Category: Basketball

The streets of New York City are set to be dotted with NBA Finals watch parties for Game 5 on Saturday, June 13, as 130 LinkNYC kiosks tune into the Knicks vs. Spurs game.

The news comes as the whole city is set to transform into essentially a giant watch party as the Knicks play the San Antonio Spurs away in Texas, in a game that could win the Knicks their first championship in over 50 years. There's a free event outside of Madison Square Garden, the kiosks will stream the game across the city on their 55-inch screens, and a myriad of private watch parties will likely again spill onto the streets.

Across the city, televisions or projectors have been propped up on porches allowing passersby to watch from the sidewalk. Fans have also huddled around bars and restaurants, peeking at screens indoors.

At first, you don’t see him. Like the rest of the 19,812 people in the Garden, or the 23.2 million viewers watching elsewhere, you’re following the ball. Jalen Brunson takes one jabbing step forward before Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox rush to converge on him, and then he uses the momentum from springing back to jump and lightly launch the ball on a rainbow arc toward the basket. There are a few milliseconds where nobody on the floor appears to move or react and then, as they reflexively all fall in toward the basket, OG Anunoby is there.

It’s hard to track even in replay because Anunoby is moving so fast there isn’t a point you can pause the tape and his body won’t be blurred. All the regular metaphors don’t work. He’s not an arrow, nor a missile (easy, warmonger), maybe the closest is a diving bird of prey, but then we can’t know for sure if a raptor factors in faith with its instincts. 

In about five strides, starting from the end of the scorer’s table where he inbounded to Brunson, Anunoby catches up with the ball. By then Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are also jumping after him, so that three long arms are tangling toward pebbled orange leather. Anunoby is not first because he’s fast, or because he didn’t hesitate to start his thundering run toward the rim, or because he’s stronger or more athletic. They’re all factors, but the main reason is that each component — the long stride, knowing when to lift from the floor, the ability to soften touch just enough to tip a ball rather than swat it with momentum’s full force — is reflexive. Practiced alone or in sequence hundreds of times. In games, in actual practice, in his head, stakes varying but stakes not really a factor. He did it all not knowing whether Castle or Harper would throw him off course with their bodies, or whether the ball might bounce wide. He did it because Anunoby’s career arc that led to, well, that arc, has been one of effort, willingness and the ability to take himself out of any given moment as its main actor, even if he is. Benevolence, you could say (Karl-Anthony Towns did: “The right hand of god, can’t spell god without OG”), but mostly, very mortal work.

OG Anunoby didn’t officially play in the AAU tournament where he was discovered and recruited by Indiana University. He was on the floor grabbing steals, sprinting up and down the court, dunking, hitting threes, and of course, tipping the ball, but his name wasn’t listed in any of the Atlanta tournament’s programs. Tom Crean, Indiana’s then-coach, was posted at the baseline with his assistants to watch a couple other highly touted prospects and found themselves instead captivated by Anunoby. They flipped through the tournament’s compiled player guides and found no record of him. 

Anunoby had initially been scratched because of a broken wrist that ended his junior year at Jefferson City early, so his name wasn’t in any of the tournament material. Crean tracked him down through the tournament’s director and invited Anunoby to campus, then recruited him. 

There is the sense with much of the NBA draft and scouting pipeline that beyond the more highly touted names, you have to go searching. Not only for talent, but for fit, style, skill, all weighed against a young athlete’s health and longevity, prospects must be “future-proofed.” Even the very best at this kind of scouting get it wrong, and the very best also acknowledge how much luck and timing play a part. When you really start to consider the conditions necessary for a person to get drafted, and then land on a team that will have a complementary development program or a plan for that person at all, it becomes even more of a wonder who makes it and who sticks around in the league.

Anunoby wound up being drafted by the Toronto Raptors because he was coming off a devastating ACL injury that ended his sophomore year at Indiana after 16 games. Masai Ujiri, then the Raptors President, admitted it, saying on draft night that “If he doesn’t have that injury, I don’t think we have a shot.” Anunoby had slipped to 23rd. 

Even if the Raptors weren’t expecting Anunoby, they were ready for him. A group that had doggedly lost in only the most wrenching ways for seasons, even before the three sequential postseason defeats that coined the term “LeBronto”, the locker room Anunoby joined had a particularly honed hard-nosed ethos with the bone-deep understanding of what it means to chip away. The Raptors were pests. For an athlete who used to call his high school coaches relentlessly to let him into the gym, and then call the middle school coaches when the high school coaches stopped answering, the fit felt like home. 

The Raptors’ style was all ugly intangibles, cumulative play that pushed high-touch, share-the-ball offense that while not blistering, was as relentless as the defense that sparked it. All of it backed by high-IQ decision-making, driven by floor savant Kyle Lowry. 

