Category: NBA

SAN ANTONIO — Apparently, it’s obvious to Victor Wembanyama.

He was unwavering in his confidence.

“Everybody thinks — everybody knows,” Wembanyama said after Spurs practice on Friday, “that we’re going to do it.”

He was talking about the Spurs locker room, not necessarily everyone on the outside watching these Finals. He was asked if he and his teammates actually believe they can overturn their 3-1 Finals deficit.

After the Knicks’ miraculous comeback in their 107-106 Game 4 win Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, Wembanyama said that the Spurs’ collapse would either divide or unite the locker room. Two days later, he is confident that it is the latter and that they share that common belief.

And he thinks the Spurs have moved past their historic Game 4 choke.

“We’re very confident,” Wembanyama said. “I wouldn’t say it was so hard to, like, shake it off. Harder than any other game before, by far, for sure. I mean, now we’re over it. It’s the playoffs. There’s no time to regret things for too long.”

Only one team has come back from a 3-1 deficit in Finals history — the Cavaliers in 2016.

“I feel like we’ve made history all year, and we’ve proven that with our backs against the wall that we can step up,” Stephon Castle said. “So I don’t really expect this to be any different.”

Both Spurs coach Mitch Johnson and his players have expressed a sentiment that it has been them that has decided all four games of this series. They pointed to their double-digit leads in all four games.

It has been their own shortcomings when they have those leads, they say, not anything the Knicks have done that has dictated the end results. That’s why they are so sure that this series is still within their control.

“I think just our confidence,” Castle said. “We’ve had a 10-plus point lead in every single game. Just trying to stay poised throughout that and try to keep our foot on the gas really. I feel like once we get those leads, we start to play a little bit different, take our foot off the gas defensively. I just feel like we have to stay aggressive but be smart through it.”

They are not looking at the totality of needing to win three straight games, though. Their eyes are solely on Saturday’s Game 5, back home at the Frost Bank Arena.

“I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time,” Wembanyama said. “I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games. It’s one game at a time.”

New York City is eating up the Knicks, and now fans can taste it, too.

The Big Apple is crackling with Knicks energy. Spend just a minute in NYC, and you’ll pass a fan sporting a Knicks hat, custom merch, or wearing their iconic orange and blue.

Even the streets around Madison Square Garden are zhuzhed up, with the 34th Street-Penn Station subway entrances transformed into an Instagram-ready landmark with globe lights reimagined as basketballs and the metal facade repainted in the Knicks’ signature colors.

The city’s most beloved eateries have been stirring up fan spirit, too — proving that when the Knicks win, so does New York.

Restaurants, bakeries and more are getting in on the basketball boom, giving New Yorkers another reason to hope for a championship win this Saturday, which would be the team’s first since defeating the LA Lakers way back in 1973.

From Knicks logo-emblazoned cakes, cookies and cupcakes to pasta in — what else? — neon orange and blue, NYC chefs are making a full-court press with in-demand themed treats in time for Game 5 against the San Antonio Spurs.

Here are some of the hot spots getting major foot traffic for their Knicks-themed goodies.

Patrizia’s

Pasta eaters are flocking to Patrizia’s to score the new Jalen Brunson rigatoni.

The family-style Italian chain rolled out the $24.99 plate — honoring the team’s star point guard at all 19 restaurant locations — just before the finals started.

The in-house rigatoni is dyed blue using natural blueberry extract, then topped with a spicy orange vodka cream sauce, plus generous dollops of burrata cheese.

Antonio Alaio, owner of Patrizia’s Manhattan, told The Post that diners have been packing in just to get a taste of the dish after it went viral on social media.

But you’d better be quick.

“Over the weekend, we sold out. Approximately 600 pounds of pasta since launching our pasta special last week across all our locations,” said Alaio.

That’s 1,200 orders citywide — translating to an extra $20,000 just from Knicks pasta alone.

Noa, a Café

For those with a sweet tooth, a newer bakery — cleverly titled Noa, a Café — is already making fans with its vibrant cinnamon rolls.

Its two locations — the first debuted in Nomad in April 2023, and the second is now open in the West Village — have been blasting through about 150 to 200 cinnamon rolls on game days only, according to founder Nicki Dehghani.

That’s in addition to the 100 to 300 non-themed rolls with cream cheese frosting they produce every day.

“We wish we could do more! But that is what we have time to produce at the moment,” Dehghani said of the popular product, which offers the option of orange or blue frosting and sprinkles for $9.

Junior’s Restaurant and Bakery

In a rare move, legendary Junior’s Restaurant and Bakery added something special to its famed cheesecake line: melt-in-your-mouth Knicks vanilla cupcakes, boasting frosting, a fondant wafer, a Knicks logo and sprinkles on top.

“They are selling like hot cupcakes!” third-generation owner Alan Rosen proclaimed to The Post. He said they unloaded more than 1,000 cupcakes in the first week alone, adding: “Which is surprising since we are known for cheesecake.”

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In fact, on the first day the cupcakes became available, a single diner came to the 49th and Broadway location and bought them all — around 70.

At just $5.75 individually or $69 for a dozen, the chain has banked nearly $6,000 — and is still going strong.

Rosen noted that Junior’s, which opened back in 1950, is celebrating its 75th anniversary, only slightly younger than the 1946-born Knicks.

“We are both only getting better with age,” Rosen previously told The Post.

Butterfield Market

Upscale grocer Butterfield Market is also getting in on the game.

Its original Upper East Side location on Lexington Avenue — there’s also a newer spot on Madison — recently went viral for its exclusive, multi-product Dot Cake collab. Each 8-ounce confection is $11, whether Knicks-themed or regular, and fans have been lining up for a chance to score one.

Butterfield has also whipped up 12-packs of orange- and blue-frosted cupcakes for $24.99. Overall cupcake package sales have spiked from 200 per day to 220 across both locations since the playoff run.

And Knicks-themed cookies ($12.99 a box) have pushed cookie sales from roughly 300 per day to about 350.

In addition, they’ve been selling approximately 50 to 60 Knicks-themed cakes ($20 each) per day.

“The Knicks excitement has created a meaningful boost in our dessert business and has driven a noticeable increase in customer traffic and celebratory purchases,” Joelle Obsatz, CMO of Butterfield Market, told The Post.

