Category: Basketball

The wait between the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals can feel like forever. As Knicks fans count down the hours until Game One against the Spurs, here are a few practical tips for maintaining your sanity until the ball finally goes up in San Antonio.

1. Mood Swings Are Normal

While waiting for the start of the Finals, you may experience:

• Euphoria
• Anxiety
• Irrational confidence
• Existential dread

These feelings are normal. Do not make major life decisions during this time, and for God’s sake, try not to impregnate anyone or buy a pet. Or impregnate a pet. Pro tip: avoid pictures of Victor Wembanyama standing next to average-sized NBA players. That could cause some unpleasant flutters.

2. Approach Podcasts with Caution

On today’s podcast from The Athletic, all three panelists picked the Spurs to win. I am continually impressed by how underappreciated the Knicks remain, no matter what they do. A historic run through the playoffs? Fuhgeddaboutit! Irrelevant!

If New York wins the Larry O’Brien Trophy, we already know what will happen. The public will find a way to qualify it. Something like: “The Knicks got lucky, catching Wemby before he fully metamorphosed into a World Destroyer.”

New York can blame itself, I suppose. It’s something like the crazy ex-girlfriend who reappears looking healthy and claiming to be on her meds. You want to believe her stability will last, but you can’t forget how many times she trashed your stuff. A narrative that has proven true so often is hard to shake, and the Knicks were terrible for so many years that we can’t blame people for not trusting that they’re for real. Being one of the biggest markets in the league didn’t help, either. It kept the spotlight on them when they deserved to be hidden in the shadows. Well not anymore, pal! Recommendation: Stick to Knicks Film School or Locked On Knicks and skip those other dolts.

3. Strange Symptoms May Occur

Maybe you find yourself checking for updates on Mitch’s pinky every 15 minutes. Or you lurk a little too menacingly behind a guy in a Spurs jersey on the sidewalk. Or you start considering a subscription to Cleaning the Glass because you want to sound extra informed at the Game One viewing party.

Relax. Let the crazy wash over you and pass. If you start a fight with a Spurs fan, you might miss a game or two due to incarceration. And you can totally live without paying to know Stephon Castle’s shot quality from 12-15 feet. Feel free to jump ahead to Number 6 below.

4. Your Relationships May Change

This is the schedule:

Game 1: Wednesday, June 3 — Knicks at Spurs, 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: Friday, June 5 — Knicks at Spurs, 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 3: Monday, June 8 — Spurs at Knicks, 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 4: Wednesday, June 10 — Spurs at Knicks, 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, June 13 — Knicks at Spurs
Game 6 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 16 — Spurs at Knicks
Game 7 (if necessary): Friday, June 19 — Knicks at Spurs

Explain to your family that you love them, but these are sacred time slots. If they are unable to accept that you will be unavailable during those hours, well . . . we are your family, too. We understand you more than they ever can. Cut us, and do we not bleed orange and blue? Besides, I’m sure we have an extra cot for you here at P&T headquarters. Just let me clear it with the wife.

5. Prepare for the Unpredictable

The Finals are much like a scheduled C-section. You know when they’ll arrive. You know they’ll change your life. You know roughly how long they’ll last. Yet somehow, despite months of preparation, you have absolutely no idea what will happen once the cutting starts.

Sleep may prove challenging during this time. You may discover previously unknown superstitions. Remember that these behaviors are normal and no amount of nervous doomscrolling can prepare you for the emotional roller coaster of a Knicks Finals game. Pro tip: Pack an emotional-support beverage. (But don’t drink if you’re actually pregnant, you degenerate. Sheesh.)

6. Savor this Moment

You are breathing rare air. Oh, we caught a teasing whiff of it last season, but now we’re sucking it all into our lungs, and it’s even more amazing than advertised. This is what those Golden State kids were talking about. This is Finals air—not that hot, exhaust-scented B.S. air I was spewing back in 2016, when I was Ubering and trying to convince passengers that Langston Galloway was one to watch.

Breathe in, hold it as long as you can, and enjoy it, family. It took a long time to get here and the future is not promised. Smile to yourself and be cool, knowing that on Wednesday, your New York Knicks will play in the NBA Finals. At last.

LGK!!!

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While the San Antonio Spurs are heavy favorites in the NBA championship odds, some particular New York Knicks players are the favorites in the NBA Finals prop categories.

If pondering a bet on the Knicks to spring the upset in the series, such a prop bet may be the safer route to profit, as my Knicks vs. Spurs series props and NBA picks explain ahead of tonight's Game 1 clash. 

Knicks vs. Spurs series props

Player	Pick
Jalen Brunson	Most points in series	+145
Karl-Anthony Towns	Most assists in series	+2000
Victor Wembanyama	Most rebounds in series	-160
De'Aaron Fox	Most steals in series	+500
Karl-Anthony Towns	Most threes made in series	+2800

Most points in series

Pick:Jalen Brunson (+145 at bet365)

As will be the case again amid these props, Victor Wembanyama is the favorite, juiced to -180, followed by Jalen Brunson at +145. The next best odds? Karl-Anthony Towns at +4000.

So let’s focus on only Wembanyama and Brunson.

The latter is the better scorer, but he is also facing the better defense. Sure, the New York Knicks may have the better defensive rating in the postseason, but let’s be honest about who they have played. The San Antonio Spurs’ defensive rating was No. 3 in the regular season and No. 4 following the All-Star Break, about two points better per 100 possessions than the Knicks in both subsets.