There is perhaps more elegance in the way the 2025-2026 NBA Finals Knicks are playing — have evolved throughout the postseason to play — but there is also a familiar DNA coursing through the team. Jalen Brunson is the engine and the ballast, Karl-Anthony Towns the wily big able to shift opponents around him at whim; Mikal Bridges the ace shooter, and Josh Hart the Swiss Army knife skillset deploying what’s needed beyond the boxscore. If trying to mirror this Knicks team with that Raptors group, then Anunoby is the player he was comp’d to in his own draft’s scouting: Kawhi Leonard. And yet, he’s more.  

In his rookie season, Anunoby started his first NBA game on November 14th because Norman Powell suffered a hip injury that had him out for four games. A month later, Anunoby led all starter rookies in offensive and defensive rating, had the best turnover-to-assist ratio for a non-guard position, and held the third highest true shooting percentage.

“Sometimes, as a young player, you think too much and you try to get everything right. But when he comes in, he just plays,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said at the time. “That young man is doing a good job.”

Anunoby cut his professional teeth on basketball that required repetition, work for the sake of the work. Those Raptors also had the kind of self-awareness that only comes after suffering big losses together, the sort of knocks that force the ego out of you. The team had plenty on the court, then lost DeMar DeRozan, and just before his second season began in Toronto, Anunoby’s father, his namesake, died. Anunoby was away from the team twice that fall, for a memorial for his father in Jefferson City and then for his burial in Nigeria. 

As in life, lows — and loss — can bring clarity. There was a deep level of care and regard for each other within that Raptors group. It only crystallized as the season continued. The saying “play for each other” is leaned on a lot in basketball, but with how changeable NBA rosters are teams don’t consistently do it; unlikelier still that when watching, you can actually see it happening. Anunoby also missed Toronto’s championship run with what felt like the flukiest appendicitis timing on earth; there’s a sensation watching him win for, play for his Knicks teammates now that it’s that past version of Anunoby merging with the present one, finally unleashing the moves and motivation he had to put on ice in 2019.

Of course, that’s oversimplifying it. As The Athletic’s senior Raptors writer Eric Koreen laid out, Anunoby has come this far, improved to this point, because he works steadily on what needs improvement until he fixes it. It sounds simple, but it’s a rare and mercurial trait. It’s common for a player to add one skill to their utility belt at a time – a passable three-point shot, or getting better playing through contact – and be finished for a while. Anunoby has worked with the same quiet persistence on his entire toolkit, and has flashed one or more of those sharpened and polished improvements in each game of this series.

Going all the way back to his ghostly appearance in that AAU game, where he was a presence without a name, Anunoby has always been good at unsettling his defensive mark. He’ll hang out in the corner, lulling opponents to think the defense is set, only to pop in and deflect the ball, or suddenly be behind them, a brick wall of a screen they turn right into. He’s been menacing Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox, even Victor Wembanyama the same way. But Anunoby’s also guarded every NBA superstar with the cool unflappability on display now. 

It’s been beautiful to see so many more people get acquainted with Anunoby’s nonplussed demeanour, a trait that’s either a long-running bit or goes back to Anunoby Sr., who told his children to choose their words precisely and that “if you have to talk, you should say something that doesn’t take away from the conversation, but enriches it.” 

There’s so little space given to one of the most common emotional phenomena felt as a fan, which is when a favorite leaves you. Whether the departure is drawn out or abrupt, amicable or acrimonious, the only constant is the recognition that it’s all part of the NBA’s larger machine. A churning system. A system that, in its speed and mechanisation, enforces the idea that you are not supposed to care so much about what happens to a person whose footwork you memorised like steps to a dance.

Perhaps that’s the silver lining in losing a favorite player to a trade, that when they go on to bigger things, on much larger stages, you see flashes that take you back in your own fandom. Still, it’s disingenuous to Anunoby to suggest that what he’s showing in this series is somehow out of nowhere, or wholly unexpected. It’s just as false to point to the draft, or development, as ways to get the same result in a new form.

NBA arcs aren’t replicable, as much as GMs and scouts pine for that to be true. There are beautiful, fleeting moments where an athlete’s past lines up with the present to flash a clear view back to potential as it unfolded, but that clarity is all in retrospect. 

The chain of events that led Anunoby to what could be his second title and first played-in Finals run are so individually keyed to his development: the physical setbacks, the group he grew with in Toronto, patience he had playing behind Pascal Siakam, then Kawhi Leonard; arriving in New York and to some degree starting again — then again with Mike Brown. His competitive profile is just as tied to his lived experience, his family and upbringing, the dual confidence and necessity to be of service to others instilled in him by his father and mom, a Nigerian national track athlete, who he lost at just a year old.

It’s the singularity that makes him — any athlete’s arc that traces these unique-as-fingerprint highs — so special, that makes watching it happen all the more astonishing. It’s only going to happen once.

NBA superstar James Harden was arrested in Houston on Saturday morning.

The 36-year-old was taken into custody by the Houston Police Department at 3:41 a.m., according to court records obtained by The California Post, and booked on one misdemeanor charge of unlawful carrying weapons.

Harden, a former Los Angeles Clippers guard who now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was accused of “unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly” having a handgun in his vehicle, according to a copy of the complaint.

