The Dallas Mavericks are narrowing down their search for the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft.

There are only a handful of prospects the Mavericks can choose from, especially with eight teams selecting ahead of them. One player who has been linked to the Mavericks consistently throughout the pre-draft process is Arizona guard Brayden Burries, who was named a top fit for the Mavericks by Bleacher Report analyst Zach Buckley.

“After the rookie season Cooper Flagg just authored, prospects should be lining up at the chance to be one of his long-term running mates,” Buckley wrote. “The Mavs could give Burries that opportunity, but they could also provide the playmaking and scoring support he’ll need right away with Kyrie Irving still on the roster and seemingly in the plans.“

Burries could be the shooting guard of the future for the Mavs, who need someone alongside Irving that can shoot. Putting as many high-level shooters around Flagg should be the goal for the future, and Burries could be the start of that complementary group around their star player.

For every player like Burries, there is someone like Houston guard Kingston Flemings, who might not be exactly what the Mavs need going into the draft.

“A backcourt featuring Flemings and Kyrie Irving would be tiny and exploitable on defense, especially against bigger guard groups,” Buckley wrote.

“There’s also a worry about whether Flemings or Cooper Flagg could summon enough three-point volume for the other to have the breathing room they need. Flemings’ burst only really works in a properly spaced offense, and Dallas was dreadful from three last season (29th in makes, 26th in percentage).”

The Mavericks need to have Irving in mind when building their roster for next season, but he shouldn’t be the priority. That being said, the Mavs aren’t really in position to put a player like Flemings on the roster without adding other pieces to the mix.

If they believe Flemings can be their point guard of the future, they should take him, but it should come with a lot of patience.

Mavs Moneyball community, who are your favorite prospects with the No. 9 overall pick? And who do you want the Mavs to avoid? Let us know in the comments section below.

The 2026 NBA Finals has received some of the highest viewership in recent NBA history. These Finals are a global event, and as the Spurs continue to connect with their growing international fanbase in their mission to grow the game of basketball throughout the world, they have added watch parties in international markets.

Already, viewership is up 123% from last year boasting 23.2 M viewers. Wednesday night’s matchup at Madison Square Garden was the most watched NBA Finals Game 4 was the most watched since 1998.

Having New York has increased the interest compared to 2025’s small market matchup. And the addition of Victor Wembanyama has added viewers in France. So it makes sense that there will be a Spurs watch party there.

Per a Spurs press release:

“The San Antonio Spurs announced the organization will host free watch parties across multiple international markets for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday, June 13 as the team takes on the New York Knicks. The organization will activate free, comprehensive fan experiences for Spurs supporters in Paris, France, and Mexico City, Mexico to come together and root on the Silver and Black at local restaurants and bars in their city.”
 
Each watch party will feature giveaways, free refreshments and a chance to win Spurs Finals gear.

“Whether our fans are gathering in France, China, Mexico, Texas or around the world, we’re eager to welcome them into our Spurs family,” said RC Buford. “These watch parties create shared experiences that bring our global fanbase closer together and reflect the values of connection, community and belonging that have always defined our organization.”

Sunday, June 14 at 2:30 a.m. CET
Belushi’s at Paris Canal
159 Rue de Crimée, 75019 Paris, France

Saturday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m. CST
Pinche Gringo BBQ Warehouse
Calle Lago Iseo 296, Cuidad de
Mexico, Mexico

The organization will also support the NBA’s official watch party at NBA HoopPark, K11 Mall in Shenzhen, China.

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The Day has arrived, folks.

It’s win-and-chip for the Knicks in Texas.

Here’s the latest from San Antonio, half a day from the most-anticipated tip-off in Knicks history.

Mike Brown

On the need for staying focused with the title one win away:

“The biggest thing is everybody has to stay present. You have to be present. You can’t think about the outcome. It’s about the process, the next play, the next play, the next play. Sometimes you can think about the process, and it not work out. But when you’re playing against other great teams especially, that’s how you have to take it because anybody’s mind can start wandering when you think about the outcome.”

On the Knicks’ maturity keeping heads level:

“Their level of maturity. Obviously, we have some veteran guys on the team. But you can be a veteran and still have a little bit of immaturity about you, as we all know. From top to bottom, this group is pretty mature. That rubs off on the rest of the group. It makes my job easier. We’ve been preaching all year that it’s about the next possession, the next possession, the next possession. We understand any time you try to play a closeout game, the level of desperation for your opponents increases, the level of desperation for the fans of your opponents is increased. You have to bring your best effort.”

On avoiding complacency after the historic Game 4 win:

“It is hard. We’re all human. It was hard even in the series that we swept. You win two, three, four, five games in a row, there’s a tendency to relax a little bit. That’s just in life. In your job, you have success for 10 months straight, maybe you feel like, I got this, I know what I’m doing. You’re not as sharp then because everybody’s been patting you on your back and telling you how great you are. Trying to manufacture things to help guys lock in, trying to talk to guys individually so they can continue to talk to their teammates to lock in, all that stuff is huge. Having Pat’s presence around, Pat Ewing, so he can talk to guys to help them lock in from a different vantage point, is all huge, especially during this time and coming off a win like we did last time.”

