Category: Basketball

Where: Frost Bank Center (San Antonio, TX)

When: Friday, June 5 at 8:30 PM EST

How to watch: ABC

Betting Line: SA -6.5 (subject to change), O/U 214.5 (subject to change) via FanDuel

The NBA community awaits a decision on whether LeBron James plans to return for a 24th season in the league.

The 41-year-old star had stated on his “Mind the Game” podcast that he would contemplate a decision, but nothing would come before he spent time with family over Memorial Day weekend.

“Obviously, I understand that I’m a free agent and I can control my own destiny ... but like, I haven’t even really got to that point,” James said in mid-May. “I haven’t even taken my family vacation yet. … That’s kind of the thing at the forefront of my mind.”

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, but things have remained fairly quiet publicly. A decision from James will be crucial to how the Lakers (and other teams) then approach free agency.

Charles Barkley was asked about James’ future when appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday, June 5.

“LeBron only has one play and that’s to go back to Cleveland,” Barkley said. “That’s his only smart and logical choice.”

Barkley believes that James should’ve never left Cleveland after the 2017-18 season.

“They’ll probably be the favorites in the East or in that conversation,” Barkley said. “... It doesn’t do him any good to stay in L.A. Because No. 1, they aren’t going to be competitive in the West, and also it's time for the Lakers to turn the team over to (Luka Doncic).”

The Lakers were swept 4-0 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. James showed a glimpse of his younger self during the postseason, but it wasn’t going to be enough without Doncic.

“They are not going to be competitive,” Barkley said. “... If (James) stays in L.A., he is doing it for off-the-court reasons.

“If he goes to any other teams, it would just be like him trying to win championships to catch Michael Jordan. It wouldn’t make sense. … He can’t catch Michael Jordan as a mercenary in my opinion.”

James has won four NBA championships during his career, bringing at least one to every team he's played for (Miami in 2012 and 2013; Cleveland in 2016; Los Angeles in 2020).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charles Barkley thinks LeBron James should return to Cleveland

It is still surreal to see Finals in the headline of these articles.

Tonight, the Knicks face the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center in Game Two of the NBA Finals. Our heroes lead the series after rallying from 14 down to win on Wednesday. Perhaps you heard? Now they can bring a 2-0 lead back to Madison Square Garden. Jalen Brunson is expected to play after a knee/ankle scare. The Spurs are favored at home, with oddsmakers predicting Victor Wembanyama to bounce back from a meh Game One performance.

Tip-off is 8:30 pm EST on ABC. This is your game thread. This is Pounding the Rock. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Enjoy yourselves while treating each other with respect. And go Knicks!

Four former Alabama Statemen’s basketball players have been ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA for accepting payments from gamblers to fix the outcome of a game, college sports’ governing body announced on Friday, June 5.

According to the NCAA, the four athletes — Amarr Knox, Shawn Fulcher, Corey Hines and Tony Madlock — accepted and were paid a total of $2,000 (or $500 per player) from two bettors to partake in game manipulation in the Hornets’ Dec. 5, 2024 matchup against Southern Miss. Alabama State lost, 81-64, in a game in which they were a six-point underdog.

Knox, Hines and Matlock were the Hornets’ top three scorers that season, with each player averaging at least 12.5 points per game.

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That squad ultimately advanced to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where it earned the first March Madness victory in program history in a 70-68 win against Saint Francis in a play-in game. Knox scored the winning basket in that game with a layup with one second remaining.

None of the four former Alabama State athletes played during the 2025-26 season.

The NCAA said its enforcement staff had been notified by Temple in July 2025 that Hines, who had transferred there from Alabama State after the 2024-25 season, was contacted by the FBI and shown text messages concerning a sports integrity issue from his time with the Hornets.

The two bettors were indicted in January by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on wire fraud and bribery charges related to sports contests. Knox told NCAA investigators that Fulcher had put other teammates in a group chat in December 2024 with one of the bettors, who offered them money to throw the game against Southern Miss the next night.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: NCAA bans four former Alabama State basketball players for point shaving

Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site that visit other fan sites.

The Knicks are on a historic run in the playoffs, having won 12 in a row culminating in a Finals Game 1 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on the road, where they outscored the home team 29-19 in the fourth quarter and outscored the Silver and Black 11-0 in the last 1:57. Both teams shot poorly for the game, but the Knicks took control late. A critical hustle play by Brunson to tap the ball to Bridges started the final Knicks push, and the Spurs couldn’t answer, missing 3 shots and turning the ball over twice in the final two minutes.

