2026 Championship: The Luka Show

Entering Sunday night, the 2026 SlamNation title was still on the line. After a revamped playoff system—with twelve total teams battling it out—we still had zero upsets. Could FJUB pull off the sneaky win versus top seeded ILCN? While the eventual 6-3 win looked impressive, analysts can confirm that heading into the last day, 3PT, STL, BLK, and even FG% was all up for grabs. Despite being lower seeded, FJUB was seen as the favorite heading into this matchup.

However, FJUB suffered from lineup issues immediately, as Monday saw Kawhi Leonard miss a game, Trae Young leave at halftime—never to return for the week—and all that drama portending a roller coaster week. Injuries would play havoc with both teams throughout the championship matchup, as ILCN’s Donovan Mitchell suffered a bruised cornea in practice and could barely see or shoot. Heck, Brice Sensabaugh dropped forty-one points on Wednesday and was so tired that he missed the next two games!

Overall, ILCN was on fire offensively, ending up with 633 PTS behind Luka’s 169 points in four games, a 42.3 ppg average. In addition, ILCN received two pretty random 41-point games from Sensabaugh and Darius Garland. All this and both teams were firing up near 0.500 FG% for most of the week! Without Young however, FJUB was toast in AST but would be gifted TOS as compensation, as ILCN had the most turnovers in Slam this year. For FJUB, with both percentage categories likely locked up, the matchup would come down to defense and three point shooting.

The back and forth wasn’t just happening on the court either, as Frank and Eric both used the free agent pile quite impressively, unearthing some true randoms like Javon Small, Jalen Slawson, Taylor Hendricks, Rasheer Fleming, Jamir Watkins, and Jordan Goodwin in a battle to pump up those STL and BLK numbers. Heading into Sunday, ILCN was up +15 3PT, +11 STL, and +11 BLK, while FJUB had a whole slate of eight guys to go. Unfortunately for them, not one block was recorded on Sunday—a miracle frankly—and they fell four threes and four steals short of stealing a back door victory against ILCN. The week was much closer than the final score looked!

For ILCN, Buzelis led the way with seven blocks, and was a secret MVP of the team, as he helped carry ILCN past a dangerous SPDE team in the semis, and had averages of 21.3 PTS, 3.4 3PT, and 1.7 BLK over the past month of games. Then there was the offensive powerhouses of Donovan Mitchell and Paolo Banchero, the latter of whom contributed solid counting stats and unexpected defense as well. Playoff free agents Brice Sensabaugh and Cody Williams had timely big games too, while Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels sprang back to life just in time to contribute.

And lest we forget, the important playoff-run return of Darius Garland, who hit eight threes in his last game to seal the deal for ILCN.  Lastly, Luka Doncic, known more for his offensive game, led ILCN with seven blocks in the semifinals and then averaged three steals a game in the Finals—totaling twelve—to lead the team during championship week. Without Doncic’s defense, ILCN would not be ring holders right now. Luka also bowed out with his eighteenth technical on Saturday night, earning a mandated one game suspension that might have hurt if it was handed out just one game earlier. Even Doncic’s technicals were on point this season!

All in all, super congratulations to ILCN, our 2026 SlamNation champions, and let’s take a look at how they got to the exalted mountaintop!

Franchise History

Back in the nether years, Frank grew up with a handful of our fellow San Diego SlamNation owners, playing fantasy and IRL football and basketball. For some reason he didn’t start playing this fantasy league with us until 2018. Having gone to university in Chicago, Frank named his new franchise IL Conceived, and took over for a moribund Jedis franchise. After eight lackluster seasons, Jedi Knights was coming off a 24-115-5 overall record and had never made the playoffs. Their last season in Slam was a decrepit 0-18-1 affair.

It was a low bar but ILCN cleared it quickly! Initially, ILCN’s six man keeper core was Jeff Teague, Jrue Holiday, Tim Hardaway Jr, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Gordon, and Justise Winslow for their first year. Ouch! However, Coach Frank piloted that crew to a respectable 8-12-1 initial campaign, and managed to make the 2018 Toilet Bowl finals as well, securing a top two pick. Then, with the option to re-enter the dispersal, ILCN joined new owners Hilt the Stilt and Snack Bears in dispersing, emerging with Donovan Mitchell, Draymond Green, Dennis Smith Jr., Dario Saric, Marc Gasol, and Will Barton as their new keepers.

This sophomore year was the true beginning of ILCN’s rise, as that 2019 RD1.2 would turn into Luka Doncic, and last dispersal pick Will Barton was traded pre-draft to SPDE for 2019 RD1.3, which would result in rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. In fact, all six of Frank’s core was originally drafted as rookies by him, which is pretty astounding. (Note: 2023 champion KSKT also had a lot of homegrown players, but only four of six were originally drafted by them.)

