Category: Basketball

The amount of talent in this 2026 draft has been compared to some of the best draft classes the NBA has ever seen, drawing comparisons to the 1996 and 2003 drafts. The 1996 draft showcased names like Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, and Ray Allen. Widely regarded as the most talented class ever, the 2003 draft featured names like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony. With so many comparisons being drawn with this draft, it’s worth taking a deeper look at the peak of this draft, and one of those names is Cameron Boozer.

The basics

Cam Boozer, the 6’9 freshman out of Duke, has widely been deemed a top four pick in this year’s draft, and for good reason. Boozer has been around basketball since birth, being the son of NBA veteran Carlos Boozer. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 18, 2007, while his father was playing for the Utah Jazz. He was touted as an elite prospect in high school as a freshman. He didn’t fall short of expectations, leading Christopher Columbus High School in Westchester, Florida, to four 7A state championships. Boozer won Gatorade National Player of the Year as a sophomore and senior and was also named Florida Mr. Basketball and Mr. Basketball USA. In his senior year, he averaged 22.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.4 stocks (blocks + steals) per game.

His elite talent and winning ways made him a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in a loaded 2025-2026 NCAA class. Ultimately, he committed to Duke and continued his dominance at the collegiate level. Even in such a talented draft, Boozer stood out in his own unique ways, showing he’s capable of dominating at any level. He averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. Boozer led the Blue Devils to a 31-3 record, securing a one seed in the 2026 NCAA tournament. They were eliminated on the infamous turnover at halfcourt that led to a UConn Braylon Mullins three, ending the Duke March Madness run at the Elite Eight. In the 73-72 loss, Boozer had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

The good

Boozer is an elite offensive player. He stands at 6’9, 250 pounds, with a 7-foot wingspan – and plays like it. His game starts on the inside and moves out. He’s about as close to a mix of old-age and new-age big man as you can get. Boozer shot 55.6% from the floor his senior year, 39.1% from three, and 78.9% from the free throw line.

As far as his shot diet goes, 60% of his shots came in the paint, about 13% came from mid-range, and 26% came from three. Boozer was never perceived as an outside threat in high school but expanded his game at Duke. Most notable was his ability to shoot the three. He shot 42 percent on unguarded catch-and-shoot threes, 39 percent on guarded catch-and-shoot threes, 49 percent on spot-up threes, and 44 percent on pick-and-pops. For not being dubbed a natural “shooter,” these numbers are impressive.

Although the three is in his hip pocket, the meat and potatoes of Boozer’s game is inside of 15 feet. He often operates out of the post and uses a flurry of moves to find a way to put the ball in the basket. He isn’t quite as savvy as a guy like AJ Dybantsa in terms of getting to his spot, but he has good fundamentals and footwork that allow him to get easy buckets inside.

The room to grow

The concerns surrounding Boozer mostly stem from his lack of general athleticism.

For the most part, he plays below the rim, and scouts worry his reliance on brute strength likely won’t be an advantage in the bigger, faster, stronger NBA. Boozer is a good athlete but does not possess top-tier explosiveness like an AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. This may affect his ability to finish strong at the rim and could limit his effectiveness in transition or when attacking the basket against more athletic defenders. As the NBA moves away from standard big men and more towards shooting and spacing at every position, there is concern Boozer’s skillset may not translate to the NBA.

Another area for improvement is at the defensive end of the floor. Although he’s a smart defensive player, Boozer may not be as dominant a rim protector at the next level. His shot-blocking numbers dropped notably from high school to college, which suggests he might struggle against substantially more athletic big men in the NBA. Boozer averaged just 0.6 blocks per game with Duke, just 2.0% of total shots taken by opponents. All the more reason for scouts to be concerned about his ability to guard length and athleticism. Additionally, his general lack of speed and lateral quickness puts him in vulnerable positions, especially when guarding on the perimeter. He’s not Daniel Gafford bad, but at best, he looks uncomfortable in space.

The good news for Boozer is that the concern teams and scouts have about him can be minimized by continuing to stretch his game outside of 15 feet and add some positional quickness. He’ll never be considered athletic, but his reliance on his size and fundamentals keep him in the top four prospects.

Fit with the Grizzlies (third selection)

As the Memphis Grizzlies continue to build around a young core that includes Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, and Zach Edey, selecting Boozer would add a key go-to offensive threat along with creating one of the more dynamic frontcourts in the league. Although the Grizzlies already have solid options at power forward, including Taylor Hendricks and GG Jackson Jr., Boozer’s talent is a huge tier above those guys. He would be the ideal power forward to add to this dynamic core. The Grizzlies were 25th in the NBA this season in offensive rating at 112.9 points per 100 possessions. Adding Boozer would be an incredible shot to the arm offensively. Memphis would still need a year or two to build into a playoff team, but man this team looks a lot more fun with Boozer.

Fit with the Bulls (fourth selection)

The other destination Boozer could find himself landing in, is Chicago. The Bulls have been a mess for the past decade, and this draft is their chance to significantly right the ship. If the Grizzlies were to take Caleb Wilson with the third pick, leaving Boozer on the board for the Bulls, Chicago should salivate at the idea of adding him to a young core of Matas Buzelis and Tre Jones. Jones showcased his ability to be a solid point guard this past season and Buzelis is an athletic, high-flyer, who can be a threat on both sides of the floor. Chicago was 23rd in the NBA in offensive rating this season at 113.0 points per 100 possessions. Cam Boozer would be the ideal offensive fit for a much-needed revival of Chicago basketball.

NBA comparison

Boozer is frequently compared to Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic for his combination of strength and the ability to finish inside the paint. His ceiling could be a combination of Banchero with a touch of Tim Duncan’s fundamentals and offensive prowess inside of 15 feet. If Boozer doesn’t reach that level, a slightly smaller Kevin Love is also in the cards. At his peak, Love was an offensive juggernaut who sucked up rebounds like a vacuum cleaner. Either way, Boozer will probably have a very solid NBA career.

There hasn’t been a playoff series since the 2018 Western Conference Finals that carries as much anticipation as the upcoming Spurs-Thunder clash, and for good reason. Both teams could upset Adam Silver’s precious era of parity, and the only thing stopping one of them from becoming a dynasty is, well, the other.

OKC has already reached the mountaintop, while San Antonio is nipping at their heels. This is the first matchup of what should be the rivalry of a generation, and whoever comes out on top between Wemby and Shai could also grab the title as best in the world.

So, let’s examine some of the key battles that will determine the war.

Rebounding

Rebounding has been OKC’s achilles heel for a few seasons now, and it could be problematic against the Spurs too. In the regular season, the Thunder’s 25.1% offensive rebounding rate ranked 25th in the league, while their 71% DREB was 16th. Meanwhile, the Spurs placed 9th (29.5%), and 1st (74.1%), respectively, in those categories, which played out in their regular season matchup, too: San Antonio scored 13 more second chance points in those games (+2.6 average).

Overall, the Spurs grabbed 12 more OREBs and 4 more DREBs across those five matches. It’s worth noting that those numbers are fattened by their fifth and final game, when the Thunder rested all their stars, and OKC has also been much better in the playoffs, with a 32.3% OREB compared to San Antonio’s 28.4%. On the other hand, the Spurs’ playoff opponents had much more capable frontcourts than what the Thunder faced, and the regular season’s larger sample should be more indicative of both team’s styles.

In such a close series, San Antonio needs to win on the margins, and that means dominating OKC on the glass.

Free throws

For as much hootin’ and hollerin’ there is around Shai’s foul grifting, he is still just one player. Even with his prowess getting to the line, the Thunder were “just” 9th league-wide in free throw rate, at 21.8% — just slightly behind the Spurs, who were at 21.9%. These two teams are neck and neck on the other end, too, as San Antonio was 1st in defensive free throw rate (17.9%) while OKC was second (18.3%), and none of those numbers have changed much in the playoffs. In the four regular season matchups when both Wemby and Shai played, the Spurs shot 15 more FTs than the Thunder did, though the large discrepancy is skewed by an outlier game that saw San Antonio have 17 more attempts in one night.

