Category: Basketball

Coming into the playoffs, Luke Kornet was considered one of, if not the top backup center in the NBA. He’d already won a championship backing up Kristaps Porzingis in Boston two years ago and seemed primed to do it again backing up Victor Wembanyama. He was great all year, helping the Spurs thrive when Wemby missed 12 games early in the season with a calf strain and a few more here and there throughout the regular season.

When the playoffs came Kornet’s minutes dropped as Wemby’s rose, and outside of admirably filling in at starting center when a concussed Wemby missed Game 3 against the Trail Blazers in Round 1, he has seemed less productive compared to the regular season. But is that actually true, or is it as simple as Wemby has just been so good (for the most part, a “poor” game from him in these playoffs has been what we would have considered average in the regular season) that a drop-off when he leaves the court is inevitable, making Kornet suffer by comparison?

Kornet is a funny, nerdy dude who has helped bring a lightheartedness to the locker room while the young team navigates immense pressure that just keeps building the further they go in the playoffs, while also being one of the few veterans with playoff and championship experience. However, because of the Spurs struggles with Wemby off the court, especially in the Western Conference Finals, Kornet has become a bit maligned, even though he was far from the only bench player who struggled against the champs.

But then, in one fell swoop, it all changed. The Spurs were holding on to a precarious 97-91 lead with under seven minutes to go in Game 7 in Oklahoma City with the Finals on the line — a game in which they had led most of the way and staved off a few runs already but had to assume one last ditch effort was coming from the defending champions — and it looked like that Thunder run may have been coming when Wemby had to sit after picking up his 5th foul.

Isaiah Hartenstein, who had been a thorn in the Spurs’ side all series, jumped in front of a Dylan Harper pass to Kornet and started heading the other direction. It didn’t seem like a Spur would catch up to him, especially with Cason Wallace running with him to box out any chasers, but as he went up for the dunk, in swooped Kornet from behind to pin the dunk off the glass, even as Hartenstein used an off arm to attempt to stave him off. The Spurs got the rebound, and a Stephon Castle jumper on the other other end completed the four-point swing, turning what could have been a precarious 4-point lead back into an 8-point lead while sucking the life out of the arena.

In a series that has been all about the stars (and surviving without them), the maligned Kornet ended up with arguably the biggest play of the series. Wemby would soon return to help finish the Thunder off, but that one play epitomized what Kornet has been to the Spurs all season: reliable and ready when called upon. It usurped his game-winning block in Orlando — complete with hilarious pose — as his best play of the season, and depending on what the Spurs do in the Finals, could go down in Spurs lore as one of their top blocks, let a lone plays, among many in franchise history. (I hate to bring up the comparison, but it kind of reminded me of Kawhi Leonard’s chase-down block of Russell Westbrook in part of a series of plays to clinch the Western Conference Finals in 2014 in none other than OKC.)

During and after the game, Kornet’s teammates were in awe and thrilled for him. “I was so stoked. I was so proud of him, so happy,” Wembanyama told reporters after the game. “That is the definition of a winning play. It’s whoever wanted it more.” In that moment, Kornet wanted it more than anyone. It was redemption following what many saw as a rough series from him (but again, it seemed like he was more a scapegoat for the entire bench’s struggles, as well as a bit of a victim of Wemby’s greatness).

Of course, Kornet wasn’t the only bench player to get some redemption last night, as Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson scored 9 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter around the same time to help counter four three-pointers from Wallace. And let’s not forget De’Aaron Fox, who missed both of the first two games and struggled at times with a high angle sprain, having a big game last night as well.

Overall, Game 7 felt was The Redemption Game. It was redemption for all the franchise has been through since 2018, for the rebuild, for general manager Brian Wright, and for a fan base that has been waiting to feel this level of elation again. But of all the redemption to go around from last night, Kornet’s will be remembered the most.

It’s rare that we get a best performance in a loss here at Golden State Of Mind, but in a year where the Warriors were short handed and in need of desperate help, you gotta spotlight great contributions regardless. Especially when they come from a rookie like Will Richard against the Sacramento Kings.

This entry is about happened inside a 121-116 loss to the Kings on November 5. There are games where the result and the story point in different directions, and this was completely one of those games.

