FROM 12TH PLACE TO FINALS: VALENTINO GUSELI REWRITES HIS 2026 OLYMPIC STORY
Valentino Guseli snatched a last-minute spot in the 2026 Olympic Big Air final with a miracle 1980 jump in Milano.
Valentino Guseli pulled off something wild at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. He grabbed a last-second chance and somehow turned it into a spot in the men’s snowboard big air final—when, honestly, he wasn’t even supposed to be there.
This 20-year-old Aussie only qualified for the halfpipe. Big air? He figured he’d just be watching. Then, out of nowhere, Canada’s Mark McMorris crashed in training, and suddenly the door swung open. Guseli found out the night before that he might get the call-up. By Thursday evening, he stood at the top of the ramp, everything on the line.
“I was hoping I’d be riding tonight,” Guseli said. “I found out last night there was a chance, and unfortunately, Mark had a bit of a spill and couldn’t compete.”
So there he was. Two qualification runs—73.25 and 71.50. Not bad, but not enough. He needed to break into the top 12, and time was running out. Everything rested on one last shot.
What happened next? It’s the kind of thing you replay in your head for years. Guseli launched himself off the jump, spun a switch backside 1980 with a tailgrab—five and a half dizzying rotations, locked in and soaring. He stomped the landing. The scoreboard flashed 91.50, tying the second-best score of the night.
He couldn’t quite believe it. Arms in the air, snowboard tossed sky-high, teammates lifting him as the news came through: 12th place, the last ticket to the finals. A commentator called it a “miracle in Milano”, and honestly, that pretty much nailed it.
Afterwards, Guseli tried to describe what went through his mind in midair. “I reached a state I haven’t been in for a while—flow state. It all just happened for me,” he said. “Sometimes you drop in, and it’s like you don’t even have to try. The trick just works. I got to the bottom and, like, snapped back into reality. It was pretty crazy.”
His journey hasn’t been easy. Back in Beijing in 2022, he finished sixth in the halfpipe at just 16. He won the FIS Park and Pipe Crystal Globe in both 2023 and 202,4 but then tore his ACL late in 2024. That injury knocked him out of action for almost a year, costing him early qualification chances in big air and slopestyle.
He barely had time to practise this Olympic jump. “By the time I did my last jump, I’d only hit this jump 10 times,” he said. “Usually, you’ve hit it 50 or 60 times before you compete. So to make finals now—I’m just so stoked. Definitely one of the top moments of my life.”
Right before that final run, there was a moment of doubt. His dad—who’s also his coach—suggested he might need to go even bigger to get the score. For a second, Guseli hesitated. “I thought, ‘I’m not going to try a Hail Mary and get destroyed,’” he admitted. “Then I thought, ‘It’s the Olympics, man.’”
Now he’s into Saturday’s big air final, rewriting his own Olympic story. He’ll also compete in the halfpipe, where he’s a real medal threat alongside Scotty James.
And there’s something special about doing all this in Italy—his father’s homeland. “Out of all the Olympics I’ll do, this is the one I want to do best in,” Guseli said earlier. “It’s the closest thing to a home Olympics I’ll ever have.”
MIKE BROWN BLASTS KNICKS AFTER EMBARRASSING FIRST HALF AGAINST BATTERED WARRIORS
Mike Brown rips into the New York Knicks after a sluggish 110-107 win over an undermanned Golden State Warriors squad.
The New York Knicks barely pulled off a comeback win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, edging them out 110-107. But honestly, looking at who the Warriors had available, it didn’t feel much like a win.
The Warriors were missing a tonne of key players: Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Jimmy Butler were all out. The Knicks, playing at home and coming in as 14-point favourites, should’ve had an easy night. Instead, they found themselves down by 21 and had to scramble just to get the job done. Even their head coach, Mike Brown, made it clear he wasn’t impressed. He spent most of his postgame press conference tearing into his team for letting things get so out of hand.
