Category: NBA

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama atoned for his first career ejection with another huge performance, finishing with 27 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-97 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their second-round series.

At 22 years old, Wembanyama is the third-youngest player in NBA history to post that stat line in a playoff game, trailing only Magic Johnson (20) and Luka Doncic (21).

“I was fresh, feeling good,” Wembanyama said. “Honestly, it’s hard to tell. It was just Game 5. Obviously, I’m going to be excited (and) to have butterflies. So, excitement is not something abnormal at this point in the playoffs.”

Keldon Johnson had 21 points, De’Aaron Fox added 18 and Stephon Castle had 17 as San Antonio moved a game away from the Western Conference finals. The Spurs can advance to face Oklahoma City with a victory in Game 6 on Friday in Minneapolis.

Anthony Edwards, who was limited to eight points in the first half, finished with 20 points for Minnesota. Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels added 17 points apiece.

Wembanyama returned after being ejected early in the second quarter of Minnesota’s 114-109 victory Sunday during Game 4 in Minneapolis. Wembanyama received a Flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Naz Reid in the throat.

Both teams continued to hammer each other, with Reid receiving a technical foul for pushing Wembanyama in the back on a Minnesota free throw with 2:24 left in the first half.

“I felt like, to start the game, we knew it was going to be physical,” Castle said. “So, just making that a point of emphasis and trying to keep them off the offensive glass. I feel like we started the game off well and that’s where our runs came from. But obviously they’re a good team. They’re going to go on their own run. So, just try not to hang our head when that does happen and be able to respond and spark another run for ourselves.”

The foul by Reid fired up Wembanyama, not that he needed any additional motivation.

Wembanyama was 6 for 8 from the field and 2 for 3 on 3-pointers in scoring 18 points in the opening quarter.

“I think it’s super important for us the way we start the game, because it sets the tone,” Wembanyama said, “Now the challenge is to do it for 48 minutes.”

The Timberwolves opened the third quarter on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 61 after trailing by 18 points in the first half. Minnesota tipped away three attempted alley-oop passes to Wembanyama before they reached the 7-foot-4 post.

The Spurs recaptured a double-digit lead in the third spurred by Johnson’s block on Rudy Gobert’s attempted dunk followed by his short jumper after bodying Edwards under the rim.

“We went away from what was working,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Our defense just cratered. We gave up 30 points, I think, in the last six minutes of the third quarter. A lot of it was just ball contain, ball contain stuff.”

San Antonio held its opponent under 100 points for the fifth time in 10 games this postseason.

“I thought we did a good job of having resistance early in the clock,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “They’ve shown as the series has gone on, they’ve tried to play faster at times and they’re tough when they get downhill. I think when we’ve had better starting spots, more connectivity at the start of possessions, I think it’s really helped us be on a string and be organized and connected defensively.”

Three down and one more to go until the Western Conference Finals.

Victor Wembanyama made amends for getting ejected two nights earlier with his rampage in the pivotal fifth game of the series against Minnesota.  The team’s 3-point shooting also helped them race out to an early lead and control of the boards assisted in keeping it. 

The Timberwolves didn’t roll over for as long as they could, but their half-court offense was derailed and an inability to score on second chances never let them take control from the Spurs. 

