NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games 2026-06-04 01:23:59
NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games 2026-06-04 01:23:59
NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games 2026-06-04 01:23:59
Jalen Brunson injury: Knicks star leaves NBA Finals after hurting knee in Game 1
Jalen Brunson limped off the floor in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs after an opposing player fell on his knee. Brunson headed to the locker room in what amounts to the worst case scenario for the Knicks.
Brunson was injured when teammate Landry Shamet pushed over Spurs forward Harrison Barnes on a made three-pointer by Julian Champagnie. Barnes fell on Brunson’s right knee, and the star guard immediately signaled that he needed to come out of the game. San Antonio ended the first quarter on a 20-5 run.
Watch the play where Brunson was injured here:
Here’s Brunson walking to the locker room:
Brunson has been the Knicks’ biggest star during this NBA Finals run. New York absolutely needs him to be at his best to win this series, and this is a terrible start. Here’s hoping Brunson can return.
We’ll update this story as it develops.
Terry Rozier's attorney asks judge to lift ban on contact with Hornets as free agency nears
NEW YORK (AP) — Terry Rozier's efforts to continue his NBA career are hindered by a court order barring him from any contact with the Charlotte Hornets, his attorney argued in a motion Wednesday.
Rozier is accused of conspiring with friends to help them win bets on his performance during a March 2023 game when he played for the Hornets. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Last week, he was charged in a new indictment with bribery in sporting contests and honest services wire fraud conspiracy.
Rozier has denied participating in the gambling scheme, and has been fighting to have the case dismissed.
In the new motion, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Rozier's lawyer, Jim Trusty, asked for the dismissal of a court-imposed ban on contact with anyone from the Hornets.
“With the NBA’s free agency process officially beginning June 30, maintaining the Hornets on the no-contact list would likely prevent him from having any opportunity to play in the NBA,” Trusty wrote. “Under the current ruling of the arbitrator, an inability to play for or against the Charlotte Hornets would constitute a ‘failure to perform services’ by Mr. Rozier and substantially diminish or eliminate any chance of being contracted by an NBA team.”
Rozier has not played since April 13, 2025, for Miami. An arbitrator ruled in February that the Heat had to pay Rozier his $26.6 million salary for 2025-26. Miami waived him in April.
The 32-year-old averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 10 NBA seasons.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
“Nova Knicks” NBA Finals Game 1: Open Thread
Don’t say I never did anything for you guys
Where: Frost Bank Center (San Antonio, TX)
When: Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 PM EST
How to watch: ABC
Betting Line: SA -4.5 (subject to change), O/U 217.5 (subject to change) via FanDuel
Meet WAGS of 2026 NBA Finals: Jordyn Woods (Knicks), Reece Fox (Spurs)
All eyes will be on the sidelines of the 2026 NBA Finals, where courtside seats feature a who's who of Hollywood. But we can't forget about the wives and girlfriends who supported the professional athletes along the way.
Jordyn Woods, Reece Fox and Ali Brunson will be front and center during Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, redefining modern-day WAGs, a term that's evolved to represent a wide array of women and partners who are successful in their own right.
Woods (the fiancé of Karl-Anthony Towns) owns her own clothing company. Brunson (the wife of Jalen Brunson) has a doctorate in physical therapy. Fox (the wife of De’Aaron Fox) was a breakout high school basketball star and former McDonald's All American.
Meet the WAGS of NBA Finals:
NBA FINALS LIVE UPDATES: Game 1 channel, highlights, results, score, odds, predictions
New York Knicks
Jordyn Woods
Partner: New York Knicks center/forward Karl-Anthony Towns
Jordyn Woods has turned the sidelines at Madison Square Garden into her runway. The Woods by Jordyn founder frequently documents her game-day looks on her Instagram account, which boasts nearly 11.5 million followers. She regularly wears pieces from her clothing line, including an orange ostrich clutch that has quickly become a good luck charm. “I wore it for Game 1 during one of my TikTok GRWMs, and ever since then we’ve kept winning, so now it’s officially become the lucky bag,” she told Vogue.
Woods and Towns started dating in 2020 and announced their engagement on Christmas Day in 2025. After the Knicks punched their ticket to the NBA Finals, Woods penned a note to her beau: "I’ve watched you make it to the Conference Finals three years in a row. Through every high and low, you’ve kept your head down, stayed optimistic, and remained the most consistent, genuine teammate, family member, and now fiancé. No matter where life takes us, it’s only up from here."
