They’ll host the Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 21 in both team’s season opener as part of ESPN’s opening-week doubleheader on the second day of the regular season.
The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. PT tipoff.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers is double-teamed by Gary Payton II and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors in the first half at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 28, 2026. Getty Images
The matchup will also mark the first time since the 2018-19 season, James’ first season with the franchise, that the Lakers weren’t featured on the league’s Opening Night.
Celtics at Pistons, 76ers at Knicks and Thunder at Spurs are scheduled for Oct. 20 as part of a NBC/Peacock Opening Night triple-header.
Lakers-Warriors will be proceeded by Timberwolves at Heat in the team debuts for LaMelo Ball (Minnesota) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Miami) to kick off the ESPN doubleheader.
This season will mark the second straight season and the fourth time in the last six years the Lakers and Warriors played each other for their season openers.
The Warriors won each of the previous three season-opening matchups.
This will mark the seventh time in eight seasons the Lakers will play their first game of the season in California, with their Opening Night matchup against the Nuggets in 2023 being the lone exception.
The league will release the NBA Cup Group Play schedule on Wednesday before announcing the entire schedule at noon on Thursday.
DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 26: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball during the game against the Detroit Pistons on February 26, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Celtics will tip off the 2026-2027 NBA season on the road against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, October 20th at 3pm ET, the NBA has announced.
It’s the first in a three-game slate, followed by games at the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the New York Knicks at 7pm ET and the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the San Antonio Spurs at 9:30pm ET. That means Boston will take part in the first official game of the regular season.
The Celtics will then host the Knicks on Friday, October 23rd at 7pm ET for their home opener.
The first four days of the 2026-27 NBA regular season will feature nine national games across NBC/Peacock, ESPN and Prime Video.
The Celtics will host the Miami Heat on Christmas Day
The NBA also announced the league’s Christmas Day schedule, and the Celtics will host the new-look Miami Heat in the second game of the day, at 2:30pm ET. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, and the rest of the squad will face Jayson Tatum and the Celtics at TD Garden.
The rest of the slate includes San Antonio Spurs @ New York Knicks at 12pm ET, Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Lakers at 5pm ET, Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves at 8pm ET, and Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors at 10:30pm ET.
The NBA will feature five games on Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25) for the 19th consecutive year, with ABC and ESPN both televising each matchup.
Highlights include the first meeting between the Knicks and Spurs since the 2026 NBA Finals, as well as new 76er LeBron James’ return… pic.twitter.com/CgWdaaFJXN
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 13: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs plays defense on Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks during Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The two biggest regular season games of the defending champion New York Knicks’ schedule have been released, as the NBA revealed Tuesday morning on Good Morning America that the Knicks would open their season by raising the banner on October 20th against the Philadelphia 76ers before squaring off with the San Antonio Spurs in an NBA Finals rematch at MSG on Christmas Day.
The Ring Night matchup against the Sixers was not something that many saw coming after the season concluded, but Philly’s two blockbuster moves to acquire Jaylen Brown and LeBron James moved them to the front of the line to open their season at the World’s Most Famous Arena with their new-look roster.
Weirdly, they will not be the first game of the NBA season, as the league decided to put Pistons-Celtics at 3pm on a Tuesday for some reason, marking the first time since 2022-23 the defending champions weren’t playing the first game of the league calendar.
As for Christmas, it’s the juiciest possible matchup between the two teams with probably the best inter-conference rivalry in basketball (Celtics-Lakers hasn’t had that feel in a while). Classic matchups the last three years that included Brunson’s 60-point game, Wembanyama’s 40-20, a Christmas 2024 clash, Champagnie’s barrage of threes on NYE 2025, the 2025 NBA Cup Final, and of course, the 2026 NBA Finals, the most viewed finals since Michael Jordan still roamed.
It’s the sixth consecutive year the Knicks will be playing at Madison Square Garden on Christmas, expanding their lead on all-time appearances to 59. It’s the 11th consecutive time they’ll be playing at MSG, dating back to a clash at Staples Center with the Lakers in 2012-13. Before that, the last time the Knicks spent Christmas on the road was 1999 against Indiana. It will also likely be the 10th consecutive noon appearance for the Knicks, because let’s be real.
It’s also a return of something that a lot of fans clamor for every year. It’s the first time since 2018 that Christmas features an NBA Finals rematch, something not seen since the Cavs and Warriors did it three straight years. The lack of true juice in the Finals can contribute to that feeling, but we definitely have a rivalry here to sink our teeth into.
The other matchups on these two nights include the Western Conference champion Spurs hosting the 2025 NBA champion OKC Thunder on Opening Night. On Christmas, it’s Giannis and the Heat heading to Boston to face Jayson Tatum and the Celtics, LeBron returning to Los Angeles to play his former team, the Thunder visiting Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, and Nikola Jokic squaring off with Steph Curry in the Bay Area.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 10: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks plays defense during the game against Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers during Round Two Game Four of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 10, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
With Jaylen Brown and LeBron James joining a talented Philadelphia 76ers core that now has legitimate championship aspirations, attention around this Sixers season is going to be ratcheted up to the maximum. We already heard they’ll be slated for the maximum allotted nationally televised games during the upcoming 2026-27 regular season. Tuesday morning, we received news of a few of those high-profile events.
The NBA’s Christmas Day schedule is headlined by LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers visiting Los Angeles to face the Luka Dončić-led Lakers and a Spurs-at-Knicks NBA Finals rematch.
The Sixers will open the season on Tuesday, October 20 at Madison Square Garden against the defending champion New York Knicks. While I don’t relish the idea of seeing a banner-raising ceremony in front of a cheering arena of Knicks fans, a Sixers win to kick off this new era would provide a small measure of consolation. Some are calling this one the Ariel Hukporti revenge game.
Philadelphia’s home opener will be on Thursday, October 22 at 7:00 pm ET against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With Jaylen Brown and LeBron James taking the court in Philadelphia for the first time as Sixers (not counting possible preseason appearances), those tickets are sure to be sold out and highly sought after on the secondary markets. James Harden in the building should provide some interesting Sliding Doors-like thoughts to run through our heads.
Later, the Sixers will make their return to Christmas Day action as they head west to take on the Lakers in Los Angeles. It will be LeBron’s first time playing against the Lakers since the 2017-18 season during his second stint with the Cavaliers. I would imagine this game will be at or near the beginning of Philadelphia’s annual Disney on Ice road trip. Seeing the Sixers square up against Luka Doncic should be one fun final present to unwrap that day.