On the Knicks’ closeout-game mentality:

“We’ve been preaching all year: It’s about the next possession, the next possession, the next possession. We understand anytime you try to play a closeout game, the level of desperation for your opponents increases. The level of desperation for the fans of your opponents is increased. You have to bring your best effort, because even if you bring your best effort, it may not happen, especially on the road. That’s the only way you have a chance for it to happen.”

On preventing a Game 4 hangover:

“I can’t 100% say, ‘This is what I’m going to do to make them not have the hangover from the win two nights ago.’ The biggest thing is, continuing to preach 0-0. Continuing to preach, ‘Stay present.’ Continuing to preach, ‘Next possession, next possession, next possession,’ and hope the experiences they’ve gone through as a group already, and their maturity — as well as our standards, which they’ve really hung onto all year — will help us lock into this game. It’s going to be hard. San Antonio’s a great team. They’re desperate. I still think they believe. It’s going to be hard for us. But it’s natural for that to creep in a little bit. You just hope that it doesn’t creep in too long throughout the course of the game.”

On Jalen Brunson still not getting enough recognition:

“He definitely has not — or did not — get the attention that he deserved during the regular season. I think he’s a top-three MVP candidate. And when it comes down to those things, his name wasn’t mentioned much.”

On what he learned the most from Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich:

“I’ve been fortunate, blessed, lucky to be a part of some good coaching staffs and be with some great coaches, Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, they were guys that went deep into their bench. You keep guys engaged by doing that, and you do develop not just a bench but the team, as well, because guys get used to playing with other guys. I’ve seen it work in the past, and that’s kind of what I thought I wanted to do here.”

On lessons learned from Gregg Popovich:

“That’s a great question. I mean, I’d have to think about it. But, you know, you draw a lot from the people that you’ve worked with in the past—people that you’ve experienced things with. For me, working for Pop, I drew a lot. I feel like I drew a lot from a lot of the guys I’ve worked with, but he always used to say: during the regular season, that’s the time to get up, go crazy on the sidelines and all that stuff, because it’s just one game at a time—you practice and you move on to the next game.”

Jalen Brunson

On the Knicks’ mindset entering Game 5 with a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals:

“Zero-zero.”

On turning the page after Game 4:

“Whenever you win or lose a game, that night, you’re going to think about it, think about the things you’ve done well or what you did wrong, [but] I’ve always told myself when you wake up the next day, it’s time to turn the page. Yes, we won [Game 4], but we still have a lot of work to do. We have a lot to learn. We didn’t play our best basketball. We still have a lot to revisit to make sure that we don’t really put ourselves in that position again. But honestly, we still have to continue to have the belief that we’ve had. It’s really important from that aspect.”

On appreciating the opportunity ahead:

“I think I’ve been able to understand what a unique opportunity this is. When you’re doing the things that help you prepare for a game, prepare for moments, put yourself in routines that you’ve done your whole career, your whole life, when it comes game time, you’re ready to go because you put yourself, you put your mind in a position to be ready.”

On Karl-Anthony Towns’ career and teamming up with him:

“The narrative was placed on him by the outside world. You never really know a person until you meet them face to face, and you see what they say and what their actions are. And being the teammate that he is and seeing his sacrifices and seeing what he’s done his entire career puts him in a position to become a hall of famer. And honestly, I wouldn’t trade that for the world. And the things that he’s done have been extraordinary, and I’m not really sure how he’s going to respond to me saying all these nice things about him, but he’s one hell of a basketball player, but he’s honestly a better teammate.”

On the Knicks’ approach to Game 5:

“Obviously, when we practice, we have film, we talk about situations, what we have to do. You’re always preparing worst-possible-case scenario. If it happens, we have to prepare for this. Our mindset and focus is on one possession at a time, one play at a time, one quarter at a time. You’re thinking about the now, how you can be better the next possession, how can you turn the page, positive or negative. Regardless of what’s going on, our mindset and approach has to stay the same. I think we’ve done a very good job of that. It’s something that has grown over the season. It’s really important, especially obviously now.”

On not fearing failure:

“I think the one thing that stays constant is I’ve always told myself, and always been taught by my parents, ‘Never be afraid to fail.’ You put yourself in those positions in the summertime when you’re envisioning what’s going on the court, when you’re by yourself on the court. When those opportunities come about, you’re not afraid of the moment because you worked hard enough to where if you do fail, you’re going to learn anyway. You put the confidence you have in everything you do when the lights aren’t on, when no one’s watching.”

Josh Hart

On avoiding another slow start:

“They come out with a lot of energy. They’ve been doing it all playoffs, and we’ve been very up and down with that a lot this year. We have to make sure we come in focus with a great attention to detail, and taking things a possession at a time. If we do that, and we play our style of basketball, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position to be successful. But we can’t keep getting into a hole and trying to dig ourselves out of a hole. We were fortunate to do that last game — all three of our wins. We’ve got to do a better job of starting games off.”

On representing New York:

“This city is built on toughness, grit, blue-collar people, and I feel like I’m the same person. They can look in the mirror and they can see myself, just because that’s how I look at myself and I just happen to hoop.”

On the Knicks’ belief in themselves:

“I just think we have a belief in ourselves and a belief in our team as a collection. We all had adverse situations independently in our careers and we made it through. And I think if we have that mentality individually and as a team, nothing else matters.”