Woods previously appeared on the E! reality show "Life of Kylie," alongside Kylie Jenner. Jenner had made several appearances at Knicks games this postseason with her actor beau Timothée Chalamet, a Knicks superfan.
Ali Brunson
Partner: New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson
Ali Brunson and Jalen Brunson's love story started in high school in Lincolnshire, Illinois. The couple dated long-distance during college — Brunson played basketball at Villanova (where he won two national championships) and Ali Brunson received her Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois. Ali Brunson went on to receive a doctorate in physical therapy from Northwestern University.
The couple got engaged in September 2022 back where it all started. Brunson proposed on the basketball court at Stevenson High School after Brunson was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. The couple tied the knot in July 2023 and welcomed daughter Jordyn James Brunson a year later on July 2024.
Ali Brunson is also the owner of The AMB Method, a New York-based workout studio that is "bridging the gap between physical therapy and modern strength training," according to the website.
Shannon Hart
Partner: New York Knicks guard Josh Hart
Shannon and Josh Hart met in the 10th grade and began dating while attending Sidwell Friends High School in Washington, D.C. While Josh Hart played basketball at Villanova, Shannon Hart played collegiate soccer at UMBC. She received a degree in health administration and public policy from the university and went on to graduate from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. "Congrats on graduating nursing school and cheers to new beginnings," Josh Hart wrote on Instagram in 2019. The couple announced their engagement in December 2020 and tied the knot in August 2021. Shannon and Josh Hart share 3-year-old twin boys, Hendrix and Haze.
San Antonio Spurs
Reece Fox
- Partner: San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox
Reece and De’Aaron Fox both share a passion for basketball. Reece Fox was a highly-recruited McDonald's All-American out of Lady Bird Johnson High School in San Antonio. She played collegiate basketball at UCLA, Texas Tech and Cal, where she scored more than 1,000 points and had 400 assists. After her playing career, Fox served as a video coordinator at Texas and worked for the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards front office.
"My wife played basketball at a high level. It makes it a lot easier to support someone and talk someone through stuff whenever you understand what they are kind of going through," De’Aaron Fox said on Hulu's "Clutch" series.
Reece and De’Aaron Fox got engaged in September 2020 and tied the knot in August 2022 during a star-studded ceremony in Malibu, California, that included Monique Billings, Bam Adebayo, Jayson Tatum and Trae Young. The couple share son Reign and daughter Poppy.
Brittany Barnes
- Partner: San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes
Brittany and Harrison Barnes both attended the University of North Carolina. Brittany Barnes graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in Global and African American studies and received a Master's degree in journalism from University of California, Berkeley. The couple tied the knot in August 2017 and share a daughter together.
JoJo Lacey
- Partner: San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper
Dylan Harper and JoJo Lacey both played collegiate basketball at Rutgers. Lacey averaged a career-high 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game at Rutgers during the 2024-25 season after spending the first four years of her career at Boston College. Lacey briefly signed with the Washington Mystics in April 2025 before joining AU Pro Basketball.
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Meet WAGS of 2026 NBA Finals: Jordyn Woods (Knicks), Reece Fox (Spurs)
Knicks' Mitchell Robinson available to play in Game 1 of NBA Finals
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is officially available to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.
Robinson fractured his fifth metacarpal (the bone located just below the pinky finger) in his right hand at some point following the sweep of the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and had surgery shortly thereafter.
SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley reported on Tuesday that Robinson, who was listed as questionable, was pushing to play and the team was hopeful he would be able to go.
Robinson did more on-court work on Tuesday in San Antonio, as he was seen wearing a brace/wrap on his right hand.
The big man has averaged 5.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in about 14 minutes off the bench in 13 games during the playoffs.
NBA Finals Game 1 discussion
Today is Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The New York Knicks are at the San Antonio Spurs. Watch at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC or WJLA-TV in the DMV.
Enjoy watching a reprisal of the 1999 NBA Finals between these two teams.
2026 NBA mock draft roundup: Can the Lakers find a ready-now player?
If there’s one thing every team would want to replicate from the NBA Finals-bound San Antonio Spurs, it’s that they are a very deep and young team. They got that way by building through the draft.
Now the Lakers aren’t the kind of team to tank to do that, and given the draft lottery reform, that is looking to no longer be a viable option anyway.