Authorities alleged in the document that “the handgun was in plain view” and “was not carried in a holster.”

Further details surrounding the allegations against Harden were not made immediately available, though sources told The Post that the basketball player was out a Houston hookah lounge before the arrest with a large group of friends.

Harden was released on bond later Saturday morning, according to records. He’s due back in court on June 22 for arraignment.

Harden, who was traded from the Clippers to the Cavaliers in February in a swap that included Darius Garland, has plenty of ties to Houston.

Following a trade to the Rockets from the Thunder in 2012, Harden played nine of his NBA seasons in the Texas city. He was an All-Star selection in each of his Rockets years, and in 2017-18, he won the league’s MVP honors in a Houston uniform.

Since his time with the Rockets, Harden’s also played for the Nets, 76ers, Clippers and Cavaliers.

In his first season with Cleveland, he helped the Cavs advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were swept by the New York Knicks.

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Win or lose, when the NBA Finals are over, Victor Wembanyama is going to need a nap on his comically large bed.

The San Antonio Spurs’ superstar center has carried his team throughout the playoffs, but despite his “alien” persona, Wemby is very much human.

He looked it in the second half of Game 4, when San Antonio blew a 29-point lead to the New York Knicks with a fatigued Wembanyama slogging through 23 of 24 minutes. 

With the finals swinging back to San Antonio, an extra day off between games allows the 7-footer to recharge his batteries before tonight's do-or-die Game 5 showdown.

Although we're not getting any deals in the Victor Wembanyama odds at this point in the postseason, it’s tough for my Knicks vs. Spurs predictions to turn away from his points total.
 
My NBA picks are taking Wemby to best his scoring prop on Saturday, June 13.

Victor Wembanyama prop pick for Game 5

Victor Wembanyama best bet: Over 28.5 points (-105 at bet365)

Victor Wembanyama scored 16 of his 24 total points in the opening half of Game 4, shooting 54.5% from the floor while collecting all three of his free-throw chances.

A glance at his shot chart in that opening 24 minutes shows a very efficient and analytics-friendly fire rate. He either attacked at the rim or let it fly from beyond the arc, shooting just 1-for-5 from deep in the first half.

Once the Wu-Tang Clan had finished igniting the Big Apple crowd during the halftime break, fatigue seemed to settle in for Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. On top of more careless turnovers, the team’s shot selection was passive and leaned on long 3-pointers rather than the aggressive action that built the big lead.

Wembanyama’s energy got lower with every miss, and he seemed bothered by stiff defense from the New York Knicks. That pushed him further out on possessions. The second half shot chart shows Wemby drifting for mid-range jumpers, finishing just 3-for-14 in the closing two frames for eight points.

We’ve seen this from a gassed Wembanyama in these last two rounds, but we’ve also seen him return with well-rested vengeance. 

He scored 26 points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after a three-day break and dropped 32 points after a two-day gap ahead of Game 3. Wembanyama also poured in 41 points (27 in regulation) in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals following a three-day buffer between series.

The most telling part of those efforts was Wembanyama’s numbers after halftime, scoring a collective 61 points on 16-for-35 shooting while getting to the foul line for 24-for-26 success from the stripe.

When aggressive, there’s very little the Knicks have done to bottle up San Antonio’s star center. And in the wake of his off nights, head coach Mitch Johnson has made a focused effort to get Wembanyama going early on. 

With the Spurs’ season on the line in Game 5, expect Wembanyama to leave it all on the floor. I see him landing on the high side of his shot attempts, with fresher legs helping him finish those looks and carry that production deep into the second half.

Victor Wembanyama same-game parlay

I might be one of the rare ones who likes San Antonio to survive Game 5. The two-day break gives Wemby rest and also allows the young Spurs to put the Game 4 collapse behind them. 

New York’s comeback benefited from some lucky bounces, friendly rims, and self-inflicted wounds from San Antonio. Wembanyama will get aggressive from the opening tip, both attacking the rim and cleaning the glass.

Models call for 29+ points and as many as 15+ boards tonight.

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.

For the past 25 years, any remotely good New York Knicks team would eventually get compared to the 1990s Knicks. Makes sense, considering they were the most modern-era squad close to going the distance after New York last celebrated a title in 1973.

If you’re like me, you weren’t around back then. If you’re like my father, you weren’t either. So yeah, the ‘90s are the golden Knicks benchmark for contemporary NYK teams because that is what happens when a franchise spends 50-plus years mostly selling fans hope but ultimately dealing them pain. Alas.

Now, however, this comparison can’t make any more sense.

The 2026 Knicks will play Game 5 of the freaking NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs tonight, heading into it up 3-1, one win from their first championship since forever, and with a chance to topple the heights reached by both the 1994 and 1999 Knicks mobs.

As stupid as it might have sounded just two months ago, the Knicks are the favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy when all is said and done, with FanDuel giving them -500 odds to the Spurs’ +385 entering Saturday’s matchup. See it to believe it!

