SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 5: Mikal Bridges #25, Miles McBride #2 and OG Anunoby #8 of the New York Knicks high five during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 5, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
SAN ANTONIO – New York ran up 2-0 in the 2026 NBA Finals on Friday. Shoved past the Spurs in Game 2 by a 105-104 score after Victor Wembanyama unleashed a too-strong 17-footer in the final seconds, the 22-year old center clanging an opportunity to tie the series.
On San Antonio’s previous defensive possession Wembanyama fouled Jalen Brunson, and Brunson’s 84 percent free throw percentage, Brunson split a pair for the game’s deciding points. During San Antonio’s previous offensive possession, the 2024 Rookie of the Year (Wemby) threw the ball off the back of the 2025 Rookie of the Year (and Spurs teammate) Stephon Castle, Brunson gathering the loose ball ahead of that Wembanyama foul. It was an odd ending.
There is an odd-sounding word, it is gestalt, I learned it in 1996 when the NBA used its 50th anniversary season to spend an inordinate time celebrating the two-time Knick championship teams from the 1970s. Gestalt theory is an idea I return to about once a year and usually in June, when a team turns a corner, providing proof of something stronger that what’s listed in the lineup.
This year’s Knicks may not take the 2026 NBA title, there are still two wins left to grab before it turns official, but the Knicks have grown taller than all of themselves stacked together. This group improves with every outing and against competition which stiffens with each round. You’d need anti-inflammatories too, after battling these Knicks.
The development, the advancement from April through June and 13 consecutive playoff victories, would be unique among NBA champions. What is typical is the gestalt, the way we’re assured something larger than the image New York presents.
Nothing’s fazed them in Mike Brown’s first postseason with the Knicks. Be they down 2-1 to C.J. McCollum’s third team in 12 months, debated as favorites in the second round because Joel Embiid looked OK for four days, and then, well, Cleveland. There was no dramatic or even minor obstacle in the Cleveland series, analytically or otherwise.
San Antonio, once favored by many, isn’t fazed. Maybe a little tired, probably a more than a little impressed. Nobody doubted the talent on this Knicks team, individual or collected. What is astonishing is how well the talent on the New York Knicks performs when it works alongside one another. The elastic defense and deliberate offense, the absence of self, the dedication, devotion, the turning on the nighttime into the day.
That’s a Dire Straits song, and not an example of gestalt theory, but straits certainly indicating where the San Antonio Spurs while boarding the flight to New York. Five games to win four, three in NYC, they ain’t won a first yet.
San Antonio came close on Friday, reeling in Knick momentum long enough to eliminate the 14-point lead the visitors established with six minutes remaining in Game 2. De’Aaron Fox, Wembanyama and Dylan Harper combined to battle for buckets until the contest was tied, ten seconds left, Wemby with the ball and, uh oh, here comes infamy.
Threw it right off Stephon Castle’s back. Ball bounced to Brunson whom Wemby fouled, sending Jalen to the line for a game-winning free throw.
Stephon wasn’t looking while running up the court, I noticed this before Wemby let loose and said “heads up!” while standing at press row but there was no way Castle heard me. I’m sensitive to these things because I let a ball bounce off my back on the same spot in the court in an intramural basketball tournament in college, and I don’t think I will get over what happened to me before Game 3 on Monday and it happened 26 years ago. So I’m not sure how Stephon can blot his out in three days.
The Spurs will need other exhibits to shape up. The transition defense was strong but not strong enough, New York scored 19 points on the break, San Antonio’s worst mark of the postseason. New York’s offensive rebounding was bound to happen, but did it all have to happen in the second half? And when did San Antonio start missing dunks?
Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns’ elbow torquing cleanly under each three-pointer is an absolute picture of actualized alignment and precision. Towns scored 17 in the first half. His dives from the Domantas Spot turned this series, it isn’t an adventure when KAT (21 points, 13 rebounds, four assists) puts the ball on the floor and against a team with Wemby on that floor.
The word “gestalt” entered my mind repeatedly in that second quarter, watching the Knick bust tail defensively, one movement anticipating another. We’ll hear a lot about the 1970 and 1973 championship Knicks over the next few days, and I’m glad the first guy who reminded me of them was the Knick fan with the inexpensive “HARLEM” tattoo up in the 200 section of the Spurs’ arena, weeping, well, no, crying while he walked with his buddy a few minutes after Game 2. “I’ve waited my whole life for this,” he told his friend, and I’m assuming this isn’t about visiting the Alamo on Saturday.
If it was about the Alamo, wow. What a weekend for him!
He’d removed himself from the upper concourse’s PG-rated pogo pit, Knick fans streaming and phoning home and popping jerseys together. It was a block party and I posted up inside a closed nachos stand, happy to watch one pleasant New Yorker after another thanking San Antonio fans for their grace and hospitality and congratulating the Spurs on its bright future, Knick fans going out of their way to throw trash in the appropriate receptacle, clearing room for the elderly, the infirm, the small children in Spurs uniforms squeaking by the sea of blue and orange.
The next time I saw nachos was in a gas station parking lot, in the hand of the single publicly inebriated Knick fan I saw among hundreds of publicly Knick fans during three nights in the heart of San Antonio.
Clinging to his nachos and teetering around the parking lot with the rest of us who decided the rideshare rate from the arena was too much and decided to walk to a more affordable spot. My Nacho Guy was in an Allan Houston uniform, beaming, 20 minutes after I’d walked by Allan Houston in a sweater, beaming.
While I gathered to call my wife to tell her how cheap I was, another Knick fan plopped down on the gas station stoop next to me, awaiting his rideshare, cordial and curious, noshing, asking me who I wrote for and what I thought about Game 2 while offering immediate analysis: Mikal Bridges and Jose Alvarado down the stretch of the third quarter with Towns and Brunson off the floor, San Antonio’s youth and inability to get to their spots, Wemby’s obvious fatigue, the growing capability of Mike Brown.
You know, pal, I was gonna write all that.
The young man was irrepressible, hopping in his rideshare Mercedes right next to a mother and kids cleaning out their van at a gas pump minutes past midnight on a Saturday morning. The gas station was so replete with polite Knick fans that the families selling shaved ice in the parking lot began courting them with Knick chants. Kids on their first Friday night off from school chased each other around the tire inflator/car vacuum machine, one of them in a DeMar DeRozan Spurs jersey likely as old as she is.
Every bus stop on Commerce St. featured a Knick couple waiting on that rideshare, completely unsure of what they just watched less than a mile away, less than an hour ago. San Antonio on a Friday night, streets filled with New Yorkers. It’s almost like it’s their world, and we just live in it.
