Category: NBA

West Finals are a reminder of why Celtics must explore all paths this summer originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

When Victor Wembanyama pulled up from a step inside the logo Monday night, delivering a Steph Curry-esque 3-pointer in Oklahoma City that sent Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals to the first of two riveting overtimes, we did two things.

1) We let out an audible groan, resigned to the fact that this 7-foot-4 alien (and San Antonio’s young core) could dominate the league for the foreseeable future, with the championship-minted Thunder perhaps the only real obstacle in their path; and 2) We reached for our keyboard and started pecking out this story.

Because in that moment, what had already been painfully obvious throughout these playoffs crystalized a little bit more:

The Celtics have some real work to do.

The 2026 NBA playoffs have been filled with sobering reminders that the pathway back to true title contention is further than it might have seemed, especially during the tail end of Boston’s vibes-filled regular season.

As everyone takes inventory of the Celtics’ season and what pathway they choose to navigate next, we keep flashing back to Brad Stevens’ end-of-the-year press conference, when he noted the Celtics were 3-11 against what many would consider the five other top seeds between the conferences (Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Detroit, New York and Denver).

It would be very easy for the Celtics to convince themselves that minor tweaks — along with a healthier Jayson Tatum — might be enough to keep them among the East favorites next season. And that might be true. But then you watch Game 1 of the West Finals, and it simply feels like Oklahoma City and San Antonio are in a different stratosphere than the rest of the league at this moment.

And the sobering reality is that neither of those teams is likely coming back to Earth any time soon.

Wembanyama originates from another planet and seemingly has no intention of acclimating to this one. The Thunder have an absurd amount of picks that will allow them to either restock amid rising roster costs, or make the sort of big-swing move that can help them win an arms race with San Antonio.

The Celtics went 0-2 against the Spurs, although Jaylen Brown’s absurd ejection didn’t aid their cause in the second meeting. Boston’s win over the streaking Thunder in late March gave hope that a fully healthy Celtics team might fare better against elite competition in the playoffs. Alas, a 1-3 regular-season mark against New York suggested that Boston still had work to do to simply navigate Round 2. If they had gotten that far.

But they didn’t. They lost Game 7 on their home court for the second time in four seasons, this time in Round 1. And some of the optimism gathered over a tantalizingly fun and overachieving regular season was diminished.

We’ll temper all that by noting that any roster helmed by Tatum and Brown has a legitimate chance to get to the title stage. When surrounded by the right pieces, the Jays have delivered the Celtics to the championship round in two of the previous four seasons. There is no denying the success of that tandem.

But Stevens has routinely noted how the north star in Boston is always a championship banner. Just being good enough to get to the title stage isn’t enough.

So how do the Celtics get there? We’ll spend so much of the offseason pondering all the various paths. But for much of the regular season, it was fair to wonder if internal development combined with a healthier Tatum might be enough to boost Boston’s title potential.

Now? We’re not so sure. The Sixers series exposed a bit of Boston’s weaknesses in a way the regular season masked. Stevens and his front-office staff must at least examine bolder decisions this offseason. That’s why everyone from Brown to Derrick White to Sam Hauser will dance in trade rumors this summer.

The Celtics must consider all possibilities.

The last time Boston’s season ended in disappointment with a Game 7 loss at TD Garden, Stevens made the bold decisions to shake up the core, sending out both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III but bringing back the key pieces of Boston’s 2024 title run in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.

This team doesn’t have quite as much freedom to spend like it did that year, but it might soon. One more year under the luxury tax could reset repeater penalties and allow Stevens to splurge big in the summer of 2027.

The question is whether anyone wants to wait that long.

Therein lies the challenge for Stevens. Watching Wembanyama put up 41 points and 24 rebounds is just another reminder of how the Celtics need to fortify their frontcourt. Watching the way the Thunder and Spurs relentless defend and contest shots is another reminder that Boston’s offense needs to be even more efficient despite all the regular-season success.

Stevens noted how the Celtics have to improve their margin for error. It was far too slim this year. A healthier Tatum will stretch it out a bit. But Monday’s West Finals was a harsh reminder that there’s still plenty of work to be done to stretch that margin to a place that teams like San Antonio and Oklahoma City reside.

Mark Pope lost a lot of goodwill with certain media members after closing up shop after a bad season.

I, for one, appreciated the approach from Pope. Mark Pope put his head down this offseason, opting to skip the press conferences in favor of securing pieces like Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins. But as the roster comes together, not everyone is sold on Kentucky’s new backcourt, just ask Fran Fraschilla.

I think it made no sense to go on KSR or pop up and have a press conference in the middle of recruiting. Put your head down and get to work. Kentucky is down an assistant as is. And they have 2 expiring next month, a 20-minute media session isn’t going to do much.