Observations

• Efficiency is not the gold standard in the playoffs because defenses are at a much higher level than the regular season and referees are allowing more contact. Still, Randle has been awful in major part due to San Antonio‘s pressure and half of his baskets came in garbage time. The sagging off gets his head, and he still tries to take highly contested shots. After this game, he’s now made 26 shots against 18 turnovers in this series. 
• The Spurs had an answer for Minnesota’s big runs because their offense had more layers and they were mentally tougher. On top of that, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper deserve credit for being critical in the takeover going into the fourth.
• The Wolves didn’t get the memo that you don’t bait great players. They tried to get physical, and even tried bush league tactics with Wemby, and that played right into his hands because he took it out on the rim, and his massive tentacles were the main reason the Wolves were ineffective in the lane. 
• Naz Reid told the press before the game that the Timberwolves wanted the Spurs at full strength. That resulted in the Spurs outscoring them by 32 in the lane. 
• The Timberwolves’ three-big lineup usually features Jaden McDaniels with one ball handler, which limits playmaking, but the defense is sharp. This lineup is supposed to be a big advantage, and was one that Reid mentioned before the game, but it was getting run off the floor in the third quarter without McDaniels.
• Anthony Edwards has been the leading scorer in this series (24.5 before Game 5), shooting decently in the lane, yet has been a marksman from outside. The Spurs held him this time to a good game, not a great one. He’s been the only one who has been consistently able to bend San Antonio‘s defense, yet their team looks ordinary when he’s not going wild.
• The Spurs’ eyes light up whenever Mike Conley is in the game because he can’t guard like he used to. Coach Chris Finch doesn’t have someone like Spurs associate head coach Sean Sweeney in his ear to tell him to play one of his younger, more athletic players (Jaylen Clark).
• There’s an old saying about coach Dean Smith being the only person who could shut down Michael Jordan, and some of that may be true to a degree for Mitch Johnson. Wembanyama had 18 points through 12 minutes in the second quarter before taking a brief rest when keeping him on the floor could’ve sent the Wolves deep into the depths of Tartarus earlier. In fairness to Luke Kornet, he was sharp in this spurt.
• Teams that win Game 5 after being tied 2-2 advance 81.5 percent of the time.

There are only so many minutes to go around. 

OG Anunoby’s absence due to a right hamstring strain in Games 3 and 4 of the second round meant Miles McBride moved to the starting lineup, opening up his minutes for someone off the bench. After being buried in the rotation, Landry Shamet was the beneficiary. 

He played 37 minutes between the two games and scored 27 points.

“Landry hadn’t played a drop all playoffs,” coach Mike Brown said. “I think the first game [of the first round], he was in the rotation and then the second game a little bit, then he was out. That’s six, seven games that he hadn’t seen significant minutes on the court. … He was huge on both ends of the floor.”

With Anunoby expected to return for Game 1 of the conference finals, it is likely those minutes will again disappear. 

McBride will move back to his bench role. He, Mitchell Robinson, Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado have consistently been Brown’s primary bench pieces. Shamet was originally above Alvarado in the pecking order, but Brown flipped that because he wanted to have a more natural point guard on the floor when Brunson is on the bench. 

It is unlikely that Brown will expand to a 10-man rotation to include Shamet. 

Brown has proven that he is not afraid to shake up his rotation at any given moment. With everyone healthy, it’s hard to see how Shamet finds his way on the court. 

Mark Cuban, the Mavericks owner when Jalen Brunson began his career with the franchise, was critical of one of Brunson’s recent endorsement deals. 

“Time to tell your agent to get you deals with the good guys,” Cuban posted to X while tagging Brunson. “CAA did you wrong.” 

Cuban included a link to Brunson’s advertisement with Evernorth Health Services. Cuban notably owns Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, which offers low-cost generic drugs and attempts to disrupt major pharmaceutical companies. 

Karl-Anthony Towns, an avid card collector, revealed that he was outbid for a one-of-one Randy Orton WrestleMania 41 patch autograph. The winning bid came in at $42,100 on eBay. 

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“This has us SICK,” Towns wrote on his Instagram account “bigbodegascards,” which is dedicated to his card collecting. “Thought it was ours for the taking, until a last-minute NUCLEAR bid snuck in! Who has this card now!? We have to know!”

The billion-dollar question that everyone is asking is whether or not LeBron James will retire from basketball.

Has the 41-year-old James played his last basketball game in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform? Has he played his last basketball game ever?

James and the Lakers were eliminated from the 2026 NBA playoffs in the Western conference semifinals by the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, four games to none. Immediately following the game, James provided some insight to reporters regarding the decision on his next chapter.

The short answer: nobody knows, not even James himself.

"I don't know. It's obviously still fresh from losing, you know, I don't know. I mean, I don't know what the future holds for me," James said on May 11 after the Lakers were swept by the Thunder. "Obviously, as it stands right now, tonight, I got a lot of time. I'll sit back, like I think I said last year, after we lost, I think to Minnesota there, go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them, and then when the time comes, obviously, you guys will know what I decide to do."