Richard scored 12 points in the first quarter alone, went 10-of-15 from the field for the night with five threes, grabbed seven rebounds, added three assists and a steal, and finished with 30 points in his first career NBA start. He became the first Warriors player drafted in the second round or later to score 20 or more points in his first career start since Eric Paschall in 2019, and matched the second-most points ever scored by a Warriors player in his first start, sitting alongside John Lucas while Anthony Morrow’s 37-point record still stands alone at the top.

None of that was supposed to happen on a back-to-back in Sacramento with Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green all sitting out.

What makes this entry belong in the series isn’t just the number. It’s the way Richard played, which Steve Kerr described afterward in terms that didn’t sound like a coach searching for encouraging words about a young player. Kerr said Richard had shown since training camp that he was an NBA player, that the poise was real, that the decision-making under pressure was real, and then called him a hell of a player in a way that had the directness of a statement rather than a compliment.

Richard’s own postgame quote is the one that sticks. He said he is a big believer in controlling what you can control, that whatever role he is in he wants to do whatever it takes to help the team win, and that whether he is playing or not playing he just wants to see the team win. That is either something a 22-year-old says because he knows what sounds right, or something a 22-year-old says because he actually means it, and the fact that he said it two games after sitting out as a healthy scratch and one game after dropping 30 on a professional defense suggests he meant every word of it.

Yes, the Warriors lost. But Richard scored 30 points in his first career start, in a season where Golden State needed every reason for optimism it could find. As silver linings go, this one has some real legs to it. Can’t wait to see what Richard does for the squad next year!

As we recap the individual best performances from Golden State Warriors from this past season, there’s a lot of heartbreak to parse through. The week before February 5 had been genuinely ugly for the Golden State Warriors. Jimmy Butler had the horrific ACL injury. Then the emotional whirlwind of a trade deadline as the team shipped out Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, two players the locker room genuinely spoke well of and cared for. Stephen Curry was watching from the bench in street clothes again. Head Coach Steve Kerr was so disgusted by how his team played against Philadelphia two days earlier that he promised changes in Phoenix, and the emotional weight of everything sitting on that roster was real and visible.

Then Pat Spencer walked into Mortgage Matchup Center and decided this was a good night to have the best game of his career.

Spencer scored a career-high 20 points on six threes, added six rebounds, four assists, and two steals, and provided the kind of high-velocity offensive juice that Golden State had been missing since Curry went down. He was doing it at a moment when his two-way contract was about to become a standard NBA deal, a promotion he had earned through the kind of steady, unspectacular professionalism that doesn’t always get its flowers.

Spencer was genuinely having fun out there, shooting with the looseness of a man who understood exactly what this night meant and refused to let the weight of the week land on him. The enthusiasm was real; the gratitude was visible. And six threes into the fourth quarter, the building knew it too.

He gobbled up every minute Kerr gave him, knocked down open threes with the confidence of a guy who had been waiting for this night to arrive, and gave a crowd in Phoenix something to watch that it had no particular reason to care about. That kind of performance is contagious in a way that’s hard to quantify, and the Warriors needed someone to play loose and free and unafraid on a night when the entire roster had every reason to feel heavy.

The Warriors were down 14 in the fourth quarter and came back to win 101-97 on a 25-7 run to close it, with De’Anthony Melton tying the game and Gui Santos hitting the go-ahead layup in the final minute. Kerr said afterward it felt like they had won a championship, which sounds like hyperbole until you understand what the previous ten days had actually felt like inside that organization. Spencer’s own postgame framing captured the week honestly. He acknowledged the human cost of what the trade deadline does to people, noted that most fans forget the human aspect of those decisions, and then said simply that you have a game to play and you have to find your head space and compete.

Spencer found his head space in Phoenix by shooting 6-of-11 from three and reminding everyone watching that joy is its own kind of fuel. February 5 was the night the rest of the basketball world found out.

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Mitchell Robinson did individual work at Knicks practice on Sunday, May 31 with his hand protected, but coach Mike Brown said the center is uncertain for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday. That decision will ultimately belong to the medical staff.

Robinson, 28, broke his right pinky finger during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland and had surgery to repair it. He plans to play against the San Antonio Spurs with a brace protecting it.

Brown said to reporters after practice that Robinson has to be cleared by the medical staff first.

SNY’s Ian Begley reported that Robinson is pushing to play in Game 1 on Wednesday, June 3.

