Los Angeles, CA - April 18: Luke Kennard #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after a three point basket against the Houston Rockets in the second half of a Western Conference first-round NBA playoff basketball game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
For years, the joke amongst Lakers fans has been that good shooters come to LA and immediately forget how to make threes. The list of 3-point marksmen who have donned the purple and gold and became Rajon Rondo-esque shooters is a lengthy one.
Fortunately for this year’s Lakers, Luke Kennard bucked that trend. Technically, his shooting did drop from the ridiculous 49.7% he shot with the Hawks to a measly 44.8% in LA. He found a role under head coach JJ Redick and became a vital role player for the team before the playoffs even began.
Thrust into his new role in the postseason, he responded with one of the best games of his life against the Rockets, creating a special moment for both him and the Lakers. While the rest of his playoffs were up and down, it was still a memorable time in purple and gold.
After the season, Kennard spoke about his season with the Lakers and how it differed from his previous eight seasons.
“When I first got traded here, it was, ‘How can I make an impact?’,” Kennard said. “Like I want to make an impact. I want to go win and be a part of something special. I think just playing for the Lakers and playing with some of the greats of the game, you don’t take it for granted. I sure didn’t and it’s an honor and I’m blessed to be in the position that I was in.
“I think for me as a player, just to be a part of an organi organization like this is something special. You see it firsthand…I’ve been honored and been blessed to be a part of this organization.”
After spending multiple seasons with the Clippers, it’s nice that Kennard got to play with the real team in Los Angeles. He certainly had more memorable moments in his three months with the Lakers than he did in two-and-a-half seasons with the Other Team.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 28: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics warms up in Game Five against the Philadelphia 76ers in the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoff at TD Garden on April 28, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
When Jayson Tatum returned to TD Garden 298 days after rupturing his achilles tendon, the unprecedented return generated one of the loudest moments you’ll ever hear from the Garden faithful.
A putback dunk, a corner three, and a crowd just waiting to go berserk. It was a defining moment to an already illustrious career: a testament to his strength, both mental and physical, as the Celtics added the one major piece that could propel them into the contender’s conversation.
That optimism ran through the rest of the regular season, which saw Tatum steadily regain his form as one of the game’s premier two-way talents. Even as the postseason ended on a sour, collapsing note with Tatum cautiously sidelined with the season down to its final lifeline, it’s hard not to look at the bigger picture of Tatum’s 2025-26 return, and just how miraculous his comeback was.
The Regular SeasonReturn
Tatum’s first two games back against Dallas and Cleveland showed an understandable level of rust, but it was his 24-point effort in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs where we saw his takeover tendencies begin to reshape. His point totals went from 15 to 20 to 24 in those first games back, and his 15-point, 12-rebound statline against the Mavericks was one of 10 double-doubles in his 16 regular season games.
It took some time for Tatum to develop confidence in certain respects, particularly firing pull-up threes around the screen and finishing hard at the rim, but certain areas of his game didn’t skip a beat. He was immediately one of the league’s most impactful defensive rebounders, an exceptional playmaker with an ever-expanding grasp of how his gravity opens up the game for others, and he became more and more confident as a scorer as his minutes increased.
As a rim-finisher, his 69% finishing within 3 feet was the first time under 70% since his first All-Star season in 2019-20. He did however shoot a career-best 46% from 10-16 feet during his 16-game sample, topping his previous best of 44% from his rookie year.
Things came together in his last six games, where he averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists on 45/37/78 splits. In Charlotte, he scored a season-best 32 points on 52% shooting, following it up three days later with a 25/18/11 triple-double in a 147-129 beatdown over Miami.
For the regular season, he averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, shooting 41% from the field and 33% from three.
Postseason Promise, and Postseason Pain
Out of the gate, Jayson’s Game 1 performance was as well-rounded an outing as you’re going to find in his playoff career. He dropped an efficient 25 points, grabbed 11 boards for another double-double, and finished with 7 assists with just a single turnover to his name during a blowout 123-91 win.
Even as Philly’s offense caught fire from three in the second quarter of Game 2, Tatum’s performance was trending in the right direction to keep Boston within striking distance, though he shot just 3-of-9 from the field in the second half while the team as a whole was just 35% as the 76ers ran away with it to tie the series at 1-1.
In their next two games, we saw him deliver two elite second halves, first in a clutch win in Game 3, where he drilled two massive threes late and hit four of his five fourth-quarter shots to send Philly off their home floor with a 108-100 defeat. Tatum and Jaylen Brown both scored 25 points in that game and stepped up as they hit the 5-under-5 mark with a scrappy Embiid-less 76ers team. If there’s a game to rewatch with fond memories this postseason, it’s this one.
In Game 4, he bounced back from a 1-of-7 shooting start with 25 second-half points as Boston again blew out the 76ers, knocking down seven of his nine shots and five of his six 3-point tries. He finished the 128-96 win with 30 points and 11 assists, putting Boston just a game away from advancing to what would have been an Eastern Conference Semifinals rematch with the Knicks.
But things quickly fell apart.
Both Games 5 and 6 were double-digit defeats, the first a particularly tough pill to swallow as Boston let a 13-point third quarter lead slip away as the 76ers muddled their offense and relied on the interior dominance of Embiid to come back and win.
Boston relied heavily on the Jays just to maintain that third quarter lead, with the two stars scoring 19 of the team’s 29 points in that period, though neither managed a single bucket during a horrid fourth quarter that saw Boston shoot 14% from the field while a potential series-clincher slipped away.
Game 6 was an even worse experience, trading a blown lead for a near wire-to-wire loss led by a combined 53 points between Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. Tatum had rare positive efficiency in the game, though on just 6-of-13 shooting for 17 points to go with 11 rebounds.
The worrying defeat set Boston up for what would be their first blown 3-1 lead in franchise history, a game in which Tatum was put on the injury report shortly before tip-off.
It wasn’t up to Tatum to sit for Game 7 with what was called left knee stiffness, but his absence was felt, even as the Celtics put themselves in position to win during a stunning 109-100 season-closing loss.
A Look Ahead
A full, healthy offseason awaits Jayson Tatum this summer, a major victory despite a bitter end to a season of overachievement.
With a step back to look at the full picture, Tatum’s return was in itself a major milestone, but how he played in that return further displayed how moldable his playstyle is for a player of his caliber, slotting right into an ecosystem of mostly new rotation players that had the Celtics fighting for homecourt advantage in the playoffs.
That smooth ride didn’t stop when Tatum worked himself back into his usual role as a showrunner, and early in the first round, it truly felt like we were seeing Tatum back at full strength.
— Celtics Performances (@BestOfCeltics0) May 13, 2026
But his workload was perhaps too big to place on someone who had a little over a month to acclimate to essentially a new team from the one he last led.
Next year’s roster will see some changes, but however big or small they end up being, one constant is Tatum getting a full offseason to ramp up with that group. What was once considered a career-killing injury now has an example in Jayson that a return to play is possible within the next season, a concept that felt truly foreign in the days following his devastating injury.
Tatum’s story faced the most difficult chapter of his career, but the page has turned, the future feels bright, and the Celtics will have their franchise player ready to go for opening night next October.
With the 2025-26 season long since in the books, let’s take a few moments to look back at the performance of each member of YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles this year. While we’re at it, we’ll also take a look back at our player previews and see how our preseason prognostications stack up with how things actually played out. We’ll run through the roster in order of total minutes played going from lowest to highest, and today we talk about a freshman who we got to see more of than maybe we expected this season……
I want to start this with what the BartTorvik.com projections say for Stevens, because we’re going to get out of pocket as to what his ceiling this season might be pretty quickly. Okay? So, listen. The Torvik algorithm says that, based on the other abilities and histories of the returning players and how the freshmen fit in around them when taking the average production of a player with the same recruiting rankings into account, that maybe we’ll see Adrien Stevens for seven minutes a game this year.
That’s rounding up on what 17% of 40 minutes is, and that’s what he’s projected to do. Seven minutes, 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, maybe an assist.