To his credit, Pope responded directly to fan questions on Twitter, and we gained some insight into his summer plans and how he feels others have used Kentucky in recruiting wars. But it was done only once the roster was mainly done, and while I believe there are issues (lack of perimeter shooting being chief among them), the roster is a solid, capable bunch of players who will need to come together quickly and make a team.

Last year’s team was unable to do that, partly because of injuries, and partly because the pieces just didn’t fit. Pope grabbed two point guards in Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins to avoid the same situation that happened the last two seasons. And they have remarkably similar games.

Both excel in driving, both turn it over a little too much, both are really consistent at finishing at the rim, neither really excels in setting up teammates, but both are solid in doing so. It turns out Fran Fraschilla is not a believer.

When discussing Washington star Hannes Steinbach’s NBA Draft spot, NBA analyst Nick Heintzman (and his 100ush followers) said, “Hannes Steinbach really helped himself at the combine. Established that he has enough size and athleticism to play the 4 or the 5. Has many avenues to succeed in the league. Was held back by awful Washington guards. I might have him T10.”

Ouch. Well, Fran Fraschilla jumped on that, saying it has to make Kentucky basketball fans “feel great.” But he wasn’t done yet.

Heintzman clarified his stance by saying, “Thanks, Fran. To be clear, my point was that Steinbach’s offensive environment/guard play at Washington didn’t do him many favors, particularly in terms of getting him the ball in advantageous situations. Steinbach was often left to create offense through the glass, hustle plays, and transition pushes off rebounds. Zoom’s assist rate was strong, and I haven’t formed a firm opinion yet on how he’ll fare in a different context at Kentucky.”

That’s fair; no one can predict exactly how each player is going to respond in a new environment. It’s an educated guess. Fraschilla, though, added:

But is there any truth to that? Let’s dive in.

Comparing Zoom Diallo to last year’s SEC guard crop

Zoom Diallo had a good jump from his freshman to sophomore year at Washington. He averaged:

-15 points (48 percent from the floor, 31 percent from 3)
-4 assists, 2 turnovers
-4 rebounds a night

Now let’s look at the SEC point guards of last year:

Darius Acuff, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Labaron Philon, and Tyler Tanner all scored and assisted more, so that puts 4 above him. But from there, it’s really pick your poison.

Meechie Johnson shot more and worse, Xaivian Lee shot worse and scored less while assisting nearly the same. So at worst, if he had the same season as last year, and everyone around him did as well, he probably sits no worse than 5th or 6th in the SEC.

I am a big believer in Zoom’s offensive game. He is built like a tank and can get to the free-throw line early and often. I do worry that his 3-point shot reverts to his freshman form (18 percent), and the turnovers scare me a bit. But if he can take a few steps forward in shooting and passing, he will be one of the best point guards in the SEC next year IMO.

He definitely isn’t middle of the pack unless he reverts big time. It’s just another example of hitting Mark Pope and Kentucky when they are down.

Will the Cats be able to respond on the court next season? Well, that’s the question. Looking at each position, I think Kentucky has more natural talent than it did last season. But there are question marks, as there will be with any team. It will definitely be a big help if Milan Momcilovic decides to become a Cat.

Let’s see how they look over the summer. But it doesn’t look like the media firestorm is slowing down anytime soon.

While Fran Fraschilla might see Diallo as “middle of the pack,” the stats suggest a player with a much higher ceiling, provided Pope can maximize his ability.

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Yes, we know that Fred VanVleet didn’t play for the Houston Rockets this season. But given that GM Rafael Stone stayed quiet at the NBA Trade Deadline and cited VanVleet’s absence for why team management wasn’t making any moves to improve, which became a huge part of this season’s narrative, we wanted to include FVV here in our recaps.

So how important is VanVleet? We do know he was part of the Rockets culture change, teaming with now-Sun Dillon Brooks to add a veteran presence to the Houston locker room and a steady hand on the court. That was pretty dang important. But I think we can all agree that he’s probably not quite as important as Ime Udoka and Stone want us to believe (you know, for job security and all).

This is a guy who was coming off of a year in which he averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 assists, but he also shot just 37.8 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from deep on high volume (7.7 three attempts per game). There were nights when VanVleet downright shot the Rockets out of a game. Houston had more than enough of that this season. What would adding another inconsistent shooter have done? Yes, Houston really needed his steady hand, and yes, quality true point guard depth behind FVV was also an issue — but that job of securing depth by definition falls on Stone and Udoka. It’s their resonsibility to make sure the Rockets can weather such storms and that one injury doesn’t completely derail a season. And not only did they not do it, they came to us and told us they intentionally did not do it. Then tried to gaslight us into thinking it was all for the best.