James is a four-time NBA champion and Finals MVP who has broken a number of NBA records — most seasons played (23), most games played (1,622), most career points scored in the regular season (43,440) and playoffs (8,521), most All-Star appearances (22), among many others.

His longest consecutive stint with one team has come with the Lakers, having finished his eighth season in Los Angeles. He arrived in LA as a free agent in 2018. His goal was to bring the Lakers back to relevancy, he told reporters.

Since James became a Laker, they have been among the league's better teams, winning an NBA championship in 2020 with another conference finals appearance in 2023. They've made the playoffs in all but two seasons.

During the 2025-26 season, James took on a role he's never played in his life: the third option behind the Lakers' backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

James proved that he could be dominant in any position he was placed in. He still averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game in 60 games, while shooting 51.5% from the field.

Jason Collins was a trailblazer in the NBA as the league’s first openly gay player, and Jason Kidd felt lucky enough to call him a friend.

Collins died Tuesday at 47 after a fight with Stage 4 glioblastoma. The late NBA center played eight years with the Nets and overlapped for seven years together as players before Kidd coached Collins for one season in 2013-14.

Kidd, a 10-time All-Star as a player and now the head coach of the Mavericks, spoke fondly of Collins after the news of his passing became public.

“This one hurts. Jason Collins was a pioneer,” Kidd wrote on X, adding a broken heart emoji in his message. “He had courage like you’ve never seen. He was an incredible teammate. And having him in Brooklyn at the start of my coaching journey meant so much. Those who knew him were blessed to call him a friend. You are already missed my brother. Rest in power.”

Collins, in a 2013 essay in Sports Illustrated, came out, becoming the first active gay player in the NBA. He returned to the Nets for one more season, playing 2013-14 in Brooklyn.

The Nets, in their own statement, lauded Collins’ importance to the history of the organization and the sport at large.

“We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Jason Collins. Jason spent eight seasons in a Nets uniform, helping define an era of our franchise and playing a vital role on our back-to-back Eastern Conference championship teams in 2002 and 2003,” the team wrote. “He was a constant in our locker room — selfless, tough, and deeply respected by teammates, coaches, and staff alike. Those who were around Jason every day knew him not just as a competitor, but as a genuinely kind, thoughtful person who brought people together. His impact extended far beyond the court, and his courage and authenticity helped move the game — and the world — forward.”

Collins, who played for two Nets teams that reached the NBA Finals, averaged 3.6 points on a 41.1 percent shooting clip with 3.7 rebounds per game.

But as the NBA Players Association said Tuesday, his impact was far greater than his output on the court.

“The NBPA is proud to call Jason one of our own,” the players union said. “Today, we mourn a devastating loss while celebrating a trailblazer whose legacy of bravery and inclusion will resonate for generations.”

Former NBA star Marreese Speightsannounced on social media that he has stepped down as the head boys basketball coach at St. Petersburg (FL) Northside Christian School.

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Thank you, Northside Christian, for this opportunity. It was truly a blessing to lead the program over the last year and build so many meaningful relationships. I especially want to thank Brandon Elam for believing in me. You taught me a lot, and I learned so much from your guidance and support.

I hope I left the program better than I found it. As I head back to college, I leave with nothing but respect and appreciation for Northside Christian.

Speights captured an NBA title in 2015 with the Golden State Warriors. He is one of only 47 players ever in history to have won both a national college championship and an NBA championship.

Over his 10-year NBA career, Speights appeared in 705 regular-season games, averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. In the NBA playoffs, he played in 60 games and averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest. Speights played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors, respectively.

Back in April, 2025 Speights was tabbed as the Mustangs’ head coach, marking his first high school head coaching job out of Pinellas County.

Northside Christian finished the 2025-26 season with a 19-12 record and as the state’s No. 96 ranked team, according to the final Florida High School Boys Basketball Massey Rankings.

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In theory, one of the biggest questions that could be surrounding the Lakers this offseason would be the impending free agency of their All-Star caliber guard. In many situations, a player of Austin Reaves’ caliber and age entering free agency would be a cause for concern as to whether he’d leave this summer.