PROVO, UT - MARCH 7: Christian Anderson #4 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders rushes the ball up the court during the first half of their game against the Brigham Young Cougars at the Marriott Center on March 7, 2026 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Raptors Comparisons: Fred VanVleet (not as good defensively), Jose Calderon (smaller and not as good of a passer)
Strengths
Perimeter-shooting
Anderson has a case for being the best shooter in the draft. That lone selling point should be enough for a Toronto Raptors team that finished 21st in three-point percentage (35.3 per cent) and 26th in makes (11.3) to consider Anderson with the 19th pick. Anderson finished his last season with the Texas Tech Red Raiders shooting 41.5 per cent on 7.9 three-point attempts. Only three players in the nation shot the ball better on more attempts. That includes teammate Donovan Atwell (45.8 per cent), junior Pryce Sandfort of Nebraska (41.6 per cent) and Samford’s Jadin Booth (43.6 per cent). Unlike Anderson, none of Atwell, Sandford or Booth are guaranteed to be selected in the 2026 NBA Draft. Anderson has one of the cleanest-looking jumpers in the NCAA. His range feels unlimited at times. Anderson quickly developed a reputation for showing a willingness to pull the trigger from anywhere.
Pick-and-roll maestro
The 6’2 guard played almost exclusively out of the pick-and-roll (PnR). While Anderson doesn’t possess an elite first-step, he’s already mastered how to change speeds and leverage his positioning to gain advantages with a screen-man. The NBA is a PnR heavy usage type of league, making Anderson an ideal plug-and-play option off the bench for several teams. Anderson also showcased an ability to hit shots off the dribble when defenders go under the screen and consistently traps defenders with a hostage dribble when they go over.
Areas for Improvement
Defence
Anderson measures out as one of the smaller players in the draft. He was listed at the NBA Combine as six-foot-one without shoes and 180 pounds. On tape, Anderson’s skinny frame and stature are expected to stand out next to NBA-level physiques. He also ranked in the bottom seventh percentile for hand-width.
For Anderson to carve out a spot in the league, he’ll need to prove that his offence is enough to overcome his potential defensive concerns. Opposing teams will hunt him down, especially in a playoff setting. How Anderson navigates through that will determine how long Raptors Head Coach Darko Rajakovic can keep him on the court.
What Anderson has going for him is that he played an astronomical 38.3 minutes per game (for non-college watchers, games are 40 minutes long) while only averaging 2.0 fouls. It’s even more impressive considering that he plays with an effort-level that pops on screen. Flanked by Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto might be the perfect fit for Anderson.
TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 20: Sharron Young #3 of the Akron Zips drives on Christian Anderson #4 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held at Benchmark International Arena on March 20, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Playstyle
While Anderson ranked as an elite rim-finisher (74.2 per cent), he rarely got to the basket. That likely needs to change as defences run him off the three-point line or funnel him into the paint. Anderson understands who he is – someone who thrives on the perimeter – and that also explains his low free-throw attempts.
The pick-and-roll was Anderson’s bread-and-butter, and that makes sense considering how effective he was in that set. However, it also meant Anderson either didn’t get a chance to show off more of his isolation toolkit or that the Texas Tech coaching staff didn’t believe it existed. While the Raptors can’t expect to hit a home-run with the 19th pick, the chances of doing so exponentially increase if Anderson can consistently produce points when the offence is off-schedule.
Anderson was a dominant on-ball type of guard with the Red Raiders. He’ll need to get comfortable being more of an off-ball threat playing next to heavy-usage players like Barnes, Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett.
Potential fits with Toronto
Obvious shooting upgrade
The Raptors need to surround Barnes with better shooters. Adding one of the prettiest jumpers in the draft helps. Schematically, it just makes sense to select someone like Anderson. There were multiple instances during the playoffs when the Cleveland Cavaliers forced a second or third pass to an open corner shooter (usually Jamal Shead) or a wing-three (often Barrett), and the Raptors failed to make them pay.
Possible Immanuel Quick trade?
Assuming the front-office admired Barrett’s playoff rising performance, the Raptors might consider moving Immanuel Quickley or Brandon Ingram (more the salary than the player) to create some roster construction flexibility.
If it’s the former, that would promote Shead to a starting gig, subsequently opening up a back-up guard spot. Shead overproduced as an emergency starter while pushing the Cavaliers to seven games. Theoretically, he could pass as a serviceable starter across 82 regular-season games.
Adding Anderson to help lead the bench – in tandem with a veteran addition through trade or free agency – would work, especially if it meant the team could upgrade elsewhere.
A man went viral after thanking Jalen Brunson’s mom for creating the Knicks star.
Joe Clements happened to be sitting near Sandra Brunson in the stands in San Antonio after Game 1 of the NBA Finals — so he used the moment to express his gratitude.
“Hey, Mrs. Brunson, Thank you so much for having that boy. He is the franchise changer. We love him,” Clements said in the video, which racked up 1.7 million views, and hundreds of comments from fans, calling her the “Queen of NYC.”
Sandra, whom Brunson called his “best friend 100 percent,” in a 2020 interview with WFAA, laughed and smiled at the superfan’s gushing.
Clements posted the video of her reaction to his Instagram page with the caption, “Every Knicks fan—scratch that—every basketball fan should thank this wonderful lady for bringing into the world the greatest Knick ever!!!! (We thank Rick too but he did the easy part).”
Knicks fans took to the comments section to also express their admiration for Sandra — who played volleyball at Temple University, which is how she met her husband, Knicks assistant coach, Rick, who was on the basketball team.
“She is actually The Queen of NYC and she deserves all the love and respect,” one gushed.
“That woman will be protected and cherished by Knicks fans everywhere,” another wrote.
“GOD BLESS THAT WOMAN AND HER HUSBAND, they raised a real star,” someone else added.
Jalen Brunson called his mother, Sandra, his best friend. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Others declared that Sandra, a native of Lakeview, NY, should be treated like royalty around the Big Apple.
“That lady should never pay for a meal in NYC,” one said.
“She [should] get a free pass everywhere in NYC. No questions asked,” another agreed.
Sandra is the co-founder and chief financial officer of Second Round Foundation, a New Jersey nonprofit that “plants seeds to create equity for young people through education, sport, and community,” according to its website.
Brunson has credited his mom for his grit and determination.
“She was the general. She held me accountable for everything I did. If I was putting my mind to something I couldn’t quit until it was done. She basically gave me that no-quit mentality,” he told WFAA.
He’s also thanked her for his talents on the court.
“Thank you for my athletic ability because without you I wouldn’t be able to jump as high as I do,” he added.
