Category: NBA

Context matters when breaking down sports.

“A banged-up Joel Embiid lost in the second round of the NBA Playoffs,” sounds like a familiar story, but that’s only if you ignore everything that’s happened over the last two-plus years.

Sure, there was plenty of disappointment after the Sixers were crushed in Game 4 Sunday by the New York Knicks to complete a sweep, but there was also plenty of optimism. They made the second round of the playoffs after a 24-win season. They came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics in the postseason for the first time since 1982. Tyrese Maxey took another leap and VJ Edgecombe had one hell of a rookie season.

And Joel Embiid played basketball. At times, he even played it at an extremely high level. If you weren’t sure that could happen this season, you weren’t alone.

“I thought I was done. That’s the best way to put it,” Embiid said. “I came into this year not knowing where I was going to be, how long I was going to play, if I was even going to play, based on how the knee was the last few years.”

The former MVP played in 38 games this season and eight more in the playoffs. After a rough start, his numbers from his last 29 regular-season games were, well, Joel Embiid-esque. He averaged 29.6, 8.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 33.5 minutes a game. He shot 50.9% from the field and 37.6% from three during that span.

Of course, the appendectomy came at the worst possible time, with Embiid trending in a positive direction health-wise and the team beginning to coalesce. When all seemed lost against the Celtics in the first round, Embiid played his guts out in Games 5, 6 and 7 to complete a historic comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

After that, there simply wasn’t much left in the tank. Embiid was dealing with a right hip issue, which he seemed to indicate was a complication from his recent surgery. Remember, he returned just 17 days post-op and it’s a procedure that cuts through muscle. It was pretty remarkable he returned at all, let alone carried his team to a Game 7 victory in TD Garden.

The most positive news from Embiid as his 2025-26 season ends: his knees feel good.

Embiid is optimistic his most recent procedure and work with Dr. Jonathan Glashow will allow him to be more available, something he admits led to a lot of the team’s inconsistencies this past season.

“That’s where I put it on me,” he said, “where I felt like I wasn’t around for much of the season, for a lot of things, and moving forward, understanding what it takes when it comes to my body, and what we have to do as a group to make sure that I get to play every game. I feel like we found that solution, so it’ll be better next year.”

So, this will be an offseason where Embiid gets to work on his game and not worry about rehabbing yet another knee surgery. It’ll take some time to recover from his most recent ailments, but there’s nothing to suggest those will be long-term hurdles.

Aside from his body, Embiid does seem to be in a great place mentally. He sat postgame with his son, Arthur, who looked ready for bed. He was asked a question about his legacy, but it wasn’t something he wasn’t interested in discussing — at least as far as on the basketball court.

“I don’t know. I don’t care,” he said. “I got this beautiful young man. You guys might’ve taken away my chance to put my daughter to sleep. My wife is going to be extremely mad at me.”

Again, there was disappointment, but no anger or finger-pointing or doomerism.

But there was trolling, of course.

“Maybe I got to go to church more so I don’t have those type of things right before the playoffs,” Embiid said. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m cursed. I don’t know. Maybe Philadelphia is cursed. …

“That’s a joke, but, yeah, just got to keep doing the right things over and over and hope that at some point it changes.”

What did Sunday night’s Game 5 win take for the Minnesota Timberwolves?

“Some heart,” Rudy Gobert said to the Target Center crowd after the madness had ended.

Where do we even start?

Perhaps the part where this should have been less close than it ended up as with a sharp elbow to the face?

With 8:39 left in the second quarter, Victor Wembanyama teed off on Naz Reid out of frustration. A 36-34 game favoring the Wolves at that point in time seemed to open up the clouds.

“KICK HIM OUT” chants rained down at Target Center as Wemby initially didn’t know what getting flagrant foul 2 meant. With his trek back to the locker room, Luke Kornet was needing to play heavy minutes out of necessity – a big man the Wolves have had a lot of success against, especially wiht Rudy Gobert on the floor.