• Donovan Mitchell, 2018 RD2.1
• Luka Doncic, 2019 RD1.2
• Jaren Jackson Jr., 2019 RD1.3
• Darius Garland, 2020 RD1.4
• Paolo Banchero, 2023 RD1.3
• Matas Buzelis, 2025 RD3.12

During their nine years in Slam, ILCN has gone 91-74-4—currently ninth for owners all time—qualified for the playoffs six times, captured a Chamberlain Conference title in 2021, and then had this year’s regular season crown as well as the Finals win. Historically, ILCN fluctuated between respectable and almost contender a few times before--and often suffered from untimely injuries--but never reached higher than a fourth seed overall. In fact, ILCN had never gotten past the first round in four tries before 2026, nor ever secured a playoff victory. So this 2026 run really was something special!

Transactions History

The first trade in ILCN history netted sophomore Jaylen Brown, followed by a twenty-five year old Harrison Barnes. Both were dispersed away the following season, but that set the stage for ILCN’s general roster strategy: go young! We already talked about ILCN’s Will Barton for Jaren Jackson Jr. swap, which was a real winner in hindsight.

There were a few more trades in 2019, such as a many-pick doozy between ILCN and SOUR, as SOUR buffed up for a title run while giving ILCN a handful of future picks. After that 2019 season however, most of ILCN’s moves were lower caliber, consisting of acquiring high upside plays for cheap—Markelle Fultz for example--and selling off extra keepers pre-draft for picks: Julius Randle, Montrezl Harrell, and Walker Kessler come to mind. The only other big trade of note for ILCN was a 2022 exchange, where they acquired Bradley Beal for Draymond Green, Jerami Grant, and Wendell Carter Jr.

Mostly, ILCN prefers to build through the draft, and they certainly have had a sharp eye for young talent, as exhibited in the rookies they've drafted list below:

• 2018 RD1.3 Dennis Smith Jr.
• 2018 RD2.1 Donovan Mitchell
• 2019 R1.2 Luka Doncic
• 2019 RD1.3 Jaren Jackson Jr.
• 2019 RD2.5 Miles Bridges
• 2020 RD1.4 Darius Garland
• 2023 RD1.3 Paolo Banchero
• 2023 RD3.11 Walker Kessler
• 2024 RD4.4 Dereck Lively II
• 2025 RD3.12 Matas Buzelis
• 2025 RD5.12 Cody Williams
• 2026 RD2.7 Egor Denim
• 2026 RD4.7 Jeremiah Fears

With most of their core entering the prime of their careers--everyone is twent-six or below, except for Mitchell, who is twenty-nine--will ILCN continue to acquire talent or move toward defending their title for another few years? We're excited to find out in 2027!

As for FJUB, this was their fourth Finals appearance, and coming off a 5-12-1 campaign last season, even making it to the 2026 championship game has to be seen as a big success. Going all-in on Kawhi Leonard early was a great call, even though Leonard eventually missed two games in the final week. Still, FJUB was already playing the finale with a hand tied behind their back, as Peyton Watson and Kyshawn George were already injured heading into the playoffs, with Trae Young an in-and-out participant as well. Overall however, FJUB’s one season dip seems to have been very temporary and they are right back to being a true blue contender!

(Full Stats)

2026 Playoffs RD4 - Finals

RD3 Recap

While the top seeds did advance, it certainly wasn’t easy. For 2 FJUB, it faced off against the Bam Adebayo 83 point game—who should change his jersey number to "83" asap—who ultimately put up 124 points for SQSQ. Alas, that historic outburst wasn’t enough for SQSQ to win PTS. (The next closest PTS for SQSQ was James Harden with 68 on the week.)

SQSQ chose to finish their week on Saturday, giving FJUB eight Sunday games to make up the difference. And what a nail biter it was, as they were all tied up at 4-4-1 for a long time before Nique Clifford got a late STL—making for seven total—in the last Utah versus Sacramento game to secure a close win for FJUB. Whew!

For SQSQ, it was missed opportunities, as Derrick White missed a game, which could’ve been huge in retrospect. Even closer, veteran DeMar DeRozan found himself in SQSQ's IR slot on Tuesday and Wednesday, as he exploded for a huge game that second time around. Alas, hindsight can only make us akk go crazy if we look too hard. It was a well fought match for both sides and FJUB narrowly escaped...

For awhile Sunday, 1 ILCN was similarly excoriating themselves for pulling Robert Williams out of the lineup for the 76ers free agent duo of Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona. Had Williams been used, his three BLK would have sealed the win for ILCN before that night’s Utah versus Sacramento game. Instead, ILCN would need big games from newly picked up Brice Sensabaugh ($52 FAAB) and Cody Williams ($12) to secure the win in a number of categories--they were close in PTS, 3PT, STL, BLK, FG%, and TOS.