Still, the draft remains a way to improve, and with the Lakers holding the No. 25 pick, they need to find a player who can contribute immediately to winning basketball.
Here is a rundown of players experts believe the Lakers can choose once they are on the clock.
SB Nation — Henri Veesar, center, North Carolina
Vessar has been a player connected with the Lakers in previous mock drafts. The reasons are simple: he’s an explosive center and Los Angeles needs as much frontcourt help as they can find.
Ricky O’Donnell offered additional insights into the Tar Heel’s potential.
Veesar is one of the only stretch five options in this class, but he does a lot more offensively than just shoot. The 7-footer thrived in a high-low game with Caleb Wilson by showing good passing touch and efficient scoring inside the arc. He won’t be a plus defensively at center, but giving Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves a pick-and-pop big man with good feel offensively would be a nice choice after this range of the draft was thinned out by NIL.
Yahoo Sports — Zuby Ejiofor, forward, St. John
Ejiofor improved every year at St. John’s and averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game his senior season. He was also a defensive force, averaging 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals per game in the Big East. That level of defensive ability is something the Lakers certainly need more of.
Kevin O’Connor explains below why Ejiofor would look good in a purple-and-gold uniform.
The Lakers could use a frontcourt player with a winning pedigree like Ejiofor, who found success with foundational skills: motor, length and defensive versatility. The question with Ejiofor is the fact he’s undersized for a center and his jumper is still a work in progress. But he’s developed enough to deserve a chance to figure it out in the league.
CBS Sports — Christian Anderson, guard, Texas Tech
While the Lakers have a clear need for frontcourt players, it’s typically best to select the top prospect on your draft board when it’s time to make a pick.
That player may very well be Anderson from Texas Tech.
He averaged 18.5 points per game, and Texas Tech loved having him on the floor. Anderson averaged 38.4 minutes per game out of the 40 that are possible in every contest.
His offensive firepower is why David Cobb of CBS Sports likes the idea of him playing with the Lakers.
The first thing any scout will note on Anderson is that he’s undersized. But once you get past that obvious truth and dive into the game, there is a lot to like. He’s a good athlete, a great 3-point shooter (both off the dribble and off the catch) and an elite facilitator. Sometimes the eye test is worth more than the measuring tape, and that could prove to be true with Anderson.
Bleacher Report — Dailyn Swain, forward, Texas
There’s another player from the South who could be a good pick for LA: Swain from Texas. The Longhorn averaged 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in his only year in Texas. Given his offensive outburst and his 54.2% shooting from the field, he is an intriguing prospect.
Jonathan Wasserman makes the case for Swain to LA.
There’s been a brighter spotlight on Dailyn Swain, particularly after Texas won three NCAA tournament games.
His NBA role will likely differ from the one he plays now, where he’s often handling the ball in ball screen and transition situations. But he’ll certainly be able to use the skills he’s developed to become a more well-rounded Swiss Army knife, specifically his improved creation, pull-up game, floater and passing.
Between his explosiveness for finishing, 3.5 assists per game, scoring off the dribble and defensive playmaking, scouts are taking Swain seriously.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
Looking for NBA Finals seats? The Knicks are making 2 in celebrity row available in an auction
Still looking for tickets to the NBA Finals? The New York Knicks are making available two of the best seats in the house — right by the likes of Ben Stiller and Spike Lee — to the highest bidder.
The Knicks are auctioning two celebrity row seats for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, when the NBA Finals return to New York for the first time since 1999.
Ticket prices are skyrocketing with the league's biggest market finally back in the series, with tickets inside the Garden so hard to acquire that Knicks fans have instead bought up seats in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland as their team romped through the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The seats for the game Monday night are located in section VIP 10; row AA; seats 25 and 26, which the Knicks say is right off center court. It's impossible to know what they would usually cost, because the team doesn't sell them. Instead, they are given to the celebrity fans such as Tracy Morgan and Timothée Chalamet who are courtside fixtures.
The auction begins Thursday at noon at knicks.com/celebrityrowauction and proceeds benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the organization that works with MSG's companies to assist children at need in the tristate area. It runs through Sunday at 5 p.m.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Knicks and Spurs look to recapture old glory in rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals that changed their histories
For many reasons, it's hard to think of many better NBA Finals pairings than the Knicks versus Spurs one we're about to be treated to.
