Category: NBA

“The Rockets are realistic championship contenders after this trade – and that’s the whole reason the deal happened.” – Tim McMahon

“This elevates them to championship contention… Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them in the Western Conference Finals… The Houston Rockets are instant title contenders.” – Stephen A. Smith

“When you put Kevin Durant on any basketball team, immediately they become right into the mix of contenders.” – Kenny Smith

These were just some of the national media reactions to the Houston Rockets acquiring Kevin Durant in a “blockbuster” trade with the Phoenix Suns last summer. The reactions weren’t surprising, as many of them had been clamoring for the deal from the moment the Rockets were eliminated by Golden State in Round 1 of the 2025 playoffs. However one writer, from a humble but legendary blog in its own right, was far less enthusiastic of the prospect of trading away the leading scorer and the defensive heartbeat of a 52-win team that had just increased its win total from the previous season by 19 games, only to lose to a far more experienced team in playoffs.

“Kevin Durant is no doubt one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen, and even at the age of 37, he can still get it done. But he is 37, and in the last three seasons, he has missed 62 total games due to injury. Kevin Durant going to a team that will depend on his availability in order to compete for a championship likely will suffer the fate of… well the Phoenix Suns….Keep in mind that whoever trades for Kevin Durant will also have to give a contract extension … Paying a nearly 40-year-old Kevin Durant $60 million… These are the types of moves only bad teams make.” – Nick Stevenson

To be fair, the Rockets extension of Kevin Durant ended up being an average of $45-million per year, which under the circumstances was a very prudent move by them. So, in that regard, I was wrong. The argument could be made I was wrong about the risk of Kevin Durant’s injury history… until I wasn’t.

At the age of 37, Kevin Durant played in 78 regular season games in 2025-2026. That is the most games played by him since the 2013-2014 campaign. In those 78 games, he led the Rockets in scoring (26.0 ppg), he led them in minutes played (36.4 mpg), and he led them in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and true shooting percentage. In the regular seaso,n he was everything as advertised on the court… a bucket. Early on, he even seemed to be willing to take on more of a leadership role amongst the young group surrounding him. Then came February.

Do you believe KDF will address the burner of his @gethigher77 weird how all his friends in search engine are the ones who are responding to it and he goes in chats on it trashing teammates pic.twitter.com/ICzj2f912E

— Tolu-wani (@basedfrog23) February 15, 2026

That’s when the internet became suspicious that KD was using a burner account to trash his teammates. Wherever you land on this conspiracy, the fact that it’s even remotely believable speaks volumes. By that time, the Rockets were in the midst of losing games that they shouldn’t, blowing big leads, and proving themselves to be their most awful in the most critical moments of games. The one thing the national media told us was the reason the Rockets needed KD for was apparently taken as gospel by the coaches and players who seemed to have no other plan in crunch time other than, force the ball to Durant, then stand and watch.

There were some games where the strategy worked out, but early in the season, even when the Rockets were winning games at a high clip, it was clear that simply depending on Kevin Durant to bail you out in clutch situations was not a winning formula against the upper echelon in the league. The Rockets were not winning games against the best of the best because their offense became stagnant, predictable, and too often there was a lack of execution. This problem is not all on Kevin Durant, but throughout the entire season, he unfortunately never became a part of the solution either. The key injuries to Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams were contributing factors as well. Therefore, going into the playoffs it was clear that the Rockets were going to have no choice but to rely heavily on the iso creation of Kevin Durant to win playoff games, until…

On April 17, 2026, the Houston Chronicle reported that Kevin Durant was “Questionable” for the playoff opener against the Lakers, with a knee injury he reportedly got in a team practice, colliding with a teammate trying recover a loose ball going out of bounds. He would indeed miss Game 1 of that series, play 41 minutes in Game 2, scoring 20 of his 23 points in the first half, then would proceed to miss the last 3 games of the series with an ankle injury. As you well know, the Rockets lost the series in six games, averaging 98.6 points per game.

Those are all of the facts, sprinkled with some opinions from myself and others who cover the sport. Let’s be clear, the book is not closed on whether the trade for Kevin Durant was the right move. Not after just one season when Kevin Durant is at least contractually, going to be playing for the Rockets for two more years. However, for 2025-2026, we have to admit that this team and the impact that Kevin Durant would have, fell far short of expectations, or the expectations were unreasonable in the first place.

Whether you are in the camp of the national media who crowned the Rockets immediate contenders, or you were amongst those who were cautious if not skeptical… the fact is none of us are right and none of us are wrong. Not yet anyway, but those of us who were skeptical are very close to looking as if we were right. As more trade rumors continue to surround the Rockets this offseason, with names such as Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown being floated, it’s my opinion that any trade involving Kevin Durant would be an admission that acquiring him in the first place was a mistake. An even scarier thought is any trade that doesn’t include him will mean giving up more young talent for an older player to pair with a now 38-year-old Kevin Durant coming off yet another injury that cut his season short. Needless to say, Rafael Stone has work to do.

If you believed Kevin Durant made the Rockets instant contenders, then 2025-2026 was a failed season in your eyes. If you were skeptical that 37-year-old with extensive injury history could be counted on to put a team on his back and carry them to a championship, this is still a failed season in your eyes. It is still my opinion that in a perfect world, carrying this team on his back offensively was not what he was brought here for. At least it shouldn’t have been what he was brought here for. He should have been the compliment to Alperen and Amen leading this team. That’s not what happened, and if what did happen was the plan all along, then once again, it’s time to start holding the decision makers for this team to the fire.

Kevin Durant wraps up our player season in review series. It was a very disappointing end to the season, but now is the time to look ahead. Let the offseason truly begin! As always, thank you to the TDS faithful for rocking with us through thick and thin. We will continue to be here with you breaking down all the speculation, rumors, and news when it breaks. Go Rockets!

