Now, just four wins away from an NBA title, these young Spurs are on the cusp of recasting the balance of power in the league and announcing itself as a dynastic force.
Wembanyama is 22. Stephon Castle 21 and Dylan Harper 20.
The average age of the Spurs (25.06 years old) makes San Antonio the second-youngest team to reach an NBA Finals in the shot clock era.
Even their head coach, Mitch Johnson, is young; he’s 39 and in his first full season on the job. And if he can top the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which begin Wednesday, June 3, he would become the fifth-youngest head coach to win an NBA championship since 1970.
These Spurs, it would seem, are ahead of schedule.
That has been the predominating thought surrounding San Antonio’s ascension, but that framing is too simplistic. Yes, the Spurs are winning as a very young team, but that notion minimizes other qualities necessary in championship teams, qualities the Spurs have: commitment to an identity, maturity, a willingness to adapt, a willingness to sacrifice.
“People don’t talk as much about the habits, the character, the togetherness, the competitive response — the things we talk about in these media sessions every single day,” Johnson said May 30, after San Antonio dethroned the Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. “And this team has now been pretty damn consistent for a long time, for over 100 games for the most part.
“When you look back at how we started the year, how we got to the (NBA) Cup on the road versus Denver and L.A., what we did in the Cup, playing (the Thunder) around Christmastime a few times, expectations. We’ve played in three playoff series, (at times) without Victor, without (De'Aaron) Fox multiple games — I don’t know who has as much experience as we do, this year, in terms of the 2025-2026 season.”
Whether you subscribe to the notion that this team is ahead of some nebulous schedule, the Spurs are nonetheless favored to win the Finals, primarily because of one thing: this team is much more than just Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs showed that in Game 7, when they topped the Thunder, 111-103, on their home floor. Seven different players reached double-figures in scoring, and contributions from all over the rotation predominated.
Julian Champagnie, who finished with 20 points, dropped 11 in the third quarter. Backup center Luke Kornet, who played just six minutes, hustled back during a pivotal Thunder fastbreak to pin a momentum-changing block against the backboard in an eventual four-point swing. De’Aaron Fox was a menace on defense all night and collected three steals and later found his shooting stroke. Harper knocked down huge shots down the stretch and scored 12 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting. Backup Keldon Johnson, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, knocked down two massive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, both of which came when the Thunder had trimmed the deficit to two points.
And then there’s Mitch Johnson, the coach who came up in the organization and who was hand-picked to be Gregg Popovich’s successor.
San Antonio has built a culture of hard work and discipline, of growth and learning, of consistency. Wembanyama and Johnson are merely the next stewards of that culture, but this front office recognizes that it’s about building a structure and empowering players to own their results.
The Thunder are still a force in the West. The Timberwolves, with Anthony Edwards, and the Nuggets (with three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokić) are always lurking. But, first, it’s the Knicks who stand in the way of history.
And with NBA All-Defensive second-team selection OG Anunoby expected to be the primary defender on Wembanyama, and with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns leading an offense that has posted the most dominant stretch in league history over any 11-game stretch, the challenge is daunting. Other Spurs will need to step up.
“Winning the Larry O’Brien, it’s a childhood dream,” Wembanyama said after Game 7. “Having a real shot at it. Having a chance — a tangible chance at winning it — at realizing a dream, it’s a lifetime chance. You never know when it’s going to happen again.
“The day we win it, speaking for myself, it’s going to be an amazing day of the realization of a dream. It’s hard to put into words. It’s almost like the meaning of my life.”
The Carolina Hurricanes have broken through and reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since coach Rod Brind'Amour was captain of the 2006 championship team.
The Vegas Golden Knights responded to a late-season coaching change from Bruce Cassidy to John Tortorella to reach the final for the third time in the franchise's nine years of existence. They won in their second trip in 2023.
The series winner will pick up the franchise's second Stanley Cup title. Who will help get them to the top?
Here are 10 players to watch in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, five from each team:
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Goalie Frederik Andersen
He had a middling season and Brandon Bussi played four more games and had 15 more wins than Andersen. Brind'Amour went with the veteran goaltender and he has turned things around with a 12-1 record and 1.44 goals-against average. Andersen was one of the first clients of Claude Lemieux after the four-time Stanley Cup winner became an agent. He said after Lemieux's May 28 death that he wants to make Lemieux proud.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin
He's considered a top shutdown defenseman, which he is why he was named to Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympics. He was injured during the early part of the season, which explains why the Golden Knights were able to score 10 goals against the Hurricanes in two October wins. He'll be key to helping limit a deep Vegas team.