He wouldn’t be the first player to will himself through something like this, and with Robinson, the bar for playing hurt is already set high. The longest-tenured Knick has battled through a broken right hand, a broken right thumb, a broken right foot and multiple surgeries on a stress fracture in his left ankle over eight seasons in New York. This year, he had finally gotten healthy enough to make a big impact. He played 60 games, his most since 2021-222, and has been one of New York’s most important role players in the playoff run.

More: Knicks coach says Mitchell Robinson injury didn't occur during game or practice

Let’s bring it back full circle, baby.

The last time the San Antonio Spurs were genuinely feared in the Western Conference, Kawhi Leonard was arguably the most dangerous two-way player on the planet and the Warriors were the only thing standing between San Antonio and another dynastic chapter. Then came the 2017 Western Conference Finals when Kawhi’s tender ankle buckled on Zaza Pachulia’s foot, the series ended before it really started, and a dynasty died in the cruelest possible way. Not in a Game 7 or in a shootout. On a hardwood floor in Oakland, in a moment that still makes Spurs fans go quiet.

We always knew the Spurs would come back though. That is what San Antonio does. And they roared back last night in the Western Conference Finals when that young team walked into the building of the reigning champions and refused to blink.

Now here is the part that should genuinely terrify the rest of the league. Victor Wembanyama is 22. Stephon Castle is 21. Dylan Harper is 20. Most contenders spend their first deep playoff run figuring out whether they belong. The Spurs spent theirs taking the entire conference and breaking their back over their knee. They are not arriving on schedule. They are arriving ahead of it, and that gap between expectation and reality is exactly what makes San Antonio dangerous right now.

What their coach Mitch Johnson built this season should not exist yet, with a locker room where the future is old enough to rent a car but not old enough to remember most of Tim Duncan’s championships. And somehow they walked into Oklahoma City and took a Game 7 from the defending champs. Julian Champagnie, 22 years old, made six threes and scored 20 points when the Spurs needed someone fearless to be exactly that. De’Aaron Fox, the veteran in the room at 28, steadied a group of 20-year-olds when the crowd was shaking the walls. Keldon Johnson drained back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter to end any real conversation about a Thunder comeback. And Luke Kornet materialized out of nowhere to block an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk with six minutes left, a play Champagnie called the biggest of the entire game, a play that took all the life out of the building and ended OKC’s last real hope.

That is not talent alone. That is a team that trusts each other completely.

And at the center of all of it stands Wembanyama. He finished Game 7 with 22 points, seven rebounds, and went 3-for-5 from three in a game where OKC needed stops more than oxygen. For the series he averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals, shot 40 percent from deep, and held Chet Holmgren, an All-NBA selection this season, to two shot attempts and four points in the deciding game. The Spurs were plus-62 with him on the court across the entire series. He became the first player in playoff history to record at least 15 made threes and 15 blocks in a single series. He imposed his will on a championship-level opponent and made it look inevitable.

After punching their ticket Saturday night, Wembanyama said winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy feels like the meaning of his life. Then he said he wants to do this fifteen or twenty more times. The man is 22 and already addicted to the feeling of winning.

That is a potential dynasty in its first chapter. This is the first time the Spurs have reached the Finals since 2014, the first time without Gregg Popovich on the bench, the first time without Tim Duncan on the roster. The organization did not just rebuild. It remembered who it was, found arguably the most gifted big man the sport has ever produced, and got back to the promised land faster than anyone thought possible.

That is what five championships of institutional knowledge looks like when it finally has the right pieces again. They’re only four wins away from completing one of the most remarkable organizational resurrections in professional sports history The West belongs to San Antonio right now!

The only question left is whether the Knicks got the memo.

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! Ever since Aaron Judge dropped a home run into the short porch against the Tampa Bay Rays last Sunday, the Yankees have been on a roll — and yet, they are currently the second biggest sports story in the Big Apple. How have they responded on social media? Let’s find out!

I wanna party like it’s 1973

This past Monday, the New York Knicks completed a sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers, punching their ticket to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. YES Network researcher/statistician James Smyth took advantage of the fact that ESPN had the Monday broadcast in Kansas City and made sure he was in attendance for the historic moment.

While there, he commented on the fact that the Cavs played “Sweet Caroline” down by…well, down by a lot.