But nothing about this situation has created cause for concern for the Lakers. Every step of the way, both sides have spoken of wanting to find a new deal. Even when Austin Reaves turned down his contract extension last summer, he spoke of how difficult it was and maintained that he wanted to remain in Los Angeles.

It looks like that sentiment has remained throughout the season as well. On Tuesday, President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka spoke about Reaves during his exit interview and only added more belief that he would be returning.

“He started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker,” Pelinka said. “We feel the same way. We want his odyssey to continue to unfold in the purple and gold. There’s rules and timing to all of that but I think both sides have made it abundantly clear where he continues his prolific career here.”

If you didn’t already have enough evidence to believe Austin is returning, there’s even one more piece that dropped on Tuesday as well. In a piece from Dan Woike of The Athletic, Luka Dončić reportedly let the Lakers know that he wants to play with Reaves moving forward, including advising the team to keep him out of Giannis Antetokounmpo negotiations at the deadline.

The good news is that the Lakers looked great when Austin and Luka were at their best. They were not just one of the highest scoring backcourts in the league, but one of the highest scoring duos.

Reaves is a huge success story for the Lakers’ front office and scouting department. If he does indeed re-sign with the Lakers this summer, it’ll be the second time he’s re-upped with the Lakers. He’s improved every step of the way in his career and the purple and gold are continuing to reap the rewards.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

On a day of terrible news around the NBA (our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke AND trailblazing center Jason Collins), there is a small bit of good news for Bucks fans. You may recall that, towards the end of the regular season, Giannis Antetokounmpo infamously called on the league to investigate the Bucks for violating the player participation policy, publicly accusing the Bucks of holding him out of games despite being healthy. The league obliged his request, and what followed was a series of contradicting reports from both sides, being aired to the media by both Giannis and via ESPN’s Shams Charania (who is also feuding with the Bucks).

Well, Charania relayed earlier this evening that the league completed its investigation and will not take any disciplinary action against Milwaukee for this part of Giannisgate, implicitly exonerating them. While Giannis said the team wouldn’t clear him medically, the Bucks countered that not only was their star not physically ready, but also wasn’t serious about playing. March 15th was when Giannis sustained a left knee hyperextension—the same knee he famously hyperextended in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals—and a bone bruise; he hasn’t seen an NBA court since. That came after other knee issues, a groin strain in November, and yet another calf strain in December.

Suffice it to say, the Bucks wanted to protect their asset, whether he remains a Buck or is traded, and they are reportedly again listening to offers. But if they are to be believed (and the league apparently does), Milwaukee was scheduled to have Giannis play three-on-three, and he declined. He also may have said no to a group workout session the first week of April. We may not know the full details anytime soon, if ever.

For now, we can chalk up a W for Milwaukee in a season where they had 50 Ls. In the eyes of the league, they were on the up-and-up, and their player may not have been. I can’t say I’m surprised: the NBA tends to side with its teams more than its players. After all, the commissioner is selected by 30 team owners. And to be honest, 29 other teams would do the same with a star who faced that many lower-body injuries in a lost season.

The difference is that Giannis, always the fierce competitor who wants to be on the floor, health be damned, piped up about it. Other stars didn’t when they were shut down this season or in previous seasons, with the possible exception of Joel Embiid. It’s anyone’s guess how this affects Giannis’ already-strained relationship with the team. He might dig his heels in further, maintaining the Bucks were in the wrong, or he might be contrite and recognize his part in this whole kerfuffle.

Whether or not the relationship can be repaired, though, remains to be seen. I’m not sure this would make Giannis more eager to sign an extension with Milwaukee. And it may not matter to ownership, who might have already made up their minds one way or the other. I doubt either side will go on record about this anytime soon, and they probably both want to move on. Whatever that looks like.

The basketball community has suffered another loss.

On May 12, it was announced that former Brooklyn Nets center and NBA Cares Ambassador Jason Collins passed away at the age of 47. Last September, Jason revealed that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, a tumor of the brain. Following the announcement of his passing, tributes poured in across the basketball world.

“Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.