The 1994 Knicks were the true big one. Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, Derek Harper, all of them led by Pat Riley on the sideline, and coming off a 57-win regular season. The Finals run? Seven games against Hakeem Olajuwon’s Rockets. The ending? A title being close enough to hurt Knicks fans forever.

Then came 1999, the weirdest miracle run. After a shortened regular season following an infamous lockout, the Knicks entered the playoffs as a true underdog with the No. 8 seed out East, beat Miami, beat Atlanta, beat Indiana, and reached the Finals against 2026 dance partners the Spurs. By then, Ewing was hurt, and that was as damaging as what happened five years earlier, with neophyte Tim Duncan and admiral David Robinson pulverizing New York’s hopes in five outings.

These Knicks feel a bit different from those two historic squads in NYK lore. Those two Finals-bound teams were tough as nails, and while the current Knicks can put the clamps on anybody, there’s a distance there, and it’s fair to say that the Julius Randle-RJ Barrett stage of the roster was closer to that than the current version of it.

Jalen Brunson, as the face of the franchise, gives the Knicks the late-game guard those ‘90s teams never really had, in a clear contrast to the forward-and-big-heavy talent crammed into the past iterations of the winning Knicks.

Yes, Karl-Anthony Towns is in the paint these days, but you can’t even start to compare as he’s more of the finesse variety and gives New York a shooting touch who changes everything on the floor.

OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are two of the best two-way wings in the Association and clear-cut models of modern basketball, compared to the grittier and darker and dirtier 1990s wrestling-ball.

Perhaps Josh Hart—with a s/o to Jose Alvarado too—is the latest remnant of that nearly glorious era, only just born 20 years after he should, but lucky to find his way to New York, blossomed into the Energizer Bunny we came to know and love.

The ’90s teams built the standard for Knicks toughness and togetherness, but they will always be remembered for coming oh-so-close, as endearing as they are and will ever be to our hearts.

The 2026 Knicks, however? Oh, boy, these dudes have a chance to cross all t’s and dot all i’s.

One more win, and the 2026 Knicks will forever stop being compared to the 1990s Knicks. They will pass them, put themselves on par with the golden ’70s Knicks, and force new comparisons for the near and distant future.

Game 5. Saturday. Let’s bring it home.

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What can we say about Jalen Brunson that hasn’t already been said about Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson?

Absolutely unstoppable.

Brunson’s late-game heroics have the New York Knicks knocking on the door of their first NBA title since 1973 when they visit the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

I’m not rushing to bet the Under on his points total in my Knicks vs. Spurs predictions, but I will fade assists when it comes to the Jalen Brunson odds.

Find out more in my best NBA picks for Saturday, June 13.

Jalen Brunson prop pick for Game 5

Jalen Brunson best bet: Under 5.5 assists (+110 at bet365)

Jalen Brunson is coming off his best passing performance of the NBA Finals, dishing out seven assists on a potential 15 dimes in the New York Knicks' ridiculous Game 4 comeback.

This is a notable swing in passing production, with Brunson registering just nine potential assists in each of the first three games of the series and finishing with totals of two, six, and five helpers versus the San Antonio Spurs.

Those seven assists in Game 4 marked the first time in the past six postseason games that Brunson finished Over his assists total. It also has this prop market skewing toward six dimes, with Over 5.5 carrying a hefty ask and some books up to 6.5 O/U.

This sudden shift in sharing the basketball wasn’t really Brunson’s doing but was more a result of the Knicks having to scrap their initial offensive schemes for Game 4, as well as suddenly hot shooting from New York in the second half.

Coach Mike Brown was aiming to run the ball through center Karl-Anthony Towns and have Brunson play off-ball more in Game 4 to create space for his shots, but KAT got whistled for two quick fouls in the opening minute.

That had Brunson back as the primary ball handler for a good chunk of time. His 115 touches were a series high after posting 95, 95, and 109 touches in the opening three contests.

Game 5 has Brown going back to his game plan of running Towns as a facilitator at the high post and involving Brunson in screen action away from the ball. That prevents his dribble-heavy slop from Game 3’s loss and exposes the switching issues that plagued the Spurs during the Knicks’ rally on Wednesday.

Brunson's early projections sit above six assists for Saturday, which is nothing new. His projections have repeatedly landed north of this number during the playoffs, yet the Under on assists is 6-2 in his last eight postseason showings.

The prop markets are overcorrecting to a unique game scenario in Game 4. I feel confident that Brunson will be focused on firing up shots and won’t give up the ball with the game on the line.

You can find the Under 5.5 assists paying out as big as +118 or go low on the taller total at Under 6.5 (-160).

Jalen Brunson same-game parlay

Brunson’s seven assists in Game 4 had a lot to do with Towns’ foul trouble. New York wants to take the ball out of his hands and create space for his shots as a cutter.

That scheme will lead to more 3-point looks, with Brunson bagging three triples in each of the past two games, and the game script saying the Knicks are fighting from behind.