It’s no secret that Warriors star Steph Curry has faced some of the most aggressive defenses teams can get away with over the course of his NBA career.
But its rare that one of those opponents says the quiet part out loud.
NBA on ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson, who faced Golden State in the 2016 and 2017 NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers, detailed Cleveland’s brutal game plan for Curry on Friday night’s broadcast. While discussing a hard foul on New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson during Game 2 of the 2026 Finals, Jefferson recalled his job against Curry a decade ago.
“When we played Steph Curry in the Finals, our job was to beat him up like that,” Jefferson said in the first quarter. “And it wasn’t anything dirty, but if you’re going to foul him, foul him in a physical nature.”
Richard Jefferson on the Spurs defending Jalen Brunson:
“When we played Steph Curry in the Finals, it was our job to beat him up like that.”
Curry arguably receives the league’s worst whistle, so being on the receiving end of hard fouls is nothing new for him — because the only way he gets a foul call is if he’s being beat up, like Jefferson said.
But even then, fouls are hard to come by for the four-time NBA champion. Over the course of his 17-year NBA career, Curry has averaged 4.3 free-throw attempts per game. For comparison, Jefferson’s former teammate LeBron James has averaged 7.4 over the last 23 years.
While Jefferson and the Cavaliers “beat” Curry up on their way to a ring in 2016, the Warriors certainly got the last laugh over their four consecutive Finals matchups.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 5: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs goes up for a block during the game against the New York Knicks during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 5, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
There’s not much question that Victor Wembanyama is the future of the NBA, but at the end of the day, he’s also a skinny 22-year-old, and most young players have a lot to learn. Wembanyama, for all his freakish talent, is no exception to this.
He’s a brilliant talent, but he also made a devastating turnover down the stretch, then missed a last-second shot that would have still won the game.
As we’ve seen often during the playoffs, former Blue Devil Mason Plumlee got a DNP from the Spurs. And with New York on a 13-game playoff win streak, and the series shifting to NYC, the odds of him getting a ring in what may be his final season are dropping fast.
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 8: Cedric Ceballos #23 of the Phoenix Suns in interviewed after winning the 1992 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest at Orlando Arena on February 8, 1992 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1992 NBAE (Photo by Jon Soohoo/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Once upon a time, we were desperate for story ideas. The COVID-19 pandemic had taken hold, there were no sports to watch, and everyone was trying to figure out how to fill the void. It was in the middle of that landscape that I began writing for Bright Side of the Sun. My first article was published only days before the entire NBA shut down.
As we navigated those strange times, I came up with an idea for an article. What if I took the game of Six Degrees of Separation with Kevin Bacon and applied it to an NBA player? Naturally, I chose Cedric Ceballos. Why? Because he exists in the middle of NBA history, which unlocks doors to the past and doors to the present. I also was a big Ceballos fan when he was a Sun, so why not?
Now, I fully understand that Cedric isn’t the true NBA equivalent. Somebody like Vince Carter or Jeff Green would probably be a better choice given the number of teams they played for and the sheer volume of teammates they accumulated throughout their careers. But this was a Suns site. I thought it would be fun. And fun it was.
Now here we are, six seasons later, and that article still sticks with me. Partly because it was fun. Partly because it was funny. Mostly because I enjoy the research. Clearly, I’m a nerd. I enjoy wandering down the endless tunnels that Basketball Reference provides, clicking from player to player and finding connections that I never knew existed.
So once again, we’re going to give this a shot. Six Degrees of Separation with Cedric Ceballos. As a reminder of the rules I established more than half a decade ago, here’s how this works. I will note that I removed some rules. It’s down to whether or not they played together or were traded for each other. Being coached by a similar person no longer counts:
Rule 1: Teammates
You can only count players who played together. Example: Yuta Tubuse played in 4 career NBA games, all for the Suns. I can use any Suns player he played with in those games, but I cannot use any of his opponents.
Rule 2: Transactions
Any player can be linked to another player via a transaction they shared. Example: Gani Lawal, who appeared in just 2 NBA minutes, was a future 2010 draft pick who was part of the Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary trade. Therefore, he is linked to those players.
Rule 3: You have 6 moves
That’s the name of the game. Six moves or fewer is a win. Do it in seven and don’t talk to me.
And of course, it wouldn’t be any fun if I were the one choosing which players to connect to Cedric Ceballos. That would be too easy. So I put out a call to arms, asking the Twitter community to provide me with some random dudes from NBA history.
It was a rocky start. I guess when you’re plugged into Suns’ Twitter, I should expect that everyone is going to try to find an obscure Suns player. Shannon Brown? Too easy. Negele Knight? Obscure, sure, but a teammate of Ceballos in Phoenix. They played 140 games with each other!
Some of the names were familiar. Some of them sent me down rabbit holes I never expected to travel. A few had me staring at Basketball Reference pages, wondering how on earth I was going to connect the dots. Which is exactly the point. Half the fun of this exercise is seeing where the journey takes you. The destination matters, sure. But the path to get there is where things get interesting.
So with a fresh list of random NBA names in hand, it’s time to see how many degrees of separation stand between them and Cedric Ceballos.
All right, let’s start easy. After all, it’s two members of the Phoenix Suns, right?
The easiest way to attack this is to look at the roster from Marcus Banks’s rookie season and Cedric Ceballos’s final season. The two never overlapped in the NBA, so that felt like the logical starting point.
Banks entered the league after being selected 13th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft out of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His rights, along with those of Kendrick Perkins, were traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones. As a result, Banks spent his rookie season in Boston, appearing in 81 games off the bench for a Celtics team that finished 36-46.
As for Ceballos, his final season came in 2000-01 with the Miami Heat. It’s always fun to go back and look at some of the names on those old rosters. Bruce Bowen was in his fourth NBA season. A.C. Green was there. So were Eddie House, Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason, and, of course, Dan Majerle.
But none of those names is the key. The connector is Ricky Davis.
MIAMI – NOVEMBER 1: Ricky Davis #31 of the Miami Heat celebrates after hitting a three-pointer against the Detroit Pistons at American Airlines Arena November 1, 2007 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Davis was in his second NBA season during that final year of Ceballos’s career. Originally selected 21st overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 1998, he landed in Miami two years later and shared the court with Ceballos during that final campaign. The following season, Davis was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he spent two seasons before being dealt to the Celtics in December of 2003.
And there it is.
Step 1: Marcus Banks to Ricky Davis
Both Marcus Banks and Ricky Davis spent 2.5 seasons together with the Boston Celtics. Interestingly enough, both were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in January of 2006.
