Category: Sports News

For all intents and purposes, the Knicks have already done their job by taking Game 1 in San Antonio in a thrilling opener to the 2026 NBA Finals.

Home court advantage has been flipped, the first punch has been thrown, they’re now -134 to win the series on FanDuel, and the get-in price for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden is up to $8,782.

Big success.

But what they have in their grasp is an opportunity to put a dagger through the hearts of the San Antonio Spurs. Stealing one game on the road is series-changing; stealing two is potentially series-ending. As a result, the Knicks need to treat this game with just as much urgency as they did Game 1.

This whole series is going to be two exceptional basketball teams adjusting to each other, minute by minute, possession by possession. As a result, the plans you have early in the series might be thrown in the garbage just a few days later. At this point in the series, overall strategies are still being fleshed out.

One of them is figuring out if the Knicks want to be the fast team that’s pushing the pace or the slow team that’s methodical about their offense, looking to limit possessions and transition opportunities.

The last several years, they’ve been the slow team, but were unsuccessful in getting the Pacers to play to their style, leading to back-to-back playoff exits at their hands. This year, they played that style against an energetic Hawks team who struggled to generate offense in the halfcourt.

After that? They found something while trying to push the pace. A hobbled Joel Embiid allowed them to push the ball up the floor and generate easy looks in the paint. A lackadaisical and undisciplined Cavs team made it so that leaking out after a missed shot was an easy bucket over and over and over and over and over again.

Every series is different, and specifically for a unique team like the Spurs, there are pros and cons to each approach.

The biggest pro to being the team that pushes the pace and gets out in transition is not letting the Spurs set their physical and imposing defense, especially with Victor Wembanyama in the game. It takes an entire convoluted gameplan to get him out of the paint for an individual possession, let alone a string of them. They’re one of the best teams in basketball at preventing paint points, and you saw with the hesitation of slashers like Josh Hart and OG Anunoby that he can shut off anything within 10 feet.

Pushing the ball off a miss gives you time to generate shots at the rim with him trailing the play. Even if you don’t have numbers in a traditional sense, players like Hart can go coast-to-coast without worrying about going through a 7’5” freak of nature.

That in-game circumstance, though, is only one feature of the benefits of pushing the ball. The Knicks also have the clear advantage of simultaneously being the fresher and more conditioned team.

The top five players in this series in terms of minutes played in the postseason over the last month and a half are all Spurs. Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle have played 100 more minutes than Jalen Brunson, 150 more than Josh Hart, and almost 200 more than OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. While this is a roster of young guys who can recover from grueling playoff games more easily, these minutes can add up, as we saw in 2025 with the Knicks.

Wembanyama has played 590, which is an entire game’s worth of minutes more than any Knick and at least two more than anyone not named Brunson. He played 38 minutes in Game 1, just the 10th time he’s done that this season and the 16th time in his career.

It’s important to note that Wemby has never played 36 minutes in four consecutive games in his career. The reason he’s avoided that in the playoffs? The multitude of blowouts in both directions has allowed him to rest in the fourth quarter. With a Knicks team that has not lost a game by more than one possession that they actually tried in since March (20 game sample), it’s hard to rely on that right now.

Playoff physicality, combined with the sheer number of minutes he has to play because of the disastrous on-off splits, is going to wear him down. He already looked gassed in the second half of Game 1, and despite extra rest days due to travel later in the series, it won’t get much better if these two teams are consistently going to war.

Making him cover more ground across more minutes in a physical playoff series will wear him out, but there is a flip side to all of this that the Knicks need to account for before deciding to be the faster team in this series.

Their half-court offense is extremely effective, at least in terms of getting quality looks. They’re relatively turnover-averse; they often end a possession in a quality look from 3, a layup, or a shot that Brunson knows he can make. Even with the human eraser in the middle, the team was still able to generate quality looks for much of the game despite battling through rust.

There’s also inherent risk to playing fast. A live ball turnover in transition is free points the other way. A miss usually results in your defense failing to get set, which will probably result in a Julian Champagnie triple.