The only surprise is not seeing the Sixers up against the Boston Celtics in one of these slates for the Jaylen Brown return narrative. Regardless, I’m sure the league will have at least a couple juicy viewing windows across the four meetings between the clubs this season, and these already announced games have plenty of fun star power and storylines. Basketball is nearly back!
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers in action during a game against the New York Knicks on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Getty Images North America)
The Lakers will face off against a familiar face for their Christmas Day matchup.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers in action during a game against the New York Knicks on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Getty Images
It’ll be James’ lone visit to Crypto.com Arena as an opposing player during the 2026-27 season after spending eight seasons with the franchise.
The matchup will tip off at 2 p.m. PT, with ABC (Ch. 7) and ESPN televising every Christmas Day game.
The Lakers have played on Christmas every year since 1999, and have played the second-most games on the holiday (52) behind the Knicks (58).
James (20) has appeared in the most Christmas Day games. The league’s all-time leading scorer has also scored the most points on Christmas.
The NBA announced the league’s Christmas Day slate as part of a release of marquee games.
The five-game Christmas schedule will also feature the Spurs-Knicks NBA Finals rematch at Madison Square Garden, the Celtics hosting Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Heat, the Timberwolves hosting the Thunder and the Warriors hosting the Nuggets.
The league will release the NBA Cup Group Play schedule on Wednesday before announcing the entire schedule at noon on Thursday.
Knicks celebrate championship win over Spurs on June 13, 2026.
The Knicks are firmly the main attraction.
The NBA placed its defending champions front and center, as the Knicks will be showcased on both opening night and Christmas Day.
They will face off with LeBron James and the 76ers on Opening Night at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 20, where they will raise their championship banner and collect their rings in front of the King and his new team. It will be LeBron and Jaylen Brown’s debuts with Philadelphia after the team’s blockbuster moves this offseason.
LeBron James signed with the 76ers this offseason. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It will be the first time the Knicks raise a championship banner since 1973 – their last title.
The game – at 7 p.m. ET on NBC – will be the second of a triple-header slate on the network, sandwiched between a Celtics-Pistons matchup and Thunder-Spurs showdown.
Knicks celebrate championship win over Spurs on June 13, 2026. Jason Szenes for NY Post
On Christmas Day, the Knicks will host Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs at MSG in a Finals rematch – the first meeting between the two teams since Game 5, when the Knicks secured the championship.
The two teams similarly played each other on Christmas Day two years ago in 2024, providing an exhilarating preview of what they would deliver a year later. Mikal Bridges memorably erupted for 41 points in a 117-114 Knicks win. Wemby put on a show with 42 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks for the Spurs.
This year’s matchup will kick off the league’s Christmas Day slate, at noon on ABC/ESPN. Later in the day, LeBron will return to Los Angeles as the 76ers square off with the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Heat-Celtics, Thunder-Timberwolves and Thunder-Warriors are the other Christmas Day matchups.
And the Knicks will travel to Boston to play the Celtics as part of Amazon Prime’s first Friday night doubleheader on Oct. 23 – at 7 p.m. ET. before Rockets-Spurs later in the night.
It will be the second nationally televised game the Knicks play in the first week of the season and the first time they will play against Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the Celtics this offseason after eight years in New York.
The Knicks have a long history of playing on Christmas, with more games (58), wins (26) and losses (32) than any other team. Last year, they delivered another memorable win – overcoming a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit (a taste of what would come later in the postseason) to come back and beat the Cavs 126-124 at MSG. Jalen Brunson poured in 34 points while Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson had huge games off the bench.
It was a role reversal the last time the Knicks played on the league’s Opening Night two years ago – against the Celtics at TD Garden for Boston’s banner and ring night after their 2024 title. The Knicks were blown out 132-109.
This time, though, it will be their coronation in front of a national audience. Their banner entering immortality. Their rings sliding onto their fingers.
The New York Knicks will begin their defense of their NBA Championship when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers to open the 2026-27 season on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden.
The day begins with the Boston Celtics visiting the Detroit Pistons, tipping off at 3 p.m. ET. Both teams suffered epic flameouts in the playoffs last season. Boston lost in seven games in the first round to the 76ers, and Detroit, as the East's No. 1 seed, also lost in seven games but in the second round to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Knicks will hold their championship banner ceremony before tipping off their title defense against the Sixers and new addition LeBron James at 7 p.m. ET. The nightcap will pit the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Spurs in San Antonio.
New York expects to bring back its starting five of Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl Anthony Towns for a chance at back-to-back championships. There have been eight different NBA champions in the last eight seasons, with the Golden State Warriors being the last to repeat in 2017 and 2018.
Philadelphia, which hasn't won an NBA title since 1983, brings star power that could challenge the Knicks in the Eastern Conference with the acquisition of Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics and the signing of James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, who will turn 42 in December. Tyrese Maxey, who averaged 28.3 points and 6.6 assists last season, and oft-injured former MVP Joel Embiid provide the 76ers with a top-heavy roster that hopes to compete for a title.
A CAN'T-MISS TRIPLEHEADER TO OPEN THE SEASON.
🍿 Jayson Tatum, Paul George and the Celtics visit Cade Cunningham and last year's top-seeded Pistons
🍿 LeBron James and Jaylen Brown make Sixers debuts vs. Jalen Brunson and the Knicks on their championship banner raising night at… pic.twitter.com/jazcOOP8PB
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 24: Isaiah Joe #11 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Game Four of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The big names and blockbuster trades have stolen the headlines, but championships are often determined by the under-the-radar moves that were overlooked by other teams. The Knicks might not have won the championship this past season without Landry Shamet, who signed a minimum deal in September and then made the team after Malcolm Brogdon abruptly retired during training camp. Good teams are usually buoyed by a team-friendly signing or a lopsided trade or by discovering a diamond in the rough.
Here are nine NBA moves that didn’t get much attention that could pay off big time in the upcoming season.
Pistons acquire Isaiah Joe for two second-round picks
Malik Beasley finished one bucket behind Anthony Edwards for the most made three-pointers in the NBA during the 2024-25 season with the Pistons. Beasley was then indicted on federal sports gambling and wire fraud charges before the Pistons could re-sign him, and Detroit had a noticeable lack of shooting by finishing No. 29 in three-point rate and No. 17 in three-point percentage last season. Isaiah Joe is one of the few shooters in the world on Beasley’s level, and the Pistons’ front office did well to pluck him away from the Oklahoma City Thunder for a couple second-round picks so OKC could trim their luxury tax bill. Joe hit 42% from three on six attempts per game last year, but what really makes him good is that he’s a solid screener who can run off pick-and-pops and hit shots off movement. He should be a natural fit between Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson on the perimeter, and Detroit has enough team defense to insulate him on that end when they need to.