The Kevin Durant window is limited. The Rockets gave up real player assets for KD. If Houston were ready to punt a full year just because of a VanVleet injury, it made no sense to go after KD, because you’re basically admitting that your team isn’t ready. If they’re not ready, it made more sense to take the long game and not trade for a limited-window Durant. But they made the move, signifying to the league and to the players that they thought they were going to make a real push. Then decided against it and told us that not making a push was the real plan all along. It honestly feels a little bit toxic.

Will I be happy to have VanVleet back? Yes, absolutely. Do I think he solves Houston’s issues? No, I do not. This team needs more shooters, more backcourt playmakers, and better locker room chemistry. FVV helps with the playmaking and the locker room issues (though certainly doesn’t solve them), but he’s no one’s answer to three-point shooting woes at this stage of his career.

He’s also 32 years old and coming off of a major surgery. Who knows how he looks when he comes back or how much time he’ll need to round into form. It’s possible he never does return to form. If so, the Rockets have some serious franchise-direction pivoting to discuss. Either way, they need more than VanVleet alone can provide. But hey, if he never does quite return to form, at least Stone and Udoka still have their built-in excuse.

There was a point in the night, after he plucked a rebound from the sky with one hand, that Victor Wembanyama laughed at him.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just short-rimmed a six-foot push shot. It was a shot so routine for Gilgeous-Alexander, who only two hours prior had claimed his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award, that it was perplexing as to why he had smoked it so badly.

But Wembanyama had been looming nearby. His pull and gravity, the knowledge that he can extend his reach to swat just about any shot, forced Gilgeous-Alexander to hesitate and recalculate — in a fleeting instant — the possibility that Wembanyama might erase the shot.

The Thunder were down seven and time was running out.

Wembanyama grabbed the board and all Gilgeous-Alexander could do was to wrap Wembanyama and foul him in obvious frustration.

This was when Wembanyama shooed Gilgeous-Alexander away and laughed at him. This was when Wembanyama became the best basketball player in the world.

For Jason Terry, everything changed in 1997. It was the night before the NCAA national championship game and Terry’s Arizona Wildcats were set to take on the University of Kentucky. Terry shared hotels rooms with teammate Mike Bibby on road trips and the pair understandably had trouble sleeping before the biggest game of their lives so far.

“Mike Bibby and I were anxious for the game,” Terry says. “So, we both put our full uniforms on – socks, everything. And we slept in them. The next day, we ended up winning the national championship. After that, I was like, ‘OK, I think I’m superstitious and I need to keep this thing going.’”

When it comes to basketball and superstitions, there may be no clearer expert than Terry. He has won at every level of the game: as well as his college title he became an NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. He’s also seemingly embraced quirk after quirk, both on and off the court.

In college, he started to wear long, high socks with “CATS” – a reference to the team’s nickname – written down the side of each leg. In the NBA, he continued the fashion statements, donning a headband every game to honor his former mentor and fellow Seattleite Slick Watts. But most striking of all, every night before an NBA game Terry put on the shorts of the opposing squad and wore them to sleep.

Related: From phishing to porn star impersonators: how scamming athletes became a billion-dollar industry

“For instance,” Terry says, “if we’re playing the Miami Heat, I’d wear the Heat shorts the night before each game.”

But how would he even get the shorts? Well, he’d go right to the source.

“I would hustle equipment managers and see if they had an extra pair,” says Terry, who was NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2009. “I think the most famous shorts I was able to get was a pair of Utah Jazz shorts that belonged to John Stockton.”

And how did he know they belonged to the NBA’s all-time steals and assists leader?

“Number one: they were short,” Terry says. “Number two: they had his No 12 on the inside tag.”

Eldridge Recasner, another former NBA guard, played for a number of teams during his eight-year career, including stints as a starter with the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks in the mid-1990s. He says sleep and practice were important to him prior to a game’s tipoff.

“My main thing was that I had to take a nap on gameday and do my same pregame warmup routine,” Recasner says. “The nap was mandatory. And the ball-handling and shooting drills I did had to be the same routine all the time.”

But more than any dribbling or shooting drills, Recasner says he remembered his father, Eldridge Sr, before each contest, too.

“My dad was in the Army,” says Recasner, who is now a college basketball broadcaster in the Pacific Northwest. “He passed away when I was 18. So, I always looked at the flag during games. I counted off five stars to the right, five stars down, five stars to the left and five stars back up to the starting star and salute my dad. I still do it today as an announcer.”

Tim Hardaway, who battled Recasner on the hardwood during the 90s, had his own superstitions. When he played at home, Hardaway says he’d drive the same route to the game every time with no deviations. But when he was on the road, the five-time All-Star says, “I ate the same thing every day – caesar salad with baked chicken and vegetables.”