Think about it: He’s probably not going to be playing a lot of point guard in place of Sean Jones or Nigel James, right? So, that means he’s fighting for playing time at the 2, maybe the 3. Chase Ross is absolutely starting in one of those places, and then there’s Zaide Lowery and Damarius Owens to try to figure out the other spot. After that, there’s fellow freshmen Ian Miletic and Michael Phillips to compete with for minutes. You can see why the algorithm isn’t 100% fired up about Stevens as a major contributor here.
Now, there’s a certain amount of reason to believe that Stevens is going to play more than this season, and we’re going to talk about those reasons in the Get Excited section. I think those are valid reasons to at least believe that Stevens is going to play more than seven minutes a night. How much more? Well, we’ll have to wait and see, but…. okay, let’s just get into it, shall we?
[But the biggest freshman eye-opener was Stevens, the 6-foot-4 guard who was not afraid to mix it up defensively. He led the team in deflections over the summer, a sure way to get playing time for Smart, and also in total wins in all the drills that MU coaches track.]
Led the team. Not the freshmen, the team. Not just in deflections, but in wins in drills, however that’s counted from drill to drill.
Shaka Smart, talking to the media about what they saw from Stevens in the practice:
[“He’s got some real toughness and physicality and a great body for a freshman,” Smart said. “He can get his hands on the ball.
“He’s really done a good job, particularly in the second half of the summer, buying into the advantages for him that he can press on a daily basis. Heat on the ball. Physicality on the ball. Getting his hands on the basketball. And being someone that, even though he is a freshman, uses his body to his advantage.”]
Chase Ross, who knows a thing or two about making a steal here and there:
[“I hope Stevie don’t watch this, but I think (Stevens) can be (as good) if not better than Stevie,” Ross said. “And y’all seen what Stevie did last year.”]
Okay, so. Expecting First 30 Games Of College Basketball Adrien Stevens to instantly be better than Last 34 Games Of A 135 Game Career Stevie Mitchell is a bit much. I’m going to presume that Ross’ point was that Stevens’ ceiling is ultimately higher than Mitchell’s. Down the road. Eventually.
buuuuuuut also Stevie Mitchell had a steal rate of 3.6% as a freshman according to KenPom.com, and if he had the minutes to qualify, that would have been top 90 in the country. The way to get on the court for Shaka Smart is to play defense. It seems very clear that doing that is not going to be a problem for Adrien Stevens. The question is what his freshman year ceiling is on that end of the floor, and if he’s the guy leading the team in deflections over the summer AND Chase Ross thinks he has a brighter future than Stevie Mitchell on defense….. well. I’m very curious to see what we get from Stevens in 2025-26.
Potential Pitfalls
A whole summer’s worth of being the most pesky defender and biggest drill winner is indicative of Stevens’ abilities relative to his teammates. That’s probably a sign that things are going to work out for him. If he’s beating out the rest of the team, then that should push him towards minutes, right?
The flipside of that coin is that he’s putting up these deflection numbers and drill wins against his teammates. That’s not the competition that he has to be able to defend to actually get minutes, and the fact of the matter is that we’ve seen guys look interesting and possibly successful in the open practices/scrimmages before and then they don’t quite pan out to a notable role on the team, or even come close to what we thought was their best case scenario. Getting familiar with your teammates’ abilities and finding ways to beat them over and over again in summer practices isn’t a perfect indicator of success, and if Stevens can’t get it done against Indiana and Maryland in the third and fifth games of this coming season, it might be a minute before we see him again.
Part of the reason Shaka Smart said the things about Stevens that we listed up above is because that’s what he saw from him in his high school and club circuit games, not just what he did this summer. That should be encouraging, but until we see the rubber hit the road in November, we have to acknowledge the possibility that maybe this doesn’t quite work out this year.
As we sit here in May looking back at the 32 games of Adrien Stevens’ freshman year at Marquette, it’s easy to declare what we saw from him to be an unqualified success. That’s almost assuredly where we are going to end up when get to his season grade, but the fact of the matter is that up until the point where head coach Shaka Smart swapped Stevens into the starting lineup, he appeared to mostly just be “a freshman who was able to take on playing time right away.”
Through Marquette’s first nine games, Stevens played in all of them, landing mostly somewhere between 14 and 20 minutes with a surprise 30 minute outing in Game #9. He averaged 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, and he was shooting just 32.3% from behind the three-point line. That three-point shooting was cratering his overall shooting percentage because Stevens was finishing at the rim really well — 7-for-11 on twos through nine games — but he had taken nearly three times as many shots behind the arc than inside of it. That 64% on twos wasn’t enough to make his overall shooting look better than 41%.
This was fine. Tell me in the comments if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember anyone clamoring for a lot more Adrien Stevens than we were getting at that point. Perhaps immediately at that moment as Zaide Lowery managed to go 0-for-7 in 15 minutes against Valparaiso and after three missed layups in the first two minutes of the second half, Lowery didn’t play again in that game and was, in retrospect, officially on his way out of the program. I can see why right at that exact moment, there may have been a “well, it’s time to let Stevens have all of Lowery’s minutes” thought, but it wasn’t a prevailing and insistent idea. Again, tell me if I’m wrong, but there’s nothing about Stevens’ 5/2/1/1 and 32% three-point shooting that said “yes, please, much more.” To make matters worse? Marquette’s defense was actually better with Stevens on the bench. The net differential between offense and defense was about the same with or without him, but through the first nine games, ignoring garbage time, the defense was better with Stevens on the bench. That’s not really a knock on a freshman in his first nine games, just saying what the numbers say, and if his defense was his calling card coming out of the summer workouts, that’s a problem.
And so, as Zaide Lowery’s departure from the program began, it was Stevens that benefitted. This may be because Smart and his staff couldn’t bring themselves to trust Damarius Owens at that point of the campaign as we discussed in his review. Going into the year, I would have figured that Stevens would be fighting with Lowery and Owens for minutes, and as we hit the 10th game of the season, neither of the other two guys had the backing of the coaching staff. That meant it was time to see if Stevens could hack it…. and I think it worked out pretty well.
Once Adrien Stevens became a starter, it seems like the more regular playing time helped him settle into playing Division 1 basketball. Over the final 23 games of the season, Stevens averaged 9.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. His three-point shooting went through the roof, connecting on 39% of his nearly five attempts per game the rest of the year, and in 20 games of Big East competition, he hit on nearly 42% of his tries. That made him the fifth most accurate shooter in the entire conference based on KenPom.com’s qualifying math. Stevens was still taking more than twice as many three-pointers as two-pointers, but since he was taking more twos, his shooting percentage did come down…. to 56%, and that is absolutely better than fine when mixed with nearly 40% three-point shooting. Even his 54% in BE competition was okay because anything over 50% is super when you can hit 42% of your three-pointers.
The other part about all of it is that Stevens started becoming a big impact player on both ends of the floor. For the final 23 games of the season, Marquette was +13.6 points per 100 possessions with Stevens in the game according to Hoop Explorer….. and -2.0 with him on the bench. Stevens boosted Marquette by nearly seven points per 100 trips on offense and nearly nine points per 100 possessions on defense. I don’t know if we can quite click it over to calling the defense elite with Stevens on the court as they were averaging 100.4 per 100 possessions…. but HE says that was #37 in the country. Again, that’s probably not good enough to be elite, but you’re going to win a lot of ball games as a top 40 defense.
+20.8 per 100 possessions with Stevens playing +6.4 without him
More importantly here though, Marquette was better on both ends with Stevens in the game. Good on offense — #59 in the country — but elite on defense. Just 98.4 points per 100 possessions, and that ranked #26 in the country in that stretch.
Stevens’ own stats in those games: 10.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.2 steals in 31.0 minutes per game. 37.7% three-point shooting, 55.6% two-point shooting.
For the final third of the season or so, Adrien Stevens had turned himself into a perfectly competent if not good Big East caliber starting guard. I don’t know if there was ever really a Light Goes On moment for him, just a “we’re going to keep trusting you to do stuff, and maybe here’s some more stuff” and he just kept on doing the stuff. You really can’t expect much more from a freshman.