In the postseason, Brunson has averaged 26.9 points per game, a number actually deflated by New York’s success. In the last 10 games, Brunson has needed to play more than 35 minutes only five times.

Wembanyama has averaged 25.7 points (when ignoring Game 2 of the first round, when a concussion sidelined Wemby after only 12 minutes, and Game 4 of the second round, when he was ejected after only 12 minutes), playing at least 35 minutes in seven of 15 games.

Perhaps that workload concern should be a moot one.

When the Knicks are desperate, Brunson shows up. Looking at genuinely competitive games this postseason, the diminutive point guard has averaged 29.4 points in five games.

He should rise to this moment, and the plus-money payout lends some value to that desperation.

Most assists in series

Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns (+2000 at bet365)

Sportsbooks also view this market as a two-horse race. Brunson and Stephon Castle are near equals, priced at +120 and +130, respectively, with De’Aaron Fox then trailing at +550.

This makes sense. Brunson has led New York with 6.6 assists per game in the postseason, while Castle has led San Antonio with 6.7, ahead of Fox at 5.9 assists per game.

There is another name that should garner more attention, though. In fact, this should be the bet.

The Knicks fell behind the Hawks 2-1 to start the postseason. New York then made an offensive shift, turning to Karl-Anthony Towns as more of an offensive fulcrum. Since then, Towns has averaged 6.5 assists per game, while Brunson has averaged 6.7.

Keeping the ball in Towns’ hands on the perimeter will drag Wembanyama away from the rim, creating cutting chances for the other Knicks. There is both a track record in this postseason and a schematic logic to jumping on this long shot.

Most rebounds in series

Pick: Victor Wembanyama (-160 at bet365)

The leaders in this prop are obvious, Wembanyama at -160 or Towns at +130, then followed by Josh Hart at +2000.

Hart leading the NBA Finals in rebounds would be a chaotic delight, but San Antonio’s perimeter players are physical enough to slow down his usual penchant.

Let’s not overthink this prop.

The only way Wembanyama should fall short of this prop is outright fatigue. And even then, he should have a cushion to work with. Removing those two games in which he departed quite early, Wembanyama has averaged 11.7 rebounds this postseason, compared to Towns’s 10.6.

If there is a Western opponent most comparable to the Knicks, it is Towns’ former team. Wembanyama averaged 13.6 rebounds per game against the Timberwolves, Game 4’s ejection aside. Expect something similar from the Frenchman in the NBA Finals.

Most steals in series

Pick: De’Aaron Fox (+500 at bet365)

Finally, a series prop with a number of viable options. Six players come in between +275 and +600, led by three Knicks, and then followed by three Spurs.

If curious, Hart (+350) has led New York with 1.8 steals per game, closely trailed by OG Anunoby (+275) at 1.5. Devin Vassell (+600) has led San Antonio with 1.4 steals per game, closely trailed by De’Aaron Fox (+500) and Julian Champagnie (+4500) at 1.3.

That might quickly suggest a bet on Champagnie would bring value, but the Knicks’ offense should not put the ball in front of him as often as the Timberwolves did. Fault Julius Randle. Champagnie notched 10 of his 24 postseason steals in that second-round win, otherwise averaging 1.2 steals per game.

This is too high a price for someone who should be the on-ball defender against Brunson with great frequency. Fox made his bones early in his career on fast hands and transition buckets. Reviving that reputation against Brunson could be an underrated piece of San Antonio’s championship chase.

Most threes made in series

Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns (+2800 at bet365)

Let’s start by tearing down the shortest odds.

Devin Vassell (+250) and Julian Champagnie (+260) have led the Spurs from deep this postseason, hitting 2.3 per game and 2.6, respectively, while each shooting better than 35% from beyond the arc. But now they face the best 3-point defense in the postseason, with the Knicks holding foes to 30.5% from beyond the arc.

Brunson (+350) struggled from deep in the Eastern Conference Finals, hitting just 4 of 22 threes, eventually taking only four and then five in the final two games.

If there is no clear frontrunner, is there a worthwhile longshot? Absolutely.

This fits with the assists thought above. Playing Towns on the perimeter does not lessen New York’s offense. It may, in fact, better it. And that is without even acknowledging it will drag Wembanyama away from the rim.

Towns has shot 48.9% from deep this postseason, but he has taken only 3.2 threes per game. Double that in the NBA Finals to force Wembanyama to worry about the perimeter on every possession.

Even the misses will have a better chance of ending up in Knicks’ possession given Wemby will not be crashing the glass while Hart and Anunboy will be.

This is New York’s best offensive approach, and it is one Towns is entirely capable of.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

When the New York Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs in dominating fashion, fans debated whether the Knicks’ nine days off before the Conference Finals would cause rust to build or if the rest would give them an advantage. Sportico’s analysis determined that rust was not a significant factor, and the Knicks backed that up by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round.

The rest vs. rust debate has revved back up prior to the Finals, but the benefits of rest may be less pronounced in the Finals because there is more time off before the games start and between each game. The bigger discussion this time around: Are the Knicks actually as good as their 11-game win streak would suggest, or is the Eastern Conference just weak?

The Western Conference has been stronger for most of the 21st century, with a winning record over the East in interconference games in 24 of the past 27 seasons. This year, though, the East was, on paper, the fourth strongest it has been since the 1999-00 season. East teams won 49% of their games against West teams.