Led by great Sunday games by Quentin Grimes and Naji Marshall, SPDE hit almost all their FT too, to put on the pressure.  Even down a huge number of injuries and missed games—Tyrese Maxey and Jarrett Allen were already counted out, a previously red hot Tyler Herro missed two games, Chet Holmgren missed one, and Victor Wembanyama sat one as well. Despite all that, SPDE was in position to win!

Eventually however, the two Jazz youngsters dropped in a combined 56 PTS and 6 3PT, giving ILCN the late 5-3-1 win, even as they lost TOS and tied STL. An incredibly close shave!

RD4 Matchup - Finals

This will be FJUB’s fourth Finals appearance, and both previous times they entered as the two seed, they won the title—in 2012 and 2021. Their only Finals loss to date was 2023, when they were the fifth seed facing off against third seeded SOUR. As for ILCN, they had never advanced beyond the first round until this year--in four tries--marking this playoff run already a huge success for them. A title would be true breakthrough though!

FJUB has already beaten ILCN twice this year, in WK1 and WK16. It’s safe to say that ILCN enters this matchup as the underdog despite being the higher seed. In theory, ILCN has a 6-3 category advantage over the season, going by ODE metrics, but that is season long. Of late, FJUB has been shooting the lights out and has been an offensive superpower. Led by Kawhi Leonard, Karl Anthony-Towns, Trey Murphy, and OG Anonuby, FJUB has a lot of all-around talent in spades.

ILCN will counter with the big three of Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, and Paolo Banchero, along with the healthy return of Darius Garland, who has been crucial to this playoff run. And don’t forget Matas Bezels, who put up a shocking 41 point game last week.

Injury wise, FJUB already had Kyshawn George and Peyton Watson out, but the rest of the team is healthy—keep an eye out for Leonard’s early week status though. One big X-factor is the recent return of Trae Young for FJUB, who may provide the AST to challenge a very good passing team in ILCN. For ILCN, they are full healthy minus Jaren Jackson Jr., who was never in the playoff calculation anyway.

Overall, both these teams are loaded up, with interesting role players galore. Who will play the most impactful side pieces? Which stars will blow up this week? The contested categories should be PTS, 3PT, and REB, with the two teams splitting the percentage and defense categories. It’s the two best teams in SlamNation for one battle to take the ring, let’s go!

2026 Playoffs RD3

RD2 Recap

Once again we didn’t have any upsets, just like in RD1. Looking back, that may be historic as we’ve never had an entire set of #1-4 seeds make it past the first round unscathed. There has always been at least one upset in the first round, dating all the way back to our league’s beginnings in 2010. Heck, the last two years have featured #8 versus #1 upsets, as SQSQ took out #1 SCRM in 2024, and then got upset themselves by #8 SOUR last season. Is this the new reality, where the top seed just wins the matchup?!

Top seeded 1 ILCN took out 8 BUFF pretty easily, with a 7-2 victory, losing only AST and TOS. Similarly, 2 FJUB prevailed over 7 SWMP without too much trouble, behind big weeks from Kawhi Leonard, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Trey Murphy III.

We almost got an upset between 3 SQSQ and 6 CHMK, but the big ball Monkeys were ultimately taken down on Sunday, losing 3PT by one, STL by two, and BLK by three. New SQSQ center Bam Adebayo dropped in four big threes for the win, while Saddiq Bey contributed a pair of huge steals and ten rebounds as well. What an escape by SQSQ!

4 SPDE might be the new favorite heading into the semifinals. They are clicking on all cylinders, dropping in 578 PTS and an astonishing 75 3PT, behind double digit threes from Tyler Herro, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker and Victor Wembanyama. Oh yeah, Wemby also put up nineteen blocks in four games. SCRM ran into a freight train and that was that. Who's scared of SPDE?!

RD3 Matchups

• 1 ILCN vs 4 SPDE
• 2 FJUB vs 3 SQSQ

While both semi-finals matchups are huge, we’re looking at ILCN versus SPDE for the big game of the week. ILCN is technically favored but we all know how scary SPDE can be while healthy. Tyrese Maxey will miss at least two games and Chet Holmgren and Jarrett Allen are both day-to-day so we’ll see how that shakes out. In Maxey’s absence, Tyler Herro is more than ready to step up.

As for ILCN, the big three of Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, and Paolo Banchero are mostly fully healthy, with only Jaren Jackson Jr. and Egor Denim out—but we knew that pre-playoffs. So it’s gonna be a full strength ILCN versus the lower seeded juggernaut of SPDE, let’s go!