This will be a battle of strengths on both sides of the ball, and I’m fully here for the toxic discourse that will inevitably follow.

The Wemby mismatch

Wemby is a walking mismatch for every team in the league, but it was most pronounce against the Thunder due to the level of competition he dominated. In their regular season series, OKC had an abysmal 99.6 offensive rating with Wemby playing, which was largely caused by their shots (or lack thereof) at the basket: the Thunder only attempted 25.3% of their shots around the rim, which would’ve ranked 29th league-wide and was 6% lower than their full season average (31.3%). They had no answer to Wemby defensively, as he was always able to roam the paint by either matching up against a non-spacing big (Hartenstein), or sagging off of a guard who struggles to shoot (like Caruso, who went 2-12 from three in one game).

It’s a high risk, high reward strategy since Caruso (and other Thunder guards) has shown the ability to get hot from deep, but the Spurs have counters to that as well. In the Minnesota series, the Wolves forced Wemby to guard Terrance Shannon Jr. at times in the corners, but the Alien recovers so fast that he’s able to get back in the paint without giving the opposition an advantage, and that’s also aided by San Antonio’s impeccable defensive rotations beside him.

Shai hasn’t passed the Wemby test, either. The Alien allows the Spurs’ perimeter defenders (especially Stephon Castle) to guard the MVP aggressively: if they get beat off the dribble, they know that Wemby’s behind them to provide help, and because of this, Wemby’s presence has detered Shai from driving, forcing him to take difficult shots instead.

The one thing OKC can try is using Gortat screens to prevent Wemby from getting in position to contest shots. Minnesota did it multiple times in the first few games to some success, and the Thunder have better personnel to make it a more consistent strategy. It won’t work everytime, but if OKC executes it properly, some key possessions could be swung in their favor.

Offensively, Wemby renders one of the Thunder’s strengths moot. San Antonio made an absurd 70.5% of their attempts at the rim, which is over 10% higher than what OKC normally concedes in that area (60.2%, first in the regular season). Having a 7’5” alien as a lob threat certainly helps, but Wemby’s impact goes far beyond that. His gravity creates open driving lanes for San Antonio’s guards, or cuts that they can make for wide open finishes, like the example below.

In the regular season games, the Thunder used a smaller guard/wing on Wemby, allowing iHart or Chet to roam and provide backline help. This was largely ineffective due to Wemby’s shooting ability, his gravity, and the Spurs off-ball movement, so OKC tried playing Chet straight against him instead. Well, that didn’t even last a half, and OKC seemed lost during all of the Wemby minutes.

Still, Mark Daigneault has had over three months to gameplan against the Alien. He’ll have moree tricks up his sleeve now, and there’s still a wrinkle that was barely employed in the regular season: using one of Chet/iHart against Wemby while the other one acts as a roamer by sagging off of Castle. It’s a risk given that the latter is shooting 44% from three in the playoffs and has dealt with this type of coverage before, but neither Castle nor Wemby has experienced it against an all-time great defense that has had months to prepare for this specific matchup.

If anyone can find an advantage over Wemby and the Spurs, it would be this OKC squad.

X-Factor: Spurs’ 3-point volume vs Thunder’s points off turnovers

As was outlined by Jeje in the series preview, the Spurs allowed much fewer turnovers against OKC compared to the Thunder’s season average, and that resulted in San Antonio scoring more points off TOs than OKC did. Essentially, the Spurs turned off the Thunder’s superpower, which was caused by a few factors. One, OKC’s perimeter defenders weren’t hounding San Antonio’s guards as much as they usually do, instead giving them more space. This is because the Spurs’ guards are the only ones in the league that can match the Thunder backcourt’s physicality and athleticism, so San Antonio could play bully ball and drive past the defense if they were pressed too hard. OKC also wanted to swarm Wemby more, and with none of the Spurs guards being elite shooters, the Thunder were comfortable giving them more space to operate on the perimeter.

Obviously, the drawback to that is the lack of turnovers created. Given the lack of success that this scheme had in the regular season, I expect OKC to go back to their usual aggressive defense, but that would result in more defensive rotations that opens up threes for their opponents. The Thunder have successfully lived with this trade-off for multiple seasons now, finishing tied for first in turnovers forced this past season (16.8%) but also conceding the 6th most threes (40.4% of opponent shots came from beyond the arc) and the most corners threes, too (12.4%). That latter number is especially important because the Spurs generated the most corner threes (12.9%) in the regular season, which increased to 13.8% with Wemby on the floor — one of the highest figures ever.

In other words, the Thunder can either play conservatively on defense and risk losing the turnover battle again, or they can go back to their usual scheme and live with the Spurs shooting threes. This will be the most important stylistic battle to monitor, and whoever comes out on top will have a massive advantage in the series.

After falling to the ninth pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks now enter a very different section of the board than they were hoping for a few months ago. The top-end “future franchise centerpiece” tier is likely gone by the time Dallas picks, meaning the Mavericks now have to focus on identifying high-level complementary players who fit around Cooper Flagg long term. That shift makes Dailyn Swain one of the more fascinating names in the Mavericks’ range.

Swain’s breakout junior season at Texas was one of the best all-around wing seasons in college basketball. He became the first player in Texas history to win SEC Newcomer of the Year, earned Second-Team All-SEC honors, and finished as a finalist for the Julius Erving Award. More impressively, he became the only player in a major conference to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and minutes played. Swain averaged 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 54.2% from the field and 81.5% from the free throw line. He also helped lead Texas to the Sweet 16, where he finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in a narrow loss to Purdue.

The production is impressive, but the way Swain plays is what really stands out.

The good

Swain feels like one of the safest “winning basketball” bets at the end of the lottery or in the middle of the first round because of how many different ways he impacts the game. At 6-foot-6.5 and 211 pounds with a near 6-foot-10 wingspan, he already has NBA-ready size and physicality for a modern wing. He constantly pressures the rim, plays through contact, rebounds extremely well for his position, and thrives in transition.

The downhill pressure is probably the biggest selling point offensively. Swain consistently creates paint touches, collapses defenses, and forces rotations without needing isolations built around him every possession. He attacks closeouts quickly, pushes the ball after rebounds, and plays with a pace that keeps offenses moving. The advanced metrics back that up, too, as Swain graded near the very top nationally in rim pressure and rim assists among wings.

What makes him especially interesting next to Cooper Flagg is how connected his game feels. Swain does not need the ball for 15 seconds to impact a possession. He rebounds and initiates transition offense, makes quick reads, cuts hard, attacks gaps, and keeps the ball moving naturally. Those are the types of players that elevate lineups around stars rather than slowing them down.

Defensively, there is a lot to like, too. Swain generated steals at a strong rate, consistently disrupted actions without gambling himself out of possessions, and projects as a versatile multi-positional defender. Dallas badly lacked perimeter size, physicality, and point-of-attack resistance for much of last season, and Swain could help solve all three problems immediately.

The bad

Swain’s swing skill is clearly the jumper. While the free-throw percentage at 81.5% is encouraging long-term, the three-point shot itself still feels more functional than truly dangerous. Defenses will likely dare him to shoot early in his NBA career until he proves he can consistently punish teams from outside.

There are also questions about the ceiling of his half-court creation. Swain is extremely effective attacking advantages, but he is not someone you currently project to become a primary offensive engine. He thrives attacking downhill against bent defenses, but creating difficult offense against set NBA defenses remains more theoretical than proven.