Forward Logan Stankoven
He was the key piece in the return when the Hurricanes traded Mikko Rantanen to Dallas last season after acquiring him earlier in the season. The 23-year-old has taken a big step, recording his first 20-goal season and leading the team with nine playoff goals on the red-hot second line.
Forward Taylor Hall
Hall came over in the first Rantanen trade from the Chicago Blackhawks as part of a three-team deal. The 2010 No. 1 overall pick was a Hart Trophy winner in 2017-18, but his play had dropped off before the trade. He has found his game on a line with Stankoven and Jackson Blake. Hall leads the Hurricanes with 16 points.
Forward Sebastian Aho
He has only four goals and seven points in 13 games after averaging a point per game in the regular season. The second line has been carrying the Hurricanes and they'll need more offense from the Aho-led first line if they are going to beat the Golden Knights.
Others to watch: Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, K'Andre Miller, Jordan Staal.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Forward Mitch Marner
The Toronto Maple Leafs never got out of the second round and rarely out of the first during his tenure there. He received part of the criticism. Joining the Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade, he's not only in the fourth round, he's leading the playoffs in scoring with 21 points.
Forward Jack Eichel
Coach John Tortorella calls him the best 200-foot player in the NHL. The center was used against Nathan MacKinnon in the conference finals sweep of the Colorado Avalanche. In addition, Eichel is second in playoff scoring with 18 points and helped the USA win Olympic gold.
Forward Pavel Dorofeyev
He's tied for the NHL lead with 10 goals, with four of those coming on the power play. He'll be a restricted free agent at season's end and due a big raise after scoring 35 and 37 goals the past two regular seasons.
Forward Mark Stone
The Golden Knights are so deep that the skilled Stone plays on the third line. The winger is a former Selke Trophy finalist and also has four power play goals. Injuries are a problem and he was out for part of the playoffs. The Golden Knights were much better when he returned.
Defenseman Shea Theodore
He's averaging more than 25 minutes a game, the most of any player in the series. The former Anaheim Duck leads blue liners with 11 points and has a series-high 46 blocked shots. He'll be responsible for helping the Golden Knights escape the Hurricanes' relentless forecheck.
Others to watch: Carter Hart, Ivan Barbashev, Brett Howden, William Karlsson.
This week, the player responsible for perhaps the NBA’s most potent cultural phenomenon is stepping into a new broadcast role while the iconic franchise linked to his fame is competing for an NBA championship.
Lin, whose memorable play for the New York Knicks during the 2011-12 season sparked the international “Linsanity” craze, is joining ESPN’s NBA Finals coverage as an analyst. He will appear on "NBA Today," "SportsCenter" and possibly other network programs through the duration of the Knicks-Spurs series.
Lin makes his ESPN debut on Wednesday, June 3 on "SportsCenter" with Scott Van Pelt live in Washington D.C.
And yes, Lin told USA TODAY Sports in an interview on June 1, he is excited to see his former team four wins away from an NBA title.
“I always felt like Knicks fans deserve the best performances. They’re so passionate,” Lin said. “And as cool as it was for me to give good performances only for that stretch of time, I genuinely wish that I was able to do more. I genuinely wish I was able to stay longer, genuinely wish that I could have a lot more success and done things in the playoffs for the Knicks, but that never came to fruition.”
Lin played in the NBA for nine seasons, including two-year stints in Houston and Brooklyn and part of the Toronto Raptors’ championship 2019 season, but he remains best known for his lone season with the Knicks. Current Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, who grew up in New Jersey, even credited Lin for influencing his Knicks fandom.
Lin helped the Knicks turn around their season in February 2012 when he joined the starting lineup and led the team on a seven-game win streak while star Carmelo Anthony was out injured. The Knicks made the Eastern Conference playoffs but, with Lin injured and unable to play, were eliminated in the first round.
“I don’t think people understand the agony – putting in that much, having the team be able to turn around and really find good rhythm, and then to not be there for the most important games,” Lin said. “It was really hard for me to not be out on the floor. I know that there were some reports at that time, but the reality was, I was doing everything I could to try get back and contribute, and I wasn’t able to do that.”
Lin went on to play in the NBA playoffs in four different seasons for three different teams and said he plans to lean on that experience in his analyst role with ESPN.