Compound one of the best defender ever being out of the rest of the game, a great start out of the gate had any reasonable person thinking that the Wolves were going to sleep walk to a 2-2 series tie.

As with many of the situations throughout the season, the Wolves unfortunately thought they were going to as well.

Cue the regular season music!

At the end of the third quarter, the Wemby-less Spurs were 62% on their twos, while the Wolves were 44% on theirs.

Leading by eight in the second half at their peak, the Spurs and DeAaron Fox killed the Wolves drop coverage. Fox got to whatever he wanted in the mid range, and missed rotations made the undisciplined Gobert-led defense show its warts.

But similar to the situations that would shake out over the 82-game schedule, a certain number 5 would go on to throw the cape on.

Regaining the lead with four minutes left, Anthony Edwards went 6-8 and notched 16 points in the fourth quarter.

In a game where Julius Randle struggled with six turnovers, Jaden McDaniels was 6-15 from the field, and Ayo Dosunmu was 3-12, Anthony Edwards on .75 knees cam through.

Game 5 in San Antonio begins knotted up 2-2.

Up Next

A game at a reasonable time!

With the New York Knicks sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers, tipoff for Game 5 in San Antonio on Tuesday will be at 7:00 PM CST. It’s extremely doubtful Wembanyama will be suspended, but you never really do say never. The league will certainly review it, but what follows will likely be a fine at worst.

Early in the second quarter tonight, Victor Wembanyama, who was being manhandled by multiple players every time he entered the game, tried to spin his way out of a double bear hug from a couple of Wolves, and caught Naz Reid hard on the neck with an elbow. The referees called this a flagrant foul two, which resulted in an immediate ejection for the Spurs best player and emotional leader. It was a move that didn’t look intentional at all to me, but that was not the judgment of the officials, who had an interesting evening calling the game.

[As much as it pains me to write this, it does seem like the elbow might have been intentional, because a close analysis of the video shows that Wemby had eyes on Reid before the elbow lands. So, correct call but also the officials need to address how much other players are able to scratch and grab on Wembanyama without being called for a foul. This goes beyond normal physical defense into a long form mugging attack, and it’s not basketball.]

The Spurs almost overcame Wemby’s absence with some solid performances with their trio of elite guards, as Dylan Harper had a solid night on both ends of the court, Steph Castle had another great night, and De’Aaron Fox stepped up late in the game with timely scoring. Luke Kornet had a good outing as the sole big, protecting the rim while he was in. The Spurs had to go small for long stretches of the game and that’s when Minnesota took advantage of the Spurs lack of rim protection. Carter Bryant couldn’t get going tonight, and he committed a few bad fouls, which limited his minutes. The Spurs tried to control Anthony Edwards by double teaming him every time he touched the ball, but he’s just too good to completely stop, as he took over the game in the fourth quarter with 14 points and brought them back from an 8 point deficit to take the the lead with 3 minutes left. Rudy Gobert made some key plays in the comeback as he took advantage of the Spurs lack of size to grab timely rebounds and put them through the iron circle thing bolted to the backboard, a thing that he’s mostly unfamiliar with.

The Spurs almost pulled off an improbable rally in the last 30 seconds, but Minnesota was able to avoid a turnover as Ayo Dosunmu somehow bounced the ball off his trailing leg and kept it in bounds to keep the Spurs from having a shot to tie it up with 10 seconds left. Despite their valiant effort, the Spurs couldn’t quite eke out a win tonight, and this series is going to at least six games. It resumes on Tuesday at 7:00 PM in San Antonio, which is now a must-win game for the Silver and Black squad.