On preparing for Game 5:

“We know they come out with a lot of energy. They’ve been doing it all playoffs. We’ve been very up and down with that a lot this year. So we’ve got to make sure we come in focused with a great attention to detail and taking things a possession at a time. We know if we do that and we play our style of basketball, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position to be successful. But we can’t keep getting into a hole and trying to dig ourselves out of a hole. We were fortunate to do that last game — actually, all three games, all three of our wins — but we’ve got to do a better job of starting games off.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the challenge of playing closeout games:

“We’ve got to go in there with the understanding of no comfortability, just really be desperate, execute at a high level. Game-plan discipline has to be at a high level. I’ve said this multiple times: The hardest game to win is the one that ends someone’s season. So we’ve got to be our best version tomorrow.”

On the approach to Game 5:

“We spoke about it multiple times. We’ve got to approach every game like it’s 0-0. We’ve got to have that kind of desperation that it is to win Game 1 of a playoff series. We’ve got to go in there with the understanding of no comfortability, just really be desperate, execute at a high level. Gameplan discipline has to be at a high level.”

On resetting after Game 4:

“Obviously that game is a hardwood classic, something that the NBA has never seen before. But I’ve also seen things, being in that situation, where the joy is at an all-time high and it could be at an all-time low pretty quick. So we understand the magnitude of locking back in, getting back to work. Of course that night, we all enjoyed the shell-shock of what happened, and obviously we were the ones that were part of it. But we all understood the next morning that we had to get back to work, and we had to lock back in, and get ready to find a way to win another one.”

On the Game 4 comeback and concerns going forward:

“Also, in that moment of jubilation [after Game 4], that moment of absolute joy, we have to talk about the elephant in the room — we just didn’t play well at all, and we put ourselves in that deficit. So while there is joy, there is also frustration that we even allowed ourselves to be in that kind of position, especially as much as the deficit was.”

On OG Anunoby’s Game 4 winner meaning within the New York sports fabric:

“You can’t spell God without OG. I tried to explain it to him, but you know OG barely gives you any reaction. So I don’t know if he’s understanding it or not. Like you said, it’s a great moment. It’s one of the best sports moments in New York history. But we’ve got to solidify it with one more win.”

Mikal Bridges

On the team’s focus entering Game 5:

“I think it’s pretty easy for us. I think that’s probably the most I can say. I think it’s pretty easy for us. As a player, we know our job’s not finished. Yeah, we’re ready.”

Mitchell Robinson

On the Knicks’ mindset entering Game 5:

“We’re still desperate. It ain’t over. Until it’s said and done, that’s got to be our mindset going into everything.”

On the Game 4 win:

“Getting that win the other night was truly amazing.”

Landry Shamet

On balancing the Game 4 celebration with staying focused for Game 5:

“You can enjoy it that night, that evening, obviously — soaking it up, with the magnitude of what happened. But quickly turning around and understand there’s more to be done. It’s a tough balance, but one that’s necessary, and I think our whole group’s done that.”

Jose Alvarado

On moving on from Game 4:

“It’s easy. We’re coming in and trying to win this game. This one is the most important game. It’s something — you know, we enjoyed it, it was a crazy game, and we love how we got the win. But at the end of the day, we gotta leave that behind us and come out here and worry about tomorrow.”

On Mike Brown’s trust in the bench:

“This bench is deep and he trusts everybody. Some days it’s my day, some days it’s somebody else’s day. … These are the times and moments you wait for.”

Miles McBride

On avoiding a Game 4 hangover:

“That’s the key. Can’t have a hangover of winning a game like that. Obviously it’s special, but we don’t want to repeat it. We want to go out there and take care of business.”

On staying confident amid his shooting slump:

“I’m always going to stay confident, knowing I can impact the game in a lot of different ways. I’m going to make shots. I’m never worried about that. … Anybody is capable of it, 1 through 15 on this team. We’re pushing each other to be better. That’s how our team has been. We’re motivators. We want to uplift everybody. I think having a team like that, you can do a lot of great things.”

OG Anunoby

On his Game 4 game-winner:

“It’s really cool. Just everyone has been telling me how much it means, and obviously I can see how much it means. It’s just really cool to be a part of it, and I’m very grateful. Everyone’s been telling me how much it means. I obviously see how much it means. It’s just really cool to be a part of it, and I’m very grateful.”

Mitch Johnson

On lessons learned from Game 4:

“I think that’s what gives someone a lot of clarity on what went well and what didn’t, what led to it. There’s a lot of times (when) themes of the game that may not necessarily show themselves in a box score on the surface level, that when you start peeling back the layers, you start to understand the ripple effect, good and bad, of what you do or what you did.”

On the criticism of De’Aaron Fox’s Game 4 decisions:

“I think I’ve been fired 212 times and we’ve traded Fox 72 times. We still have to show up and play tomorrow, and I’ve got to coach. The people that matter, we bond together, we stick together through the highs and lows. De’Aaron Fox will have the basketball in his hands at the end of the game tomorrow, and I have the utmost confidence he’s going to deliver like he’s done countless times for us.”