Collin Gillespie agrees to four-year, $48 million deal with Phoenix Suns
Gillespie is an inspiring story for future journeymen. He signed a series of two-way deals after going undrafted out of Villanova in 2022, finally got a guaranteed contract with the Suns last season, and immediately popped as one of the best bargains in the league. It feels like Phoenix inked him to another team-friendly extension this year by locking him up for $48 million over four years before he could hit free agency. Gillespie graded out as a 90th percentile offensive player and 75th percentile defensive player in EPM last season, and he’s a fringe top-100 player in the league in RAPM. He’s a really good shooter who hit 40% of his threes on high volume (12.5 attempts per 100 possessions) last year while also hitting the glass well for his position. He’s also a solid enough defender to avoid putting extra pressure on Devin Booker on that end. Gillespie is just a smart, well-rounded player who will fit in well with Phoenix regardless of how the roster continues to develop. If Khaman Maluach can take the sophomore leap I’m expecting this season, the Suns might actually have a nice core around Booker.
Hornets trade Miles Bridges to Suns for an unprotected 2033 first-round pick + two rotation pieces
While I thought Charlotte sold low on LaMelo this offseason, there’s no doubt their Miles Bridges trade is a highway robbery. The Hornets took advantage of Suns governor Mat Ishbia’s Michigan State bias by leveraging an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, Grayson Allen, and Royce O’Neale out of Phoenix in return for Bridges. Bridges can put up decent volume scoring numbers, but he’s a mediocre or worse as a shooter and defender, and just isn’t really an impact player on both ends. This is amazing value for Charlotte for a player they won’t really miss. The Hornets are loaded with future assets right now, and already have a good young talent base and a sound identity crafted by head coach Charles Lee. This Phoenix pick could eventually be included in a trade that helps them take the next step.
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets agree to five-year, $81.5 million deal
It felt like this was the year teams finally took full advantage of their leverage in restricted free agency. The Rockets were able to keep Tari Eason around on an $81.5 million deal that will pay him about $14.1 million per year when he graded out as a $20.6 million player in Steph Noh’s salary tool. Eason’s offense abandoned him in the second half of last season, but he’s still a big, physical forward who can take on a variety of tough defensive assignments and help his team get out in transition. He’s a really good rebounder on both ends, and fits in well with the relentless style head coach Ime Udoka wants to play. Eason needs to figure out how to score more efficiently inside the arc, but maybe getting point guard Fred VanVleet back healthy this season will help in that department. Whether he’s part of the Rockets’ long-term or eventually turns into a trade piece, Eason should be a good player on a value contract for the entirety of his deal.
Hawks sign C.J. McCollum to one-year deal
The Hawks got better after they traded Trae Young midway through last season, eventually giving the Knicks their toughest series in the first-round of the playoffs last year with C.J. McCollum turning into their go-to guy in crunch-time. Atlanta brought back McCollum on a team-friendly one-year, $21 million deal over the summer to keep their conductor in place while maintaining flexibility for a bigger move in the future. McCollum is still really good at creating offense for himself and others, and players in that mold usually get huge contracts after proving they can do it in the playoffs. McCollum is at a point in his career where no one was going to break the bank for him, so returning to Atlanta for a nice pay day on a one-year deal made sense for both sides. Atlanta continued to add pieces (Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor) that will make them even more annoying to play against this season. Flemings should take over McCollum’s role eventually, but now he doesn’t need to be forced into critical minutes for a team that thinks it can actually win a playoff series this year.
Nets re-sign Day’ron Sharpe and Josh Minott
The Nets are expected to be the worst team in the league by the preseason over/unders, but I wouldn’t count on it. Jordi Fernandez is one of the best head coaches in the league, and he has a team that can surprise some people. Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle are a solid one-two veteran punch, and youngsters like Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. give the team some future upside. I thought Brooklyn made a couple smart under-the-radar signings to their supporting cast by bringing back Day’ron Sharpe on a two-year, $20 million deal and landing Josh Minott for $9 million over two years. Sharpe has been better than Nets starting center Nic Claxton the last two years, so he should be an upgrade as he moves into a starting role by crushing the glass and finishing his chances efficiently inside. Minott found a home on the Nets after arriving midseason from Boston, showing off athletic wing defense and an improved three-point stroke. Tanking is dead, and Brooklyn doesn’t control its first-round pick in 2027 (owed to Houston) anyway, so they might as well try to be a plucky overachievers while building for the future. I think Fernandez can lead them there.
Dean Wade to the 76ers
The Sixers suddenly have a lot of guys who can score the ball. What they need now is some players who can do the dirty work, and that makes Wade an optimal signing. Wade joined Philly even before they executed the Jaylen Brown trade, let alone the LeBron signing, but he fits perfectly into the Sixers’ completed puzzle. The 29-year-old does his best work on the defensive end. He moves well on the perimeter for someone with his size (6’8, 230 pounds), and he should be Philly’s go-to wing stopper when he’s on the floor. Offensively, Wade is a low-usage forward who takes 70% of his field goal attempts from three, and knocks them down at a 36% clip. He can conceivably play some small ball five for a Sixers team that will need center options when Joel Embiid can’t play, and he’s versatile enough to fit into a variety of lineup structures come playoff time. Wade’s four-year, $38 million deal is easy to overlook in the Sixers’ star-studded offseason, but he’ll be a factor as soon as the season starts.
Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams to the Lakers on 1-year deals
The Lakers’ forward rotation is one of the biggest question marks in the league entering the season. Los Angeles clearly needs defensive-minded wings who can help cover up for Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and funnel drivers to Walker Kessler’s rim protection, and they took two good, cheap fliers with free agents Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams. Thybulle has long been one of the great defensive playmakers in the league, but his offense has always bordered on unplayable. He took a nice step forward last year in Portland by improving his three-point shot (43.8% on 3.8 attempts per game), and he could be a super valuable piece for the Lakers as long as he’s not killing their spacing. Williams was a toolsy wing scorer coming out of Stanford who realized his best chance to stick in the league was committing to being a good defender. He’s excellent at getting into the passing lanes and getting his team out in transition, and he also improved his three-point volume (nearly 10 attempts per 100 possessions) and accuracy (better than 34%) last year in Brooklyn. If anyone can make Thybulle and Williams playable on offense, it’s Luka Doncic, and they could be exactly what he needs to compete defensively.