The Knicks are also just not a fast team at their core. Despite hiring Mike Brown to play faster, the team has a very similar pace to the one they played under Tom Thibodeau. They take 6-7 seconds to get across half-court with Brunson bringing the ball up. They usually haven’t gotten the ball inside the arc until there’s less than eight on the clock. Even when visually playing faster the last two series, they’ve averaged under 97 possessions per game, one of the slowest in basketball.

The answer here might just be as simple as recognizing the situation during the game and adjusting to it. When you have an opportunity to gas them out, go out and run. If you’re flagrantly outexecuting them in the half-court, slow it down. Adjust to the moment.

It’s what the playoffs are all about.

Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — gives their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.

Fantable Questions of the Week

Q1: What are your thoughts on the following trade proposal?

This trade was suggested in a Hawks column on SI.

Ashton: I think I would do it.

Let’s start with the picks. They are worthless in the second round. It will be all college seniors and international prospects. The Cleveland and New York picks are going to be extremely late in the back half of the draft. But the picks may make some good future trade capital. But it is not the picks that I am interested in, other than some good board (boring for some) draft conversation.

It is the former number one draft pick, Zaccharie Risacher, in 2024. I thought he was rated too highly on draft boards, but Atlanta took him anyway with the first pick. Keep in mind that it was after Wemby-mania the year before, so Frenchmen were in high demand. Fellow Frenchman Alex Sarr was taken second in the 2024 draft.

But this isn’t a hit piece on a country that consistently produces top talent. Call it a hit piece on draft analysts. Zach (look, I am not typing the full name out) saw decreased usage in the Atlanta Hawks system but had some really nice games as a 6’8” small forward that tends to like the mid-range shots. That is the size and current Suns’ offensive system would support that for a change of scenery. The question is, why did the Hawks sour on him?

I think I will stay with the youth movement and take the former number one pick. In fact, I would call it a deal of the day. Which makes me skeptical that it would ever happen. Or even how Rod managed to find this trade, other than a thought exercise.

Voita: This is a very interesting trade proposal, and it’s one I’m not opposed to. Yes, it would be unfortunate to lose the shooting that Grayson Allen provides. At the same time, you’d be acquiring a young lottery prospect along with three second-round picks.

I’m not the biggest fan of Zaccharie Risacher as a prospect. However, for a team with limited avenues to get younger, more athletic, and add players with legitimate upside, he certainly scratches that itch.

A lot of people have been dismissive of the second-round picks included in the deal, and this is where the NBA’s revised draft lottery rules could actually work in Phoenix’s favor. Let’s say the Atlanta Hawks are a Play-In team in 2029. They finish as the ninth seed and ultimately end up in the lottery. That feels completely realistic.

Now, let’s say they wind up with the 15th overall pick in the 2029 NBA Draft. Under the new rules, their second-round pick would suddenly become much more valuable because the second-round order is reversed relative to the non-playoff teams. The team drafting first overall in the first round picks near the end of the second round, while the team drafting 15th ends up selecting near the beginning of the second round. That changes the math.

So while there’s certainly a chance these three second-rounders end up being throwaway picks, there’s also a realistic possibility they become far more valuable than many people assume. And when you’re a team like the Phoenix Suns, one that doesn’t have a surplus of draft capital lying around, that upside is worth paying attention to.

OldAz: “Opinions are like armpits, everyone has them, and most of them stink” (there is a less clean version of this that everyone only has one of, but I tried to keep this PG). In this case, my opinion is totally uneducated because I watched exactly 0.0 minutes of this kid playing last season.

At first glance, I noticed that he was getting a decent number of minutes for a playoff team, but accumulating pedestrian counting stats. This is even more true when the playoffs came, and he barely cracked the lineup. All this made the proposal look more like a salary dump than a trade. However, he is also a younger, longer athletic player who can defend well (according to reports), with an inconsistent offense that needs to be set up by others.

Considering the Suns currently have too many ball dominant players and lack length, athleticism and often defense I could easily be persuaded that this is not a salary dump but a “buy low” trade that accomplishes many things the Suns need to have this off season. All of this hinges on what Risacher really is. For that, you need to ask someone far smarter than I am, or at least someone who wants to watch Hawks games to see him play.