CC Sabathia, meanwhile, took to Facebook to share his excitement.

Behind the NY

The Yankees released episode nine of Behind the NY this week, focusing on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s charity fashion show.

Game Belts

Thanks to a few wins, the Yankees passed the game belt around quite a bit this week — but not as much as they should have, according to some reports. Online speculation originally suggested that the team left the belt in New York, and did not get it back until Wednesday. That, however, seems a tad outdated, because they’ve only shared the game belt a couple times this week.

Dave’s Thoughts

As always, Yankees radio voice Dave Sims took to Instagram to react to the Yankees’ games this week.

The Weather(s) Report

Ryan Weathers took to Instagram to post a photo dump of happenings from the past few weeks.

DJ LeMahieu, Manager

DJ LeMahieu had his debut as the manager of the Royal Oak Leprechauns, and guess who threw out the ceremonial first pitch? Former teammate Gleyber Torres! Now with the Tigers, he’s rehabbing from an oblique strain but had time to pop over to support his fellow erstwhile Yankees infielder.

Instagram Shenanigans

We wrap this week up with a few Questions of the Day.

I’m not gonna lie, the past two weeks have been weird. Awkward. Icky, if you will. Because as the Western Conference Finals progressed, one thing became clear. I was rooting for the San Antonio Spurs to win.

Even typing those words feels awkward. The Spurs are a team I’ve “sports hated” for most of my life. They have left scars that will never heal over wounds that I will never forgive. They are a franchise that is responsible for creating some of the most depressing moments I’ve experienced as a fan.

They’re a franchise I’ve always found unbelievably lucky, because every time they’ve tanked, they’ve somehow been rewarded with a generational pick. Go back to 1996-97. David Robinson got hurt, and San Antonio decided they were going to lose in an effort to land the number one pick and take Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest. The Boston Celtics should’ve gotten that pick. San Antonio did.

And as a result, they won five championships. Plenty of those came at the expense of the Phoenix Suns. That’s the relationship so many of us older Suns fans have with San Antonio. It’s rooted in disdain, frustration, and that lingering feeling that the basketball gods always seemed to lean against Phoenix.

The Suns of the early 2000s were revolutionary. Phoenix changed the way the game was played. They still couldn’t get past the fundamental force that was the Spurs. The NBA didn’t need to hand San Antonio any favors, and somehow they still did. Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for stepping off the bench in Game 4 of the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals, even though Tim Duncan had allegedly come off the bench earlier in the game after James Jones fouled Francisco Elson.

And those Spurs teams always seemed to toe the line of basketball ethics as they battered and bruised the Suns, kicking them in the balls and breaking their noses. So there will always be that feeling of sports hate when it comes to San Antonio, and it’s something I’ll never let go. They ruined countless moments during my 20s that should’ve been filled with elation.

All of that being said, in the 2026 Western Conference Finals, I was rooting for that team. The team that had once again played the tanking game and won, garnering another generational big man in the process.

Why? Because, quite honestly, the Oklahoma City Thunder are a team I simply do not enjoy watching. Yes, they’re talented. And Sam Presti has done an incredible job building that roster. What makes them tough to watch is everything else.

When we talk about ethical hoops, Oklahoma City feels like the opposite end of that conversation. They’ve fully embraced flopping and flailing, constantly hitting the floor in an effort to manipulate officials. And as somebody who watches a ton of basketball, it’s exhausting. It’s not a fun watch. I had zero interest in seeing that style of basketball on the NBA Finals stage, so I found myself pulling for the San Antonio Spurs.

And part of me genuinely likes what that Spurs team is. You saw it after Game 7 when Victor Wembanyama got emotional after winning the series. That’s the kind of competitive fire I like to see. Somebody invested. Somebody who cares. Somebody willing to lay it all on the line for his team in an effort to win. If Oklahoma City had won, I don’t know if there would’ve been tears. I don’t know if there would’ve been that kind of raw emotion. It probably ends with another corny interview and everyone acting like it’s business as usual.

What Oklahoma City has done to basketball feels embarrassing, because the desire to manipulate started feeling more important than the desire to be effective. And you saw it in the second half of Game 7. They clearly heard the national conversation, because for long stretches they weren’t falling on every possession or flopping through contact. Then they found themselves down 10, and suddenly it was right back to flop mode. And shame on NBC for not showing any of it. They didn’t want another viral clip making the rounds.