BEST GAME
Adrien Stevens picked up his first KenPom.com game MVP award for Marquette’s 78-56 road win over Providence on March 4th, and it’s hard to argue with that as his best game. Season/career high 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting which including 5-for-8 from long range, four rebounds, an assist, and four steals. If you wanted to say the road win over Georgetown where he had 16 points as MU had to get through a 16 point victory over the Hoyas without Royce Parham, I’d listen to the argument. Same for his 6-for-9 three-point shooting game at home against Butler in MU’s 70-55 win that came with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals as well.
SEASON GRADE
For the first — and I presume not last! — time this season, we have to ask the question “How high is too high?”
We started out the year thinking “well, there’s obviously a way for him to earn playing time on this team, the question is how much can he actually get?” Situations that kind of had nothing really to do with Stevens popped the door open to lots of playing time even though he was already an obvious rotation guy from Day 1. Once that door popped open, Stevens went flying through it and established himself as a cornerstone of Marquette basketball for the rest of his tenure in Milwaukee. It’s possible that we’re actually underrating Stevens as a performer this season because Nigel James is over there on the other side of the room saying “hey, check this freshman year out!” and that’s not really Stevens’ fault!
I think that because Stevens landed on “obvious starter caliber guy” by the time the season ended but not any further than that, I have to pin his grade at a 9. He’s not a superstar caliber player, or at least didn’t jump off the TV screen as that this season relative to what we thought he could be this season. He definitely shot past a reasonable expectation for him in 2025-26, so I think a 9 is fair.
The scout notes that the Cavs will play their 15th game in 32 days on Tuesday night.
"And you play every other day in this series. Harden is in Year 17. You have to make him work."
The scout suggests the Knicks should try picking Harden up full court with Miles McBride or Jose Alvarado. "Pressure him, don’t make it easy."
On the other side of the floor, the Knicks will certainly use screens in an effort to force Harden to defend Jalen Brunson and others.
"That one is obvious. But the Cavs should be ready for that," the scout says. "What about transition? Push the ball up the floor, make him run or beat him down the floor. He’ll get tired."
GO TO THE MAT TO STOP KAT
The scout credits Mike Brown and the Knicks for adjusting their offense to use Karl-Anthony Townsas more of a passing hub.
"Look at how Mike used Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento. He was in Golden State for Draymond Green." The scout says Towns' role in the new offense is not a facsimile of Sabonis or Green, but there are similarities.
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) controls the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first quarter during game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena / Kyle Ross - Imagn Images
"He gave Karl the chance to be a passer and they’ve taken off," the scout says. He also credits Brown and the Knicks for using Brunson off-ball and as a screener in the new approach. "Take him off the ball like (Steve Kerr did) with Steph Curry," the scout said. This approach obviously worked well against Atlanta and Philadelphia. The Knicks are 7-0 since they made the change on offense. But the scout notes that the Cavs have different personnel and can challenge Towns in different ways.
"I just think they can pressure him with (Evan) Mobley. It won’t be as easy for him to find (open teammates). I’m not saying they should change anything. I just think the Cavs will make it tougher because they have seen it on tape and because Mobley is better than anyone they saw in the first two series."
PREDICTION
The scout thinks the Knicks should go to the double-big lineup featuring Towns and Mitchell Robinson often in Game 1 to test the Cavs. He points out that Cleveland is not a great rebounding team and the Knicks can exploit them on the offensive glass.
But on the other side of the floor, the scout says the Cavs will make life difficult for Brunson.
"The Knicks will switch some pick and roll, and Brunson will be left in a tough spot." The scout notes Sam Merrill or Max Strus should be able to get open looks via pick and roll action that involves Brunson.
"This is going to be tough for Jalen," he says. "I know the Knicks have been defending (well), but they haven’t seen an offense like this."
The scout thinks the Knicks should start with Mikal Bridges on Harden to disrupt Harden’s passing and start with Josh Hart defending Donovan Mitchell.
"You can put OG on (Jarrett Allen) and then you can switch pick-and-rolls," the scout says. "I just think (the Cavs) have so many more weapons than the Hawks or Sixers. This is going to be much tougher for (the Knicks’ defense)," the scout predicts.
"If you want me to make a pick I’ll take Knicks in seven. Tough series, but the Knicks should be able to get through. I have to think the Cavs will slow down; they’ve played a million games. So they will be a tough out, but I’m taking the Knicks."
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks the ball against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on Monday. (Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)
The Spurs and Thunder aren’t just battling for a trip to the NBA Finals; they’re launching what could become the league’s defining rivalry of the next decade.
Monday night in Oklahoma City, the two best teams in the NBA played until the building ran out of clock ... twice. Victor Wembanyama dropped 41 points and 24 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answered with 24 points and 12 assists, willing the defending champions to stay in it. They traded punches through regulation. Then through a first overtime. Then a second. When it was finally over, the San Antonio Spurs walked out of Paycom Center with a 122-115 win and a 1-0 series lead.
The place was stunned. The league was locked in. And that was only Game 1.
Three years ago, the Spurs were a punchline. A franchise in full rebuild mode, tanking its way to Wembanyama while the rest of the league watched and waited to see if the hype was real. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder were doing what they always do: quietly assembling pieces, drafting well, and letting Gilgeous-Alexander drag them into relevance while the big-market teams looked the other way.
Fast-forward to May 2026, and the two best teams in the NBA are staring each other down in the Western Conference Finals. SGA just won his second consecutive MVP award. Wembanyama, who publicly pleaded his case for why HE was this season's MVP and may have felt motivated after his counterpart hoist the trophy in his face ahead of Game 1, won the Defensive Player of the Year award unanimously. The conversation isn't whether this series matters; it's whether the rest of the league even has a prayer of stopping what's coming.
Because here's the thing: Monday night wasn't just a playoff game. It was the opening act.
How We Got Here
The Thunder went 64-18 this season. The Spurs went 62-20. That's the first time two 62-win teams have met in the playoffs since the 1998 NBA Finals, when Michael Jordan dropped the most famous shot in basketball history over Bryon Russell. The company this series keeps tells you everything you need to know about what we're watching.
Oklahoma City has been the alpha of the West for two years now. They won the championship in 2025, and rather than take a step back the way most repeat contenders do, they got better. SGA is operating at a different altitude these days -- he won this year's NBA MVP by 73 first-place votes over Nikola Jokić. Let that sink in for a second. In a league with Jokić, Giannis, and a 22-year-old alien in San Antonio, SGA lapped the field.
But the Spurs spent this regular season doing something nobody saw coming: They owned the Thunder. San Antonio went 4-1 against OKC in 2025-26, including a stretch in December where they beat them three times in a matter of weeks. They had the Thunder figured out before the Thunder had time to adjust. That doesn't happen to Mark Daigneault's team. It just doesn't. And yet, here we are.
Game 1 felt like a continuation of exactly that. The Spurs dominated the paint — 52 points inside to OKC's 38 — crashed the offensive glass relentlessly, and converted 15 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points. OKC kept punching back, and Caruso's ridiculous performance kept it close, but San Antonio had an answer every time the Thunder threatened to pull away.
The Matchups That Change Everything
The easy headline is SGA vs. Wembanyama. And yes, that matchup is everything. Two of the three best players on the planet, operating on opposite ends of what basketball can look like at its highest level. SGA is artistry and efficiency at guard. Wembanyama is a 7-foot-4 science experiment who blocks shots from angles that shouldn't be physically possible and then steps back and drains a 3 on the other end.
But the reason this rivalry has legs isn't just the two stars. It's the rosters around them.
Look at OKC. Chet Holmgren. Jalen Williams. Ajay Mitchell, who emerged as a legitimate weapon while Williams was out with a hamstring injury. Cason Wallace. Lu Dort. And then there's Alex Caruso, who on Monday reminded everyone that he can completely take over a game off the bench by scoring 31 points, 8-of-14 from deep. This team doesn't have a weak link, and they play with a level of trust and cohesion that takes years to build. They are a machine.