Brunson has been big on the boards, with five rebounds in each of his last three outings while putting himself in place for an average of 10.0 rebounding chances in those games.

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.

This is shaping up to be a busy summer in the NBA with the inevitable Giannis Antetokounmpo trade likely coming after the Finals wrap up. That could be the first domino in what is a transaction-heavy offseason. It remains to be seen what role the Cleveland Cavaliers will play in that busy summer.

The Cavs don’t have many assets they could send out to help boost them into the championship-level tier. One of the players they could dangle in trades is 24-year-old Evan Mobley.

The front office has indicated that Mobley is not on the trade block. While that may be true for the time being, we know that things can change quickly in the NBA.

Earlier this week, we asked Cavs’ fans whether or not they’d be open to trading Mobley for a short-term upgrade. Players like Giannis, Jaylen Brown, and Jaylen Williams were given as examples of players Mobley could be traded for.

According to those surveyed, most would prefer to stick with Mobley.

This is an understandable position to take. Mobley has proven to be an All-NBA player and Defensive Player of the Year, while still having the potential to develop further. There’s a world where Mobley evolves into a top 10-15 player.

At the same time, the Cavs’ window to win a championship is narrow after trading Darius Garland for James Harden. There’s a two to three-year time frame that you could realistically hope to compete. Moving Mobley for someone who gives them a better chance to win now isn’t the craziest idea.

Right now, it appears that the New York Knicks are going to win the NBA Finals. FanDuel has them listed as -500 to prevail with their 3-1 lead. The San Antonio Spurs are -5.5 to win Game 5 on Saturday evening.

If it appeared like the Spurs had no clue what they were doing for the final 24 minutes of Game 4, that actually may have been the case.

A damning video has emerged showing San Antonio in complete defensive disarray before its fateful final defensive possession in which OG Anunoby tipped in an offensive rebound with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the Knicks’ 29-point rally in the biggest comeback victory in NBA Finals history.

An overhead video shows several Spurs players pointing at different Knicks players with 5.7 seconds remaining in the 107-106 loss, seemingly in mass confusion.

After De’Aaron Fox made arguably one of the worst decisions in NBA history to attempt a layup while leading 106-105 with roughly 11 seconds left only to be blocked by Anunoby, the Knicks called a timeout and subbed in Landry Shamet for Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges for Jose Alvarado.

The Spurs kept their same five on the floor — Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama — and it seems they did not expect the lineup change on the other side.

Harper flashed his eyes to the sideline while the Knicks took the court, seemingly unsure of who he should be guarding on the play.

Fox pointed to an unguarded Shamet, seemingly indicating that someone should be on him, while the uneasiness among the Spurs grew.

Several players started pointing in different directions, with Castle actually holding out his hands in a manner that indicated, “What is going on?”

Castle and Wembanyama both went toward Karl-Anthony Towns, all while Shamet remained unguarded.

Wembanyama eventually went out to Bridges, while Harper grabbed Shamet.

The Spurs had a man on each Knick on the court while Fox played rover, and they made the curious decision to leave the inbounder, Anunoby, unoccupied.

This call loomed large when Fox opted to double team Jalen Brunson with Wembanyama, which allowed the Knicks to have a 4-on-3 chance at the rim when Brunson missed a long 3.

Anunoby ran free toward the hoop and jumped above a pair of Spurs defenders to tip in the rebound in the play that could be what ultimately lost the series for the Spurs.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson called the tip in a combination of a great play by Anunoby, plus a breakdown by his defense.

Fox seemingly just standing around after Brunson shot the ball, adding to his already brutal night.

“Yeah, bounce off the rim the right way. He tipped it in the right way. It went in,” Harper said after one of the worst defeats in franchise history. “I could play wish I could have did this, wish I could have did that. But at the end of the day he tipped the ball, and it went in the rim.I definitely thought I had a hand on it. I definitely think I helped put the ball in the rim. But just got to box out.”

Game 5: Knicks, and their fans, are in San Antonio, hoping to close out the NBA Finals with a title originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Larry O’Brien Trophy will be in the building. The rehearsals for the presentation ceremony, if one is needed, are complete. Thousands of New York fans have made the trip to Texas, looking to see something that hasn’t happened in 53 years.

The rest is up to the Knicks.

New York can win its first NBA championship since 1973 on Saturday night, with the Knicks holding a 3-1 lead going into Game 5 of the NBA Finals against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

The Knicks are 3-0 in closeout opportunities this season, winning them by an average of 39.3 points — all of them on the road.

“We’ve been preaching all year it’s about the next possession, the next possession, the next possession,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “We understand any time you try to play a closeout game, the level of desperation — for your opponents — increases (and) the level of desperation for the fans of your opponents is increased. You have to bring your best effort because even if you bring your best effort, it may not happen, especially on the road.”

New York got to the brink of this title by rallying from 29 points down in Game 4 to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history and the biggest comeback in any game this season, regular season or playoffs.