That creates some archetype risk. Wings who rely heavily on physicality, transition scoring, and connective offense can sometimes become difficult to maximize if the jumper never fully develops. Dallas also already has several players who prefer to operate inside the arc, so long-term spacing around Flagg remains one of the most important questions the front office must answer.

Player comp

Swain’s game honestly resembles a blend of several different NBA wings. There are shades of Josh Hart and Jaime Jaquez Jr. because of the rebounding, toughness, downhill pressure, and constant activity he brings every night. Offensively, there are stylistic flashes of Gordon Hayward and Evan Turner in the secondary creation and connective playmaking from the wing position.

The higher-end outcome probably looks something like a more athletic version of Jaime Jaquez Jr., where the value comes from versatility, feel, physicality, and two-way impact rather than elite shot creation. Even if he never becomes a true offensive star, Swain feels like the type of wing playoff teams are constantly trying to find because of how naturally he contributes to winning basketball.

Fit with the Mavericks

Swain feels like one of the cleaner fits for what Dallas should be trying to build around Cooper Flagg moving forward. The Mavericks desperately need perimeter athleticism, rebounding, defensive versatility, and secondary playmaking after the roster looked so disjointed last season. Swain addresses all four areas almost immediately.

More importantly, his game complements Flagg naturally. He can defend multiple positions, attack closeouts, rebound, push in transition, and function as connective offensive tissue without requiring heavy usage. That matters on a team where Flagg is clearly going to become the primary offensive engine long term.

He also feels like exactly the kind of player Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz would gravitate toward. Swain checks almost every “winning basketball” box organizations prioritize: effort, feel, versatility, physicality, transition offense, and defensive flexibility. Even if the jumper never becomes elite, the baseline NBA role already feels very real.

And if Dallas is serious about building a tougher, longer, more defensive-minded roster around Cooper Flagg, Dailyn Swain feels like exactly the type of player the Mavericks should be paying close attention to throughout the pre-draft process.

Final Thoughts

Dailyn Swain may not have the flashy offensive upside of some of the guards projected near the top of this class, but he feels like one of the safer bets to become a meaningful NBA player. He already impacts games in multiple ways without needing high usage, and those types of players become incredibly valuable in playoff environments.

If Dallas is serious about building a tougher, more versatile, defensive-minded identity around Cooper Flagg moving forward, Swain feels like exactly the kind of player the Mavericks should be paying close attention to throughout the pre-draft process.

I don’t know if there is a way to write this article on a Spurs site without it coming off automatically as sour grapes, but I am going attempt to do it anyway.

First, I will say congratulations to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s an incredible player who has had an incredible year. For those who remember, he was traded in 2019 from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Oklahoma City Thunder with Danilo Gallinari, five first-round draft picks, and the rights to swap two other first-round picks.

The trade is considered one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. And the picks the Thunder acquired still haven’t fully conveyed, but the addition of Jalen Williams via the 2022 pick has been an essential piece of their success.

I will also add if I was a fan of any of the other 29 teams, I’d probably be more supportive of SGA picking up the MVP for the second year. Alas, I am a Spurs fanatic and a Wembanyama devotee and have to admit he is my choice for MVP.

But Victor Wembanyama did not start the year with MVP statistics, and the trophy is based on the entire season. I believe Maxime Aubin, who covers the Spurs and Wembanyama for the French publication L’Equipe, said it best. (See translation below.)

“Now that Shams has spoiled the news, I’m revealing my vote for the MVP award:

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

2. Victor Wembanyama

3. Nikola Jokic

Victor Wembanyama experienced an incredible surge over the course of the season—to the point where, in my view, he became the best player in the NBA during the final few weeks. However, I believe the MVP trophy is meant to reward the best player over the entire regular season, and SGA demonstrated exemplary consistency, in addition to finishing with the best team record in the league.“

SGA was the favorite all year, and Wemby made his case in the latter half of the season. It was an uphill battle to get the voters to change their minds. I believe his making the top three was a win in an of itself.

The other difficult selling point for Wemby was his playing time. He averaged under 30 minutes compared to SGA’s 33.2 or Jokic’s 34.8. While I believe Victor does more with less time, voters often see the MVP as the player running most of the game.

So maybe Wembanyama wasn’t truly in a position to entice the voting reporters to chose him this year, but should it have been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?

These stats suggest Jokic should have earned his fourth MVP award.

Bottom line, the league was not ready for Wemby to be MVP in the same way they weren’t ready for the Spurs to be title contenders.

And yet, here the Spurs are, walking into the Western Conference Finals against the reigning NBA champions, and the reigning two-time MVP.

How will Wemby respond? Will the stats between SGA and Victor Wembanyama in these Western Conference Finals tell a different story?

We know Wemby takes these things very seriously.

Game 1 of Western Conference Finals begins tonight. Expect a fast-paced, competitive, and often heated series.

Nothing else to say, but-

GO SPURS GO!

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The Thunder appear to be on their way to becoming the NBA’s next dynasty. 

Even though they’ve only won one championship, they’re already being talked about in the same breath as the league’s most elite teams. 

This season they joined the Bulls (1995-97) and Warriors (2014-16, 2015-17) as the only teams to win at least 80% of their games over a two-season span. And they set the NBA record for the highest cumulative point differential over that span. 

“The Thunder is one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It’s just the reality. They’re that good.”

Does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agree?

As he walked out of Crypto.com Arena amid his team’s 8-0 postseason run, he was asked to weigh in on whether he believes his team is as good as Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Steph Curry’s Warriors that dominated the league. 

“I don’t know,” Gilgeous-Alexander told The California Post. “That’s so far from where we are today. Those teams have won multiple in a row. We’ve won one and are in the [Western Conference finals] of this run, so it’s so far away. We still have a lot to do to get there. 

“So, to answer your question, right now, no. We’re far from it.”

Jordan led the Bulls to six championships over an eight-year span from 1990-98. Curry carried the Warriors to four titles in eight years from 2015-2022. 

There’s a Mount Everest-sized difference between a team that won one championship and franchises that dominated the league for nearly a decade. 

But if you watch the Thunder, it feels as though you’re witnessing greatness.

They could be on the verge of etching their name onto the Mount Rushmore of NBA dynasties. 

For two straight seasons, the Thunder have had the league’s best net rating and top-rated defense. They have a two-time MVP in Gilgeous-Alexander. They’re a well-oiled machine with a seemingly endless cadre of fresh legs that are able to dismantle teams on both ends of the court. 

Get past the swarming defense of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace? You have a frontcourt of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein waiting to swat your shot or displace your body with their physical, 7-foot physiques. 

On offense, try to contain Gilgeous-Alexander, who can be likened to a metronome because of his consistency? There are nine other lasers waiting to shine. It’s like playing Whac-A-Mole. 

The Thunder don’t have any weaknesses. They’re deep, strong, agile and young. Their chemistry is palpable. After spending 48 minutes as a cohesive tidal wave swallowing their opponent, they sit around the locker room after games joking with each other. 

It’s clear the Thunder are special. 

Perhaps no one knows that more than LeBron James, who was recently asked if the Thunder are as good as the dynastic Warriors, whom he met in four straight Finals from 2015-2018 when he played for the Cavaliers.  

“They’re pretty damn good from top to bottom,” said James, whose Lakers were swept out of the second round of the playoffs by the Thunder. “They don’t let their foot off the gas.”

The Thunder are so deep that they won four games against the Lakers by an average of 16 points even though Gilgeous-Alexander only scored 24.5 points per game, a marked dip from the league-leading 33.7 points he averaged in the first round. Oh, and Oklahoma City was without Williams, who was sidelined with a strained hamstring.

None of that mattered.

This postseason, Holmgren is averaging 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds. Ajay Mitchell became a breakout star, averaging 18.8 points, 4.9 assists and four rebounds. Jared McCain and Wallace are shooting better than 46% from beyond the arc. The Thunder have weapons everywhere, including deep into their bench rotation.

