Who’s the best NBA free agent in the summer of the 2026? There’s not a lot of great options. LeBron James remains the biggest name, but he’s set to turn 42 years old midway through the season. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are both solid players, but they were most recently in a sixth man role. Norman Powell can get buckets, but his defense is a bit of an eyesore, and he’s older than you might think at 33. There’s a nice list of restricted free agents — Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson, Walker Kessler, Tari Eason — but it’s going to be hard to pry them away from their teams.

For my money, the best available NBA free agent this year is Austin Reaves. Reaves will turn down his  $14.9 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent in early July, and he could cash in in a huge way thanks to a depleted marketplace.

Reaves’ max contract would be five years, $239 million if he re-signs with the Los Angeles Lakers. If he signs with another team, the most he could get is four years, $178 million. Given the leverage he has right now, it’s no surprise that Reaves and his representation are pushing the Lakers for the full max. Los Angeles Times reporter Brad Turner went on local TV on Thursday night and said “based on what I understand and what I keep hearing, Austin wants the max.” Turner added that he’s not sure Reaves will give the Lakers a hometown discount. Watch the video here:

Reaves signed what was a considered a very team-friendly team last time he was a free agent — and he easily out-played it. In the summer of 2023, the guard agreed to a four-year, $54 million that had a player option in the final season. Negotiating that option was a brilliant move by Reaves’ agents, and now he gets to hit he open market again at 28 years old.

The Lakers are entering a pivotal summer. This is their big chance to build around Luka Doncic, and they need to get it right. Los Angeles has Reaves, James, Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard, and Maxi Kleber all coming off the books. Do any of these players fit the Lakers’ long-term vision around Luka? If so, they will work to re-sign them, but only if the front office believes they still have enough flexibility to continue to build out the team.

The Lakers are slated to have about $48 million in cap space this summer, second most behind only the Chicago Bulls. Chicago doesn’t seem like a threat to sign Reaves at the moment under a new front office led by Bryson Graham. Would the Brooklyn Nets — potentially armed with $44 million in cap space — get involved? That seems more possible. Here’s the cap space leaders this summer, via insider Keith Smith.

Of course, teams can create cap space pretty easily. Got a bad contract on your hands? Brooklyn or Chicago would likely be willing to take it for the low, low price of a promising young player or future draft picks.

Is there another free agent the Lakers could value over Reaves? Given the way Doncic gets the most out of his centers, I like the idea of Los Angeles targeting Duren with a max offer sheet. It’s possible Detroit would match to retain him, but it would feel like a hard decision after Duren’s disappointing playoff run this year.

How much should the Lakers offer Austin Reaves?

Reaves is an awesome offensive player who struggles on defense. Can you really win a championship with two weak defenders like Doncic and Reaves on the floor at the same time? You better have three awesome defenders around them if so. Reaves graded out as the 30th best player in the NBA this season by EPM by being the 27th best offensive player and the 156th best defensive player. That’s just one metric, but it doesn’t seem too crazy to me.

If I’m the Lakers, I’m trying to get Reaves to sign for under $40 million annually when his max would put him at $47.8 million per year. Given how the current CBA is squeezing salaries for mid-level players, I just can’t see Reaves getting his full max anywhere, including LA.

A fair offer for Reaves would be four years, $150 million with a player option on the final season. That’s an average of $37.5 million per year. The Lakers could front-load the deal to maintain more cap space going forward.

This is such a critical summer for the Lakers if they ever want to build a championship team around Luka. Figuring out what to do with Reaves is their first big decision.

Elmo tried to keep the peace ahead of the 2026 NBA Finals, but Knicks fans were not having it.After the "Sesame Street" star posted on X that he hoped the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs would “have fun” before Game 1, fans flooded the replies demanding he pick a side – with many in New York arguing the furry red Muppet should back the hometown team.

The post quickly sparked a wave of viral reactions, as Knicks fans, who've been waiting for decades for another shot at the title, took over the conversation and turned Elmo’s message into a debate over loyalty.

When the New York Knicks return home to play in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on June 8, those who actually want to get inside the game may have to take out a second or third mortgage just for seats in the upper levels of Madison Square Garden.

Then again, it may be worth it to some fans, who have never seen a Knicks title, as New York is three victories away from hoisting their first championship banner since 1973.

There is another option to see the game if your cash flow is sufficient.

The get-in price for Game 3 is already getting out of hand, and there is also a charity auction for seats on "Celebrity Row," with the current bid sitting at $500,000.

The auction's proceeds will benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation, a non-profit charity whose mission is "dedicated to bringing life-changing opportunities to young people in need."

Just a few seasons ago, it looked and felt like the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to build around Darius Garland. When he signed his max contract extension in 2022, the thought was he would wear the number 10 in Wine and Gold for a long, long time. 

But, life comes at you fast in the NBA. When Cleveland acquired Donovan Mitchell that same summer, it signaled that the team was ready to contend and envisioned a dynamic backcourt leading the way.

The fit between the two had its ups and downs. The Cavs didn’t have enough supporting pieces to surround the duo in 2023, leading to a quick playoff exit. In 2024, Garland battled a broken jaw that compromised him significantly.

2025 was the best year for the backcourt, with Garland and Mitchell both being named All-Stars and leading Cleveland to 64 wins. Unfortunately, Garland broke down in the playoffs thanks to a toe injury and the Cavs bowed out in the second round. The toe injury lingered into this past season, and Cleveland could not run the risk of another unhealthy Garland run, leading to the James Harden trade.

Now Garland is with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he has said multiple times that he is happy. Recently, he went on a podcast with Lonzo Ball, saying he got his joy back for basketball. He later elaborated saying that he’s happy to have the ball in his hands again and be the primary decision maker.

That is the part that causes me to pause.

Why? Well, I’ll give you one guess as to who led Cleveland in touches per game last year: Darius Garland with 64. He was also second in clutch time usage at about 27%. 

This season, his touches went up to 68 per game during his time with the Cavs, which would be four more than he had on average with the Clippers in 19 games.

What about 2023-24? It was Mitchell with 79, but Garland wasn’t far behind with 75. 

Even if you go all the way back to 2022-23, Garland led the team in touches with 77 per game, which was NINE more than Mitchell. He also led them in that same category in the postseason.

So, make that two coaches in J.B. Bickerstaff and Kenny Atkinson that put the ball in Garland’s hands often. Atkinson even went as far to say that Garland was the quarterback of the team’s offense and that they could not function without him, both true facts based off of last year. 

Garland also had arguably the best season of his career in 2024-25, from an efficiency and playmaking perspective. He had the keys to the offense and while he did have to share the burden with Mitchell, he is doing the same thing in LA with Kawhi Leonard. His touches have remained the same, and his usage is up a little. 

So I am not exactly sure how often Garland wants the ball in his hands to classify as “joyous.” It may be more accurate to say that injuries took his joy away in Cleveland and that would be true. Having to deal with a broken jaw that causes you to lose weight you never gained back and a nagging toe injury is not fun at all. No denying that.

At the same time though, he was given the ball, he was able to make the decisions, and he was able to be one of the primary guys on the court. That fact is indisputable. Yes, Mitchell also got his touches and usage, but it’s not like Garland had to stand in the corner and watch him work all game. 

I get that Garland may be salty that the Cavs traded him away for an aging Harden, but the fact is that the team doesn’t get to the conference finals if that trade isn’t made. They couldn’t deal with the Jekyll and Hyde act that is Garland’s health for a third consecutive postseason. It wasn’t supposed to end this way, but it was beneficial for both sides.

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Jalen Brunson added to his legacy for the New York Knicks with a fantastic fourth quarter in the opening game of the NBA Finals, helping steal a road win from the San Antonio Spurs.

While Big Apple basketball fans start measuring for a Brunson-sized statue outside of Madison Square Garden, I’m pumping the breaks on the Jalen Brunson odds for Game 2.

Here are my best Knicks vs. Spurs predictions and NBA picks for New York's star point guard on June 5.

Jalen Brunson prop pick for Game 2

Jalen Brunson best bet: Jalen Brunson Under 25.5 points (-112 at bet365)

Taking the Under on star player props in big games is about as excruciating as waiting for your mechanic to diagnose that “creaky creaky” sound your car started making. You’re pretty sure it’s going to cost you money, but here I am... with good reason (and the van in the shop).

Brunson’s heroics in Game 1 make most forget that the San Antonio Spurs did a great job on the New York Knicks’ top scorer — at least for 36 minutes. Before scoring 13 of his 30 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the fourth quarter, Brunson was just 7-for-22 from the field and entered the final frame with 17 points.

San Antonio committed five of its 13 turnovers in the final frame, and Brunson manufactured four points of those miscues (finishing with eight total POTO). He also hit a dagger 3-pointer (going just 2-for-9 from distance) with under two minutes left, thanks to an offensive board from Mikal Bridges (Brunson finished with five second-chance points).

Cleaning up turnovers and the defensive glass will be a big focus for San Antonio tonight, as is keeping Brunson out of the paint (16 of his 30 points came inside the key). Expect Victor Wembanyama to stay closer to the rim tonight.

The Spurs will also be more selective with who guards Brunson, as he tormented most of their options. Stephon Castle spent the bulk of possessions checking him — with mixed results — while Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox had success in slowing him down.

Brunson’s knee isn’t on the injury report, but those soft tissue ailments hurt more in the days after. I expect San Antonio to test his mobility on both ends of the floor, with tighter on-ball pressure and screen action from San Antonio’s offense targeting the Knicks star.