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The East’s competitiveness wasn’t just about depth of talent masking a lack of strength at the top. The top four teams in the East went 18-15 versus the top four teams in the West.

In fairness, two of the best Eastern Conference teams bowed out in the postseason before the Knicks got the chance to face them. The Boston Celtics blew a 3-1 lead to the 76ers in the first round and the Detroit Pistons lost to the Cavaliers in seven games in the second round.

But the Knicks have shown they can compete with the best of the best. They went 2-1 versus their Finals foe the San Antonio Spurs this year, including a 124-113 win in the final of the NBA Cup in December. New York went 0-2 against the best team in the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder, but those losses were by an average of only seven points.

It should be noted that in their 11-game win streak through the middle two rounds of the playoffs, the Knicks outscored opponents by 262 points, more than any team in any 11-game stretch in NBA history, regular season or postseason. The Knicks played teams that were 12th, 19th and ninth in regular-season net rating, respectively, but they dominated those opponents to a historic extent.

Even if the East was weak, that wouldn’t necessarily indicate anything about the Knicks’ ability to beat the particular team standing in their path right now. The weakest season for the East in the past 50 years was 2004, when the conference won just 37% of its games against the West. The Detroit Pistons didn’t exactly demolish their competition that year, needing seven games to beat the 47-win New Jersey Nets en route to the Finals against the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

The result of the 2004 Finals? 4-1 Pistons.

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New Yorkers argue about everything. The best pizza, the best bagel, the best borough. Yankees fans won’t sit next to Mets fans at the Subway Series. Giants fans can tolerate Jets fans only because they have the same home — in New Jersey. Rangers and Islander fans split households.

But the Knicks? They make a run in the playoffs and suddenly this big city feels like they are all one big, loud New York family.  

That is what's happening now. The Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, opening Game 1 on Wednesday, June 3 against the San Antonio Spurs after sweeping Cleveland and reeling off 11 straight playoff wins.

The city hasn’t had a moment like this in 27 years. And it shows.

“The Knicks are the one team that makes New York feel like a small town,” Mike Greenberg, host of ESPN’s Get Up, told USA Today Sports. He's a Greenwich Village kid and lifelong Knicks fan. “You always feel like you’re in the biggest city in the work, like you are in the center of the universe. And the Knicks are the one team that makes New York feel like a small town, because everyone is wearing their Knicks shirts and everyone is yelling ‘Go Knicks’ in the street. There is just a vibe.”

Zaza Pachulia recounts best decision of life to sign with Warriors, find a home originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The doors to NBA free agency swing open this month, and dozens of players will be on the market. Some have the status to choose their next team. Others accept the only offer available. Some go overseas. A few retire.

For fans glued to the NBA’s summer news cycle, it’s a fascinating time. For players and team executives, there can be enough uncertainty to redline stress levels.

Former Warriors center Zaza Pachulia, a guest on the latest episode of the “Dubs Talk” podcast, has been there. He endured multiple summers in free agency during his 16-year NBA career.

One foray stands so far above all others that he enjoys reliving it. That would be joining the Warriors in 2016.

“That was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life,” Pachulia told NBC Sports Bay Area.

Pachulia, then 32, was coming off a solid season with the Dallas Mavericks, starting 69 games at center, playing alongside the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Chandler Parsons and Wesley Matthews. His two-year contract, signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014, had expired and he was home in Eastern Europe, preparing to play with Georgia’s national team.

“My agent calls me, and he goes, like, ‘I got a couple options for you,’ ” Pachulia recalled. “But this is probably the most important decision you’re going to face, the most important decision you’ll ever face. Option 1 is Dallas wants you back. And then there was another team. And there’s another team. And the last option is the Golden State Warriors.”

The Warriors, featuring All-Stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, 11 weeks earlier finished the regular season with an NBA-record 73 wins. They were 16 days removed from losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a searing seven-game NBA Finals.

Golden State also was two days removed from signing Oklahoma City superstar Kevin Durant, one of the most coveted free agents to ever grace the market.

And now his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, was on the phone sending a grand opportunity through Pachulia’s ears.

“He said they’re looking at you as a starting center,” Pachulia said. “I was obviously . . . I was already thinking about it. This was Steph, Klay, KD and Draymond. And they needed a center. And I said, ‘Wow, these kinds of calls don’t happen.’ This is a lifetime opportunity. We’re like these are generational players.”

Zaza’s mind was racing. Visions he had not imagined were becoming clear in his mind. Pachulia and his wife, Tika, had two sons and a daughter, all between 3 and 7 years old. His NBA career had taken him from Orlando, where he was drafted in 2003, to Milwaukee, to Atlanta, back to Milwaukee and then to Dallas.

There had been a few trips to the playoffs, but none of those steps had offered anything close to an NBA championship. Nothing like this.

“This is generational, a once-in-a-lifetime call, this opportunity,” Pachulia recalled. “It was not about the numbers. It was unique. And that was special summer. It was not about which team is offering how much money and how many years, and what other bonuses. There was none of that. 

“It was the Warriors’ offer, and it was everything else. And once I was thinking about the Warriors offer, once I was thinking about that I was going to be part of something special, something unique, I couldn’t focus on other offers.”

Pachulia had one request before accepting Golden State’s offer. He wanted to speak with head coach Steve Kerr.