“At this point of the year, it’s good to get a win. But I was not happy the way we started the game,” Brown told reporters after the game.
Brown said he isn’t planning any lineup changes, at least not yet. But he’s not ruling anything out as the regular season winds down.
It’s not like this slow-start problem is new. Over their last six games, the Knicks have the third-worst net rating in first quarters, sitting at minus-18. That's nowhere near good enough with the playoffs about a month away.
These were supposed to be easier games on the schedule, but New York keeps making them harder than they should be. The Knicks had to come back from down 18 against the Jazz, and before that, they actually blew a 17-point lead to an undermanned Pacers team, barely hanging on for that win, too.
Brown’s frustration shows. He’s been vocal about the team’s poor starts, and after this Warriors game, he even decided not to name a Defensive Player of the Game – the first time all season he left that honour blank after a win.
“This is a veteran team… I shouldn’t have to call two timeouts in the first six minutes of the ballgame,” Brown said afterward.
With the playoffs coming up fast, the Knicks have no choice; they need to start games with more energy and focus. Falling behind early won’t always be something they can come back from, especially against tougher teams.
WHY DILLON BROOKS IS THE SURPRISE CHOICE TO REPLACE LEBRON JAMES
LeBron James may leave the Lakers this summer, with rumours swirling about Dillon Brooks arriving as his defensive replacement.
The Lakers have some big decisions ahead this offseason, and if the whispers about LeBron James leaving become reality, wing depth jumps to the top of the to-do list.
Now, the idea of LeBron and Dillon Brooks, of all people, teaming up sounds wild, maybe even impossible. And yet, there’s buzz about LA making a move for Brooks, who’s been a LeBron nemesis for years. In this scenario, though, Brooks would actually slide in as LeBron’s replacement, not his teammate.
The timing almost feels right for Brooks. He’s putting together the best season of his career, finally living up to that 3-and-D role people have been waiting for. If the Lakers really are building around Luka Dončić (now, suddenly, the centrepiece) and Austin Reaves, then Brooks fits in perfectly.
So, what would it take? Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz floated an idea: the Lakers send Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, and a projected 2026 first-round pick (No. 25 overall) to the Suns for Brooks. That’s giving up some youth and a pick, but you get a proven scorer and one of the league’s top defenders. Honestly, for a team chasing championships, that’s not a steep price.
“If LeBron James leaves the Lakers in free agency, the team will need a new starting power forward,” Swartz wrote. “It would be hilarious for Brooks and LeBron to team up, but even without James, Brooks works; he’s a strong defender and can score. He’s averaging almost 21 points, nearly four rebounds, and a steal a game for the Suns this year. So, the numbers are there.
This isn’t the first time Brooks’ name has popped up with the Lakers, but before, that rivalry with LeBron always killed the idea. If LeBron’s gone, though, all bets are off. Brooks makes sense with Doncic, and that’s who the front office seems locked in on now.
Money-wise, Brooks will cost just under $20 million next season. For what he’s provided this year, that could actually be a bargain. If the Lakers want to shore up the wing, they need to think seriously about this.
Now, the LeBron era in LA feels like it’s finally winding down. In the past, the Lakers would’ve looped him into every big decision, but with Doncic getting a new extension, he’s the main guy now. LeBron, despite all he’s done, might just be an afterthought as he weighs his next move.
People have speculated about a LeBron exit for years, but it feels different now. Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers closely, said on his show that it’s more real this time than ever before. “There’s always been a buzz he could head somewhere else, maybe finish his career in Cleveland again. But honestly, this is the closest it’s ever felt to actually happening.”
The Lakers plan to keep Reaves this summer and, surprisingly, have actually played better with LeBron off the floor. That’s another hint that a major shift is coming.
Bottom line: they need fresh wing talent to fill the void if LeBron walks. Plenty of names will pop up, but Dillon Brooks is one guy Pelinka and company can’t ignore as they chart a new direction.
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