Game 2 projections all sit short of 26 points for Brunson, with my number coming out just north of 24 points. That should have the Under 25.5 priced at -140 rather than -112.

There’s no quit in the Knicks, but if the Spurs do break away late and Brunson’s knee is wonky, Mike Brown could protect his superstar and be happy with a split in San Antonio.

Jalen Brunson same-game parlay

Under on Brunson points but Over on his 3-pointers. WTF? Before you screenshot and blast me on X, hear me out. HEAR ME OUT, DAMN IT!

San Antonio was doing a solid job pushing Brunson to the perimeter through three quarters, leaving him to go 1-for-8 from distance before the final frame. I expect those long-range looks to be there again in Game 2, especially considering the game script. 

Everything else is going to be tougher to come by. All the Game 2 models have Brunson coming up short of 26 points but list his 3-point makes right on the 2.5 O/U total. His nine 3PAs in Game 1 were Brunson's third-most shots from deep in the playoffs.

We’ve seen Brunson switch from go-to-scorer to playmaker when foes bring extra pressure. In the five games in which he failed to score at least 26 points, he’s dished out an average of 7.2 dimes (and played limited minutes in two of those due to blowouts). His projections for tonight bounce between 6.5 and 7+ assists.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

One of the NBA's best guards is finally getting his chance to showcase his skills on the biggest stage, as New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is three victories away from leading his team to its first championship since 1973.

Brunson, who scored 30 points in the Game 1 victory against the San Antonio Spurs, is the son of Knicks assistant Rick Brunson, who played for eight teams in nine NBA seasons as a point guard. The elder Brunson played in 337 NBA games and averaged 3.2 points and 2.6 assists.

The Brunson family lived in New Jersey and settled in Illinois during Jalen's high school career.

Here is more to know about Rick Brunson:

At 7-foot-4, Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs poses unexpectedly big problems.

Say, for instance, you are a fan who runs onto the court during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Wembanyama, 22, is going to be too big for a selfie before security drags you way

Another sizable problem is, like, how to defend the guy. We suggest prayer, and double- and triple-teams.

Some of the smaller problems involving Wembanyama − how to spell his name. Carefully, is what we recommend as you work through all 10 letters. Although it’s relatively easy to spell his nicknames – “Wemby’’ or “The Alien.’’

LeBron James referred to Wembanyama as an “Alien’’ when Wembanyama was still a French phenom who the Spurs had yet to select with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Because it’s not just that Wembanyama is tall. It’s what he can do at his height and with his impossibly long 96-inch wingspan. Block shots, of course. But also dribble and shoot 3s.

"Everybody's been a unicorn over the last few years, but he's more like an alien," James said. " ... No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is, but as fluid and as graceful as he is on the floor."

Those skills, unlike Wembanyama, are almost immeasurable.

You wake up one morning and all of a sudden the Knicks have won 12 consecutive games…

… the latest of them, Game 1 of the freaking NBA Finals.

Here’s more Bulletin material than I’ve ever put together in a single piece. Enjoy while patiently waiting for tip-off later today.

Mike Brown

On Knicks fans taking over in San Antonio:

“Our fans have been fantastic. They have been fantastic on the road, and to see them around San Antonio, to hear them in the arena…“

On telling the offense to adapt to Wembanyama’s positioning on defense:

“We are trying to keep it as simple for our guys as possible. And they have to take advantage of where Wemby is because he’s just so impactful defensively.”

On the team’s resilience late in games:

“These guys are resilient, man. They get better as the game goes along. They really try to pay attention to the details that we are throwing at them. They try to bring energy and multiple efforts while being physical without sending them to the free throw line. And then, they know we’ve got to play fast. You’re playing against good teams now, and you can’t go against a set defense all the time. We’re down double digits tonight, and we were also down double digits Game 1 against Cleveland, and for our guys just to stay with it is huge because anything can happen in a 48-minute game as long as you stay the course.”

On Brunson fighting through injuries in Game 1:

“I’m too emotional when I get caught up in injuries, so when he got hurt and he went out, [I said], ‘Jose, let’s go.’ And I was about to throw Tyler Kolek in the game, too. Jalen came back, tough as nails, and to me he didn’t seem like he had any effect afterwards. I haven’t talked to our medical people. He didn’t look like it was bothering him down the stretch, and so I think he’s OK.”

On Jose Alvarado stabilizing the team:

“He was huge. We talked about it during our film session. I pointed it out before we got started. When Jalen went out the game, he came in, and he kind of stabilized us because we were floundering a little bit. He got us into our offense. He was really, really good defensively. He’s always into the game. He’s always present. So for him to be able to come and hold down the fort the way that he did was much needed.”

On Josh Hart’s Game 1 impact:

“When you look at what he shot from the field, you wouldn’t think that he was probably the most impactful guy on the game. He was huge. He helped us with our pace. … He guarded a lot of different guys. … He rebounded the basketball. He was great on the weak side defensively. He impacted the game in so many different ways for us.”

On Mitchell Robinson’s Game 1 effectiveness despite his injury:

“He caught a lob. He was still a vertical threat. If you don’t pull in to tag him, it’s a dunk, and when he rolls like he rolls and creates that weak side to pull in, our guys have to spray the basketball. And then defensively, I thought he was pretty good, defensively, as well, trying to rebound, keeping those guys off the glass.”

On Karl-Anthony Towns’ defensive presence against Victor Wembanyama:

“KAT has been really present with everything that we’re doing. When you’re present, you give yourself a chance to really lock into the small details that are in front of you. He’s done that at a really high rate. Last night he was really good in transition defensively. Probably one of the best he’s been all season. The coverages, he was really good. Wemby, man, obviously iconic player, you’re not going to stop him, you hope he misses. You got to throw different people, different coverages at him. You got to try not to send him to the free-throw line. We sent him to the free-throw line 13 times, but KAT himself did a pretty decent job of trying to lead with his chest while being physical. Again, I think it’s all due to him wanting to do whatever he can to help the team while being present.”

On challenging Towns and the team defensively:

“I had to challenge everybody, not just him. I challenged everybody, probably individually, a handful of times, and the team. KAT is smart. He’s got a good feel. He’s got better feet than what you think. He’s long. He’s long and he’s strong. Those combinations bode well for a guy defensively. It’s just about embracing it and staying present while understanding what the small details of your job should be.”

On staying focused on the task at hand during the Finals:

“We have to keep taking it one game at a time and stay present and see what happens.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On not feeling comfortable being up in the Finals:

“I don’t think of anything like that, the 1-1, 2-0. I just think it’s 0-0. The next game is the most important game of the year, so just continue to stay in the present, not worry about what the future may look like, not worry about what we’ve done in the past. Just cancel all that out and just worry about the present. [Friday] when we step on the court should be the same determination, desperation, energy level and physicality needed for a win.”

On New York City’s vibes through the Finals run:

“It’s something in the city. You feel that energy in the city; the grit, the grind, the hard work you’ve got to put in to make in the city. I think we reflect all our fans and lifestyles and what it takes to make it in New York City when we step on the court with a Knicks jersey.”

On embracing his defensive role:

“I just want to impact winning. Whatever the team needs me to do to impact winning and to help us get over the hump and get that win on that night, I’m willing to do. Last night was a night where a lot of things happened. Jalen got hurt, changed my role. Jalen came back, I had to change my role again. Throughout the game, you’re changing your role three, four times. But whatever my role is, I’ve got to be the best at it and impact winning. I thought last night I did a good job of whatever my role was called to be, and I wanted to be a star in that role.”

On Brunson’s clutch shot and injury scare:

“With the ball in his hands, I’m never surprised. I tell you, that last shot, I think it was a shoot floater, that was nasty. I ain’t going to lie. When we all saw him limp off, we were worried not only because he’s Jalen Brunson but more because he’s our brother, and we are a family in our locker room. We want to — [we were] just worried about his health. But when we were on the court, and I saw him walking back out to the bench, it was a relief feeling just to know he’s safe. That was really at the end of the day all we care about is his safety.”

Jalen Brunson

On Knicks fans in San Antonio:

“Our fans, they’re amazing – my family and I, we’ve felt the love since day one. They’ve been nothing but supportive. I would not take them for granted.”

On Josh Hart’s energy:

“His energy is relentless; it doesn’t stop – he eats candy all the time. He’s a big kid with an absurd amount of energy.”

On the Knicks chemistry:

“It’s all about coming together and figuring out what we have to do to be better. The chemistry that we have is still continuing to grow and that allows us to play better.”

On trusting his instincts in crunch time:

“You never know what’s going to happen. Plays are going to happen, and you can’t really script what’s really going to go on.”

On pulling off another monster comeback in Game 1:

“It’s a position we obviously don’t want to be in, but it’s always a next-play mentality. We have to control the things that we can control and our team is going to go on runs. Things are going to happen, and somehow we bounce back. We continue to find a way and just kind of keep chipping away. We knew one play was not going to bring us all the way back but we just kept chipping away.”

Mikal Bridges

On the mindset heading into Game 2:

“We got to be better, and I know we will be in Game 2. Our biggest game is our next game because it’s our next game. That’s how we look at it. It’s always just 1-0 if you win. After that game, it’s back to 0-0. I don’t know if we look at it eight straight, nine straight, seven straight [wins], whatever it is. We look at it, win this game, after that it’s 0-0, learn what you got to do better for the next game.”