Grizzlies acquire Isaiah Stewart for three second-round picks
Stewart helped make the Pistons one of the toughest teams in the league last year, and he’s should be a perfect fit into the Memphis Grizzlies’ culture. He’s an awesome secondary rim protector (7% block rate last season) on defense who can hit the glass and bring some toughness and physicality inside. He’s a pretty low usage offensive player, but his an efficient interior scorer who has made some progress with his three-point stroke to be a little bit of a floor spacer. Beef Stew can be a bit of a loose cannon on the court, but Memphis will love his personality, and he should be a culture setter for a rebuilder that is going to take off faster than most people realize around Cameron Boozer.
When the Bucks acquired Damian Lillard in 2023 at 33 years old, they probably figured they would get three, maybe four years of high-level play from him, and with him and Giannis, could credibly field a contending team during that time. But then in Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, everything changed. After valiantly figthing to return from deep vein thrombosis in his calf that had sidelined him for the back-third of the season, Lillard tore his Achilles in devastating fashion.
Almost instantly, plans were thrown into a tailspin, and a pivotal decision faced the franchise. It had not been long enough since the acquisition of Lillard for the team to have replenished enough future draft picks to use in another all-in trade, and it wasn’t as if Lillard was an expiring contract either, ruling free agency out. In short, the Bucks were stuck. This triggered rampant speculation about Giannis’ future in Milwaukee, because common sense indicated that after Lillard’s injury, he could no longer contend there. Just about everyone, including me, assumed that Giannis would request a trade.
But, he never did (not forcefully, at least).
Therefore, Jon Horst refused to entertain a deal from the Bucks’ end either, instead reverting to the long-engrained muscle memory he’d developed during the Antetokounmpo era: build around the two-time MVP to the best of your ability.
But as I mentioned, this time was different. This time Horst didn’t have the assets or flexibility to know that, if spent correctly, he could make the team a contender. No, this time he needed to scrounge for spare change in between the couch cushions—and even work outside the rules, allegedly—just to give the team a puncher’s chance. At which point, you surely have to ask yourself, “is this really worth it?” I certainly didn’t think it was, as I weighed the potential upside against the potential downside.
In this two-part series, I’ll be making the case that Horst messed up by not trading Giannis after the 2024-25 season. More or less, my entire argument can be boiled down to a belief that the core job of a general manager is to maximise assets (and not to sound crass, but at the most basic level, that’s what players are: assets). GMs need to evaluate, based on a variety of factors, whether a player is maximised as A. part of their team, or B. as a trade asset. We see it all the time, and it is borne out in many different ways.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 29: General manager Will Dawkins of the Washington Wizards addresses the media as the Washington Wizards introduce their 2024 draft picks at Union Station on June 29, 2024 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty Images
For example, the Wizards—as a team whose top priority is peaking 2-4 years from now—would probably not entertain trading Kyshawn George. However, Kyle Kuzma—despite being Washington’s best player when he was there—was best maximised as a trade chip because he did not fit their timeline, which, as I mentioned, was the number one factor driving Washington’s decision-making. Different teams have different priorities, and these priorities explain why they value certain assets differently. The Thunder would not entertain trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at any point in the near future because their top priority is winning right now, and, crucially, that is a very realistic expectation for them to have.
Last summer, due to unforeseen circumstances (and some very foreseen ones), Giannis tipped over into being best maximised as a trade chip for the first time ever, and that looked unlikely to change down the road. Sorry, but that is just the cold, hard reality. We all love the big fella, and in an ideal world, he’d have been a Buck for life, but there’s a reason—many reasons, actually—that we rarely see one-team players anymore, no matter how legendary. Contracts exist. Title windows exist. Aprons exist. Generally, elite players cannot spend most of their career contending on the same team, and, well, elite players want to contend!
Unfortunately, this is just how the NBA goes. You can choose to get ahead of it or let it smack you in the face.
Anyway, before I go any further, the one point I want to stress is that this is not intended to be some “anti-Giannis article.” I’ll always appreciate what Giannis gave to the Bucks, but I’m also deeply invested in how the team looks long after he’s gone. This article is about strategy—nothing more, nothing less. If you come at it more from a sentimental point of view, or were simply in the “do everything to try to keep Giannis, and if it doesn’t work, at least we tried” camp, you’ll get zero pushback from me. I personally happen to view things almost exclusively through an asset-maximisation lens. Maybe that’s because I’m not from Milwaukee. Maybe I’m just soulless!? Is that it? Probably. In any event, respectful difference of opinion is what makes Brew Hoop great.
The 2025 offseason: A redux
So, Giannis didn’t request a trade, shocking the basketball world—let’s go from there. The question you start with is why didn’t he ask out? Did GA actually think the roster Horst had assembled could contend? No, he did not. ESPN’s Shams Charania’s reporting from later that offseason indicated that Giannis was by no means oblivious to the state of the team. It almost sounds like he just didn’t have it in him to ask out at that point in time after Horst had jumped through hoops to reconfigure the team on the fly.
Frankly, fair enough. Giannis had—has—a different type of relationship with Milwaukee. He grew up there. He was beloved. It was his home. His city. His state. But reportedly, Giannis was having these conversations about his future; they were just happening with his agent instead of Horst.
“Ever since the NBA draft combine in mid-May, Alex Saratsis, Antetokounmpo’s US-based representative, has fielded rampant interest in Antetokounmpo and conducted serious due diligence on best possible outside fits should the star and his reps push to be traded from the Bucks.”
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 17: (L-R) Nick Monroe, Giannis Antetokounmpo, George Panou, and Alex Saratsis attends "Giannis: The Marvelous Journey" World Premiere on February 17, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Prime Video) | Getty Images for Prime Video
Now, whether Horst agreed with the seemingly obvious fact that the team had no shot of contending—shockingly, ESPN’s reporting states that he did not—there was clearly no way that he’d be the one to initiate a Giannis trade; the big fella had to do that.
I hate to say it, but if Giannis wasn’t going to blink, Horst absolutely should have.
Horst is paid the big bucks (pardon the pun) to weigh risk vs. reward and make informed, responsible decisions that are in the best interests of the franchise—both in the short and long term. To me, he did not weigh both of those equally. He prioritised the short term and made a high-risk decision with pretty minimal upside—even if everything went perfectly—instead of opting for the low-risk option with enormous upside.
Maybe this is a spicy take, but I reckon Horst should have approached Giannis and said, “look, as hard as it is to accept, we both know this is over. I’m going to send you somewhere you can compete while compensating Milwaukee in droves; everybody wins.” Based on reporting from the past 12 months, I’m quite confident that Giannis would have secretly been relieved if that had happened. But Horst didn’t do that, and entered the summer going all-out to build around GA, once again. Assets be damned.