On what went wrong in Game 4:

“It’s a good question. I think every game takes on different personalities. A lot of times when you watch the games back, with the level of detail that I would guess all staffs do, but I can speak for our staff, there’s so much that starts to happen, whether on a certain play before you make the shot or before the runs happen. I think that’s what gives someone a lot of clarity on what went well and what didn’t, what led to it. … When you start peeling back the layers, you start to understand the ripple effect, good and bad, of what you do or what you did.”

On his own shortcomings in Game 4:

“There [were] a lot of things that we did, where it felt like we could have put our energy into the right spots in that third quarter. Some things that I could have done to help that, as well. I think that quarter probably was the most disappointing for me. There’s some learning things in every quarter, don’t get me wrong, some things we want to be sharper with, better at, finish games. We weren’t as connected and disciplined as we should have been.”

On the need for better management of Wembanyama’s energy:

“Looking back on it, I do believe that I have to make sure that I help him have the energy required to finish the game as strong as he needs to finish the game. I think I could have done better in that regard. That’s not a number of minutes. That’s not meaning he’s going to play this many minutes tomorrow. It’s looking back on the game, and that game in itself, I got to make sure that I help with that. I think I could have been better in that regard looking back from that game.”

Victor Wembanyama

On the Spurs’ belief in a Finals comeback:

“Everybody thinks—everybody knows—that we’re gonna do it.

On taking the series one game at a time:

“I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time. I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games. It’s one game at a time.”

On moving past Game 4:

“We’re very confident. I wouldn’t say it was so hard to, like, shake it off. Harder than any other game before, by far, for sure. I mean, now we’re over it. It’s the playoffs. There’s no time to regret things for too long.”

On the Game 4 collapse:

“Of course, there were 1,000 ways that we could have not lost that game. But it feels like there was a time to process that and really dwell on it, but not anymore.”

On what went wrong:

“Absolutely, greediness was [an issue for us]. I guess the general thing would be giving them less opportunities rather than [us] doing something incredible.”

On his showing fatigue:

“Definitely a factor. But it’s the playoffs. Everybody’s just as tired. I mean, it shouldn’t even be a factor in the game. I mean, now we’ve got two days between games. It’s not going to be a factor.”

On the egg-throwing incident:

“I don’t dislike it. Obviously, it’s not good at all. But it doesn’t bother me.”

On Mitch Johnson’s coaching:

“He understands people very well and knows how to speak to them. I am no exception. He knows how to speak to me. In-game, it feels like non-verbal communication as much as verbal because sometimes it’s loud, sometimes we’re far away. He knows what I need. He knows what I need to get to. I also know what he needs, what signals he needs. We’ve grown very much in that sense.”

On the wave of Knicks fans set to invade Frost Bank Center:

“No, it’s not a concern. I mean, we got good defense here in the crowd.”

De’Aaron Fox

On dealing with outside criticism after his endless Game 4 errors:

“It’s not like people have my phone number and can call me. I don’t watch those shows. It doesn’t matter.”

On believing in a Finals comeback:

“We still have this belief because we’ve seen it. We’ve seen it be done, that teams have come back from 3-1. I think even with those series, the games that they lost, they were losing by double digits. The games that we’re losing have all been close games. We still have that belief that we have a chance to win. But we’re taking this one game at a time. We’re not looking at it as we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow, and then we give ourselves a chance to play another game. Then you look at that next game.”

On Knicks fans buying tickets in San Antonio and what to expect:

“People are making money. It’s the economy we live in. It’s the world we live in. Am I upset about it? No. Do I understand it? Sure. I don’t think that changes what happens on the court.”

Devin Vassell

On what the Spurs saw in film review:

“Just not executing [is what we saw on the film]. There were a lot of defensive mistakes that we made, just not communicating. Then, offensively, just staying in our game plan and not steering away from it. We got some good looks. But with our guards, with Fox and Steph [Castle] just putting pressure on the rim, we feel like when we put pressure on the rim it opens up everything. We’ll be all right.”

Keldon Johnson

On the Spurs’ confidence after the Game 4 collapse:

“It’s a tough one, a tough pill to swallow. I feel like we got comfortable, and things happen. But I think the main thing is that belief is there. We believe. Our belief is as high as ever.”

Stephon Castle

On a potential comeback from 3-1:

“I feel like we’ve made history all year, and we’ve proven that with our backs against the wall that we can step up. So, I don’t really expect this to be any different.”

On why the Spurs remain confident:

“I think just our confidence. We’ve had a 10-plus point lead in every single game. Just trying to stay poised throughout that and try to keep our foot on the gas really. I feel like once we get those leads, we start to play a little bit different, take our foot off the gas defensively. I just feel like we have to stay aggressive but be smart through it.”

Shaquille O’Neal

On the NBA’s next face of the league:

“You have to take it. If [Wembanyama] wins a championship, yes. If [Jalen] Brunson wins a championship, it’ll be Brunson. Face of the league ain’t something you pass on. You’ve got to go take it.”

On the fantasy scenario of facing Victor Wembanyama:

“Oh, stop it. Let’s talk desserts. He’s too light in the cakes for me. Stop it. But I’m not known for defense, so he probably would’ve scored a few points also. There’s no guarding me one-on-one, so you can’t ask me that question. He’s a great player. This is his time now. This is not about me.”