But the Thunder’s biggest challenge is next. 

They’re playing the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, the one team they’ve struggled against this season. Of the 18 games they lost, four were to San Antonio. The Thunder won 64 games this season, the Spurs won 62.

For the Thunder to become the first team to repeat for a title since the Warriors in 2018, they will have to get past Victor Wembanyama, the 7-4 Defensive Player of the Year who is expected to become the next face of the league.

Gilgeous-Alexander is far more focused on winning two more playoff series than basking in the talk around his team’s potential. 

He believes the Thunder could become a dynasty. 

But they haven’t accomplished anything yet. 

“We have the opportunity in front of us,” Gilgeous-Alexander told The California Post. “But so does every team that wins one. You win one and you have the opportunity to repeat. In the past few years, teams haven’t been able to do it. But it’s our goal, and that’s what we’re after.” 

Gilgeous-Alexander wants the Thunder to become the next Bulls or Warriors. It’s why he gives his all every night on both ends of the court. It’s why he empowers his teammates. It’s why his team is soaring. 

But while the comparisons are nice, he believes they’re empty. 

At least for the moment.

“Today, no,” he said of whether his team belongs in the same conversation as the Bulls and Warriors. “But hopefully we are.”

After sweeping away the hapless Philadelphia 76ers last Sunday, the Knicks were able to spend the last week in a rare spot as spectators, watching the seven-game clash between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers while resting, practicing, and rehabbing for the series. Ultimately, it was Cleveland that prevailed on Sunday night in the Motor City, finally finalizing our Eastern Conference Finals clash.

It’s the No. 3 seed New York Knicks (53-29) against the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30) for a spot in the NBA Finals, kicking off on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Here’s everything you need to know about this matchup.

Season Recap

You know how the Knicks’ season has gone. After all, you’re reading this on a Knicks site, but just to sum it up.

After firing Tom Thibodeau, engaging in a long coaching search, and keying in on Mike Brown, the Knicks mostly ran back the same team, albeit with new faces Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, while drafting Mo Diawara. It was supposed to be a deeper, offensive powerhouse, and, for the most part, it was. The Knicks started 23-9 and even got some hardware along the way, beating the Spurs in the NBA Cup Final in December. Everything was coming up New York as 2025 turned into 2026.

And then everything fell apart. Starting with a New Year’s Eve collapse in San Antonio, the Knicks lost nine of their next 11 games, capped off by a terrible effort on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at MSG against the tanking Mavs. The sky was falling, we had podcasters saying he couldn’t wait to blow up this core, we had loud calls for Mike Brown’s job, the defense was abhorrently bad, and the season was in a tailspin.

Then, they mollywhopped the Nets by 54 and everything calmed down. After going from 23-9 to 25-18, the Knicks won 28 of their final 39 games, powered by the NBA’s second-best defense over the final 2.5 months of the season. They swapped the disappointing Yabusele for Jose Alvarado and finished the season strong. After struggling through three games with the feisty Hawks, they made the last three games look like varsity playing JV. They then proceeded to make a talented Sixers team look just as helpless, sweeping them in uncompetitive fashion.

Coming off a tremendous 64-win regular season, expectations were high for the Cavaliers with both Boston and Indiana diminished. They were considered co-favorites in the East alongside the Knicks, even amidst the shakiness of prior postseason failures and the increasingly worrying health of Darius Garland’s toe.

A 12-6 start bled into an alarming 17-16 record shortly after Christmas, and the discourse surrounding the team was getting louder. Evan Mobley wasn’t properly progressing, the depth was in and out of the lineup, and Garland was struggling badly when he wasn’t in street clothes. Aside from Donovan Mitchell, this was a concerning operation.

All that changed as soon as January hit, as Cleveland got hot. They were 29-21 entering February, but fully sent things into hyperdrive after a blockbuster move to flip Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden, pushing all of Cleveland’s chips into the middle for an all-in push right now. The move was a big success, as the Cavs pushed for the No. 3 seed with a 23-9 finish to the year. They lost more games before New Year’s than they did afterwards.

It hasn’t been easy for them in the playoffs. A tougher-than-expected seven-game battle with the Toronto Raptors took a lot out of them, but they were fortunate to run into a similarly beaten-up Pistons team that they similarly battled to seven games, prevailing on the road despite a blowout home loss with a chance to close it out on Friday.

Regular Season Series

10/22/2025: Knicks win 119-111 (H)
12/25/2025: Knicks win 126-124 (H)
2/24/2026: Cavs win 109-94 (A)

Two of the three meetings with Cleveland had the eyes of the entire world on them on big days. The first matchup came all the way back in October to open the season, where both teams were banged up (no Garland, Mitchell Robinson, or Josh Hart).

The Knicks took two separate 15-point leads, but the Cavs had a response to both, ultimately taking the lead early in the fourth quarter. Despite seeming to have all the momentum, a 14-0 run early in the fourth spearheaded by OG Anunoby and Deuce McBride buried Cleveland to open the season. Jalen Brunson struggled, but Anunoy picked up the slack with an impressive 24/14 performance, while Donovan Mitchell scored 31.

The next meeting on Christmas could not have started worse for the Knicks, as Cleveland burst out to a 19-5 lead early in the first before the Knicks’ second unit slowly ate away at the deficit. The home team somehow managed to take the lead at the half, but once again was blitzed in the third quarter and trailed by as much as 16 with just eight minutes to go.

A Blue Christmas quickly shifted into a White Christmas at MSG, however, as a fourth-quarter avalanche by Tyler Kolek dragged the Knicks back into the game until Brunson brought it home by finishing off a 34-point gem. Kolek and Jordan Clarkson combined to score 41 points on 14-for-26 and 9-for-15 from three, while they survived another big game by Spida (34/7/6) and a big game by Jaylon Tyson.

The third meeting came underway in different circumstances. Harden was in, Garland was out. As the season series shifted to Cleveland in late February, the energized Cavs dominated action for 48 minutes and stifled the Knicks’ offense that couldn’t buy a shot. Mikal Bridges and Brunson combined to go 12-for-36 as a balanced attack from Harden, Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and Dean Wade proved just enough for a commanding win.

Playoff History

(Cavaliers)

1978 East 1st Round: Knicks won 2-0
1995 East 1st Round: Knicks won 3-1
1996 East 1st Round: Knicks won 3-0
2023 East 1st Round: Knicks won 4-1

Key Stats (Regular Season)

Cavaliers:
Offensive rating: 118.3 (6th)
Defensive rating: 114.1 (15th)
FG%: 48.2% (8th)
3pt%: 36% (13th)
FT%: 77.6% (19th)
Pace: 100.7 (13th)
OREB%: 30.7% (9th)
TOV%: 13.8% (9th lowest)
Points in the Paint: 52.0 (T-10th)
Opponent PITP: 45.6 (5th)
Opponent 3pt%: 37.2% (26th)
4th Quarter Net Rating: +6.8 (3rd)
Clutch Record/Net Rating: 24-18, +14.5 (5th)

Knicks:
Offensive rating: 118.7 (T-3rd)
Defensive rating: 112.3 (7th)
FG%: 47.8% (11th)
3pt%: 37.3% (4th)
FT%: 79.2% (T-10th)
Pace: 97.5 (25th)
OREB%: 32.8% (7th)
TOV%: 13.9% (T-10th lowest)
Points in the Paint: 47.8 (22nd)
Opponent PITP: 43.4 (3rd)
Opponent 3pt%: 36.2% (20th lowest)
4th Quarter Net Rating: +11.7 (1st)
Clutch Record/Net Rating: 21-13, +20.5 (3rd)

Trends:
Knicks since 1/20: 118.5 ORtg (6th), 108.2 DRtg (2nd), +10.3 net rating (3rd)
Cavs since Harden trade: 22-9, 120.8 ORtg (4th), +5.7 net rating (9th)

Coaching Breakdown

Mike Brown (NYK):
Season with team: 1st
Season as head coach: 12th
Career teams coached: CLE, LAL, SAC, NYK
Career record: 507-333 (.604)
Career playoff record: 54-42 (.563)
Best finish: 2007 Cavaliers (Finals appearance)

Mike Brown is entering the postseason as the head coach of a third different team. He’s never won a game past the Eastern Conference Finals, but he’s certainly experienced deep playoff runs as an assistant under Gregg Popovich from 2001-03 and an assistant under Steve Kerr from 2017-22, winning four championships as an assistant coach.