Now look at San Antonio. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harperare 21 and 20, respectively, and already making cases for why they should start in a playoff series. Harper, in particular, was extraordinary Monday night — 24 points, 11 rebounds, and seven steals in double overtime on the road. That's not a kid finding his footing. That's a star announcing himself. De'Aaron Fox, who sat Game 1 with right ankle soreness, is the savvy NBA veteran who steadies the whole thing. And surrounding all of them is Wembanyama, who isn't just the best player on the floor most nights; he's the reason every offensive possession looks a little different, every shot chart skews a little weird, and every defensive scheme requires a new answer.
The Spurs became the first team in NBA history to win a playoff series with three different players aged 22 or younger, each leading them in scoring at least once. Think about that. They eliminated the Timberwolves with Castle, Harper, and Wemby all having their moments, each stepping up when it mattered. That's not luck. That's something.
What the Regular Season Told Us
Oklahoma City's Achilles' heel this season, to the extent they had one, was the Spurs. San Antonio figured out how to push pace against a Thunder defense that doesn't allow it. Fox, Castle, and Harper were consistently beating OKC into the paint in transition, something essentially nobody else was doing against the best transition defense in the league. The Spurs were also limiting Wembanyama's 3-point attempts against OKC (13% of his attempts against them, versus 32% against the rest of the league), forcing the Thunder to make different calculations on every possession.
That's not an accident. That's scouting. That's a coaching staff in Mitch Johnson — himself a Coach of the Year finalist — that had a plan and executed it. The flip side is that OKC is 8-0 in these playoffs and counting. They swept the Suns. They swept the Lakers. They're not exactly bleeding right now. Oh, and they added Jalen Williams back in Game 1 to the rotation after sitting out the last six games with a hamstring injury.
That matters enormously. Williams put up 26 on Monday night and gives the Thunder another high-level shot creator and a switchable defender capable of going body-to-body with Castle, Harper, and Fox. OKC's already terrifying lineup just got more dangerous. And yet, even with Williams, even with Caruso going nuclear from three, even with SGA running the show, San Antonio still found a way to win on the road in double overtime.
How Daigneault adjusts, and whether the Spurs' defensive game plan holds up for a full series, is the central question going forward.
Why This Is Just Getting Started
Both rosters are young. Both stars are in their primes or barely approaching them. SGA is 27. Wembanyama is 22. Castle, Harper, Williams, Mitchell, Holmgren — almost all of them are under 25. There is no natural expiration date here. No aging superstar is being squeezed for one last run. This is a rivalry that will be going strong in 2030 and probably beyond.
And the front offices running these things? They may be the two best in the league.
Sam Presti has quietly assembled one of the most ridiculous collections of draft capital in NBA history. Even after spending picks to acquire Jared McCain at the trade deadline, OKC still holds first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2031, along with a mountain of second-rounders stretching all the way to 2032. They have the 12th and 17th picks in this year's draft alone, and who's to stop Presti from packaging them to move up rather than sit put? The guy turned a 2021 draft night into Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Jaylin Williams. He traded up in 2023 and landed Cason Wallace, who is now the sixth man on a championship team.
Brian Wright in San Antonio has been quietly just as impressive, and his fingerprints are all over what the Spurs are building. He went out and got Fox without giving up Castle, Wembanyama, or even Devin Vassell, a trade that had the rest of the NBA rubbing its eyes. The Spurs came out of that deal still sitting on 36 future draft picks over the next seven seasons, the most of any team in the league. That's more ammunition than OKC. They have unprotected Hawks picks, swap rights with Sacramento, swap rights tied to Boston, and second-round picks coming from seemingly everywhere. San Antonio's cap situation stays manageable through 2029, even if Castle and Harper both get max extensions. Wright has built this team with room to grow, room to maneuver, and room to make a run at a player if the right deal ever presents itself.
Two small-market teams with generational stars and front offices that never stop working. That's not a recipe for one good run; that's a recipe for a decade of this.
The Western Conference hasn't had a true defining rivalry since the Warriors ran roughshod over everyone. Before that, it was the Spurs themselves putting together a dynasty that lasted two decades, with different looks and rosters but the same foundation. The league craves this. A legitimate, high-level, evenly-matched rivalry with generational talent on both sides.
The Thunder and the Spurs are delivering it right now, in real time -- one double OT instant classic at a time. Whoever wins this series will be favored to cut down the nets in June. And whoever loses will spend the summer sharpening their swords for the next one.
Because if Game 1 told us anything, this rivalry isn’t going anywhere, and the next chapter is already inevitable.
Next time Alex Caruso is on the bench, please no photos.
During a tense moment in a thrilling Game 1 that featured a career-best game from Caruso — but an even better one from Victor Wembanyama as the Spurs won 122-115 to take a 1-0 series lead in the Wester Conference finals — the veteran Thunder guard bizarrely shoved away a cameraman.
At the end of regulation with the teams tied at 101-101, Wembanyama had a chance to win the game with a layup when Chet Holmgren came flying in for a block to extend the game.
Alex Caruso shoves away the camera at the end of regulation.
As a camera person came over to the Thunder bench to capture the team as it readied for overtime, Caruso aggressively pushed the camera away.
A second hand — belonging to someone wearing something blue — also blocked the camera moments later before the shot shifted to Wembanyama.
It is unclear why Caruso reacted the way he did.
Caruso had a monster Game 1, tallying 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 8-of-14 from 3-point range.
He was also tasked with guarding Wembanyama for most of the game despite being a foot shorter than the Spurs’ 7-foot-4 center.
Alex Caruso didn't appreciate the NBC camera entering the Thunder huddle to end regulation. #NBApic.twitter.com/hcJlfYWBe9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 19, 2026
Wembanyama put up one of the best performances in basketball history Monday night, playing 49 minutes and going 14-for-25 from the field with 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks.
He also drilled a 3-pointer from 30 feet at the end of the first overtime to tie the game at 108-108, just as it looked like Oklahoma City had finally put San Antonio away.
Chet Holmgren made a critical block to send the game to overtime.
“Wemby played 48 minutes, had 41 points, 24 rebounds and 3 blocks, changed 20 other shots and made a must-make 30 footer from the Curry spot, and by the end of the game the OKC fans looked like they’d just been strip-searched — anyway he’s our player of the game,” Ringer founder Bill Simmons posted on X after the shocking Game 1.
Game 2 on Wednesday will be nearly must-win for the Thunder as they attempt to slow down Wembanyama, who looked unstoppable Monday night.
May 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) blocks a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) in double overtime during game one of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
WOW. What an incredible way to start this series, and what a statement game from Wemby. Furthermore, even though this game was close, it was actually characterized by some HUGE box score differentials for each team. In other words, this wasn’t a game in which the Spurs collected the win by registering lots of tiny margins; rather, San Antonio won because their big box scores wins slightly outshined OKC’s. Let’s dig into the details:
Note: Now that we’ve moved into the postseason, the reference period used for grading changes from the set of regular season games since 2012-2013 to the set of postseason games since 2012-2013. Unless otherwise noted below, this set DOES include play-in games. As of the end of May 18, 2026, this group include 1,191 games.
Factors that decided the game
The battle for offensive opportunity in this game was characterized by big rebounding and turnover differentials. On the one hand, the Spurs enjoyed excellent DRB and ORB margins of +15 and +6, respectively. However, OKC had eight fewer turnovers, which played a big role in mitigating the advantage in offensive opportunity that San Antonio might otherwise have gained.
The Thunder actually outscored the Spurs from the field; both teams made exactly 41 shots, but OKC logged four more made threes, resulting in a point differential from the field of -4 for San Antonio.
Ultimately, the free throw line played a massive role in this game. The Thunder committed seven more fouls than San Antonio, which gave the Spurs an excellent FTA margin of +10. Furthermore, the Spurs were a fantastic 27-of-29 in their attempts, and consequently outscored OKC by 11 from the charity stripe.