Entering his third season as a Celtic, Jordan Walsh needed to make a statement. 

After a rough second year in the Summer League and spot opportunities in Year 2, Walsh had a massive opportunity to crack the rotation in Jayson Tatum’s absence. Early on, it didn’t feel like those opportunities were coming Jordan’s way, and then he hit a corner dagger against Orlando on Nov. 9.

That shot set Walsh on the path to a solid season as a 3&D wing, earning 25 starts and 68 appearances, while establishing himself as the team’s go-to defender against opposing stars.

Walsh finished the regular season guarding star-caliber players 30.74% of the time, placing him in the 99th percentile (7th out of 523 players according to BBall Index).  

Let’s look back on Walsh’s season, and what’s to come for the 22-year-old. 

The Regular Season Breakout 

The two biggest things that stood out about Walsh’s season were his defense and his 3-point shooting. 

Defensively, Walsh made a legitimate impact on a team that was ranked fourth in defensive rating and first in opponent points allowed. 

Two nights after the Orlando shot, Walsh guarded Tyrese Maxey in Philly for six minutes, holding him to 1-of-9 shooting. The very next night, it started the chain of 16 consecutive starts. The feeling was that Walsh was quickly establishing himself as a legitimate starting wing for the first time in his NBA career. 

James Harden, Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero were all in the top-5 of Walsh’s list for most common matchups, and he often left with passing marks against his greatest challenges. There were even some Victor Wembanyama minutes (3:24 to be exact). Walsh’s versatility was finally on display. 

As a perimeter player, what was once a huge point of emphasis in his game actually grew into a strength. 

Walsh wasn’t a high-volume shooter by any stretch, averaging 1.8 attempts per game and 125 attempts in total, but when he fired them off, it became a reliable sight to see him drain it. He shot 38% on all threes, 42% on catch-and-shoot looks and 40% from the corners. 

Something that also flies under the radar but was an important part to Walsh’s regular season success was his impact crashing the glass. For a team that heavily emphasized rebounding from all positions after a frontcourt overhaul, Walsh emerged as one of their best glass-crashers from the wings, averaging 4 rebounds per game. 

After Walsh’s string of starting appearances, he saw a drop in his time on the floor as other starting combinations began to take shape, particularly with the return of Jayson Tatum. After Tatum returned on March 6, Walsh had eight DNPs for the month, though he’d finish the season with starts in the last three games. 

Notable season highlights include a perfect 100% shooting night on eight attempts against the Wizards on Dec. 4, which ended with a career-high 22 points, a 6-for-7 shooting night with four threes against the Lakers on Dec. 5, and double-doubles in wins against the Cavaliers (Nov. 30) and Clippers (Jan. 3). 

Limited postseason opportunities mar regular season progress 

A favorite for minutes off the bench after a promising sample size defending Tyrese Maxey, Walsh ultimately found himself ninth in playoff minutes. 

Those minutes fluctuated to as high as 19 in Game 6, and to as low as a shade under 5 minutes in Game 7. 

Walsh played the second most minutes on Maxey behind Derrick White, and Maxey shot 47% with two turnovers and one blocked shot during that matchup. Among all Sixers matched up with Walsh, he held them to a 41% defensive field goal percentage for the series, forced four turnovers and blocked two shots. 

From what we saw, his defensive impact mostly held up, though Maxey proved to be a more difficult assignment than what we saw in the two regular season games where Walsh matched up on him. 

Most disappointing was a significant dropoff in his low-volume scoring efficiency, particularly from the 3-point line. Walsh shot just 2-of-12 on his 3-point tries and was an overall 21% shooter, ending the season with two missed threes and no other counting stats in his brief Game 7 appearance.

With the season on the line and Jayson Tatum out, the Celtics put more trust in Baylor Scheuermann (22 minutes) and Hugo González (13 minutes) to round out the rotation.

Looking Ahead 

What felt like his last chance to crack the rotation ended in restored faith in Walsh’s future prospects with Boston. 

The Celtics have a lot of wing options on the bench, but Walsh has his own identity, and with a club option that’s a team-friendly $2.4 million cap hit, it’s likely the Celtics will retain his services at a low-cost, or look to even extend him now. 

A seismic change could possibly warrant a choice between picking up the options of either Walsh or Ron Harper Jr., but with both displaying different types of upside as rotation contributors, it’s a good bet to assume they both find themselves on the Opening Night roster. 

Walsh needed a chance to show what two seasons riding the bench did for him, and he got it. We saw some promising signs from the 38th overall pick, who is looking like another quality late-draft find from Brad Stevens. 

Following a dominant defensive performance from the Spurs Sunday night to even the series at 2, that same intensity was nowhere to be found in game 5, resulting in a 127-114 loss that has the good guys on the brink of elimination.

With Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams still out, OKC started Jared McCain in their stead. It was a sloppy start for both teams, as they combined for seven turnovers in the first four minutes of the contest. The Thunder made it a priority to get Chet going offensively, leading to him starting 4/4. On the other end, Julian Champagnie hit three consecutive threes — a welcome sight given that he’d been ice cold in the series up to that point. San Antonio’s defensive coverage was similar to that from game 4, gapping against Shai but throwing aggressive traps at certain times, while Wemby was mainly matched up against OKC’s bigs. The Spurs’ bench minutes were a mixed bag, as usual. Carter Bryant scored five quick points before giving five back from defensive mistakes against Shai, who was ice cold until then.

Unfortunately, the turnover issues continued for San Antonio. The young guards lost the ball multiple times by getting too loose around the Thunder’s perimeter hawks, and Castle’s hail-mary passes were picked off on a few occasions too. The Spurs’ offense became stagnant, forcing bad shots with no off-ball movement. Surprisingly, this all happened with Shai getting an extended rest on the bench, and San Antonio didn’t make a run until he checked back in. The Spurs started attacking Shai offensively and used Wemby as a screener to force switches, leading to good shots for the Black & White. However, they didn’t find the Alien on any of those possessions, resulting in him going into the half with just six total shot attempts. On the other end, OKC’s role players began hitting shots again while Shai attempted eight free throws in the second quarter alone, resulting in the Thunder building a 69-58 lead at halftime.