On responding to adversity after falling behind big in Game 1:

“You don’t want to play from behind, but I think it’s just when adversity hits, who are you going to be? I think when adversity hits, we’re a tough team mentally and physically. So just keep staying the course and just keep fighting no matter what.”

On Towns’ growth with the Knicks:

“He’s been unbelievable.”

On Brunson’s toughness:

“He’s got that mental toughness and he’s going to fight no matter what.”

On his early days at Villanova with Josh Hart:

“He was a bully when I first got to campus. I had nothing wrong with him. He didn’t like me at the beginning. There might have been a little fear of a 6-foot-6 lanky kid who was looking pretty solid. I think he had a little fear factor.”

OG Anunoby

On Jalen Brunson’s confidence:

“Jalen, whoever he plays against, he’s a great player. No matter who he plays against, he always has the same confidence in himself.”

On the Knicks’ defensive approach to dealing with the Spurs:

“We just tried to be physical. We don’t want people to be comfortable.”

On shooting the minute he find any space:

“Whenever I feel I have any space, I’m always ready to shoot. Just like any other.”

Mitchell Robinson

On playing in the NBA Finals:

“This is what we play for – I’ve been here 8 years”

On Brunson’s clutch moments:

“We’ve seen it numerous times, we get hype – when he starts doing that, we cheer him on”

On what to expect from the Spurs in Game 2:

“A desperate team”

Josh Hart

On what fuels his energy:

“Humility and a willingness to sacrifice…I found it with prayer and my faith. When you have a group of guys that have that, that breeds a championship culture.”

On Brunson’s fan interaction:

“I didn’t really see it… He’s always pretty calm, composed. I’m sure the fan said something crazy to get him going.”

On Jose Alvarado’s journey and presence:

“Willing to work, had a chip on his shoulder… On the bench, he’s up, he’s talking. You have the ultimate confidence in someone like that.”

On Brunson being underrated:

“He’s still underrated in the league. He keeps proving people wrong.”

On forcing Wembanyama to contest shots to open gaps inside:

“The biggest thing, you want to get shots up. It doesn’t matter what shot you get up, just get it on the rim. With Wemby contesting it, now he’s out of the play and someone like (Mitchell Robinson) is down there by themselves.”

On sacrificing in the Finals spotlight:

“It takes humility and just a willingness to sacrifice. We’re in the NBA Finals. There’s millions of people watching. It’s easy to get wrapped up in human nature of wanting to get recognition, wanting to score the ball, wanting to show people what you can do on the biggest stage. That’s not everyone’s calling and not everyone’s assignment. I know for me, that’s not really my assignment. … When you have a group of guys that have that willingness to sacrifice and that humility, that breeds a championship culture.”

On the Nova Knicks brotherhood:

“It’s something that is surreal. Whenever you’re in college and in that locker room, you know the goal is the NBA. You know the percent chance of you all being on the same team is slim, if not none. It’s something you talk about and dream about, but you know the reality is almost impossible. The fact that it actually came to fruition is super cool because I know the time that these guys put in and I know where their hearts are. We already share a bond and (are) brothers for life, and this is just another step. Obviously, this isn’t the ultimate goal, but you just keep adding memories. These are memories that we’ll have for a lifetime.”

Jordan Clarkson

On Rick Brunson’s message during Game 1:

“[He said] just leave the refs alone, focus on what we’ve gotta get done, and that’s what we can control. Those are uncontrollable situations that we’re in. We just wanna come in here, keep continuing to put our will in the game and stay locked-in.”

Landry Shamet

On fighting back from deficits:

“We’ve put ourselves in situations where we’ve got to fight back from a deficit, and we did that, and we chipped away. We started focusing on ourselves and doing the right things. And slowly but surely, that led to us cutting the deficit and ultimately getting the win. [The Spurs] played great through the majority of the game and put us in a tough spot, but you know, we found the resolve to figure it out late. So that’s encouraging but we’ve got to clean some stuff up.”

On Knicks fans traveling in the postseason:

“Knicks fans have shown throughout the regular season and obviously in the playoffs that they are willing to travel, and it definitely shows up, makes a difference. We notice it.”

Jose Alvarado

On seeing Brunson head to the locker room in Game 1 and stepping up in his absence:

“(My first thought is) He better come back. My second thought is, this is what I do. I wasn’t scared of the moment. This is something I live for, and I just want to take advantage of it and do what the team needs.”

On challenging Victor Wembanyama one-on-one:

“I don’t fear nobody. He’s a great player, he’s going to block shots regardless of what you do. That one went my way.”

Miles McBride

On Brunson’s playoff focus:

“Every year he continues to be more locked in”

On trying to pull Wembanyama out of the paint:

“If you’re able to pull him out of the paint, you have to take advantage.”

On staying focused in a hostile road environment:

“Honestly, [he said] we’ve just gotta stay solid. We can’t let that get in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re in a hostile environment, and there’s a human aspect to it all, so we’ve just gotta stay solid and play our game.”

On locking in when trailing:

“I’d say you start keying-in on details that got you put in that hole. And usually for us, it’s never been about an Xs and Os thing. It’s about getting to the loose balls, getting to an offensive rebound here or on the other end cutting with force and playing off the ball a little bit more and getting guys involved. So it’s things like that.”

On Mike Brown’s approach to the Knicks’ second unit:

“Opportunity was the main thing. He’s putting a lot of guys in different spots and he’s just allowing us to be us. We can play at a high level. I feel like a lot of guys can be starters at different places. We’re all happy here, we’re happy to impact the game at such a high level.”

Mitch Johnson

On adapting to the Knicks’ schemes within a long series:

“We’ve been consistent in that regard. I think one thing we have learned in our three series is that series are long. Games are long. Things shift quickly, whether that’s health, who’s playing well or hot, quote/unquote, at the time. Teams at this stage typically have shown the ability to evolve on the fly and improve within a series. That’s how you see these series go back and forth, and these teams make great adjustments and take advantage of those.”

Victor Wembanyama

On losing Game 1 and the team’s mindset:

“Really, I think the reason we lost that game isn’t even technical. It’s not even technical, tactical. We need to approach the game with a better mental state. We just need to play our game. We just need to be normal. We don’t need to do anything incredible.”

On the Spurs’ resilience:

“It’s very reassuring. We know we’re not here by chance. We’ve been through some weird situations. Yes, it’s reassuring to know that these guys, the 18 guys we got, are built this way, are resilient.”

Stephon Castle

On not overreacting to Game 1:

“I think Vic said it best. I don’t think we have anything to be too worried about. Obviously, we feel like we’re the better team. We didn’t play well, still had a chance to win, so… If we take one thing from that, just going back to being ourselves, focusing on the right things.”

On settling into another playoff series they already trail:

“We’ve been down in a series before. I think Coach Mitch (Johnson) said it best. Really all playoffs, it’s taken us more than a half to get settled into the game. Yeah, just trying to be ourselves.”

On isolation and shot selection issues through Game 1:

“It could have been that. I think, for the most part, we didn’t make the extra pass as much as we usually do. We settled a lot more than we usually do. I think coach preaches a lot: try and find better each possession, try and find the best shot. I think we got satisfied with, probably, a decent look, knowing that we can make those kind of shots. I think we got satisfied with that a lot more than we usually do throughout the year. I think it cost us.”

On still having a chance late to beat the Knicks:

“Even playing like that, not playing the way we wanted to, we still had a chance to win.”

Larry Brown

On recruiting Jalen Brunson in high school:

“I recruited Jalen in high school when I was coaching SMU and watched him play in high school. I watched him take a mediocre high school team and win the state championship. So you can’t measure what that kid is about. You can say the same in a lot of ways with Chauncey. When he was young, he was super athletic. But as he got older, he was super smart. He figured it out.”

On Karl-Anthony Towns’ defensive growth:

“Towns, I thought, is maybe not the defender that can carry you to a championship. But he has really, really sacrificed and tried to guard. And I think that’s been one of the keys. … A lot of teams went after Towns and during this stretch I think he’s made unbelievable sacrifices to try to guard, try to rebound, try to do the right thing. And that has been really important.”

Ashley Howard

On Josh Hart’s competitiveness at Villanova:

“The Josh Hart you guys see now, he was that from Day 1. He was fierce, tough, nasty and a competitor. Lo and behold, what ends up happening is that you get a Mikal Bridges who is a young freshman and was committed the whole year to improving his body, doing skill work and watching film. His game day was practice. His game day was against Josh Hart, this dude who we all knew was the toughest and nastiest on the floor. He made Mikal better.”

Mike Nardi

On Hart and Bridges competing in practice:

“Any time Josh got his shot blocked and there was a change of possession, the next time Mikal got the ball, whether it was on the break or chasing him down or within the half court, it was like big brother versus little brother. Josh tried to send a message. We all believe that helped lead to Mikal becoming who he is. They were competing every single day.”

Walt Frazier

On counting Brunson out early in Game 1:

“He had his poor shooting and he was hobbling around, went to the locker room. I counted him out, man. I thought, ‘He’s not coming back.’ And all of a sudden he got a second wind. That’s why he’s the reigning Mr. Clutch. And that’s why this team is where they are.”

On Brunson fighting through pain:

“Jalen kept struggling through it, and you could see he was hurting. Kudos to the coach for keeping him out there and thinking Jalen can still get it back. I just think it’s a season of destiny for them now. Everything is falling into place.”

Charlie Ward

On teasing big-head Brunson as a child:

“Larry used to talk about Jalen’s head being bigger than his body and used to mess with Rick about that all the time. Jalen was small back then.”