“The goal for me is really how do I bring my previous experience and distill the complexities into something simple and digestible for the fans?” Lin said. “And that’s not just the successes. It’s the failures of multiple first-round exits before I was able to be a part of a team that was able to win it all. And seeing what worked, what didn’t work or what was the differentiator in getting us over the top, those are the things that I want to talk about.”
The whole idea of TV came out of left field for Lin, who said that while playing he never contemplated a broadcast career. But last season, after Lin returned from playing basketball in China and decided to retire, he wanted to figure out his next steps.
This March, Lin made a guest analyst appearance on "NBA Today," which he said was effectively a three-day trial period. He wanted to find out whether he was passionate about broadcasting and whether a network would give him the chance. His analytical breakdown of Luka Doncic’s isolation play was well-received by viewers and answered his own questions.
“I think after those three days, the reception that we got from the fans as well as what I felt internally was definitely beyond what I expected,” Lin said. “So that was nice in the sense of like, oh, people had really appreciated the breakdown, but I also felt joy in being back in NBA basketball.”
He said he’s texted three former teammates-turned-analysts — Danny Green, Iman Shumpert and Steve Novak — for advice. He’s also relied on ESPN anchor Malika Andrews and Guy, the vice president of production, for constant coaching.
“I’m less of the super hot take, loud persona,” Lin said. “I try to be somewhat even keeled, I try to be educated and then I try to be uplifting, even if I have to criticize.”
Lin said he’s learned that broadcasting is harder than it looks, and that he wants to do it anyway. Although his current agreement with ESPN is only through these Finals, he hopes to continue his broadcasting career afterward.
“I definitely have serious interest in trying to do this more and to do this long-term,” Lin said. “Honestly, I’m just really grateful to ESPN for these opportunities and I know that it’s truly special that they were willing to carve the space for me in the Finals. I know that doesn’t grow on trees and is something extremely special, so I’m just very grateful.”
Some Rockets fans are watching them for keys to the future. What do they have that we don’t?
What if the answer is “just about everything”?
Beyond Rockets fans, NBA observers love to watch the Finals in search of the new “meta”. Slow bigs are out. No, wait, they’re fine, but small guards are out. No, wait!
Well, Jalen Brunson, much to Becky Hammond’s chagrin, is heading to the NBA Finals. Isaiah Hartenstein is as traditional a big man as one can be.
The truth is much simpler, and much bleaker. As the NBA optimizes, it veers towards the singularity. You need a top-10 player. You need depth at every position. You need it all.
Someone let Rafael Stone and/or Ime Udoka know that you also need multiple ball handlers.
Rockets must add backcourt depth this summer
Although they surely know that. Needing something is different from getting it.
The available free agents seem either undesirable or unattainable. The Rockets should have the taxpayer’s Mid-Level Exception (MLE)…I think?
That shouldn’t be enough for Anfernee Simons, Coby White, or maybe even Quentin Grimes. It’d likely fetch you Gabe Vincent or Bogdan Bogdanovic, but it’s hard to say if either cracks the 2026-27 rotation. There isn’t really a free agent guard who finds that sweet spot between good enough to play and too good to pay.
That said, the trade market is a bit easier to navigate.
Let’s assume, for argument’s sake, that Rafael Stone isn’t looking to blow up the team or fork over his best assets. He’s looking at marginal gains. If that assumption holds, he’s probably looking at trading Dorian Finney-Smith and/or Clint Capela, along with second-round draft capital, for a meaningful reserve guard.
That could create its own issues. The Rockets may be hoping Finney-Smith can regain some form and bolster their wing depth. Fair. Surely, they see that Capela wasn’t a feasible rotation option in the playoffs, so at least trading him should be on the table.
The trade market is different from the free agent market. We don’t know who’s on the trade market. We do have educated guesses. Continuing to operate on the assumption that Stone isn’t willing to move a first-round pick, the list of reasonable candidates is somewhat slim.
If he’s willing to move Finney-Smith, Malik Monk has become a popular target. He can create his own shot and make plays for teammates. This is the type of lead guard the team needs, even if his defensive effort will infuriate Udoka on a routine basis.
The Hornets fell out of love with Tre Mann this year. I won’t pretend to have watched enough Hornets games to understand why, but I do know that Mann can play. He can handle the ball and shoot off the dribble. Reviews of Mann’s defense have been mixed, but there seems to be an understanding that he plays hard, which might be enough under Udoka’s tutelage.