Unfortunately, the third quarter couldn’t have started any worse for the Spurs. OKC came out on fire, scoring nine unanswered points to go up by 20, while San Antonio looked lifeless at both ends. McCain, in particular, came alive, scoring nine points in just four minutes after being played off the court in the first. Still, San Antonio refused to go away. The Spurs started playing with more intention, involving everyone on offense and creating good looks. In just a few minutes, San Antonio had cut the lead down to just seven, forcing OKC to call a timeout.

The teams traded blows after that, with the game becoming surprisingly sloppy. Turnovers became an issue again, as both sides tried to outrun the other to no avail. Wemby still had trouble getting good positioning on the offensive end, and the Spurs’ shooting went ice cold. Meanwhile, the Thunder regained their footing and made threes, a number of which were created from offensive boards. With OKC already up double digits, the Spurs couldn’t muster up a final run, resulting in Mitch Johnson taking the starters out with two minutes left and waving the white flag.

Game notes

• The Spurs did a great job of hunting McCain and Jaylin Williams (the big), especially in the first quarter. They basically forced OKC to sub McCain out less than 10 minutes into the game, as he wasn’t able to provide the necessary secondary ballhandling on offense and was giving San Antonio easy drives to the rim. Unfortunately, this didn’t continue into the second half, as McCain got loose for nine quick points in the third. The Spurs will need to get back to what they did in the first if they want to take OKC’s role players out of the series again like they did in game 4.
• The Carter Bryant experience is something to behold right now. He scored five quick points at the end of the first with a dunk and a step-back three, before leaving Shai of all people to help on an OKC role player, giving the MVP an open three and his first points of the game. Right after that, he then fouled Shai with 20s left for no reason, sending him to the line for two more points. Unsurprisingly, Barnes checked in for him soon after. The rookie giveth and the rookie taketh, I guess.
• This was perhaps the worst playoff game of Wemby’s career so far. He finished with 20 points on 4-15 shooting and had just six rebounds, while registering a -8 — the first single-game negative for him in this series. The Alien looked completely gassed and barely got positioning around the rim offensively, even when OKC put wings and guards on him in the third. Let’s hope he can regain some juice in a do-or-die game 6 Thursday.
• The only players with average or better performances were Castle and KJ. The former led all Spurs scorers with 24 on 7-11 shooting, and was the only consistent player even though some of his turnover issues resurfaced (though he finished with “just” 3). Meanwhile, KJ was somehow the only rotation player with a positive plus/minus of +3, and he finished with 15 on 7-13 shooting. I’ve been very tough on Big Body throughout this playoff run, but he deserves his due for keeping the Spurs somewhat in this game and refusing to give up regardless of the score. We’ll need to see a similar (if not better) performance from both if this series is going back to OKC for game 7.

Play of the game

Even in a bad game (for him), Wemby never fails to amaze.

COUNT IT 😤

📺@NBAonNBCpic.twitter.com/jqYwPdQMZH

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) May 27, 2026

Next game: in San Antonio on Thursday

The Spurs will play game 6 in Frost Bank Center on Thursday at 7:30mst. This team has risen to the challenge every step of the way, and I’m confident they’ll do it again to force a game 7 back in OKC.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are just one win away from another trip to the NBA Finals.

The Thunder overwhelmed the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, May 26, in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, 127-114, to seize a 3-2 lead in the series.

By no means was this a clean game exemplary of Oklahoma City’s ability, but the Thunder adjusted to San Antonio’s plan to get Victor Wembanyama going, frustrating him to 20 points on 4-of-15 shooting.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all players with 32 points, though the Thunder had three different players score at least 20.

Here are takeaways from Game 5 of the Western Conference finals between the Thunder and Spurs:

The Spurs need Victor Wembanyama to be far more assertive

And San Antonio needs him to work in the paint. Wembanyama loitered along the perimeter far too much to be forceful on offense. Granted, Oklahoma City adjusted its physicality on Wembanyama, but his response to that, for the most part, was to avoid the low block.

In Game 5, Wembanyama took just 9 shots in the paint, making four of those. The Spurs have been at their best in this series when Wembanyama’s presence in the paint opens up the rest of the offense.

“We’re going to need to,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said when asked if there was more the team could do to get Wembanyama going. “He’s got to take more than 15 shots, even with the free throws. Yeah, he’s going to have to score more than 20 points, for sure.”

When Wembanyama settles, it also seems like the rest of his teammates do, too. San Antonio lacked juice throughout the entire game, and it was only when he activated them during an impassioned huddle on the bench that the Spurs showed some fight.

“I think they send so many bodies at him it’s hard at times, and I think he just wants to make the right play and wants to win,” Stephon Castle said of Wembanyama. “But yeah, he’s our best player, so we need him to be aggressive. And him being aggressive opens up shots for other guys.”

With their season on the line, Wembanyama will need to be the one to spark the Spurs.

When Thunder perimeter shots fall, they’re tough to beat

In Game 4, a 21-point Oklahoma City loss, the Thunder hit just 6-of-33 (18.2%) shots from beyond the arc. Tuesday night, the Thunder embraced efficiency from deep and didn’t force their looks. This time, they fell.

Oklahoma City hit 14-of-32 (43.8%) from beyond the arc. And while that was only two more 3-point conversions than the Spurs hit, San Antonio had to strafe the rim with 41 attempts to get there.

It’s not just the shot making, it’s what it does for the entire offense. That creates better spacing for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to attack the rim and it gets role players going.

Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein deliver steady minutes

And steady is all Oklahoma City needs.

