Sports
Column: Interim coach Jim Hiller gives Kings a blueprint for success, and they execute it
In the few days since Jim Hiller took over as the Kings’ interim coach, he has deliberately worked more on changing players’ mood than on changing the team’s strategy.
His first directive Thursday, after he led them through practice for the first time, was simple and not revolutionary: Have fun. Work hard. Work for each other, and it will become enjoyable and build camaraderie, so you’ll have an easier path toward returning to a solid early-season form. Players liked what they heard.
“We’ve been through ups and downs this year. It’s time to have fun again. It’s time to come to the rink with a smile on our faces,” was Pierre-Luc Dubois’ summation. “Excited to get back on the ice for practice, excited to get back on the ice for games. Doing it together.”
Hiller’s second directive is tricky to quote directly. “I can’t really say it because there’s a swear word in it,” Quinton Byfield said.
When pressed, Byfield said the phrase began with “Let’s” and ended with “Go” and had an expletive in the middle. “We’ll get those on T-shirts,” he joked.
Whether they put that message on T-shirts, caps or tattoos doesn’t matter. What mattered was the Kings played like they believed in it Saturday throughout a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, who had won 17 of their previous 18 games.
Fresh off a long break and playing a team who eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs each of the last two seasons, the Kings put together a strong effort in Hiller’s NHL coaching debut. They scored on one of two power plays and killed all five disadvantages they faced.
Not only didn’t they blow the 2-0 lead they carried into the third period, they extended it. Goaltender David Rittich made 26 saves to record his first shutout as a King and first since Feb. 22, 2021, when he was with Calgary and blanked Toronto.
“We never lost faith or trust in ourselves,” Rittich said. “We know we are good players. Good hockey club. And we can win.”
Dubois contributed more Saturday than he had in the previous month, drawing a penalty, scoring their first goal during a power play and dishing out four hits. Byfield set up their second goal by stripping Connor McDavid of the puck in the defensive zone and feeding a streaking Trevor Lewis. Byfield scored their third goal off a rebound and their fourth into an empty net.
“You just kind of need a new voice in the room. Jimmy stepped up and he was great,” Byfield said. “Todd was really good for myself. He’s a great hockey mind and I’m sure he’s going to get another coaching opportunity but we needed a little spark in here. Something new. A different voice.”
It wasn’t perfect. The Kings were twice penalized for having too many men on the ice, which usually signals a communications problem. The frequent penalties meant fourth-line center Alex Turcott played only five early shifts, though Hiller said that could change when the Kings open a four-game trip Tuesday at Buffalo.
Yet it was impressive on many levels, and it lifted the gloom that had descended on the Kings (24-15-10) while they lost 14 of 17 games and the Oilers zoomed past them to grab third place in the Pacific Division standings.
“There’s no doubt in here, even though the last 20ish or some games haven’t been the way we wanted. There’s absolutely no doubt in here,” Dubois said. “We know what kind of team we have. We know when we play together and do what we can do, we’re a hell of a team. So we showed that tonight. But that’s just a start for us.”
Dubois received a third directive from Hiller, one that was personal and pointed.
“The coaching staff here, the first day I got back, they challenged me,” he said. “They challenged me to be a better player out there and to be a difference-maker, and that can come in scoring goals, assists, but it could also come with hits, drawing penalties. All the things that maybe not everybody notices.
“But since they’ve come in the message is I could do a lot better, and I know. And I knew that but to have it laid out like that, it’s a fun challenge to do.”
He took it to heart on Saturday. He was involved. Assertive. He didn’t float.
“He’s had a tough go,” Hiller said. “He’s a really good player. We know that. He’s got a long history in the league of being a really good player. My challenge for him was to play with intensity and I bet you will have fun. Was he one of the guys who said he had fun tonight?”
Yes, he was.
“I hope he was, because that looked like it was fun tonight for him and he’s had a lot of nights that it didn’t look like he had fun,” Hiller said. “He’s part of that equation too. He’s got to get himself in that place where he’s just going to go for it and play hockey like he did when he was younger, when he loved the game, when he was not in this tough stretch. He brought that tonight and let’s hope that’s a stepping stone for him going forward. Sure nice to see him smile and enjoy himself and enjoy his evening.”
The game puck went to Hiller for his collection of significant souvenirs. It’s a small collection, all from the Kings: the puck from the first goal he scored for them, during the 1992-93 season, as a 10th-round draft pick; the puck from his first win as an assistant coach, last season; and this one.
“I got a hat trick. Hoping to get more,” he said. “For me, it was my dream to get drafted in the NHL, never mind play. The Los Angeles Kings, Luc Robitaille. Wayne Gretzky. That was pretty special. So that has never left me one bit.”
This victory was a good template for the Kings. “There’s a lot of hockey left to be played,” Dubois said. And maybe a lot of fun, too, if they play at the level they reached on Saturday.
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
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