Observations

• Because this game was broadcast over the air, I watched it on my antenna-connected TV, and also on my streaming network provider on my computer. The stream was consistently about 15 seconds behind the antenna feed, which got really distracting. I get it that for technical reasons that the streaming content is behind the antenna feed, but modern TV broadcasts are already in a digital format. Fifteen seconds seems excessive.
• Oh no, Reggie Miller. Having him announcing a game makes it a lot less fun to watch.
• The Spurs leave Gobert open on the perimeter for a reason.
• The Timberwolves started the game with a lot of energy and physicality, tying it up at 10 in the first 4 minutes. The offensive rebounding of the Wolves is a problem for the Spurs. The possession isn’t over until the defense gets a rebound.
• Terence Shannon is a master of theatrical defense because he relies a lot on flopping to sell charge calls. It’s too bad, because he is actually a good defender, but almost every time he draws a charge, he’s still moving into the path of the driving player.
• When Wemby went to the bench, the Wolves went on a 14-3 run and briefly took a 5 point lead with two minutes left in the first.
• Dylan Harper went on a heater in the last couple of minutes of the first, while the Timberwolves exploited the Spurs zone and uncharacteristically hit three-point shots. The Wolves led 34-30 at the end of the first quarter.
• Early in the second quarter, Wembanyama was called for an insane flagrant penalty two after being manhandled for about 5 seconds by McDaniels and Naz Reid, and tried to spin out of the hold and caught Reid with an elbow. It didn’t look intentional at all, but it looked bad, and I could see a flagrant one, just based on how bad it looked. But a flagrant two and ejection was just insane and unjustified.
• Is kneeing the shooter in the shoulder a foul? Apparently it is, but you need to call for a review for the refs to call it, and even then it wasn’t a shooting foul. When does the gather begin? Nobody knows. Thanks to Julian Champagnie’s two charity shots, the Wolves led 60-56 at the half.
• The Spurs survived Wemby’s absence for most of the second quarter, they trailed by two when he was ejected, and the deficit only grew by two by halftime. One troubling indicator was the five missed free throws by the Silver and Black, if they had made those, they could be ahead at the half even with all of the tough things that happened and odd officiating of the first half.
• I really like Carter Bryant, but he sure gets called for a lot of fouls.
• The Spurs started the third quarter with increased intensity, taking the lead back from the grasping and leaping Wolves. Fox got mauled when Dosunmu dived at his knees to contest a rebound, but somehow that was just a common foul. He had to sit about five minutes, but looked fine after he returned to the game, using the stepback and speed to get a couple of quick baskets for San Antonio.
• Edwards was held under control for most of the third quarter, while the Wolves’ offensive production came from unexpected sources, as two consecutive corner triples from Shannon cut the Spurs lead to a pair of buckets. The Spurs survived a late surge from Minnesota and led 84-80 with a quarter to play.
• Naz Reid went down with an ankle injury early in the fourth, and the Spurs increased their lead to 8 with a Fox triple. You can never feel comfortable against a team that has Anthony Edwards, who can go crazy with scoring at any time, and on cue, a five point barrage from the Ant Man cut the lead to just three points, leading to a quick Mitch Johnson timeout.
• The Wolves retook the lead with Anthony Edwards doing everything, and Rudy Gobert taking advantage of the double team to roam at the hoop and get easy offensive rebounds and a couple of timely putbacks.
• The Spurs were down by 7 with 30 seconds left and cut the deficit to one score with 20 seconds left. The Spurs were close to getting the ball back with 13 seconds, but a lucky bounce of Ayo Dosunmo’s leg allowed the Timberwolves to maintain possession and hold of for a 114-109 win.

Up next

The Spurs will play Minnesota in the Frost Bank Center on Tuesday night, at 7:00 PM because it’s the only game of the night after the Knicks swept the Sixers.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the New York Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference finals, tying the NBA postseason record with 25 3-pointers in front of a raucous crowd rooting for the road team and rolling past the Philadelphia 76ers 144-114 on Sunday to sweep the second-round series.

Deuce McBride hit seven 3-pointers, going 4 for 4 in the first quarter when the Knicks had another record with 11, and scored 25 points. Brunson had 22 points and Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 17 in the Knicks’ latest lopsided playoff victory.

The Knicks advanced to the East finals for the second straight season and will play the winner of the Cleveland-Detroit series. The Pistons lead the series 2-1.

