Category: NBA

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a turbulent regular season after seemingly everything went exactly their way the year before. The one player who was dependable night in and night out to keep things on the rails was Donovan Mitchell. They don’t come close to putting up 52 wins if it wasn’t for his steady hand on the wheel.

The individual consistency and stellar play have landed Mitchell on the All-NBA Second Team. This is the third time he’s made an All-NBA team, with all of them coming in Cleveland. He was named to the second team in 2022-23 and the first team last year.

Mitchell averaged 27.9 points and 5.7 assists per game with an effective field goal percentage of 56.3%. All three of those categories are the second-best marks of his career. He participated in 70 regular-season games.

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All-NBA votes aren’t done by position anymore. The first team slot goes to the five players who receive the most All-NBA votes, and so forth. Mitchell received the eighth most points. He was behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, and Kawhi Leonard.

Players must participate in at least 65 games to be eligible for All-NBA votes. The league made an exception for both Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham. Both of their seasons were cut short at 64 games due to injuries.

Mitchell was the only Cavalier to be named to an All-NBA team, but two others received votes.

James Harden received one second-team vote and three third-team votes. Evan Mobley received one third team votes. Both Harden and Mobley made All-NBA teams the year before.

Down 2-1 against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs are in a near must-win situation in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday, May 24.

Good thing the Spurs have Victor Wembanyama on their side.

The two-time All-Star and 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year had a game-high 22 points (on 7-of-16 shooting) at halftime as the Spurs staked a 50-38 lead at intermission. The 22-point output included hitting on a buzzer-beating, 42-foot shot from halfcourt right before the half.

WEMBY BEATS THE Q2 BUZZER FROM HALF-COURT 👽

22 PTS
5 REB
3 AST
2 BLK

Spurs lead by 12 at the break in Game 4! pic.twitter.com/Uk9BhEMNO1

— NBA (@NBA) May 25, 2026

MORE: Spurs vs. Thunder Game 4 takeaways

A group of Catholic nuns known as the Salesian Sisters made a courtside appearance ahead of Game 4 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, bringing both faith and fandom to the Western Conference Finals.

The sisters were seen interacting with players before tipoff, including a moment circulating on social media showing Spurs center Luke Kornet receiving a blessing from two of the nuns.

The Salesian Sisters, based in San Antonio, have followed the Spurs for years and drawn attention during the team’s playoff run for cheering and praying for the team, according to the Salesian Sisters website. Their presence is also tied to their broader mission. The group has said it connects with young people through shared interests, such as sports and uses those connections to build relationships with the community.

The sisters’ appearance in Game 4 comes as the Spurs look to shift momentum in the series, with the group adding both energy and prayer to the playoff atmosphere.

This game, in the landscape of the Western Conference finals, is pivotal.

The San Antonio Spurs cannot afford to fall behind in this series and must protect homecourt. Because if the Thunder win Sunday, May 24 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead back to Oklahoma City for Game 5, San Antonio’s rise could be quelled earlier than it wants.

All eyes will be on the two stars in the series, reigning two-time consecutive Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs.

At the end of the third quarter, the Spurs lead, 78-60.

Here are live takeaways from Game 4 of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs:

The San Antonio Spurs are fighting for their playoff lives in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs entered the Sunday night showdown trailing 2-1 in the series, and they needed a big game from superstar center Victor Wembanyama if they wanted to even it before going back to OKC. Wemby delivered with an incredible first half — capped by one of the defining shots of his young career so far.

Wembanyama was already dominating the Thunder when he got the ball with the clock ticking away at the end of the first half. The 7’5 French superhuman pulled up from the halfcourt logo at the buzzer and swished the shot to give the Spurs all the momentum (and a 12-point) heading into halftime. Watch the shot here:

I was so sure Wembanyama was hitting a halfcourt shot as soon as he caught the ball. We’ve already seen him pull up from Steph Curry range in the clutch earlier in this series. He has this type of range, and he continues to be prove it.

Wembanyama scored 22 points in the first half, and the Spurs were +16 in his 18 minutes. The Thunder playing without their second and third best creators in Game 4 with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both out with injury, and it sure feels like that’s too much to overcome against Wembanyama with his back against the wall.