The pair combined to score 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting (70.6%). They also cleaned the glass, scooping 26 rebounds, nine of which were offensive.

This was a good sign, in particular for Holmgren, who had been struggling to score in the series. The Thunder actually started the game poorly, missing some easy looks. Holmgren, however, hit all four of his shot attempts in the first quarter and was a stabilizing force.

“He was really good,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Chet has all the tools, and everybody in our building and the league knows that. He’s a hell-of-a player. And as a player you’re going to go through ups and downs. I don’t ever worry about Chet just because I know how much he loves the game, how much he cares and how much he works.”

The longer this series goes, the better it is for the Knicks

The New York Knicks might eventually be underdogs in the NBA Finals, regardless of their opponent. Yet, they’ll have a clear and decisive advantage in at least one area.

By the time May wraps up, the Knicks will have played just eight games of basketball in the month. New York entered its decisive Game 4 blowout against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a completely clean injury report.

And now the Knicks are afforded the luxury of scouting these two teams from home. All the while, the Spurs and Thunder are expending enormous energy to prevail.

“This is up there with the best of them,” Holmgren said when asked where this series ranks on a list of physical ones he has played. “Our last three series last year were all just bloodbaths, both teams just beating each other up, and I’d say this is up there with that.”

The NBA season is a grind. These players began their preparations for this season in late September when training camps opened. This added rest will go a long way.

And, if the series goes to seven, that’s even better for the Knicks.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thunder vs Spurs Game 5 takeaways as OKC moves one win from NBA Finals

The San Antonio Spurs have been pushed by the defending champions to the edge of elimination, and will now return to Frost Bank Center, trying to hold it off on Thursday. They didn’t get enough from Victor Wembanyama  who only scored 20 points on 26.7 percent shooting, with seven rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox had nine points on the same efficiency, plus the team eventually started gambling too much on defense.

They were working too hard while the Thunder played more forcefully, and their ball movement plus dribble penetration exposed more openings. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the best player, and seized the day with a masterful performance while his team was without significant firepower.

Observations

• The pressure in the first quarter was unforgiving, but they loosened up, and while it wasn’t terrible, it allowed enough breathing room for SGA and Jared McCain (in the third) to get hot. The team subsequently got back to its ways at times, when they weren’t fouling, but Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson picked up their fifth fouls early in the fourth, which gravely affected coverages. Notably, coach Mitch Johnson kept K. Johnson in after his.
• The second quarter was rough since Alex Caruso got MVP chants, and they allowed too many free throw attempts, which cut the flow of their offense and they had to play too much in the half-court after scoring a good chunk in transition in the first. They had a brief spurt of success, going on a 9-0 run that included K. Johnson powering through Holmgren at the rim, yet couldn’t sustain it because of more fouls and went to halftime down 11 points.
• Carter Bryant hustles like the rent is due at midnight, but he can be his own worst enemy by trying to do too much on defense. He committed a foolish foul on SGA, putting him on the line after giving up a 3-pointer. He wasn’t in control and that’s why he played fewer than three minutes before garbage time. 
• Julian Champagnie had the hot hand in the first quarter, scoring 13 of the team’s 27 points, and he helped the them get over multiple droughts. His most impressive move was driving against Holmgren and finishing against him on the baseline. On top of that, Champagnie and K. Johnson were the only Spurs to log at least three first-half field goals. 
• San Antonio’s bench didn’t do enough, aside from K. Johnson, since OKC’s outscored theirs by seven when McCain started and Ajay Mitchell didn’t play. Still, it was Johnson’s multiple treys and hustle that was critical in making the game competitive again in the second half.
• The team initially struggled to pressure Holmgren with smaller players while Wemby played help defense. But Holmgren got weaker as the game went on.
• The Thunder have not lost consecutive games in the playoffs. On top of that, teams that lead a best-of-seven series 3-2 advance 84 percent of the time, per the NBA’s Facts and Figures. 
• The Spurs’ rebounding had been a big factor in their wins, but they got beat on the boards by nine and they permitted 26 second-chance points in Game 5.
• Turnovers were a problem early, and while it was just an OK night in ball security, timely misses emerged as the late problem, like when Devin Vassell, who was a non offensive factor, missed a layup, and McCain raced down the court fro a transition triple to put OKC ahead by 13 points with six minutes left.

The Knicks are back in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years, a fact that probably wouldn’t have been possible without Jalen Brunson.

But that doesn’t seem to be enough for Becky Hammon to change her stance on him. At least not yet.

The Las Vegas Aces head coach told reporters Tuesday that she is ready to be “proven wrong” about Brunson after previously saying he didn’t measure up to be a “1A dude.”

“I speak from experience,” Hammon said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. “Allen Iverson got MVP, and he lost in the finals. I think the two best teams are probably in the West, but I’m up for being proven wrong. That’s the other thing, I think Jalen Brunson’s a hell of a player, a hell of a player. I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago.

“I said what I said. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong.”

In December 2023, during an appearance on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” Hammon, the former WNBA star player who has won three of the past four titles as a coach, said the Knicks were stuck in the second tier of teams that didn’t have quite enough to win an NBA championship. Part of that, according to Hammon, was that Brunson — listed at 6-foot-2 — was not the caliber of star needed to reach the next level.

“They don’t have enough personnel, they don’t have the manpower that they need to hang with those guys,” Hammon said then. “I think you’re going to get a consistent team like they’ve been, they’re a pretty good team.

“They’re, they’re well-coached, they’re going to be on their defensive game, but at the end of the day, they don’t have a dude. You gotta have a dude, you gotta have a 1A dude and they’re missing that at the end of the day if we’re just getting down to brass tacks.”

Since then, the Brunson-led Knicks — with two different head coaches (Tom Thibodeau and Mike Brown) — have reached the playoffs three times, twice getting to the Eastern Conference finals and breaking through to get to the NBA Finals this year.