Il Fornaio Bakery

Beloved Il Fornaio Bakery has been selling out of their most popular hand-crafted goodies since rolling out Knicks-themed cookies, cakes and cake pops.

Owner Marco Vicari revealed that just in Knicks items alone, the company made over $35,000 in sales since the finals kicked off. Most notably, cookies — at $30 a pound – have been a big seller at the Astoria staple, known for its luxe cakes, traditional Italian pastries and danishes.

“Since Game 3, which was our biggest day to date, we have sold over 500 pounds of Knicks rainbow cookies alone, and the orders have not stopped,” Vicari, who established the shop in 2011, told The Post.

Posting on Instagram just hours before Wednesday’s game, Vicari urged diners to call ahead and reserve theirs as other treats have sold out fast.

In recent days, online orders have skyrocked 100%, he told The Post.

Given that success and just ahead of Game 4, the bakery has also started selling personal-sized chocolate mousse cakes christened with the Knicks’ colors and logo on top.

Zabar’s

Meanwhile, Upper West Side landmark, Zabar’s (2245 Broadway), also jumped on the Knicks kick — big-time.

A rep told The Post that it has landed a $11,800 windfall from special team treats and merch.

The popular deli and grocery store, best known for selling 4,000 pounds of hand-sliced smoked fish per week, traded its signature black-and-white cookies for orange-and-blue-hued treats just ahead of Game 3.

Six-packs, available online, run $29.98; individual cookies are $4, first-come, first-served; in just a few days, the UWS staple nabbed $6,000 alone on those as fans line up to grab them, setting social media abuzz.

Zabar’s, which opened more than 90 years ago, also launched a limited-edition hat in Knicks colors ahead of Game 4. Two-hundred of the prized $28.98 merch sold out in just six hours, nabbing the deli nearly $5,800 in sales, a rep told The Post.

For those looking to score one, Zabar’s revealed it will restock with 200 more hats this weekend — but, no surprise, they expect to sell out again.

Raising the bar(s)

It’s no surprise that bars have also seen big wait times, and for Goldie’s Tavern — an official partner of the Knicks Playoff Bar Network, with a prime location at 135 W 30th St, just one block away from MSG — it’s certainly no different.

“It’s a level of ‘holy s–t’ we were not expecting. The best crowds we’ve ever had.” Wayne Gravesande, general manager of Goldie’s, told The Post, adding that he projects a whopping $40,000 to 50,000 in sales each game night.

The sports bar has been playing all games on massive projectors, and for Game 1 alone on June 3, 500 fans were standing outside for hours, waiting to get in ahead of the game’s 8:30 start.

Fans have even stood on cars outside just to catch a peek, the proud manager revealed.

These Big Apple brides and grooms may not be the only ones getting a ring this Saturday.

In a twist of fate that some near-newlyweds are calling serendipity, and others a head-scratching snag — a host of tri-state couples who have spent months or even years planning their big day will be tying the knot on the same night as Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

There, the New York Knicks, leading the playoffs 3-1, will play the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, hoping to nab their first championship title since 1973.

With some guests panicking about missing a chance to see their beloved team’s big moment, The Post met the brides and grooms pivoting their nuptials to Knick-tials.

Victoria Perry and James Kostadaras

“This is more exciting than any other piece of my wedding!” Victoria Perry — a 33-year-old Manhattan bride, native New Yorker and lifelong Knicks fan — confessed to The Post.

“As a girl, I never grew up dreaming about my wedding dress or the flowers,” said Perry, who will marry her fiancé and fellow diehard Knicks fan James Kostadaras at a snazzy Midtown East venue on Saturday.

“But the Knicks have been such a source of happiness for me over the years.”

When Perry and Kostadaras — whose first date in 2023 involved watching a Knicks game at Astoria sports bar Rivercrest — first realized that the NBA Finals could coincide with their wedding, the pair sprang into action to incorporate the game into their June 13 nuptials.

But Knicks fever nearly derailed their plans: Perry shared that she and Kostadaras would have even considered delaying their wedding due to the Knicks’ potential championship, if necessary.

“We would move it if it would guarantee [the] Knicks win,” she told The Post, joking that their priorities as a couple are: 1. God, 2. The Knicks championship, and 3. Their wedding.

Ultimately, though, she’s just thrilled to be able to experience Game 5 with those closest to them.

“It’s the biggest blessing,” she said.

After a traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony, guests will file into the larger reception space to enjoy dancing and a live band — which has been instructed to share live updates on the score throughout the game.

Perry also has a big outfit change planned: she’ll wear a white Knicks jacket over her dress for the reception.

During the last quarter/after-party, guests will move into an additional downstairs space, which Perry, Kostadaras, their planner and an AV team worked to convert into a full-blown Knicks watch party — complete with a 70-inch TV screen, team-themed floral arrangements and sports-bar food.

A hip-hop DJ will also play NYC-themed hits, such as “New York” by Ja Rule.

Arielle Salmon and Greg Eichenholtz

For Arielle Salmon — a 28-year-old teacher based in Bergen County, New Jersey — the emotions about having her big day fall on the Knicks’ potential championship game have been decidedly mixed.

“It’s so weird to have excitement but also nervousness,” she told The Post.

Though Salmon and her fiancé, 29-year-old contract negotiations worker Greg Eichenholtz, identify as avid Knicks fans and are rooting — along with the rest of NYC — for the team to clinch the NBA Finals, Salmon admitted to “anxiousness” that the game clashes with their wedding.

They started planning it soon after their January 2025 engagement.

“Monday night, I literally was sitting on the couch hyperventilating … I was just not OK,” Salmon told The Post, after the Knicks lost Game 3, meaning that Game 5 would fall on their wedding day.

“I was disappointed because we didn’t want [the Knicks] to lose, but also because I expected them to win all four games in a row and then be done with it before our wedding,” she continued.

“We keep laughing, because we tried so hard to pick a date where there would be nothing going on.”

In the midst of last-minute wedding preparations for the Bergen County ceremony, which will be held at a venue 16 miles from Madison Square Garden, Salmon has also had to deal with a few guests reaching out to ask if the newlyweds will be streaming the game at their reception.