The Knicks last season reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years before losing to Indiana. The Knicks then fired coach Tom Thibodeau, and replaced him with Mike Brown, who has guided them to seven straight playoff wins, starting with the last three games against Atlanta.

TIMBERWOLVES 114, SPURS 109

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to help Minnesota even their second-round NBA playoff series against San Antonio with a victory following the stunning ejection of star Victor Wembanyama early in the second quarter of Game 4.

Naz Reid took the fateful elbow to the neck from a frustrated Wembanyama and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds to help the Timberwolves finish strong after some shaky stretches.

Edwards hit a 27-footer to bring the Wolves within 94-91, turning to shout at the crowd for some help down the stretch as the Spurs quickly called timeout. His catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the wing with 5:12 left put them up 98-97, their first lead since midway through the third quarter.

Then the big men went to work without Wembanyama patrolling the paint. Rudy Gobert got a three-point play with 3:02 left off a slick feed from Reid and later threw down a dunk for a 107-101 lead with 1:56 to go after a pass from Julius Randle. Gobert had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Reid’s follow shot with 40 seconds left gave the Wolves a seven-point lead, before Dylan Harper had a rebound, a drawn foul, a steal, and two free throws to help the Spurs pull within three. Ayo Dosunmu sank two foul shots with 9.8 seconds left to put the game out of reach and tie the series at two games apiece.

San Antonio hosts Game 5 on Tuesday, with Wembanyama’s status to be determined by the league following the Flagrant 2 foul call and automatic ejection he was levied for the excessive contact to Reid.

Victor Wembanyama was ejected for the first time in his NBA career after an elbow to the jaw and neck of Naz Reid as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the San Antonio Spurs to level their playoff series.

Wembanyama was whistled for an offensive foul as soon as he struck Reid, who had swarmed the Spurs star outside the paint along with teammate Jaden McDaniels after the 7ft 4in Wembanyama rebounded a missed three-pointer by the Spurs.

After a video review of the play, with the fans at Minnesota’s Target Center chanting, “Kick him out! Kick him out!,” the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 for excessive contact above the neck. The penalty triggered an automatic ejection, and the Timberwolves went on to win 114-109. The best-of-seven series is now level at 2-2. However, despite the ejection the Wolves never fully took advantage of the gift created by his absence. They’ve long had a tendency of losing their edge, particularly defensively, when an opponent’s star player is missing and the score was closer than many of their fans may have expected.

When the penalty was announced, Wembanyama appeared to ask teammate Harrison Barnes: “What does that mean?”

While Spurs coach Mitch Johnson did not condone Wembanyama’s conduct he said referees needed to do more to protect him.

“He’s going to have to protect himself if [the referees] are not … It’s disgusting. I just think that the amount of physicality that people play with him at some level you have to protect yourself,” Johnson said after the game.

After Wembanyama slapped hands with each of his Spurs teammates on his way off the floor, with the arena sound system blaring Michael Jackson’s Beat It!, Reid sank both free throws to give the Timberwolves a 38-34 lead. The reigning NBA defensive player of the year finished with four points, four rebounds and three fouls in 13 minutes.

With Reid, Julius Randle and McDaniels in their frontcourt, the Timberwolves have had plenty of muscle and tenacity to send at Wembanyama, even if he’s been good enough offensively to overcome the pressure. He had 39 points on 13-for-18 shooting from the floor in Game 3. On Sunday, Anthony Edwards led the way for Minnesota, scoring 66 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter. Reid finished with 15 points and nine rebounds to help the Timberwolves finish strong after some shaky stretches.

San Antonio host Game 5 on Tuesday, with Wembanyama’s status to be determined by the NBA on Monday. The league could decide to fine or suspend Wembanyama for his actions.

Johnson said he Wembanyama should be allowed to play. “There was zero intent,” he said. “I think it would be ridiculous [to punish him further].”

If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought 6abc’s Cheyenne Corin was standing on the concourse at Madison Square Garden. 