The Giannis-and-friends Bucks
By the end of the summer, the team consisted of one superstar and a bunch of role players. “Giannis and friends,” as I liked to call it. Any rational person could tell that this team was never going to be in the title picture. Well, if Shams Charania is to be believed, Horst isn’t all that rational.
According to Charania’s aformentioned reporting, when Horst flew to Greece in late July last year to meet with Giannis and assuage concerns the franchise legend had over the roster, he told GA that he believed the team could compete for a championship in the Eastern Conference. Eek.
Now, whether you think that was just something the Bucks GM told Giannis to try to keep him invested is up to you; I’m just relaying what was reported. In any event, Giannis was skeptical, apparently, and had already begun to cast his eyes elsewhere, taking a particular interest in joining the New York Knicks.
“The Bucks picked up the Knicks’ call on Antetokounmpo, and the sides engaged in conversations for a window of time in August, league sources said, but the teams never got traction on a deal.”
While it would be disingenuous to call this a legitimate “trade request,” at a minimum, Giannis was clearly questioning whether he could still win in the Cream City. His eyes were wandering, and chances were that if the first half of the season went poorly (which it did), the “eyes wandering” would turn into a trade request (which it did).
Horst had to see the oncoming train and get off the tracks while there was still time (provided Giannis would be willing to broaden his list of preferred locations, of course). Maybe it was too late in the offseason to make such a monumental move; I don’t know. It should have never gotten to that point anyway. I mean, what did the Bucks GM think was going to happen when he constructed a roster in which Gary Trent Jr. could be ranked the third-best player!? Looking back, the season that ensued was entirely predictable; I should have taken my green-coloured glasses off when I predicted a 47-win season. Sheesh.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – APRIL 10: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks sits on the bench during the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Fiserv Forum on April 10, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Like, we know that Giannis loves Milwaukee, but—again, approaching the final team-controlled year on his contract and with the team in significant pick debt—if you have even minimal doubts that you canconstruct a legit contender around him, then to me, it’s probably not worth trying. The big fella isn’t going to look at your hodgepodge attempt at creating a contender and give you an A for effort. With only so many years left in his career, he demands the real thing, as he has alluded to repeatedly over the years.
As the general manager, if you can no longer give GA the “real thing,” you need to cut your losses and end things on your terms. You have to. Because if you don’t, he will end things on his. There’s no blind loyalty in this game. Giannis has always operated under the simple premise that if he can win in Milwaukee, he will stay, and if he can’t, he will probably have to leave. Horst allowed himself to be left holding the bag because he was unrealistic about his ability to construct a team that could adhere to this requirement.
These are the moments that separate the great GMs: having the ability to A. be two steps ahead at all times, and B. have the stones to make incredibly tough decisions that may be unpopular in the moment but are in the team’s best long-term interests. I’m sure there were plenty of Thunder fans seething at Sam Presti for trading Paul George, which led to Russell Westbrook’s ouster and ended OKC’s title window, but he recognised that his assets—one of which is a franchise legend—were best maximised as trade chips, and boy, was he right about that. This same opportunity, more or less, could very well have been sitting in front of Horst, but he was clearly so wedded to the idea that he needed to keep his star player at all costs… that he allowed it to pass him by.
Decisions like these show why Presti is widely regarded as the best GM in the game, and Horst is not.
PHOENIX - JANUARY 2: Amare Stoudemire #32 of the Phoenix Suns dunks against Zach Randolph #50 of the Portland Trail Blazers on January 2, 2005 at America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Licence Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Statistical anomalies. One-off games. Things that don’t happen very often, and when they do, you stop and take notice. That’s what we’re exploring throughout the month of August as we dig into some of the stranger statistical oddities scattered throughout Phoenix Suns history.
Today, we’re looking at something that has happened only twice in franchise history. And seeing as one of the players involved will enter the Hall of Fame later this week, it felt like the perfect time to revisit it. The anomaly? Scoring 50 points in a game while grabbing 10 or more rebounds.
When you hear those two numbers together, your mind probably starts racing through the possibilities. Maybe Charles Barkley. Perhaps a one-off Alvan Adams performance. But the only two players in Suns history to do it both did so at the age of 22.
The first was Amar’e Stoudemire, who finished with 50 points and 11 rebounds on January 2, 2005, in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The second came 14 years later, on March 27, 2019, when Devin Booker scored 50 points against the Washington Wizards and grabbed 10 rebounds.
When Stoudemire did it, it was the 30th game of the season, and the Suns walked away with a 26–4 record. It was an exclamation point in the surprising 2004-05 season, one in which the Suns took the league by storm. Booker’s performance came under very different circumstances. He scored 50 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but Phoenix lost to the Washington Wizards and fell to 17–59.
For Stoudemire, that night represented the high point of his career from a scoring perspective. Those 50 points were a career high. Booker, meanwhile, has scored 50 or more eight times in his career. In fact, he owns seven of the 10 highest scoring games in franchise history, with Tom Chambers and Tony Delk accounting for the other spots in the top 10.
As for Amar’e, that night was spectacular. I remember watching it at some little dive bar off Scottsdale Road during the first season of the Seven Seconds or Less era, when that team had become unbelievably entertaining to watch. Stoudemire went to work, finishing 20-of-27 from the field and 10-of-17 from the line to get to his 50 points. He did it against Zach Randolph and Darius Miles, who had absolutely no answer for him.
This week, we welcome Amar’e Stoudemire to the Hall of Fame, and performances like this are a big reason why. He looked great playing alongside Stephon Marbury, but when Steve Nash came to town, Stoudemire went to another level. He possessed an aggressiveness and ferocity that paired perfectly with what Nash was as a player, and together they became the engine of one of the most entertaining eras in Suns history. Now, Amar’e is rightfully taking his place in Springfield, Massachusetts.
That 50-point night against Portland is only one snapshot of what made Amar’e special, but it captures him perfectly. The power, the aggression, the efficiency, and the feeling that nobody standing between him and the rim had much say in what happened next. Twenty-one years later, the performance remains a statistical anomaly in Suns’ history. This week, it becomes something else, too. Another reminder of why Amar’e Stoudemire belongs among basketball’s immortals.
The NBA and NBC are bringing the drama this season right from the opening tip.
The NBA season tips-off on NBC on Oct. 20 with a triple-header that includes LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers looking to spoil ring night in Madison Square Garden as they face Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the defending champion New York Knicks. Plus, we get a showdown of Western Conference powerhouses San Antonio and Oklahoma City, and it all starts with a showdown of two of the game's brightest stars, Cade Cunningham and Jayson Tatum.