That’s what drives me nuts about Oklahoma City. “Flop Tarts,” is what I call them. And I’m glad I don’t have to watch them in the NBA Finals.

In the same breath, I’m happy I don’t have to root for the San Antonio Spurs anymore. It felt weird. It never felt natural, because every memory I have with that franchise pulls me right back to all the times their success felt tied to Phoenix coming up short. Those feelings don’t disappear. They stick with you. They always will.

So as we head into the NBA Finals this year, I’m pulling for the New York Knicks. There’s something special about seeing them have this opportunity, chasing their first championship since 1973. The league is more interesting when the Knicks are relevant. And for me, it feels a whole lot easier. No weird internal debate. No forcing myself to root for a team I’ve spent decades sports hating.

This one feels simple. Go Knicks.

Four wins stand in the way of the first championship in half a century for the Knicks. The San Antonio Spurs and phenom center Victor Wembanyama will be the toughest opponent New York has faced in these playoffs. 

To get over the hump, the Knicks will need great two-way play from wing OG Anunoby. He’s the X-Factor for New York in the 2026 NBA Finals.

Anunoby is playing at the highest level of his career during these playoffs. In 12 games, the forward is averaging 19.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. Despite missing two games due to a hamstring injury, Anunoby returned for all four games of the conference finals sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. By the end of the series, he looked more like himself after shaking off the rust. 

The wing is shooting a blistering 48.3 percent from the three-point line during the playoffs. Anunoby’s also been an off-ball threat. He’s averaging 1.53 points per possession on cuts in the postseason per NBA Stats. It’s the fifth-best mark in the NBA.

Anunoby’s combination of shooting, off-ball movement and scoring has been a great complement to New York’s stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Through the first three rounds, New York is a plus-21.3 points per 100 possessions in 406 minutes with Anunoby on the floor, according to NBA Stats. 

Defensive domination

Anunoby has been a versatile defender for the Knicks. Named to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team this season, he’s taken on primary defensive assignments in big men like Atlanta Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu and Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen throughout the postseason. He’s also guarded the likes of Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson and Philadelphia 76ers wing Paul George.

San Antonio has multiple perimeter offensive shot creators like Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper, so the Knicks will need Anunoby to guard multiple positions. There’s also the potential for Anunoby to defend the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama. Towns and the currently injured Mitchell Robinson are expected to have the primary assignment to defend San Antonio’s alien superstar. 

But Anunoby should also spend some time on Wembanyama. New York had Anunoby guard Wembanyama on numerous possessions in New York’s three matchups with the Spurs in the regular season and the NBA Cup. 

Despite the significant height difference, Anunoby has proven to be a physical defender. He can prevent Wembanyama from getting to his comfort zones in the post and he should at least be able to disrupt the seven-footer’s rhythm. According to Caitlin Cooper, of 20 players who have defended Wembanyama for at least 100 half-court matchups during his three-year career, Anunoby has allowed the fewest player points per 100 matchups as the primary defender.

How much Anunoby guards Wembanyama will depend on the lineups San Antonio goes to. If the Spurs have Harrison Barnes or Keldon Johnson on the floor for significant minutes, the Knicks can have Towns defend either of those two players. But if the Spurs feature lineups with high volume three-point shooters Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie on the floor together, it makes sense for the Knicks to have Towns defend Wembanyama. Regardless, Anunoby will have an impact either as a primary defender or protecting the rim as a backline help defender. 

For the Knicks to win a championship, they will need a good series from Anunoby. He’s arguably been the most consistent player on the Knicks during this sprint to the Finals. And that should continue in this final test for the Knicks.

Kentucky Basketball has sent a lot of players to the NBA over the last decade plus, and more than a few former Wildcats showed up and showed out Saturday night with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line. Oklahoma City was searching for a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance, led by NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. San Antonio was seeking to upend what many thought would become a dynasty.

Game 7 had all the makings of a history-making event, and it didn’t disappoint. In front of one of the loudest crowds in the NBA in Oklahoma City, the Spurs took down the defending champion Thunder to advance to the NBA Finals.

Former Wildcats shine in NBA Western Conference Finals

Despite falling short, the Thunder were led by former Cats SGA and Cason Wallace. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. Wallace would be 2nd in scoring on the night for OKC, finishing the night with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.