Larry Johnson

On waiting for this Knicks moment:

“I’ve just been waiting because we were bad for a long time. Instead of coming to the Knicks, Kevin Durant went to Brooklyn. And of course, LeBron [James] did his little thing [opting for Miami in 2010]. It was a while to get stars to come here. Amar’e [Stoudemire came to the Knicks], and then we got [Carmelo Anthony]. But I don’t think we were ever [close] to winning the chip. I’m thinking the time is now, even if they lose this Finals, they’re still on the verge of winning the chip. It’s been fun watching these guys and most of us, especially that ’99 season, remember little Jalen [Brunson] running around.”

On his initial skepticism about the Knicks’ coaching change:

“I was a little skeptical because I’m a big time Thibodeau fan. I don’t know if anybody can deny what they’re doing now. [But] if they win this championship, it’s somewhat similar to that Golden State era. [Former Warriors head coach] Mark Jackson built that foundation and then Steve Kerr took it over.”

Patrick Ewing

On the 1999 Finals loss:

“That definitely hurt. It hurt me more than the [1994 Finals] loss to [the Houston Rockets] – the fact that I was not able to play.”

On the city’s reaction to a potential 2026 title:

“You see the way the city is reacting right now. They might burn the city down.”

On Jalen Brunson’s makeup:

“He has thick skin. To be a star in New York, you can’t let the pressure bother you. You got to block out the noise. Everything comes in circles. We waited our turn. We tried to do different things to get our guys back to this point [by chasing stars in the past]. But I thought when they brought Jalen onto the team, he is New York basketball through the way that he carries himself, the way that he performs.”

On watching Brunson grow up:

“I look at pictures of [Jalen] and my daughters when he was little, them carrying him around on their backs. And now he’s carrying the team. The rest of the guys are doing their part, carrying the whole city on their backs.”

On Brunson’s legacy and rooting for him:

“This is a kid that I’ve known since he was 2. I played with his dad. I want him and the team to be as successful as they can be. I’m not worrying about who is the greatest Knick of all time. I’m just enjoying the ride. Now I can sit back and enjoy the show, whereas back then I was focused on trying to get the job done. Hopefully, these guys will be able to do it.”

Spike Lee

On New York City’s energy around the Finals:

“New York City is on fire, no pun intended. It’s amazing. People are smiling, talking to strangers, wearing orange and blue – what sports can do. We’ve got a squad, we’ve got a coach, and basketball is New York City’s game.”

Isiah Thomas

On Brunson being capable of winning a title:

“Jalen is absolutely good enough to win it all. As small players, we tend to get overlooked even though we’re always beating bigger players. In people’s minds there seems to be some height and weight requirement to win a championship. Jalen won (an Illinois) state title in high school. He won two national titles in college, and now he’s in the NBA Finals. He’s just a winner. People say, ‘Well, Jalen’s not as good as this one or that one,’ but when you put him between the lines with those guys, his teams win and those guys’ teams lose. What the hell are we doubting Jalen for? People say he doesn’t have the height or body type, but he beats all the people who do have those things.”

On Brunson’s skill set against Wembanyama:

“But nobody in my lifetime ever had to face a person like Jalen has to face in Wemby. Wemby is such a unique talent that the entire basketball community is trying to figure out what his weaknesses are. With big shot blockers, you have to shoot it earlier, shoot it before they get there, and shoot it higher. Jalen can do that against Wemby because he can play and score from anywhere. He’s got the footwork and he can play inside, mid-range, from the 3-point line. Jalen has got it all. He’s the total package, and he can neutralize people who are bigger than him.”

Kendrick Perkins

On the Spurs’ problem against the Knicks:

“Imma tell the Spurs fans this, y’all got a problem…y’all have a serious problem. The Defensive Player of the Year got exposed last night. Imma say this. Yes, Towns played the best defensive game of his life last night, but offensively, he showed the world that Wemby can’t guard him. He is a matchup problem for the Spurs. The way his ability to stretch the floor, and then he showed his versatility by his ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. He was going through Wemby’s chest. He wasn’t shying away from physicality. And when they decided to put a smaller player on him, guess what the Knicks did? They searched him out. Here we go, go to you. And when Wemby came to double, he was dropping no-looks, he was dropping passes, he was finding shooters.”

Paul Pierce

On the Knicks being under more pressure to win the Finals:

“Who is under the most pressure to perform in the finals? It is clearly the Knicks. They haven’t won a championship in 50-plus years. They haven’t been to the finals in over 26 years. The mecca of basketball is New York. Do you see what the streets look like? When I tell you the weight of the world is on [the] New York Knicks backs.”

Kevin Garnett

On Wembanyama being too emotional after just winning the WCF:

“He’s crying in the motherf–ing Western Conference finals. That was too emotional for me. He got four more games to try to get. You gotta go through the Finals now. You still gotta be even-keeled right here.”

Stephen A. Smith

On taking credit for the Knicks’ Finals run:

“I deserve some credit, so I’m gonna take it… when I called the Knicks out, I almost had a stroke. You understand, on national television. They didn’t lose since.”

Jeremy Lin

On the Spurs’ late-game plan:

“The focus for sure is the second half where they were minus-17, but specifically even in the fourth quarter, I didn’t love the late-game offensive game plan. It was too much Wemby ISO. It just seemed like everything was difficult, everything was hard, everything was contested.”

On the need for the Spurs to create better looks for Wembanyama:

“Can we get him in more spontaneous, impulsive actions? Can we get him in some pin-downs? Can he set more screens? Can guards come set screens for him? It felt like every time down the floor they were giving him the ball, and KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns] was doing a great job of playing defense, and Wemby was tired. So how are they able to create different actions so that the Knicks aren’t seeing the same thing every single time?”

On the Spurs’ bench production:

“Another piece that’s really important is Keldon Johnson, who played only eight minutes—Sixth Man of the Year—a lot of minutes went to Harrison Barnes. I’m not sure what’s happening there, but there is going to be a different level of production that needs to be had from other players stepping in. Dylan Harper obviously had an amazing game, but we need Keldon Johnson.”

Shaquille O’Neal

On Wembanyama’s need to adjust:

“You’ve got to do a better job of making adjustments. Yeah, San Antonio definitely has to. Coach said we’ve got to get Victor the ball a little bit more inside. And for Victor, he’s got to play better. The way he played, 6-for-21 is not going to get it done. Ten threes is not going to get it done. You have to make some mental adjustments.”

On Brunson exceeding expectations:

“They did it by effort, a lot of guys played well. Shoutout to Hart – 15 rebounds. KAT played well with 18 [points]… Brunson had his moment in the third quarter where he took over. I admit before the game, Game 1 is always a feel-out game. I was anxious to see how he was going to do against those tough four defenders – he just showed me, Kenny and Chuck that he’s ready for the lights. He’s ready for the big lights.”

On the Knicks winning by committee:

“Third quarter and fourth quarter he carried a little bit but the others for the Knicks definitely stepped it up. Again, shoutout to Hart with 15 rebounds, Shamet hit some timely threes first half. They all played well. Alvarado. They did it by committee and that’s how you win championships, by committee.”

Adam Silver

On Donald Trump attending Game 3:

“I’d say the President, of course, is welcome to attend Game 3. And this President, Donald Trump, before he ever ran for office, he was a big Knicks fan.”

On using sports as common ground:

“I think sports, in particular, is something where we can emphasize what we have in common, not what pulls us apart, that it creates a sense of belonging. We’re seeing that in New York, and I think President Trump is very much a New Yorker, and I’m thrilled that yet another New Yorker wants to participate in the enthusiasm and the joy around this Knicks team.”

On the failed peace efforts between Charles Oakley and James Dolan:

“It is a shame in that I tried, Michael Jordan tried, too, as you said, to broker peace between Charles and Jim Dolan. Our efforts were unsuccessful. I think it’s unfortunate for the NBA that this is an ongoing situation. But as you know, it’s currently wrapped up in litigation. I tried my best. So I don’t really see anything else I can do at the moment.”

They call him "Captain Clutch" for a reason.

After Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson erupted in the fourth quarter Wednesday, June 3 to propel New York to steal Game 1 of the NBA Finals over the San Antonio Spurs, his reputation as one of the premier clutch players of this generation is only growing.

The one thing missing from his résumé in the clutch, however, is an NBA title. And with the Knicks now just three wins away from that, presuming more close games are coming, a championship would instantly catapult Brunson to the top of the list of his contemporaries. Whether it’s alongside two-time consecutive Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or in line with aging stars like Stephen Curry or even compared to some of the game’s icons like Michael Jordan, Brunson, 29, would reach a new level if the Knicks win their first title in 53 years.

By any objective measure, Jabari Walker’s first season with the Philadelphia 76ers was a success. Signed last July to a two-way contract after spending three seasons with Portland, Walker ended up playing an important role for a Sixers team that often found itself thin in the frontcourt. He appeared in 64 regular-season games for Philadelphia, averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds. Walker’s efforts earned him a standard NBA contract in mid-February; he is now set to make $2.58 million for the upcoming 2026-27 season, with $250k guaranteed and the deal fully guaranteed on Jan. 10, 2027.

Jabari’s calling card would have to be his rebounding, which was useful on a Sixers team that struggled mightily in that area. His mark of 9.1 rebounds per 36 minutes ranked 43rd across the entire NBA. With his work on the glass and ability to guard a couple positions, you see the makings of a glue guy in Walker. However, there are some holes in his game that bear examination.