Meanwhile, for our #2 versus #3 matchup, both teams are about equal in health and depth. FJUB is gonna be missing Kyshawn George for the rest of the playoff run, while Peyton Watson is still M.I.A. In addition, Isaiah Hartenstein could be out for a few too. However, Trae Young is unexpectedly back and he’ll be a big boost for FJUB.

Meanwhile, for SQSQ, LeBron James has a left elbow thingy that has kept him out of the last two games. DeMar DeRozan is choosing a bad time to be hurt for the first time this season, and Kevin Porter Jr. could also miss some games. Otherwise, SQSQ’s deep and vet heavy team is looking for the big win versus FJUB.

Both of these teams made all-in moves during the season—FJUB acquiring Kawhi Leonard, SQSQ trading off Anthony Davis for Bam Adebayo—and so we’re not even sure which one of them should get more karma points. Can both teams win?

Offers Report

A lot of players shifted in and out of rosters as our playoff teams maneuvered for extra stats and category matchups. SQSQ scooped up recent double-double machine Nick Richards for $7, and got a huge REB boost from him on Sunday. ILCN dropped Scotty Pippen Jr. and grabbed Robert Williams III for $15, which could really help next week versus the Wemby and Chet double tower combo.

And then there was SWMP dropping Paul George—in favor of Tristan da Silva—thus ending George’s long tenured keeper status for Eddie. Opportunistic as ever, SCRM saw the writing on the wall versus SCRM and scooped up PG13 for free, netting a potential offseason asset. And then GM Jordan did it again with rookie Khaman Maluach, who could have some value...somewhere. [ Editor: I drafted Maluach at RD2.11 and he did nothing all year. 😭 ] Still, a great pair of pre-roster lock moves for SCRM!

It’ll be interesting to see who else might get cut as we go further into the playoffs. We love this part of the season, where every add/drop matters!

2026 Playoffs RD2

RD1 Recap

Our first round one of the new rules era featured no actual upsets, but we almost had one! Higher seeds SCRM and CHMK made easy work of TRUO and SBUK respectively, so farewell guys and see you in the offseason! The other two matchups were closer.

7 SWMP vs 10 KSKT: While we said “…if there’s a dark horse in the first round, KSKT is it. However, in the matchup against Jalen Williams and Zach LaVine-less SWMP,  KSKT folded on Sunday as they played a weak week of games, putting up less than optimal Games Played—only 20 GP to SWMP’s 27—with Cade Cunningham sitting on Monday as well. KSKT did suffer from seven injured players, many of them springing up only this past week, but it was likely the lineup mismanagement that ended up giving SWMP an easy win.

8 BUFF vs 9 MELO: This one was our possible upset, as BUFF headed into Sunday down 3-6. However, BUFF had eight players slated to play versus MELO’s six—for a total GP of 28 versus 25—and Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges led the full BUFF lineup to a close 5-4 victory. Andrew Wiggins blocked seven shots on the week, proving himself a real hero, as BUFF only won BLK by two.

RD2 Matchups

• 1 ILCN vs 8 BUFF
• 2 FJUB vs 7 SWMP
• 3 SQSQ vs 6 CHMK
• 4 SPDE vs 5 SCRM

The power teams hit the court this week, and we’ll see if they used their week off wisely. Under our old rules, these eight would have been the playoff teams, since we had no upsets in round one. Let's take a quick look at the round two matchups.

Top seeded ILCN should take care of BUFF pretty easily but ILCN might be missing Donovan Mitchell this week. Also, using last week’s stats, it would have been merely a close 5-4 win for ILCN. Could a huge upset by BUFF be in order?

Over in the #2 versus #7 seeded matchup, the big question is if FJUB plays Trae Young this week, as Young is set to make his Wizards debut on on Thursday. Could those crucial Young assists help take down Nikola Jokic and Jalen Johnson?

We’re keeping a close eye on Game of the Week: SQSQ versus CHMK! This matchup got a lot more interesting with Giannis Antetokounmpo back to playing on Monday night. Can SQSQ and new acquisition Bam Adebayo fend off a suddenly much more dangerous CHMK team?

And in our last round two matchup, SPDE versus SCRM will be a grudge match between the team that pushed the other out of a first round bye. SPDE is fully healthy while SCRM picked up yet another injured centered this week—Dereck Lively II (see below)—so I guess just having Anthony Davis on the bench wasn’t enough! For SCRM, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did make two healthy appearances last week but SGA is already out for this Tuesday game. Can the defending champs make this a fight versus SPDE?

Offers Report

SCRM grabbed Jakob Poeltl, dropping rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner in the process. GM Jordan also picked up Dereck Lively II as a grab and stash, after TRUO dropped him in favor of Javon Small. Interesting…

FJUB swapped shooters, going from Julian Champagnie to Max Christie, a savvy move with Dallas in full tank mode.