Rare Box Score Stats
As you can imagine, Wemby’s stat line from last night doesn’t grow on trees. Let’s go over some of the most notable elements:
First of of all, since the 1996-1997 postseason, no other player has recorded 41+ points and 24+ rebounds in a true playoff game.
Over the same period, Victor’s performance last night was the just the 11th time that a player logged 24+ rebounds in a game, and only the third time that a player has done so with 15+ defensive rebounds and 9+ offensive boards.
Finally, only one other player has recorded 40+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 3+ blocks in a true playoff game since the 1996-1997 postseason. That player is Shaquille O’Neal, and he did it three times.
Now let’s turn to the team box score. For all stats below, the reference period is all postseason games since the start of the 2012-2013 postseason (1,191 games in total):
San Antonio logged just the second team performance by a winner or loser that included 27+ made free throws on no more than 29 attempts. Interestingly, the only other time during this period was a 99-111 Dallas loss to Houston on April 21, 2015.
Steals and blocks were a dime a dozen in this game. In fact, only 7 other games during the period have included at least 40 stocks (steals + blocks).
On the theme of stocks, there have been only five other contests during the period in which a winner had 18+ stocks and a negative stock differential.
Only 21 other winners have logged FGM and 3PM differentials no better than +0 and -4, respectively.
This is just the 33rd time that a winning team has recorded a TRB margin of +21, and just the 7th time that a winner combined such a good TRB margin with a FGA differential of -5 or worse.
Only 12 other winners have had 23+ turnovers.
This contest marked the 47th time that a winner has had at least eight more turnovers than its opponent, and just the second time that a winner has had such a bad TOV margin when their opponent had at least 15 turnovers.
Somewhat frustratingly, the Spurs have now logged 8+ more turnovers than their opponent THREE times during this playoff run; however, they have won each of those games, so maybe this just works for them!
What are Team Graded Box Scores?
Very briefly, these box scores grade winner-loser differentials for basic box score statistics, with the grade being based on the winning team’s differential relative to other NBA winners during a defined reference period. Think of it like a report card for understanding how a given winner performed relative to other winners. The reference period used runs from the start of the 2012-2013 season to the latest date of play, including only games in the same season category (i.e., regular season and playoff games are not compared to each other).
Data Source: The underlying data used to create these box scores was collected from Basketball Reference. In all cases, the data are collected the morning after the game is played. Although rare, postgame statistical revisions after data collection do occur and may affect the results after the fact.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MAY 10: Joel Embiid #21, Dalen Terry #14 and Trendon Watford #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers talk during the fourth quarter in Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Xfinity Mobile Arena on May 10, 2026 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. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Undoing the goodwill of a 3-1 series comeback to beat your biggest rival in a playoff series for the first time in nearly 45 years is hard to do, yet it feels like the Sixers did so in the span of a week.
Getting thoroughly trounced in the second round by the New York Knicks — setting a record for most 30+ point losses in a playoff run in the process — made the fanbase lose the “house money” mentality they were treating the postseason with during the Boston series.
The result of this season was just another in what’s become a long line of second-round exits, but the 2025-26 Sixers showed more fight, heart and camaraderie than any team of the Joel Embiid era. To some extent, their efforts should be celebrated.
With ownership feeling the need for a front office change after the season, it just shows how hard this group had to fight to accomplish what they did. They had to deal with Embiid again being available for less than half the games, a Paul George suspension just as they were gaining momentum, and a front office that not only ignored the team’s plea to improve at the trade deadline, but shipped off a popular young player in the locker room for no player in return.
Through it all, the Sixers were able to win 45 games, make the playoffs and beat a team that won over 50 games in a series for the first time in Embiid’s career.
Every step of the way, the players would cite the resiliency of the group — a cliche that gets thrown around a lot, but not a quality many Embiid-led Sixers teams have had after years of constant roster turnover. Ironically, it was during the disastrous 24-win season where it felt like that element was there for the Sixers. It just took an extra year and retaining 11 players from that team for it to translate to wins.
“You know what’s funny? Our chemistry off the court last year wasn’t bad, like we like each other,” Tyrese Maxey said after a win in January. “I think the biggest thing is we’re healthy. I think we got to the space where it doesn’t matter who’s on the court.”
That chemistry made a noticeable difference in what they were able to accomplish. They became the first group in franchise history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a playoff series. While they were doing so, guys like Maxey made sure to shoutout the guys who weren’t getting playing time in that series, but were being a great support system on the bench.
The first thing Tyrese Maxey did after the Sixers’ Game 7 win was tell the “Bench Mob” it was “amazing.” Shouted out Kyle Lowry, Trendon Watford, Johni Broome, Dalen Terry & Jabari Walker for talking coverages on the bench, tracking three-point attempts and keeping spirits high.
The conclusive defeat to New York showed how far this current Sixers roster is from truly competing for a title. Now that the offseason is here, there’s plenty of time to debate the best way to try to get back to that, but it’s important to remember no one had expectations in that ballpark before the start of the season. No one, this blog included, knew what to make of their preseason over/under win total.
At the beginning of the year, any fan would have signed up for a season that both netted a record over .500 and Embiid feeling like he has his left knee situation figured out. They would have been over the moon at the prospect of a VJ Edgecombe rookie season so promising he started every game he appeared in and was a major contributor in wins — and one that culminated in a 23-point performance in Game 7 against the Celtics.
The existential threats of Embiid and George’s contracts make it harder to get excited about a Maxey-Edgecombe led future. The fact that those two guards aren’t exactly on the same timeline makes it tricky as well. The next president of basketball operations the team brings in will have their work cut out for them, but this year’s team showed how much easier it is to watch a team that both fights and cares.
There’s no doubt that Luka Doncic is one of the most influential international players the NBA has ever seen. Every time he whips a no-look pass through traffic, or shoots a fadeaway three-pointer while falling out of bounds the crowd erupts.
But the reaction is just part of the story. And according to a new study, Doncic isn’t even the most influential international player in the NBA today.
Doncic finished with the highest positive fan sentiment rating and ranked No. 2 overall behind only the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
A new study from Betsson ranked Doncic as the second most popular and influential basketball player from Europe over the last five years.
The study ranked the best European basketball players based off of their team’s winning percentages, global popularity, and positive fan sentiment on social media. The dataset was from 2020 to 2025, and included Google Search volume.
Giannis finished atop the rankings with a staggering overall score of 96.66 out of 100 behind a 61.9% win percentage, massive global search traffic and a social media positivity score of 61%.
Doncic was second, posting a 57.2% win rate while generating more than 368,000 monthly Google searches. More telling was Doncic’s 62% positive fan sentiment rating, the highest among every player listed in the study.
Doncic recently finished fourth in the NBA MVP voting and did not receive a single first-place vote. He’s the first NBA scoring leader to not receive a single first-place vote since James Harden in 2020. Many fans are outraged by that fact and believe it’s partly due to his unpopularity among other fanbases. But his positive fan sentiment rating in this study would say otherwise.
Three-time NBA MVP and 2023 NBA Champion Nikola Jokic finished third, while Victor Wembanyama landed fourth thanks to his exploding popularity despite a lower team win percentage that’s sure to change over the next five years.
Are American Superstars Washed? See poll below. International players have now won 8 MVP's in a row. pic.twitter.com/XNUxq5n7ci
Other notable players on the list included Kristaps Porzingis, Rudy Gobert, Lauri Markkanen, Domantas Sabonis, Ivica Zubac, and Deni Avdija.
Every player on the list has become a household name, not only winning on the court, but sparking conversations worldwide off the court.
As noted by the graphic below, international players are dominating the NBA landscape like never before. The last eight NBA MVP winners have been international players. That trend looks like it’s going to continue as Doncic enters his prime and Wembanyama continues his rise in the sport on both sides of the ball.