“I would never ask anyone that question — these people are being serious,” said Salmon. “It’s kind of, like, how do we handle this the right way?”

While the couple doesn’t plan on putting the game on at their reception — a screen will be available if they change their minds — they are encouraging their guests to bring their best Knicks gear to wear during the party portion of the evening.

The band will also lead famous “Go, New York, go!” MSG chants and play N&C-themed songs like Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’s “Empire State of Mind” to get people “going and excited.”

“The good thing is that if they lose, there’s more games, so that’s what’s helping me through this,” Salmon said.

“Just knowing that hopefully everyone we invited are trustworthy people, and that they care very much about us, and hoping that they won’t just be sitting and streaming the game the whole time … We’re just trying to focus on the positives.”

Robyn Ferguson

When Robyn Ferguson, an Upper East Side-based consultant, first met her fiancé, who chose to remain anonymous for this story, in 2022, the two quickly bonded over their shared passion for sports — with her native New Yorker husband-to-be’s unwavering love for the Knicks fully rubbing off on her.

“(My fiancé) went to Villanova for college, and of course (some of) the best players on the Knicks are all from Villanova,” Ferguson told The Post, referring to the Pennsylvania university’s alumni Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges.

“He’s followed these guys since they played in college, which makes it more fun for him … I’m now a diehard Knicks fan, too. We go to a lot of games together.”

Before they even knew that the Knicks would reach the NBA Finals, the couple had joked that if the team made it, they would get a TV and “blow the roof off the Metropolitan Club” — the luxury, private UES venue near Central Park where they will tie the knot this Saturday.

The pair could hardly believe it when their joke turned into reality.

“The way the Knicks were playing in the playoffs at the beginning — we were, like, ‘OK, they swept the first series — they’re hot, this could actually happen,’” recalled Ferguson, referencing their Eastern Conference Semifinals win over the Philadelphia 76ers in May.

Then the Knicks swept the Cavaliers.

“They have a chance to win it all,” she recalled thinking. “Like, all of (my fiancé’s) dreams are coming true in the blink of an eye.”

Once they knew the NBA Finals were a serious possibility, they asked their wedding planner to reach out to AV companies to arrange for a TV at the Metropolitan Club, and told the 12-piece band that the game would be accompanying their set. 

The reaction was a mix of incredulity and laughter.

“Everyone was just laughing at us — they’re, like, ‘Of course you guys would do that,’” Ferguson said. “I love it. I’m just as into it as my fiancé, so it just makes it more fun, honestly.”

In addition to their main cocktail hour and reception areas, there’s a section of the club called The Bar Room, sanctioned as the official game-watching area, with a Knicks-themed cocktail menu — with blue-and-orange signature drinks including “The Brunson” and “The KAT,” named after team stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

As for what their friends and family have thought about the big day colliding with the NBA Finals, Ferguson emphasized that they are all ready and raring to celebrate both.

“When I tell you the amount of Knicks fans we have coming to our wedding — all the text messages I’m getting are, like, ‘Knicks in five, we’re going to blow the roof off the Metropolitan Club!’” said Ferguson, who will be wearing a blue Knicks jacket for her reception and has a friend bringing team jerseys for guests.

“We have a pretty fun crew of people coming — it’ll be a big celebration.”

However, the couple isn’t worried “at all” about the Knicks overshadowing their big day, emphasizing that the game will only amplify their wedding festivities.

“As soon as we found out the Knicks were definitely in the Finals, it made us even more excited for our wedding — which sounds crazy,” Ferguson said. “But as big sports fans, it’s like you ride so hard for your teams that any excuse to have a giant celebration is just really special.

“I think we’re really lucky.”

An army of Knicks fans is set to storm San Antonio Saturday night — with 45% of tickets for the pivotal Game 5 snatched up by New York and New Jersey basketball buffs.

Nearly half of Frost Bank Center will be blue and orange as the Big Apple’s beloved squad looks to secure its first NBA Championship title in 53 years in a 1999 finals rematch when Gregg Popovich’s Spurs won in five games.

Data shows New York billing zip codes bought 37% of tickets to the potentially clinching game, and another 8% came from New Jersey, according to Kyle Zorn of the popular resale service TickPick.

Scores of Knicks fans were getting out of dodge at LaGuardia Airport in Queens Friday afternoon — though had to make last-minute adjustments because of flight delays and cancellations to Texas.

Queens native Joe P. bought Game 5 tickets after being convinced by a pal — and realizing the cost is cheaper than one at Madison Square Garden.

“I wasn’t gonna do it, but he said, ‘You’re not gonna experience this ever again in your life,’” Joe said.

“And he’s probably right. 
So we decided to screw it, and we bought our tickets yesterday.
When we saw how expensive it was to fly to San Antonio, we opted to fly to Austin because it was about half the cost. 
So then we just decided we were gonna rent a car and drive.

“I have not been able to afford any of the tickets for the NBA finals at the Garden, because I think it’s $10,000, $12,000 for nosebleeds now, so that’s a little bit out of my budget … It’s cheaper to go to San Antonio, and fly back then to go to the game in NY.”

Only 12% of tickets were bought by Texas-area customers as of early Thursday, Zorn said.

Knicks diehards Andrew Cramer and his 11-year-old son, Charlie, flew all the way from Australia to the Big Apple to attend Game 4 of the finals – and they decided why not score tickets to Game 5 for a chance at witnessing more history.

“Once we were here, to make it worth the while since we came all the way from Australia we thought we’d go to the game tomorrow,” Cramer, who lived in New York for seven years, told The Post Friday.

Cramer’s flight to Texas was packed with Knicks fans and it was more of the same in San Antonio.

“There are a lot of Knicks fans here. You can identify one another. It’s a Knicks family which is nice,” he said while enjoying a river cruise with his son.

“It’s a really nice reflection of the city that it brings so many people together. Sports is a wonderful unifier,” he added.

Five other Knicks fans were boarding a plane to Miami to connect in Austin — and then planned on driving from there to San Antonio. Their original flight to Dallas had gotten cancelled — and the group of strangers bonded over the debacle.

“We’re united Knicks fans,” Eric Kwiatkowski, 40, said. “Now you see what Knicks fans endure.”