Brunson has averaged 26.9 points and 6.6 assists per game in this postseason and scored more than 30 points twice in the four-game sweep of the Cavaliers in the conference finals, including a 38-point effort in the Knicks’ historic Game 1 comeback. He took home MVP honors for the series.

“The belief that the organization has in me has been amazing, and something I don’t take for granted, and something not a lot of people get the opportunity to do,” Brunson said after clinching the finals berth. “So I’m very thankful. It’s an honor to be here in this city for this organization with my teammates.”

The initial round of Ryan Smith’s Utah Jazz rebrand didn’t go according to plan. That is, unless the plan was to make Walker Kessler visible from space while simultaneously removing any concept of “design” from the team’s identity.

Highlighter yellow on a bed of black. The new threads in Utah were clearly hideous and universally panned as perhaps the worst primary uniforms in all of professional basketball. A harsh overcorrection from new ownership, which saw the Jazz’s seemingly endless color palette and determined that this basketball organization needed something that had been slowly fading away: identity.

They knew this, of course. In the immediate aftermath of Utah’s rebranding fiasco — a crime of fashion, if you will — the team quickly scraped together an even newer rebranding announcement: purple is back.

Thank the basketball gods for that.

Paired alongside an all-new colorway for the Jazz was an anchoring thread that desperately held the organization to its early roots. Fans hated the State of Deseret-themed yellow-and-black apparel, but couldn’t get enough of the purple alternates. The ugly rebrand was overtaken by the return of the purple mountains’ majesty, and a second round of rebranding gave way to perhaps the most beautiful set of uniforms in the entire NBA.

Purple and white, with a powder-blue accent, is a winning combination. The nerdy girl just took off her glasses, and now she’s turning heads in the hallway. Utah found its identity, and it is hot!

With this in mind, a recent quote from owner Ryan Smith caught my attention.

Recalling his conversation with Gail Miller amidst the process of purchasing Utah’s NBA franchise from its owners of 35 years, Smith shared the following:

“Gail sat us down multiple times,” Smith remembered. “A little bit like ‘buyer beware, are you guys sure you know what you’re getting into? […] I know you’re going to do it differently than us, but you care about Utah, and you’re going to keep [the Jazz] here.”

“As we’ve thought about what our ‘why’ is, and Utah is a big piece of that, and probably the biggest piece and our community. When you see the Mammoth on the screen, it says ‘Utah’ as opposed to ‘Mammoth’. […] It’s not by accident that ‘Utah’ is on the jersey. This was all thought through to the ‘why’ for us.”

Buyer Beware: Gail Miller’s warning about buying the @utahjazz

This week on “Deseret Voices,” @RyanQualtrics and Ashley Smith sit down with @mckaycoppins and reveal the blessing — and warning — they got from legendary Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller before selling them the… pic.twitter.com/V7dr0Jo4us

— Deseret News (@Deseret) May 26, 2026

There’s a reason why the Utah Mammoth hockey team displays the word “Utah” and not “Mammoth” on their uniforms — both home and away. A closer look at the Jazz’s newest round of redesigns shares that same pattern; the word “Jazz” is nowhere to be found. Ryan Smith has been effusive in his belief in the Beehive State as a national stage.

In his eyes, there is much more to Utah than the greatest snow on Earth; Utah isn’t the exclusive, impenetrable zone that larger markets like LA, New York, Miami, etc. often believe it to be.

The Jazz and Mammoth are ambassadors for a Utah community that Smith holds dear to his heart, and that community is the driving force in his teams’ identities.

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Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla once called the NBA’s Coach of the Year award “stupid.” On Tuesday night, he became the organization’s first recipient in 46 years.

“Don’t need it,” Mazzulla told reporters in March. “I think it’s a stupid award. They shouldn’t have it. And it’s more about the players. It’s more about the work that the staff puts in. It’s just that simple. I really don’t ever want to be asked or talk about it again. It’s just that dumb. So, the players play. It’s about them. The staff works their ass off. I’m grateful to have them.”

Mazzulla beat out J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons and Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs, becoming Boston’s first COTY winner since Bill Fitch (1979-80), and just the fourth in Celtics history. At 37 years old, Mazzulla became the youngest coach to win since Phil Johnson 51 years ago, earning 62 first-place votes to Bickerstaff’s 29 votes.

Following a complete roster overhaul that saw the Celtics move on from core pieces Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford, plus the absence of Jayson Tatum for the first 62 games of the season, Mazzulla got to work. With a slew of unproven newcomers, the fourth-year head coach reshaped the team’s identity to better suit the pieces available and keep the Celtics competitive enough to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Boston went 56-26 and established a two-way playstyle that gave some of the league’s best issues throughout the year.  

On March 25, the Celtics defeated the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder and finished with the second-best home record in the NBA.

Mazzulla, thrust into the head coaching seat just four years ago following the abrupt suspension and eventual firing of Ime Udoka, has improved gradually each season. He worked his way up from a G League assistant with the Maine Red Claws to a Division II head coach at Fairmount State to an NBA assistant for three years under Brad Stevens and Udoka before finally landing his dream job in 2022.

“Thank you to the Lord for the platform he has given me, and to my wife and family who support me on this journey,” Mazzulla said, per the Celtics. “Thank you to our players who compete and give it everything they have each night. I am grateful for every member of the Celtics organization whose dedication impacts winning every day. This award belongs to our staff, who are there for the guys every day. Their relentless work ethic improves our team daily. This award should be named Staff of the Year.”  

Last August, the Celtics signed Mazzulla to a multi-year contract extension to remain in Boston.

In four years, Mazzulla has amassed a 238-90 record in the regular season while going 36-21 in the postseason. In 2024, he coached Boston to its 2024 NBA Finals win over the Dallas Mavericks to end the franchise’s 16-year title drought and secure Banner 18.