“On behalf of the NBA, I send my heartfelt condolences to Jason’s husband, Brunson, and his family, friends and colleagues across our leagues.”

The Brooklyn Nets shared a statement following Collins’ passing…

Collins’ NBA journey began with a bang. Though New Jersey Nets selected Eddie Griffin with the #7 overall pick in 2001, Rod Thorn knew the Rockets liked Griffin; the two teams soon worked out a trade to swap #7 for #13 (Richard Jefferson), #18 (Collins), and, #23 (Brandon Armstrong).

New Jersey made the NBA Finals in each of Collins’ first two seasons, as the California native brought interior defense and tough to matchups against Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan on basketball’s biggest stage. In the ‘03 run, Collins started all 20 of New Jersey’s playoff games.

He saw the whole arc of those 2000’s Nets teams, from championship hopefuls to the unceremonious end, spending his first six-and-a-half seasons there before a trade in early 2008 sent him to the Atlanta Hawks. Collins also played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.

But a snapshot of Collins’ Basketball Reference page will never tell half of his story. In April 2013, Jason publicly came out as a gay man. In a wonderful story he co-penned for Sports Illustrated, Collins explained why he decided to come out…

“No one wants to live in fear. I’ve always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don’t sleep well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly. It takes an enormous amount of energy to guard such a big secret. I’ve endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie. I was certain that my world would fall apart if anyone knew. And yet when I acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole for the first time. I still had the same sense of humor, I still had the same mannerisms and my friends still had my back.“

In the middle of the following season, Collins signed a 10-day contract with the now-Brooklyn Nets, then another, then an end-of-season contract to close out his playing career. In doing so became the first active openly gay player in four major American men’s sports leagues…

Following his retirement, Jason worked for NBA Cares and The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization that provides suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 25. Throughout Jason’s life, he sought to help and advocate for others around the world and make the world a better and safer place.

“Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar,” the Collins family said in a statement. “We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”

I think back to this article by current Defector writer and New Jersey Nets fan David Roth, published in 2013…

But if his dignity is a big part of what makes Jason Collins so admirable at this moment, the way he has consistently found dignity in his very public labor is what makes it stick. Jason Collins has faced off with Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the NBA Finals and his generation’s other NBA giants in games significant and insignificant, and he has not outscored or outplayed them in any of those games. Collins went into those games knowing that he would not, could not do that. He might foul them in a timely or intelligent way, or piss them off, or set good enough screens and play good enough defense to mitigate at least to some extent the inescapable physical fact that his opponents were bigger and stronger and better at basketball than him. His ability to do those things, his willingness and knack for the NBA’s most rote and punishing work, has made him both professionally valuable and personally wealthy.

And if Collins’ bravery has made him an historically significant figure—and I’d argue that it has—it’s worth remembering that his humble heroism is of a piece with his reliable and consistently unheroic life in basketball. Jason Collins earned both respect and a living by doing work, by pushing and fighting and fighting even when it was more or less futile, because that was his job as he understood it and because it was the way he could do it best. He won what he won by finding ways to make his humble individual utmost a component part of a collective effort towards a common goal, and so both buried and multiplied his labor’s significance. He makes his living like that, by disappearing into his work and doing it, by doing invisible and important things that aren’t easily or adequately captured on either side of a basketball card. It makes sense that we wouldn’t have seen this coming, but it makes even more sense that, if Jason Collins were to make history, he’d do it just like this.

Glioblastoma is a tremendously awful, aggressive type of brain cancer; Collins was dealt an unimaginable hand of cards in his mid-40s, and yet, he died as he lived: Trying to pave the way for those behind him. As he told Ramona Shelburne this past December:

Currently I’m receiving treatment at a clinic in Singapore that offers targeted chemotherapy — using EDVs — a delivery mechanism that acts as a Trojan horse, seeking out proteins only found in glioblastomas to deliver its toxic payload past the blood-brain barrier and straight into my tumors.

The goal is to keep fighting the progress of the tumors long enough for a personalized immunotherapy to be made for me, and to keep me healthy enough to receive that immunotherapy once it’s ready.