Even though the Knicks didn’t have the best shooting night, they excelled in a lot of other areas. Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t commit his usual complement of head-scratcher fouls, and was the best version of himself as he hustled to every loose ball and made the right pass every time he was double teamed. Anunoby made key plays in the fourth quarter, and Josh Hart hustled his ass off. The Spurs are going to have to play better tonight and not have the extended lapses of Game 1 to even up the series tonight. The alternative to that is bad.

In this year’s playoffs, the Spur have been resilient, following up a close loss to the Timberwolves in Game 1 in the series with a 133-95 blowout in Game 2. San Antonio also lost their first home game in the Thunder series, and responded by holding the Thunder to a season-low 82 point output in Game 4. Tonight’s game is an almost must-win scenario, because if the Knicks return home with a 2-0 series lead, the Madison Square Garden fans will be feeling entitled to see the the Orange and Blue pull off their third sweep in a row. No team has won the NBA Finals after losing Game 1 and Game 2 at home¹, although it has happened a few times in the earlier rounds. The Spurs have to avoid that situation with a win tonight.

Both Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox had below average games on Wednesday, and the Spurs have to find ways to open up their games without forcing the ball to them. Julian Champagnie was great scoring in the first half of the opening game, and contributed by rebounding and defending in the second half. Dylan Harper was the best player for the Spurs on Wednesday night, but he wasn’t on the court during crunch time, which could change in tonight’s game, Mitch willing. GO SPURS GO!!

1. The road team losing the first two games and coming back to win the series isn’t unprecedented, most recently the Bucks did it in the 2020-2021 season, defeating the Suns. Bill Walton and the Blazers also did in their 76-77 championship season.

Game Prediction:

Jeremy Sochan gets his first minutes in the NBA Finals and has two shots blocked by his former teammates.

San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks, NBA Finals, Game 2
June 5, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Streaming: ESPN
TV: ABC
Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.

NBA investigator interviews have begun for Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard and his uncle and business adviser, Dennis Robertson, per ESPN.

Leonard, Robertson, and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer are under investigation after a series of podcasts from the show “Pablo Torre Finds Out” revealed Ballmer’s company, Aspiration, was accused of receiving a $50 million investment from his personal LLC in September, 2021.

Shortly after the investment was made, Leonard and Aspiration agreed to an endorsement deal of $28 million. Torre recently revealed on Friday that in March of 2023, Ballmer invested another $10 million, which suggests these investments have been recurring.

According to the article by ESPN, the interview process has been lengthy. Ballmer and other Clippers executives have also sat in for interviews by the NBA’s private investigation team.

Before game 1 of the NBA Finals, this past Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the investigation was far along and that he thinks they’re getting close to putting an end to it.

“The investigation is being conducted by a law firm independent of the NBA,” Silver said before Game 1. “I mean, yes, ultimately we are paying their bills, but they are doing the work independent of the league office. My instruction to them is we can’t be investigating forever, and at some point, we have to wrap it up, but at the same time, I think the most important thing is we get it right.”

Silver has not given a timeline for when the investigation will be finished, but did say the Clippers need “to understand what situation they are going to be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams.”

The federal prosecutor who launched the DOJ’s investigation into Aspiration renders his verdict on the Kawhi Leonard scandal:

“It’s very hard to imagine a scenario where rational actors would take these routes, but for the sake of this outcome. And that would be salary-cap… pic.twitter.com/KTWhsBTawZ

— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) June 5, 2026

Since the allegations were made public, Ballmer and the Clippers have denied them and have remained adamant that there is no evidence supporting them.

In the article, ESPN says they have spoken to people in and close to the NBA about potential outcomes from the investigation, and that the NBA could receive some pushback from the National Basketball Players Association or from the other 29 owners.

Today is Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The New York Knicks are at the San Antonio Spurs again. Watch at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC or WJLA-TV in the DMV.

The Knicks lead the series 1-0, so we’ll see what happens tonight!

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If the opening night of the NBA Finals is any indication of what we’ve got in store for Game 2 and beyond, my good people, we’re headed for basketball Nirvana.

The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are back at it on Friday night, and I’ve got a same-game parlay anchored in the back-and-forth battle we all want in the finals.

Here are my best NBA picks and Knicks vs. Spurs SGP predictions on June 5.