This will be the first time that a network has ever broadcast three NBA Tip-Off games, and all of them can be seen on NBC and streamed on Peacock. The news was announced live on TODAY this morning.
It's a star-studded opening day lineup that includes 10 All-Stars and eight All-NBA players from a season ago. Among the players opening the season are the reigning MVP (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Finals MVP (Jalen Brunson), Defensive Player of the Year (Victor Wembanyama) and the Coach of the Year (Joe Mazzulla). The official lineup for the opening night triple-header is:
Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons (3 p.m. ET)
The NBA season on NBC begins with a matinee, a showdown between stars Jayson Tatum and Cade Cunningham, but also a meeting of the East's top two seeds from a season ago — and two teams expected to be near the top of those standings this year. It's a contrast of styles as Boston under Mazzulla will launch as many 3-pointers as any team in the league, while Detroit, with All-Star center Jalen Duren and the slashing-into-the-paint style of Cunningham, tries to dominate inside and work out from there.
Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks (7 p.m. ET)
For the first time in 53 years, a championship banner will be lifted to the rafters in Madison Square Garden — and you can see it all on NBC. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the rest of the Knicks will get handed their championship rings by Adam Silver, and the party that has gone on all summer in New York in the wake of the Knicks' title will continue into October.
Then LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and the fully-loaded Philadelphia 76ers will take the court and look to spoil the mood.
Philadelphia was one of the big winners of the NBA offseason, first adding Jaylen Brown in a shocking trade from Boston, but giving the 76ers a player who finished sixth in MVP voting a year ago, averaging 28.7 points per game. That vaulted the 76ers into serious title-contender status and caught the eye of LeBron James, who overlooked the narratives everyone else had about his final stop in the NBA and chose the place where he felt he had the best chance of lifting a team to a ring. There are a lot of guys who like the ball in their hands and can score in Philadelphia, coach Nick Nurse has to make the puzzle pieces fit, but that's a First World problem to have.
Everything clicked for the Knicks in the playoffs last season — once they started running more of the offense through Towns as a hub — and the New York front office wisely decided to do their best to run it back with largely the same crew that just won a title. They re-signed Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado and Mohamed Diawara (but did lose Mitchell Robinson, to be replaced by Andre Drummond).
You can catch Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter and the NBA Showtime crew starting at 6:30 p.m. ET, a broadcast that will include the banner raising and ring ceremony.
Oklahoma City vs. San Antonio Spurs (9:30 p.m. ET)
Game 3 of the 2026-27 NBA season may feel like Game 8 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals.
The finale of NBC's opening night triple-header is a battle of juggernauts: The Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the San Antonio Spurs. Victor Wembanyama vs. two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The two teams that battled through an intense, exhausting seven-game Western Conference Finals last May — and the two heavy betting favorites to win the NBA title this year — face off on opening night in Texas.
Those young Spurs — Wembanyama, but also Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper — came of age during that playoff run where they seemed to grow with every game. San Antonio appears poised to take a step forward, but first they have to get past a healthy Oklahoma City team. In last season's Western Conference Finals showdown with the Spurs, OKC was without All-Star Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell — their second- and third-best shot creators — due to injury, but now a healthy Thunder team returns looking to recapture its crown.
NBC Sports' full regular-season NBA schedule will be released this Thursday (Aug. 13).
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 31: Alperen Sengun #28 of the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant #7 and Reed Sheppard #15 walk on the court during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Toyota Center on March 31, 2026 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Shoutout to VBG!
This is the second in a series of pieces you guys suggested in the comments section of my Baba Oladotun article.
It’s fitting, actually. If the Houston Rockets do draft Oladotun, they’ll be trying to plug him into Kevin Durant’s spot. Obviously, it won’t be a one-for-one swap – this would be the “strategic stepback” that Rafael Stone referred to – but the idea would be to groom Oladotun to take Durant’s role.
Perhaps that’s not a great idea, because VBG’s suggestion for this article was “why were Durant, Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard so bad together in 2025-26”.
Rockets trio struggled when they shared the floor
Per DataBallr, that trio was -4.7 when they were all on the floor at the same time.
The data is unambiguous. The group was fine offensively with a 119.6 Offensive Rating (3.5 better than the team’s overall rating). It’s the defense that they tank, with a 124.4 Defensive Rating (8.2 worse). It’s rumored that every time Ime Udoka put all three on the floor at the same time, he went home and wept.
It’s no surprise to anyone that Sengun and Sheppard struggled together defensively. Remove Durant, and the remaining duo were still -0.9, with defense again being the culprit. Durant and Sengun without Sheppard were fine (+2.0), as were Durant and Sheppard without Sengun (+5.5).
Yet, it’s still notable that the most negative combination of the three is when they’re all together. The dirty secret here is that, in 2025-26, Durant was closer to a neutral defender than the positive one he’s been for most of his career. At 37, to paraphrase Lethal Weapon, it’s possible that Durant is getting too old for this (defense).
Don’t waste time on CleaningTheGlass trying to find a single positive lineup featuring all three – such a lineup does not exist. So, this is clearly a problem:
What’s the solution?
Can Ime Udoka scheme around limitations?
Ime Udoka’s solution was mostly to not put Reed Sheppard on the floor.
That’s not a tenable solution. It may be that Sheppard is a bona fide draft bust, but we are not close to being sure of that yet. The Rockets must explore as much of his potential as possible before making any rash decisions.
Hopefully, Marcus Smart helps here. Sheppard, Smart, Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Sengun could be a functional lineup, although that could be partly contingent on whether Smart has a season where he’s hitting threes, or one where he isn’t.
I don’t have the solutions – if you haven’t noticed, I am not the head coach of the Houston Rockets. It has been argued in the past that if Udoka is a defensive mastermind, he has to be able to design defensive schemes that insulate Sengun and Sheppard while also putting a neutral defender like Durant on the floor.
Is that asking him to draw blood from a stone? Can Smart, Thompson, Smith Jr., and Tari Eason make up that much ground if Durant isn’t contributing?
Sheppard is looking a bit bulkier this summer. Could he make defensive strides? Could Sengun find his 2024-25 form on that end without compromising his offensive efficiency?
Questions without clear answers. For now, we can only hope that Sengun, Sheppard, and Durant are a more viable trio in 2026-27.
