.

"Just [looking forward to] seeing him continue to grow as a basketball player no matter if it's here with us or if it's down with the G League team and him continuing to get better and better and better," LeBron said. "His job is to put the work in and get better and better, just like the rest of us. And we want to hold him accountable, and he's going to hold us accountable. And if we all do that, we all get better, because we're all one team. We're a reflection of South Bay; South Bay is a reflection of us."

It's typical for players picked in the mid- to late-second round to spend time in the G League, gaining opportunity, coaching, game repetitions and structure in their respective teams' programs. During the 2023-24 season, 23 of the 28 players selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft spent time in the G League.

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick have both discussed creating the proper synergies around the Lakers and their South Bay squad.

Redick, who was hired with no prior head-coaching experience in part by selling his vision of establishing an elite player development program for L.A., has stated that Bronny's trajectory will be the first chance for him to implement his approach.

"For us, prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as like, case study one, because his base level of feel, athleticism, point-of-attack defender, shooting, passing, there's a lot to like about his game," Redick said in July. "And as we sort of build out our player development program holistically, he's going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player."

South Bay also has a new coach this season, with L.A. hiring Zach Guthrie last month to replace Dane Johnson.

IN EARLY AUGUST, after Jalen Brunson was named the New York Knicks' first captain in five years, the franchise unveiled a video compilation congratulating its star floor general.

The first message in the video, which was filled with praise from the city's sports captains past and present, was from New York Yankees legend and five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter.

"Man, I have enjoyed watching you develop and get better year after year," Jeter said in his message. "And I look forward to that continuing as you lead the Knicks back to where they belong."

Jeter's words undoubtedly carried weight with Brunson, who had studied the Hall of Famer and a handful of other iconic athletes' leadership methods in an effort to help build a consistent winner inside Madison Square Garden, which will host the Indiana Pacers Friday night in the Knicks' home opener (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The 28-year-old Brunson raised eyebrows across the league in July, when he signed a team-friendly four-year, $156.5 million extension when he could have waited until next summer to secure a far more lucrative five-year deal. The choice -- which gave the Knicks' front office coveted salary cap flexibility under the dreaded second apron -- was in line with athletes such as Jeter, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, superstars who all took less money to bolster the rosters around them.

Aside from the $40 million per year he'll earn through the 2027-28 season, New York has invested heavily in Brunson's future.

In the span of two months, the Knicks:

• Traded five first-round picks for Brooklyn's Mikal Bridges, Brunson's teammate at Villanova;

• Re-signed defensive stopper OG Anunoby on a five-year, $212 million contract;

• And traded former All-NBA forward Julius Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo (also Brunson's teammate at Villanova) in another blockbuster deal to acquire four-time All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

Now, as the Yankees prepare for their first World Series appearance in 15 years, and in the wake of the New York Liberty capturing their first WNBA title on Sunday, the Knicks and their captain could be next in line. And, as Brunson has been all offseason, New York will need its captain to be in the middle of everything, if only to prove that the Knicks were right to expedite their build around him in the first place.

EVERYWHERE YOU LOOKED, it seemed Brunson was there.

During the playoffs, he graced a massive Nike billboard on 34th Street and 7th Avenue, one block from Madison Square Garden. The two-time NCAA champion starred in a national AT&T commercial that aired throughout March Madness. And Brunson -- alongside his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson -- was featured on the sides of dozens of city buses as part of a Brooks Brothers campaign this summer.

"He's the king of New York," Knicks guard Josh Hart, who also teamed with Brunson at Villanova, said during training camp. "It's dope to see where he's made it to. But it doesn't get to his head."

Maybe no one has done more to tap into Brunson's rapid stardom than the Knicks themselves.

The reason New York finally pushed in its chips: In the two seasons since Brunson signed with New York, he has starred in a way that makes the Knicks and their title-starved fan base dream. He's either a full-on superstar at this point, or he's on the brink of becoming one. He finished fifth in MVP voting in 2023-24, and in the playoffs he scored at least 40 points in four straight games. The last player to do that was Michael Jordan in 1993.

No NBA player possessed the ball for longer than Brunson's 662 minutes last season. But despite standing at an undersized 6-foot-2 and having a good jumper, the guard led the Eastern Conference in drive attempts last season at nearly 20 per game, losing defenders in his array of shoulder fakes and hesitation moves. And even with Brunson's reliance on intricate footwork and his foul-drawing techniques, he traveled just four times last season.