Superstitions have affected play throughout NBA history. Ray Allen would shave his head at the exact same time of day before every game. His fellow Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan, used to wear his University of North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform throughout his career. Rajon Rondo liked to shower five times on gamedays. LeBron James used to clip his nails during contests, while the sight of the star throwing clouds of chalk dust in the air before tip-off became a familiar sight.

But some superstitions are even more specific.

“Kevin Garnett had to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before every game,” Terry says. “And it had to be on a certain type of bread. And he watched Family Guy while he ate those sandwiches. His other superstition was that he always had to be the last guy on the team plane if we were traveling. Every time.”

In 2010, at the start of the Mavericks’ championship season, Terry was inspired. He was at a team function and there was a tattoo artist onsite. He decided to show his teammates his devotion to them and his high hopes for the upcoming season. So, he got a tattoo of the Larry O’Brien Trophy on his right biceps.

“Once we won, it basically said I proved it,” Terry says of the tattoo.

But when he tried to make tattoos into a winning routine, it didn’t work out.

“Superstitions don’t always work out,” he says. “I tried it again. Once I signed with the Celtics as a free agent [in 2012], I went and got the Celtics logo tattooed on my other biceps with the Larry O’Brien Trophy. But we lost in the first round. I only played one year with the Celtics, so I don’t think I’ll do the tattoo superstition any more. It has to work multiple times to be a true superstition.”

In fact, there has only been one occasion when Terry couldn’t practice one of his many superstitions during his 23-year basketball career. It happened way back in college during the season after his Arizona team had won the title against Kentucky.

“There was only one time when I wasn’t able to do my superstition,” says Terry. “That was the equipment manager in 1998. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, he forgot my signature CATS socks. We tried – we got regular white socks. My roommate put a sharpie pen to them and wrote “CATS” down each side. But it didn’t work.”

Terry went 0-9 in that particular game against Nicholls State.

“I didn’t score one bucket,” he says. “But the next day, they Fed-Ex’d my socks for the second round and I had double-digits. We won the game by 33.”

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Despite winning the 2026 national championship, Michigan basketball coach Dusty May doesn’t “feel like we’re national champions.”

The Wolverines beat UConn on April 6 to win their first title since 1989, ending a 26-year Big Ten drought with a dominant run through the NCAA Tournament. Michigan had a parade and celebration the weekend after the Final Four, but now more than a month after winning it all, May doesn’t feel any different than before.

“There have been times like that when it’s been just a really cool moment to take a step back, but overall, I don’t really feel any different,” May told USA TODAY Sports at the Big Ten spring meetings. “I don’t feel like we’re national champions.”

Who's next? 5 teams that walked out of basketball portal looking like title contenders

When you're in as loaded of a conference like the Big 12, the transfer portal can be the difference between swimming or sinking.

Whether it's the NBA Draft or looking for a new program, prominent names are out and there's a need to restock. Like how does Final Four participant Arizona get back after losing its core players? There's also teams under new coaches like Kansas State and Cincinnati looking for a complete rebuild. Every team went into the portal, but it won't work perfectly for everyone.

So how did every Big 12 team fare in the transfer portal? We assess all 16 squads and look into how these additions — and losses — affect the 2026-27 season.

Who has best haul so far? College basketball transfer portal team rankings

Staying put: 10 most-important players who skipped basketball transfer portal

Arizona basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Derek Dixon (North Carolina). It took some time, but Dixon really showcased how valuable he is when he started the final 16 games for the Tar Heels. He was lighting it from deep, and despite not being in the top five of minutes played, he made the second most 3-pointers (50) for North Carolina.
• Worst loss: Dwayne Aristode (Oregon). Arizona didn't have many transfers, so Aristode isn't a huge loss, but he still held up his end on a loaded roster. His defensive presence to help take the burden off the starters will be missed.
• Biggest remaining need:Replacing Koa Peat. When someone that can do everything on a court leaves, it's hard to replicate it. Peat really was a freak of nature and trying to find another forward that can produce nearly as much as him will be difficult.

Arizona State basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add: Paulius Murauskas (Saint Mary's). Randy Bennett gets an essential player to follow him to Arizona State. The first-team all-West Coast Conference selection is a matchup problem after he led Saint Mary's with 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. The competition gets tougher, but Murauskas can thrive.
• Worst loss:Massamba Diop (Gonzaga). The Senegal native had a terrific transition to college hoops as the enforcer for the Sun Devils. He put up 13.6 ppg while his 2.1 blocks were top 25 in Division I, but a new regime was going to make it tough to convince the 7-1-inch center to stay.
• Biggest remaining need:Guard depth. Bennett is leaning heavy into veteran size and that should help the Sun Devils, but there's plenty needed in the backcourt. Joel Foxwell (Portland) is the only legitimate option at the position, with a bunch of inexperienced guys vying to get more minutes.