Kwiatkowski told The Post he and his pal Ramy Fakhr, 44, shelled out for tickets for Game 5 because “it’s an opportunity” to see the Knicks “close out the series.”

“I’m beside myself with excitement,” he added.

Fakhr was so dedicated to seeing his hometown team potentially make history that he was prepared to go without a change of clothes, after checking his bag on the now-nixed Dallas flight.

“I’m not missing this flight. Now I have to spend the whole weekend without any clothes,” he said. “This is all I’m wearing. Well, I’m gonna borrow some Eric’s clothes.”

Another Queens guy, Kevin Chang, chimed in: “Knicks in five. Knicks in five.”

Both New York and New Jersey accounted for only 13% of Game 1 tickets and 17% in Game 2 — both of which were on the road, SeatGeek numbers indicate.

Fans flocked for tickets in Texas after Knicks completed a historic 29-point comeback against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in Game 4 to take the 3-1 stranglehold in the series at Madison Square Garden.

TickPick’s listings fluctuated throughout Thursday as get-in prices for Game 5 dipped from around $1,500 for standing room to just below $1,200.

The cheapest listed ticket — section 201, row 10 over mid-court — is $1,288 as of Friday morning.

The Knicks are also a perfect 2-0 playing in San Antonio during these finals, notably after Wemby missed what would have been a winning last-second shot in Game 2.

MSG’s get-in price on TickPick is $10,727 for a prospective Game 6 Tuesday night should the Knicks need another crack to win it all for the first time since 1973.

Coach Melo?

While talking with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne after the Knicks’ improbable NBA Finals Game 4 comeback Wednesday, Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony said he played a role in OG Anunoby‘s tip-in game-winner.

Anthony, now a broadcaster for NBC Sports, was at the game and said he was giving instructions to Knicks players before their crucial final possession when they were trailed by one point.

“I was yelling at them the whole time, ‘The offensive rebound is there! The offensive rebound is there!” Anthony told Shelbourne after the 107-106 win. “Coming out of that timeout, I made eye contact with them and was yelling, ‘The offensive rebound is there! Somebody go!'”

Knicks players were probably more focused on what head coach Mike Brown was telling them to do, but Anthony’s advice proved solid.

Anunoby’s game-winning putback with 1.2 seconds left came on an offensive rebound after Jalen Brunson missed a deep 3 that pulled Spurs star Victor Wembanyama out of the paint to contest the shot.

The Knicks forward then leaped above some smaller Spurs guards to produce one of the most iconic moments in NBA history, giving the team the 107-106 edge.

It was far from the first time Anthony has helped the Knicks.

After starting his career with the Nuggets, the Knicks traded for Anthony in 2011, where he spent seven seasons and helped lead the Knicks to the playoffs three times.

Anthony made the All-Star team every year with the Knicks, won the NBA’s scoring title with 28.7 points per game in 2012-13, was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2013 and set the Knicks all-time record for points in a game with 62 in 2014.

He later became a Hall of Famer in September 2025.

The Knicks will now look to close out the Spurs in Saturday’s Game 5 as the series shifts back to San Antonio, with tip-off set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

OG Anunoby will take home 2026 NBA Finals MVP award, Draymond Green predicts originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With the New York Knicks taking a 3-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, the Larry O’Brien Trophy appears headed to Manhattan.

But who takes home the Bill Russell Trophy for Finals MVP remains more contentious entering Saturday’s Game 5 in San Antonio.

Though Knicks star Jalen Brunson is the odds-on favorite to win the award, many fans and analysts believe OG Anunoby has been the best player in the series thus far — including Draymond Green.

“I see a lot of people saying OG Anunoby is the current favorite for the Finals MVP. And I must say, I agree,” Green said on Friday’s episode of “The Draymond Green Show.” “I think he’s been the most consistent. I think, you know, he’s made pivotal plays. He had the block and the bucket to close out the game in Game 4. Jalen Brunson was incredible last game, but I think the first three games, he wasn’t great, was shooting a lot of shots at a low percentage.

“And OG has just been constant. And it hasn’t been like averaging 14 points, 16 points — he’s averaging 24 points on the series, 65 percent from the field, 55 [percent] from three, playing the defense he’s playing, guarding [Victor Wembenyama] at times in the series. I think OG Anunoby has a decent Game 5, and [the Knicks] win Game 5. I think OG Anunoby is the Finals MVP.”

The Anunoby vs. Brunson debate feels a bit reminiscent of the 2015 NBA Finals, when Andre Iguodala was named MVP over Steph Curry. Like Brunson, Curry boasted better stats than Iguodala, but voters recognized and rewarded Iguodala elevating his game on the biggest stage and making a massive defensive impact — the same could be said of Anunoby this series.

Perhaps that could be the reason for Green’s opinion on the matter this time around, already having seen a similar storyline play out a decade earlier.

Regardless, we’ll find out soon enough whether or not Green’s prediction comes to fruition.

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Jalen Brunson is playing the highest-stakes basketball of his life in the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs, and answered the call with his biggest performance yet in a pivotal Game 4. 

He scored 36 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field, grabbing five rebounds, dishing seven assists, and coming away with three steals in a narrow victory in which he hit two of the most clutch shots. 

Brunson's night should be a relief to Knicks fans who watched him struggle through the first three games. 

In Game 1, it took him 31 shots to get to 30 points, he shot 28 percent for 20 points in Game 2, and while he had solid efficiency in Game 3, his process, turnovers, and defense left much to be desired.

If Brunson is playing more like his past two games (and entire playoffs) than the first two of the Finals, the Knicks are in exponentially better position to close this series out and win their first NBA championship in over half a century. 

Here’s what San Antonio has done to disrupt his rhythm, how he got it back, and what that means for Game 5...

The Spurs have maintained the strategy of not letting Brunson get any comfortable looks. He’s pressed 94 feet down the court by the defensive demon Stephon Castle, and his favorable matchups are choices of guys many inches taller than him or Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama.

They’ve had Wembanyama lurking in the paint and are switching or blowing up enough off-ball actions to deter the Knicks from their Karl-Anthony Towns-centric offense, which opened up Brunson’s off-ball game. His free catch-and-shoot or cutting attempts have been few and far between, with only a couple of set plays opening things up for him.