Rod: Risacher hasn’t lived up to the expectations of being the number 1 pick in the 2024 draft, but hasn’t been a bust. Jalen Johnson’s play has made him somewhat expendable in Atlanta. I think I’d do this if such a trade were offered (which I doubt). It would save the Suns $4.3 million in 2026-27 and $6+ million over two seasons while adding another young wing to the roster who, hopefully, can still grow as a player.

The three second-round picks are nice sweeteners, but most are likely to be in the high 40s or 50s (the 2nds they have from New York and Cleveland), which doesn’t make them exceptionally valuable…but still useful.

Q2: For various reasons, some fans think the Suns should either do a sign-and-trade to move Mark Williams or just let him walk (especially if he gets a big offer sheet from another team). A third option is signing him to a new contract and perhaps trading him at the trade deadline. If moving on from Williams is in the Suns’ plans, which option would you prefer?

Ashton: Let’s get our option one out of the way, sign-and-trade. Rod has mentioned in numerous comments that it immediately hard-caps the Suns. Nah, I still want to be frugal here when it comes to the Sun’s future roster plans. (Note: It hard caps the team at the second tax apron.)

Option 2 requires a lot more deliberation. It depends on where you are with the Suns’ finances. I would still like the organization to stay below the repeater tax for a second year or at least have some breathing space to bring back Goody and CG. But this requires a hard player cut in Williams, as I really do not think the Suns have an answerable center position player to fill the role.

Option 3 is more forward-looking and probably the best. Yes, you lose cap flexibility and maybe lose Goody and CG, but if Williams stays healthy (and that is a big if) then he becomes a tradable asset.

I still have to pick one of these options for a three-part question. Let Mark walk or pay the qualifying offer at $9,615,600. Free up some salary space, and then no one has to worry about his injury history. Option 2.

Voita: I wrestled with this decision quite a bit while putting together my blueprint for how I think the Phoenix Suns should operate this offseason. Ultimately, I landed on the qualifying offer.

If Mark Williams wants significantly more than that, it starts putting real financial strain on the roster. More importantly, it could make it difficult to retain players like Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin. At that point, you’re probably crossing into first apron territory. Maybe the organization is comfortable with that. Maybe it isn’t.

For me, the ideal outcome is bringing Williams back, even if the final number comes in a little higher than the qualifying offer, because the goal isn’t necessarily about what Mark Williams is. The goal is finding out what Khaman Maluach is. Williams provides a buffer and provides stability. He gives Phoenix a starting-caliber center while Maluach continues to develop and earn opportunities. Then you reassess.

If Maluach takes a significant step forward, if he proves he’s ready for a larger role, then when the trade deadline arrives, you can start exploring the market for Williams. That’s the beauty of maintaining flexibility.

Of course, there is one exception. If Williams stays healthy and starts playing above the level we currently expect from him, then the conversation changes entirely. At that point, you’re dealing with a different set of circumstances. But entering the season, I think the smartest play is bringing him back, preserving continuity, and giving yourself another year to evaluate exactly what you have at the center position.

OldAz: Assuming they move on at some point, I would start with the last option of signing him to a reasonable new contract and then waiting for the deadline. A healthy athletic center on a reasonable contract is highly valuable at the trade deadline, and this would give more time for Khaman Maluach to develop and be ready for a bigger role. A sign-and-trade is also a reasonable option for the right return, so the only option I do not like (assuming they are parting ways) is letting him walk for nothing. I hate that type of asset management by any front office I am rooting for.

Rod: Unless Ott is certain that Maluach, Ighodaro, and a third low-cost free agent center can perform well as the Suns’ big man rotation from the beginning, I’d prefer re-signing him and looking for a midseason trade. My second choice would be going with a sign-and-trade. With a sign-and-trade, they could take back much less in salary (or nothing at all) and create a traded player exception that they could use later on.

Q3: The Suns have been bringing in a lot of players for pre-draft workouts that are projected to go undrafted (a little more than half so far). What are your thoughts on this?

Ashton: I had never considered this until I visited HoopsHype today and pulled the following in context of the question. This is who the Suns have worked out in the UDFA realm.