On enjoying Victor Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns in the Finals:

“I love [Wembanyama] and I love KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns], so for me this is really good. Two big men battling it out. Let the best big man win. Usually in the Finals it’s all about guards. But these Finals are about two big men, so I have an affinity, a love, for both of them. So whoever wins, I’m happy for them both.”

Magic Johnson

On believing in the Spurs despite trailing 3-1:

“In NBA Finals history, one thing about the Spurs, they’re young, and I think they’re going to be okay. I think this series is going back to New York for Game 6. Listen, it wasn’t that they played bad. We have to understand that this team played great. They just gave the game away, and the Knicks took it.”

On why San Antonio should remain confident:

“So all you have to do is play like you did and not make the mistakes that you made, and you’re going to be okay. This team has played four great games. It’s just that the Knicks have a 3-1 lead because they executed in winning time. The Knicks have executed better than the Spurs. So if I’m the Spurs, I’m feeling good. Yeah, I lost, but I’m going home.”

On the Spurs’ mindset heading into Game 5:

“We correct some mistakes that we made, and we can win and make it a 3-2 series and come back to New York. They should be down about the fact that they didn’t execute in the fourth quarter.”

On Victor Wembanyama’s workload:

“And Coach Johnson made a huge mistake. When you’re up 20 at the end of the third quarter, he should have taken Victor out and said, ‘You get this timeout.’ Like Pat Riley used to tell me, ‘You’re going to get this timeout, and you’ll get another three or four minutes. Then I’ll put you back in to end the fourth quarter and the game.’ He should have taken Victor out because they had a big lead. You can rest him and bring him back in. Because he played so many minutes, he couldn’t take over the game.”

On Mike Brown and Jalen Brunson:

“And I think that’s why Mike Brown has been excellent for this team. He has not worn out Brunson. Brunson was able to finish the game, and it was just beautiful basketball. That shot will be remembered. But people better remember the block he made first. Because that block was a game-saving block as well. The point guard should have pulled it back out. De’Aaron Fox should have pulled it back.”

On the Knicks roster:

“I don’t want to hear no talk about Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or no other player coming to [the Knicks]. This is a great team. I’ve watched a lot of basketball — the way these guys love each other, they play for each other, pull for one another — you’re not going to see this anywhere else. They don’t out-talent you. Grit. Toughness. That’s how they beat you. And togetherness. That’s how they beat you.”

Jeremy Lin

On clearing the air with Carmelo Anthony:

“Basically I asked every last question I had: ‘did that happen? What happened there? What happened here?’ But it was honest. It was direct, it was honest and we were able to definitely clear the air. Obviously perception is reality in certain situations… And that’s the thing about that whole stretch was there was a lot that I was unsure about. And so the narratives come, but to be able to talk it out, I appreciate that.”

On how he wants his story remembered:

“And so my biggest thing was when I think back on my career, because I recently retired, I’ve never wanted my story to be me versus anybody else, which we had talked about. And I think at the end of all of this, if my name comes up or my story comes up and it’s me versus Melo or if we’re ever at a point where someone has to choose sides, then I think we failed.”

On wanting to stay with the Knicks:

“I’ve actually never spoken publicly about my exit from New York until today. And the only reason why is because now we have had that conversation. And so for me, it’s like I’m sitting there like, ‘I got to go back to New York. We got to find any which way.’ And New York, they could have offered me three years, nine million, but I didn’t even get that.”

On Houston’s contract offer:

“So I go to Houston, Houston gives me this offer and I’m like, I swear to you, I get on the phone with my agent and I’m like, ‘I don’t want to take it.’ He’s like, ‘You don’t have a choice.’”

Carmelo Anthony

On the Linsanity narrative:

“I had to figure my s***. I was injured. I was hurt. I had to think about how fast I’m going to come back, what I’m going to do, how the f*** I’m going to go help this team, how I got to lead this team. I’m in a different position than Lin is. So I got to deal with a whole bunch of s***. Forget being jealous of what he’s doing. I want him to keep going. Game win in D.C. Yo, keep going. Toronto. Yo, keep going.”

On answering Jeremy Lin’s questions:

“These was questions that was built up for 14 years that other people probably was adding on to your pressures and your mindset and your perspective. It took me to go through what I went through to have the time to come back and be at peace with being able to answer all your questions with actual facts.”

Isiah Thomas

On Victor Wembanyama dealing with more physicality than anyone on the court:

“Wemby has been the victim of some of the dirtiest s–t ever. I mean, people are grabbing and holding him. With Wemby, we’re allowing people to grab and hold him, knock him down. They literally have him locked up. With his demeanor, they’re lucky he hasn’t turned around and popped one of them in the face real quick. Big men, normally you don’t get to be this aggressive with them without them having the ability to retaliate, hold their temper and all of that.”

Juan Soto

On the Mets’ outlook:

“We still have a shot. We’re still here, and all the guys that are hurt are really close to being back, so I think it’s not as far as people think. I think it’s closer than what everybody is thinking or expecting.”

On attending the Knicks Finals games:

“It was a great feeling from the fans — how crazy they went, how loud they can get. It was impressive. It’s just a different feeling to be in there, you know, I felt like part of them. Those fans were paying attention to every little detail of the game, the back-and-forth, and that’s one of the things that made it special.”