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Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama felt some type of way going into his Western Conference finals debut after losing out on NBA MVP honors to Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
After putting up playoff career highs in points (41) and rebounds (24), Wembanyama said it was personal for him when asked about Gilgeous-Alexander after San Antonio’s 122-115 double-overtime road victory Monday night in Game 1 against Oklahoma City.
“Was that in your mind at all knowing that Shai had gotten that award and you were in the top three for it — and did any part of tonight feel personal, some of your facial expressions kind of looked like you were really going for it,” Wembanyama was asked in his post-game press conference.
“Yeah, for sure, everything you just said,” Wembanyama said.
The French phenom did not elaborate further.
Gilgeous-Alexander was named MVP for the second straight year Sunday, beating out Wembanyama and Denver’s three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Wembanyama used it as motivation for his historic Game 1 showing — highlighted by monster dunks and the occasional muscle flex.
His deep game-tying 3-pointer with 28 seconds left in the first overtime forced a second extra stanza.
Wembanyama’s 41 points and 24 rebounds put him in elite company, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to tally 40-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in their Conference finals debut.
Victor Wembanyama celebrates after a Game 1 win over the Thunder in the Western Conference finals on May 18, 2026 at Paycom Center. NBAE via Getty Images
He also recorded three blocks.
Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper had 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven steals, and also made playoff history.
Harper, a Franklin Lakes, N.J. native, became the first rookie to notch 15-plus points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus steals in a playoff game since Magic Johnson in 1980.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) lifts the MVP award before Game 1. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, had an off night and vowed he will be better after scoring 24 points on an inefficient 7-of-23 shooting performance, including 2-of-7 from 3.
The Kings and the Warriors officially have set their sights on the 2026 NBA Draft to bolster their rosters following their disappointing seasons.
Sacramento and Golden State didn’t have much luck during the draft lottery, with the Kings dropping to the No. 7 pick and the Warriors standing pat with their No. 11 selection.
Following the NBA combine, ESPN dropped its latest 2026 mock draft projecting who Sacramento and Golden State will select with their respective picks.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 183 pounds, Flemings makes a lot of sense for a Kings team that’s looking to find a true starting point guard.
“The Kings drew a short straw on lottery night but will have an opportunity to address their need for a point guard at this spot, with Acuff frequently tied to them, and Flemings and Mikel Brown Jr. also potentially still on the board,” ESPN’s Jeremy Woo wrote.
“In what order Sacramento prioritizes those players — and whether they value Acuff enough to consider moving up to get him — remains to be seen, but it was a point of speculation from other teams at the combine.”
Sacramento has not had a consistent, young starting point guard since trading away star De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite his small size, Flemings can be a viable option at point guard thanks to his explosiveness, athleticism, and defensive ability. In 37 appearances with the Houston Cougars last season, the San Antonio native averaged 16.1 points, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
With Kings coach Doug Christie’s defensive-minded approach, Flemings seems to be a solid fit for a team looking to bring playoff basketball back to Sacramento.
11. Golden State Warriors: Brayden Burries, SG, Arizona
With major injuries to wings Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, the Warriors will have a glaring hole entering the 2026-27 NBA season. At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Burries could slide in as an impactful combo guard in Golden State.
“Burries is drawing looks inside the top 10, but could also end up being the guard who falls,” Woo wrote. “He would be a solid fit for the Warriors in this scenario. His dimensions will play up better on the ball than at the two, but his sturdy build should also help him defend wings.
“The fact he’s a year older than some of the other freshmen and somewhat caught between positions based on tools makes him more of a back-half lottery option.”
In 39 games for the Arizona Wildcats last season, the Southern California native averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game and shot 49.1 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from 3-point range.
With Steve Kerr officially returning as Warriors coach alongside stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green, Burries could become one of the pieces Golden State needs to rejuvenate its roster and get younger as a team.
In the process, Wembanyama became the youngest player in NBA history (22 years, 134 days) to score at least 40 points and grab at least 20 rebounds in a playoff game.
Victor Wembanyama stats in Game 1
In the double-overtime win over the top-seeded Thunder, Victor Wembanyama was on the court for the most minutes he's ever played in an NBA game. And his stat line might not even do him justice.
Would he play another season? And would it be with the Los Angeles Lakers?
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania was asked on “The Pat McAfee Show” what the future holds for James.
“Every contender” is inquiring about LeBron James, according to ESPN. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“I do know a lot of teams are calling him and his camp,” Charania said. “I spoke with Rich Paul the other day at the Chicago Draft Combine last week and he told me like every contender in the NBA is essentially since the season ended, placed a call.”
With interest in the four-time MVP simmering, James still has to determine whether or not a move will happen.
If he decides to return for his 23rd season, he will be 41 years old. Father time is slowly chasing him down, but James is still competing at a high level. He finished last season averaging 21 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
With Luka Doncic missing the entire postseason and Austin Reaves the start of the postseason, James still guided the Lakers past the Rockets in the first round before running into the juggernaut defending champs.
Shams says EVERY contender team has called to ask about LeBron
But still showing he can play at a productive level this late into his career, Charania said that James needs more time with his family and inner circle to discuss his future.
“I don’t think anyone would hold it against him. But I think the expectation has been that probably you’re gonna get one more and we’ll see if he’s gonna be with the Lakers or somewhere else,” Charania said.
While teams are reaching out, Charania noted that the Lakers would still like to keep James in the building as they are chasing down their 18th championship in franchise history.
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DALLAS, TEXAS - DECEMBER 18: Cooper Flagg #32 of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles the ball while defended by Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons in the second half of a game at American Airlines Center on December 18, 2025 in Dallas, 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 Gunnar Word/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s almost impossible to predict which players will one day turn into a possible NBA MVP. As the league takes steps to address its purported tanking crisis, the last No. 1 overall pick to win the MVP is still Derrick Rose, who taken in 2008. After Rose, you have to go back to LeBron James (2003) and Tim Duncan (1997) for the last No. 1 overall picks to win MVP. Victor Wembanyama will almost certainly break this drought in the next year or two, but the looming ascent of Wemby opens up another question: When is the next time an American-born player will win MVP?
The last American-born MVP was James Harden in 2018. Since then, Giannis Antetokounmpo won twice, Nikola Jokic won three times, Joel Embiid won once, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won twice. Embiid was the only one of those players who was drafted in the top-10. It feels like Wembanyama could win the next seven MVP awards even if it’s unlikely because of the 65-game rule of award eligibility. It could be a long, long time before the next American MVP.
When thinking about the next American MVP, a long-term horizon needs to be considered. Given the gap between SGA, Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and everyone else, it’s totally possible that the next NBA MVP born in America isn’t even in the league yet. Let’s go through some options.
Missed their window already, and never really got close
Donovan Mitchell: Mitchell is in the discussion for the best American-born player in the NBA right now. He’s also never finished top-5 in MVP voting, and he turns 30 in September. It’s not happening.
Jalen Brunson: It’s more likely that Brunson wins NBA Finals MVP than NBA MVP, even if that’s also a long-shot. Brunson is obviously terrific as a scorer and shot-creator, but he only has one fifth-place MVP finish to his name, and he’s not getting any better on the brink of his 30th birthday.
Jaylen Brown: He deserves a mention after the year he just turned in, but he’s not even the best player on his own team, let alone the best in the league.
Young veterans with a chance
Anthony Edwards: Edwards is one of the front-runners for this honor. He’s already a top-10 player in the league at 24 years old, and he’s also likely going to have a big marketing push behind him as the face of American basketball if he can continue to ascend as a player. Is there a world where the Timberwolves trade Rudy Gobert, Edwards suddenly has more space to drive and create, and he takes a big leap? What if he eventually changes teams? The fact that Edwards has improved so much since being drafted as a hyper-athletic ball of clay — just look at his three-point shooting from college to now — gives him a real shot to keep getting better and eventually win an MVP one day.