The 7’5 guy was already dominating at the rim on both ends. Hitting halfcourt shots with ease is just unfair. It’s the longest shot of his career, but it’s hard to be surprised at this point.

The New York Knicks have taken a 3-0 lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals.

The Knicks will have the opportunity to close the series out in Game 4 on the road at Rocket Arena on Monday, May 25.

It’s a deep hole for the Cavs to try to climb out of. No team in the league’s history has come back to win a series after losing the first three games. In fact, only three teams have even managed to rally back into a series to force a Game 7 after a 3-0 deficit in a series.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson still appears optimistic about his team's chances in the series.

“Analytically… we’ve won two out of three games on the expected (score),” Atkinson said. “I think last night it was one point or two.”

The Knicks have averaged 115 points through the first three games in the series compared to just 101.7 for the Cavs. Cleveland has made 109-of-254 shot attempts, including 37-of-126 from the 3-point line, while New York has shot 129-of-250 from the field and 34-of-96 from long range.

“We were shooting way lower than expected and they’re shooting way over,” Atkinson said. “I know nobody wants to hear that. … Everyone is outcome based.”

The Knicks rallied in the fourth quarter of Game 1, erasing the Cavaliers' 22-point lead by going on a 44-11 scoring run from the 7:52 mark in the final period of regulation and into overtime to secure the victory.

More: Knicks close in on NBA Finals: Takeaways from Game 3 win vs. Cavaliers

When do Knicks and Cavaliers play next?

The Cavaliers will host the Knicks for Game 4 of the series on Monday, May 25, at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. The Knicks need one more victory to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cavaliers' Kenny Atkinson believes Cleveland has analytical 2-1 lead

For the third straight season, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson is a member of the All-NBA Second Team.

Brunson got the 2025-26 honor alongside Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant.

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić made the First Team.

The Third Team was Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Thunder center-forward Chet Holmgren and Pistons center Jalen Duren.

Brunson, 29, averaged 26 points and 6.8 assists in 35 minutes per game in 74 games of New York's 53-29 regular season.

"I don't really want to consider us peaking at this moment," Brunson said Sunday on Zoom. "I still think we have a lot of work to do.

"Us as a team -- I've said this all year -- we just want to get better every single day, and that includes the times that we're in the playoffs because there's still time to learn, there's still time to get better.

"That's how I've always thought about it. I haven't really had the time to, like, kind of wonder where we are as a team. All I focus on is, 'How can we get better from the day before?'"

Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant is celebrating another successful season in the NBA with his 12th All-NBA honor of his career.

With his 12th All-NBA appearance, Durant joins an elite club of basketball greats, which includes:

• Jerry West
• Dolph Schayes
• Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Julius Erving
• Bob Cousy
• Shaquille O’Neal
• Karl Malone
• Tim Duncan
• Kobe Bryant
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• LeBron James

Here’s a list of the All-NBA teams that the voters chose:

First: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham

Second: Jaylen Brown, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell

Third: Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Jalen Johnson, Jalen Duren, Chet Holmgren

In his first season with the Rockets, Durant averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in 78 appearances with the team. It’s the most Durant has played in a single season since the 2018-19 campaign, when he also had 78 appearances for the Golden State Warriors just before tearing his Achilles in that year’s NBA Finals.

To play that long and to still be at an All-NBA level this late into his career is extraordinary and the Rockets should not take that for granted.

While the Rockets may not have moved forward in their quest for a championship after bringing Durant in from a trade with the Phoenix Suns, having him on the roster makes them dangerous on any given night.

TDS community, how do you feel about Durant making the All-NBA team? Let us know in the comments section below.

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is celebrating his third consecutive All-NBA appointment, being named to the second team for a third straight year.

Here’s a look at how all the All-NBA teams shook out.

First: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham

Second: Jaylen Brown, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell

Third: Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Jalen Johnson, Jalen Duren, Chet Holmgren

Brunson was the final player named to the second team, receiving 49 second-team votes and 50 third-team votes. One voter left him off the ballot completely.