For Davis, Banks was a significant teammate. The two appeared in 213 games together, which ranks as the second-most games Ricky Davis played alongside any teammate during his NBA career. The same is true in reverse. Of all the players Banks shared the court with throughout his career, Davis ranks second in total games played together.
Step 2: Ricky Davis to Cedric Ceballos
As noted above, Davis spent part of the 2000-01 season with the Miami Heat, which was the final NBA season for Cedric Ceballos. The overlap was brief. Very brief. Davis and Ceballos appeared in only four games together. Fortunately, four games are still four games, and according to the highly scientific rules established for this exercise more than half a decade ago, that absolutely counts.
Which means we’ve successfully connected Marcus Banks to Cedric Ceballos in just two degrees of separation.
All right, here’s one that’s a little more difficult. Because I had absolutely no idea who Luigi Datome was. So well played, Bruce. Well played.
What I learned is that Datome was a 6’8” small forward who didn’t play his first NBA game until 2013, joining the Detroit Pistons at age 26. Over his two-year NBA career, he appeared in a grand total of 55 games, 37 with Detroit.
Then came the trade. When the Isaiah Thomas deal sent Thomas from the Phoenix Suns to the Boston Celtics, Datome was included as part of the package heading to Boston in a three-team deal. Ah, that’s why Bruce picked him. Because Bruce is a Boston guy.
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 1: Luigi Datome #70 of the Boston Celtics poses for a portrait before the game against the Golden state Warriors on March 1, 2015 at the TD Garden 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Steve Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
So naturally, the next step is diving into that 2014-15 Celtics roster to see if we can find a path. And right away, one name jumps off the page. Gerald Wallace. Wallace was in his 13th NBA season at the time, and the moment I saw his name, I knew I had my starting point.
Now the question becomes where that path leads next.
Step 1: Luigi Datome to Gerald Wallace
I could have gone in a few different directions here.
There were other names on that roster. Other players who bounced around the league and would have made for an easy connection. Jeff Green was on that Celtics team, and Jeff Green is basically the holy grail for this exercise. The man has played 18 seasons for 11 different franchises. But where’s the fun in that?
Instead, I went with Gerald Wallace. Wallace entered the league in 2001 after being selected 25th overall by the Sacramento Kings. His stint in Sacramento isn’t what interests me, however. It’s the one that began in 2004-05 with the Charlotte Bobcats.
Step 2: Gerald Wallace to Eddie House
Ah, the Bobcats. Remember that team? Remember that logo? Those uniforms? It’s been more than 20 years since the Bobcats existed, and thank goodness for that. If you weren’t around back then, you missed some truly questionable fashion choices and some equally questionable basketball.
But who else was on that 2004-05 Charlotte roster? Our old friend Eddie House. Most Suns fans remember House for his electric 2005-06 season in Phoenix, when he finished 13th in Sixth Man of the Year voting and routinely came off the bench throwing gasoline on the fire. When Eddie got hot, the entire arena knew it.
As I mentioned earlier in this article, however, Eddie House and Cedric Ceballos already have a connection.
Step 3: Eddie House to Cedric Ceballos
That’s right. We return once again to Cedric’s final season in the NBA. The 2000-01 season happened to be the rookie campaign for Eddie House. After being selected 37th overall out of Arizona State University in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, House landed on the same roster that featured Cedric Ceballos during the final stop of Ced’s NBA career.
And just like that, we’ve connected Gigi Datome to Cedric Ceballos in three degrees of separation. Not bad for a guy I had never heard of 20 minutes ago.
Okay, I like this one. It still lives in the Suns’ universe, but we’re going way back. All the way back to a player the Phoenix Suns selected in the 1969 NBA Draft. Neal Walk.
Walk, a center out of the University of Florida, was essentially the consolation prize. He’s the player Phoenix ended up with after calling heads in the coin flip that ultimately gave the Milwaukee Bucks the right to draft Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who at the time was still known as Lew Alcindor. But hey, he had a magnificent beard.
MILWAUKEE, WI – MARCH 11: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Milwaukee Bucks handles the ball against Neal Walk #41 of the Phoenix Suns on March 11, 1974 at the MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1974 NBAE (Photo by Vernon Biever/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Walk spent 4.5 seasons with the Suns, averaging 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He was a solid player. A productive player. It’s also safe to say Phoenix lost that coin flip. After all, Lew Alcindor became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and there’s a strong argument that he’s the third greatest player in NBA history.
Walk remained with the Suns until 1974, when he was traded, along with a second-round pick, to the New Orleans Jazz for three players and a first-round pick. That pick eventually changed hands and was used by the Buffalo Braves to select Adrian Dantley out of the University of Notre Dame. Another Hall of Famer. Because apparently this story wasn’t finished torturing Suns fans.
But there’s my starting point. Walk spent only one season with the Jazz, appearing in 34 games. And during that lone season, he shared the court with E. C. Coleman. That’s where the trail begins.
Step 1: Neal Walk to E.C. Coleman
E.C. Coleman was a power forward out of Houston Baptist University who was selected in the third round of the 1973 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Yes, there used to be more than two rounds, even though the league was smaller. He was a Rocket for a couple of years, but when the New Orleans Jazz entered the NBA in 1974, they selected Coleman in the expansion draft.
LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1976: E.C. Coleman #12 of the New Orleans Jazz looks on against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1976 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Coleman played for the Jazz from 1974-77. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It turned out to be a solid pick. Coleman spent three seasons with the Jazz and eventually earned All-Defensive First Team honors in 1976-77. The season that interests us, however, is 1974-75. That Jazz team was rough. They opened the year with an 11-game losing streak and started the season 3-34 before finally putting together a two-game winning streak. They ultimately finished 23-59, but it was during that season that Coleman and Neal Walk shared the court.
Coleman eventually entered free agency and signed with the Golden State Warriors in 1977. After being waived in 1978, he returned to Houston and played 6 games for the Rockets. Six games that, for most people, wouldn’t matter. For this exercise, those six games are everything.
Step 2: E.C. Coleman to Moses Malone
During those six games in Houston, Coleman played alongside Moses Malone. Not a bad teammate to stumble across.
It was Malone’s third NBA season after beginning his professional career in the ABA, and 1978-79 became a landmark year for him. He appeared in all 82 games, averaging 24.8 points and 17.6 rebounds per contest. The accolades piled up. All Star. All NBA First Team. All Defensive Second Team. And most importantly, MVP.
Malone remained with Houston for three more seasons, winning another MVP award in 1982 before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caldwell Jones and a 1983 first-round pick. And once he arrived in Philadelphia, the next connection practically made itself.