First, Walker is not a shot blocker. He only blocked 13 shots total during the regular season and has never averaged even 1.0 block per 36 minutes across his NBA career. Nick Nurse played some minutes with Walker as a small-ball five, but if he’s not going to offer any rim protection, that can’t be anything more than a change-up option for limited minutes.

The likelier path forward for Walker is as a 3-and-D big at the power forward position, with particular scrutiny on the “3” part of that equation. Jabari was neither an effective, nor high volume shooter from deep during his season as a Sixer, shooting 32-of-95 (33.7 percent) in total. The team believes in him in that area and could point to a couple random successful nights during the season (4-of-8 against Milwaukee in December or 4-of-7 against Utah in March). However, Walker needs to be a lot more consistent from behind the arc, both in shooting it slightly better and pulling the trigger enough that opposing defenses won’t completely play off him and clog the lane to stymie his teammates’ attacks.

Finding Walker as a two-way guy on the proverbial NBA scrap heap undoubtedly counts as a win for former Sixers lead executive Daryl Morey. Having someone on a minimum contract capable of giving you reliable minutes in a pinch has real value for an NBA club. Mike Gansey and new decision makers will be in the front office, though, and might have a different opinion on Jabari’s value in Philadelphia. With only a partial guarantee next season, it’s no sure thing that he sticks around. It will be up to Walker to prove his worth and do more to remain with the Sixers and maybe progress towards being a full-time rotation player.

What did you think about Walker’s first season in Sixers’ red, white and blue? Are you excited to see more from him in the fall or ready to turn the page and find the next diamond in the rough? Let us know in the comments.

After a Game 1 Finals loss that felt all too familiar in more ways that one, I continue our fourth installment of Fraternizing with the Enemy with the editor-in-chief of our Knicks sister site, Posting and Toasting, Russell Richardson. The Spurs didn’t look anything like themselves, but the good news is they have shown they can make adjustments and flip the switch after poor performances in each of the previous three rounds. The bad news is the Knicks were far from the greatest version of themselves and have plenty of room to improve as well, so we discuss what to expect from both teams in what will be a vital Game 2, particularly for the Spurs.

Click the link if you missed part 1 and would like to catch up.

J.R. 

After one game, we’re a lot closer to your prediction than we are mine. If San Antonio doesn’t fix the problems I’m about to address, you’re in a great position to see Wilco with your wife without having to miss a Finals game. Great performances from your team. Truly. And not a very good showing from the hometown boys, which was not at all what I was expecting. In some ways it looked like San Antonio didn’t prepare any kind of Knicks-specific approach to the game. Which seems puzzling. 

So puzzling that I’m reminded of the last time I was puzzled like this, Game 1 of the 2017 playoffs second round series against Houston. The Spurs didn’t cater their standard game plan to the Rockets. They came out with a plain-vanilla offense and defense, and got absolutely trucked. Lost by almost 30. Do you remember Mike D’Antoni’s, “three is more than two” press conference? That was after Game 1. The overwhelming narrative leading up to Game 2 was the antiquated nature of the Spurs system and how inevitable Houston’s victory was. 

Then Gregg Popovich made adjustments based on what he saw after Game 1 and the Spurs won four of the next five games, with an overtime win in Game 5 that ended with Manu Ginobili’s over-the-back block of James Harden‘s three-point attempt and led to a Game 6 in which Harden failed to show up in any meaningful way. (You may experienced something like that from Harden yourself.) So San Antonio has had this kind of weird series start before, and they’ve come out smiling. 

While I have no insight to the adjustments being cooked up by Mitch’s Coaching Staff (MCS?), here are the things I noticed that I would like to see addressed.

First, Victor had his first truly disappointing game of the playoffs. Some people would say that Game 5 of the WCF qualifies, but for me that was passive Wemby and Wednesday night was … I dunno what to call it. Hyperactive Wemby? Whatever it was, it can’t happen again if SA wants to win. Since February 1, there have only been three games in which Wemby has been a minus in his minutes on the court. And two of those have come against the Knickerbockers, which is not very confidence-inducing when all of the games for the rest of the season are against the same team. Expect angry-but-composed Wemby for Game 2.

Second, in a game-on-the-line, clutch situation, your go-to play can’t be a Wemby isolation from outside the 3 point line. A couple of hours before the game I was talking with one of my writers, and I said that Wemby’s favorite play is probably freelancing. Well, if you default mode is letting him have his favorite play, that’s fine. He can have it for 43 minutes of the game. But when it comes down to the final 5 minutes of a nip and tuck Finals game, how about we run some kind of action; some kind of pet play that we like our chances with? Expect a firm let hand from Mitch in these situations going forward. Or at least expect the guys to get an earful and handle it differently next time. 

Third, against a lineup without OG, the Spurs allowed Brunson and Shamet to stay on the floor without running any offense at them. That should probably not be allowed to stand. There are so many ways to get them involved in actions that it’d be silly to even start a list. Either play Shamet off the court or tire him out. Force Jalen to exert himself in his own end and even if he’s still fresh as a daisy in crunch time, at least you’ll be scoring points along the way which would be a far cry from posting 18 in the fourth like in G1. Expect SA to do more targeting of NY’s weaker defenders. 

Fourth, more Harper, and a greater range of actions run for him during said more. What did the kid try to do in his Finals debut that he couldn’t do? I can’t think of anything realistic that could’ve asked of a player that he didn’t deliver on. I could go on, but that’s over 600 words already and I don’t want to try your patience. 

What did you see that you liked from the first Finals game, and what concerns you?

R.R.

It was a thrilling Game One, from our vantage at least. We thought San Antonio played well enough to win, especially given how rusty the Knicks were on offense. After a promising start, we didn’t expect them to finish the first quarter with 19 points. They had played eight games in 23 days, and it showed in the halftime numbers.

Nor did we think this game would so closely resemble the NBA Cup Final, in which New York rallied from a double-digit third-quarter deficit and held the Spurs to 19 points in the fourth to win. Uncanny similarities!

I agree that the series is far from over, if San Antonio makes your recommended adjustments. I was surprised at how underutilized Harper was in the second half, and that Brunson wasn’t hunted more — especially when he was initially injured. Shamet’s a better defender than his reputation suggests, but admittedly one of the weaker links in the chain. Targeting him makes sense. 

As for Wemby, we agree again: bombing threes late in a tight game (or freelancing, as you say) seems a suboptimal use of his talent. Keep sending that big fella to the cup! He’s more likely to get three points that way (with an and-one) and stop the clock.

Tell me, do you communicate suggestions to Mitch Johnson by text or email? For Thibs, I used to hide video messages on VHS tapes, mislabel them (randomly, e.g., “Portland vs. Pacers, Jan. 5, 1982”), and leave them on the sidewalk outside the practice facility. VHS is Thibs’ catnip. 

Regrettably, Mike Brown has a restraining order against me.

We liked plenty of what we saw in this first contest. New York remains confident and resilient. It’s reassuring to know Captain Clutch still has his mystical powers. KAT was pretty sweet, too. When New York runs the Towns-Brunson pick-and-roll, it opens multiple scoring options for them. Why they don’t spam it 100 times per game baffles me. That said, the Spurs had real trouble containing Towns whenever Victor rested. Come to think of it, Wemby didn’t do much to slow him, either.

Bridges and Hart combining for 12 points wasn’t too concerning. I wrote about Josh in the postgame piece:

“By the end of the game, Josh would have three points on 1-of-5 shooting, which looks bad. But run your eye across the stat line and let the truth reveal itself: 14 rebounds, six assists, four steals, a block, and a team-high +22 in his 27 minutes. His relentless energy rescued this game from the loss column.”

New York won’t have many more off-shooting nights in the series. Wait till you see these guys really cook with gas! Not only has New York won 12 games in a row, but 11 of those were by double digits. Impressive stuff from a team that’s considered the underdogs.

Brunson’s shooting reminded me of 1994’s Game One. In that tilt, Patrick Ewing went 10-for-26, and in this one Brunson shot 12-of-31. Same stinky, different outcomes. Even after a janky shooting performance by Jalen, we can sing his praises. Yet again, his shots fell in the clutch.

The Knicks have so many weapons that when Brunson is cold, someone else can step into the void. You saw it in Game One. KAT carried the team through the middle of the game. Anunoby was kind of a dud through three quarters, then knocked down eight points to swing the game. Another night, Bridges will drop 20 points on eight shots. Or Shamet might go 5-of-9 from yard, or Clarkson contributes 15. Mike Brown has a lot of cool toys!

Were you surprised by the contributions of your supporting cast, namely Fox, Vassell, and Johnson? I see they combined for 19 points. Also: Champagnie loves shooting three-pointers against the Knicks, making 18-of-34 in four games against NY this season. Finally, at last, Mike Brown schemed to stop this kid, limiting him to one point post-intermission. You’ve watched more of him than I—does he just go gonzo for Knicks games, or is he a ‘for real’ gunslinger? (I could look this up on Basketball-Reference, but stats can be suspicious…and I’m falling asleep.)

J.R.

The last time I had a mode of secret communication with a Spurs coach, it was Bob Hill. And I don’t need to tell you how that turned out. Suffice to say that there was nothing else for it but to work my way into the blogging business and lob my thoughts to the team that way. 

In the game, San Antonio has a lead and loses a lead because they only score 19 in the fourth while Brunson goes off; I can’t tell whether I’m talking about Wednesday night or NBA Cup Final. That’s far too uncannily similar, but I have a solution. We need more cans in this series asap! Now, I just need to figure out what a can is in this context, and we’d have something. I know! I’ll make a VHS tape and — my wife is shaking her head … apparently I don’t have a camcorder anymore. That’s unfortunate. 