The Spurs feature a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama, who might already be the best all-around player in the NBA. He's paired with a roster chock full of exciting, young players like Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De'Aaron Fox. But then you have a Knicks team that's riding an 11-game postseason winning streak, which only two other teams have ever done. They have an underdog point guard in Jalen Brunson, but a complementary core of players who have been stars on previous teams, like Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Mikail Bridges.
On top of that, you have the championship narratives. The Spurs had an over 15-year dynasty that saw them win five NBA titles behind a Hall of Fame corps, with a Hall of Fame coach, who helped popularize an entire style of play people called "The Beautiful Game." That dynastic run kicked off by beating the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals. It was the first championship in Spurs franchise history and their beginning as a basketball powerhouse.
However, after the 2016-17 NBA season ended, the Spurs never won more than 48 games, had made the playoffs only twice, and came into this season after six straight losing seasons.
Meanwhile, the Knicks came into that 1999 season on the tail-end of a tremendous run of success. Including that season, they had made the playoffs in 12 straight seasons, including advancing to at least the Eastern Conference semi-finals in eight straight years. They had won 50 games or more in six of those seasons and had finished first or second in their division for seven straight years. Yet, they had never won a title.
There was the 1997 team that won 57 games in the regular season but blew a 3-1 series lead to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. There was the 1994 loss to the NBA Finals to the Rockets in a seven-game series. There was the 1993 loss to the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals that is famously known as the Charles Smith series. In fact, the Knicks team that made the Finals in 1999 wasn't even one of their better teams. They were 27-23 in the lockout-shortened season and were an 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.
Still, they had a chance to claim the ultimate prize and came up short. It was the last time the Knicks advanced to the NBA title game until this season. Which means, in order to reach a height the franchise hasn't seen since 1973, they'll have to beat the team that ruined their last chance. A team that's trying to start a brand new dynasty against an opponent that helped them kickstart the old one.
So how do these two teams match up as we head into Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, and is that anywhere close to how they matched up back in 1999?
Center
1999: David Robinson (Spurs) vs Marcus Camby (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
We have to start by saying that this should have been Robinson versus Patrick Ewing, but Ewing missed the entire finals with a severe Achilles tendon injury. He was no longer an elite player in 1999, but he had averaged 17.3 points and almost 10 rebounds per game in the regular season and would have given Robinson a bit of a tougher time. Many people think of Marcus Camby as simply a dominant college player at UMASS, but the 6'11" center, who was the number two pick in the 1996 NBA Draft was a better NBA player than many people give him credit for. Still, this was not particularly close. Even though David Robinson was 33 years old in the 1999 NBA Finals, he was still a force. In the five-game series against the Knicks, he averaged 16.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 3.0 blocks per game. He physically dominated Camby, who was nine years younger but no match for Robinson's strength. Camby did average 2.0 blocks per game in that series, to go along with 9.6 points and 7.8 rebounds, but he couldn't hold a candle to Robinson.
2026: Victor Wembanyama (Spurs) vs Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
The Wembanyama and Towns battle would be a little closer to what we would have gotten from Robinson versus Ewing. However, instead of both big men being Hall of Fame centers at the tail end of their careers, this matchup features two centers who are in their prime and have changed the way the position is played. Towns is a perennial All-Star who spaces the floor and scores in ways most centers can’t. While Wembanyama is a 7'5" anomaly who does things on a basketball court we’ve never seen a player his size do before. Towns has been electric for the Knicks this off-season, operating as the hub of their offense, but Wembanyama is easily the more impactful player of the two by virtue of the fact that he is far and away the most impactful defender in the entire league and can score in a multitude of ways on the offensive end. How the Knicks defend him, or if they can, will be the biggest storyline in this NBA Finals matchup.
Power Forward
1999: Tim Duncan (Spurs) vs Larry Johnson (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
People forget what a force Grandmama, er, Larry Johnson was when he entered the league as the No. 1 pick out of UNLV. However, by this point in his career, Johnson was more of a solid NBA starter at the four, averaging 12 points and 5.8 boards per game — and in this series, he was playing through a knee sprain and was not himself. Johnson was no match for Duncan, who was only two years into his Hall of Fame career and was already third in MVP voting that season, scoring 21.7 points with 11.4 boards a game. Duncan dominated the series, averaging 27.4 points and 14 boards a game on his way to being named Finals MVP.