Baylor basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Kayden Mingo (Penn State). Mingo delivered as the highest-ranked Penn State recruit ever, dropping 13.7 points and 4.3 assists while averaging over 2 steals a game. He's excellent at getting inside the arc, and he really found a rhythm in the second half of the season.
• Worst loss: Tounde Yessoufou. An absolute unit, Yessoufou broke a bunch of freshman records at Baylor. There was a good chance he was a one-and-done player, but the possibility of returning somewhere else hurts a Baylor team sinking in the Big 12.
• Biggest remaining need:Rim protection. Defense was a big liability, especially protecting the glass by limiting second-chance opportunities. Baylor addressed the holes in the offense, but there needs to be a dominant big able to go up against other imposing forces.

BYU basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Collin Chandler (Kentucky). A breakout star on a middling Kentucky team, Chandler returns to his home state ready to take over the shooting needs the Cougars need. Making 41% of his 3-pointers puts him in the top 35 of deep-range shooters, and he had a hot streak where he had three games with at least five 3-pointers.
• Worst loss:Kennard Davis Jr. (Missouri): BYU has to really start from scratch with another starter leaving Provo. He didn't command the attention, but he was hard to miss considering the hustle he brings on the court. Sure he wasn't the primary ballhandler, but he didn't turn the ball over much.
• Biggest remaining need:Bigs. One of the downfalls of BYU's season was it didn't have a big man that could hold down the fort. The Cougars are still without one, and given the increased importance in the position, Kevin Young needs a center that can stop the leaks in the roster.

Cincinnati basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Myles Colvin (Wake Forest). Jerrod Calhoun is bringing a whole new squad, and Colvin looks like the one tasked as the leader for the Bearcats. The wing averaged 11.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season, and he's a reliable free throw shooter at 87%, a welcome sight for fans after being so bad from the charity stripe. 
• Worst loss: Moustapha Thiam (Michigan). The writing was on the wall for Thiam to leave, and he's now onto Ann Arbor after putting 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. His size jumps out, but he moves so well you forget he's over 7-feet tall. He was a big reason Cincinnati's defense was so good, limiting teams to under 50% shooting in the interior.
• Biggest remaining need:Defensive stalwarts. Calhoun is going for an offensive-minded team as he had at Utah State, but he has to remember you got to play defense in the Big 12 to make some noise. Several players will be going up against size they haven't seen much of.

Colorado basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Justin Neely (UNC Wilmington). What better way to fix the rebound struggles than getting a premier player on the boards? Neely's 11.5 rpg last season was second-best in Division I, and he can also score (17.9). He really carried the Spartans on his back, so he has no problems being the star for the Buffaloes.
• Worst loss:Isaiah Johnson (Texas). Colorado was actually decent offensively last season thanks to Johnson doing about everything to keep the team afloat. He had nine games with at least 20 points. There was potential to build around him, but it left Tad Boyle having to find replacements that can strike on both sides of the ball.
• Biggest remaining need: Guards. Johnson's departure leaves Colorado in desperate need of a backcourt that can produce and not leave it to the bigs to get the job done. Barrington Hargress can take on a bigger load, but it's a risk leaving it all to him.

Houston basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add: Dedan Thomas Jr. (LSU). A dynamic point guard, Thomas has always put up solid scoring numbers (14.6 career ppg) to go along with an impressive assists numbers, which included 6.5 assists at LSU. His season was limited to 15 games due to a foot injury.
• Worst loss: Isiah Harwell (Gonzaga). With such a talented roster last season, Harwell wasn't able to get as much playing time as he could, but he performed well when he got on the court. The minutes dwindled as the season ended, but there was an opportunity for his role to expand and give Kelvin Sampson some continuity.
• Biggest remaining need:Shooters. There's no doubt Houston will remain an elite defensive unit, but it will need an offense to help ease the stress. It's top three 3-point shooters are gone, and there's not a lot of proven deep threats on the roster.

Iowa State basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add: JaquanJohnson (Bradley). An absolute perfect fit for Iowa State, Johnson can do just about everything. He averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.6 apg while being able to score from anywhere on the court. As his nickname "Bully" suggests, he's a bully on defense, with his 2.5 steals per game a factor in him earning MVC defensive player of the year.
• Worst loss: Milan Momcilovic. What a tremendous loss for the Cyclones as Momcilovic became college basketball's deadliest shooter. He led the country with an astonishing 48.8% 3-point field goal percentage, a major reason Iowa State was a top 15 team from behind the arc. There is no way to replicate Momcilovic's productivity on the court, leaving a big hole in Ames.
• Biggest remaining need:3-point threats. T.J. Otzelberger did all he could to replenish his roster, but it's going to be so tough to maintain the elite offense it had with Momcilovic leading the charge. Joshua Jefferson is also gone and he was dangerous from everywhere, so the Cyclones also need a big man that can score at that clip.