Instead, let’s talk about Wemby’s defense on Towns (besides a few choice words I have that I won’t share here — suffice to say they aren’t complementary). I’d love to see Vic never leave his defensive stance while guarding a shooter on the perimeter unless his man is already off the ground in the middle of his jump shot. It’s not that Wemby can’t block three pointers, it’s that it’s just so rare that anyone does. In the meanwhile the number of times he’s been blown by for a layup this season is measured in the dozens! I don’t see anything of value being accomplished by Vic hunting blocks so far from the basket when he gives up far more total points when his timing isn’t perfect and he jumps too soon. I’d love to see what KAT can accomplish if Wemby simply plays solid perimeter defense on him. If he still goes off, then something structurally will need to change, but I doubt that. And it seems like Victor agrees because one of his post game quotes was about how he needed to just make normal plays.

Next to Brunson, who I will get to in a minute, I thought Hart was the MVP for New York. Relentless energy isn’t enough to explain Hart’s impact. Plus/minus isn’t enough either. He’s got that thing. The one where you know when you see it. It jumps off the screen as you watch on TV and it smacks you in the face when you’re viewing in person. Alex Caruso has it too. After seven games of seeing a one of Those Guys in the right place at the right time with the exact play, maybe the only play, that would stop the Spurs’ score or play or run, San Antonio fans have run right into another! Hart is a guy you hate but would love him in an instant if he was on your team and I don’t want to say another word about it right now. 

Jalen’s late hot streak cures all — you can shoot as bad as possible IF you’re able to can the looks that matter. (There’s another “can.”  I told you they were important!) Shooting is important too, and by the time your guys are cooking with gas, then Wemby will need to be operating at fully operational arrow station levels, or it’ll get ugly. 

I wasn’t surprised by the inability of Fox, Vassell and Johnson to score more. Fox will have a bad game even when he’s healthy, and his ankle is obviously still limiting him. He bounces back regularly though. Vassell has played great in the playoffs and while he had an off night from deep (1-6) he hit 3 of 5 from the field, dished 3 assists and grabbed 9 huge boards. I’m not concerned about him. Johnson’s the one that’s weird to me. He only saw 8 minutes of play time and I didn’t see much of a reason for that. Sure he was 1-4, but he was the lone Spur with a positive +/-. Mitch obviously saw something he didn’t like. Gotta hope that turns around. 

Which brings us to Julian Champagnie, who doesn’t just like shooting against the Knicks. Julian is now a certified flamethrower, and while he had a cold spell during the season and an early lull against OKC, he’s firing on all cylinders and will need to occupy a good amount of New York’s defensive attention. 

R.R.

I’m glad you ‘can’ (ouch) maintain your humor after the opening loss. Surely the Spurs will reward your confidence soon. Despite their 12-game win streak, I still doubt New York will sweep. There’s too much talent on your side of the court.

The mismatch tortured us the last time these two fought in the Finals, back in 1999. Compared to then, this is already basketball nirvana. Cynicism aside, it is pretty cool that the NBA will have a different champion for the eighth straight year.

Your comparison of Caruso to Hart is dead on. I feel the same about Caruso (and used to about Jose Alvarado): that stinker is insufferable until he’s on your team, when he becomes your favorite player. Whether that holds true for Dillon Brooks, we’d have to ask a Phoenix or Memphis fan. And I stand by my solemn vow not to root for any team that employs the services of Kelly Oubre Jr. It’s an irrational dislike, but real.

I don’t know what to make of Keldon Johnson. He must have played some great games this season to earn Sixth Man of the Year honors, but he’s underwhelmed in the small sample size I’ve witnessed. Vassell impresses me more, and I’m bracing for him to perform better in his second chance. Your comments about Wemby seem to point to the immaturity of youth. The more he hangs out with the monks, the more disciplined he’ll become, and then the league will really be screwed.

A note about Champagnie. We are spoiled to have Mike Breen and the great Walt “Clyde” Frazier as our commentators for Knicks games. Clyde is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice, as a player and broadcaster, and our SB Nation site is named after one of his colorful colloquialisms. One of his most endearing qualities is his singular ability to mangle names. To hear him say “Julian Champagne-y” is one of life’s joys.

We were glad that Knicks superfans Ben Stiller and Spike Lee made it to Texas. There may still be time for me to buy a ticket, fly to San Antonio, rent a hotel room, grab a secondary-market seat, and attend Game Two. Sadly, the grand total would be cheaper than trying to get into MSG for Games Three or Four. New York has two strata of fans: the wealthy set who can afford astronomical ticket prices, and the unwashed masses who watch from home or behind barricades on the street outside MSG. I proudly represent the latter, although, admittedly, sometimes the greed at the Garden is a nagging stone in my shoe.

Along those lines . . . as a fan, how does it feel when so many at Frost Bank Center are cheering MVP! for Brunson at the free-throw line? Poor Donovan Mitchell may never recover from that particular torment.

Here’s a true, unflattering story to wrap this up. Around the eight-minute mark of the second quarter, my wife texted from the bedroom to ask for help removing a splinter from her foot. Since she’ll never read this: I absolutely considered pretending to miss the message because the game was so good. Luckily, Mitch Johnson called a challenge timeout that allowed me to fulfill my husbandly duties.

Later, Jen texted that she was now streaming the game on her laptop because “everyone is talking about the game.” Hence, down the stretch, I was shouting in the living room, she was shouting from the bedroom, and our house must have sounded bananas from the sidewalk. I imagine things were equally wild at La Casa de Wilco. Let’s hope for more of the same great basketball in Game Two. Good luck to you (but Go Knicks, obviously).

For all intents and purposes, the Knicks have already done their job by taking Game 1 in San Antonio in a thrilling opener to the 2026 NBA Finals.

Home court advantage has been flipped, the first punch has been thrown, they’re now -134 to win the series on FanDuel, and the get-in price for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden is up to $8,782.

Big success.

But what they have in their grasp is an opportunity to put a dagger through the hearts of the San Antonio Spurs. Stealing one game on the road is series-changing; stealing two is potentially series-ending. As a result, the Knicks need to treat this game with just as much urgency as they did Game 1.

This whole series is going to be two exceptional basketball teams adjusting to each other, minute by minute, possession by possession. As a result, the plans you have early in the series might be thrown in the garbage just a few days later. At this point in the series, overall strategies are still being fleshed out.

One of them is figuring out if the Knicks want to be the fast team that’s pushing the pace or the slow team that’s methodical about their offense, looking to limit possessions and transition opportunities.

The last several years, they’ve been the slow team, but were unsuccessful in getting the Pacers to play to their style, leading to back-to-back playoff exits at their hands. This year, they played that style against an energetic Hawks team who struggled to generate offense in the halfcourt.

After that? They found something while trying to push the pace. A hobbled Joel Embiid allowed them to push the ball up the floor and generate easy looks in the paint. A lackadaisical and undisciplined Cavs team made it so that leaking out after a missed shot was an easy bucket over and over and over and over and over again.

Every series is different, and specifically for a unique team like the Spurs, there are pros and cons to each approach.

The biggest pro to being the team that pushes the pace and gets out in transition is not letting the Spurs set their physical and imposing defense, especially with Victor Wembanyama in the game. It takes an entire convoluted gameplan to get him out of the paint for an individual possession, let alone a string of them. They’re one of the best teams in basketball at preventing paint points, and you saw with the hesitation of slashers like Josh Hart and OG Anunoby that he can shut off anything within 10 feet.

Pushing the ball off a miss gives you time to generate shots at the rim with him trailing the play. Even if you don’t have numbers in a traditional sense, players like Hart can go coast-to-coast without worrying about going through a 7’5” freak of nature.

That in-game circumstance, though, is only one feature of the benefits of pushing the ball. The Knicks also have the clear advantage of simultaneously being the fresher and more conditioned team.

The top five players in this series in terms of minutes played in the postseason over the last month and a half are all Spurs. Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle have played 100 more minutes than Jalen Brunson, 150 more than Josh Hart, and almost 200 more than OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. While this is a roster of young guys who can recover from grueling playoff games more easily, these minutes can add up, as we saw in 2025 with the Knicks.

Wembanyama has played 590, which is an entire game’s worth of minutes more than any Knick and at least two more than anyone not named Brunson. He played 38 minutes in Game 1, just the 10th time he’s done that this season and the 16th time in his career.

It’s important to note that Wemby has never played 36 minutes in four consecutive games in his career. The reason he’s avoided that in the playoffs? The multitude of blowouts in both directions has allowed him to rest in the fourth quarter. With a Knicks team that has not lost a game by more than one possession that they actually tried in since March (20 game sample), it’s hard to rely on that right now.

Playoff physicality, combined with the sheer number of minutes he has to play because of the disastrous on-off splits, is going to wear him down. He already looked gassed in the second half of Game 1, and despite extra rest days due to travel later in the series, it won’t get much better if these two teams are consistently going to war.

Making him cover more ground across more minutes in a physical playoff series will wear him out, but there is a flip side to all of this that the Knicks need to account for before deciding to be the faster team in this series.

Their half-court offense is extremely effective, at least in terms of getting quality looks. They’re relatively turnover-averse; they often end a possession in a quality look from 3, a layup, or a shot that Brunson knows he can make. Even with the human eraser in the middle, the team was still able to generate quality looks for much of the game despite battling through rust.