Fitch, Tommy Heinsohn (1972-73), and Red Auerbach (1964-65) are the only other Celtics coaches to ever win COTY.

Victor Wembanyama is making news these days as a third-year player who has led the San Antonio Spurs to a 2-2 series tie with the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals.

A sports card from the 7-foot-4 French star’s rookie season has also made headlines. Wembanyama’s 2023-24 Panini Prizm one-of-one Black parallel card recently sold for $5.11 million in a private deal brokered by Fanatics Collect.

It’s the highest known price paid for a non-autographed NBA card and the fourth-highest for any NBA card, according to price guide website Card Ladder. The buyer told the Athletic that he believes it will remain the best card for a player whose superstar potential is practically unlimited.

Read more:NBA star Victor Wembanyama inspires euphoria among French fans during the Olympics

“There’s a sort of obvious ceiling for him, just as an athlete, that I think is higher than most people that are like the ordained superstars, like the next guy that we anticipate them being pantheon people,” said the buyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “... If you take all these players and you say, ‘What’s their ceiling?’
I think Victor Wembanyama’s [ceiling] is substantially higher.”

Professional Sports Authenticator graded the card a Gem Mint 10, which the PSA site says is reserved for “virtually perfect” cards.

The previous record amount spent on a Wembanyama card was $860,100 paid for his rookie Panini Prism Nebula Choice one-of-one card in early 2025, according to Fanatics Collect. That card had a PSA 9 grade.

Read more:Kobe Bryant-Michael Jordan sports card sells for all-time record of nearly $13 million

The grade for the recently purchased card came with controversy. Collector Cavelle McDonald pulled the card from a pack he purchased at NorCal Sports Cards in Roseville, Calif. A video posted to the store’s YouTube account in 2024 shows McDonald and NorCal Sports Cards owner Thomas Lindenthal getting the card graded.

After learning the card’s grade, Lindenthal gave “a huge shout-out” to Kurt’s Card Care. “Your product is phenomenal,” he said.

Read more:Lisa Leslie moved as she becomes the first Sparks star with statue outside Crypto.com Arena

According to its website, Kurt’s Card Care makes “100% handmade Cleaning sprays and polishes free of artificial colors and scents. Perfect for cleaning and restoring your card collection.” PSA says on its website that it “will not grade cards that bear evidence of trimming, re-coloring, restoration, or any other forms of tampering” and lists “evidence of cleaning” as a factor in the company returning a card without a numeric grade.

Some people in the video’s comment section speculated that Lindenthal’s shout-out may have indicated that the Wemby card had been tampered with in a way that should have disqualified it from being graded. NorCal Sports Cards did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Times.

McDonald told the Athletic that “Kurt’s Card Care has nothing to do with me or the card.” The new buyer told the publication that he was unaware of the situation before purchasing the card, but said it wouldn’t have made any difference if he had known.

The largest amount known to be spent on any sports card is the $12.932 million paid last year for the 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs card featuring Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

Wembanyama had 41 points and 24 rebounds in the Spurs’ double-overtime victory against the Thunder in Game 1 of the conference finals and 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots in San Antonio’s Game 4 victory on Sunday. Game 5 is Tuesday in Oklahoma City, with the winner of the best-of-seven series advancing to play the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Thunder top Spurs 127-114 and are a win away from a return to NBA Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, Alex Caruso led another strong bench effort with 22 and the Oklahoma City Thunder moved one win away from a return trip to the NBA Finals by beating the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 on Tuesday night.

Jared McCain — getting the call with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both sidelined — scored 20 in his first playoff start for the defending NBA champion Thunder, who lead the Western Conference finals 3-2.

Chet Holmgren had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, while Isaiah Hartenstein had a 12-point, 15-rebound night in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder, who were held to 82 points in a Game 4 loss two days earlier, had 82 points on Tuesday before the third quarter was 3 1/2 minutes old.

“We obviously played a lot better, in terms of our process and then also the outcome,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It’s a playoff series. If you look at any playoff series that goes to six games, at least, there’s going to be some tough games. We had a tough game the other night. This team does a great job of just coming back in the next day in a very neutral way, taking whatever the lessons are, applying them forward and getting into the next opportunity.”

Stephon Castle scored 24 points for San Antonio, which got 22 points from Julian Champagnie and 20 points from Victor Wembanyama — who was held to 4-of-15 shooting.

Keldon Johnson scored 15 off the bench for San Antonio, which missed 29 of its 41 3-point tries.

“It just felt like it was a little bit of everything in terms of we did not put ourselves in position enough to be successful on each possession,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And so, to beat a team of this caliber, in their building, with the stakes, we’ll need to be a lot better to give yourself a chance.”

Game 6 is Thursday in San Antonio. If there’s a Game 7, it’ll be back in Oklahoma City on Saturday — and while this series winds down, the New York Knicks are waiting to see who emerges.

The Knicks will visit either the Thunder or Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 3.

Oklahoma City scored 40 points in the second quarter to take control and kept the lead the rest of the way.

“We just played to who we were tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

It took nearly 10 minutes for the first free throws to be awarded. But when the parade to the foul line started, it didn’t stop.

The teams combined to make 29 free throws in the second quarter alone, the most in the second quarter of any NBA game since the bubble playoffs nearly six years ago. It wasn’t a one-sided thing — the Spurs were 15 for 17 in the quarter, the Thunder 14 for 14.

Oklahoma City went up by 20 in the third, before San Antonio closed within eight. The Spurs might have had some chances to cut even further into the deficit, but were fuming — and rightly so, it seemed — over some missed calls in the final minute of the quarter.

A tip-in try by San Antonio’s Luke Kornet with about 56 seconds left was knocked off the rim by Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace and should have been goaltending. And on the next Spurs’ possession, an out-of-bounds call that should have gone their way — replays showed the ball went out off of Holmgren — did not. Johnson tried to challenge the call, got ignored, then got a technical foul for arguing.