The reporter with the local ABC affiliate in Philadelphia was swarmed by Knicks fans who had taken over the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday, after the Knicks defeated the Sixers 144-114 in Game 4 to complete the sweep and return to the conference finals for the second consecutive season. 

The scene around Corin has now gone viral, as the studio anchor tossed to the reporter in the field, and she was quickly mobbed by cheering Knicks fans.

“Watch me get absolutely TROLLED by Knicks fans in Philly after the Sixers lost,” she wrote, accompanying a video of her news report from the arena that she posted to TikTok.

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She also shared a video on Instagram Stories of Knicks fans chanting “f–k Embiid” on the concourse after the Knicks win.

Responding to a post on X by Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy that “Philadelphia has fallen,” she wrote on her Instagram Story, “We still standing strong just how I was in this live shot.”

While Knicks fans were ecstatic over the win on Sunday night, 76ers fans were devastated to see their team swept out of the playoffs with little more than a whimper. 

One fan described the loss as a “Mother’s Day massacre.” 

“Sell the team, fire Nick Nurse, everybody gone, gone gone,” one young fan told the Philadelphia news station. “Let Kyle Lowry coach.”

One fan was even moved to tears as she cried over the loss and hoped that Joel Embiid would remain in the City of Brotherly Love. 

“I love the whole team. They did amazing, but it’s just heartbreaking, it really is,” she said.

The Knicks now will wait to find out their next opponent, with the Cavaliers and Pistons still in the middle of their best-of-seven series.

PHILADELPHIA — The first attempt fell 1:21 after the opening tip.

The next dropped 1:10 later.

On the ensuing possession, Jalen Brunson missed a 3-pointer.

What was special about that, you might ask?

It was a rarity Sunday for these rampaging Knicks, who returned to the Eastern Conference finals with a dominant 144-114 victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Mother’s Day.

They made their next nine 3-point attempts, on their way to hitting an incredible 25 from distance, a franchise postseason record that also equaled the all-time NBA mark set by the Bucks (2021) and Cavaliers (2016).

They equaled another NBA playoff record by hitting 11 3s in the first quarter and 18 in the first half, for their seventh straight win of this postseason.

“It’s definitely special. I didn’t even know, honestly,” Miles McBride said, referring to the record-matching 3-point shooting display. “To have anything like that on your name is a legacy you want.”

The brilliant shooting day was somewhat of a surprise, despite how easily the Knicks handled the 76ers in this series.

They entered the contest shooting 38.3 percent from 3-point range in the playoffs, fourth among teams still alive.

They were a strong perimeter shooting team during the regular season, fourth in the league at 37.3 percent.

But they hadn’t lit it up of late.

They were 9-for-27 from 3 in Game 2 and 7-for-26 in Game 3.

But with a chance to advance, the Knicks looked like a team of Splash Brothers, mimicking the Steph Curry and Klay Thompson Warriors.

“Guys were sacrificing good shots for better shots, and when you do that, the ball has energy and we have to knock down shots,” Josh Hart said. “So playing a style like that is fun.”

Miles McBride hit seven 3-pointers.

Brunson dropped in six.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

Landry Shamet had four off the bench.

Hart, despite that sprained left thumb, made four.

Pacôme Dadiet tied the record with a 3 in the final minute.

“I mean, it felt great,” Hart said. “My right hand remembered that the goal was to make 3s, so happy to have her back.”

At one point late in the second quarter, the Knicks had made more 3-pointers (14) than the 76ers had field goals (13).

They led by 27.

For much of the afternoon, they were over 60 percent from 3 — video game numbers.

“Our sprays were tremendous, but the spacing part is what made them really good,” coach Mike Brown said. “We spaced the floor very good and when they committed two to the ball and/or we touched the paint and their defense collapsed, we did a great job of finding the open man and making one more pass without panicking. Guys stepped in and knocked shots down.

“Twenty-five 3s on 44 attempts, if I’m seeing that right, it’s unbelievable and it’s great basketball. But the group that I have in the locker room, they’re more than capable of doing something like that.”