Kerr talked about his coaching influences, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. He explained his general coaching philosophy and how he wanted to deploy Pachulia. About 20 minutes later, the big man was sold.

Less than a year later, Pachulia and his teammates were celebrating with a championship parade through the streets of Oakland.

“Everything he said, that’s how the season went,” Pachulia recalled. “But honestly, that was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. At the end of the day, life is beautiful, because it’s just kind of either you make the right decision or you learn from it, right?

“That was one of those moments where I think I made the right decision, and the reason why I’m still here, because of that right decision, it’s kind of building on it, and still part of this amazing community is amazing organization, and this became home.”

Pachulia, two years later, signed a free-agent deal with Detroit, staying with the Pistons for one year before retiring and returning to the Warriors in a consulting capacity. He and his family had found a home.

Which is what most NBA free agents will be seeking in the weeks to come.

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What Warriors star Steph Curry failed to prove to Kendrick Perkins until 2022 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry is widely considered the best shooter in NBA history and is often credited with altering the trajectory of basketball with his unlimited 3-point range.

While this is a common stance around the NBA, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins shredded the accolades of the four-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer on Monday’s episode of “Get Up.” When discussing comments made by WNBA coach Becky Hammon and Warriors star Draymond Green, who both believed that the New York Knicks needed a “1A” player because Jalen Brunson is too small to fit that role, Perkins ended up firing a stray at Curry.

As he addressed Green’s comments that denounced the Knicks’ success because they are in a weakly perceived Eastern Conference, Perkins fired off the take that Curry wasn’t a “1A” kind of player until after the team’s 2022 title.

“Let me end on this, Steph Curry didn’t prove he was a 1A until he actually won his fourth NBA championship,” Perkins said. “That’s when he got his Finals MVP as being the 1A. If you want to keep it real, that’s why they had to go get Kevin Durant. That’s why they had to go get Kevin Durant for the other two after that.”

Perkins also wanted to make sure Green didn’t discredit the Knicks’ path to the NBA Finals, citing the fact that the Warriors benefited from Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving injuries during their first title run in 2015.

“To win a championship, it takes luck,” Perkins said. “Last time I checked, Draymond Green, when he was facing the Houston Rockets, didn’t Chris Paul when they had control over that series pull his hamstring? Didn’t they get to the NBA Finals and Kyrie Irving got injured, I believe it was in Game 1, for their first championship?”

While Perkins might have a point in the sense that plenty of teams have won titles as a result of injuries plaguing another, it does seem odd that he went after Curry for this particular discourse.

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A DraftKings bettor won more than $1.7 million from a $2,500 parlay that was capped off by the San Antonio Spurs winning the Western Conference finals.

The four-leg parlay, valued at +68,528 odds, contained legs from the Winter Olympics, national title game, and NBA postseason.

Key Takeaways

• The parlay had a cash-out value of under $300,000 after the Spurs fell behind 3-2 against the Thunder.
  
  
• The ticket began in February when the Winter Olympics were still in progress.
  
  
• DraftKings believes that the Spurs are NBA champions in waiting. 

DraftKings’ $1.7 million parlay was one of the top stories to follow during the conference finals. The +68,528 odds translated to a 0.15% implied chance and would pay $686.28 for every $1 wagered.

Two of the four legs - Team USA to win Gold in hockey at Milan-Cortina and Michigan to win the college championship - had already cashed before the NBA playoffs began. The Spurs still needed to beat the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Knicks needed to take out the Eastern Conference preseason favorite Cleveland Cavaliers. 

The bettor, known as “Parlay Prince,” didn’t face any trouble with the Knicks, who swept the Cavaliers out of the playoffs in short order. That was far from the case in the Western Conference finals, which went down to the wire in Game 7.

DraftKings provided updates of cash-out values that were offered over the last week as the Spurs and Thunder exchanged blows. The offer dropped as low as $293,273.26 and sat at $612,212.95 heading into the final game. 

WE HAVE AN UPDATED CASH OUT OFFER HEADING INTO GAME 7 🚨

The offer stands at $612,212.95 and Parlay Prince is NOT taking it as of now

He's one Spurs win away from $1.7M pic.twitter.com/STEZDrMRPH

— DraftKings Sports (@DKSports) May 29, 2026

Despite the Thunder being favored, the bettor opted not to cash out or place a hedge bet, making Game 7 a truly all-or-nothing event. 

While many online users slammed “Parlay Prince” for their stubbornness, he ended up walking away with the full prize after the Spurs won Game 7, 111-103.

$2500 and a dream turned into $1.7 million 🥹

Take a look back on one of the greatest parlay wins in DK history https://t.co/KACwzekoftpic.twitter.com/xY7vbTlInY

— DraftKings Sports (@DKSports) May 31, 2026

“All you gotta do is believe, and if you believe it, you can achieve it,” Parlay Prince said in a video recorded at the Thunder’s arena after his ticket cashed. 

“ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS BELIEVE”

Almost everyone told Parlay Prince to cash out and he said I believe 👏

Now, he’s got $1.7M 🥹 pic.twitter.com/ZzsEIi11E5

— DraftKings Sports (@DKSports) May 31, 2026

Tracking NBA Finals odds

Neither the Spurs or Knicks were expected to reach the NBA Finals. 

BetMGM valued the Knicks at +2200 in NBA Finals odds when the playoffs began, while sportsbooks agreed the Thunder were at least 2-to-1 favorites to beat the Spurs in the conference finals. 