Kansas basketball transfer portal analysis

• Best add:Keanu Dawes (Utah). The transfer portal isn't something Kansas heavily relies on given the high school talent it consistently draws, but it doesn't hurt to get some complementary help. The Jayhawks didn't get a program-changer, but Dawes is a solid addition after averaging 12.5 points with 8.8 rebounds at Utah. His athleticism is his best trait, able to stretch the floor and cause some mismatches for opponents.
• Worst loss: Flory Bidunga (Louisville). There may be no bigger portal loss than Bidunga, who was a monster for the Jayhawks that dominated the interior by swatting away about any shot near him (2.6 per game, fourth in Division I). His offense took a great leap last season and Kansas could be a real national contender had he stayed.
• Biggest remaining need: Scoring guards. The question remains of who replaces Darryn Peterson? The Jayhawks relied on him heavily when he did play, and it looks like Bill Self will rely on Leroy Blyden Jr. and Taylen Kinney right out of the gate.

Victor Wembanyama delivered a 40-20 performance as the San Antonio Spurs opened the NBA's Conference finals with a double-overtime win at the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The match-up between the first and second seed in the Western Conference features Wembanyama, this season's defensive player of the year, go up against Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for a second straight year.

And the best-of-seven series got off to a thrilling start on Monday as San Antonio had the chance to win it at the end of regulation time, and then Oklahoma City in overtime, before the Spurs prevailed 122-115.

Wembanyama's alley-oop dunk with 22 seconds left in the second period of overtime put the Spurs up by six and meant the France forward finished with 41 points and 24 rebounds.

At 22 years and 134 days old, he is the youngest player in NBA history to reach 40 points and 20 rebounds in a play-off game, and joins Wilt Chamberlain (1960) as the only players to do so on their Conference finals debut.

"He has a rare desire to step into every moment that's in front of him," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of the 2023 first overall draft pick.

"I think he has showed in his three years in a lot of different situations with a lot of different circumstances that he's going to attack those moments. He has some rare God-given ability."

San Antonio's rookie guard Dylan Harper claimed 24 points and 11 rebounds as Thunder suffered their first loss of the play-offs having swept the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers in the previous two rounds.

Alex Caruso led the top seeds with 31 points off the bench, while Jalen Williams added 26 and Gilgeous-Alexander claimed 24 points and 12 assists.

"We knew it was going to be a dog fight," said Gilgeous-Alexander, who received his MVP award before the game. "We've just got to be better, me in particular."

Game two is also in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, while the New York Knicks open the Eastern finals at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

• Cavaliers thrash Pistons to reach Eastern finals

San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference)

Oklahoma City; Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Thunder -6.5; over/under is 215.5

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Spurs lead series 1-0

BOTTOM LINE: The San Antonio Spurs visit the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Spurs won the last matchup 122-115 in overtime on Tuesday, led by 41 points from Victor Wembanyama. Alex Caruso led the Thunder with 31.

The Thunder are 41-11 in conference play. Oklahoma City scores 119.0 points while outscoring opponents by 11.1 points per game.

The Spurs have gone 36-16 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio scores 119.8 points and has outscored opponents by 8.3 points per game.

The 119.0 points per game the Thunder average are 7.5 more points than the Spurs give up (111.5). The Spurs average 11.9 more points per game (119.8) than the Thunder allow (107.9).

TOP PERFORMERS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.1 points and 6.6 assists for the Thunder. Chet Holmgren is averaging 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over the last 10 games.

Stephon Castle is averaging 16.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.4 assists for the Spurs. Wembanyama is averaging 20.4 points and 12.2 rebounds while shooting 53.4% over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 8-2, averaging 118.8 points, 40.5 rebounds, 26.4 assists, 10.5 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.4 points per game.

Spurs: 8-2, averaging 119.4 points, 49.4 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 8.4 steals and 8.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 103.8 points.

INJURIES: Thunder: Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).

Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle), De'Aaron Fox: out (ankle).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder packed a seven-game series worth of drama into their Western Conference finals opener. Game 1 took two overtimes to decide with Victor Wembanyama finally pulling the Spurs to a 122-115 victory in a history-making performance.

Here’s how the instant classic broke down by the numbers:

1

Games the Thunder have lost in the 2026 NBA playoffs after Monday night.