San Antonio was, of course, led by the emerging superstar Victor Wembenyama, who finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds. But it was a pair of Cats who helped shut the door in the 4th quarter. Keldon Johnson, who is fresh off being named 6th man of the year, had 11 points in 16 minutes. De’Aaron Fox finished with 15 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Altogether, Kentucky players accounted for 78 points, 14 rebounds, 19 assists, and 9 steals in the Western Conference Finals.

Now, Fox and Johnson will meet up with another former Cat, Karl-Anthony Towns, in the NBA Finals, which kick off on Wednesday.

Another year and another Cat is guaranteed to be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the air after winning a championship.

Who are you pulling for, the Spurs or the Knicks?

There is a version of February 22 where the Warriors don’t even bother. Their best player Stephen Curry was out. Their All-Star acquisition Jimmy Butler III was out. Their prized trade deadline piece Kristaps Porzingis was ruled out that morning. Their future Hall-of-Famer and best defender Draymond Green got scratched before tipoff. The opponent was the dangerous Denver Nuggets and the best big man in the world Nikola Jokic was standing on the other side of the floor.

What the Dubs had left was Al Horford. As it turned out, that was enough.

Horford scored 11 points in the first quarter before most people had settled into their seats, going 4-of-5 from the field with three threes while Golden State built a lead that told Denver this was not going to be the afternoon they expected. He had 17 points and four assists in his first 14 minutes, and he did it with the particular calm of someone who has been in difficult basketball situations for two decades and stopped finding them frightening a long time ago.

The Nuggets had to account for him as a real offensive threat, which changed the geometry of everything else Golden State was trying to do, which is exactly the kind of quiet, competent damage that never shows up in highlights but wins games. This is actually why the Warriors wanted him in the first place. When Golden State brought Horford in, the bet wasn’t on the version of him that fills a stat sheet every night. It was on the version that understands how to read a game, how to make the right decision under pressure, and how to be exactly what a team needs on a given night without needing to be told what that is.

That kind of player takes time to find his footing in a new system, and the Warriors were patient with him through the stretches where it wasn’t clicking, because they understood what they were waiting for. February 22 was the receipt. When four rotation players went down and the franchise needed someone to just be a professional about the whole thing, Horford was ready because Horford is always ready; that is the only version of him that has ever existed.

He finished 8-of-11 from the field, 6-of-7 from three, with seven assists, three steals, and two blocks. His sixth three-pointer had Chase Center losing its mind for a 39-year-old role player February, which is not a sentence anyone wrote in their pregame preview.

Jokic finished with a triple-double because that is what Jokic does. The Nuggets scored 117 points because they are still the Nuggets. None of that really matters. What matters is that on a day when the Warriors lost four rotation players and most of their margin for error, the best player on the floor in a Warriors uniform was a 39-year-old center who looked completely unbothered by any of it.

Horford was BALLING, salute to him for exemplifying the Warriors mentality.

With all the excitement after the NBA Draft Lottery, and leading up to the NBA Draft, it’s very easy to forget that there is a very fine line we must walk when it comes to our roster. After the season the Jazz just had, I know that it’s hard to imagine what a fully healthy, functional, and lethal basketball team looks like but we do have some things to consider.

With the #2 pick in this year’s draft there are HUGE implications for the upcoming season and the franchise’s future. With that incoming rookie, there will be some shifts in the rotation that we must consider. There will be players that logged a lot of minutes for the Jazzmen last year that will not get the same kind of burn this year; it’s unfortunate, but eggs must be broken to make a championship omelet.

Even with us being so close to the NBA Draft, there hasn’t been any confirmation yet as to who the Washington Wizards will take #1 overall. With that in mind I think that, realistically, it will come down to the Jazz selecting BYU forward AJ Dybantsa or Kansas guard Darryn Peterson. While it may seem inconsequential, there are very different outcomes for each selection, and what it means for our role players that we came to know and love during this past season.

Option 1: Darryn Peterson

I think that this would be the best case scenario for everyone involved as it pertains to the rotation. My unconditional and irrational love for Isaiah Collier aside, Keyonte George is the point guard of the future for the Jazz and that means that we need a starting shooting guard. That Darryn Peterson guy? Pretty good, in my opinion.