There’s also inherent risk to playing fast. A live ball turnover in transition is free points the other way. A miss usually results in your defense failing to get set, which will probably result in a Julian Champagnie triple.

The Knicks are also just not a fast team at their core. Despite hiring Mike Brown to play faster, the team has a very similar pace to the one they played under Tom Thibodeau. They take 6-7 seconds to get across half-court with Brunson bringing the ball up. They usually haven’t gotten the ball inside the arc until there’s less than eight on the clock. Even when visually playing faster the last two series, they’ve averaged under 97 possessions per game, one of the slowest in basketball.

The answer here might just be as simple as recognizing the situation during the game and adjusting to it. When you have an opportunity to gas them out, go out and run. If you’re flagrantly outexecuting them in the half-court, slow it down. Adjust to the moment.

It’s what the playoffs are all about.

Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — gives their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.

Fantable Questions of the Week

Q1: What are your thoughts on the following trade proposal?

This trade was suggested in a Hawks column on SI.

Ashton: I think I would do it.

Let’s start with the picks. They are worthless in the second round. It will be all college seniors and international prospects. The Cleveland and New York picks are going to be extremely late in the back half of the draft. But the picks may make some good future trade capital. But it is not the picks that I am interested in, other than some good board (boring for some) draft conversation.

It is the former number one draft pick, Zaccharie Risacher, in 2024. I thought he was rated too highly on draft boards, but Atlanta took him anyway with the first pick. Keep in mind that it was after Wemby-mania the year before, so Frenchmen were in high demand. Fellow Frenchman Alex Sarr was taken second in the 2024 draft.

But this isn’t a hit piece on a country that consistently produces top talent. Call it a hit piece on draft analysts. Zach (look, I am not typing the full name out) saw decreased usage in the Atlanta Hawks system but had some really nice games as a 6’8” small forward that tends to like the mid-range shots. That is the size and current Suns’ offensive system would support that for a change of scenery. The question is, why did the Hawks sour on him?

I think I will stay with the youth movement and take the former number one pick. In fact, I would call it a deal of the day. Which makes me skeptical that it would ever happen. Or even how Rod managed to find this trade, other than a thought exercise.

Voita: This is a very interesting trade proposal, and it’s one I’m not opposed to. Yes, it would be unfortunate to lose the shooting that Grayson Allen provides. At the same time, you’d be acquiring a young lottery prospect along with three second-round picks.

I’m not the biggest fan of Zaccharie Risacher as a prospect. However, for a team with limited avenues to get younger, more athletic, and add players with legitimate upside, he certainly scratches that itch.

A lot of people have been dismissive of the second-round picks included in the deal, and this is where the NBA’s revised draft lottery rules could actually work in Phoenix’s favor. Let’s say the Atlanta Hawks are a Play-In team in 2029. They finish as the ninth seed and ultimately end up in the lottery. That feels completely realistic.

Now, let’s say they wind up with the 15th overall pick in the 2029 NBA Draft. Under the new rules, their second-round pick would suddenly become much more valuable because the second-round order is reversed relative to the non-playoff teams. The team drafting first overall in the first round picks near the end of the second round, while the team drafting 15th ends up selecting near the beginning of the second round. That changes the math.

So while there’s certainly a chance these three second-rounders end up being throwaway picks, there’s also a realistic possibility they become far more valuable than many people assume. And when you’re a team like the Phoenix Suns, one that doesn’t have a surplus of draft capital lying around, that upside is worth paying attention to.

OldAz: “Opinions are like armpits, everyone has them, and most of them stink” (there is a less clean version of this that everyone only has one of, but I tried to keep this PG). In this case, my opinion is totally uneducated because I watched exactly 0.0 minutes of this kid playing last season.

At first glance, I noticed that he was getting a decent number of minutes for a playoff team, but accumulating pedestrian counting stats. This is even more true when the playoffs came, and he barely cracked the lineup. All this made the proposal look more like a salary dump than a trade. However, he is also a younger, longer athletic player who can defend well (according to reports), with an inconsistent offense that needs to be set up by others.

Considering the Suns currently have too many ball dominant players and lack length, athleticism and often defense I could easily be persuaded that this is not a salary dump but a “buy low” trade that accomplishes many things the Suns need to have this off season. All of this hinges on what Risacher really is. For that, you need to ask someone far smarter than I am, or at least someone who wants to watch Hawks games to see him play.

Rod: Risacher hasn’t lived up to the expectations of being the number 1 pick in the 2024 draft, but hasn’t been a bust. Jalen Johnson’s play has made him somewhat expendable in Atlanta. I think I’d do this if such a trade were offered (which I doubt). It would save the Suns $4.3 million in 2026-27 and $6+ million over two seasons while adding another young wing to the roster who, hopefully, can still grow as a player.

The three second-round picks are nice sweeteners, but most are likely to be in the high 40s or 50s (the 2nds they have from New York and Cleveland), which doesn’t make them exceptionally valuable…but still useful.

Q2: For various reasons, some fans think the Suns should either do a sign-and-trade to move Mark Williams or just let him walk (especially if he gets a big offer sheet from another team). A third option is signing him to a new contract and perhaps trading him at the trade deadline. If moving on from Williams is in the Suns’ plans, which option would you prefer?

Ashton: Let’s get our option one out of the way, sign-and-trade. Rod has mentioned in numerous comments that it immediately hard-caps the Suns. Nah, I still want to be frugal here when it comes to the Sun’s future roster plans. (Note: It hard caps the team at the second tax apron.)

Option 2 requires a lot more deliberation. It depends on where you are with the Suns’ finances. I would still like the organization to stay below the repeater tax for a second year or at least have some breathing space to bring back Goody and CG. But this requires a hard player cut in Williams, as I really do not think the Suns have an answerable center position player to fill the role.

Option 3 is more forward-looking and probably the best. Yes, you lose cap flexibility and maybe lose Goody and CG, but if Williams stays healthy (and that is a big if) then he becomes a tradable asset.

I still have to pick one of these options for a three-part question. Let Mark walk or pay the qualifying offer at $9,615,600. Free up some salary space, and then no one has to worry about his injury history. Option 2.

Voita: I wrestled with this decision quite a bit while putting together my blueprint for how I think the Phoenix Suns should operate this offseason. Ultimately, I landed on the qualifying offer.

If Mark Williams wants significantly more than that, it starts putting real financial strain on the roster. More importantly, it could make it difficult to retain players like Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin. At that point, you’re probably crossing into first apron territory. Maybe the organization is comfortable with that. Maybe it isn’t.

For me, the ideal outcome is bringing Williams back, even if the final number comes in a little higher than the qualifying offer, because the goal isn’t necessarily about what Mark Williams is. The goal is finding out what Khaman Maluach is. Williams provides a buffer and provides stability. He gives Phoenix a starting-caliber center while Maluach continues to develop and earn opportunities. Then you reassess.

If Maluach takes a significant step forward, if he proves he’s ready for a larger role, then when the trade deadline arrives, you can start exploring the market for Williams. That’s the beauty of maintaining flexibility.

Of course, there is one exception. If Williams stays healthy and starts playing above the level we currently expect from him, then the conversation changes entirely. At that point, you’re dealing with a different set of circumstances. But entering the season, I think the smartest play is bringing him back, preserving continuity, and giving yourself another year to evaluate exactly what you have at the center position.

OldAz: Assuming they move on at some point, I would start with the last option of signing him to a reasonable new contract and then waiting for the deadline. A healthy athletic center on a reasonable contract is highly valuable at the trade deadline, and this would give more time for Khaman Maluach to develop and be ready for a bigger role. A sign-and-trade is also a reasonable option for the right return, so the only option I do not like (assuming they are parting ways) is letting him walk for nothing. I hate that type of asset management by any front office I am rooting for.

Rod: Unless Ott is certain that Maluach, Ighodaro, and a third low-cost free agent center can perform well as the Suns’ big man rotation from the beginning, I’d prefer re-signing him and looking for a midseason trade. My second choice would be going with a sign-and-trade. With a sign-and-trade, they could take back much less in salary (or nothing at all) and create a traded player exception that they could use later on.

Q3: The Suns have been bringing in a lot of players for pre-draft workouts that are projected to go undrafted (a little more than half so far). What are your thoughts on this?

Ashton: I had never considered this until I visited HoopsHype today and pulled the following in context of the question. This is who the Suns have worked out in the UDFA realm.

65 – Bryce Hopkins (PF, St. John’s, 22-269)
70 – Jaden Henley (SF, Grand Canyon, 22-39)
UNR – DJ Armstrong (SG, UMBC)
UNR – Miles Barnstable (PG, Tulsa)
UNR – Tre Donaldson (PG, Miami, 22-174)
UNR – Derrian Ford (SG, Temple, 22-201)
UNR – Sam Hoiberg (PG, Nebraska, 23-73)
UNR – Tramon Mark (SG, Texas, 24-245)
UNR – Robert McCray (PG, Florida St, 23-249)
UNR – Kashie Natt (SG, Sam Houston St, 23-114)
UNR – Grant Newell (SF, Western Kentucky, 23-262)
UNR – Shammah Scott (PG, Akron)
UNR – Corey Stephenson (SF, FIU, 22-28)

I can pick a few names from that list, but the question is whether the Suns intend to package the 47th pick with another player and are heavily considering UDFAs. It would make sense financially. Rod was right to sniff this one out. That is a lot of no-names. It certainly does not look like they will trade up.