If anyone has any better suggestions, I’m all ears.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 1: Gretchen Dolan #4 of the Illinois Fighting Illini dribbles against Oluchi Okananwa #7 of the Maryland Terrapins at State Farm Center on January 1, 2026 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — There are just a few months left before it’s basketball season. The Fighting Illini wrapped up their 2025-26 season 22-12, but they have a pretty new roster after a second-round exit to Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, they have been working overtime this preseason with a healthier team and a few new faces.
A position-less team
Illinois is taking steps to create a solidly versatile team.
Each player is capable of playing at any position, regardless of size. A big could be at point and the shortest could be posted up in the paint.
“It’s kind of like position-less basketball, and I think you can do a lot of stuff within the offense and defense and combining both of those,” said guard Gretchen Dolan. “It really just opens everything up.”
Of course, all of the players have their own default position.
“Playing the five position, there are a lot of bigger people that I have to guard,” said forward Cearah Parchment.
Training in each role has built a deeper roster for Illinois. It makes it easier to sub in other players because everyone knows how to work each position.
“If someone gets in foul trouble, we can slide in there and have another player come in off the bench and be able to set out and guard,” said associate head coach Calamity McEntire. “It’s not just depth offensively. We’ve got some depth defensively.”
The team has spent this summer improving rebounds and box outs, especially thinking ahead to teams that dominate in terms of height. They ended the season averaging 35.6 rebounds per game but also gave up 31.7 rebounds. Defense will determine if the Fighting Illini has a successful season.
“We score a lot in transition, so if we don’t defend, we’re not getting those opportunities as well,” McEntire said.
Back on the court
After a season-ending knee injury, Dolan is officially back on the court.
“Just watching how they respond to situations individually and taking that in so that I know when I’m back on the court, I can help my teammates in a different way,” Dolan said. “I’ve always been the type of player to be a three-level scorer and to be a driver, so I think just getting back to that and my old self and not shying away from that.”
Dolan missed much of last season with a torn meniscus and underwent surgery in late February. She ended the season averaging 12.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
She’s made it past the mental struggles post-injury, so now she just needs to work on getting her physicality back.
“Really getting back to my physicality piece, like being comfortable driving and getting hit,” Dolan said.
She’s been spending this past summer regaining her strength and confidence.
“When you’re coming back from those injuries, there’s the contact piece, and not just absorbing it, but making sure you’re initiating it,” McEntire said.
Two returning point guards
Destony Jackson and Aaliyah Guyton will split point guard duties this season.
“They know the system; they know the expectations. They weren’t just it in, but they get a lot of minutes,” McEntire said. “It allows them to, not only know, but for their leadership to elevate as well.”
Jackson has been putting in the time to work on her off-ball movement, setting herself up for a quick catch and release. A slight setback in her shooting from last season came from her not being ready to shoot.
Both her and Guyton have been putting in the extra hours off the court to ready themselves for the upcoming season.
“Sometimes when point guards are coming out of high school, they aren’t taught to play off the ball a lot,” McEntire said. “Destiny and Aaliyah both are hoopers. They love to play the game, they love to work. There’s no problem with them knocking on my door and getting them to come in.”
THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO -- Episode 2492 -- Pictured: (l-r) Musician Natalie Gilbert and NBA Portland Trail Blazers' coach Maurice Cheeks during an interview with host Jay Leno on May 19, 2003 -- (Photo by:Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
I saw this on X recently and had to smile. As it just so happens, I had caught Untold : Jail Blazers on Netflix. The documentary discussed the early 2000s Portland Trail Blazers and their quest for a title. It featured Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells, Damon Stoudamire, and Shawn Kemp (but for reasons unexplained not Scottie Pippen).
At the time, Maurice Cheeks was Portland’s assistant coach. He stepped up before the game on April 25, 2003 and helped a young performer sing the national anthem.
In 2003, the most hated team in the NBA did the kindest thing anyone has ever done on a basketball court.
April 25, 2003. Rose Garden, Portland. Game 3 of the first round against Dallas. The Blazers are down 2-0 and facing elimination from the moment they wake up.
On March 2025, Maurice Cheeks came back to Portland, this time as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks. They invited Natalie Zito, née Gilbert — the same singer from 2003 — to perform the national anthem again. Now 35, Zito was a season ticket holder.
A pretty nice feel-good story to fill your basketball-less summer.
Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.
Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.
It's a jubilant mob scene as happy fans carry Celtics' Tommy Heinsohn (L), coach Red Auerbach (Center, with victory cigar), and big Bill Russell (R) around the basketball court at Boston Garden April 27, 1964, after the Celtics won their sixth consecutive World's Championship. They defeated the Warrior's, 105-99. The Celtics are the only pro team in history to win six consecutive championships.
NBA history spans 80 seasons, and as CelticsBlog readers well know, the Boston Celtics have won a league-high 18 championships. This month, we are recapping each of those title years.
After Bob Cousy’s retirement, the Boston Celtics entered the 1963-64 season with a new point guard for the first time in 13 years. K.C. Jones, with five years of experience as Cousy’s backup, was more than ready to take the reins. The Celtics were going after their sixth straight NBA title, which would set a record for longest championship run in U.S. professional sports history.
If you think that was the buzz about the team, you would be wrong, because the questions being asked by fans and media were: “Can the Celtics win again without Cousy?” “Is the dynasty over?”
That’s right, hot takes and narratives existed in the Sixties. It’s true that losing the great Cousy, who was one of the few “small men” ever to win MVP, would be an adjustment. But wasn’t it obvious that the championships began to come when Bill Russell arrived? Russell changed the league, and five straight titles should have removed all doubts. And the big man was still wearing green and white.
The Celtics players reacted to all this talk as champions should. They had won in 1963 so that Cousy could go out on top, and now they were determined to prove they could win without him. So, despite all their success, “Nobody believed in us!” essentially became their motivation for the season.
K.C. Jones, wearing jacket, was ready to succeed Bob Cousy, <br>and his teammates, from left, Tommy Heinsohn, Bill Russell and Sam Jones, all knew it. | Photo by Paul J. Maguire/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The regular season
The Celtics wasted no time in staking their claim. They began the season by winning 15 of their first 16 games, the one loss being by a single point on the road to the Cincinnati Royals. The Cs also ended the season on a 14-2 run to finish with a league-best 59-21 record.
As it turned out, Boston won the season series against every team except Cincinnati, going 5-7. This reflected how well Oscar Robertson performed throughout the 80-game schedule. The Big O averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and a league-high 11.0 assists per game for the Royals, who finished second-best in the league at 55-25.
Robertson won the vote for MVP, ending Russell’s three-year streak. Russell did lead the league in rebounding with a career-high 24.7 average.