The New York Knicks didn’t just embarrass the Philadelphia 76ers on the court Sunday, closing out a sweep of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals, but they humiliated them in the stands too. Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia was mobbed by orange-and-blue-wearing Knicks fans who made their presence known.  

Tyrese Maxey hated it. The 76ers’ All-Star guard did not mince words after the Knicks’ 144-114 victory eliminated Philadelphia. 

“It absolutely sucks, if I am being honest,” Maxey said. “It just sucks. That’s really all I can say about it, man.” 

The Knicks fans made the trip to Philadelphia in force. They drowned out the home crowd, and the players noticed.  

The San Antonio Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama for more than half of Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, May 10. The star center was ejected in the second quarter for a Flagrant Foul 2 after he threw an elbow in Naz Reid's face while battling for possession of the ball after a rebound.

After the play was reviewed and the penalty was called, the Defensive Player of the Year was visibly upset. He could be seen on the bench asking, "What does it mean?" It was the first time in Wembanyama's three-year career that he was been ejected.

The difference between the first and second tier of a flagrant foul is that the offense is considered "unnecessary AND excessive" (emphasis added). The penalty for the second tier of a flagrant foul is two free throws by the player who the offense was committed against and the player is ejected, which is what happened to Wembanyama. The infraction also triggers a fine of $2,000, at a minimum.

Wembanyama made a statement in the series with a record 12 blocks in Game 1, all of which may or may not have been recorded correctly.

PHILADELPHIA — Miles McBride was, in his words, “extremely comfortable” with an expanded role as long as OG Anunoby was out.

He proved it on Mother’s Day.

Starting in place of Anunoby, McBride enjoyed a career-best playoff performance as the Knicks drubbed the 76ers 144-114 to return to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in as many years.

McBride scored 25 points and hit seven 3-pointers in nine attempts, four coming in an early onslaught that made it clear this series was going to end without a return trip to New York City.

In his 29 minutes, the Knicks outscored the 76ers by a team-high 33 points.

“I always feel like I’m going to make shots,” McBride said. “I trust my work, trust my preparation. They left me open.”

McBride had been in a shaky shooting stretch, entering the game 5-for-19 from 3-point range over the previous five games.

He didn’t let it affect his confidence, though.

“He’s just tough-minded,” coach Mike Brown said. “In order to have success in anything you do in life you need to have a short memory, and he definitely has a short memory.”

With a chance to sweep the 76ers out of the playoffs, McBride shined. He bombed away early, scoring 12 points in the game’s first 5:01.

McBride was also terrific, as usual, on the defensive end, and was a big part of the Knicks’ blistering shooting display.

They hit 25 3-pointers in 44 attempts, setting a franchise playoff record and equaling the NBA mark previously set by the Bucks in 2021 and Cavaliers in 2016.

There were loud “Deuce” chants after almost every one of his made triples from the pro-Knicks crowd.

“Deuce — he was unbelievable,” Brown said. “His ability to stretch the floor and create space for others is second to none. He’s got a confidence about him and in himself that just makes us take another level on both ends of the floor.”

It’s hard to hear after a division rival took over their building and swept them out of the playoffs, but the 2025-26 season was a pretty high-end outcome for the Sixers. They beat the Boston Celtics in a playoff series, Joel Embiid has felt as good as he has about his left knee since January 2024, but most importantly, they had a 20-year old rookie sensation.

VJ Edgecombe officially ends his rookie season having averaged 16 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game shooting 43% from the field and 35% from the field. He averaged 14 points per game in his first 11 playoff games.

For all these reasons, the Sixers themselves felt pretty good about their season after their Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks. During his exit interview, Embiid was talking about the example he tries to set for the younger players, and went on a long tangent about Edgecombe’s potential while doing so.

“VJ is up next. Philly got a good one in him,” Embiid said. “He’s the guy. I’m telling you guys, that guy is something different and this was only year one. Year two is gonna be better, year three even better.”

Embiid would go on to call him a “monster” later in his presser.