The Spurs have led each of the four games entering Saturday by double figures and let three of those games become losses.

“The biggest thing for us is just can’t take our foot off the gas in a sense,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “Can’t get comfortable with a lead. It’s the NBA Finals. Anything could happen, like we just saw. But just at the end of the day, we’ve just got to stay together as a group.”

The referees selected for Saturday’s game were Scott Foster, James Capers and Tyler Ford. Foster and Capers both worked Game 1 and Ford worked Game 2 of the series.

If the Spurs win, Game 6 would be Tuesday in New York.

Warriors' Seth Curry shares intriguing take about NBA Finals MVP conversation originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With the New York Knicks one win away from their first NBA championship in more than 50 years, there’s been plenty of chatter about the NBA Finals MVP.

Jalen Brunson is the clear superstar and leader of the team, but OG Anunoby has had some clutch plays that have led to New York’s success, including a game-saving block and a game-winning tip-in to pull off a miraculous and historic Game 4 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

But Warriors guard Seth Curry is confused by the conversation surrounding the Finals MVP in recent years, something he believes saw an uptick beginning in 2015, as he shared on Threads.

“I’m seeing a lot of Finals MVP talk. who cares,” Curry wrote. “Growing up i never heard anybody talking about finals MVP.. Started around 2015 for some reason.”

2015, of course, was the year the Warriors dynasty won its first of several NBA championships. Former Warriors forward Andre Igoudala was rewarded the NBA Finals MVP that year for his standout defense on former Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, despite Steph Curry being the undisputed star of the team and averaging 26 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 42.5 minutes throughout the six-game series.

After Golden State’s title win, there was a debate over whether Curry deserved it over Iguodala. Despite being a four-time NBA champion, Steph didn’t win his first NBA Finals MVP until the Warriors’ latest win in 2021-22. Although Steph has said numerous times that he couldn’t care less about the Finals MVP award, and cared more about being a champion.

And to Seth’s point, he doesn’t understand why the individual award has all of a sudden been such a hot topic.

Much like Steph, Brunson likely doesn’t care who wins Finals MVP either, should the Knicks be victorious. Bringing a championship to New York after five long decades is a pretty special accolade on its own.

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A little-known Dutch designer scored big after a friend wore her Knicks T-shirt to Madison Square Garden — and it caught the attention of owner Jim Dolan’s pal.

Georgine Ratelband’s $295 “I’m a New York Knicks Girl” tee and five other items from her luxury line are now being sold at the MSG Team Store — debuting just weeks before the team made it to the NBA Finals.

“It’s great timing,” Ratelband, 37, told The Post. “I’m ecstatic. I’m over the moon. I’m so proud.”

Items from her Knicks collection — which include a crewneck sweater for $160, a $385 hoodie, $425 pants, a sequin jacket for $900 and a $1,450 leather jacket — have already been purchased by sports royalty, like New York Knicks star Josh Hart’s wife, Shannon, and former Rangers great Henrik Lundqvist.

“One of my favorite stories is Henrik Lundqvist posted a picture of his daughters wearing my hoodies. It’s an incredible picture, courtside,” she gushed.

“And then Josh Hart, his wife wore one of my shirts. And I mean, these people all bought them too, it’s not like I gifted it to them. So it’s even more special.”

Ratelband, who founded the women’s luxury fashion label Georgine in 2011, introduced sports-themed tees to her collection due to a high demand from her clients — who wanted to up their game when attending sporting events.

“My clients always say, ‘I want to look cute, but I don’t want to be too overdressed,'” said the fashionista, who’s dressed A-listers like Beyoncé, Zendaya, Lady Gaga and Brooke Shields.

“Just because it’s the men playing, us girls also want to be involved.”

In April 2025, she gave the only hand-embroidered “I’m a New York Knicks Girl” tee she designed to her friend to wear toMSG for Game 5 of Round 1 of the playoffs against the Detroit Pistons.

“A friend of Dolan showed it to an executive over at MSG who then referred it over to the merchandise manager,” she explained.

“Before I knew it, I was literally put on a text message [with MSG] and they were like, ‘We love the shirt. How many can we get?’ So I said, ‘None. I only made one!'”

Ratelband immediately contacted the factory she uses in Italy to rush a bulk order.

Her “I’m a New York Knicks Girl” shirt was only sold at the exclusive Delta Lounge at MSG last season, and after the first batches sold out, she was asked to design additional Knicks merch.

“I made a beautiful presentation with sketches and ideas and went into MSG. I was so nervous, it was a huge boardroom with a lot of people to present to. But they loved everything,” said Ratelband.

Ratelband, who moved to New York from the Netherlands in 2014, said her Knicks partnership has special meaning because the term “Knickerbockers” comes from the name of the trousers the original Dutch settlers to Manhattan wore in the 1600s.

“And since I’m Dutch, I just feel like it’s such a perfect collaboration,” she said.

The New York Knicks visit the San Antonio Spurs tonight at Frost Bank Center for Game Five of the NBA Finals. New York leads the series 3-1 and is one win away from its first championship since 1973, while a Spurs victory tonight would send the series back to Madison Square Garden. 