Step 3: Moses Malone to Julius Erving
The 1982-83 season brought together Moses Malone and Julius Erving, better known as Dr. J. Talk about a duo. Malone won MVP that season. Dr. J finished fifth in MVP voting. Both earned All-NBA First Team honors as the 76ers rolled through the league.
Basketball: NBA Finals: (L-R) NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien, Philadelphia 76ers Moses Malone (2), coach Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving (6) and owner Harold Katz in locker room after winning game and series vs Los Angeles Lakers at The Forum. Game 4. Inglewood, CA 5/31/1983 CREDIT Peter Read Miller (Photo by Peter Read Miller /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X28564 TK1 R7 F1 )
Erving had begun his professional career in the ABA and entered the NBA in 1976 at age 26. He would spend 11 seasons in the NBA and eventually become one of the most influential and celebrated players in basketball history.
At this point, the next connection feels almost inevitable. We’re talking about the Philadelphia 76ers in the mid 1980s. That means we’re talking about Sir Charles.
Step 4: Julius Erving to Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley, drafted 5th overall in the 1985 Draft, and Julius Erving appeared in 226 games together. The pair went 130-66 during the regular season, although postseason success proved harder to find. They went 16-14 in the playoffs during their shared time in Philadelphia.
Of course, the Eastern Conference wasn’t exactly welcoming. This was the era of Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.The era of Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons. The beginning of the era of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. There were heavyweights everywhere.
Philadelphia captured its championship in 1983 before Barkley arrived, and despite all of Charles’s greatness, he never got another crack at a title with the 76ers. That opportunity would come later when he moved out west to the Valley of the Sun.
Step 5: Charles Barkley to Cedric Ceballos
And now we’ve arrived at the destination. A journey spanning decades, from Neal Walk’s era in the early late 60s to 1992, when Charles Barkley arrived in Phoenix, and Cedric Ceballos was entering his third NBA season out of California State University, Fullerton.
Ced was a star on the rise. Honestly, I’ll go to my grave believing that if he had been healthy during that NBA Finals run, Barkley might have a championship ring and Suns fans might feel a little differently about the franchise’s history. Instead, we’re left wondering what could have been.
What we do know is that Barkley and Ceballos appeared in 131 games together. And with that, Neal Walk is connected to Cedric Ceballos in five degrees of separation.
That’s enough for this session, isn’t it? We got a little history lesson. We exercised parts of our basketball brains that probably haven’t been used in quite some time. And along the way, we managed to connect a handful of seemingly random players to Cedric Ceballos.
That’s the beauty of this exercise. It sends you wandering through decades of NBA history, stumbling across forgotten franchises, forgotten players, strange trades, and connections that you never would have considered otherwise. And honestly, I enjoy every minute of it.
So who knows? Maybe I’ll continue accepting the challenges thrown my way and keep this experiment going as the summer rolls on. There are certainly enough random names out there to keep me occupied. For now, though, I think these three examples prove the point. No matter how obscure the player, no matter how far back in NBA history you go, no matter how impossible the challenge initially appears. You can connect just about anyone who has ever played in the NBA to Cedric Ceballos.
And if you can’t?
Well, then I probably haven’t spent enough time on Basketball Reference yet.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 5: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks, Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs and Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks look on during Game Two of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 5, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
For a while now, I thought I was watching a very specific kind of story. An underdog with tenacity. A chosen one on the rise. An ascension. A coming-of-age. A fairy tale, maybe. The details were always a little hazy, but the protagonist was never in question. It was the Spurs. It just felt right. Every moment had meaning. Every setback only served the cause. The signs were everywhere if you knew how to read them. Our time had come. Our story was happening in real time, right in front of our eyes.
Somewhere in the third quarter, down fourteen, I started to wonder if I’d maybe wandered into the wrong theater.
I felt like I was drowning. Every Spurs possession was happening at warp speed. Shots went up quick and bounced out. Layups lipped out. Drives sputtered. The ball found its way into Knick hands before I could even process what was happening, and then suddenly everything was headed the other way.
These Knicks possessions, though. Those were like getting punched in slow motion. Just haymaker after haymaker and, sure, you could see every one coming but your arms were moving through molasses. There’s nothing to be done except to just sit there and take it. Then everything speeds up again and you’re dizzy from that last punch but, oops, another three just rattled out and the Knicks are headed back up the court again.
I was exhausted. I was dizzy. And I was starting to get the distinct impression that, in whatever version of this story I thought I was watching, this is not how it was supposed to go.
Much to my chagrin, I could not stop focusing on the Knicks fans in the crowd. They were making me insane. Not, like, a little annoyed. Insane. Seriously, every time a bunch of blue and orange hands went up after another bucket, it was like a galactic five-year-old found a bruise on my arm and just kept poking it. I felt like I was in my living room trying to grieve the demise of an old friend and a bunch of drunk guys were screaming BING BONG KNICKS IN FOUR BABY directly into my ear canal.
Get out of our house, you absolute ghouls.
I know. I know. It wasn’t really about them. Whatever. It’s just that it felt unfair in the specific way that life feels really unfair sometimes, when something wrong is happening right in front of you and there’s no one to appeal to and no rule being broken and it’s just happening. Why? Because.
But here’s the thing. I was so busy being mad at them for acting like they belonged there that I didn’t stop to consider why they were so sure they did.
Maybe they knew something I didn’t.
I turned the sound off with around 11 minutes left in the game. A tried and true tactic I’ve used for as long as I can remember when Sports has gotten a little too real for my taste. Something about the silence makes it seem more palatable. Like I can finally breathe and think for a second. Sometimes it’s just nice not to have to listen to Richard Jefferson anymore.
Wembanyama hit a three. That wasn’t going to fool me though. No sir. This whole game had been defined by the Spurs getting purchase on a cliff face before immediately tumbling back down a few feet and starting over. Castle got in for a pretty good dunk. Wemby blocked Hart. Their shots weren’t really falling anymore, but this wasn’t real. This was just the death rattle.
Harper with a bucket.
I’m telling you, watching this play out in silence was surreal. I obviously wasn’t going to turn the sound back on and mess with whatever favor I’d earned with the gods to inspire the run. Still, it was as if I was standing on the other side of the glass watching all of this happen to someone else. I wanted to scream or shout or bang on the window, but all I could do was stare. Mouth agape. Silently trying to will something into existence just by wanting it enough.
Our crowd was going nuts. The Knicks fans were, finally, mercifully, joining me in a silent vigil.
The score was tied. Three minutes left. Were they actually going to do this? They’d spent all night searching for answers and had they now, against all odds, finally found some? Victor took two steps, covered about a hundred feet of ground, and laid it in. The Spurs were winning. They were winning this game. Winning this series. Potentially never going to lose again.