2

NBA rookies who have ever had a playoff game with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals: Magic Johnson and Dylan Harper, who totaled 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a Spurs playoff-record seven steals in Game 1.

7

Players in NBA history with a 40-20 game in the conference finals or later: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Wembanyama, who is the youngest player ever to do it at 22 years and 134 days old. Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, was the previous youngest at 22 years and 352 days, according to ESPN research.

9

Points Wembanyama scored in double OT. The Thunder totaled seven.

-15

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s +/- during his 51 minutes on the floor.

24

Rebounds by Wembanyama, the second-most ever by a Spurs player in a playoff game. Only Tim Duncan in Game 5 of the 2002 Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers had more.

25

Age of Devin Vassell, the oldest starter in the Spurs’ Game 1 lineup. With Dylan Harper (20), Stephon Castle (21), Wembanyama (22) and Julian Champagnie (24) joining Vassell, the Spurs’ average age of 22 years, 346 days was the youngest starting lineup in NBA conference finals history.

28

Feet from the rim when Wembanyama pulled up for the game-tying 3-pointer with 27 seconds left in OT. It was the only 3-pointer he made in the game and just the second he attempted.

31

Points Alex Caruso scored in 31 minutes off the bench for the Thunder.

41

Points Wembanyama totaled, matching his most of the season. Only three players in Spurs history have ever scored more in a playoff game: George Gervin, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard.

49

Minutes Wembanyama played, the most of his career. His previous high was 43 minutes, 18 seconds in a double-OT game against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 7, 2024, during his rookie season.

1976

The last time an NBA conference finals game has gone to double OT. (Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns)

The ending of the Lakers season was certainly bittersweet.

While they were able to get a playoff victory and go out fighting against the Thunder, it all came under a sense of what could have been after late-season injuries to Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić. While the former returned, the latter didn’t, meaning his incredible March performance was the lasting legacy of his incomplete season.

On a broader scale, that March run is what makes the season feel unfinished. The Lakers legitimately looked like one of the best teams in the league in March and Luka looked like an MVP frontrunner.

After the season came to an end, Luka spoke about that run during March in his exit interview.

“It was pretty amazing,” Luka said. “I think the feeling in the locker room was very good. Every time we stepped on the court, everybody was fighting. Most importantly, everybody was having fun. I think the bond we made was pretty special. Obviously, me and AR got injured in the worst moments. That’s a little bit of bad luck.”

In the moment, it felt like a great run and it’s only looked better in hindsight. They picked up wins over New York, Minnesota, Denver, Houston, Orlando, and Cleveland, all sides that were at least playoff teams and both Eastern Conference Finals participants.

Would it have been sustainable for more than a month? Could the Lakers have carried that momentum into the playoffs? It’s questions we won’t have answers to. But at least for a moment, fans felt they could compete for a title again.

“I think this season obviously didn’t end how we wanted,” Luka said. “But I feel like the last push we made in the end of the regular season, we thought we could compete for a championship. I think we had a great team.”

The hope now is that the Lakers can capture what worked in March, shape their roster around those ideas and have an entire season of playing at or near that level. Because if they can, they could be playing deep into the playoffs once more.

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

The Knicks look set to be at full strength to start the Eastern Conference finals.

OG Anunoby (hamstring) practiced in full again with the Knicks on Monday and is listed as probable for the opening game against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Though it is unclear whether the Knicks can sustain the momentum of their seven-game winning streak after a lengthy layoff, the team has already benefited from the rest and rehab of the roster’s most impactful two-way player.

Anunoby, who hasn’t played since getting injured in the final minutes of Game 2 of the second-round series against the 76ers, will be 13 days removed from his most recent game action when he steps on the court for Game 1 against Cleveland.

Two years ago, Anunoby’s hamstring injury during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals derailed the season — a 2-0 series lead for the Knicks turned into a seven-game defeat to the Pacers, with a hobbled Anunoby briefly returning for the series-ending loss — but the 28-year-old said this weekend that the current issue wasn’t as alarming.

“It wasn’t like the previous ones, for sure,” Anunoby said. “So, it was better than before. … I never think about the past. Just dealing with it in the moment. It didn’t feel as bad as it had in the past when it happened, so just knowing that, just trying to improve it day by day.”

Anunoby has arguably been the Knicks’ best all-around player in the postseason, averaging 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and a team-best 1.9 steals, while shooting 61.9 percent from the field, including a team-high 53.8 percent on 3-pointers.

Mike Brown has been here before.

Brown — who has won four championships as an assistant — is entering the Eastern Conference finals as a head coach for the third time in his career.

His first two trips (2007, 2009) came with Cleveland, where his son, Cameron, spent much of his childhood, then played football and coached at local Case Western Reserve University.