With Brunson largely on the ball, he has consistently seen coverages forcing him to try and score in the packed paint, make the perfect dish-out or hit tough pull-ups. Picks are largely switched among wings, or if Wembanyama is the low man, he’s in a drop that covers twice the space of a normal player. 

In the former scenario, that essentially just leaves Brunson playing one-on-one ball, which was much less of a problem against the Cleveland Cavaliers than the defensive-minded Spurs. San Antonio has done well not to allow easy blow-bys, and is packing the paint any time Brunson comes near it.

The reason the first two games were such stinkers was due in part to Brunson growing accustomed to this defense and its individual members, and he’s slowly come to find his angles and attack points on each defender. There were a lot of early forced misses playing into the isolation-ball, where he settled for looks that are available any time in this series.

Defenders are also keeping entirely attached to Brunson if he does get a step, essentially begging him to get into his foul-drawing bag. This can distract him from taking normal in-rhythm shots, or take him out of the game if there’s a tough whistle, like in Games 1 and 2.

It’s no surprise his best games have come when he’s successfully drawn eight and 11 free throws instead of four and five, respectively, in the first two games. Brunson began punishing the Spurs for their physicality in Game 3, and getting Castle into foul trouble may have swung Game 4.

When he’s off a pick and Wembanyama is waiting, the defensive stalwart is up high enough to dissuade Brunson’s mid-range game. On the series, Brunson is only 6-for-26 from his favorite range on the court, a major win for the Spurs' defense.

New York’s shaky spacing and Brunson’s inconsistent playmaking have made this even tougher. 

If there aren’t clear passing lanes and the paint is filled with bodies, Brunson simply stalls and passes the ball, which has been a regular occurrence.

This is why the insertion of Jose Alvarado in the fourth quarter of Game 4, and Brunson’s relentless attack on Wembanyama helped open things up. With their anchor out in rotation and another threat carving into the lane, Brunson has had clearer windows to his spots and teammates.

San Antonio is satisfied giving him pull-up threes, one key weak point in their scheme, but without a rhythm behind it Brunson struggled to convert attempts in Games 1 and 2. As he got going in the paint in the latter two games and was more selective about his looks, his three-point shot went in at a much better efficiency at home.

Brunson and the Knicks can use all of this to ensure a solid strategy going into Game 5. 

To start, the Knicks can try to force the Wembanyama switch or just bring him into continuous action to run him ragged and get him out of the paint.

The officials may dictate how much Brunson can leverage the Spurs' physicality early - if he can catch Castle on a couple of fouls, it will give him some room in his in-between game. Start off with some clean rim attacks and free throws, and the pull-up game will open up from deep.

Towns has also had big games this series. If the Knicks can get his game flowing more, Brunson could be the beneficiary away from the ball. Of course, this is assuming the Spurs keep with their current approach.

The Spurs have thrown the occasional traps and doubles, but may press the button fully to keep the ball out of Brunson’s hands in this do-or-die game. Perhaps they have Wembanyama always switch to goad him into more tough pull-ups.

Whatever happens, the Knicks have proven they can win with or without Brunson playing his best offensive game. He has been lights out in the clutch and is surrounded by talent starved for this one final win -- let’s see if they can capture it.

Thoughtful reporter Hannah Beam enumerated several Rangers front office blunders, starting with the man behind the bench.

"The Rangers paid for the privilege of hiring the highest-paid coach in the league. And what did they get out of it last season, Sullivan had a record of 34-39-9. But that's not on Sully, that's on the man who built the roster."

The Knicks' highly-successful roster-builder, Leon Rose, even took time to write a serious letter to his fan base: "To be successful in the NBA," Rose wrote to fans in 2020, "you need the best talent, a tireless work ethic, a winning  culture and a total commitment to the development of both the individual and the team."

Beam: "Six years  later, he was standing in Cleveland, watching his team reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. The man was in tears, but he'd earned them!"

Like all of us who care – and who have watched the Knicks pull off playoff miracle after miracle – we are left wondering why the Rangers can't match their brethren's success. 

"The blueprint is right across the MSG hall," Hannah Beam concludes. "Same building. Same owner. For his Knicks, he finally figured out – you hire the right person and then get the heck out of the way,"

Then, one final Hannah Beam pause: "Last question: can the Rangers find their Leon Rose before Igor Shesterkin runs out of time?"

Larry Nance Jr. might have been a great fit with this version of the Cleveland Cavaliers in previous years. But last season, nearly all of his value came in the form of locker room leadership. That’s somewhat underwhelming.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Regular Season Stats

• 3.7 points
• 2.7 rebounds
• 1.0 assists
• 42% FG
• 33% 3PT FG
• 46% FT

The Cavs have sorely needed a player like Nance to reinforce the frontcourt behind Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Athletic, 6’9” forwards with plus wingspans haven’t fallen their way very often this decade. Add a touch of playmaking and three-point shooting, and Nance should have fit like a glove.

Sadly, injuries and Father Time have caught up to Nance. He’s not the same athlete he was in previous years, no longer providing a vertical threat around the basket and having trouble moving his feet defensively. Those are two skills he couldn’t afford to lose.

Cleveland couldn’t find any use for Nance. He wasn’t an effective pick-and-roll partner or defender, and he even regressed as a three-point shooter. Nance shot just 33% from deep after consecutive seasons shooting above 40%. At no point in the season did it feel like Nance’s jumper was going to return. That, again, is a skill he couldn’t afford to lose.

Nance appeared in just 35 games, racking up DNP’s as the on-court results spoke for themselves. Cleveland was 9.5 points worse per 100 possessions when Nance was on the floor. That ranked in the 11th percentile.

Now let’s be fair and offer the positive spin.

Nance hasn’t been fully healthy recently. He only played 24 games in the ‘24-25 season due to hand and knee injuries. He then tweaked his knee again at the start of the ‘25-26 season, only to then strain his calf a few weeks later. You can argue he never got his feet under him in Cleveland — and that a full summer of recovery could offer rejuvenation.

A healthier version of Nance might be on the table. The Cavs could talk themselves into that possibility as a low-risk, moderate-reward gamble. Of course, this most recent season wouldn’t leave anyone feeling great about a winning outcome.