On chasing another championship with the Mets:

“For me, I’m all-in, trying to get back to those big moments. It’s definitely not easy when you’re going through times like these, but we got to keep our heads up and keep going.”

Jose Reyes

On inviting OG Anunoby to Citi Field:

“Hey, OG Anunoby, happy for your success. Proud that you’re a Mets fan. The Mets and I would love to invite you to Citi Field to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. All the best, Jose Reyes.”

Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s emergence as a helpful fill-in rotation player was a pleasant surprise for the Cleveland Cavaliers. This led to his two-way deal being converted to a standard contract midway through the season.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. A “B” represents that player meeting their standard.

Regular Season Stats

• 5.8 points
• 2.9 rebounds
• 0.8 assists
• 47.8% FG
• 23.5% 3PT FG
• 77% FT
• 64 games

Making the jump from a two-way deal to a standard contract doesn’t happen as often as you’d think.

There are 90 NBA two-way slots available, and far more than 90 players who occupy those positions throughout the season. Since these are non-guaranteed deals, teams are pretty quick to cut and sign players to these deals.

This year, only 31 players had their two-way contracts converted to a standard deal for at least the rest of the season. Tomlin was among that group.

Tomlin’s journey to this spot was unconventional to say the least. He didn’t play organized basketball until college, and then played for four teams in five years. Three of those years were spent at smaller juco schools.

He made the Cleveland Charge’s roster heading into the 2024-25 season, but wasn’t a regular rotation at the start of the year. He eventually worked his way into the rotation, then became a starter, and ended the year on a two-way deal.

That progression continued this season. Tomlin worked his way up after the Cavs were decimated with injuries. He made the most of those opportunities as he became a fixture in the rotation throughout the season, and was even a spot starter in three games.

Tomlin’s athleticism and hustle stood out on a team that needed both of those qualities. He was an impactful offensive rebounder and an explosive finisher in the paint when given a runway to do so.

The increased playing time also exposed some of the shortcomings in Tomlin’s game.

First of all, the outside shooting is an issue. Tomlin spent many of his half-court possessions stationed in the corner, but was mostly a non-threat as a shooter. He finished last among qualified forwards in corner three-point percentage as he knocked down just 24% of his corner triples.

This was an issue because Tomlin showed that he doesn’t have the handle or playmaking capabilities to be an on-ball creator. It’s difficult to find a consistent half-court role if you can’t either pass, dribble, shoot, or be a vertical threat at an average to high level.

This left Tomlin as mostly someone who could attack in transition or finish off cuts from the corner. Both are useful, but not ideal as the basis for an offensive package.

Defensively, Tomlin fouled far too much. He had the worst foul percentage among forwards in the league, translating to 4.5 fouls per 36 minutes.

Fouls for a forward usually come from being out of position or selling out for blocks. Tomlin’s issues came from both. He struggled to keep wings in front of him defensively. And even when he was in the right position, he was too susceptible to pump fakes.

Tomlin will need to figure out how to play defense without fouling as much as he did this year if he wants to be a rotation-caliber player. It’s difficult to justify playing someone who fouls this much, who also isn’t a rim deterrent in a meaningful way.

Despite the need for improvement, it’s undeniable that this was a successful year for Tomlin. Every player on a two-way deal in the league’s entire goal for the year is to earn a standard contract. Tomlin did that.

The next step is refining his game on both ends so that he can earn a second NBA deal.

Grade: A

Joe Mazzulla could have been anywhere.

He could have been back home in Rhode Island, decompressing after a Celtics season that started with everyone lowering expectations because of Jayson Tatum’s Achilles tear and ended with everyone furious because those lowered expectations had somehow turned into 56 wins and a blown 3-1 lead to Philadelphia.

He could have been holed up in the Red Auerbach Center, watching film of a missed weak-side rotation from February with the emotional urgency of a man solving a murder. He could have been in Costa Rica again, walking barefoot through the jungle with a chess prodigy, because apparently the rest of us have been going about vacation all wrong.

Instead, he was in Portugal with Neemias Queta.

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston wrote a great piece this week on Mazzulla’s offseason travel, reporting that the Celtics head coach was spotted in both Omaha, Nebraska, and Lisbon, Portugal during the first week of June while spending time with Baylor Scheierman and Queta. Forsberg noted that the trip from Omaha to Lisbon is roughly 4,400 air miles, with no direct flights.

That is not a “swing by if you’re in the area” itinerary. That is multiple flights, time zones, airport coffee, stiff necks and at least one moment where you wake up in a hotel room with no idea what continent you’re in, let alone country.

And yet, there he was.

The more you look at these trips, the harder it becomes to treat them like irregular offseason moments. The point is not that Joe Mazzulla owns a passport or knows how to find Terminal B. The point is that connecting with his players on a human level seems to be an integral part of how he coaches.

The version of Joe we see is not the whole person

For most fans, Mazzulla is still understood through the strangest parts of his public personality.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu practice with his sensei in the depths of the Celtics practice facility. The seemingly strong desire to one day execute a bank heist (either as the mastermind or safecracker). The refusal to answer simple questions in a simple way. 