“I had a great time there … but my youngest son really likes Cleveland,” said Brown, whose son is now an assistant with the 49ers. “The only thing that brought back memories was he said he might come back to Cleveland for a game. He hasn’t been any place else, but he might come to Cleveland for a game.”

In Brown’s most recent trip leading a team to the conference finals, the LeBron James-led Cavaliers swept the first two rounds.

After an eight-day layoff, Cleveland faced Orlando, which upset the Cavaliers despite coming off a seven-game series against the defending champion Celtics.

“You always try to lean on stuff that you’ve done in the past,” said Brown, who enters another matchup with a similar rest disparity. “But in the same breath, this team is different. It’s a different time. You lean on your past experiences. You lean on players. You lean on the coaches around you.”

It’s still New York or nowhere for Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson. 

He may be a temporary enemy of the Empire State during the Eastern Conference finals, but Madison Square Garden will always be a special place to the native of Northport, Long Island.

“I’m a New Yorker,” Atkinson said after the Cavaliers trounced the Pistons 125-94 in Game 7 to win the second-round series. 

“Going back to the Garden, worked for the Knicks — know everybody there. My whole family’s there basically. That’s special.”

After all, the 2025 Coach of the Year’s local roots and great relationship with former Knicks assistant coach Phil Weber gave Atkinson an unforgettable spot in team lore more than a decade ago.

“Phil Weber actually lived literally around the corner from us,” Michael Atkinson, Kenny’s oldest of seven highly athletic brothers, told The Post. 

“Phil knew Kenny. Phil’s a super personable guy.” 

Atkinson played for more than a decade overseas as a point guard — he first dropped jaws at St. Anthony’s High School and later with the 1988 Richmond Spiders, who reached the Sweet 16 — and broke into the NBA as Rockets director of player development in 2007.

Michael said his brother’s work in the Lone Star State quickly impressed Weber, who knew it was time to get Atkinson back home.

“He ended up recommending Kenny to Mike D’Antoni, and Mike D’Antoni hired Kenny with the Knicks,” said Michael, a former Sachem hoops coach who Rick Pitino pulled to Kentucky.

Atkinson spent four years at MSG, from 2008 to 2012, where “he had the guys towards the end of the roster” to look after, his big bro said. 

“One of those guys happened to be Jeremy Lin, and so Kenny worked with Jeremy Lin on a daily basis,” Michael added.

“Jeremy Lin even gives Kenny a lot of credit for being ready when his number was called.”

The Atkinson clan was bleeding blue and orange long before Linsanity — or the Knicks’ 1973 title, for that matter. 

“We were Knicks fans forever,” Michael said.

The brothers were also just as intense with one another as Walt Frazier’s group was with the rest of the association.

“Everybody was competitive, everybody had their own level of confidence,” said Michael, the eldest at 71. 

There was something about Kenny, the second youngest who is now 58, that stood out well before he became the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020 and won an NBA Championship with the Warriors as an assistant in 2022.

Mainly, it was discipline and work ethic passed down by their Marine officer father Neil, and Pauline, a no-nonsense mom who once chased Kenny with a Wiffle ball bat when he was a 6-year-old. 

“When you have eight kids — eight boys — you better have discipline,” Michael said.

“He just took, and I think you saw it [during Game 7], that level of focus and intensity just to another level.”

It was a driving reason Kenny was the only sibling pulled from Northport public schools for St. Anthony’s, a program led at the time by the late Gus Alfieri, a local basketball legend and St. John’s Hall of Famer.

A middle-school-aged Alan Hahn, who would go on to play for the Friars and LIU before becoming a Knicks analyst with MSG Network, still remembers being starstruck when he saw Atkinson play as a helper at a Long Island basketball camp in the 1980s. 

“The first player that drew my attention and made me go, ‘Wow,’ was Kenny,” Hahn said.

“It was a counselors and coaches game at lunchtime. He’s such a competitor, dominated the scrimmages, and I was just drawn to him ever since. … He was my first basketball idol.”

Atkinson was all about paying it forward, and that passion was palpable in any instruction he gave to up-and-coming Long Islanders. 

Both Michael and Hahn said Kenny’s basketball “lectures” were anything but academic.

“The guy was dripping with sweat when he was done,” Hahn said. 

“When he was a player development guy, he was just as drenched in sweat as the player he was warming up for the game.”

Long Island is proud of the homegrown hoops guru’s success — but locals will just have a funny way of showing it in the next few days.

“Of course I will be rooting for the Knicks,” St. Anthony’s alumni affairs director Denise Creighton wrote on Facebook, “but CONGRATULATIONS to Friar Alum Kenny Atkinson and the Cavs on their defeat of the Pistons.”