Our best Knicks vs Spurs SGP for Game 2

SGP leg #1: Spurs moneyline

The young San Antonio Spurs couldn’t put away the New York Knicks in Game 1, and the veteran side made adjustments and refused to be rattled on the big stage. Game 2 could also come down to the wire, which has me keeping it simple and sticking with San Antonio to win outright. 

The Spurs are great off a loss, and with those nerves settled, I expect an efficient offensive effort – as we saw in the first half of the opener. The Spurs evened this championship series before a swing to the Big Apple.

SGP leg #2: Victor Wembanyama Over 11.5 rebounds

Victor Wembanyama still grabbed 12 rebounds on 22 rebounding chances but was pulled away from the rim to defend outside shooters on Wednesday. That left San Antonio susceptible to the crashing Knicks, who snatched 10 offensive rebounds. Wemby stays closer to home in Game 2 in order to kick-start the transition attack off rebounds, and his projections call for as many as 15+ boards Friday.

SGP leg #3: Dylan Harper Over 11.5 points

Dylan Harper thrived in the pace of the first half of Game 1, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the opening two frames. But once New York slowed that transition attack, Harper had a tough time finding his flow. De’Aaron Fox’s struggles could also see Mitch Johnson giving his rookie more floor time in the final minutes. Harper’s models call for as many as 13 points in Game 2.

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See our full Knicks vs Spurs Game 2 preview

Get Jason Logan's full breakdown of this game, including his best bet, plus the latest NBA odds, injuries, and betting trends, in his Knicks vs. Spurs predictions for Game 2.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The star power of Victor Wembanyama and Jalen Brunson helped this year's NBA Finals get off to a huge start in terms of viewership, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the last finals matchup between LeBron James and Stephen Curry eight years ago.

Game 1 of the finals matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks averaged nearly 17 million viewers on Wednesday night, up 90% when compared to last season's finals Game 1. It was the most-watched Game 1 since 2018, the most recent time James — then of Cleveland — and Golden State's Curry faced off in the title round.

Wednesday's game had a peak audience of 19.63 million viewers around 11 p.m. EDT, which would have been in the fourth quarter of New York's 105-95 victory.

It was the most-watched finals Game 1 ever on ABC and the most-watched finals contest since Game 6 of the 2019 title series between Toronto and Golden State.

The viewership numbers for Game 1 on Wednesday were higher than the opening game of 15 of the past 16 World Series, including the 2024 series opener between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers — a matchup pitting the country's top two media markets. That game averaged 15.2 million viewers.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Editor's Note:Click here for live coverage and all the latest news from Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.

The women are expected to arrive for Game 2 of the NBA Finals as they arrived for Game 1, and for many games before that.

They’ll be wearing their traditional nun’s habits and San Antonio Spurs jerseys. They’ll also be rooting (and praying) for the home team when the Spurs take on the New York Knicks at the Frost Bank Center on Friday, June 5.

It makes the nuns almost as easy to spot as Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs’ 7-foot-4 phenom. And like Wemby and the rest of the Spurs, the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco in San Antonio have become celebrities in their own right.

Perhaps even rivaling the celebrity of Sister Jean, the late basketball-loving chaplain at Loyola-Chicago.

The Sisters adore the Spurs, and the affection appears to be mutual.

During Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, Wembanyama did not head out of the tunnel without taking time to shake each of the nuns’ hands, according to The Athletic.

"In a way, he was saying, 'Thank you,'" Sister Bernadette Mota told The Athletic. "He didn’t say 'Thank you' out loud, but he grabbed our hands. … You could see the focus in his eyes, and also his sense of gratitude for the prayers that we were giving the team.

"Without saying a word, he said a lot."

No bandwagon jumpers

The nuns started cheering on the Spurs long before Wembanyama arrived in 2023 and has now led the team to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.

Former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich helped forge the relationship between the team and the nuns more than 20 years ago, according to Sister Mota.

"We had some sisters who were really diehard Spurs fans throughout the years, and they’re the ones that made that initial connection with the Spurs, and they would write to Coach Popovich and he would actually write back," Mota told EWTN Catholic Television. "And him and his wife came to visit the Sisters a few times. “So much of that love and that connection with the Spurs community and their players, our sisters would watch the games and over the years… it’s just kept up since then.

"But a few years back it had kind of died down a little bit. And then COVID happened and we kind of lost that connection. But just this past year and more recently these past weeks, it really has built up in a really strong way. And so we’re back praying with the Spurs."

These Sisters got game

The nuns’ love for basketball transcends cheering for the Spurs. They play, too.