With the Spurs or Knicks soon to be crowned NBA champions, the league is about to experience for the first time an eighth different champion in as many seasons. DraftKings believes the team in waiting is the Spurs, who are -205 (67.2% implied chance) to win the Finals. The Knicks are +170 (37% chance).

For an 8th consecutive season, the NBA will crown a NEW champion 👀 pic.twitter.com/70TBduHJsS

— DraftKings Sports (@DKSports) June 1, 2026

Despite the Spurs being in pole position, the Knicks have and are continuing to make up ground. San Antonio was -225 in hypothetical lookahead lines before Game 7, meaning they lost 2% probability since they were crowned Western Conference champions.

DraftKings’ users are going against the grain. Although series betting splits aren’t publicly available, 59% of tickets and 70% of the handle in the Game 1 moneyline market are on the Knicks. An additional 55% of bets and 53% of the money are on the Knicks at +4.5, according to DraftKings Nation.

Ready for Game 1

This is the second time that the Spurs have met the Knicks in the NBA Finals. The first time occurred in 1999, when Tim Duncan led the franchise to its first title over the only 8-seed ever to reach the championship.

Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns wore a shirt promoting the ‘99 Finals ahead of his first game with the Knicks after he had been traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024. He will now star in the rematch 27 years later.

KAT arrives to his 1st game as a Knick in a 1999 Finals shirt pic.twitter.com/veWVsHfkxz

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 6, 2024

DraftKings has the Spurs at -198 moneyline odds (66.4% chance) and the Knicks at +164 (37.9%) in Game 1, which will take place in San Antonio. Both teams are undefeated in Game 1s in the playoffs.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

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What are the odds that President Donald Trump will sit courtside at an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden? Wonder no more.

DraftKings' director of sports operations Johnny Avello has listed hypothetical odds on which celebrities will be spotted on celebrity row when the New York Knicks host the San Antonio Spurs during the NBA Finals.

Key Takeaways

• Mainstays Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, and Timothee Chalamet own the shortest odds.
  
  
• Zohran Mamdani (+5,000) and Taylor Swift (+6,000) are among the long shots.
  
  
• Odds are not available for betting and only for entertainment purposes.

The list of celebrity names goes 60 deep and includes noted Knicks fans Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, and Timothee Chalamet (-25,000), media personalities Mike Francesa (+400) and Howard Stern (+1,000), and the aforementioned President.

Trump has said he plans to attend a Finals game at MSG.

"I think I'll be going to one of the games," the President said in May. "I was invited by numerous people, and (owner James Dolan), and I think I'll be going."

President Trump says he thinks he'll go see the New York Knicks play at Madison Square Garden for one of their NBA Finals games after getting an invitation from team owner Jim Dolan.

"What a team..." Trump said. "They've really suffered for years." pic.twitter.com/TEr5DRaLT3

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 27, 2026

But will he sit courtside? DraftKings lists the odds of that happening at -125, a near coin flip.

All eyes on New York City

The Knicks are returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 and haven't won a championship since 1973.

With the Knicks' championship drought and New York's place as the largest media market in America, all eyes will be on their series against sophomore star Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.

Celebrity row looked a little different the last time the Knicks were in the Finals.

Celebrity row at Game 4 of the 1999 NBA Finals at the Garden. Not much has changed 💙🧡

[via @velodus] pic.twitter.com/Lwesm0Y4zV

— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) May 26, 2026

Sure shots and long shots

The sure bets include director and diehard Knicks fan Spike Lee, comedian and New York native Tracy Morgan, Stiller, and Chalamet at -25,000 odds. Chalamet's girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, comes in a shade below at -20,000. 

Knicks legends Walt Frazier (-20,000), Patrick Ewing (-20,000), Larry Johnson (-15,000), and John Starks (-12,500) follow them. 

The long shots include musician and New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen (+40,000), fashion staples Emily Ratajkowski (+50,000) and Calvin Klein (+50,000), and former Knicks great Charles Oakley (+100,000). Oakley infamously was arrested and banned from MSG by Dolan. He did attend Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals in Cleveland to watch the Knicks sweep the Cavaliers.

Springsteen may not be favored on the oddsboard, but he has an ally in Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose.

Because Cleveland made the ECF Knicks president Leon Rose—who’s reportedly been to over 100 Bruce Springsteen concerts—got to catch another one in Cleveland tonight

Wait for it… pic.twitter.com/4cYbvCMd1m

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 23, 2026

The odds are not available for wagering on DraftKings Sportsbook and are only for entertainment purposes.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Los Angeles Lakers have made no secret of their long-term vision since acquiring Luka Dončić. The franchise’s focus is building its next championship contender around the 27-year-old superstar, and that strategy could have major implications for both LeBron James and Austin Reaves this offseason.

According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, Reaves has emerged as a higher organizational priority than James as free agency approaches.

“If it comes down to whether you’d rather pay Austin $40 million per year for the next five years or LeBron $40 million for one year, they’re going to prioritize the long-term contract,” Buha said. “Austin is more of a priority for the Lakers than LeBron.”

The reasoning is straightforward. Reaves is entering his prime at 28 years old and fits alongside Dončić’s timeline.

After averaging a career-best 23.3 points and 5.5 assists during the 2025-26 season, Reaves has evolved from an undrafted role player into one of the franchise’s foundational pieces.