Nance deserves credit for taking his lumps in stride. This wasn’t an easy season for him if he expected to play real minutes. Still, he never complained about DNP’s and remained a positive influence in the locker room. It’s easier than you think to grow resentful. Nance avoided that and brought nothing but good vibes off the floor.

It’s possible my expectations were too high for Nance. After all, he was a late addition on a veteran minimum contract. Maybe it’s unfair to grade him as if he were going to play meaningful minutes this season.

Still, it’s impossible to deny that I was disappointed.

Grade: D

As things currently stand, the Dallas Mavericks have two picks in the first round of the NBA Draft later this month, namely their own #9 and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s #30. In what is clearly a deep draft, the Mavs would do well to get as many bites of the apple as possible to build around Cooper Flagg, and the Thunder are an excellent candidate to help them out.

We previously considered swaps with the Sacramento Kings for Malik Monk and the Philadelphia 76ers for former MVP Joel Embiid, both of which featured incoming picks. Today we take another approach at an optically smaller, but no less meaningful, swing.

Joining me for this potential transaction are MMB’s Jack Nowicki and Bryan Porter.

The trade proposal

The Mavericks use their Traded Player Exception (TPE) and their 2026 #30 pick (which ironically belonged to the Thunder originally) to move up to #17 by way of taking on the contract of Isaiah Joe.

The discussion

Mike: I like this trade a lot. I am very hopeful the Mavs will actually take advantage of the TPE. If they can get an improved pick while retaining all other tradable assets, that is a major win and possibly the best asset management this franchise has demonstrated in years. If we could do OKC a favor by taking that salary off their books and they reciprocated by helping us jump 13 spots in this year’s draft, we ought to be sending a limo north to pick Joe up.

Brian: Yeah, I’d love to upgrade in this way and make use of our TPE to absorb a deal like this to move up in the draft. If I could quibble with it a bit, I would rather Aaron Wiggins than Joe because he’s bigger and cheaper, but the lesser of the two is probably the only one OKC considers accepting a deal like this for if they can’t move them into someone else’s space.

Jack: This would be an amazing trade for the Mavericks for multiple reasons. First, moving up to #17 allows them to take another blue chip player that could compliment #9, with Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie being my first choice. Second, adding another useful role player that fits next to Cooper Flagg is a large bonus, as Joe is an elite shooter who could open driving lanes for both Kyrie Irving and Flagg. I agree with Bryan’s point on preferring Wiggins, but I believe the Thunder would want to move Joe instead. Overall this is the type of opportunistic trade the Mavericks should be seeking this offseason.

Bryan: As slanted as this is towards us, considering Joe has some value and could probably net OKC a couple of second round picks on his own, the real question is how much would you comfortably add to this deal to make it happen? A second round pick? Two? Maybe a player would be too much, considering the idea is to cut money on OKC’s end.

Mike: I’m hoping OKC’s loss in the Western Conference Finals changed their thinking. If they repeated, I could have seen them paying out the nose to largely stay together. Now, I feel like ditching $11M would be very appealing to them. If we had to add a second round pick (even two), I’d generally be very open to that. That said, OKC certainly must realize they have a plethora of picks in the near future and not enough roster spots for them. I’d like to believe they’d be inclined to swap spots. And Jack, your commentary makes me want this to happen even more now!
Switching gears, I suspect one or more of P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall and Klay Thompson are moved this offseason. Closing thoughts to each of you on which of the three you’d prefer it being, assuming Joe is incoming?

Bryan: Washington is the one that makes the most sense. He likely has the highest value of the three, has reached the highest individual peak over the last two years and is still only 27 years old on a good, long term contract. Also his particular archetype should be very enticing to teams like OKC, the Spurs, etc. with versatile offensive bigs like Victor Wembanyama, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Nikola Jokic, contenders need big, defensive forwards who can hit corner threes, attack off the catch, be defensive playmakers, etc. His skillset is very much in demand right now.

Mike: I feel like Thompson is surely gone either way – I just can’t imagine he’d want to stick around for a rebuild. Ironically, Joe would be a solid one-to-one replacement for him in a lot of ways. That said, this trade proposal makes moving Washington sensible. I’d hate to see it as a fan, but in practical terms, this trade brings back value without moving player assets, and Washington could bring a lot back and really bolster this proposed trade if he was moved in a separate transaction. I also have an unsubstantiated hunch that Marshall sticks around here to take some of the offensive load off Flagg and whatever rookie(s) are added.

Join the conversation in the comments section below!

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

It has been very difficult to pinpoint where Michigan Basketball’s Yaxel Lendeborg may end up on draft night. He has taken a unique path to get to the NBA Draft, but now he is a certified top-15 pick who has attended private workouts with seven teams, and he has two more scheduled for next week.

On Thursday, Lendeborg was in San Francisco, California for a private workout with the Golden State Warriors, who hold the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. With a roster that stars a 38 year-old point guard and a 36 year-old power forward, the Warriors need to get young, and they are very much in a position to draft an already-polished college player who can be a plug-and-play weapon right away.

Lendeborg’s 6-foot-9, 241-pound frame makes him one of the more versatile front court prospects in this class. He can reliably guard on the perimeter or protect the rim, and his offensive game has evolved steadily over his college career to include consistent shooting, passing and off-ball movement.

What comes through just as clearly, though, is his understanding of what role he’s being asked to fill — no matter who drafts him in two weeks.

“My versatility, I can bring a lot of different things to the game, and being able to play multiple positions for these guys and do whatever I need to do to win,” Lendeborg said after his workout with Golden State on Thursday.

“I think (my skillset) fits perfectly (as a passer). (The Warriors) do a lot of off-ball moving sets, a lot of action to get Steph (Curry) open, and playing off his gravity will make it a lot easier for me to make reads and for the other guys to get open as well. So I think it’ll be perfect.”

The Warriors are chasing one more championship window around Curry, and what they need alongside him is someone who can defend multiple positions, make smart reads and keep the offense running when the ball isn’t in Curry’s hands.

At Michigan, Lendeborg was asked to do just that. He had the ability to become a primary ball-handler on a moment’s notice, but he was also content with taking a step back and drawing the defense in his direction as his teammates took over. When asked where he thought he could make the biggest impact as a rookie, his answer reflected that same awareness.