65 – Bryce Hopkins (PF, St. John’s, 22-269)
70 – Jaden Henley (SF, Grand Canyon, 22-39)
UNR – DJ Armstrong (SG, UMBC)
UNR – Miles Barnstable (PG, Tulsa)
UNR – Tre Donaldson (PG, Miami, 22-174)
UNR – Derrian Ford (SG, Temple, 22-201)
UNR – Sam Hoiberg (PG, Nebraska, 23-73)
UNR – Tramon Mark (SG, Texas, 24-245)
UNR – Robert McCray (PG, Florida St, 23-249)
UNR – Kashie Natt (SG, Sam Houston St, 23-114)
UNR – Grant Newell (SF, Western Kentucky, 23-262)
UNR – Shammah Scott (PG, Akron)
UNR – Corey Stephenson (SF, FIU, 22-28)

I can pick a few names from that list, but the question is whether the Suns intend to package the 47th pick with another player and are heavily considering UDFAs. It would make sense financially. Rod was right to sniff this one out. That is a lot of no-names. It certainly does not look like they will trade up.

Which I think we can kiss goodbye to the Suns’ 47th pick.

At least give Tobe Awaka a workout. One man that Valley Suns fans would love that guy.

Voita: I believe this is standard operating procedure. If you look at what the Phoenix Suns did last year, they followed a very similar approach despite owning both first- and second-round picks. A big part of the process is simply gathering information.

Teams want as much intel as possible on prospects, even those projected to go undrafted. Maybe that player ends up helping your G League affiliate. Maybe he becomes a Summer League addition. Maybe he pops up later in a trade discussion or becomes somebody you’re interested in signing down the road. The more information you have, the better.

And it isn’t limited to the NBA roster. Even at the G League level, there are transactions and roster decisions that require organizations to have quality scouting reports and internal evaluations. That’s why I don’t think there’s anything unusual about what Phoenix is doing.

In fact, if you spend a few minutes looking through the workout lists on HoopsHype, you’ll see every organization doing the same thing. They’re gathering information. They’re building databases. They’re creating relationships. And they’re making sure they know as much as possible about the players who could eventually enter their orbit. That’s all part of the process.

OldAz: As with many questions, “It depends” is the right answer. The new Suns seem more focused on developing players and have done a good job finding fringe players that can contribute. However, last season, these were mainly veterans who came in and contributed. If the Suns are looking to fill up on more UDFAs, then I hope they have an eye for talent and a plan that mirrors the Heat of the last few years, who have more than once fielded a team that greatly overachieved with multiple UDFAs playing a big role.

The more likely answer is that they are trying to build up their G League affiliate so they can identify a diamond in the rough down the road. This is also a good way to do business in the NBA when you are not pitching pennies in the front office.

Rod: To me, it says that they’re mainly looking at players to add to the Valley Suns’ roster, especially players that may turn out to have hidden potential/talents. With the lack of future draft picks the Suns have, this seems essential to me, as they have to turn over every leaf looking for whatever hidden gems they can find. Gregory’s done a pretty good job of it so far, and hopefully he can pull another rabbit or two out of his hat this year.

As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!

Suns Trivia/History

On June 6, 1976, trailing the Boston Celtics 3-2 in the NBA Finals, the Suns lost game 6 at home, 87-80, in a low-scoring contest. The Suns actually outshot the Celtics from the field (41.6% to 38.6%) but allowed Boston to get 16 offensive rebounds to their 8 and lost the overall rebounding battle 53-39. The Suns also sent the Celtics to the FT line 28 times, where the Celtics made 23, while the Suns made just 16.

On June 9, 1993, despite double-doubles by both Charles Barkley (21 pts, 11 rebs) and Richard Dumas (20 pts, 12 rebs), the Suns lost 100-92 to the Chicago Bulls to go down 0-1 in their first return to the NBA Finals since 1976. Barkley (9 of 25) and Kevin Johnson (4 of 13) had uncharacteristically poor shooting nights, while the Bulls shot well from the field, hitting 53.1% to the Suns’ 44.4%.