2026: Julian Champagnie (Spurs) vs OG Anunoby (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
Back in 1999, basketball fans might have scoffed at the idea that two 6'7" players would be the starting power forwards on the two NBA Finals teams, but this is a different game in the modern NBA. OG Anunoby has been critical to the Knicks' run to the Finals, and he will be huge in this series because he will spend time guarding Wembanyama at points (Anunoby is the kind of physical, strong, and quick forward who gives Wemby as much trouble as anyone). Anunoby's two-way play has been key to the Knicks' run, and they need him to continue at that level this series. Do not sleep on Brooklyn-born, St. John’s alumni Champagnie to impact the series — he has six 3-pointers and 20 points in Game 7 against the Thunder. He is fearless, an elite shooter, and a plus defender — New York can't just hide someone on him, and he defends up.
Small Forward
1999: Sean Elliott (Spurs) vs Latrell Sprewell (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
Sprewell may be most famous for trying to choke out his coach, but he was also a tremendous basketball player. He was a three-time All-Star with Golden State before coming to the Knicks in the 1998-99 season, and scored 16.4 points with 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game for the Knicks despite only starting in four of the 37 regular-season games he played for them. Yet, he was easily their best player in the postseason. In fact, he led all playoff scorers with 407 points that postseason. In the finals, he averaged 26 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He was also a solid defender, while Sean Elliott was more of a "glue guy." Elliot was 30 years old in this season and was a solid defender who could chip in across the board production for the Spurs. You can make an argument that his intangibles made him incredibly valuable to the Spurs, but Sprewell was one of the better players in the entire postseason, regardless of team.
2026: Devin Vassell (Spurs) vs Mikail Bridges (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
If you had asked anybody about this matchup three weeks ago, or in the early stages of the Hawks series when it seemed like Mikal Bridges was being pushed to the edges of the next rotation, the answer would have been entirely different. However, it’s impossible to ignore what Bridges has done in this 11-game winning streak. In that stretch, he has averaged 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while being a historically efficient scorer. He became the first player in NBA playoff history to average 15 or more points on 60% shooting from the field, 40% shooting from beyond the arc, and 100% from the free-throw line. He’s been shooting 68.2% from the field overall and 45.8% from the three-point line, all while playing tremendous defense on the wing. He’s been playing with more aggression than we’ve ever seen him play with in a Knicks uniform before, and getting to the basket far more regularly. Vassell is a really strong player, and there’s a chance that, by the end of the series, he will be a more impactful player than Bridges, but that’s only if Bridges reverts to the player he was in the regular season. If we get any continuation of what we’ve seen from him over the last 11 games, he will be a major difference maker in this series.
Shooting Guard
1999: Mario Elie (Spurs) vs Allan Houston (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
Houston was a key part of the Knicks' scoring attack in this series — with Ewing out, everything fell to Sprewell and Houston on the wing. Houston dropped 34 in the Knicks Game 3 victory and averaged 21.6 points a game in the Finals. He did everything he could. Elie, along with Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson, gave Gregg Popovich solid veterans he could trust around the forces of nature that were Duncan and Robinson up front. Elie was solid all series and was third on the Spurs in scoring at 11.6 points a game, and he would pick up his third ring (he was a two-time champion with the Hakeem Olajuwon Rockets in 1994 and 1995).
2006: Stephon Castle (Spurs) vs Josh Hart (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
This will be one of the most telling matchups of the 2026 NBA Finals, even if these two are rarely matched up guarding one another. Hart's grit and defense matter to the Knicks style, but San Antonio is likely to try and "hide" Wemby on him, allowing their alien to patrol the paint — Hart has to knock down 3-pointers to pull him out to the arc. The Cavaliers tried the same thing with their bigs, and Hart hitting five 3-pointers in Game 2 with 26 points helped change the series.
Castle is going to be guarding Jalen Brunson a lot of the time, coming off doing as good a job as can be expected against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander last round. Castle's ability to drive and touch the paint, then score or find the open man, is going to matter in this series, too.
Point Guard
1999: Avery Johnson (Spurs) vs Charlie Ward (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
Younger readers might not know that Charlie Ward won the Heisman Trophy in 1993 as the quarterback for Florida State. Yet, despite that, he went undrafted in 1994 because he allegedly told teams he would only sign if he was a first-round pick. Instead, he wound up in the NBA and was a serviceable point guard for the Knicks. He started all 50 games for the Knicks that season and averaged 7.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game. He was arguably the Knicks' best defender in the Finals, but Avery Johnson was just a better player. The 33-year-old was also a solid defender and averaged 9.2 points, 7.6 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in the series. He had more assists than anybody else that postseason and was a tremendous floor general for this Spurs offense.