Maybe this was our story after all. It’s wins all the way down, baby!
Wembanyama grabbing that board off the Brunson miss with 12 seconds left was the first time I actually let myself believe they were going to pull this off. The two best players on the court had just stared each other down, one on one, and Vic had prevailed. We were going to go back up, score, and dance off into the night. The story had been written. Our fate had been sealed. The stars were aligned.
Fate, it turns out, has a pretty funny sense of humor.
Before the game, Wembanyama was asked in French about this team’s habit of finding solutions only after running into problems. As usual, the frankness of his assessment kind of caught me off guard.
“We’re kind of like spoiled kids,” he said. “For some of us, it’s our first season and we’re already in the Finals. We don’t fully realize it yet. And to me, the team that appreciates the position we’re in the most will be the one that wins.”
Two games in, the Knicks look like they know exactly where they are.
How could they not? This is a franchise that has spent the better part of three decades being a punchline. Draft picks that didn’t pan out. Superstars that chose somewhere else. Stars that arrived and immediately got hurt. An owner who, at times, seemed to be actively working against his own team.
Last year, this group got within two wins of this exact moment and then Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers ripped their hearts out.
Twenty-seven years of almost and now here they are, back in San Antonio. In the Finals. In our building. Their fans look deliriously happy and their players look like they’re on a mission from God. They all look like they’ve been waiting their whole lives for this moment.
Maybe this is the story we’ve really been watching all along.
It could be as simple as that.
Takeaways
I’m willing to live in a world where I’m being too cynical about all this. The Spurs found something in that fourth quarter that looked real, and crazier things have happened. That said, down 0-2 heading to a Garden that is going to be absolutely feral is a lot. It’s not impossible. It’s just a lot. It’s….yeah, a lot.
Victor looked absolutely gassed all game. Right up until he didn’t! Still, I feel like I’ve seen him miss a ton of shots he normally makes in this series and it’s for sure a little disconcerting. The biggest thing the fourth quarter showed is that this Spurs team is invincible when Wemby is looking invincible. When he’s not, well, they get pretty vincible all of a sudden. This is something that somehow continues to seem profound even though we’ve been learning it over and over again for about three years now.
The Luke Kornet rebound off the missed Brunson free throw is an all-time moment that is going to be lost to history and I am furious about it. They put him in to do exactly one thing and he did it. He reached into a tangle of legs and limbs and came out with the basketball, somehow without stepping out of bounds. It was as stunning a play as his chase-down block in the OKC series. It deserved a better ending. Alas.
Part of me thinks Fox should have taken that last shot. I can’t fully explain it. It just felt like that was going to be his moment. That’s why we brought him here. Everyone in the building knew Wemby was getting the ball, so why not shock the world? He had the shot, didn’t he? I’ll never know because I refuse to watch that sequence again, but in my heart I think he had it.
Feels bad, y’all. Feels real bad right now.
Spurs in 7.
WWL Post Game Press Conference
Have you ever actually walked into the wrong theater for a movie?
No, that seems borderline impossible. I did used to like, double dip at the theater all the time back in the day when there was nothing else really going on. It felt like once you’d given your ticket to the guy up front you really could just hang out back there in the bowels of a Regal Cinemas for days on end.
So you’d just watch multiple movies?
Sure, or just like, a double feature or something.
What was your best double feature?
My favorite one, for sure, was a combination of Mission Impossible 2 followed by Shanghai Noon. Cinema! I was a man of culture. I’ve never felt more artistically fulfilled.
You really don’t want to keep talking about that Spurs game do you?
Not how the rest of the team’s internal organizational restructuring will pan out.
Austin Reaves will decline his $14.9 million player option and become an unrestricted free agent. NBAE via Getty Images
Not even whether LeBron James will return for a 24th NBA season, and whether he’ll play for the Lakers for a ninth season — a decision that will have significant league-wide ramifications.
Reports have stated that Reaves — an expected unrestricted free agent once he declines his $14.9 million player option — wants a maximum contract worth $239 million across five seasons ($47.8 million average annual salary) and is not willing to take a hometown discount.
If the Lakers aren’t willing to go that high, they must explain to Reaves the reasoning if it means building a title-winning roster around him and Luka Doncic.
By comparison, the maximum contract another team could pay Reaves is $178 million over four seasons ($44.5 million average annual salary).
The Lakers want Reaves back. As they should after he’s proved to be an All-Star — and borderline All-NBA — caliber player.
And Reaves wants to return to the only NBA he’s known for the first five seasons of his NBA career.
In this sense, the sides are on the same page.
Where they may differ is the Lakers wanting to pay Reaves the least amount of money to bring him back to the franchise, looking to maximize their financial flexibility and optionality. And Reaves’ representatives, understandably, will negotiate for the most amount of money Reaves, 28, can make as he enters the prime of his career with his best chance of what will likely be the largest contract of his career.
If Reaves, or his representatives, not only want but demand the max deal they can get from the Lakers, the franchise without hesitation should pay it.
At face value, a $239 million contract for a player who hasn’t made an All-Star or All-NBA team may be difficult to fathom.
Reaves’ maximum salary for 2026-27 of approximately $41.2 million would make him around the top 36 to 40 players in the league. NBAE via Getty Images
Reaves’ maximum salary for 2026-27 of approximately $41.2 million would make him somewhere around the 36th- to 40th-highest-paid player in the league for next season.
That salary would be in the same ballpark of Thunder wing Jalen Williams ($41.2 million), Thunder big man Chet Holmgren and Magic forward Paolo Banchero, a tad above Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. ($40.8 million) and a little below Clippers guard Darius Garland ($42.2 million), Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.
Reaves isn’t better than all of these players. But he’s better than a fair amount of them.
He ranked 30th in actual estimated plus-minus (EPM) for 2025-26 according to Dunks & Threes. And he was one of 20 players to average at least 23 points, five assists and four rebounds in 2025-26.
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And before the multiple calf injuries that slowed down his season, Reaves was averaging 27.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds.
There’s also the Doncic factor, and the reality that Reaves has proved to be a good fit alongside the Lakers superstar.
The Lakers outscored opponents by an elite margin of nine points per 100 possessions in 2025-26 when Doncic and Reaves shared the floor, up from 7.7 points per 100 possessions in 2024-25. Doncic’s history with Jalen Brunson and Kyrie Irving when with the Mavericks showed that putting him alongside another talented perimeter creator is a formula proven to work.
And Reaves has shown he’s that caliber of player.