On June 11, 1993, Charles Barkley of the Suns and Michael Jordan of the Bulls each scored 42 points in Chicago’s 111-108 victory, marking the first time in NBA Finals history that opposing players each scored 40 or more points in a Finals game.

Important Future Dates

Mid-June (date TBD) – Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents (following the Finals)
June 23 – NBA Draft First Round, 8 ET (ABC/ESPN)
June 24 – NBA Draft Second Round, 8 ET (ESPN)
June 30 – Teams can begin negotiations with all free agents
July 1 – Official start of the 2026-27 league year and moratorium period
July 6 – Moratorium ends, official free agent contract signings can begin
July 9-19 – NBA 2K Summer League 2026 in Las Vegas
Late September (dates TBD) – NBA Training Camps open

When the Celtics entered the 2025 2nd round vs. the Knicks, it felt like they were on a different level than New York. That was proven wrong and since that point, it has become clear that it is New York who is on a different level than Boston.

Three wins away from their first championship in 53 years, the Knicks look like they tower over everyone else in the Eastern Conference.

It became very clear as the 76ers, who came back from down 3-1 vs. the Celtics, were not only swept by New York, but embarrassed by them, that the gap between Boston and New York was bigger than any of us thought it was.

It is up to Brad Stevens and company to close that gap this summer.

Does making a marginal move like trading Sam Hauser for a center help the Celtics? Yes, but we need to be thinking bigger.

The trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White has shown us they are good enough to win at the highest level. Get more of a contribution from the younger players in the playoffs and the Celtics could be back at the top of the East next year. Maybe you think the Celtics’ exit and the Knicks run are both flukey and that Boston shouldn’t panic.

Is that something that the Celtics should be betting on?

The roster is just not good enough as is and when you have Jayson Tatum on your team, you owe it to him and yourself to be doing everything to win the championship every year.

That is why so many, myself included, feel that trading Jaylen Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo is something Boston should be exploring.

Antetokounmpo would give the Celtics so many different layers to both their offense and defense that Brown doesn’t, including getting to the rim more, which is something that Brad Stevens talked about at his end of season press conference.

Yes, you’d be losing some of the great stuff Brown does like those mid-range shots, but Antetokounmpo gives more than Brown does on both ends of the floor.

You could also keep the Tatum and Brown duo together, and find a way to use Derrick White to upgrade the roster with either a big man or a scoring guard to pair with the Jays. The way the Celtics offense fell apart in the first round was much more worrying to me than their defense was.

The Celtics have four tradable picks and a $27.7 million trade exception. They don’t have to move any of Tatum, Brown or White to make an aggressive move. Maybe the Pelicans would be willing to give you Trey Murphy for Hauser, one or two of the young wings and a bunch of draft picks.

When the Knicks felt they needed to catch up to the Celtics after Boston’s 2024 championship, they traded for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. They took big, risky swings and it is the Celtics’ turn to do just that. I don’t know that Boston has two moves like that in them, but they should be making at least one big time addition to close the gap.

Victor Wembanyama was strikingly calm.

Stephon Castle was markedly confident.

So what that the Spurs trail the Knicks 1-0 in the Finals? So what that those two guys are 22 and 21 years old, respectively? So what that no one thought they were ready for the league’s biggest stage?

They’ve proved everyone wrong, and they’re hellbent on doing it again.

The basketball world winced when Wembanyama suffered a concussion in Game 2 of the Spurs’ first-round series against the Trail Blazers and needed to enter the league’s concussion protocol. There goes the Spurs’ postseason run.

It rolled its eyes when San Antonio lost Game 1 of its second round series to the Timberwolves. So much for being the real deal.

It started writing the Spurs’ obituary when they faced Game 7 of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City against the reigning champion Thunder and its two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Welp, it was a good run.

But the Spurs didn’t flinch in any of those moments. They leaned on one another. Their belief in themselves over the last two months has deepened to form a well of confidence form which they now draw after squandering home-court advantage against the Knicks in a 105-95 loss on Wednesday.

Said Wembanyama: “I’m not worried the slightest.”

Added Castle: “We feel like we’re the better team. We didn’t play well, and we still had a chance to win.”