Celtics beef: rare. but spicy
An unusual rift occurred in January 1964 between Celtics founder/owner Walter Brown and his star power forward, Tommy Heinsohn, in his role as president of the NBA Players Association. The players union was founded in 1954 mainly through the efforts of Bob Cousy. Heinsohn succeeded him in 1958.
Walter Brown founded the Celtics in 1946. | Photo by Courtesy of NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images
The owners had promised to consider starting a pension fund for union members, but had for a long period been dragging their feet on following through. With the 1964 All-Star game scheduled for Boston Garden, Heinsohn persuaded his fellow stars to threaten a strike unless the owners took action that night. The union was leveraging that the owners would not jeopardize the national television broadcast of the game.
After some tense back-and-forth, the owners and commissioner Walter Kennedy agreed to move forward on their promises. The game went on as scheduled.
Heinsohn was no rookie at business negotiations. His other job (because players didn’t make enough money to live on from basketball) was as a successful manager in insurance sales. Heinsohn had also studied labor relations at Holy Cross and was especially knowledgeable about pensions.
Brown, perhaps the best and most player-friendly owner in the league, was livid and embarrassed that one of his Celtics instigated the episode. He called Heinsohn “the number one heel” in sports, which was a major insult in those days. The two didn’t speak again until after the season, when they put disagreements aside and buddied up again.
Two players on the roster were new to Boston. Rookie Larry Siegfried, a teammate of John Havlicek at Ohio State, was signed as a free agent. He was a Celtic for seven seasons as an all-purpose guard who could defend and shoot from outside. “Siggy” played 10 seasons in the NBA and was a double-figures scorer.
The other new Celtic was Willie Naulls, a seven-year veteran and four-time All-Star who had played with the Knicks, Hawks and Warriors. With those teams, the 6-foot-6 forward had appeared in just two playoff games. He was in Boston for three seasons and won three rings, contributing hard-nosed defense and rebounding with double-digits scoring.
Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers fights for position with Willie Naulls of the Celtics during a game at the Boston Garden. Naulls figured prominently in the Celtics breaking the unwritten quota rule. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The quota system
Black players had been competing in the NBA since 1950, when forward Chuck Cooper was drafted by Boston with the first pick of the second round (13th overall). During the Fifties and Sixties, amidst Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights movement, it was an open secret that NBA teams followed a quota system, always having at least one white player on the floor. The fear was that using five black players at once risked alienating white ticket-buyers.
The interesting thing about the 1963-64 Celtics roster was that Naulls was now Tommy Heinsohn’s backup. Sometimes, when Red Auerbach made that substitution, Naulls was on the court with Russell, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones and Tom “Satch” Sanders. Five blacks. Because all Red wanted to do was win a basketball game. He couldn’t have cared less about unwritten rules.
(More on this topic in the next installment of this series.)
Eastern playoffs
With their league-best record, the Celtics once again received a bye to the Eastern finals. And their opponent was the Cincinnati Royals, who went the distance to win a best-of-five against the Philadelphia 76ers (the former Syracuse Nationals had relocated).
The Royals had won the head-to-head duel in the regular season, and they had a strong team that now included Rookie of the Year and future Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas, who played with Havlicek and Siegfried in college. Lucas was a tough power forward who averaged 17 and 17 in his first season.
The Celtics, however, had an equally good starting five, a much deeper bench, and far more postseason experience. With top defensive guard K.C. Jones now playing in place of offense-minded Cousy, Boston was in better position to hold down the Royals and their star Robertson.
This Boston squad posted a defensive rating of 83.8, which was more than five points better than the nearest challenger. They also grabbed the most rebounds (71.7) and held opponents to the lowest shooting percentage (.413) in the league.
Russell called this group “easily the best defensive team we ever had – and maybe the best of all time.”
The Celtics validated Russell’s observation by winning the series 4-1 and holding the Royals to 93.2 points per game. Cincinnati fell behind 3-0 and scored no more than 95 points in any of their losses. They had averaged 114.7 in the regular season.
NBA Finals
Boston fans mobbed the parquet after the Celtics won the 1964 NBA title, carrying Tommy Heinsohn (left), coach Red Auerbach (center) and Bill Russell around the court at Boston Garden. The Celtics became the only pro team in history to win six straight championships.
Out West, the San Francisco Warriors defeated the St. Louis Hawks, 4-3, advancing to their first Finals since the Warriors moved from Philadelphia. This meant another battle with Wilt Chamberlain, who was already 0-2 in series versus the Celtics and Bill Russell. Would the third time be the charm for Wilt?
Nope, not even close.
The matchup
Boston’s defense allowed just 105.1 points per game in the regular season, but San Francisco had the edge by allowing just 102.6. Two big reasons were Chamberlain at center and rookie Nate Thurmond at power forward. Thurmond was 6-foot-11 with a physique like a body builder. He would go on to a 14-year career in which he had 14,437 points and 14,464 rebounds.
San Francisco was directed by guards Guy Rodgers, who led the league in assists, and Al Attles, a future Warriors coach and pound-for-pound one of the toughest players the NBA had ever seen.
Games 1 and 2 were in Boston, with the Celtics winning by 12 thanks to a 32-15 second quarter, and by 23, with a 30-point lead after three quarters.
In San Francisco for Game 3, the Warriors opened with a 40-21 first quarter and never looked back – final score 115-91.
Turning point
The Warriors led 44-40 at halftime of Game 4, then the Celtics seized control with a 36-20 third quarter. Boston withstood a fourth-quarter rally by San Francisco to win, 98-95. Heinsohn and Sam Jones combined for 48 points as Boston took the commanding 3-1 lead.
It wasn’t over until…
Up 3-1 for the second year in a row, the Celtics were determined not to repeat last year’s mistake where they let Game 5 slip away and needed another trip to California to end it. This time, it was close for most of the 48 minutes, but a Russell putback dunk stopped a Warriors comeback bid and put Boston up four with about 10 seconds left. In the pre-three-point-shot era, that was a safe lead.
Notable facts and stats
In 10 playoff games, Boston’s defense allowed 100 points or more just three times.
Sam Jones led the Celtics in scoring for the series with 21.2 points per game.
Chamberlain averaged 29.2 points; he was at 36.9 in the regular season.
John Havlicek scored 18.4 points per game in the Finals, taking over the Sixth Man role from Frank Ramsey. In the closeout game, Ramsey scored 18 points off the bench.
Clyde Lovellette, Jim Loscutoff and Frank Ramsey all retired after the season.
Banner Years continues tomorrow with a review of the 1964-65 season and the road to winning Banner #8.