It’s funny, and a lot of the shtick is probably intentional. Mazzulla has never seemed especially interested in making himself easier to understand from the outside.

In some ways, the weirdness has become the package. You see the vacant stare, the deadpan expression, the quote that sounds like it was translated from English to Latin and back again, and you think, yep, that’s Joe.

But there is another version of him that keeps showing up in the way Celtics players talk about him.

That version seems to be much quieter and more grounded. He spends time, listens, and shows up in places he does not have to be.

Brad Stevens once told NBC Sports Boston that a player who had been around Mazzulla for individual and small group work said, “That guy can say anything to me because of the amount of time he spends with me.” That line gets at something coaches can sometimes pretend is more complicated than it is. Players usually know when someone is only showing up because the job requires it. They also know when someone is showing up because they care enough to understand the full person standing in front of them.

Mazzulla seems obsessed with that part.

Not in a soft, sentimental way. After all, this is still Joe Mazzulla we’re talking about. I’m not expecting him to start every practice with a group hug and a guided meditation unless the meditation somehow involves combat breathing and clips of the 2008 Celtics defending the strong-side corner.

But his approach seems rooted in a pretty human idea: you cannot demand everything from people if you are not willing to meet them where they actually are.

The miles are the message

Mazzulla’s approach off the court helps explain why the trips matter.

Going to Portugal with Queta is more than a coach supporting a player during the offseason. Mazzulla wanted to see the places that shaped his starting center before he became a rotation piece in Boston. The journey is about understanding what basketball looked like for Queta before TD Garden, before the NBA, before he became part of the Celtics’ nightly calculus.

The same goes for Scheierman at Creighton. Mazzulla is not just checking in on a player’s jumper or making sure Baylor didn’t trim that stunning mullet. He’s walking into the environment that helped make the player make sense.

Those moments have the ability to change the texture of a relationship.

As fans, we spend a lot of time talking about schemes, rotations and late-game decisions because those are the things we can see. Fair enough. Mazzulla should be judged on those things too. The Celtics’ offense got stagnant at times. The playoff loss to Philadelphia deserves real scrutiny. There are fair questions about how Boston evolves next season, especially with Tatum working his way back and Brown coming off the heaviest leadership burden of his career (on top of the onslaught of trade rumors to start the offseason).

But the relationship piece is not some decorative side dish that sits next to the actual coaching. It is the coaching.

When Mazzulla challenges players, his words land differently down the road if they know he has invested in them beyond the box score. When he asks Queta to defend without fouling, Queta knows his coach cared enough to fly across an ocean and see where his basketball story started. When he asks Scheierman to sharpen the details of his game, Scheierman knows Mazzulla took the time to show up in the place where his confidence first became tangible.

That doesn’t read like performative culture-building to me. It feels like someone taking the human part of the job seriously.

It’s also probably exhausting. I don’t know what Joe Mazzulla’s sleep schedule looks like, and I’m not sure I want to. There is a nonzero chance he views jet lag as a weakness leaving the body. But even if he is wired differently than most people, at the end of the day, the choice to keep showing up for his players is still a choice.

The caring part is easier to miss

Al Horford has talked about the caring side of Mazzulla before, saying players can see that he cares about them as people and that his genuineness is part of why they respect him.

Horford also shared the story of Mazzulla returning to a neighborhood in the Dominican Republic to run a clinic for kids, with no cameras and no desire for credit. That story is more revealing than a thousand press conference clips. That type of Joe is not one we ever really get to see when the cameras are rolling and the mics are hot. It’s simply a coach doing something decent because he wanted to be there.

Maybe Mazzulla prefers for that side to stay quieter.

Perhaps it’s easier for everyone to focus on the odd quotes and the intensity and the killer whale metaphors. Maybe that lets him keep the more sincere parts of his coaching style protected. It would be very Joe to hide the softest part of himself behind the least normal possible packaging.

But the pattern is getting harder to miss.

He goes to the Dominican Republic for Horford. He asks to attend Chris Boucher’s baptism in Montreal. He spends time with Scheierman at Creighton. He travels with Queta to Portugal.

At a certain point, these stop feeling like isolated anecdotes and start looking like the foundation of how he leads.

Trust is built before anyone needs it

Mazzulla doesn’t have to earn trust with speeches in the huddle or locker room. He is earning it with presence at times when basketball isn’t the primary focus.

The Celtics need plenty from him next season. As Stevens noted in his end-of-season presser, tactical adjustments must be made. The roster needs better answers when playoff possessions get tight, especially with the New York Knicks establishing themselves as a legitimate threat heading into next season. Mazzulla must help Brown, White, Pritchard and the rest of the roster navigate a year that may once again require a different kind of identity while Tatum comes back for his first full season after the Achilles tear.

They also need the locker room to keep believing in him when he pushes, prods, challenges and occasionally says something that makes everyone in the room wonder if they accidentally walked into a philosophy seminar being held inside an MMA gym.

That is what the trips help explain.

The strange quotes get noticed. The care for his players tells the story.

Through four games, the 2026 NBA Finals have been even in just about every way.