2026:De'Aaron Fox (Spurs) vs Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: KNICKS
This is a little bit like the center matchup, except with the advantage going to the Knicks. Fox is a strong player and has averaged 16.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.3 steals this postseason. He seems healed from his earlier ankle troubles and is a very capable passer and scorer. However, it’s impossible to say he wins in a matchup against Jalen Brunson. Brunson is averaging just under 27 points a game in the postseason with 6.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Of the players with at least 50 clutch field goal attempts in the postseason since 1997, Brunson has arguably been as good a scorer as Michael Jordan. He has the most points from the field per 36 minutes and has a higher effective field-goal percentage than Jordan in similar situations. He is the heartbeat of the Knicks and arguably the best player on the court in this series.
Bench
1999: Antonio Daniels, Steve Kerr, Jaren Jackson (Spurs) vs Chris Childs, Kurt Thomas, Chris Dudley (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
Some things never change, like the Spurs having elite depth. It was a much slower-paced game in 1999 — the pace for this series averaged out to 86.7 possessions per team per game — so coaches like Gregg Popovich could lean more heavily into their starters, who did not tire out as fast. Jackson led the Spurs reserves at 19.2 minutes and 6.6 points a game. Kerr would pick up his fourth ring as a player in this series, his first without Jordan on the team (Kerr would get another with the Spurs in 2003). Jeff VanGundy trusted his bench a little more; both Thomas and Childs averaged more than 20 minutes a night, and Thomas gave the Knicks 5.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game. Still, this series was about the starters.
2025: Dylan Harper, Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet (Spurs) vs Mitchell Robinson, Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado (Knicks)
ADVANTAGE: SPURS
The benches are going to matter a lot more in 2026 than they did in 1999. That starts with Knicks center Mitchel Robinson, who is expected to play just a week after surgery on his right hand (it wasn't exactly a pinkie finger injury) — New York needs his defense, his physicality, and his offensive rebounding (he had 10 offensive rebounds in the Knicks NBA Cup victory over the Spurs). Also, Shamet and the other Knicks shooters will need to remain red hot this series — he shot 11-of-12 from 3 against the Cavaliers.
Dylan Harper is a handful as a rookie (and Mitch Johnson isn't going to be able to keep him in a sixth man role much longer). He can get into the paint and finish at the rim, is very strong, can hit the three, and defend. Keldon Johnson is the emotional spark plug for this team and makes big plays. Part of what makes the Spurs so good is that there is not much of a bench drop-off, and the players' versatility lets Johnson mix and match with his starters depending on the matchups. If the Spurs bench outplays the Knicks' bench in this series, it is a huge step toward them winning it all
Knicks vs Spurs Same-Game Parlay for Tonight's NBA Playoffs Game 1
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Basketball bettors can party like it’s 1999 when the New York Knicks collide with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
Game 1 finally gets going Wednesday night in Texas, and if everything is bigger in the Lone Star State, then I’m going big with my Knicks vs. Spurs same-game parlay.
I like New York to keep it closer than oddsmakers expect, leaning on their two biggest stars to make a stand in San Antonio.
Here are my best NBA picks and SGP predictions for Knicks vs. Spurs on June 3.
Our best Knicks vs Spurs SGP for Game 1
SGP leg #1: Knicks +4.5
The New York Knicks have been patiently waiting for 10 days for the NBA Finals. I’m buying into “rest” over “rust”, especially after the Knicks came out flat in Game 1 of the ECF following an extended break. Fool me twice, right?
New York has a solid defensive rotation to throw at San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama in this series, utilizing OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mitchell Robinson to keep the 7-footer out of rhythm. On top of that, the Knicks can knock it down from downtown – unlike OKC.
SGP leg #2: Jalen Brunson Over 2.5 threes
Jalen Brunson leads the 3-point barrage. The Spurs did a great job dulling an attacking SGA, but Brunson is a better outside threat, and if San Antonio plays passive perimeter defense again, he’ll make the most of the extra space. Brunson did shoot 10 for 24 from distance (42%) in three meetings with San Antonio this season.
The Spurs also lack size to throw at Brunson, who has had to shoot over longer defenders in past series. With Wembanyama packing the paint, New York has to hit from outside to create space, and Brunson’s projections lean toward three triples in Game 1.