He had an up-and-down season at Kansas marred with “injuries” or at the very least injury prevention measures, but with the report that Peterson and his team have resolved the cramping issues I don’t have any other option than to believe him. I don’t have any other choice to believe the he’s going to be healthy coming into the year, maintain that health throughout the entire 2026-2027 season, and end up on an All-Rookie team.

The most noticeable shift that would happen in the rotation would be Ace Bailey moving back to the bench, which causes a domino effect of Cody Williams, Brice Sensabaugh, and Elijah Harkless getting less minutes (assuming they all come back or don’t get traded). There were times that Williams, Sensabaugh, and Harkless were remarkable during the past season, but without the offensive upside that Peterson brings, it’s hard for me to argue that they get the same amount of (or more) minutes in good faith. Bailey is a bit of a different story.

Bailey really started to find his footing in the league during the last 20 games of the season. He averaged nearly 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 stocks (blocks + steals) a night, while shooting 36% from deep on a high volume of shots. He showed great consistency in that stretch as well; he scored in double figures in 19 of the 20 games, including three 30 point outings. In the final quarter of the season it seemed like Bailey was starting to figure the NBA game out. His defensive blunders still drove me up a wall, but his offensive feel and consistency was something to be admired. I would hate the relegate him to the bench after that kind of turnaround, but I don’t see another avenue. When compared to each other, it seems like Peterson is the more NBA level scorer, which would mean that Bailey would have to head back to the bench. He could be a great 6th man for us, though.

There is a small chance (and I mean microscopic) that we could trade Lauri Markkanen to the highest bidder, which would allow Bailey to play the small forward position, but if that trade were to happen I can’t image that it would be prior to the trade deadline. Without that certainty, I can’t imagine a world where both Bailey and Peterson get 30+ minutes a night. I think a more likely path would be for Peterson to get around 28 minutes a game, Bailey would get roughly 24 minutes a game, and Williams, Sensabaugh, and Harkless get minutes in the teens if not the single digits. As someone who has written a glowing article about Elijah Harkless it’ll be disappointing to see him not get any minutes (again, assuming he’s brought back) but I can’t say that it would be the wrong decision.

Option 2: AJ Dybantsa

I said before that it hasn’t been made clear what the Wizards will do with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, so in the rare chance the he isn’t selected by Washington, it would make sense for the Jazz to select the BYU product. The story writes itself, and while he isn’t a “home town kid,” it would be nice to see him continue his basketball career in Utah.

His selection by the Jazz is a tad more complicated than a Peterson selection. Dybantsa can play multiple positions, but the positions that he plays the majority of the time are… a bit full at the moment. Markkanen is slated to be our starting small forward, recently acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. is slated to be our starting power forward, and while we didn’t see Dybantsa play a ton of minutes at the center spot, that position is also locked up assuming that we can re-sign Walker Kessler.

Could he play the shooting guard role and have the rest of the rotation work out like we discussed with Peterson? Sure, I guess? He isn’t exactly a natural fit, though. Standing at 6’9”, he isn’t exactly shooting guard shaped. He also, to this point in his career, doesn’t space the floor incredibly well as he shot just 33% from three last year at BYU. If anything he would be like a DeMar DeRozan shooting guard, and unless it’s suddenly the early 2010’s again, I just don’t see that leading to winning basketball.

It also wouldn’t make any sense to have Dybantsa be selected as the No. 2 pick and be put on the bench behind Markkanen or Jackson Jr. I also don’t think that it would make sense to put either of them on the bench in favor of Dybantsa. If we were to select Dybantsa it would more than likely cause a series of trades, namely a Lauri Markkanen trade. He’s been in the rumor mill recently, and he’s been connected to the Detroit Pistons. Although the Pistons have future draft capital to trade, they are in the business of winning which would make their picks mostly useless, and they don’t own the rights to any juicy picks in the future. The trade would most likely consist of a sign-and-trade for Tobias Harris plus salary filler, and multiple first round picks. To be honest, I wouldn’t hate it. It opens up the space for Dybantsa to play immediately, it doesn’t relegate Ace Bailey to the bench, it would keep the bench piece’s minutes at a manageable level, but (respectfully) the drop-off from Lauri Markkanen to Tobias Harris is pretty steep for a team that’s trying to make their way back to the playoffs.