Brown’s philosophy is a stylistic change from former head coach Tom Thibodeau, in that he prioritizes ball movement, spacing, and a drive-and-kick to open shooters (which he calls “sprays”). He was mostly unsuccessful in increasing the Knicks’ pace, showing that the team’s slow play is rooted in the way their captain operates in the offense, rather than the scheme. His biggest success has been increasing three-point attempts, but those have slowly decreased as the season has gone on.

Defensively, Brown has been flexible in his scheme. While Thibodeau always required a true rim protector on the floor, Brown has been more willing to mix up lineups in certain areas. After starting the season with a scheme that funneled the ball towards the middle of the floor into the help, Brown switched the scheme to look to send the ball towards the sidelines after the Knicks endured a month-plus stretch of abhorrent defense, powered by other teams driving and kicking to open shooters.

Kenny Atkinson (CLE):
Season with team: 2nd
Season as head coach: 6th
Career teams coached: BKN, CLE
Career record: 234-248 (.496)
Career playoff record: 14-14 (.500)
Best finish: 2026 Cavaliers (ECF and counting)

Atkinson got his start in NBA coaching with the Knicks, serving as an assistant under Mike D’Antoni from 2008-12 before D’Antoni’s spats with Carmelo Anthony wound up leading to a coaching change. After four good years, he latched onto Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Atlanta in 2012, where he helped groom a future No. 1 seed with four all-stars. It eventually led to him being hired by the Brooklyn Nets in the midst of their deep rebuild.

That deep Brooklyn rebuild finally bore fruit in 2018-19, when a fun collection of players spearheaded by All-Star D’Angelo Russell emerged as a playoff team in a soft Eastern Conference. The tremendous progress that Brooklyn made as a franchise made them a desirable landing spot for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving that summer in the “Clean Sweep”, but Atkinson never saw them through. He was canned midway through the next season while Durant recovered from Achilles surgery.

He rehabilitated his coaching prospects as a lead assistant under Tyronn Lue in LA with the Clippers, and later joined Steve Kerr’s staff and won a championship in 2022. After JB Bickerstaff was canned in Cleveland in 2024, he has spearheaded a balanced Cavs attack for the last two years, winning NBA Coach of the Year in 2025.

Projected Rotations

Knicks:
Jalen Brunson
Mikal Bridges
Josh Hart
OG Anunoby
Karl-Anthony Towns
–
Jose Alvarado
Deuce McBride
Landry Shamet
Jordan Clarkson
Mitchell Robinson

Situational: Mo Diawara, Ariel Hukporti, Jeremy Sochan

Cavaliers:
James Harden
Donovan Mitchell
Max Strus
Evan Mobley
Jarrett Allen
–
Dennis Schroder
Sam Merrill
Jaylon Tyson
Dean Wade

Situational: Thomas Bryant, Keon Ellis

Injury Report

For the Knicks, it’s all centered around OG Anunoby. He missed the last two games of the second-round series in Philadelphia with a balky hamstring, but all signs point to him suiting up on Tuesday night. Will it look like Game 7 against Indiana two years ago, or will the eight-day layoff heal all wounds?

For the Cavs, they are pretty healthy, but are surely aching from playing 14 high-intensity playoff games in a little over four weeks. The only concern right now is that there’s a stomach bug running through the locker room, but no major player has missed time.

Broadcast Schedule

(The full schedule has yet to be released, this will be updated)

Game 1: Tues, May 19, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 2: Thu, May 21, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 3: Sat, May 23, 8 pm (ABC)
Game 4: Mon, May 25, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 5*: Wed, May 27, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 6*: Fri, May 29, 8 pm (ESPN)
Game 7*: Sun, May 31, 8 pm (ESPN)

Former NBA sixth-man of the year winner Jamal Crawford has been a star for NBC and Peacock on their NBA coverage this season. After spending a season with MSG contributing to their coverage of the New York Knicks, Crawford joined one of the major networks and has shined all season long.

It’s been reported that Crawford has been offered an assistant coaching position on Mark Pope’s staff and reports on Sunday led to the fact that Crawford has yet to turn down the offer — leaving the door open for him to join Kentucky for the upcoming season.

Pope and the Wildcats lost both Alvin Brooks (NC State) as well as Jason Hart (USC) so bringing Crawford fills an immediate need but also gives the Cats a likely edge in recruiting.

The problem is, though, Crawford’s son is the No. 1 recruit in the 2029 class and is currently located on the west coast. As he’s entering his peak high school years, a move to Kentucky would be tough.

IF Crawford were to join Pope at Kentucky, he would be the second former NBA player to join recently as Mo Williams was added to the staff this off-season.

Tweet of the Day

SGA!

Headlines

No. 1 recruit CJ Rosser talks fishing with UK and his MVP chase in the NBA – KSR

Could be the first big fish.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander repeats as NBA MVP – ESPN

Mightily impressive.

MKG hid is stuttering at Kentucky; now he’s speaking to Congress – KSR

Love him.

Aaron Rai pulls away from loaded field to win PGA Championship – ESPN

Impressive win.

Jamal Crawford still mulling Kentucky assistant job – KSR

Would be pretty cool.

Scores and updates from the NCAA softball regionals – Yahoo!

The latest.

Men’s Golf Tees Off at Bermuda Run Regional on Monday – UK Athletics

Good luck CATS!

Eli Manning reveals why he refused to play for Chargers – CBS Sports

Deep dive.

Going into the 2025-26 NBA season, there were a ton of people saying that it was a gap year for the Boston Celtics. Luke Kornet, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis all left the team in the offseason and Jayson Tatum was expected to miss most of the season with a torn Achilles. This left Jaylen Brown to carry the load as the number one option, a position that he never experienced going into his 10th season in the NBA.

Brown knew that he had to take on a leadership role from his first press conference at Media Day, making a concerted effort to mention that he had to help integrate the new players into the Celtics system to try and expedite chemistry and trust building. People were skeptical if he could lead the way for Boston but he proved all of the doubters wrong with the best regular season of his entire career.

I thought we could go down memory lane and take a look at the season Jaylen Brown called his “favorite season of his career.” This was the year we saw Brown come into his own as a leader and as a number one option, a disappointing playoff ending, and now, questions of the future loom large going into the offseason.

Regular Season Highlights

Brown finished with personal career highs in almost every statistical category in 71 games this season, averaging 28.7 Points, 6.9 Rebounds, and 5.1 Assists. He led the NBA in field goals made (736), field goals attempted (1543), two-pointers attempted (1139), and two-pointers attempted per game (16.0) while shooting 48% from the field and 35% from three point range. Brown made his 5th All-Star game of his career, is in line to make 1st or 2nd Team All-NBA, and is a finalist for the NBA Social Justice Champion.

The season didn’t start out great as the Celtics fell to 0-3 after a loss to the Detroit Pistons on October 26th, 2025 where Brown dropped 41 points. It was Boston’s worst start to a season in 12 years and Brown put out a call to action to the team after the loss in his postgame interview, talking about how they needed to be better on the glass and that the results will come with time. He also said, “It’s not an excuse, but it takes time,” when referring to the chemistry being built.