“They just said they didn’t see me,” Johnson said.

After all that, Oklahoma City’s lead was 101-91 going into the fourth. The Thunder kept a double-digit lead for all but 25 seconds of the final quarter — a huge turnaround from a 21-point loss in San Antonio on Sunday.

“We definitely got better from the last game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

The entire trajectory of the 2026-27 men's college basketball season could change in the next few days.

Teams have mostly assembled their rosters for the upcoming season, but some decisions still linger with the players deciding whether to return or turn pro. Those contemplating their next move were able to get some intel on their NBA draft stock at the combine, and now have to make their choice by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 27 to retain their remaining eligibility.

More: 5 teams that walked out of portal looking like title contenders

With the early draft entry deadline imminent, these are the biggest names who still need to make a decision in terms of the college basketball impact, as their choice will greatly affect how the 2026-27 season unfolds.

Koa Peat (Arizona)

A decision not many expected but suddenly is in play. Peat was instrumental in Arizona reaching its first Final Four since 2001, bullying defenses into 14.1 points per game and turning it up in big matchups. However, Peat doesn't have much of an outside game, and it was very apparent at the combine, resulting in his draft stock falling. While he's still likely a first round pick, Peat can return to the Wildcats to expand his offensive arsenal.

If he does, Arizona is primed again to be one of the best teams in the country with Peat leading a relentless frontcourt, and a possible player of the year contender. The entire trajectory of the loaded Big 12 changes if Peat decides to return.

Milan Momcilovic (Iowa State; in portal)

Teams are ready to splash out big bucks for Momcilovic to return to the college ranks. He was the best shooter in the country with 136 made 3-point shots a whopping 48.8% field goal percentage from deep. With him not having a new college set after leaving Iowa State, the demand to get him on a roster likely gets him a bigger pay day than the NBA, making returning to college an easy choice.

Coaches around the country are waiting on the official word so they can go all-in on trying to get Momcilovic on their roster, as he will make any offense he is on lethal.

Andrej Stojakovic (Illinois)

The son of former NBA All-Star sharpshooter Peja, Stojakovic really made a name for himself in the NCAA Tournament. He came off the bench for Illinois and was the catalyst for the Fighting Illini making their first Final Four since 2005. He isn't as prolific of a shooter like his dad, but Stojakovic can spot up from mid-range and play through contact.

With Keaton Wagler for sure gone, Stojakovic is set up to be the top returning scorer, with Brad Underwood set to give him an elevated role. Illinois is already stocked up for another March run, and Stojakovic is the one critical piece to confirm it.

Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor; in portal)

A five-star recruit in the 2025 class could be coming back for another season. Yessoufou lived up to the billing by setting several Baylor freshman records, averaging 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. However, some concerns developed with his ball-handling that dropped him from a projected lottery pick to a late first-rounder.

This may be the biggest toss up of the class as Yessoufou has the scoring ability to make the NBA, but also could polish his game on all sides of the ball. There are plenty of suitors waiting for him as one of the top available players still in the portal.

Allen Graves (Santa Clara; in portal)

This may be one of the biggest sleepers. Graves was the West Coast Conference freshman and sixth man of the year for a Santa Clara team that made March Madness for the first time since 1996. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, along with a 41.3% mark from 3-point range. Graves has the skills to have a long professional career, but he was one of the least athletic players at the combine and that could scare some teams away.

It's another tough decision to predict, given Graves can be a late first-rounder. He's currently the second-best transfer available after Momcilovic, and he will absolutely find himself playing for a Power conference team should he return.

Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt)

Unless you were playing Vanderbilt, you couldn't help but have fun watching Tanner play. He put up 19.5 points, 5.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game, and he doesn't play like he's only 6-foot-tall with impressive athleticism. However, that's a concern in the professional ranks, and he had some shaky performances in the combine that may have hurt his stock.

Vanderbilt was a surprise last season largely because of Tanner, and any chance to keep the momentum going would fall apart if Tanner decides to enter the draft. Mark Byington said it best: "We’re not going to be able to replace him if he doesn't come back."

Meleek Thomas (Arkansas)

Darius Acuff Jr. wasn't the only playmaker for Arkansas; Thomas had his own bright spots, possessing the skills to play at the next level. He thrived in John Calipari's offensive-minded team with 15.6 points per game and a 41.6% 3-point percentage. The one thing that goes against him is this is a loaded class from the guard position, so he finds himself behind several others projected to be lottery picks.

A star role for the Razorbacks is awaiting Thomas should he return. He could end up being one of the top scorers in the country, and would help Arkansas retain the crown in the SEC.

Jeremy Fears Jr. (Michigan State)

Fears continued to elevate his game in his junior season, becoming the best passer in the country with 9.4 assists per game, all while leading Michigan State in scoring with 15.2 points per game. While he certainly had a productive combine, he still isn't much of scoring threat, and would likely be fit into a pass-first guard. He would thrive in it, but it would keep him from being a productive player.

All signs point to Fears returning to college, and it will keep Michigan State among the Big Ten powerhouses will the departures the Spartans had. Tom Izzo does his best with continuity, and one can only imagine how dangerous Fears can be with another season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA draft withdrawal deadline: Key decisions await top players

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jalen Williams was downgraded to out by Oklahoma City Thunder for Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night, after being listed as questionable throughout the day because of his ongoing issues with a strained left hamstring.

Ajay Mitchell, who typically starts in Williams' place, was ruled out earlier by the Thunder with a strained right soleus.

The Thunder opted to put Jared McCain in the starting lineup, alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Lugentz Dort.

McCain was making the first playoff start of his career. He averaged 8.8 points in 12 playoff games off the bench for the Thunder entering Tuesday.

Williams returned for Game 1 of the Spurs’ series, scoring 26 points in 37 minutes a week ago Monday night in Oklahoma City’s 122-115 double-overtime loss. He had four points in seven first-quarter minutes in Game 2, including an alley-oop dunk with 2:12 left in the period, and hasn't played since.