The Spurs led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter before they let their lead slip through their fingers in the final six minutes of that period. They were outscored in the fourth quarter, 29-19.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson didn’t even need to watch film to pinpoint where they need to improve. It was obvious. It was glaring.

San Antonio gave up a whopping 50 points in the paint. It had only 16 assists. Wembanyama, who shot 51.2 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from beyond the arc this season, shot a woeful 6-for-21 from the field (28.5 percent) and 2-for-9 from deep (22.2 percent) in Game 1.

Gregg Popovich, who coached the Spurs for 29 seasons and led them to five championships before stepping down after suffering a stroke in Nov. 2024, sent Wembanyama a text after watching the team’s implosion Wednesday night.

The gist?

“I’ve been bad,” Wembanyama said. “And I’m better than this.”

The Spurs weren’t good, and they still had a 95-94 lead with 2:16 left. They let Jalen Brunson score 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. They committed five turnovers in that period while the Knicks had none. They were careless. They were outplayed.

They got in their own way.

That doesn’t instill fear in the Spurs. If they played their best and lost, that might have shaken them a bit more. But this was not that.

Heck, even if that had happened, this Spurs team would likely still believe in themselves.

If there’s anything this playoff run has taught us about them, it’s that they’re unflappable.

The Spurs’ stars might barely be of drinking age, but they’ve proved they’re mature enough to block out noise that can be deafening for players who are accustomed to big stages.

Too young? Too inexperienced? They’ve made a mockery of those narratives.

Counterintuitively, it makes you wonder if their youth is their superpower. There’s a certain cockiness that can come with not knowing any better.

Castle was quick to shut that down.

“I don’t know if that’s our youth talking,” he said. “It might just be more of what our character is like. I don’t think we’ll ever change from being this way, having this kind of confidence in each other, no matter how young we are.”

That deep belief in themselves is what has gotten the Spurs through three series. It has gotten them to the championship round earlier than anyone thought possible.

They’ve faced a 1-0 series deficit before. That didn’t faze them.

They dethroned the defending champs who many believed would become the league’s next dynasty. You think they’re afraid of the Knicks?

Wembanyama already indelibly stamped his name into postseason lore with a 41-point, 24-rebound, three-block performance against the Thunder in Game 1 of that series. You think he’s going to get in his head about a mediocre Finals debut?

Think again.

There’s a fearlessness about the Spurs.

No one thought they’d be here this quickly. They have nothing to lose.

And that makes them very dangerous.

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The NBA Draft is in less than three weeks, and the speculation about Cam Boozer is hitting new heights.

Part of it may be gamesmanship, as various front offices try to push players up or down to get their true target.

Subterfuge is actually one of our favorite parts of the whole process. In Boozer’s case, though, we’re not sure that’s necessarily what’s going on.

He’s been through the combine, and he’s done the interviews. Teams have a much better idea of who he is now.

The top three picks, as you probably know, are Washington, Utah, and Memphis, and there’s the consistent rumor that Oklahoma City would like to trade up to get him.

It’s not a bad position to be in, really, other than going to the Wizards. In our opinion, it’s less important to be an early pick than it is to be picked by a stable franchise. Memphis and Utah are remaking their teams, but management appears to be competent. And it would be hard to do much better than OKC.

• 2026 NBA Draft Profile: Cameron Boozer’s Unique Blend of Size and Skill
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• Cam Boozer’s ‘safety’ & ‘massive upside’ may make him NBA Draft’s top prospect
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• NBA Draft expert makes case for Cameron Boozer to go No. 1 overall
• “He’s going to make a run as an All-Star as a rookie” – Draft expert reveals Cameron Boozer is No. 1 on all NBA analytics draft boards
• Would Wizards Draft Cam Boozer? I BMitch & Finlay
• New Cameron Boozer Rumors on Wizards’ Interest amid AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson Buzz
• Duke Basketball: Analyst thinks Oklahoma City Thunder should move up for Cam Boozer
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Last month, St. John’s announced the signing of Senegalese forward Babacar Sane. Rick Pitino was quoted as being “extremely impressed” with Sane’s athletic ability. At 6-foot-8, Sane possesses the prototypical NBA forward frame, but his freakish 7-foot-2.5 wingspan places him alongside NBA champion Kawhi Leonard and Knicks forward OG Anunoby. The Senegal-born forward didn’t take the traditional route to college basketball. Instead, he joined the NBA Academy in Africa and was placed on Dakar Université Club, where he thrived.