This season, Brunson averaged 26 points, 6.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting just under 37 percent from beyond the arc. Brunson did all of this while leading the Knicks to 53 victories and the third seed in the Eastern Conference. He has continued his All-NBA level throughout the postseason as the Knicks find themselves one win away from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

Towns had a case to join Brunson on the All-NBA list, but the big man came up just short. He was the 17th-highest vote getter, with one second-team vote and 11 third-team votes. Towns averages 20.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and three assists per game in his second season with the Knicks.

Posting & Toasting community, what do you make of the All-NBA teams? Should Brunson have made the First Team? Who was the biggest snub next to Towns? Chime off in the comments section below.

Knicks wing OG Anunoby "got robbed" of the 2025-26 NBA All-Defensive First Team, coach Mike Brown said Sunday in Cleveland during a Zoom with reporters.

"I got one more thing before I'm taking off -- you guys can all print this," Brown, who made the case in early April, said at the end of his media availability. "Great players out there -- I'm not discounting anybody -- but freakin' OG got robbed. He should've been First Team All-Defense -- First Team All-Defense. The versatility that he brings to this team, we're a top five defensive team -- top five defensive team. OK?

"The versatility that he brings -- and everybody always says, 'Oh, you got KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns), you got Jalen (Brunson), blah, blah, blah.' The versatility that that guy brings to this team is off the charts, and I hope the voters get it next time around. I'm happy he's Second Team -- he deserves something -- but it was wrong."

"Freakin' OG got robbed. He should've been First Team All-Defense. I hope the voters get it right next time around. It was wrong."

Mike Brown ends his availability today by making the case for OG Anunoby to be First Team All-Defense 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Z0HSYCirhf

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) May 24, 2026

Before Brown's statement, Anunoby said earlier in the video call that he was honored to be mentioned but "hoping" to make the First Team.

"It was cool to get the recognition, you know," Anunoby said. "... Second Team is cool. I was hoping I got First Team -- I thought I should've gotten First Team -- but Second Team is just as good."

Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson, Oklahoma City Thunder center-forward Chet Holmgren, San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert got the nod for the First Team.

"He's been tremendous, obviously, defensively," Brunson said of Anunoby. "And I think him being able to guard 1 through 5 on any given night has really been a big part of who we are and what we're allowed to do on defense because of him. ... Any publicity is good publicity, but I think he was well deserving of the First Team."

Anunoby made the cut for the Second Team with Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Thunder guard Cason Wallace, Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes and Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo.

"There's a lot of great defenders in the league, so to be recognized as one of the 10 premier ones is really cool ... now just focus on the rest of the playoffs," Anunoby said.

The best of the best in the NBA have been honored.

The league announced its 2025-26 All-NBA selections Sunday, May 24, and a pair of players led the way with unanimous selections.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning, two-time consecutive Most Valuable Player, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić were the only two players to receive 100 first-place votes.

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama nearly made it three, but one panelist gave him a second-place vote.

A panel of 100 media members voted to select the All-NBA teams. Voters were asked to appoint five players to the first team, five to the second and five to the third. Then, the votes were tallied and added up and ranked in numerical order.

First-team votes were worth five points; second-team votes were worth three and third-team votes were worth one.

From the 21st pick in the draft to one of the 15 best players in the league.

The NBA has announced their All-NBA teams for the 2025-26 season, revealing that Tyrese Maxey has been selected for the first time in his career. He joins Jalen Duren, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Johnson, and Jamal Murray for those honors.

Leading the league in minutes per game, Maxey averaged 28.3 points, 6.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.9 steals a night. He did so on 46.2/36.7/89.2% shooting splits, earning his second All-Star selection back in February. Maxey becomes the first Sixer to make an All-NBA team since Joel Embiid’s MVP year back in 2023 and the first non-Embiid Sixer to earn the honors since Ben Simmons in 2019-20.

Maxey’s spot on an All-NBA started to be penciled in at the very start of the season when Maxey came out of the gates hot, averaging 32 points per game over the first month and a half of the season. His production tailed off a bit as his workload caught up with him, and suffered a finger injury in March that put him in danger of missing the 65-game threshold for awards.

He returned a week early, clearing that benchmark by five games and navigating his team through the Play-In tournament as the Sixers again lost Embiid to a freak injury right before the playoffs.