Here’s one more name: Jaden Hardy. He scored 12.3 points per game while shooting 42.0% from deep during his 23 games with the Wizards. Sure, he dished out a comically low 1.3 assists per game, but the Rockets need a guard who can generate offense by hook or by crook.
Jordan Hawkins? D’Angelo Russell? Marcus Sasser? These are all guys in Capela’s salary range who would be upgrades over Aaron Holiday. That’s the (limited) criteria here. One thing is clear: The Rockets need a guard.
As it stands, the Rockets have a third-year (and functionally, a sophomore) guard in Reed Sheppard, Fred VanVleet coming off a potentially career-altering injury, Amen Thompson (who is a guard in the same sense that the shadows in Plato’s cave were representations of reality), and Holiday. That will not suffice:
Editor’s Note: As the Celtics begin an uncertain offseason, Insider Chris Forsberg is rolling out a three-part series called “The Path,” in which he breaks down three potential avenues for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to take this summer. You can read Part I here.
Let’s start this uncomfortable conversation with two unassailable facts:
After seasons in which the Celtics have fallen short of expectations, Brad Stevens and his front office staff have rarely sat on their hands. Boston’s brass typically has made bold summer decisions aimed at thrusting the team closer to title contention.
If the desired pathway forward is to keep the superstar tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown together, there are very few ways to make bold changes around them without moving off the other remaining pieces of the championship core.
Which leads us to Part 2 of our summer pathway series, which we’re dubbing an “uncomfortable middle road.”
With Tatum and Brown set to make a combined $115.6 million and account for 70 percent of the salary cap next season, the spotlight falls on the three other players making more than a minimum salary: Derrick White ($30.3 million), Sam Hauser ($10.8 million), and Payton Pritchard ($7.8 million).
No one wants to entertain the idea of moving on from what remains of Boston’s title core — especially just one year after bidding farewell to Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet. But the reality is that the Celtics don’t have many other ways to infuse talent, at least without utilizing their available exceptions and trying to navigate the luxury tax in the process.
In Monday’s Part I, we investigated the “small tweaks” path, which could patch some holes that the playoffs exposed in this core.
Today, it’s time to get a little more uncomfortable.
Mission statement
Commit to bringing back the Jays but revamp the core pieces around them, using key members of the 2024 championship team as assets in trades and then utilizing available exceptions to fill out a roster that still accomplishes tax goals by season’s end.
The path
Reaffirm a commitment to Tatum and Brown as the core of the team.
Trade some combination of White, Hauser and (less likely) Pritchard.
Cross your fingers on the continued improvement of young core.
Hunt low-cost, high-reward targets with available exceptions to fill out the roster.
We can hear your snarling through your computer or phone. I have a young niece, Allie, who worships Derrick White. She might revoke her Celtics fandom if they trade him, and might attack me for even writing this article.
But the reality is that, if you’re not convinced small tweaks are enough to push this team forward, then it’s going to take some pain to get to the level these Celtics yearn to reach.
Just revisit past failures. Stiff-armed by the veteran Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Celtics crafted a package built around a young Aaron Nesmith and traded for Malcolm Brogdon.
Even after Brogdon produced a Sixth Man of the Year season, it was clear the Celtics needed a larger overhaul of their core, and Stevens made the tough choices the following summer to send out Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III and Brogdon in order to bring back Holiday and Porzingis.
Those moves were jaw-droppers in the moment. It forced the Celtics to move on from beloved pieces of their core. But it got the team where it wanted to go by delivering a 2024 title.
The wish list
Here’s the hard part: Trading any of the White-Hauser-Pritchard trio is neither ideal nor easy to find surefire upgrades.
Every team in the league is searching for their own Derrick White, and even in a poor shooting season, he was vital to Boston’s overall success given his absurd basketball IQ, particularly on the defensive end. Hauser is making less-than-midlevel money and is the sort of bargain shooter whom every contender covets. Pritchard can sign a big-money extension in October but remains maybe the best value in the NBA for the next two seasons.
The uncomfortable question is whether the Celtics missed a chance to fully cash in on White’s value last offseason when teams such as the Magic were launching first-round picks for players like Desmond Bane, and do you wait any longer as lottery reform and a new CBA make it tougher for teams to part with draft assets?