Because my tumor is unresectable, going solely with the “standard of care” — radiation and TMZ — the average prognosis is only 11 to 14 months. If that’s all the time I have left, I’d rather spend it trying a course of treatment that might one day be a new standard of care for everyone.

I’m fortunate to be in a financial position to go wherever in the world I need to go to get treatment. So if what I’m doing doesn’t save me, I feel good thinking that it might help someone else who gets a diagnosis like this one day.

Jason Collins was 47 years old, fondly remembered by Nets fans for his play but a treasure and source of inspiration to so many more. May he rest in peace, and may his legacy live on.

You can add Rick Pitino to the rapidly expanding Knicks bandwagon.

The St. John’s coach sees the possibility of the orange and blue going deep — deeper than the franchise has gone in more than 50 years.

Yes, that includes a championship. The Hall of Famer believes this surging group has that kind of potential.

“I think they have the best nine or 10 players. They may not have the best three, they have the best nine or 10,” Pitino told The Post. “Their bench is excellent, [coach Mike Brown] uses them great. The improvement offensively and defensively in OG [Anunoby], the improvement in Karl-Anthony Towns away from the basket with his passing, [Jalen] Brunson is the most unique player I’ve ever watched in my lifetime.

“I love it. I root for the Knicks like they’re my team. I do think they are championship driven.”

The Knicks are on a stunning run, coming off a conference semifinal sweep of the 76ers — the first time they have swept Philadelphia in the playoffs since Pitino was the coach in 1989.

They have won seven straight playoff games by an average of 26.4 points and are currently the betting favorites to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

Though most experts still see the defending champion Thunder as the favorite, the Knicks are playing just as well.

Since the team tweaked its offensive game plan to run more offense through center Towns — the change happened during the opening-round series against the Hawks — the Knicks have found a higher level. In the postseason, Towns has 66 assists — 40 more than he amassed in the playoffs a year ago.

“They look for each other much better than before,” Pitino said. “If you watch Cleveland and Detroit, you know the ball is going to [Cade] Cunningham or [James] Harden is going to create or the ball is going to be in Donovan [Mitchell’s] hands. Although Brunson is a great scorer, they are sharing the basketball so well that keying on Brunson is not enough to stop this team. Before the Atlanta series, keying on Brunson was the way to stop the Knicks. That’s no longer working because of their ball movement.”

“They went from a one-on-one team to a ball movement, player movement team. They do a lot of different offensive things that are much more pleasing to the eye.”

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Brunson remains the linchpin. The three-time All-Star is enjoying another awesome postseason, averaging 27.4 points and 6.1 assists.

He is shooting a robust 48.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent on 6.6 attempts from 3-point range. Both are his highest numbers as a Knick in the playoffs.

“How a player that size with that vertical can get off any shot around the basket, he’s got Tiny Archibald in him around the basketball. He has the best midrange game,” Pitino said. “He gets off any shot midrange and he’s become a great 3-point shooter. He’s just an amazing, amazing 6-foot, 2-inch basketball player. Pound for pound, inch for inch, maybe one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”

The next two rounds figure to be tougher. The Knicks opponent in the conference finals has yet to be determined.

The Pistons-Cavaliers series is tied 2-2. If the Knicks get past that round, it will likely be either the Thunder or the Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs to follow.

They wouldn’t have home-court advantage against either of those teams. But with the way the Knicks are currently playing, nobody should scare them.

“The only negative is the home court,” Pitino said. “Outside of that, I think the Knicks have the best team. Now OKC obviously is great, they’re the defending champions. But the Knicks are deep, talented, and the way they are playing offensively — I don’t mean 3-point shooting, I’m talking about the ball movement, player movement — it’s so much better than what I watched in January.”

Victor Wembanyama announced his return early Tuesday night.  

The San Antonio Spurs star, ejected in the second quarter of Game 4 after elbowing Minnesota’s Naz Reid, scored 18 points in the first quarter and finished with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks as the Spurs beat the Timberwolves, 126-97, in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.

He muscled the Spurs to a 3-2 lead in the series with Game 6 Friday in Minneapolis.

He shot 56.3% from the field, was a plus-24 for the game and set the tone that he was making up for missing time early on Tuesday night.