Which I think we can kiss goodbye to the Suns’ 47th pick.

At least give Tobe Awaka a workout. One man that Valley Suns fans would love that guy.

Voita: I believe this is standard operating procedure. If you look at what the Phoenix Suns did last year, they followed a very similar approach despite owning both first- and second-round picks. A big part of the process is simply gathering information.

Teams want as much intel as possible on prospects, even those projected to go undrafted. Maybe that player ends up helping your G League affiliate. Maybe he becomes a Summer League addition. Maybe he pops up later in a trade discussion or becomes somebody you’re interested in signing down the road. The more information you have, the better.

And it isn’t limited to the NBA roster. Even at the G League level, there are transactions and roster decisions that require organizations to have quality scouting reports and internal evaluations. That’s why I don’t think there’s anything unusual about what Phoenix is doing.

In fact, if you spend a few minutes looking through the workout lists on HoopsHype, you’ll see every organization doing the same thing. They’re gathering information. They’re building databases. They’re creating relationships. And they’re making sure they know as much as possible about the players who could eventually enter their orbit. That’s all part of the process.

OldAz: As with many questions, “It depends” is the right answer. The new Suns seem more focused on developing players and have done a good job finding fringe players that can contribute. However, last season, these were mainly veterans who came in and contributed. If the Suns are looking to fill up on more UDFAs, then I hope they have an eye for talent and a plan that mirrors the Heat of the last few years, who have more than once fielded a team that greatly overachieved with multiple UDFAs playing a big role.

The more likely answer is that they are trying to build up their G League affiliate so they can identify a diamond in the rough down the road. This is also a good way to do business in the NBA when you are not pitching pennies in the front office.

Rod: To me, it says that they’re mainly looking at players to add to the Valley Suns’ roster, especially players that may turn out to have hidden potential/talents. With the lack of future draft picks the Suns have, this seems essential to me, as they have to turn over every leaf looking for whatever hidden gems they can find. Gregory’s done a pretty good job of it so far, and hopefully he can pull another rabbit or two out of his hat this year.

As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!

Suns Trivia/History

On June 6, 1976, trailing the Boston Celtics 3-2 in the NBA Finals, the Suns lost game 6 at home, 87-80, in a low-scoring contest. The Suns actually outshot the Celtics from the field (41.6% to 38.6%) but allowed Boston to get 16 offensive rebounds to their 8 and lost the overall rebounding battle 53-39. The Suns also sent the Celtics to the FT line 28 times, where the Celtics made 23, while the Suns made just 16.

On June 9, 1993, despite double-doubles by both Charles Barkley (21 pts, 11 rebs) and Richard Dumas (20 pts, 12 rebs), the Suns lost 100-92 to the Chicago Bulls to go down 0-1 in their first return to the NBA Finals since 1976. Barkley (9 of 25) and Kevin Johnson (4 of 13) had uncharacteristically poor shooting nights, while the Bulls shot well from the field, hitting 53.1% to the Suns’ 44.4%.

On June 11, 1993, Charles Barkley of the Suns and Michael Jordan of the Bulls each scored 42 points in Chicago’s 111-108 victory, marking the first time in NBA Finals history that opposing players each scored 40 or more points in a Finals game.

Important Future Dates

Mid-June (date TBD) – Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents (following the Finals)
June 23 – NBA Draft First Round, 8 ET (ABC/ESPN)
June 24 – NBA Draft Second Round, 8 ET (ESPN)
June 30 – Teams can begin negotiations with all free agents
July 1 – Official start of the 2026-27 league year and moratorium period
July 6 – Moratorium ends, official free agent contract signings can begin
July 9-19 – NBA 2K Summer League 2026 in Las Vegas
Late September (dates TBD) – NBA Training Camps open

When the Celtics entered the 2025 2nd round vs. the Knicks, it felt like they were on a different level than New York. That was proven wrong and since that point, it has become clear that it is New York who is on a different level than Boston.

Three wins away from their first championship in 53 years, the Knicks look like they tower over everyone else in the Eastern Conference.

It became very clear as the 76ers, who came back from down 3-1 vs. the Celtics, were not only swept by New York, but embarrassed by them, that the gap between Boston and New York was bigger than any of us thought it was.

It is up to Brad Stevens and company to close that gap this summer.

Does making a marginal move like trading Sam Hauser for a center help the Celtics? Yes, but we need to be thinking bigger.

The trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White has shown us they are good enough to win at the highest level. Get more of a contribution from the younger players in the playoffs and the Celtics could be back at the top of the East next year. Maybe you think the Celtics’ exit and the Knicks run are both flukey and that Boston shouldn’t panic.

Is that something that the Celtics should be betting on?

The roster is just not good enough as is and when you have Jayson Tatum on your team, you owe it to him and yourself to be doing everything to win the championship every year.

That is why so many, myself included, feel that trading Jaylen Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo is something Boston should be exploring.

Antetokounmpo would give the Celtics so many different layers to both their offense and defense that Brown doesn’t, including getting to the rim more, which is something that Brad Stevens talked about at his end of season press conference.

Yes, you’d be losing some of the great stuff Brown does like those mid-range shots, but Antetokounmpo gives more than Brown does on both ends of the floor.

You could also keep the Tatum and Brown duo together, and find a way to use Derrick White to upgrade the roster with either a big man or a scoring guard to pair with the Jays. The way the Celtics offense fell apart in the first round was much more worrying to me than their defense was.

The Celtics have four tradable picks and a $27.7 million trade exception. They don’t have to move any of Tatum, Brown or White to make an aggressive move. Maybe the Pelicans would be willing to give you Trey Murphy for Hauser, one or two of the young wings and a bunch of draft picks.

When the Knicks felt they needed to catch up to the Celtics after Boston’s 2024 championship, they traded for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. They took big, risky swings and it is the Celtics’ turn to do just that. I don’t know that Boston has two moves like that in them, but they should be making at least one big time addition to close the gap.

Victor Wembanyama was strikingly calm.

Stephon Castle was markedly confident.

So what that the Spurs trail the Knicks 1-0 in the Finals? So what that those two guys are 22 and 21 years old, respectively? So what that no one thought they were ready for the league’s biggest stage?

They’ve proved everyone wrong, and they’re hellbent on doing it again.

The basketball world winced when Wembanyama suffered a concussion in Game 2 of the Spurs’ first-round series against the Trail Blazers and needed to enter the league’s concussion protocol. There goes the Spurs’ postseason run.

It rolled its eyes when San Antonio lost Game 1 of its second round series to the Timberwolves. So much for being the real deal.

It started writing the Spurs’ obituary when they faced Game 7 of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City against the reigning champion Thunder and its two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Welp, it was a good run.

But the Spurs didn’t flinch in any of those moments. They leaned on one another. Their belief in themselves over the last two months has deepened to form a well of confidence form which they now draw after squandering home-court advantage against the Knicks in a 105-95 loss on Wednesday.

Said Wembanyama: “I’m not worried the slightest.”

Added Castle: “We feel like we’re the better team. We didn’t play well, and we still had a chance to win.”

The Spurs led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter before they let their lead slip through their fingers in the final six minutes of that period. They were outscored in the fourth quarter, 29-19.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson didn’t even need to watch film to pinpoint where they need to improve. It was obvious. It was glaring.

San Antonio gave up a whopping 50 points in the paint. It had only 16 assists. Wembanyama, who shot 51.2 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from beyond the arc this season, shot a woeful 6-for-21 from the field (28.5 percent) and 2-for-9 from deep (22.2 percent) in Game 1.

Gregg Popovich, who coached the Spurs for 29 seasons and led them to five championships before stepping down after suffering a stroke in Nov. 2024, sent Wembanyama a text after watching the team’s implosion Wednesday night.

The gist?

“I’ve been bad,” Wembanyama said. “And I’m better than this.”

The Spurs weren’t good, and they still had a 95-94 lead with 2:16 left. They let Jalen Brunson score 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. They committed five turnovers in that period while the Knicks had none. They were careless. They were outplayed.

They got in their own way.

That doesn’t instill fear in the Spurs. If they played their best and lost, that might have shaken them a bit more. But this was not that.

Heck, even if that had happened, this Spurs team would likely still believe in themselves.

If there’s anything this playoff run has taught us about them, it’s that they’re unflappable.

The Spurs’ stars might barely be of drinking age, but they’ve proved they’re mature enough to block out noise that can be deafening for players who are accustomed to big stages.

Too young? Too inexperienced? They’ve made a mockery of those narratives.

Counterintuitively, it makes you wonder if their youth is their superpower. There’s a certain cockiness that can come with not knowing any better.

Castle was quick to shut that down.

“I don’t know if that’s our youth talking,” he said. “It might just be more of what our character is like. I don’t think we’ll ever change from being this way, having this kind of confidence in each other, no matter how young we are.”

That deep belief in themselves is what has gotten the Spurs through three series. It has gotten them to the championship round earlier than anyone thought possible.

They’ve faced a 1-0 series deficit before. That didn’t faze them.

They dethroned the defending champs who many believed would become the league’s next dynasty. You think they’re afraid of the Knicks?

Wembanyama already indelibly stamped his name into postseason lore with a 41-point, 24-rebound, three-block performance against the Thunder in Game 1 of that series. You think he’s going to get in his head about a mediocre Finals debut?

Think again.

There’s a fearlessness about the Spurs.

No one thought they’d be here this quickly. They have nothing to lose.

And that makes them very dangerous.

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