He isn’t a perfect player. He has to be more durable after playing a career-low 51 games in 2025-26, and having back-to-back playoff runs impacted by injuries. Max players aren’t judged by what they do during the regular season, but more so in the playoffs, where Reaves’ catch-and-shoot 3-point shooting has dipped three consecutive years.
And Reaves has shown he’s that caliber of player. AP
But the Lakers can’t risk losing a player the caliber of Reaves for nothing. Especially not while they have Doncic, who’s in the prime of his career and ready to contend for championship now. Losing his co-star would be a backward step during a period the Lakers can’t afford to do so.
If Reaves and his representatives are willing to sign a contract with the Lakers for an annual salary that’s less than the maximum Reaves can receive, the franchise should consider that a gift. Especially after Reaves has been significantly underpaid for the last four seasons.
Yes, the significant pay raise for Reaves will make building a championship caliber roster around him and Doncic more challenging. But that’s the reality and challenge franchises sign up for when they have high-caliber players on their roster.
“[Reaves] started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker,” Lakers president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka said after the season. “And we feel the same way. We want his odyssey to continue to unfold in the Purple and Gold. There’s rules and timing to all of that but I think both sides have made it abundantly clear that we want to work something out where he continues his prolific career here.”
And if the Lakers truly feel the way Pelinka says they do, they’ll pay Reaves — what he wants and what he’s worth.
A Long Islander went viral this week for predicting the Knicks’ NBA Finals run in his 2020 high school yearbook.
Evan Pfeufer of Kings Park shared a photo Thursday of his quote in Smithtown High School West’s yearbook, “Knicks in 6. 2026 NBA Finals” — and it racked up more than 5 million views in one day.
Evan Pfeufer predicted the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Finals run in his 2020 high school yearbook. Courtesy of Evan Pfeufer
The now-23-year-old told The Post how he decided on the very specific prediction.
“It’s so simple. Knicks in six 2026 rhymes so incredibly well,” he said.
The Knicks superfan recalled his parents’ disappointment when he showed them the book six years ago.
“It was so funny, my parents were like, ‘Evan, why?’ Why would you do this?'” he said.
Now, they are reconsidering, and likening their son to a modern-day Nostradamus.
“My dad is questioning if I’m a human or not,” he said.
“It’s so simple. Knicks in six 2026 rhymes so incredibly well,” Pfeufer told The Post. Courtesy of Evan Pfeufer
Pfeufer, whose impressive high school resume included serving as an officer in the Business Honor Society, purposely chose not to include any of his accomplishments on his yearbook page in order for his Knicks quote to stand out.
“They gave us an option, and I said, ‘No, I just want this,'” he recalled.
“Hand over Bible, I purposely didn’t put my honor societies and all the stuff I got because I was like, ‘What if this actually happens? Everybody else has this long a– quote with all their achievements, and me, I would get it right.'”
As it started looking like his 2020 prediction could actually come to fruition, he texted his childhood friend a photo of the yearbook page
“And I was like, ‘Imagine if this happens,'” he said.
Pfeufer’s classmates urged him to share a photo of his yearbook prediction on a larger social media platform. Courtesy of Evan Pfeufer
He then posted it on his private Snapchat page and his friends encouraged him to share it on a larger platform, so he submitted it to the sports Instagram account Overtime, which boasts 10.4 million followers, and it “instantly” went viral.
Pfeufer, who graduated from Adelphi University and now works as a sales rep, is hoping the post grabs the attention of the Knicks.
“My friend said, ‘If the Knicks don’t get you to one of the games or something, I would be livid,'” he said.
“I don’t expect anything, I’m just a guy with a prediction, but it would be pretty cool.”
Staten Islander Matt McAllister has a Mount Rushmore of Knicks greats inked across his back — including current MVP Jalen Brunson.
And when McAllister took his shirt off to reveal the jaw-dropping tattoo to Brunson himself, the captain was stunned.
Matt McAllister’s Mount Rushmore of Knicks legends was drawn by artist Tom Sanford and inked by Sonja Elise at Bullseye Tattoos on Staten Island. Courtesy of Matt McAllister
“He seems like he’s a guy of very little words . . . but he was like, ‘Oh, that’s hard,'” McAllister, 34, told The Post.
“Then he said, ‘But Rushmore’s only got four.’
“So I told him I had to add an extra just for him.”
Then shocked star guard Josh Hart “pulled out his phone. He’s like, ‘I gotta take a photo of this. Holy s–t!'”
McAllister presented the over-the-top tat — also featuring legends John Starks, Walt Frazier, Patrick Ewing and Carmelo Anthony — to Brunson and Hart in September at a meet-and-greet for the duo’s Roommates Block Party.
McAllister said the idea for the All-Star artwork came last season when the Knicks finished 51-31, but lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals — a round short of the NBA Finals.
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart were stunned to see the jaw-dropping ink. Courtesy of Matt McAllister
“After that run we had last year, I was like, ‘Wow, this is really monumental. Let me think of a monument that I can honor everybody with.'”
The tat cost $9,000 and took 36 hours over six sessions to make. MSG was there to capture it for a commercial.
“I might only see this once in my lifetime again. I have no regrets,” he said.
Knicks superfans Nolan Parr, Ray Rosado and Mirko Falzone all opted for giant leg tattoos of the team’s captain. Nolan Parr, Ray Rosado, Mirko Falzone
Other Knicks superfans have opted for leg tattoos of the “King of New York.”
Ray Rosado, a native of Yonkers, got a $1,350 leg tattoo of Brunson two days after the Knicks lost the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, “because I had a feeling they would go to the finals this year,” he said.
His tattoo artist warned him against the very permanent decision.
“He said, ‘You know, if you get it and they don’t go to the finals, it’s going to still be on your body,'” Rosado recalled.
Rosado chose the image of Brunson praying during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last year, which he got inked by his tattoo artist, Chico. Courtesy of Ray Rosado
Rosado, 33, a teacher at New Rochelle High School — whose students alerted him when his tattoo went viral — explained why he chose the photo of Captain Clutch praying during Game 1 of last year’s conference finals.
“I’m not really religious myself, but I felt that was the moment to symbolize that great things are coming your way. You just have to wait for that moment. And that’s all that Brunson has been talking about this year, that the job’s not finished yet,” he said.
Parr got Brunson’s signature move inked by tattoo artist Josh Glasser last month. Courtesy of Nolan Parr
Nolan Parr of Queens got inked on May 23, two days before the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals to make it to the final round.
The native of Red Hook in Dutchess County, NY — who went with a $800 tattoo of the three-time NBA All-Star doing his signature thumb-and-index finger move — has been a fan since he’s “been in diapers.”