Williams has now missed 58 of the Thunder’s 95 games this season, including playoffs. Of those absences, 19 were for a right wrist issue and the other 39 were related to his hamstrings — the right one costing him 30 games during the regular season, the left one now costing him nine during the playoffs.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

The Phoenix Suns have numerous decisions ahead of them this upcoming offseason, including multiple restricted free agents, unrestricted free agents, and players with trade value. The following series will examine those decisions as our writing team presents both a point and a counterpoint for each.

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Dillon “The Villain” Brooks arrived in the Valley this year with a mix of emotions from fans. Some saw him as a solid role player who could help out; others thought he was just a bad throw-in from the Kevin Durant trade. One thing is for sure, though, is that no one saw him rising to the man he did just in his first year here in Phoenix. Brooks showed not only that he can be that defensive guy everyone buys into, but also a viable offensive option when injuries come into play.

This was seen from day one, even though no one knew what role he would truly hold; they saw he had gotten along well with the team in training camp. There was some hype around the team, even if they were not the best, that they would be a fun product to watch. Luckily for us, it was the best of both worlds, and Brooks was a huge part of that.

COLLIN GILLESPIE HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN REVEALED AS VILLAIN JR. 🔥pic.twitter.com/WMEXSEK20F

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) October 17, 2025

Brooks embodied the “Villain” persona he has stuck by in the league, really bringing out the best in these guys in the locker room and on the court. His aggressiveness and determination to leave it all on the court inspired teammates to give that same effort. This was the mold that a coach in Jordan Ott wants in his first year: guys who will buy in and leave it out there every single night.

This season, Brooks not only showed he could be better than anticipated, but even had fans clamoring for him to make the All-Star game.

He then suffered a broken wrist, which kept him out of 18 games for the Suns.

Phoenix Suns guard Dillon Brooks has sustained a broken left hand and will be sidelined, sources tell ESPN. Doctors will meet to determine a timetable. Brooks is a key part to the playoff-contending Suns, averaging 21+ points and 3+ rebounds this season. Difficult injury blow. pic.twitter.com/x00of8NR7H

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 22, 2026

This definitely put a wrench in his great year, but when he returned, he bounced back to his average: 20.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks, while shooting 44/34/84 from the field in 30.2 minutes per game. This led him to a career-high in points and rebounds, which was another positive for Brooks.

In a season where he saw his role fluctuate a bunch with injuries to others and himself, he proved that he was one of the top options on both ends for Phoenix. In Houston, he had taken a bit of a backseat role, but when tasked with a larger workload, he rose to the occasion.

Brooks on the defensive end was also a positive, where he truly brought it together. His aggressiveness and mental toughness to always be hunting, not be the hunted, led him to make multiple big plays for Phoenix throughout the year. He did have a bit of a technical foul issue, but, as we saw, he was being targeted throughout the year, with many of those rescinded.

All of these points make the decision easy. The Suns should make this a priority, and it seems the ball may already be rolling on it. A few weeks ago, Marc Stein of The Stein Line Substack reported that the Suns and Brooks could work on this extension. The max Brooks can receive is a 4-year, $125M extension, but it is reported that the new deal will not reach that level.

That is a good sign, as not only is Brooks getting older, but the Suns have over $20 million in dead cap each year for the foreseeable future. They cannot keep extending the team and tightening the window, so locking him up at a respectable number is a good deal. Since Brooks is everything the Suns wanted in a player who represents this hard work and hustle culture, they should bring him back on a 2-3-year deal worth at least $20-25 million per season. With him making $21 million this year, it would be either at his pay rate or a bit higher, which he has deserved.

Ultimately, they should not prolong this. Brooks has won the hearts of fans and many in the locker room with his great play and character. Even if he is “the villain” we all know off the court, he is a great guy, and Phoenix cannot lose this. Especially with how their identity has looked in the past, if you get someone who fits it to a tee, you cannot lose them.

What do you think, though? Is this the right move for the Suns to extend Dillon Brooks and keep him in the Valley, or should they wait and potentially move off him?

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

This series has been an epic journey so far, as each team has made adjustments and the other team counters, changing the shape of the game every time these two teams meet. It has been a coaching master class, and the players have stepped up in every game to make things difficult on the opponent. Injuries have been a factor, with De’Aaron Fox missing the first two games with an ankle injury suffered against the Timberwolves, and re-injuring it in game three, but somehow playing through it in game four. Dylan Harper injured his adductor (groin) in the third quarter of game two and hasn’t been full speed since then. The Thunder have been dealing the absence of Jalen Williams (JDub) with a recurring hamstring issue, and Ajay Mitchell, who has a soleus (calf) injury suffered late in game three, when he landed awkwardly after shoving Castle in the back while committing a flagrant foul. Mitchell is out tonight, while JDub is listed as questionable.

The Thunder re-took home court advantage for the series by taking one of the two games in the Frost Bank Center, and the Spurs will need to win at least one more game in the Paycom Center if they are to win the series. Why not tonight? The team that wins tonight will have a chance to close out the series on Thursday night in San Antonio, which will be a loud and hostile arena for the defending champs. While it would be great to close out the series at home, it would also be acceptable for the Spurs to make it a seven game series and maximize the drama with a road game win to end the series. However this series plays out, it’s been a treat for the fans of both teams. LET’S GO SPURS!

Game Prediction:

Mark Daigneault blows a huge bubble gum bubble just before the an errant pass hits him in the face. The ball has to be replaced because of the gum stuck to the ball. After a conference from the officials, they decline to call a delay of game penalty on Daigneault, since it wasn’t an intentional act like Jason Kidd spilling a drink on the court.

San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma Thunder, Conference Championship Round, Game 5
May 26, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Streaming: Peacock
TV: NBC
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