Good luck finding a deal involving White that shores up Boston’s frontcourt. Could you flip White to his hometown Nuggets in exchange for Aaron Gordon? Sure, and if you could guarantee us 70-plus games of a healthy Gordon, we’d at least listen. But Gordon is only a year younger and makes the same money.
You could call the Cavaliers about Jarrett Allen, but they’re already swimming in guards, especially if they bring back James Harden. We’d call the Timberwolves to see if there’s anything you can build around Naz Reid, though he’s as beloved there as White is here.
Maybe you contact Detroit about a deal bringing back Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart? If Portland strikes out on a Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit, could you pitch them on reuniting the Holiday/White backcourt in exchange for some younger pieces?
You can reach out to New Orleans about a deal built around Trey Murphy III but likely need a third team to ensure White lands with a contender.
The Hauser situation is slightly less complicated. It’s not hard to hunt moves where Hauser’s salary helps target a big man. Detroit, whose lack of shooting was obvious during its own early playoff exit, might be intrigued by a Hauser-for-Stewart swap. The Celtics have a gaggle of young wings who can try to fill Hauser’s void — even if few in the league can shoot it as well as Hauser has in his Boston tenure.
It probably doesn’t even make sense to ponder Pritchard trades until his next deal kicks in, but again, because Boston has a limited number of salaries between the Jays and the minimums, he has to at least be included in this discussion.
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
A deal involving New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III and Derrick White likely would need a third team.
What it looks like
We come away from this exercise wondering if the better path is a bigger splurge involving one of the Jays. (Much more on that Wednesday). Alas, this is what the Celtics’ front office is left exploring.
If the team simply moves Hauser, it feels more like a small-tweak summer. Finding the right White package isn’t easy, especially because Boston might value his day-to-day impact more than any team left leery by an outlier shooting season for a soon-to-be 32-year-old.
One more thing to keep in mind this summer: If Boston stays under the luxury tax for one more season, resets pesky repeater penalties and puts itself in position to make 2023-type swings to bolster the supporting cast next summer, then it would also be beneficial to have more mid-tier salaries to build deals around.
The lack of those contracts right now complicates roster building. Splitting White’s $30 million between two players — and then utilizing exceptions to add more contracts around midlevel money — could help the long game.
But does it make the Celtics better now? These are the tough conversations that Stevens and his staff must tackle this summer.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 30: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees comes out to talk with pitcher Ryan Weathers #40 against the Athletics in the bottom of the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park on May 30, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ask any fan, analyst, or evaluator about the Yankees’ weaknesses, and they’re almost certain to start in one place: the bullpen. The team’s disinterest in making moves to upgrade the unit over the winter, which struggled for much of 2025, drew ire as part of the club’s “Run it Back” strategy. If the bullpen wasn’t very good last year, and the Yankees did nothing over the winter to upgrade it, why should they expect it to excel this year?
Many are still asking that same question over two months into the season. With trade season approaching, though, I couldn’t help but wonder: will the Yankees’ bullpen problem solve itself?
Look ahead to the summer months, and the clearest way the Yankee bullpen could fix itself is through a series of internal upgrades, with the talent from the club’s stellar starting rotation trickling down. The rotation has been the talk of the town so far in 2026, and that’s with Max Fried now on the shelf and Clarke Schmidt still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. While Schmidt is still a ways off, Fried has resumed throwing and could be back sometime this month. His return would force Aaron Boone to answer a difficult, that of which quality starter would need to get bumped from his stellar rotation.
The most obvious candidate is Ryan Weathers, who through little fault of his own has probably been the weakest member of the rotation thus far. Weathers also has some experience pitching in relief, having shuttled between the rotation and the ‘pen for the first few years of his career. As a lefty who can touch 98+ mph on his heater, and who has the pedigree of a mid-rotation starter, Weathers alone could be a massive addition to the bullpen.
But that’s just the start of the potential reinforcements the Yankees could add internally. The aforementioned Schmidt, one of the Yankees’ best pitchers when healthy between 2024 and 2025, is targeting a late-summer return, and very well could be a bullpen addition when he returns. On top of that, the Yankees have a cavalcade of interesting arms in the minors. Carlos Lagrange is the most mouth-watering potential prospect addition, the big right-hander in possession of 103-mph gas that could surely get major-league hitters out right now. Though he’s the number-one option for a spot start at the moment, Elmer Rodriguez also figures to be a plausible bullpen by the end of the year if he’s needed there, while the likes of Yovanny Cruz and Yerry De Los Santos give the Yankees even more minor-league depth as members of the Scranton Shuttle.