The Lakers have also publicly expressed their desire to keep him. President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka recently stated that the franchise wants Reaves’ “odyssey” in Los Angeles to continue, while Reaves himself told TMZ he wants to “run it back” with the Lakers.

That doesn’t mean James is no longer wanted. The Lakers still hope the NBA’s all-time leading scorer returns for a 24th season.

Reaves has repeatedly spoken about his close relationship with James and said it would “mean the world” to continue playing alongside him.

Still, the franchise’s priorities appear clear. Dončić is the centerpiece, Reaves is viewed as a long-term co-star, and James, despite his legendary status, is operating on a year-to-year timeline.

For the first time in decades, the Lakers’ future may matter more than their past.

If you have been up to date on the Giannis Antetokounmpo summer sweepstakes, you would know that the Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the teams being floated as a destination for the Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar.

In an article by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, he describes where the Cavaliers’ ‘brain trust’ lands on a potential trade centered around Evan Mobley for Antetokounmpo.

“The Cavs love Mobley, they believe in him and there are multiple members of the Cleveland brain trust that would be vehemently against a Giannis-Mobley swap…(Mobley) is viewed as not only a future star but also a proverbial safety net when it comes to another rebuild.”

There has been a lot of discourse around Mobley as the player to be moved if the Cavaliers want to reshuffle the deck. It would make sense if the Cavaliers were angling for a win-now mentality. With a soon to be 37-year-old James Harden and a will be 30-year-old Donovan Mitchell, you can’t have this two-timeline sort of mentality.

Everyone wants to point to the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 title and how they were able to navigate this, almost impossible feat. However, when you look at that championship from a 3,000-foot view, you would notice that in 2026, no one considered as a young building block really panned out. It was the old guard that made that title team who they were, Golden State would soon offload all those players (Jordan Poole, James Weisman, Jonathan Kuminga, etc.) to try and keep their core (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green) relevant.

If the Cavaliers brass reportedly already is thinking about “safety net(s),” they may be setting themselves up to blow up this nucleus sooner rather than later. A half-in, half-out mentality will hamstring whichever direction the franchise would prefer to go.

To achieve either a rebuild or trying to improve their title odds, the Cavaliers need to go all in. By acquiring a veteran Harden at last deadline, there was a clear signal of going for the title now. If they decide not to move Mobley because they are thinking about the future, they’re likely not maximizing their current title window.

Max Kellerman draws wild Steph Curry-Chet Holmgren parallel after Spurs-Thunder originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Max Kellerman certainly has a thing for Steph Curry hot takes.

The co-host of the “Game Over” podcast, alongside Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul, dipped his toe into the waters again on Monday. Discussing the San Antonio Spurs’ Western Conference finals Game 7 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kellerman compared Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s dominance of Thunder center Chet Holmgren with LeBron James’ performance against Curry in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

“What Wemby did to Chet, in a way, is what LeBron did to Steph, in [Game 6 of the 2016 Finals]” Kellerman said, referencing a viral moment in which James blocked Curry’s shot and appeared to stare him down afterward. “[James] blocked the shot and screamed on [Curry] and Steph…had his head hung. There was something in that moment where it was like…no, you’ve got to respond, you can’t let someone scream on you like that.”

Paul, whose Klutch agency famously represents James, pushed back with an “I don’t know about that, Max” as Kellerman began to make his argument.

“Now, Steph was a young player back then,” Kellerman conceded. “LeBron had been there before, right? The Steph Curry I saw against Kawhi [Leonard in the 2019 NBA Finals] and in 2022 when he was the Finals MVP…I think if that Steph is in that series, maybe the Warriors win because Steph can hit those shots. But I felt like LeBron let him know, and Steph believed it, ‘I’m the best player in the world.’”

There are, of course, several significant differences between the two situations ten years apart. Primarily, Curry scored 30 points and hit six of his 13 three-point attempts in that Game 6, while Holmgren finished with just 4 points in his team’s Game 7 loss.

And while no one knows what the future holds for Oklahoma City, any psychological advantage James might have gained in 2016 likely evaporated as the Warriors won NBA championships against him in each of the following two seasons.

For all of his records and accomplishments, the most remarkable thing about Curry might be the eyebrow-raising takes he inspires (shout-out Phil Jackson.)

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Back in August, in the midst of the Spurs third offseason with Victor Wembanyama, I wrote about the state of the franchise and how the Spurs were progressing on their way back to the top of the proverbial NBA ladder.

Since the summer of 2022, the San Antonio Spurs have gone through four phases of the NBA life cycle; The Teardown, The Rebuild, The Playoffs and The Contenders.  In August, the storied franchise was sitting at the start of The Playoff phase after seven years without a postseason appearance. Brian Wright and the front office made the requisite moves to signal they were ready to break their playoff-less streak.  What happened next was unforeseen by everybody, even by the most optimistic of Spurs believers.

On Wednesday night, the five-time NBA Champions will be hunting for their sixth when the basketball world assembles in the Alamo City for Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals.  So how did one of the youngest and least experienced teams go from a playoff hopeful to a championship favorite in the span of just ten months?  Let’s take a look.

The emergence of the new best player in basketball

It’s hard to call it an emergence when once upon a time on NBA Draft lottery night, the great Adrian Wojnarowski called Victor Wembanyama “the greatest prospect in team sports history”, but after a blood clot halted his second season in the league, Wemby came back with a vengeance this year.  All-Star, All-NBA first team, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense first team and third in MVP were just some of the accomplishments that the French phenom accumulated in his age 22 season.