The Celtics would win 11 of their next 17 games to finish November and wouldn’t lose three games in a row for the rest of the regular season. Brown finished the first 20 games of the season averaging 28.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists but didn’t get any Player of the Week or Month awards, potentially due to Boston’s record but that would change once December hit.

Brown won Eastern Conference Player of the Week for both Week 7 (Dec. 1-7) and Week 10 (Dec. 22-28) of the season as he put on one of the best December’s we have seen. Brown tied Larry Bird for the Celtics franchise record with 9 straight 30-point games. He finished with averages of 31.7 Points, 6.5 Rebounds, and 5.4 Assists on 54% shooting from the field and 43% shooting from three, but lost the Player of the Month Award in December to Jalen Brunson. Brown voiced his displeasure on a livestream saying he deserved Player of the Month, but this was just a warning shot for what he would do in January.

Brown’s 30-point streak snapped on New Year’s Day in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, but he bounced back in a big way on January 3rd, 2026. Boston was set to face off against the Los Angeles Clippers who were one of the hottest teams in the NBA at that point. Brown came out with no fear against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, tying his career high with 50 points on 18-26 shooting from the field and 6-10 shooting from three.

Brown proclaimed to be the “best two-way player in the game” and he was just trying to lead his team to a win on the last day of a west coast road trip. His hot shooting from December tapered off a little bit, but Brown continued to put up big performances, including a 41-point game in his hometown against the Hawks on January 17th. Brown finished January with averages of 29.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on 44% shooting from the field and 33% shooting form three.

February saw the Celtics trade Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls for Nikola Vucevic as well as a ton of other depth guys at the deadline, but Brown didn’t skip a beat. He continued his high level of play with a couple big performances. One came in Dallas on February 3rd with a 33-point performance in a duel with Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks while the other came on February 22nd with a 32-point performance in a blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers.

March saw the return of Jayson Tatum on March 6th and with it, questions of “can Brown and Tatum work together” came back into the media-sphere. It seemed silly to still be talking about that point after all these years and nothing was out of the ordinary until the Celtics faced off against the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder on March 10th and 12th. These were the games that looked to determine if Boston was going to be able to look like real contenders for the title.

Against the Spurs, we saw Brown start off hot but after a non-foul call in the second quarter, he was ejected after arguing with the officials. It was an awful ejection and Brown voiced his displeasure in the moment on X saying: “This the sh*t I be talking about” and the Celtics lost to San Antonio 125-116.

The next game in Oklahoma City saw Brown put up one of his best performances of the season without Tatum and Derrick White. He dropped 34 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds on 10-25 shooting but Boston once again lost to a Western Conference powerhouse, this time on game-winning free throws by Chet Holmgren to give the Thunder a 104-102 win.

Boston was able to shake off those tough losses and start to find their form just in time for a rematch against OKC on March 25th in TD Garden. Brown put on an MVP level performance of 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists on 9-17 shooting to lead the Celtics to a 119-109 win. This game really was the moment that the NBA world thought the Celtics were going to be legitimate title contenders coming out of the Eastern Conference. Jaylen Brown proved he could lead a team even with Tatum there as Boston geared up to face the Philadelphia 76ers in Round 1 of the Playoffs.

Playoff Disappointment

When Boston was matched up against Philadelphia, it felt like it was going to be a somewhat easy matchup. The Celtics looked like they were going to steamroll the 76ers through the first four games of the series and Brown was a big part of that. In Games 1-4, he averaged 26.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 49% shooting from the field and 48% shooting from three as Boston took a 3-1 lead in the series.

With a 13-point lead in Game 5, Boston was primed to face off against the New York Knicks for a second round matchup, but the wheels completely fell off from here. The Celtics missed their last 14 shots in the fourth quarter to drop Game 5 and got blown out in Game 6 back in Philadelphia to force a Game 7 back in TD Garden. Jaylen Brown was going to have to carry the load by himself in Game 7 because Jayson Tatum was ruled out.

This was arguably one of the biggest games of Brown’s career and he put up a great effort, dropping 33 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks on 12-27 shooting from the field, but it wasn’t enough. Boston missed 10 shots in a row down with five minutes left in the game while Tyrese Maxey hit multiple daggers to lose Game 7 and officially blow the first 3-1 lead in Celtics franchise history.

Brown’s future in Boston?

Going into the offseason, there are a ton of potential question marks on what the Celtics will do with Jaylen Brown. On one hand, they could trade him to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. They would sell high on the peak of his value for another star that could play alongside Tatum. Brown could also request a trade at some point this offseason and want to be the number one option somewhere else. The Celtics could also just keep him around and continue to retool the team around Brown and Tatum to gear up for a potential title run next season.

Trading for Giannis has so many potential draw backs for the Celtics. He would be an unrestricted free agent after the 2027 season, so Boston would have to give him an extension and I don’t think they want to spend all of that money for a player who has been injury-prone in the last few seasons going into his late-30’s. When it comes to Brown requesting a trade, he hasn’t expressed any desire to leave Boston in his most recent comments and out of all the possible places he could go, the Celtics would be his best chance at winning another championship.

Brown has ingratiated himself within the fabric of Boston with all of his charity events, pop-up shops, and other endeavors that I don’t see him or the Celtics wanting to go their separate ways. Jaylen will be turning 30 years old next season and has been the longest tenured Celtic for a couple of years now. I don’t see his stint ending with Boston anytime soon and I am excited to see what he and a healthy Jayson Tatum can do next season.

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is losing his patience with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

On Sunday night, Brown took to his FCHWPO Twitch channel to address Smith directly over comments the $40 million talking head made about Brown’s post-Game 7 livestream. And it only took three words to get a feel for where Brown’s response was heading.

“F*ck Stephen A,” Brown said during his Twitch stream Sunday night.

Smith spoke critically of Brown on ESPN’s “First Take” after Boston surrendered a 3-1 first-round series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers, primarily focusing on the 2024 NBA champion’s comments that the year, despite its finish, was his “favorite.”

“This is why, respectfully, a lot of people say, ‘f*ck Stephen A,’” Brown said. “Because this is the type of stuff he does, and then he doesn’t recognize it. But he’s creating a narrative saying that the reason why I’m saying that I had my favorite season is because, selfishly, I had a best-performing year — not the fact that we outproved expectations. Not the fact that everybody expected us to be nothing, and we had to fight, and we showed up, and we competed every single day, and had to fight for every victory.

“Not the joy of watching our teammates grow, or not the growth of watching guys who are unproven start to solidify themselves as well through leadership, through chemistry. He maybe doesn’t understand that because maybe he’s never had to fight for nothing in his life. Maybe anytime adversity has hit, he’s rolled over, or he’s gave in.”

Smith immediately jumped on the airwaves of the worldwide leader in sports to vocalize his interpretation of Brown’s comments, portraying him as a selfish teammate. Brown averaged a career-high 28.7 points as Boston’s primary scorer this past season and finished sixth in the league’s Most Valuable Player voting, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Dončić, and Cade Cunningham.

It was the first time Brown had ever received MVP votes, but, as the five-time All-Star reiterated, that wasn’t the motivating factor behind calling this past season his favorite.

Brown also took issue with Smith’s remarks that he should “be quiet” unless he’s “trying to get traded” from Boston.

“Did he just say I need to be quiet? Be quiet for who? Man, f*ck Stephen A. Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C. My offer still stands. You want me to be quiet and stop streaming. Well, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism. You’re using your platform to use clickbait.”