Sane ended up joining G League Ignite alongside Pistons guard Ron Holland and other NBA talent. In 75 career games, Sane averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. The consensus around Babacar Sane has always been that he’s a prospect who has the raw tools to become an NBA forward but hasn’t taken that step just yet. Sane possesses freakish vertical jumping while still being able to create his own shot. Granted, his shooting splits across all levels haven’t been eye-popping; Sane has a viable jumpshot.

When watching film across three different continents for Sane, one thing is evident: He’s a phenomenal athlete. Sane’s film shows multiple clips of him finishing above the rim and impacting plays on both ends. Sane should thrive in Rick Pitino’s transition offense. His long strides and grab-and-go ability allow him to cover ground quickly, making him a threat in the open floor.

That downhill pressure often draws multiple defenders, creating open looks from beyond the arc, as seen during the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. Sane averaged 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in the Intercontinental Cup, and those marks are pretty impressive because most of those G League Ignite players were kind of just looking for their buckets and not making the extra passes.

Sane works more in the off-ball player role, where he finds himself in a bunch of motions and is constantly cutting to the basket. The reason he’s gonna do well in this role at St. John’s is that Babacar has never had a point guard of the same quality as Quinn Ellis in terms of playmaking. Ellis has a special ability to find the right player at the right time, and I could count on multiple occasions how many times I saw a guard miss a wide-open Sane cutting to the rim. If Quinn Ellis can consistently find Babacar in transition or on cuts, this could be a lethal Big East pairing. Sane is nearly impossible to contain once he’s going downhill, and even when defenses do, he still gets to the free-throw line, where he converts at an above-average rate.

One of the big questions heading into this season will be how many minutes Sane will get. In 17 minutes per game at MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, Sane had 16 double-doubles in 28 games and had three games with 20-plus points. So if we adjust Sane’s minutes and he ends up playing 20–25 minutes, he could definitely average around 12 points per game off the bench and could be a big momentum shifter when he checks in.

The make-or-break attribute for Sane and his playing time will be directly tied to his three-point shooting, where he was about average everywhere he played. His jumpshot is not broken; it is actually workable. His base looks good, his arms are tucked in, and he’s not a stiff shooter. So knowing how Pitino gets the best out of all his players, there’s nothing stopping Babacar Sane from becoming Big East Sixth Man of the Year besides himself.

Sane has been a successful international player with Senegal and has been a solid role player on three different continents. But it’s time for him to break out of his shell and live up to the potential most scouts think he has. Look what Rick Pitino did for Dillon Mitchell—he wasn’t an NBA-ready player at the beginning of the season, and now he’s projected as an early-to-mid second round pick.

I’ll say this one last time: Babacar Sane is gonna be must-watch TV at Madison Square Garden with his glamorous dunks and ability to create offense through his movement alone. He is one of many new pieces for the Johnnies this season, and we should all be excited to see how Pitino uses him.

It’s June. The second game of the NBA Finals is later today. But here we are, still think about the 2026 NBA Draft on June 23-24, 2026.

FanDuel Sportsbook will say that AJ Dybantsa is the No. 1 pick and so will everyone’s mom, dad, sibling, better half and dog. Even Dybantsa thinks so himself. Ari Alexander of WHDH-TV in Boston (yes, BOSTON) had an interview with him which goes into depth about his thoughts about the Wizards, Utah and where he will be in the draft.

But let’s just take a step back. The Wizards don’t just have the top pick. They have the No. 51 and No. 60 picks thanks to previous trades. It’s possible Washington could trade these picks more higher draft selections or use them for a pick in 2027 or later. That said, let’s assume Washington stays put with the No. 51 and 60 selections.

So this ends up being a harder question, but it’s fun nevertheless. Who are your favorite prospects at No. 51 and No. 60? And yeah, you can always say who your favorite pick is at No. 1 as well. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.