What allowed the Spurs to make it to their seventh NBA Finals was that in the biggest games and on the biggest occasions, they had someone who not just only embraced the responsibility of the moment but demanded it. From his game-winner against the Phoenix Suns to clinch their playoff spot, to his 39-point performancein Game 3 in Minnesota, to his masterpiece of a Game 1 against the defending champions, every time San Antonio has called, Vic has answered.

There’s been a lot of reasons the Spurs have exceeded expectations but none bigger than the 7’5” alien.

The fearless duo that doesn’t care how young they are

Were the Spurs lucky last May when for the third straight time, the lottery gods blessed the franchise with another top 4 pick (which, under new lottery reform, won’t happen again for anyone else)? Yes, but that’s not for them to worry about. They just did what they were supposed to do and added guard Dylan Harper, the second-ranked prospect, to their already young talented core.

At the same time, reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle was out to prove a point. The two guards were like two peas in a pod with not just how they played on the court, but in their drive for success. Castle made a major leap in year two, becoming a more efficient scorer while levelling up his already elite perimeter defense.

For Harper, after an up-and-down start in his first forty-one games, the flip switched for the New Jersey native, and with each passing week he was becoming a star in front of our eyes. Unstoppable getting to and finishing at the rim, under control with the ball in his hands and a stern and reliable defender.

But the biggest point of difference that turned the league on its head was the improvement from three-point range from the two young guards. From shaky shooters to 40% in the blink of an eye, and their confidence was as high as ever to finish the regular season.

A lot of questions were then asked heading into their first playoff run. Would they be able to meet the moment? Would they wilt under the pressure? Would they get figured out? The answer is a resound YES. Every time they have met with someone or something in front of them, they have just gone right through them, literally.

Buying in with only one goal in mind

To win any championship, everyone must be on the same page. If one person goes rogue, it can shift the dynamics, and there goes your chance at glory. You need selfless players who are willing to sacrifice personal numbers and recognition for the betterment of the team.

This Spurs team has good people. There’s De’Aaron Fox, who for five years was a 25-5-5 guy but has routinely sacrificed to help the growth of the aforementioned fearless duo.  Then there’s the longest-tenured Spur Keldon Johnson, who has averaged 22 points a game in this league, buying into his role as a sixth man. And don’t forget Devin Vassell, who has had a million different roles over his six seasons, but has never complained once and now makes all the winning plays.

It doesn’t take just one player. It takes a village, and the Spurs have one heck of a village. With Wemby ascending to the top of the mountain, Castle and Harper breaking the mold of what young guards should look like, everyone embracing their role for the good of the team, and Mitch Johnson and his coaching staff rising to the occasion, everything clicked into place and here the Spurs are, back at the top of the NBA ecosystem.

So what now? Well, in the words of the legendary Tim Duncan:

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The NBA Finals rematch New York has waited 27 long years for is finally here.

Starting Wednesday, June 3, Jalen Brunson’s Knicks are going head-to-head with Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs in the second-coming of 1999’s Big Dance.

If you’d like to be there, tickets are available for all three potential Knicks home games at Madison Square Garden. They’re scheduled to go down:

Game 3Monday, June 8
8:30 p.m.

Game 4Wednesday, June 10
8:30 p.m.

Game 6Tuesday, June 16
8:30 p.m.

At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find on tickets for MSG contests was $3,808 including fees on SeatGeek.

While prohibitively expensive, there really is nothing like playoff basketball at the Garden.

New York Post social media guru Olivia Silio attended a number of games over the Knicks’ 11-game postseason win streak and told us “MSG makes you feel like you’re a part of history…the roar of the crowd, the fans jumping up and down after every shot, the celebrities hyping up the crowd, the MSG organist leading the chants, the announcer after every point.”

Should you attend a game in San Antonio, prices start at $1,000 including fees for games at the Spurs’ Frost Bank Center.

Want to go?

Make sure to use promo code NYPOST10 for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout (Editor’s Note: this discount is only valid for users’ first purchase on SeatGeek).

Over the course of the 2025-26 regular season, the Knicks and Spurs met three times; New York won two of those three contests (including the NBA Final in December).

There’s a little more on the line than that, though.

“They definitely want to beat me and I want to kick their a–,” Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown — who was a Spurs assistant from 2000-03 — said in a press conference. “I love them and you can always love them before and after.”

Gear up.

We’re in for hoops history.

For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about seeing the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals below.

New York Knicks NBA Finals home game tickets

A complete calendar, including all announced Knicks NBA Finals home game dates and the best prices on tickets, can be found here:

San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals home game tickets

All Spurs playoff home game dates at the Frost Bank Center and the cheapest tickets available can be found below.

Knicks playoff home game giveaways

Silio also let us know that there are some perks to attending games at MSG.

“The first home game of the series, you’ll go home with a souvenir t-shirt, commemorating the game,” she said.

“Other games have ‘Always Knicks’ towels for fans to keep as well as interactive arena bracelets, used for light shows and hyping up the crowd. Another bonus is you may see your favorite actor, singer or athlete, rooting alongside you.”

About Knicks-Spurs

As noted above, the Knicks and Spurs played three times this year.

In their first contest, the stakes were high. New York and San Antonio met in the championship game of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup on Dec. 16. OG Anunoby dropped 28 points while Brunson netted 25 and ended up winning MVP for the in-season tourney.