Once Smith’s ESPN commentary hit Brown’s radar, he offered the longtime personality to stop streaming under the condition that Smith retire. Brown, most notably in recent years, isn’t the only NBA star Smith has clashed with from his multi-million-dollar throne. Last year, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took issue and confronted Smith courtside at Crypto.com Arena after Smith used Bronny James’ struggles as an NBA player benefiting from nepotism to challenge LeBron’s abilities as a father.

Smith ran with that incident like a Taylor Swift summer tour to drive social media engagement and ESPN segments long past the expiration date, encapsulating the broader issue athletes have raised with members of the media and the current landscape.

Smith continued toeing the line and moving the goal posts, speaking with what appeared to be rift-creating undertones by highlighting Tatum’s appearance on “First Take” while questioning why he never joined his running mate Brown on his Twitch channel. Brown caught that right away and called it out, questioning why the face of ESPN, rather than breaking down the game and his performance specifically, was instead fixated on speculating about the relationship between Brown and Tatum.

That especially rubbed Brown the wrong way.

“That last statement took the cake,” Brown responded. “Like, you’re talking about JT coming on my stream. What did that have to do with anything? It’s the same conversation we had before. You’re supposed to be doing journalism. You’re supposed to be talking about the game and sports — my performance. Cool. We blew a 3-1 lead. I understand, I can take accountability for that. That’s fine. But when you start bringing this other stuff up, and you don’t see how that line is getting crossed, when you talk about other people’s families, and you talk about other people’s character, and you talk about other people’s personal lives, etc., and you cross that line, and you don’t think somebody gonna cross that line back? Boy, you crazy as hell.”

For years, Smith and ESPN have moved away from traditional sports coverage — and its standards — leaning instead on hot-take fodder by using the biggest teams and athletes for debates, most of which aren’t rooted in anything beyond social media chatter. Smith has been a central figure in that shift, frequently using athletes such as Brown to drive viewership for clips in a way similar to a YouTuber, while pushing most of journalism’s rules of thumb to the side.

In 2024, before Brown and the Celtics won the NBA Finals, Smith stated that Brown was “not liked” among his NBA peers due to issues with his ego and attitude. Brown responded on X, calling for Smith to “state (his) source,” before the two later had a sit-down interview to clear things up.

“You ain’t nothing but a cozy fire in a burning down house,” Brown added.

Brown doubled down on his offer to Smith and the proposal of removing him from his seat to restore “integrity” within journalism as a whole.

“Tell this motherf*cker to retire, because he’s the face of clickbait media,” Brown said. “And maybe with his retirement, we can spark a movement to get the rest of these motherf*ckers outta here or to also have some type of — forget journalistic integrity — actual integrity.”

The basketball world has been expecting the San Antonio Spurs to meet the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. Both teams took care of business in the first two rounds to face off in one of the most highly anticipated matchups in recent memory.

For the first time in the playoffs, the Spurs will start the series on the road. San Antonio split their games in OKC this year. The Spurs were 4-1 against the Thunder in the regular season. You can essentially throw out the regular-season matchups between these two teams, as most of them were not played at full health, and both teams are a lot better since the last time they played each other. The Thunder are undefeated in the playoffs so far, and the Spurs have been at another level since February.

San Antonio has played well on the road in the playoffs, going 4-1. Stealing a game in Oklahoma City is going to be a tall task, but this team has stepped up to every occasion so far this postseason. Winning Game One in this series would be a major feat and would signal that the Spurs can seriously win this series.

San Antonio Spurs (0-0) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (0-0)

May 18th, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT

Watch: NBC / Peacock | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: De’Aaron Fox – Questionable (ankle), Luke Kornet – Questionable (foot)

Thunder Injuries: Thomas Sorber – Out (knee)

What to watch for:

Limiting turnovers

The Thunder’s best offense is their defense. When OKC can turn teams over, they get a lot of open shots in transition. They forced 16.7 turnovers in the regular season. They are excellent at playing physical at the point of attack and getting into passing lanes to force steals. They’ll want to do this a lot against San Antonio, because scoring in the half-court against Victor Wembanyama will be difficult. Producing easy looks in transition will be a priority for OKC.

The Spurs can be susceptible to turnovers, primarily when facing extreme physicality on the perimeter. Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama can do a bit too much with the ball when pressured, leading to turnovers on the other end. When they beat OKC in the regular season, the Spurs kept the turnovers low. They’ll need to take care of the ball to give themselves a chance to win this series.

Three-point shooting

The recipe for beating the Thunder in the regular season was not letting them get easy looks inside and forcing some of their so-so shooters to beat you from deep. If Alex Caruso or Lu Dort took a lightly contested three, that was a win for the Spurs. If those players are hitting shots, defense becomes much harder for the Spurs. Alternatively, San Antonio will need to hit their three-point shots to keep OKC honest. The Thunder will direct a lot of defensive attention to Wembanyama in half-court offense. Guys like Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell can provide some relief if they hit shots.

Wemby vs. Chet

It’s the rivalry that everyone says isn’t a rivalry. Wembanyama wants to destroy Chet Holmgren every time he steps on the basketball court. Anyone watching can understand that, no matter what they say off the court. This is the highest stakes competition Wembanyama has faced Holmgren in since FIBA play. It’s going to be interesting to see how that chip on Wembanyama’s shoulder manifests itself in this series.

Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)

New York; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT

LINE: Knicks -6.5; over/under is 216.5

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Knicks host first series matchup

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers to start the Eastern Conference finals. New York went 2-1 against Cleveland during the regular season. The Cavaliers won the last regular season matchup 109-94 on Wednesday, Feb. 25 led by 23 points from Donovan Mitchell, while Jalen Brunson scored 20 points for the Knicks.

The Knicks are 35-17 against Eastern Conference opponents. New York has a 9-4 record in one-possession games.

The Cavaliers have gone 33-19 against Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland is second in the Eastern Conference scoring 119.5 points per game and is shooting 48.2%.

The Knicks' 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season are the same per game average that the Cavaliers give up. The Cavaliers are shooting 48.2% from the field, 2.2% higher than the 46.0% the Knicks' opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brunson is averaging 26 points and 6.8 assists for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 17.4 points over the last 10 games.

James Harden is averaging 23.6 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers. Mitchell is averaging 26.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 44.4% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 8-2, averaging 120.4 points, 44.7 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.5 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.0 points per game.

Cavaliers: 6-4, averaging 111.1 points, 42.4 rebounds, 22.5 assists, 7.7 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.6 points.

INJURIES: Knicks: OG Anunoby: day to day (hamstring).

Cavaliers: Larry Nance Jr.: out (illness).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Cleveland Cavaliers thrashed top seeds the Detroit Pistols 125-94 in their series decider to secure a place in the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen 23 and Evan Mobley 21 for the Cavaliers, while Daniss Jenkins was the Pistons' highest scorer with 17.

Cleveland, who lost the first two games of the series, raced into a 20-point lead in the first half before wrapping up a 4-3 series win at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The fourth seeds will face third seeds the New York Knicks for a place in the NBA Finals, with game one at Madison Square Garden in New York at 01:00 BST on Wednesday.

"This is fantastic. But we've got to be more disciplined," Mitchell said.

"We shouldn't have to wait to get hit, to get punched in the mouth and face a go-home situation."

Detroit, who finished the regular season with a 60-22 record, have not reached the Eastern Conference finals since 2005.

The Cavaliers or Knicks will play the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

The Western Conference finals begin at 01:30 BST on Tuesday in Oklahoma.

Gilgeous-Alexander wins second straight MVP

Oklahoma guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the 14th player in NBA history to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards.

The 27-year-old is the first player to do so since Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic in 2021 and 2022, and the first guard since Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry in 2015 and 2016.

"It's special - not really for me personally but more so for the city and organisation," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

He received 83 first-place votes and won with 939 points in a ballot of 100 voters.

Jokic finished second and Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama third.