Inquiring minds want to know: can San Antonio recover from the embarrassment of Game Four? The Spurs have led by double digits in every game of this series and were ready to even things up on Wednesday before blowing a 29-point lead. 

New York continues to shoot themselves in both feet by losing first quarters and digging double-digit holes. The Knicks have lost the first quarter in all four games, and in each of their wins, they trailed inside the final two minutes. And yet, they have been the steadier team in the clutch. They rallied from an impossible deficit to win Game Four, 107-106, thanks to MVP-worthy efforts from Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns. For the losers, Victor Wembanyama recorded 24 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks, while rookie Dylan Harper added 21 off the bench.

The Spurs’ formula is simple: spread the floor, push the pace, and let Wembanyama erase mistakes at the rim. When they’re humming, they can bury opponents under a barrage of threes and transition opportunities. To wit, on Wednesday they set a Finals record for most first-half three-pointers. The idea of New York rallying to win was inconceivable to anyone watching because no one had ever rallied from that far down in a Finals game. 

Rally, they did. The Knicks found a way to win by focusing on singles, bunting to get on base, and crashing the boards while San Antonio made one bone-headed decision after another. They should have killed the clock, but instead hoisted bricks too early; they stopped attacking the paint; they missed free throws; they gave the ball away like it had an open herpes sore; etc. 

Thus, the game was a tale of two records—14 made threes by the Spurs in the first half, and a 30-point turnaround for the Knicks in the second.

The expected starters for the Spurs are Fox, Castle, Vassell, Julian Champagnie, and Wembanyama. For the Knicks, Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Anunoby, and Towns. The injury report is clean for both sides. Both teams have had two full days off between games. San Antonio gets the benefit of returning home, but neither side enters with a meaningful rest advantage.

Since the start of the finals, I have collaborated with J.R. Wilco of Pounding the Rock on Fraternizing with the Enemy pieces. They have been a blast to write. Beyond that, it’s introduced me to the Spurs community and, boy, they have some takes. A common one is that the Spurs are a vastly more talented team and would be ahead 3-1 in the series if not for the impetuousness of youth. Or the Knicks don’t win the games, the Spurs lose them. Some blame Mitch Johnson and want him fired if they lose the Finals, while others counter that abandoning a young coach after the failure is not the Spurs Way. Others cast disdain upon post-win rampaging through the city, which does curdle the stomach, but conveniently neglect to mention how a 17-year-old was beaten into a coma by a Spurs fan.

Imagining myself as a San Antonio fan, I can see myself tied into knots trying to make sense of what has transpired. As a Knicks fan, I have done the same—and perhaps you, too, have experienced moments of irrational justification in defense of our beloved ‘Bockers. Here’s how I see the series so far: these teams are evenly matched, each with edges in various spots. The Knicks tend to start slowly, but build momentum throughout the game, whereas the Spurs come out running and gunning, then gradually lose steam. San Antonio is green, no denying that, and have made mistakes that show their inexperience, while the Knicks are mostly 30ish-year-old vets in their prime who have been already earned the scars necessary to win championships. And Mike Brown is a better coach than Mitch Johnson.

That’s how I see the series. Would love to hear your takes in the comments blow.

Prediction

ESPN gives New York a 43% chance to win. All hail the underdogs! They will need to withstand what will certainly be an aggressive opening push from a team facing elimination on its home floor. For once, however, we expect our heroes to come out on the right foot. They need to limit live-ball turnovers that fuel San Antonio’s transition game, crash the glass, distribute the ball, make their shots, etc. This series has repeatedly swung toward the team that stays composed when things get weird, and right now the Knicks have all the juice. They close it out tonight by five. Get the banner printed and ready to hang.

Game Details

Who: New York Knicks (3-1) vs San Antonio Spurs (1-3)
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2026
Time: 8:30 PM ET
Place: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
TV: ABC
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

Profile

Position: Point guard

Height: Six-foot-two

Weight: 185 pounds

Comparisons: Elfrid Payton, Earl Watson, Collin Sexton, Reggie Jackson, Jeremiah Fears

Raptors Comparisons: Rafer Alston, T.J. Ford

Strengths

Rim-pressure

Ebuka Okorie’s elite trait is his ability to get to the basket at will. Ranking in the 99th percentile per 100 possessions for attempts at the rim, Okorie understands how to deploy his game-breaking first step and jitterbug agility to get by perimeter defenders. While he graded out better as an isolation scorer, Okorie was also solid in pick-and-roll actions.

His relentless play style naturally resulted in an elite free-throw rate. Okorie finished with a nation-leading 226 free throws – 7.3 per game – and converted on an impressive 83.2 per cent of his attempts.

Self-Creation

Despite Stanford’s lack of top-end talent, Okorie still averaged 23.2 points and 3.6 assists on 46.5 per cent shooting. Opposing teams resorted to shading-type coverages that often were used to slow down offensive threats like Brandon Ingram, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards in the NBA playoffs. Yet Okorie still thrived with the ball in his hands and averaged nearly 31 per cent of Stanford’s points.