“This is great and we’re going to enjoy this,” Brunson said. “But once we leave tomorrow, we’re moving on.”

Game number two — just a good, old-fashioned regular season showdown — saw Julian Champagnie score 36 and lead San Antonio to a surprise, come-from-behind 134-132 victory on New Year’s Eve.

When the elite clubs played a third time, New York stomped on the Spurs and walked away with a commanding 114-89 blowout. Mikal Bridges scored 25 while Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart chipped in double-doubles.

Notable storylines swirling around the Finals are center Mitchell Robinson’s broken left pinky finger, whether Anunoby and/or Hart will be able to stop Wemby, New York’s week of rest versus San Antonio’s non-stop schedule following their seven-game bloodbath with the Oklahoma City Thunder and NYC local ties for Spurs players Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle.

Clearly, there’s a lot to sift through.

If you want to dig deeper, you can find all New York Post Knicks stories here.

Huge concerts at MSG in 2026

Not sure what to do once the final buzzer sounds on the 2025-26 NBA season?

MSG has you covered.

The legendary venue has booked a number of exciting acts to entertain audiences all summer long.

Here are just five of our favorites you won’t want to miss live.

• Bon Jovi (July 7-9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26)

• Earth, Wind, and Fire with Lionel Richie (July 11)

• Phish (July 22, 24, 25, 27, 29)

• RUSH (July 28, 30, Aug. 1, 3)

• J. Cole (Aug. 2, 4)

Want to see who else is Big Apple-bound? Check out this list of all the upcoming events at Madison Square Garden to find the show for you.

Why you should trust ‘Post Wanted’ by the New York Post

This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.

One month ago, I was certain the New York Knicks had made an irrevocable mistake with the Mikal Bridges trade. It would be remembered as the deal that changed the landscape of NBA trades forever, and the tragic end to the Villanova Telenovela. 

Buried in the sands of time, there exists an unpublished trade retrospective that I submitted the morning of April 25, also known as the day the Knicks began the most dominant stretch in NBA Playoff history. I do not believe in jinxes or karma or anything of the sort, but if I did… let’s just say this was suspicious timing. To quote from the lost files: 

“The problem is that Bridges is basically the sixth or seventh most important player on the team, behind Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and perhaps even Mitchell Robinson. He also makes $150 million to be a decent three-and-D wing, and cost all their draft capital — money and picks that could have been spent on a different player cough cough Giannis Antetokounmpo cough cough. Sure, the Knicks don’t actually need him to take 15 shots per game, but they’re paying him (and paid for him) to. Meanwhile, he’s pretty much putting up peak Bryce Sensabaugh numbers in 32 minutes instead of 23.”

None of that was wrong at the time. But Bridges, sensing a disturbance in the force, activated destroy mode and flipped every switch he had to propel New York Knicks to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. His play has been the difference between the faltering Knicks team that struggled with the Atlanta Hawks and the one that has not lost in a month. Sure, it would have been more embarrassing if we had actually gone through with publishing the piece, but I’m exposing its existence here and now so, erm, yeah.

It’s worth noting that I wasn’t the only one who thought the Bridges trade was a disaster. He was benched in April, and his own teammates and coaching staff were having to defend his play publicly as recently as March. Stephen A. Smith was beefing with Josh Hart over it. Now? I am retrofitting a column that suddenly “became wrong” even though I mostly stand by the original points. Our take culture was not designed for situations like this, in which results dictate reality. It’s Schrödinger’s Bridges, who either is good or bad depending on an unknown outcome. 

Bridges has indeed executed one of the great single-playoff turnarounds in NBA history. In New York’s most recent loss, a 109-108 contest in Game 3 versus Atlanta, Bridges scored zero points and notched a -26 plus/minus. It doesn’t get much worse than that. But his role increased after an OG Anunoby injury, and in New York’s subsequent 11-game winning streak Bridges is shooting over 60 percent from the field. 

Does that expunge the multiple years of evidence I was drawing on to claim that the trade was bad for the Knicks and arguably not effective for the Nets? No, but I also failed to consider one of Brian Windhorst’s most well-known NBA truisms: Winning a title means never having to say you’re sorry. You pony up whatever it takes to get your guys because there is a chance they can be the difference between being good and being great. Whether the player you trade for is Kevin Durant or demon-time Trevor Ariza, if you win, that’s all there is to it.

Bridges has been terrible for chunks of his Knicks tenure, especially since New York traded a price that warranted the type of play one would expect from, if not a second scoring option, then at least for a 2A behind Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. But this version of Bridges has been supremely adaptable, basically becoming the world’s greatest role player in their 11-game run. They never need him to create, but he can. They never need him to score, but he can. They don’t even need him to guard the other team’s best guy — OG Anunoby can handle that — but Bridges can. It took two years to manifest, but he has become exactly what the Knicks needed him to be; questioning his “worth” in retrospect now feels positively absurd.

What will Bridges look like in the NBA Finals against much stouter defense than the Knicks have seen so far? Who knows, but I’ve certainly lost the right to concern myself with how much they gave up for someone who’s simply been a winning player on a championship-level team. The trade was still an overpay, but they’d probably do it again and throw in some cash considerations if they knew he’d be doing this in a Finals run so bright it burns the sky. You do what you have to do to win — right now, that meant trading whatever it took for Bridges.