SGP leg #3: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 4.5 assists
Karl-Anthony Towns has been a conduit for the Knicks’ offense in the postseason, thriving as a passer at the top of the key. He’s averaging double his regular-season assists and has dished out five or more dimes in nine of his last 11 postseason games.
Projections top out at 3.5 assists from KAT, but with Wembanyama likely checking Josh Hart, in order to hang around the rim, Towns faces smaller defenders than what the Cavs threw at him, and can easily see open cutters in space over the top.
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Who is Mitch Johnson? What to know about Spurs' coach for NBA Finals
The San Antonio Spurs are back in the NBA Finals. It may not seem like it, but it's been over a decade since their last Finals appearance in 2014.
Back then, the team looked a lot different. Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were the names to know. Now, it's young guns like Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, and, of course, Victor Wembanyama.
However, the players aren't the only thing that's changed in San Antonio. The coaching staff has also shifted. While legendary head coach Gregg Popovich is still involved with the organization as the team's President of Basketball Operations, sideline duties have been passed to Mitch Johnson, Popovich's 39-year-old former assistant.
Don't let his youthful age fool you. Johnson has learned from the best of the best and has clearly taken those lessons to heart. Here's what to know about the coach at the helm of the San Antonio Spurs ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
When did Mitch Johnson take over for Popovich?
Johnson took over head coaching duties on November 2, 2024 last year, coaching 77 games for the team after Popovich suffered a mild stroke ahead of a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Johnson has been with the team since 2016, working directly under Popovich since 2019 prior to his promotion to head coach.
He was not officially named head coach until after the 2024-25 season, once Popovich had been promoted to his current full-time position. Before being forced into interim coaching duties, Johnson was held in high regard around the NBA as one of the best young assistant coaches in the league.
His 77-game stint as interim head coach wasn't his first time taking over for Popovich. Johnson had taken over twice before for various reasons. Per USA TODAY's Lorenzo Reyes, Johnson coached the team during a contest in May 2021 when Popovich attended the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Spurs' legend Tim Duncan. The Spurs lost that game 140-103 to the Phoenix Suns.
Johnson earned his first win as a head coach in March 2023, when Popovich was forced to miss a game due to an illness. The Spurs would defeat the Indiana Pacers, 110-99.
Is Johnson a former basketball player?
Yes. Johnson played four seasons with Stanford University, averaging 5.3 points, 4.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game during his collegiate career. Johnson also had a brief professional stint in the G League with the Tulsa 66ers. He never reached the NBA.
Johnson is also the son of two-time NBA All-Star John Johnson.
How has Johnson performed as head coach of the Spurs?
This is Johnson's first season as the official head coach of the team. He's obviously done very well. Taking into account the previous 79 games Johnson served as head coach for the organization without the official title, Johnson boasts a 95-66 regular season record with a 12-6 postseason record.
Has a rookie head coach ever reached the NBA Finals?
Many times, in fact. While some fans may not consider Johnson a true rookie head coach, he is still not the first to lead his team to an NBA Finals appearance.
Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, six head coaches have led their teams to the NBA Finals in their first season:
- 1980: Paul Westhead, Los Angeles Lakers
- 1982: Pat Riley, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2015: Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
- 2016: Tyronn Lue, Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2019: Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptors
- 2022: Ime Udoka, Boston Celtics
Of those six, only Udoka has failed to win the title after reaching the NBA Finals.
Would Johnson be the youngest head coach to win an NBA Finals?
While very young, Johnson would not be the youngest in history. That honor belongs to Joe Mazzulla, who won a title with the 2024 Boston Celtics at just 35 years, 353 days old.
Johnson would be the fifth-youngest, though. Currently 39 years, 186 days old, Johnson would surpass Tom Heinsohn, who won his first title with the 1974 Celtics at 39 years, 259 days old, regardless of how many games it could potentially take the Spurs to win the 2026 NBA championship.
Here are the four coaches who won their first titles at a younger age than Mitch Johnson (age listed in parentheses; years-days):
- Joe Mazzulla, 2024 Boston Celtics (35-353)
- Pat Riley, 1982 Los Angeles Lakers (37-80)
- Alvin Attles, 1957 Golden State Warriors (38-199)
- Tyronn Lue, 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers (39-47)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Spurs' head coach Mitch Johnson? What to know for NBA Finals