Video captured three of the Sisters in a parking lot, dribbling and taking aim at a basket with a torn net. And one of the nuns drained a long shot.

"Wooooo!" she exclaimed.

The Sisters cheer with equal fervor for the Spurs, but the biggest mission is not to help the team win their first NBA title since 2014.

While a handful of nuns attend home games, they've also held at least one playoff watch party for the children who attend St. John Bosco School in San Antonio and the children's parents. The Sisters also report that attention they've received from attending games has led to significant donations that will be used for the children, who apparently share the nuns' love of the Spurs.

An excerpt of a story on the Salesian Sisters website reads, "By meeting young people where they are and sharing in the joys that matter to them, the Sisters bring faith, encouragement, and hope into everyday life."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spurs nuns, explained: How faith, fandom helped fuel NBA Finals run

Steph Curry sends heartwarming message, Warriors game invitation to young fan originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

12-year old Wyatt Neus is one of Steph Curry’s biggest fans. As it turns out, Curry is a big fan of Neus, as well.

Neus, who has Down syndrome, recently went viral for his performance in a student-teacher basketball game in Plymouth, Minnesota, draining a long “Curry range” shot while wearing the famous No. 30 Warriors jersey. Neus also performed Curry’s trademark “night, night” celebration as a full gymnasium cheered him on.

The video and the story caught the attention of Warriors vice president of communications Raymond Ridder, who passed them on to Curry.

A short time later, Curry responded with his own video addressed to Wyatt, who watched with his parents Eric and Brooke by his side.

Minnesota student Wyatt Neus, who has Down syndrome, went viral after sinking a deep "Curry range" shot at school. The moment reached Stephen Curry, who surprised Wyatt with a personal video message and an invite to a Golden State Warriors game.

For the full story click the… pic.twitter.com/jgNDHmQV8A

— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) June 4, 2026

Sent this video to Steph and had a return video from him for Wyatt 10 minutes later….. https://t.co/T2B99rCvRs

— Raymond Ridder (@DoubleR_PR) June 5, 2026

“Hey Wyatt,” Curry began. “I just want to say that was really, really special and inspiring what you did, showing out in front of your whole school. Unbelievable shot, unbelievable celebration, and even better jersey. Great job, Wyatt. See you soon.”

Wyatt, who says he has rooted for Curry since “[he] was a baby,” will see Curry in person next season, as the Warriors guard extended an invite to attend a Warriors-Timberwolves game in Minnesota.

“It’s just shocking,” Brooke Neus said of Curry’s gesture. “For Steph to take the time out of his day and to look at that is just, I never thought it would become anything like this. We thought it was a cool video that, you know, just like that. Hard to believe that we could maybe lighten other people’s hearts, but this has taken a new life of its own, and we’re so lucky.”

Now when the Warriors take the court at Target Center next season, there will be at least two people who can shoot from “Curry range” in the building.

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Don’t ask Victor Wembanyama to do any soda ads.

Before he even made it to the NBA, when he was earning just $150,000 playing in France, the Spurs star and Frenchman rejected lucrative soda endorsements worth millions.

“We’re not gonna mix his image with sodas like Coca-Cola,” his agent Jérémy Medjana told The Athletic. “They all want him, but Victor will never sell soda. Because he doesn’t want to kill the kids.”

The 22-year-old phenom is reportedly so committed to his stance of promoting positive health that he doesn’t begin press conferences until Gatorade bottles are removed. Meanwhile, he endorses Barcode, a plant-based performance drink with no added sugar.

Wembanyama currently has deals with Nike, Louis Vuitton, 2K Sports, Fanatics, Authentic and H-E-B and understands more deals will flow in if he wins it all, but brand deals aren’t his main focus now.

“I think what Victor understands is not to be distracted by all of the fanfare around his career,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told The Athletic. “Because he will be defined by championships, not by commercial opportunities or the platform he has to speak out on issues he cares about.”

The first overall pick by the Spurs in 2023, Wembanyama has taken the league by storm since his arrival.

After averaging 21.4 points per game as a rookie in 2023-24, Wembanyama increased that number to 24.3 last season and 25 this year. He also finished third in MVP voting this season, behind just Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.

Wembanyama also took home Western Conference Finals MVP honors after beating the Thunder in seven games to send the Spurs to their first NBA Finals since 2014.

The center went just 6-of-21 in the Spurs 105-95 loss to the Knicks in Game 1 of the Finals Wednesday, but can rebound Friday night.

Game 2 is set for 8:30 Eastern.

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