Moreover, there’s the fact that even as shaky as the bullpen has felt at times, the unit even as currently constructed hasn’t been that bad. A number of high-profile blown saves have left a sour taste in fans mouths, but the Yankee bullpen currently ranks fourth in the AL in ERA, fifth in FIP, and first in expected ERA. It’s plausible that even just left to their own devices, the Yankee bullpen could solve itself just by continuing to pitch largely as they have thus far, but while avoiding a few key blow-ups that lead to tough losses in close games.
In any event, contending teams tend to make moves to add arms in the summer, and I don’t expect the Yankees to go through the trade deadline without making efforts to add external help. But given the club’s roster construction at the moment, is it possible they won’t even need to lift a finger to straighten out their bullpen?
We’re back in business today, the Yankees hosting the Guardians for a three-game set, which Peter will preview this morning. We’ll also get our weekly minor league rundown from Michael, and a profile of Stick Michael from Jeff. Later, Madison will recap a light Monday night of action, while Peter will review the last month in the NL East, and Matt goes over what happened in May in the NL Central.
Fans cheer as Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani bats against the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. (Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
These are Rob Manfred’s words, from four years ago: “If there is one thing I could wish for, more than anything else, it would be the ability to give our fans that frictionless experience of being able to watch what they want to watch, where they want to watch.”
This is what it means to be fan-friendly: enjoy your team on a cable, satellite or streaming service wherever you are, with no blackouts, and no need for subscriptions to as many as 10 outlets, most of which you do not want and some of which you may not be able to find.
Manfred, baseball’s commissioner, can solve this. The major league owners can solve this.
Yes, according to the initial collective bargaining proposal the owners presented to the players’ union last week.
The union also made their initial bargaining proposal last week, the start of a long process that could jeopardize the 2027 season. At this point, the two sides cannot even agree whether baseball has a major predicament on its hands, let alone whether a salary cap should be needed to defuse it.
This is what MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement last week: “Too many fans in too many markets have too little hope their team has a fair chance to win.”
This is what union executive director Bruce Meyer said on a call with reporters Monday: “We do not accept the premise that there is some existential crisis going on.”
The league says players as a whole would make more money with a cap; the union says players would lose hundreds of millions. The league picks its preferred statistics to show why competitive balance is broken; the union picks its preferred statistics to show why it is not.
This back and forth is going to go on for months. So let’s skip it for now and get back to the television problem. The league and its owners sign broadcast contracts with media outlets, so why do the players need to be involved here?
That is: If the owners’ proposed solution to the purported competitive balance problem is to pool all broadcast revenue and split it equally among teams, why not just do it?
The short answer: revenue sharing is included in the collective bargaining agreement, so any change to revenue sharing must be negotiated with the players.
The long answer: The Dodgers already are contributing about $100 million from their SportsNet LA deal toward revenue sharing. If they’re going to contribute all of it — roughly three times as much — what’s their incentive?
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks to reporters before Game 2 of the 2025 World Series in Toronto in October. (Cole Burston / Getty Images)
The owners could try to find one of their own revenue sources to compensate the Dodgers and other behemoths, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. But, first, how about trying to make the Dodgers whole from cuts in player payroll?
Under the cap proposal, the required payroll cuts could save the Dodgers in salary about as much as they could lose in local television revenue.
And, Caplin told me, all that revenue sharing would give the 12 teams currently under the proposed $171 minimum payroll a way to get there.
“You have to give small market teams the resources to get to the floor,” Caplin said.
That is the kind of talk that annoys Meyer, who noted the San Diego Padres used to take from the revenue-sharing fund and now pay into it. Under the late Peter Seidler, the Padres played to win and paid to win, and the team now ranks second in attendance (behind the Dodgers) and just sold for a league-record $3.9 billion.
“We want to encourage more San Diegos,” Meyer said.
The way the league tells it, not every owner currently has the ability to compete.
“Every team does have that ability, whether they concede that or not,” Meyer said.
As we said, the back and forth is going to go on for months. The blackouts should not.
“We want fans to see as many games as possible,” Meyer said. “We want them to remove the blackouts and maximize revenue in any way they can.”
The MLB blackout policies are not negotiated with the union. They are negotiated with broadcast partners and were primarily designed to prop up the value of contracts with cable and satellite companies, many of which have since withered and died.