While Okorie could stand to improve in certain spots on the floor, he’s still a legitimate three-level scorer. Okorie isn’t an above-the-rim type of athlete, but he can seemingly shift into an unlimited number of gears with the ball in his hands.

Areas for Improvement

Rim efficiency

Okorie may be the best – or most consistent – at applying downhill pressure, but the freshman isn’t necessarily the most effective when he gets into the paint. While nearly 90 per cent of his rim-attempts are unassisted, Okorie converted on roughly 55 per cent of those dribble-drives. That ranks him as an average finisher among NCAA players.

Against the California Golden Bears on Jan. 24, Okorie was held to 1-of-16 from the field, with nearly half of his shots coming at the rim. Fortunately for Okorie, his knack for getting to the basket still resulted in 14 free throws. If Okorie sees even a slight uptick in efficiency, that might be the swing factor that catapults him into a draft-day steal at 19.

Defensive Ceiling

Like some of the other scoring guards available in this part of the draft, Okorie has question marks surrounding his defence. If it weren’t for this potential red flag, his intriguing offensive profile would have been enough to lock him into the lottery. Like with Christian Anderson, opposing lead guards will hunt Okorie down with a laser focus. A silver lining to not having Immanuel Quickley push his luck with his injury during the playoffs, was not having to worry about the Cleveland Cavaliers attacking him on switches. With Jamal Shead, the Raptors mostly switched without concern. Drafting Okorie at 19 would complicate that luxury.

Okorie did convert some of his doubters when he measured with a 6’7.75” wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine. How quickly and consistently Okorie can adapt to the league’s physicality will determine his overall ceiling.

Potential fits with Toronto

Microwave scorer off the bench

The Raptors averaged 33.5 bench points per game, which ranked 24th in the league. That needs to improve, particularly on a roster that includes Brandon Ingram and Quickley’s injury concerns. Ingram had a bounce-back season from a health perspective, but another lower-body injury hampered the Raptors’ chances at getting past the first round of the post-season. Quickley has missed 60 regular-season games (and all seven playoff games this past year) since being acquired by the Raptors. Okorie represents offensive insurance should the team run into bad injury-luck again this season.

With the Raptors at full-strength, Okorie becomes a fascinating member of a bench unit that exceeded expectations in the playoffs. Even though it pushes Ja’Kobe Walter to the three spot, an Okorie and Shead backcourt off the bench is a fun dynamic.

Taylor Jenkins has made another round of hires as Milwaukee’s head man—per reporting from Hoops Hype’s Mike Scotto—bringing in Vince Legarza & Brad Jones as assistant coaches. Legarza’s name may ring a bell for Bucks fans, as he was hired as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer in his final season in Milwaukee; he then followed coach Bud to Phoenix the following year. But the connections don’t stop there, with Legarza and Jenkins having worked under Budenholzer in Atlanta. The NBA: a very small world.

As far as Brad Jones is concerned, he was an assistant for Jenkins with the Grizzlies, having been with the organisation (in some capacity) since 2018. Jones has had quite the journey to get to this point. Way back in 2010, he was named head coach of the Austin Toros (San Antonio’s D-League affiliate), leading them to the title in 2012. In 2013, he got a shot with the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach, which was then followed by his appointment as the GM of the Iowa Wolves (Minnesota’s D-League affiliate) as well as a scout for the big team. Then, as I mentioned, he wound up with the Grizzlies, and here we are.

As Zac wrote about previously, Darvin Ham, and Patrick St. Andrews—both of whom have already had extensive coaching experience in the Cream City—are back under Jenkins, while Joe Boylan arrives for his first stint. The coaching bench seems to be rounding out quite nicely!

It’s been five years since Mikal Bridges walked off the court in disappointment after the Phoenix Suns lost Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now, Bridges finds himself one win away from finishing the job with the New York Knicks, as they are up 3-1 against the San Antonio Spurs with three chances to clinch.

It’s been a long journey for Bridges, who is about to wrap up his eighth season in the NBA. Just two seasons after helping the Suns reach the Finals, he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a package for Kevin Durant, moving him to NYC.

That’s where Bridges’ career really began to take off as he averaged 21.2 points per game in 109 games across two seasons with the Nets. His value grew exponentially, so when the Nets found themselves in need of a reset, they traded him to the Knicks for five future first-round picks.

Since the trade, many have criticized the deal, saying the Knicks gave up too much for someone who likely won’t see an All-Star game in his career. He ranks fourth on the Knicks in scoring behind Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby, but he brings more value to the team than scoring.

Bridges’ defense, consistency and toughness are why the Knicks traded their entire future. They had a championship in mind when they made the trade, and the prophecy can be fulfilled if they can win one more.

If the Knicks can win the championship, the trade will be forever justified and Bridges’ long quest for a ring will come to an end.