Every Sixer asked about Edgecombe is confident in his improvement year-over-year. It’s all the intangibles he flashed all season that impressed his teammates so much — and why they so often say he is not the average rookie.

“Usually, guys improve quite a bit from year one to year two,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “I would imagine with his work ethic and stuff, he’ll have a good summer.”

Edgecombe responded to Embiid’s comments the exact way anyone who’s been around him so far would expect him to.

“It’s great, but the work has to be put in, I have to continue putting in the work,” he said. “I really love my teammates and I really love all the good things they say about me, but yes, I gotta keep putting in the work, keep getting better.”

A young guard with a crazy work ethic drafted after a disastrous season is a familiar story with this team. Tyrese Maxey recognized those similarities as he sat next Edgecombe at the podium.

“Probably like two, three years ago I sat up here with Joel and I sat up here with James [Harden] and they saw something in me,” Maxey said, “and I guess I’m getting old now, because I’m sitting up here with VJ and I’m just happy to be a part of his journey.”

All three of the Sixers’ max contract stars have had their impact on Edgecombe in one way or another. Paul George did a lot of mentoring Edgecombe as a defender, but he feels the experience Edgecombe was able to get with a full playoff run as a rookie was invaluable.

“I’m kind of here to help improve the process,” George said, “but the parts that you want out of it, he’s experienced it, so that’s the positive. And I think he’ll know where he needs to take it and what we need from him going down for years to come.”

Edgecombe already has a list of things he wants to work on to improve for next year. He wants to get better on the ball. He mentioned his handle, but shooting is something he definitely wants to improve on.

“Go in the gym and just get better,” he said. “Coming into next year a team won’t ever leave me open, you know?”

All of his teammates are confident he will get there because of how hard he works, but it takes a real grinder for someone like Maxey to praise his work ethic.

“He works too hard and he wants it too much,” Maxey said. “You can’t ask for anything better than that, and the city should really just rally behind it and just be excited.”

It’s very unusual for a team to convey this much excitement after getting swept out of the second round of the play0ffs.

But as Edgecombe showed time and time again throughout his rookie season, he is not a usual player.

The San Antonio Spurs suffered a huge blow in Game 4 of the conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves after superstar Victor Wembanyama was ejected from the contest.

Wembanyama was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 after coming down with a rebound and swinging an elbow that connected with Timberwolves forward Naz Reid, striking him in the jaw with 8:40 in the 2nd quarter.

After a review, it was determined that the contact was deemed an unnecessary, non-basketball play with wind up, contact and follow through, resulting in the Spurs center's first-career ejection – regular season or postseason.

Minnesota held a slim lead, 36-34, at the time of stoppage. Following the elbow, Timberwolves fans at the Target Center were in unison chanting to the officials "kick him out" referring to Wembanyama.

If the Spurs are able to take a 3-1 lead on the Timberwolves, they’ll need to do so without Victor Wembanyama for the rest of Game 4.

Wembanyama, the San Antonio superstar, was ejected with 8:39 left in the second quarter after elbowing Naz Reid while fighting for possession and being assessed a Flagrant 2 in Minnesota on Sunday.

Status alert: Victor Wembanyama has been ejected Sunday after being assessed a Flagrant 2 foul. pic.twitter.com/G02YylonQE

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 11, 2026

When Wembanyama initially made contact, Reid fell to the ground, and after the referees reviewed the play, the 7-foot-4 center was sent down the tunnel and to the locker room.

It marked a seismic shift in a critical juncture of the series, with the Spurs staring down a chance to take a commanding series lead over the No. 6-seed Timberwolves before play shifts back to San Antonio but now needing to adapt on the fly without their best player for the final 32-plus minutes.

Reid made both of his free throws, and Luke Kornet replaced Wembanyama — who finished with just four points on 2-for-5 shooting across 12 minutes — on the court.

The Timberwolves led the Spurs by two points at the time of the ejection, and midway through the second quarter, they’d built a 44-38 advantage — led by 11 points from Anthony Edwards and 10 points from Julius Randle.