Jayson Tatum: Tatum is 28 years old and already has two fourth place MVP finishes on his resume. He looked fantastic returning from a torn Achilles this season, so it’s totally possible he can regain his level of play prior to the injury. Tatum was probably a long-shot MVP candidate even before the injury, since younger players have already passed him. It will be even harder with a reconstructed Achilles. Given that the Celtics consistently churn out great teams and Tatum remains their franchise player, there’s still a chance it happens one day if the other contenders miss the games played cut-off.
Cade Cunningham: Cunningham led his team to 60 wins in his age-24 season to fulfill the promise he showed as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He’s already a borderline top-10 player, and there’s so much low-hanging fruit to clean up in his game. Cunningham can go up another level if he cuts down the turnovers and improves his scoring efficiency, and it’s possible that playing in better spacing one day will get him there. It feels like Detroit might be better served to put another ball handler next to Cade and let him work as more of a wing than a point guard, but who knows if they will actually go in that direction. He’s one of the top candidates on this list …. but he’s nowhere near Wemby, while being 2.5 years older.
Evan Mobley: I would have ranked Mobley higher on my list of the next American MVP candidates a couple years ago, but he really hasn’t gotten much better lately. Does he have another big leap in him? He’s obviously a special defensive player and a good offensive player, but he’s a world away from MVP level.
LaMelo Ball: My toxic trait is that I never stop believing in LaMelo Ball. I had Ball ranked No. 1 in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he finally put it all together this season to both have a big impact on winning and grade out as a top-20 player in some metrics. The Hornets had the best net-rating in the NBA after Jan. 1. If Charlotte keeps that up and finishes at the top of the East next year (a big if, I know), Ball could sneak into MVP conversations.
Chet Holmgren: Holmgren is the closest thing we have to an American Wemby. He already feels like a top-10 player in the world to me, and just celebrated his 24th birthday. I really do think Holmgren can get up another level offensively, but not that’s not the role he’s been asked to play yet on the Thunder, and it’s hard to see a scenario where he’s the best player on his own team if he stays in OKC.
Tyrese Haliburton: Haliburton looked like an MVP-caliber player last time we saw him healthy in the 2025 NBA Finals. Can he get back to that level after a torn Achilles? It will be difficult, but not impossible. The Pacers point guard could be a Steve Nash-like candidate where he gets most of the credit of his team’s success if Indiana emerges as a contender again next season.
The 2006-2007 Generation
Cooper Flagg: Flagg was the youngest player in the NBA as a rookie, and he put together a terrific season despite being asked to play de facto point guard for the first time in his life. If an NBA player’s prime is ages 24-28, Flagg won’t hit that rank until the 2030-31 season. There have been eight players in league history to win MVP before they turned 24, and Flagg will be on an all-time trajectory if he can do that. I would like to see the Mavs star get back to his roots and reassert himself as a dominant defensive player after being …. fine on that end of the floor as a rookie while shouldering a huge offensive creation burden. Flagg has the talent to win MVP. No one else born in this country has his defensive ceiling while also being carrying this big of a usage load. It just feels like it will be hard for the Mavs to build a good enough team around him in the West in the near future.
Cameron Boozer: Boozer is the best player in the 2026 NBA Draft for my money. I’ve been touting him a future NBA superstar since he was in high school, and all he did at Duke was win national player of the year with a near-unanimous vote despite being basically the youngest player in the country. Concerns about his athleticism are overblown, but to get to MVP level Boozer would probably have to turn into an excellent pull-up three-point shooter or flirt with averaging a triple-double.
Darryn Peterson: It was only 18 months ago when Peterson was dropping 58 points on A.J Dybantsa in a 40 minute high school game. He never looked healthy at Kansas, but still showed that he can be a deadly three-point shooter. If his bizarre injury issues are over now and he’s really this good of a shooter, there’s a pathway for DP to be one of the most complete scoring guard prospects to hit the draft in recent memory.
A.J. Dybantsa: Dybantsa is an extremely gifted shot-creator for such a gigantic wing. I don’t think he’s really a complete player, but put a team full of dirty work guys around him and it’s possible he could emerge as a superstar engine of an elite team. He would need to take a big leap as a three-point shooter, defender, or both to get to MVP level, but there’s a world where that could happen.
Tyran Stokes: Stokes is the front-runner to go No. 1 overall in the 2027 NBA Draft right now as a jumbo shot-creator who stockpiles steals and blocks. There are some questions around his mentality. I asked an NBA scout at the combine if they thought Stokes had enough going on upstairs to eventually be a great player, and they responded by saying he’s currently a one-floor apartment. It’s more likely that he never makes an All-Star team than wins MVP, but he’s still a super talented player with plenty of time to learn winning habits.
Let’s get crazy
Rhys Robinson: Robinson is a 16-year-old who won’t be eligible for the NBA Draft until 2029. He’s a tall, high-feel point guard who has played up three years in international competitions and still performed well. He’s in the international pipeline right now but was born in California. I can’t believe I’m putting someone born in 2010 on this list, but the specter of Wemby’s long run of dominance will do crazy things to a man.
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje: Enrolling at Duke as a 17-year-old this year, JBB won’t be eligible for the draft until 2028. The Florida native is reportedly close to 7-feet tall with the skill to play on the perimeter. He’s more of a forward than a center, and can get hot as a three-point shooter. He could be really good 10 years from now in 2036, if the world still exists at that point.
Predicting the next American-born NBA MVP
Who will be the next American-born NBA MVP? Here’s how I’d rank the candidates.
7. Darryn Peterson
6. LaMelo Ball
5. Chet Holmgren
4. Anthony Edwards
3. Cade Cunningham
2. Cooper Flagg
1. Cameron Boozer
Let us know who you think will be the next American-born NBA MVP below in the comments.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 02: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks talks with Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers after the game at Rocket Arena on April 02, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Knicks 124-105. 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 Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s been a million years since the New York Knicks last graced a basketball court. But the playoffs haven’t stopped and our beloved Knickerbockers are back it, starting on Tuesday, and hooping in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year and row.
After beating a pesky Atlanta Hawks squad and vaporizing the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks are facing a much tougher matchup on paper against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Can they keep it rolling? Can they extend their ongoing seven-game winning streak? Will the vibes stay the same as they’ve been for the past few weeks and into the depths of June!?
As usual, the Posting & Toasting crew has squeezed back around the round(ball) table to cut through the noise and tackle the juiciest questions surrounding New York’s EFC showdown with their Cleveland foes. Our panel of basketball geniuses tackled the following questions:
How many games will the Knicks-Cavaliers ECF last, and who makes the Finals?
Antonio: I failed miserably predicting Embiid/Maxey to have an unwinnable game each against the Knicks. I’ll put my reputation on the line once again cause I don’t think it’s that risky. I refuse to believe Donovan Mitchell won’t at least have one of those ridiculous 50-burger outings he puts together here and there, and the Cavs have a bunch of very solid starters, so as not to combine for another victory. Give me Knicks in six and I’d be pleased.
Miranda: Knicks in five. The Cavs won two Game 7s to get this far, and that has to mean something. But those wins were over two teams still learning to rub two sticks together on offense, so how much those Cavs wins matter is pro’ly more eye-of-the-beholder than usual.
Zeno: I gave the Sixers way too much credit last round, and that’s my bad, but I would truly be shocked if the Cavs looked as bad as they did, even with the grueling postseason they’ve endured so far. There are a lot of key matchups in this one, but I lean the Knicks to win a war of attrition and wear down a fatigued Cavs squad in six games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.
Kento: The Cavaliers will be the best team the Knicks have played. They, even more so than the two previous teams the Knicks played, pose some unique challenges, but they aren’t hurt, and they aren’t inexperienced. The Cavaliers have a lot of talent, and are more versatile in the ways they can play than the Hawks, and 76ers too. I also think the Knicks’ offense, partly because of how the Cavaliers will defend them, will come back down to earth. But I still think they have the depth, talent, home-court advantage, and rest to take them over the top. Knicks in six.
Beyond Jalen Brunson, who is the most important Knick in the ECF?