“I would say, five assists a game maybe to start off, you know, just a lot of defense, fast-break kind of bucket opportunities for me. And depending on if I’m (with Golden State) or anywhere else, my role would be a lot different, but if I was here, I’d be more like a secondary ball handler,” Lendeborg said. “Whenever Steph is getting taken out of the game, I’ll be there to assist, maybe provide a little bit more offense or instant offense in a way.”

Lendeborg spent three years at a junior college before transferring to the University of Alabama at Birmingham for two seasons and ending his career at Michigan. He was unquestionably one of the top players in college basketball last year, as he was a consensus First-Team All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year.

After winning the National Championship, Lendeborg has proven to NBA scouts he knows what it takes to win. For a team like Golden State that has seen consistent success over the last decade, an addition like Lendeborg could be the perfect culture fit for the last few years of the Curry era.

“A lot of people like winners, so me being in the position that I was in this past year, it just showcased that I’m willing to put aside any stat or anything about myself to win,” Lendeborg said. “Being in a winning culture, a winning program shows you a lot of different things that you have to do, not just as far as sacrifice, but just as far as everyday living to bring a spark and bring kind of good energy to the squad.”

The questions surrounding Lendeborg heading into draft night are more about his ceiling, not floor. His three-point shooting has improved the last three years, but it still isn’t at the level required of a small forward in the NBA, according to him. His defensive versatility is an area he also identified as needing further development. And not to mention, he will be 24 years old come the start of the season, which is nearly six years older than the projected top three picks. 

For Golden State, however, that debate may matter less than it would elsewhere. A team built around established veterans is an environment designed to maximize exactly the kind of player Lendeborg projects to be. He’s polished enough to contribute immediately, versatile enough to fit multiple lineup configurations and culturally oriented toward winning.

“Man, it would be amazing (to play with Steph Curry),” Lendeborg said. “He provides so much gravity on the court that it really makes it super easy for other guys to score, other guys to just showcase any ability that they have.

“I’ll be very excited to get the opportunity. He’s a great player, and a great human being as well. I got to meet him twice, so it’s really nice, and I feel like I will learn a lot playing with him as well.”

Lendeborg has met with the Thunder, Heat, Bulls, Bucks, Hornets, Mavericks and Warriors. He has just the Clippers and Hawks left. There are a multitude of possibilities for where he could go, but given how critical this year’s draft is for the Warriors, it is hard to see Lendeborg get past No. 11.

The 2026 NBA Draft takes place June 23-24 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The New York Knicks are one win away from their first championship since 1973. You read that right, folks.

That also means it is officially time to argue about the Finals MVP award, which will likely be handed out at around midnight on Saturday.

The Knicks lead the Spurs 3-1, are beating them up and down, left and right, and without any sort of help from the refs, and not only that, but they are about to get beatified after a miraculous Game 4 in which they came back from a 29-point deficit and got the Hand of God on their side.

At this point, we all have a pretty clear idea of who’s who in the race for the Finals MVP. Jalen Brunson is the 1A superstar even though Becky Hammon would never be able to deal with that. The Knicks won’t have arrived at MSG with a 2-0 lead had Karl-Anthony Towns not played at the top of his powers for a couple outings. Victor Wembanyama looked good, then great, then dirty, and is not even remotely close to being the Alien we were sold, at least on winning terms.

But man, oh man. Are we in for another underdog Finals MVP a la Iggy or Cedric Maxwell? OG Anunoby, step in.

1. OG Anunoby, Knicks

Excuse me if you are a Brunson stan—understandable, we all are—or if you don’t agree with me, but with four games in the rearview mirror, Anunoby leads this race.

Although FanDuel sides with you and still has Brunson as the best-odds candidate at -115 compared to OG’s +230, the proof is in the pudding as oddsmakers are finally placing Ogugua in a hunting position.

So far, OG has put together the best combination of production, efficiency, defense, and most importantly momentum heading into a potential title-clincher.

Through four Finals games, OG is averaging 23.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 58% from the field, 55.6% from three, and 92% from the line. That is already absurd, but Anunoby still had his moment waiting for him in G4 as he dropped 33 points on 10-for-15 shooting, hit 7 of 9 threes, blocked De’Aaron Fox’s dumb layup attempt late, and ultimately went on to win the game himself by tipping in Brunson’s miss with 1.2 seconds left to finish the largest comeback in Finals history.

Bow down.

2. Jalen Brunson, Knicks

Brunson has had a kinda tough Finals for his standards. That said, he remains and will ever be an obvious candidate to win the award simply because the Knicks run through this little big-headed man, and the Spurs are spending more time trying to stop him than doing anything else.

Brunson is averaging 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals, and his 36-point Game 4 kept the Knicks alive long before Anunoby finished it. The case against him is down to his awful efficiency during the past four games. Brunson is shooting 39.6% from the field—six other Knicks have better averages—and 34.5% from three—worst than Josh Hart’s 35.7% clip—while his one-man tendencies have gotten the offense a bit stagnant at times.

Still, this is the classic true superstar and team-leader pick, so you can never rule him out. Plus, it’s fair to say we have yet to watch a bona fide Brunson game this series, and he might be saving it for last.

3. Victor Wembanyama, Spurs

If Brunson might get the benefit of voters, you bet Wembanyama would do the same if the Spurs pull off the historic 3-1 comeback. Not happening, so not even discussing it, let alone after all this crap went down in the last week… Sorry, not sorry.

4. Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks

Not gonna lie here: Towns looked like my Finals MVP pick after the first two games of the series, both ending in road wins at San Antonio.

KAT’s size, shooting, rebounding, and work against Wembanyama on both offense and defense gave the Knicks their early lead and pretty much put the Spurs to bed. Towns is averaging 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and a block per game, which keeps him in the conversation, but the award has started to move away from him of late.

Right now, if you ask me, I’d hand it to the one and only OG. Brunson can still take it with a strong Game 5, and a closeout performance like we’re accustomed to watching him put together could easily swing the whole thing. KAT? Still probable if he has an OG-like experience shortly.

So, who do you have winning the award? Let us know in the comments section below, and Let’s Go Knicks!