The Knicks may lead the series three games to one, but as many pundits and salty NBA fans will tell you, all of these games could’ve gone the opposite way with a few different possessions or calls going differently. Unfortunately for them, you don’t get extra points for almost winning, just ask Kenny Atkinson.

Both teams have made massive runs; they’ve had massive quarters. Even in the Spurs’ case, they’ve had a dominant half of basketball. But it’s all added up to the two teams being close enough that all four games have been decided at the death.

But, while much of the discourse surrounding Game 4 has been focused on the Spurs’ unbelievable 29-point choke, not enough has been about the Knicks playing perhaps the best half of basketball, context included, in franchise history. For some reason, people believe that winning the first quarter matters more than any other. Odd.

So what had to happen for the Knicks to suddenly flip the script and outscore the Spurs 58-30 in the final 24 minutes?

The first thing we have to acknowledge is shooting luck. After the greatest shooting half in NBA Finals history by a Spurs team that has just two above-average three-point shooters in their rotation, they cooled off significantly after halftime, going just 3-for-17. A lot of these looks weren’t totally different than the ones they chucked up in the first half in a persistent heat check, but the attention to detail was also better by the Knicks.

The Spurs went 9-for-13 on wide-open threes and 5-for-12 on open threes in that first half. In the second half, it dropped off to 3-for-10 and 0-for-7. While the drop off from 14-for-25 to 3-for-17 is truly immense, it still averages out at 40.5%, which is well above the postseason average for the Spurs.

So while their shooting drop-off in the second half was a big catalyst behind the comeback, think of it as more of a regression to the mean by a team that doesn’t have the shotmaking to do it for a full 48.

And this is where youthful arrogance sinks in. The heat check bled into the third quarter, where the Spurs repeatedly chucked up shots early in the shot clock, expecting them to go in. When you lead by such a large margin in the second half, you’re fighting the clock as much as the opponent. Refusing to use it on their side enabled the Knicks to get back into it:

Despite employing a 7’5” alien, the Spurs became the first team in this postseason to go an entire quarter without scoring in the paint in that third quarter, going 0-for-5 in the restricted area. Yes, none of the teams that got wiped off the face of the earth by the Thunder or Knicks in the early rounds even reached this futility.

But that’s enough about the Spurs shooting themselves in the foot. What did the Knicks do to chip away and seize the game at the very end?

They generated better looks on offense, for one. The Knicks had just nine open/wide-open three-point attempts in the first half, making four of them.

In the second half? They went 10-for-18. They never had a problem making their open threes, they just weren’t able to get to that easy offense in the first half.

A large part of that was being able to space the floor with Karl-Anthony Towns being freed from Zach Zarba’s foul trouble prison cell. After playing just nine minutes in a first half that featured brief cameos by Ariel Hukporti and Jeremy Sochan, Towns played 17 minutes in the second half. As such, he was able to finish a game-high +17 in 26 minutes.

While he himself didn’t do too much, he continued a trend that has existed all throughout this series. When he shares the floor with Victor Wembanyama, the Knicks steadily outplay them. When he’s forced to sit while Wemby’s out there, the Spurs dominate.

Wemby + KAT on: Knicks +30 (116:27)
Wemby on, KAT off: Spurs +41 (44:19)
Wemby off: Knicks +19 (31:14)

Plus/minus per minute:
Wemby + KAT on: Knicks +0.26
Wemby on, KAT off: Spurs +0.925
Wemby off: Knicks +0.61

It also doesn’t help ol’ Vic that the Knicks were taking advantage of his wind slowly catching up to him. He’s played a staggering 203 minutes over his last five games, the most by a country mile that he ever has. He’s exceeded his career high in total minutes by over 450 minutes, with, in a total best-case scenario for him, three games to go. That’s 10 additional full games of basketball.

It’s not surprising, then, when the Knicks hunted him on the perimeter in multiple types of action in the second half.

The big worry I had watching the first half was allowing the Spurs to coast to a victory and allow their stars to rest, not accruing the extra mileage that has slowly worn them down as games progressed. Fortunately, the Knicks never fully let go of the rope in this tug-of-war battle, dragging their tired bodies over the line for a win.

There were also some bold moves made by Mike Brown with his rotations. Jordan Clarkson didn’t have it. Deuce McBride continued not to have it. Landry Shamet struggled for the second straight game. Needing someone to plug in during the fourth quarter, he elected to play Jose Alvarado with Brunson for the first time in several weeks. It worked like a charm.

The Knicks’ best offense has been when they use off-ball movement, spacing, and real ball movement to put the Spurs into the blender. This disrupts their strategy of playing Wemby as a free safety in the paint and allows them to create quality looks on possession after possession.

What you saw in the second half wasn’t just a young team fundamentally failing in terms of execution for an entire half, but it was a perfect 24 minutes for the team that had to climb out of an impossible deficit.

The inexperience showed one more time in a big way on the final possessions. The Spurs had no idea how to defend the Knicks’ final possession, and you could see it happening in real time.

Through four games, the Spurs have not been the better team, because this kind of stuff is what goes into what decides which team is better or not. Just because one team has the flashier stars, the better personalities, the generational talents gifted to them by Adam Silver and the lottery gods, doesn’t mean they should be ordained without having to play the games.

With Game 5 coming later today, David will have a chance to take Goliath off life support.