Antonio: Everybody’s talking about OG—both health- and talent-wise—but I just can’t go with anyone else than Mitchell Robinson. Yes, bench guy. Yes, awful at the line. Yes, a limited-minutes, strategical advantange for the Cavs. But when Mitch is on, he’s a menace, and the Knicks will need all of it to deal with the Mobley-Allen pairing in the paint. Robinson already dominated Cleveland’s bigs in 2023. Let’s have a re-do.
Miranda: OG Anunoby. Specifically, his hamstring. Both these teams feature multiple quality big men. Both feature elite combo guards. Both are led by coaches whose CV would be gussied up quite a bit with the addition of an NBA title. And while I agree with Joe Vardon that Max Strus looks a little beefier than in the past, maybe the biggest difference between the teams is one has an 80-inch, 240 pound two-way monster who was the Eastern playoffs MVP before hurting his hamstring, and the other has Strus. If OG is anything close to what he was the first two rounds, Cleveland has no chance.
Zeno: The longest tenured Knick, Mitchell Robinson. In 2023, he and Isaiah Hartenstein brutalized Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to a pulp on the boards. iHart is gone, and Karl-Anthony Towns does more than enough on the boards to replace him, but I truly believe this series needs to have a gigantic performance from Big Mitch on the boards. In two games against Cleveland this year, he grabbed 29 rebounds (16 offensive) in 36 total minutes. More of that, please.
Kento: Josh Hart. The Cavaliers have the defensive personnel to guard Hart with a center-something that has long stifled the team’s offense. The Knicks have found some workarounds, but still lack a consistent enough counter to when opponents do that. If Hart is a willing, and effective enough shooter, it won’t matter. But if he becomes hesitant, or goes completely cold, this series could get uncomfortable. I also think his offensive rebounding, and defense on Harden and or Mitchell will be imperative to winning this series as well.
What must New York do to win this series and represent the East in the Finals?
Antonio: Drag the series into a seven-game affair so the Cavs wave the white flag. No, seriously, they simply have to do what they earned in the regular season and Cleveland helped them get for the third consecutive round: play to their home-court advantage, start the ECF going up 2-0, and go from there. There’s no way the Cavs pull off the miracle if they go two games behind to start the conference finals, coming off playing 14 games in a month, let alone with New York having nine days off. If we’re going Xs & Os, be mad quick and jump all possible passing lanes. Yes, you’ll get caught here and there, but the Cavs turn the ball over like madmen, so more often than not, those mistakes and an active D should do wonders for the Knicks.
Miranda: The Cavaliers barely beat a Raptors team with RJ Barrett as a leading scorer and a Pistons team whose best scorer after Cade Cunningham was Tobias Harris, who shot 39% in the series. So they’re obviously leveling up taking on the scoring Xanadu that is these Knicks. But the surest way for the Knicks to win the series is to pick their poison on defense and stick with it: either play Donovan Mitchell pretty straight-up and ensure none of his teammates get going, or refuse to let Mitchell beat them and leave it to the rest of the Cavs to make shots. The Cavs are by far the best scoring side the Knicks have seen this postseason, but I don’t think they have enough players capable of going off. After Mitchell, I don’t think they have any.
Zeno: Make Cleveland’s offense uncomfortable. They lead all the teams in turnovers and points allowed off turnovers as Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are trading bad performances. It’s hard to shut the water off on both of them, but even making one extremely frustrated can disrupt their offensive flow and allow you to score in transition.
Kento: Win the possession battle. Throughout the ups and downs, and the craziness of the Cavaliers’ postseason run, a few things remain a constant. They’ve actually been a good offensive rebounding team, but still struggle with keeping opponents off the offensive glass, and they have not only been turnover prone, but have been abysmal in transition defense. Thankfully, the Knicks have been great at rebounding the ball on both ends of the floor, and while they don’t force a ton of turnovers, they’ve been among the best in the league at converting their limited opportunities into points. If the Knicks can win the possession battle against an already fatigued team, it could be the ultimate difference-maker.
What concerns you most about the Knicks entering the ECF?
Antonio: Rust. If you frequent the comment section of P&T, you’ve read me mentioning it since the day the Knicks clinched their spot in the ECF, let alone each passing day the Cavs-Pistons series extended for yet another game. Having a few days off might help, but being out for damn nine days is unheard of, so we don’t even know how that might or might not work out in favor of or against New York. That said, once both teams settle into the series, and the longer they last, it’s fair to assume the Knicks should have a sizable fresh-legs advantage.
Miranda: Madison Square Garden is as big a homecourt advantage for a Game 7 as there is in the Association, but earlier in playoff series it can feel more the opposite. I think that’s more about how fandom has evolved over time than anything specific to MSG, but I suspect that as players have become more like comrades than enemies (which I don’t mind) and every team is now a billionaire vanity project, the little things that used to differentiate between the haves and have-nots don’t really apply anymore, including homecourt advantage.
When the Bad Boys won back-to-back titles in the late 1980s, owner Bill Davidson made them the first team to have their own private charter, Roundball One. If the Pistons were flying private during a playoff series and whoever they were beating up on was still flying commercial, that was a big advantage. A year ago Forbes estimated Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert’s “worth” as $22.5 billion. That’s par for the course nowadays. My biggest worry, at least earlier in the series, is whether playing at home with all the pressure to win that there is on this group, for the first time ever, could build to an uncomfortable point.
Zeno: The long time off might be an obvious answer, but I’ll go with Cleveland’s 3-point shooting. The biggest advantage you had in a potential series against Detroit was their lack of it, but the Knicks will have to not only guard Mitchell and Harden closely, but stay home on guys like Max Strus, Dean Wade, and Sam Merrill on the perimeter. This team is very capable of pouring it on offensively.
Kento: As mentioned above, the Cavaliers defense, and more specifically, how they defend Hart. Dean Wade has boasted great individual defensive numbers against Brunson this year, but seeing as he averaged damn near 30PPG against VJ Edgecombe, who had similar success, I’m not as worried there. But the Knicks’ worst offensive droughts often come when teams put their centers on Hart. When, not if, the Cavaliers deploy that strategy, how will Hart, the rest of the Knicks, and Brown respond? And just as importantly, if the offenses starts to struggle, can Brown pull the plug, and not only make the necessary adjustments, but do so quick enough to avoid becoming the next Thibodeau?
Heading into the ECF, what gives you the most confidence about New York amid its postseason run?
Antonio: It took them more than 90 games and a few locker room discussions amid the Hawks series, no less (welp) to get their excrement together, but the Knicks have finally blossomed into the uber-killing machine we envisioned in August and watched win the winter tourney. Seriously, there is just no realistic scenario in which the Cavs catch such a massive break as the Pacers did last year—injuries, bounces, whatnot—to kick the Knicks out of contention. I just refuse to believe it.
Miranda: They’ve never lost a playoff series against Cleveland. Plus, after their last four ECFs dating back to 1994 came against Indiana, the Knicks’ mirror nemesis, it will be refreshing not to face the dark chaos magic that is every f***ing Pacers team ever.
Zeno: Two things, actually. The rest advantage and the way they’ve been playing. The Cavs have played 14 games in 30 days leading into this series and could play as many as 21 in 44 days. In the regular season, players will load manage, and the games are less intense, but it’s a whole different beast in the playoffs. They were exhausted against the Pacers last year, and the Knicks can do the same thing to them. Secondly, we just watched the most dominant seven-game stretch in Knicks history. I’m not going to doubt them until I see them deviate from this winning formula on both ends of the floor.
Kento: I’ll cheat and go with two. One is Brunson. I tend to believe that in the postseason, when the talent level is close enough, the team with the best player usually wins. That should give the Knicks the advantage. But I’ll echo what everyone else is saying and also go with the trajectory of both teams. I get that every series is a new series but the Cavaliers have played four more games, needed seven games to beat a solid, but mediocre Raptors team, and a Pistons team who’s second best offensive player was…. Tobias Harris? Meanwhile, the Knicks are rested, are more prepared, and have been playing the best basketball of the season, and overall look as focused as they ever have.
Shams says EVERY contender team has called to ask about LeBron 