Your 2026 New York Knicks: Shot no good. The Tip. It’s Good! It’s Good! It’s Good.

My father was born in 1955 and grew up in Queens…

“You could feel the abundance of joy from everyone at one time. The collective joy that came out of everybody for that one moment, to hear the buzzer going off and not to see the ball go in the basket, I think we all felt something, like that emotion that was special.” -Karl-Anthony Towns [The Athletic]

…his big brother was a fan of the Yankees, NY Football Giants, Rangers and Knicks…

“It’s something that MSG hasn’t had, that kind of moment, in a long time, so shoutout to our fans for real.” -Karl-Anthony Towns [The Athletic]

…so my father became a fan of the Yankees, NY Football Giants, Rangers, and Knicks…

…but when my father was 7 years old, a new team came to Queens…

…being a typical 7 year old and a typical younger brother; my father decided to ditch the Yankees and root for the new team in Queens. He also decided to ditch the Giants and become a fan of the New York Jets when they began playing at Shea Stadium…

“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball.” -Knicks coach Mike Brown [ESPN]

…I was born in 1985 and because my father was a fan of the Mets, Jets, Rangers, and Knicks. I never considered not rooting for the Mets, Jets, Rangers, and Knicks……

“Right hand from God.” -Karl-Anthony Towns [ESPN]

…these 4 teams have played over 300 combined seasons; winning a combined 9 championships with 3 of them being before World War II, I was alive for two of those titles but, to be fair, I was a 1 year old and wasn’t that into hockey when I was 9 years old …

“That’s a game where you sit there and you say you had the type of personnel that you had, you shot the ball decent, played a pretty clean game. Then kind of didn’t finish the job.” -San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson [The Athletic]

…as a kid my family had an annual tradition of tailgating a Mets game in the parking lot of Shea Stadium with a ton of both family and friends who’ve been in my families life for so long, I never conceived that addressing them as Aunt and Uncle and their kids as my cousins was technically not accurate…

“We’re a resilient group. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve come back plenty of times when we’re behind. Just staying with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or frustrated.” -OG Anunoby [ESPN]

…and the Mets lost literally every game I personally attended until I was 16 years old…

“You look at it when you’re down 29 of, ‘OK, let’s get it to 20.’ There’s three minutes left in the third quarter, we’re down 18, you’re thinking, ‘Let’s get it to 10.” -Josh Hart [ESPN]

…and when I was a young child, I legit would cry that they lost some insignificant game in July in a more likely than not lost season…

“In the fourth quarter, you’re like, this is winning time. Anything can happen.” -Josh Hart [ESPN]

“I think [The Spurs collapse] began before (the fourth quarter). I can’t really explain it right now. I don’t know. We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half.” -Victor Wembanyama [ESPN]

…I remember once they lost the second game of a day-night doubleheader and, of course, we had tickets for the night game. I cried on the drive home and my mother tried to cheer me up by saying at least they won the first game but that wasn’t the point for me at the age…

“Just to be part of the journey is amazing. I appreciate Coach and everybody giving me my flowers, but this is what I worked hard for, to be in moments like this and shine with it. -Former Queens High School Basketball Player Jose Alvarado [NBA]

…my father, a man of few words, tried to console me in his own way and said “the most important part isn’t that your team wins, it’s that you stick with them no matter what.” That was it. He didn’t add something along the lines of ‘then that makes it so much sweeter when they do finally win’ because what he said was exactly what he wanted to say to me. To him, the most important aspect of being a fan is to stay loyal even if your team stinks and, for most of my life, my teams have been awful…

“I’m glad it went our way today, and I’ll definitely remember this for the rest of my life. But you know, next game. We’ve got to worry about when we play over there.” -Former Queens High School Basketball Player Jose Alvarado [NBA]

…being older I now see the irony that myself, my siblings, my wife, my sons are all Mets fans is because my father’s ‘importance of staying loyal’-rule wasn’t in effect for himself as a 7 year old…

“Basically, I went in there at halftime and said, ‘Regardless of the outcome, these next 24 minutes, we better bring it and show them how we really play basketball’ and that’s what we did.” -Former Queens High School Basketball Player Jose Alvarado [NBA]

…my father retired from being a MTA subway driver over 10 years ago and moved down south for warmer weather with my mother but we always talk sports and watch whatever game is on when we’re together…

…for the past two weeks, my wife has been traveling for business. My parents drove up to sleep on our couch bed so they could see their grandkids and help their son with childcare. This was planned months ago and I never considered one of MY teams would be in the middle of a championship run while my parents were staying at our home…

“I told OG as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, he’s got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “I don’t know if there was a play bigger than any other play in the history of Knicks basketball.” -Mike Brown [NBA]

…my father and I were watching Game 4 in the living room but, living in a typical Queens co-op, we had to be quiet because my boys were asleep in the room next to us. At halftime, my father said we could turn the game off because the Knicks were down big and my mother was falling asleep but my mother said “you never know, you should watch” before she fell asleep…

…my father and I kept watching and kept watching and in the fourth quarter I started quietly repeating, whenever the Knicks made a stop or made a shot, that “my teams don’t do this.” I started getting louder as the Knicks really started signs of making a comeback. “My Teams Don’t Do This.” Toward the end of the game after a big shot, I loudly said “MY TEAMS DON’T FUCKIN’ DO THIS” which clearly irritated my father because he hates hearing anyone, let alone his own son who should know better, curse plus people are sleeping; so he put his finger on his lips and then pointed to my son’s room and my mom indicating I needed to be quieter to avoid waking them up. I apologized and promised that I’m would not only not curse for the rest of the game, I wouldn’t even say a single word (kind of hoping “the universe” would somehow help my team through vibes if I kept my end of the bargain [exhibiting irrational behavior is part of being a fan of these teams])

When OG made that tip in, my stoic father didn’t say a word per se but jumped to his feet and let a kind of celebratory grunt/yell sound that I’ve never heard him make and it was so loud I’m pretty sure it woke up the entire apartment building.

My advice to Wemby, you should give up. My team is going to do this.

“What’s going through my mind right now? I think it’s going to go one of two ways. … A bad one and a good one. The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.” -Victor Wembanyama [The Athletic]