The NBA declined to suspend Wembanyama for the flagrant foul on Sunday. He missed the final 33-plus minutes of Game 4, which was considered sufficient punishment.

With that reprieve, Wembanyama made clear he had no intention of lying low in Game 5 with the series tied 2-2.

With three words, Jason Collins changed everything.

Collins, who died Tuesday at 47 after battling Stage 4 glioblastoma, made history 13 years ago when he penned a piece in Sports Illustrated in which he came out as gay.

“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay,” Collins wrote in the May 6, 2013 issue of the magazine. With that, he became the first openly gay player in the league.

Collins came out not long after soccer player Robbie Rogers and WNBA star Britney Griner — who had just been selected No. 1 overall in the draft — came out.

Six years earlier, former NBA player John Amaechi had come out four years after his career ended.

Collins, at that point in his career, had just finished a season with the Wizards, said he was a free agent “literally and figuratively.”

In his essay, Collins, who played one more NBA season for the Nets after his historic news, said he never sought to make history and that his journey in “self-discovery” came over a long journey.

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.

“My journey of self-discovery and self-acknowledgement began in my hometown of Los Angeles and has taken me through two state high school championships, the NCAA Final Four and the Elite Eight, and nine playoffs in 12 NBA seasons.”

Then-commissioner David Stern commended Collins for his candor and leadership shortly after he penned the essay in SI.

“As Adam Silver and I said to Jason, we have known the Collins family since Jason and [his twin brother] Jarron joined the NBA in 2001 and they have been exemplary members of the NBA family,” Stern said. “Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue.”

In the wake of his statement, Collins, according to the New York Times, said he received a phone call of support from Tim Hardaway, who had previously said he did not like gay people and would not have wanted to be on Amaechi’s team.

He also received praise from others, including then-Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

In 2021, when Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out, Collins, drawing on his on experience, said the NFLer would be impacting more people than he knew.

“He’s helping people across the board, of all ages,” Collins told the Los Angeles Times.

On Tuesday, commissioner Adam Silver commended Collins for his efforts both on and off the court.

“Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,” Silver said in a statement. “He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”

Collins played 13 years in the NBA, eight of which were with the Nets.

Just two days after the Philadelphia 76ers were swept out of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the franchise is looking for a new head of basketball operations.

The 76ers fired former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, the 76ers announced Tuesday, May 12.

Morey spent six seasons with the franchise.

This comes after Philadelphia was overmatched in the second round of the NBA playoffs, losing its four games against the New York Knicks by an average of 22.3 points per game.

Coach Nick Nurse will remain in his role. Bob Myers, the former general manager of the Golden State Warriors who oversaw four NBA championship teams, will lead the search for Morey’s replacement and will oversee basketball operations for Philadelphia in the interim.

“The process will start immediately, and we will be thorough and deliberate in our evaluations,” Myers said Tuesday in a statement. “I believe this is a destination for top talent across the league and look forward to solidifying our infrastructure moving forward.”

Myers is the president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE).

CHICAGO — A.J. Dybantsa loaded up for another jumping attempt, and Cameron Boozer glanced over for a brief moment to watch as one of the players he's competing with to be the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft soared more than 42 inches into the air. Boozer flashed a quick grin at the result, then got ready at the starting line for a shuttle run.

The best prospects in the highly-anticipated 2026 NBA draft class were on the same court together on Tuesday, May 12, running, jumping and shooting together in front of the biggest league decision-makers during the annual NBA Scouting Combine taking place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago this week.

Though the film from actual games will do the heavy lifting for NBA teams evaluating players ahead of the draft on June 23-24, measurements, medical exams and agility drills conducted as part of the combine help differentiate similar prospects. Some players see their stock soar from a strong showing in Chicago. For others, the combine will be a humbling experience that leads to a return to school. The decision trees are more complicated now in the NIL era of college basketball.

Here's a breakdown of some winners and losers from the first two days of the NBA Scouting Combine, when the nearly 120 prospects in attendance went through anthrometric measurements, agility testing and shooting drills:

NBA DRAFT COMBINE: Ranking the top players in scrimmages this week