All of which allows Brunson to make increased use of his high-arcing floater, a weapon that block-hungry bigs generally have no chance at swatting away. Brunson made 166 floaters in 2023-24, the most in a season since at least 2013-14, when Second Spectrum first began its player tracking. And Brunson had 86 instances last season where he was fouled and scored anyway against just 64 instances where he had his shot blocked -- an incredible ratio generally reserved for taller, hulking stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James.

In return, the franchise added an All-Star big man who not only complements Brunson's skill set, he helps expand it.

ON THE SURFACE, New York's Brunson-led offense was elite last season.

The Knicks ranked seventh in efficiency and saved their best performances for last, notching the league's third-rated attack in the month of April. Brunson himself logged a career-high 28.7 points and 6.7 assists on the season, even though he had to work harder than just about anyone in the NBA to buy himself space from one play to the next.

Without the injured Randle available as a second option, Brunson dribbled the ball more and for longer per touch than any player in the league and served as the ball handler for an NBA-high 3,224 on-ball screens last season.

Almost none of those possessions were pick-and-pops, where the play ends with a screener getting a jump shot. (When New York did get pick-and-pops, they generally didn't work well. Brunson and Randle shared 32 such plays, averaging just 0.56 points per possession -- dead last in the NBA among duos who had at least 30 such possessions, per Second Spectrum.) Overall, the Knicks ranked 29th in points scored by screeners in pick-and-pop scenarios in 2023-24.

That's where Towns should make a world of difference for Brunson and the Knicks' offense.

Towns ranked second in the league last season in points from pick-and-pop situations, and the 28-year-old big man has connected on at least 100 triples in a season seven times. In fact, there are already indications that Towns has helped limit the opponent's ability to crowd Brunson.

Brunson, who sank his first six shot attempts during the Knicks' humbling opening-night defeat in Boston, saw an average of just 1.16 contesting defenders in the paint during the preseason -- down from the average of 1.43 contesting defenders he saw last season when going for layups and floaters. The Second Spectrum data is a welcome sign for New York, given that the All-Star duo hasn't had a true opportunity to jell yet, with the trade having happened just weeks ago.

It doesn't mean the Knicks will be world beaters, of course. Even with the impressive defensive pairing of Anunoby and Bridges, the Celtics' offense managed to repeatedly target Towns' drop tendencies on defense Tuesday. In doing so, they tied an NBA record with 29 3-pointers.

The showing highlighted a key question that New York needs to tackle this season: Can the Knicks find a way to thrive on that end with Towns at center after he slid over to power forward in Minnesota to make space for perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Rudy Gobert?

Still, even with that glaring question, it's relatively easy to see how and why the Knicks' front office wanted to wed Towns' offensive skill set with Brunson's.

"It's a different dynamic, for sure," Brunson said of the Knicks' five-out spacing. "It gives us another weapon, and the [pick-and-roll] reads are definitely different."

"The court is going to be wide-open," Hart said. "The rim is going to be there."

And no one's better positioned to take advantage of the team's new-look offense than Brunson, the captain himself.

ESPN Research's Matt Williams contributed to this story.

In a World Series loaded with MVPs, bettors are siding overwhelmingly with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani over Aaron Judge and the rest of the New York Yankees' sluggers.

Five former MVPs are involved in the Yankees-Dodgers matchup, the most ever in a World Series. Ohtani has the best MVP odds of them all. He is listed at +240 at ESPN BET. Judge is next at +550, followed closely by Yankees teammates Juan Soto (+600) and Giancarlo Stanton (+1,000), with Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts at +800.

Ohtani, Judge, Betts, Stanton and the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman (+3,500) have each won MVPs.

More money has been bet on Ohtani for World Series MVP than Judge, Soto, Stanton, Betts and Freeman combined at ESPN BET.

Ohtani has attracted approximately 31% of the money bet on BetMGM's odds to win MVP, nearly four times as much as any other player.

The Dodgers say Ohtani will not pitch in the World Series and will be used exclusively as a hitter. He enters the World Series with 18 hits in his past 23 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

The betting favorite for MVP has won the award only once in the past nine World Series (Dodgers' Corey Seager 2023).

The Dodgers have remained small favorites to win the World Series throughout the week. They were -125 favorites with the Yankees +105 underdogs at ESPN BET ahead of Game 1 on Friday.

Top odds to win World Series MVP (as of Friday; at ESPN BET)

Shohei Ohtani +240

Aaron Judge +550

Juan Soto +600

Mookie Betts +800

Giancarlo Stanton +1,000

Max Muncy +1,600

Teoscar Hernandez +2,500

Enrique Hernandez +3,000

Gerrit Cole +3,000

Freddie Freeman +3,500

Tommy Edman +3,500