The Jazz have been known to slow-roll their players before; Bailey came off the bench for the first 10 games or so last year, and had the Jazz had anything close to a healthy season, maybe that first start for him would have come in February instead of November. I think that doing that with Dybantsa would be very complicated, but I can’t deny how excited I would be to see a bench unit led by him. If he were to be a bench player this upcoming year, we could very well get a repeat of 2005 when Ben Gordon won the 6th Man of the Year award while being a rookie. Is it likely? No. Is it complicated? Yes. Am I glad that I’m not the one making these decisions? Yes, but I wouldn’t mind the paycheck.

The postseason is wrapping up quickly which means that the offseason fun is upon us. We’ve got a lot of great stuff in the works here at SLC Dunk so be on the lookout for that! Who do you think we should draft? Who do you have winning the NBA Finals and how long do you think it’ll be until we hoist the trophy? Sound off in the comments!

Be kind. Tell somebody you love them.

There is a particular kind of silence that settles in when the thing you thought was yours just walks out the door. Oklahoma City Thunder fans heard it Saturday night at the Paycom Center. The Spurs celebrated in their building, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had to stand at a podium and explain to the world why defending a championship is the hardest thing in professional basketball.

Welcome to the lesson, fellas. ICARUS FLEW TO TO CLOSE TOO THE SUN.

The Thunder spent this entire season trying to look like the next Warriors. Young core, MVP, homecourt terror, regular season dominance, the whole beautiful machine humming on all cylinders. Saturday night, San Antonio reminded them that the Warriors comparison does not start with the champagne. It starts when somebody brilliant spends all summer trying to destroy you. And then actually does it.

The box score tells the story plainly enough. Shai dropped 35 on 12-of-21 shooting. Your MVP doing MVP things when the lights are brightest, and they still lost by eight. I know the majority of NBA fans hate his foul baiting tactics, but Shai was the only OKC player I saw looking trustworthy with the ball in his hands last night. Is that a Shai problem? That is a roster problem, an injury problem, and most honestly, a “this is just hard” problem that no amount of regular season dominance prepares you for.

The Spurs showed up with the answer sheet.

Now look. I hear the injury argument. Jalen Williams played 33 games this season. Thirty-three. The man was essentially a rumor for most of the year, making cameos like a feature artist who couldn’t clear his schedule. Ajay Mitchell, gone. Injuries are real.

But when the Warriors lost Andrew Bogut in 2016, Steph Curry was on one knee, and Andre Iguodala had no back strength left, nobody cared. When they lost Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins in 2019, the basketball world offered exactly zero sympathy. Injuries are not an asterisk when you’re chasing dynasty status. Injuries are the qualifying exam.

This is the part nobody warns you about when you win your first ring. The league does not reset. It recalibrates. Every front office opens a new document the morning after you hoist that trophy, and at the top it says one thing: how do we beat them. San Antonio built the young law firm of “Fox, Castle, & Harper” into a ballhandler gauntlet specifically because you need guards who won’t flinch when OKC’s defense is trying to suffocate everything you love. The Spurs did their homework all summer. They showed up Saturday with receipts.

And this is where I need the Thunder, and honestly anybody watching, to really hear something. LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN’ BROTHER!!

Greatness is not an affectation. It is not something you wear as an accessory before you go to the club. You cannot put it in a TikTok and dance it up. Greatness is not even the destination at all; rather it’s the beginning of the work that actually costs you everything. The Warriors learned that over eight years and four championships. The Thunder just got the invoice on year two.

There is something genuinely compelling about watching two young, brilliant franchises carve each other up over seven games. Victor Wembanyama and SGA are going to sharpen each other into legends the same way Curry and LeBron made each other better by simply existing in the same era. That Western Conference rivalry is going to produce basketball that makes people put their phones face down on the table for years, and that is rare.

But right now, in this moment, the Thunder have to sit with a truth that hits different when you are the one holding the empty trophy case. The 24-1 start and the MVP talk does not protect you. Nothing protects you from the moment anothr team catches up to what you built, because they were always coming.

The Spurs are going to the Finals. The Thunder are going to the drawing board. They may have flown close to the sun and found out a wings melting tragedy, but the important thing is that they try to fly again. And I believe they will.

That is the part of dynasty building nobody puts on the parade shirt.