Had his production been able to withstand his heavy workload, he only averaged a measly 26.5 points per game since the calendar flipped to 2026, there was definitely an argument for him to make second team. He was the leading third-team vote getter and received 36 votes for second-team.

This is also the first step in another leap Maxey can make, this one being financial. ESPN’s Bobby Marks has already run the numbers as Maxey will be eligible for the Super-Max extension in the 2027 offseason should he make an All-NBA team again next year.

While Luka Dončić’s Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge was approved by the NBA, making him eligible for end-of-season awards, the voters still left him off their MVP ballots. However, Luka will not go empty-handed regarding NBA accolades this year as he was named First Team All-NBA on Sunday.

This is his sixth All-NBA selection, but his first in a purple and gold uniform.

Luka is joined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham on the First Team.

Jaylen Brown, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson made the Second Team. Jalen Duren, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Johnson, Tyrese Maxey and Jamal Murray were on the Third Team.

Luka received 91 First Team votes and nine Second Team votes.

With LeBron James and Austin Reaves both failing to reach the 65-game threshold to be eligible, no other Lakers received All-NBA honors. Last year, the roles were reversed as LeBron was an All-NBA player and Luka was ineligible due to injury.

Luka had an incredible season that deserves to be celebrated. He made the All-Star team, representing the Lakers in the game for the first time in his career. He was the NBA’s scoring champion, averaging 33.5 points per game. He was also the only player to earn Western Conference Player of the Month honors multiple times this season, those coming in Januaryand March.

In March, he was particularly impressive. He scored 60 points on the road against the Heat, led the Lakers to a 15-2 record, and had 600 points in the month.

Only 10 players in NBA history have accomplished that feat. And that list includes players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Jerry West.

Now, Luka adds another All-NBA selection to his resume, making him just one of the 50-plus players to make the team six or more times.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site that visit other fan sites.

Tonight’s game is almost a must-win game for the Silver and Black, as they need a victory tonight to avoid a trip to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night with elimination on the line. If anyone would have told me early in the season that the Spurs would be in the conference finals at the end of may with a chance to even up the series 2-2, I would have been ecstatic. But after watching the playoff run so far with the Spurs, I don’t want this to end yet. The Spurs need to keep extending the series until they can take it all the way to the Finals to meet a well-rested Knicks squad, who are murderizing the Cavs on the other side of the bracket.

Game 3 started out well for the home team, as the Spurs rushed out to a 15-0 lead, but unfortunately for the home team, the game isn’t over after the first 5 minutes, and they were thoroughly outplayed after the initial run and lost the game by 15. It was the first game where the Spurs weren’t just outschemed by a more experienced coach, but were neutralized by superior play of the opponent. I have been pretty critical of the physical play style of OKC, but that was not the reason the Spurs lost Game 3. The Thunder played with more energy and got an excellent effort up and down the roster as every player who hit the court made a significant contribution. For the Spurs, Wembanyama had a good but not great game, and the Spurs elite guard trio, struggling with injuries, couldn’t be dominant enough to make up for the lack of production from the San Antonio bench, who were bleeding points every minute they were on the court. If the Spurs want to avoid facing elimination on Tuesday, players like Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet, and Carter Bryant will need to step up, and Julian Champagnie will need to hit some shots to relieve some of the defensive pressure on Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox.

The Spurs aren’t listing any players on the injury report, but both Fox and Harper have been dinged up, and won’t be at full speed tonight. They are going to go, and maybe that will inspire some of their teammates to help them to a win. Ajay Mitchell is out tonight, and Jalen Williams (hamstring) is listed as questionable. I doubt that JDub will play tonight, but if he does, he won’t be at full speed. With all that’s gone wrong in this series, the Silver and Black have a great opportunity for a win tonight to even up the series, and guarantee at another home game on Thursday in the Frost Arena. Let’s see the Spurs conquer adversity tonight, and give the fans another chance to cheer on their team. The Spurs have not lost three games in a row all season, and you definitely don’t want that to happen for the first time in the playoffs. LETS GO SPURS!

Game Prediction:

Carter Bryant has a breakout game and hits six three point shots as the Thunder are busy triple teaming Wembanyama.

San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma Thunder, Conference Championship Round, Game 4
May 24, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Streaming: Peacock
TV: NBC
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