“Because my father was a diehard Knicks fan from back in the day. So it’s always the classic, ‘Who’s better Clyde or Jalen,’ between me and him,” Parr, 32, said.
Falzone’s leg tattoo took artist Mirko Ponti 20 hours more than two days to complete. Courtesy of Mirko Falzone
Mirko Falzone of Bergamo, Italy, has never even been to a Knicks game, but in October, decided to get a huge tattoo of Brunson’s face on his leg, along with a smaller full-body image of the MVP on the court in his No. 11 jersey.
Falzone, 32, was always a fan of the NBA, but wasn’t watching regularly until Brunson joined the roster in 2022, and since Italy is ahead of New York by six hours, he’s been waking up at 2 a.m. to catch him playing.
“When Jalen Brunson arrived to New York, my passion came back,” he said. “And the desire to stay awake during the night here in Italy to watch the games.”
But in Italy, most have no clue who’s on his leg.
“Everyone here only knows LeBron James, Wembanyama,” he said, laughing. “Someone asked if it was Travis Scott.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 22: (L-R) Celebrities Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Spike Lee react toward Donte DiVincenzo #0 of the New York Knicks during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2024 in New York City. The Knicks won 104-101. 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 Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I used to live in New York, Brooklyn to be exact. I remember how expensive it was compared to San Antonio, where I grew up and currently live. Over a decade ago, I paid rent on an 800 square foot apartment that to this day is more expensive than the mortgage on my house.
New York is a hub of culture — concerts, theater, symphonies, operas — but it will cost you.
Right now, there is no hotter ticket available than the NBA Finals. At last search, ticket prices continue to rise.
NBA Finals ticket prices are out of control 😵💫 – @JoeRaineri
Real Knicks fans are getting priced out. Game 3 tickets are around $8.2K for nosebleeds, Game 4 starts at $8.5K, and Game 6 tops $9K. That's more expensive than Super Bowl and World Cup tickets. Insane… pic.twitter.com/1mSHomqJKA
Game 3’s “get in” price is $8,200 for a nosebleed seat. That’s a $700 rise since Thursday alone. Game 4 starts at $8,500 and entry to a possible Game 6 will run you $9,000. That’s more than a Super Bowl ticket or even a seat at the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
On Thursday, the NBA held media day for both the Spurs and Knicks. Jalen Brunson got this question:
“I know you’re focused on tomorrow, but you know New York is going crazy for everything that you guys do. Ticket prices have been ridiculous. Last night after you guys won, they went crazy higher. There was a report that in the last row of the Garden, there are seats on sale for $7,500. What show would you pay that amount of money to go see?”
Brunson took a minute. His beathe was audible as he considered the premise.
“That’s a good question. A live Michael Jackson performance. That’s a good one. That’s a good one.”
Brunson smirked as he responded, revealing he was really taken aback by the question. His answer also reveals he some respectable old school tastes. Michael Jackson was one one of the greatest and most popular music artists, he was an amazing performer. To this day, Thriller remains the best selling album of all time.
For perspective, a ticket to see Michael Jackson in 1984 cost roughly $30, considered high at the time. In 1988, a ticket to see his Bad world tour at London’s Wembley Stadium was £17.50, or roughly $65 in American dollars today. $7,500 in the 80s should have yielded the concert, backstage passes, catered meal, limo to and from, private jet to the city of your choice, and singing Paul McCartney part on “The Girl Is Mine.”
As the series heads to The Big Apple, contemplate the question for yourself- is there a ticket worth $7,500 of your hard earned money?
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I live in Harlem, and there’s a middle-aged man named Michael who grew up in Queens and holds court on a bench along the fringes of Morningside Park, where he chats with neighbors who stroll by.
I met Michael the same way I met Jonah, who’s turning 30 and grew up upstate, near Woodstock — through our dogs.
Jonah is a die-hard Knicks fan who endured Frank Ntilikina and Noah Vonleh starting lineups in the late 2010s. When I cover playoff games at Madison Square Garden, I make sure to stash the rally towels and T-shirts staffers leave draped over each seat because I give them to Jonah. His texts, these days, are downright giddy.
These New York Knicks hold this ineffable quality of linking friends and strangers, of galvanizing people from disparate religions, races, economic classes and from all over the political spectrum. There are few things these days that can do that.
And as the team has seized a commanding 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs, winning both games on the road, the Knicks are not only poised to end a 53-year title drought, they can do it in a sweep, at home in the mecca of basketball.
The energy here feels feral. You cannot walk more than a few blocks without seeing royal blue and orange somewhere on someone’s body. The other day, again walking my dog, I was listening to music (I’ve been big on “A Love Supreme” these days) but overheard the unmistakable word “Anunoby” from the mouth of a passerby, who was chatting with someone else.
Flags hang outside the windows of fifth-floor walkups. Local bars are running specials. You walk outside and hear Knicks in four.
The New York Knicks are flying home with a 2-0 lead.
“It has been an honor to be part of this team, be part of this organization that’s bringing the word, ‘hope’ back to the city,” Karl-Anthony Towns said Monday, June 1. “To have the Knicks be where we’re at right now and be so respected in the city — I’ve talked about it on the Jadakiss and Fat Joe podcast — the greatest currency you could earn in New York City is not money, but it’s respect. And to have the respect of the fans and the city, we’re rich beyond belief.”
The MTA, or Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is getting in on it.
The MTA, actually, is another thing that unites New Yorkers. It can be late, unreliable and dirty, though it does shuttle us everywhere.
Anyway, the MTA painted the Penn Station subway stop entrance at 34th and 8th — which is normally forest green — royal blue and orange. Madison Square Garden, for those not familiar, is located directly above the train station. Indelible Knicks superfan Fat Joe, who has been at literally every game I’ve covered, was the first-ever special guest conductor recently on the 1 train.
“It’s like, you’re torn as a New Yorker and as the mayor,” he said recently on Sidetalk. “As a New Yorker, you’re like ‘I cannot wait for this.’ As the mayor, absolute chaos.”
The Knicks are also on an absolute heater. They’ve won 13 consecutive playoff games, second-most in NBA history. Should New York close it out in four and complete the sweep, the Knicks will tie the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors for the longest winning streak (15) in a single postseason.
As an NBA reporter, I’m thrilled to head into Madison Square Garden Monday, June 8 for Game 3. From the celebrities, to the organ, to friendly ushers with thick accents, there is no place better to take in a high-stakes game.
Yet, somehow, once this is all done, I’m just as hyped to grab beers with my friends Michael, Jonah and Kevin (Suns fan; also met through our dogs) to relive it all once more.