After signing a four-year contract extension worth a reported $285m (£214m) in the off-season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 68 games as Oklahoma finished the regular season with a 64-18 record.

• NBA fixtures & results

DETROIT — One game changes everything.

Judgment day has been delayed as the Cleveland Cavaliers ran the Detroit Pistons out of their own building in a lopsided 125-95 Game 7 victory.

For the first time since 2018, the Cavs are heading to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Cavaliers went all-in on this core when they traded Darius Garland — who admitted after the season that his toe still wasn’t right — for a decade-older James Harden. It’s too early to say the gamble has completely paid off. We can at least say they’ve reached the minimum for this season not to be labeled a disaster.

This team took a step forward this postseason.

Going into training camp, head coach Kenny Atkinson wrote 11-15 on a whiteboard. That was the Cavs’ postseason record in the previous three seasons.

The current version that won tonight was comprised mostly of the same players as those previous teams, but this group is different.

They faced adversity and responded in a way that we simply haven’t seen before. After falling behind 0-2 against a 60-win team, they strung together three impressive victories that showcased different skills. And then, after a demoralizing Game 6 loss that was all too reminiscent of previous postseason collapses, they responded with a win that showed that this team is, in fact, not the same.

That difference starts with their star player.

“It’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue,” Donovan Mitchell said after Game 7 when asked what it means to get to the conference finals. Some of those issues were self-inflicted. Some weren’t.

Before the game, Kenny Atkinson said that Mitchell being more of a playmaker has been an emphasis this postseason, even though this hasn’t come to fruition yet. He wanted Mitchell to “hit singles” and make the easy pass.

Mitchell did that. He picked up three helpers in the first three minutes of the game by easily reading where the help defense was coming from and then making the pass to the open man.

When he’s doing that, the game opens up for him and everyone else — especially the bigs.

Atkinson had dinner with Dan Gilbert on Saturday night, and he gave Atkinson some advice: “The spark for this is Jarrett Allen.”

This resulted in Atkinson drawing up the first play for Allen, and the rest is history.

Allen finished off a few easy dump-offs in the paint in the opening three minutes, two of which came from Mitchell.

The more you feed Allen, the more force he plays with. We saw that as he continually attacked the basket in the short roll and around the rim. And when he’s playing with that energy level on offense, he carries it over to the defensive end as well.

“His energy, his effort, rebounding, drawing contact wherever he played like that,” Evan Mobley said. “It’s a whole different team for us.”

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Allen played with an edge that we don’t typically associate with him. He repeatedly took it to Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Paul Reed, pushing them off their spots. Allen was the aggressor until he finished with 23 points and seven rebounds.

After being the star of two straight Game 7’s, maybe it’s time to bury the notion that Allen can’t come up big in the playoffs.

“This is just who he is,” Mitchell said. “He was phenomenal for us, even before I got here. I’m glad people are starting to see how he really is.”

Once one big is attacking inside with that much force, it makes it easier for the other one to get going.

Mobley has consistently elevated his game this postseason. That continued as he was forceful in his attacks on the basket both as a roller and off-the-dribble. He did this while keeping his eyes up and looking for his teammates, which allowed him to finish with six assists.

The Cavs are an inside-out team. If they’re able to get to the basket, the three-ball opens up.

Sam Merrill was the biggest beneficiary of this as he knocked down four triples in the first half when the game was still up for grabs. That took the life out of a building that was already on oxygen at that point in the game.

“He was unbelievable,” Atkinson said. “We weren’t rolling until he came in the game.”

Merrill ended the night with 23 points on 5-8 shooting from three.

This was an all-around impressive team performance that was made possible by Mitchell’s approach.

He didn’t punch the ticket to his first-ever conference finals by dominating the ball scoring at an impressive clip. Instead, it was because he did all the little things he hadn’t done at a high level in any of his previous postseason runs with the team.

This was the most complete game we’ve seen from Mitchell, considering the moment. He was helpful in every facet of the game.

Mitchell’s willingness to move the ball only made it easier for him to score. He had a playoff-high eight assists. The threat to pass to one of the bigs or kick it out to a shooter in the corner forced Detroit’s defenders to stay home, which opened up driving lanes to the basket, as evidenced by his 26 points on 10-22 shooting.

This was paired with Mitchell being a disruptive defender. He was forceful at the point of attack, and he held up well when switched onto Cade Cunningham or one of Detroit’s forwards. This was in addition to being helpful off-ball as he picked up a steal and a block.

This performance was fitting. Mitchell has been the steadying force all year. He’s the reason why the Cavs were in a position to do anything in the first place.

“He kept this thing together,” Atkinson said. “When things weren’t going great, he was the beacon, the light, his leadership carried us on the court. … And when things weren’t going great, he was the person everyone looked to his positivity. I would have said this even if we lost.”

Mitchell has all the talent in the world, which typically only shows through in his incredible scoring. However, games like this show you that he could be the best guard in the league if he consistently made an effort like this on all aspects of the game.

The New York Knicks will be a formidable matchup, but not an impossible one. If you can get this version of Mitchell, the one that’s locked in defensively and trying to find his teammates for open looks, the Cavs have a good chance of winning the conference.

The Golden State Warriors will have a decision to make after securing the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

The organization appears to be on the backend of its championship run years, with aging players such as Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the roster.

The Warriors could either use the pick to address a need or focus on their future.

If the Warriors use the pick, it will be the first time the organization has drafted a player since 2023, when the team picked Brandin Podziemski.

Green and veteran center Al Horford will have player options to return to the team. Forward Kristaps Porzingis and guard Gary Payton II will be among the top unrestricted free agents.

Here are predictions from sports experts in their mock drafts for the Golden State Warriors:

NBA MOCK DRAFT: Whose stock is rising, falling after scouting combine?

Jaylen Brown’s ongoing feud with Stephen A. Smith isn’t going anywhere — and the Celtics star only added to it Sunday night.

Brown, who was streaming to Twitch his followers, analyzed a clip where Smith talked about him on “First Take” and doubled down on his call for Smith to retire.

“F–k Stephen A,” Tatum said, according to video clips from the stream. “Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C. Like my offer still stands: You want me to be quiet and stop streaming, well I want you to be quiet and get off these networks. Because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism.”

The beef between the two high-profile names in sports and sports media dates back to the end of Boston’s season, when Brown — tasked with being the Celtics’ anchor for most of the year until Jayson Tatum returned — called it his “favorite” of his career.

Smith then said Brown “needs to be quiet” and “go on vacation” unless he was trying to get traded, which then prompted Brown to write in an X post that he’ll be quiet when Smith retires.

Warning: Adult Language

Celtics star Jaylen Brown goes OFF on Stephen A Smith for questioning why Jayson Tatum wasn’t on his stream and making his own narratives about why the 2025-2026 Celtics season was JB’s favorite

“What type of journalism is this?… F*CK Stephen A… My offer still wants. You… pic.twitter.com/XAqaJ6YJYZ

— Slime (@ItsKingSlime) May 18, 2026

“Tell this motherf–ker to retire because he’s the face of clickbait media at the point,” Brown said Sunday while streaming, “and maybe with his retirement we can spark a movement to get the rest of these motherf–kers out of here — or to also have some type of … forget journalistic integrity, actual integrity in order to hold themselves accountable to the bulls–t takes they put out.”

Brown collected a career-best 28.7 points per game during the regular season and made a fourth consecutive All-Star Game, but the Celtics, even with Tatum back in the lineup, were bounced in the first round by the 76ers.

He was also fined $50,000 for criticizing referees while on his livestream following their season-ending loss to Philadelphia, claiming that the officials have an “agenda.”

So instead of another deep playoff run, and instead of another chance to win another championship with the current core, Brown’s saga with Smith began.

And after the latest exchange Sunday, it doesn’t seem to be something that’ll disappear quickly.