Caplin said the league is not interested in waiving blackout rules on a team-by-team basis, even for those teams whose rights no longer are held by a cable or satellite entity. In order to resolve the blackout problem, Caplin said the league hopes to sell a national media package that would eliminate the need to preserve local broadcast territories.
At this point, no one knows whether a salary cap might actually come to pass, or whether an all-the-teams, all-the-time media outlet might come to pass. But, after years of promising that the league could find a way to give its fans what they wanted, there has got to be a better way than setting up a scenario in which Manfred might essentially tell fans, “You’re stuck with blackouts because Mike Trout and Aaron Judge won’t go for a salary cap.”
Jun 2, 2008; Detroit, MI, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Petr Sykora (17) celebrates his game winning goal with defenseman Ryan Whitney (19) as goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) skates past them during the third overtime period of game five of the Stanley Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Penguins beat the Red Wings 4-3 in triple overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-Imagn Images
Eighteen years ago today, Petr Sykora called his own shot, scoring one of the most memorable overtime goals in Pittsburgh Penguins history when it comes to the Stanley Cup Final.
It was 2008 and the young Penguins were trying to upset the vaunted Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final.
Pittsburgh was clearly outmatched in the series, losing three of the first four games and facing elimination on the road in Game 5 as Detroit was ready to celebrate their championship in front of their home fans.
The Penguins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and it looked like things were going their way, but Detroit, as they often did, battled back, erasing that deficit and eventually taking a 3-2 lead in the game.
With the Stanley Cup getting polished and shined and ready to be lifted by Nicklas Lidstrom, Maxine Talbot pressed pause, tying the game at 3-3 with just 35 seconds remaining in regulation.
To overtime the game went. And then a second overtime. And a third overtime.
Detroit continued to pepper the Penguins as Marc-Andre Fleury made 58 saves, keeping the Penguins’ season alive.
And then one of the great moments in Penguins lore happened.
Petr Sykora, who told Pierre McGuire he was going to score, did just that.
What a remarkable goal and what a moment, calling your own shot on that kind of stage.
May 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski (50) walks on the field before the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates have reinstated pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski from the restricted list as he rejoins the team as a relief pitcher on their road trip in Houston.
Following the return of Jared Jones from the 60-day injured list, Mlodzinski was informed that he would be removed from the starting pitching rotation. In a post-game locker room interview on Thursday last week, Mlodzinski was noticeably upset at the decision to bump him back to the bullpen.
“Obviously, just excited to have Jared back with us,” Mlodzinski said. “I can honestly say I’m just still communicating with the organization and the people in my corner, whether that’s my family or my agency, about what is next. I really don’t have any comments after that.”
Mlodzinski was then placed on the restricted list on Sunday, citing that he did not feel physically or mentally prepared after hearing the news of losing his spot in the rotation. The 27-year-old pitcher did not request a trade, but the move to sit out Sunday’s game was something that General Manager Ben Cherington anticipated.
“Carmen informed us this morning (Sunday) that he was not ready to pitch today,” Cherington said. “So, we made the decision to place him on the restricted list for today. Going into the weekend, we understood and communicated with Carmen that at some point this weekend we were going to need him to be ready or we’d have to replace him on the team in fairness to the team, so that’s what happened today.”
Carmen Mlodzinski appeared disheartened and didn’t go into much detail regarding his thoughts on moving to the Pirates bullpen. — From José Negron in Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/PNK2ekDJEk
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPghSports) May 29, 2026
After a brief stint on the restricted list Mlodzinski appears ready and willing to embrace his new role on the Pirates as a strong reliever.
“I wanna do what’s best to help us win baseball games,” Mlodzinski said. “Being around these guys, this team, it’s a pretty cool group to be a part of. Of course I want to start and will always want that, but winning games takes precedence.”
Cherington also commented on the strength that Mlodzinski can bring to the team in relief appearances.
“I believe we’ve made a lot of progress with him around what his role was gonna be and how we can work with him in that role to help the team win,” Cherington said.
Given the way he started the season Mlodzinksi has every reason to be upset at the decision the organization made to boot him from the rotation. This has been by far his best start to a season as a starter as he has a 4-3 record with a 3.76 ERA in nine starts. He’s also only given up just three homers this year while striking out 46. Obviously it wasn’t a matter of performance, but the writing has been on the wall all season; as soon Jones was healthy enough to return Mlodzinski figured to be the odd man out.
Unfortunately for Mlodzinski his stats couldn’t sway the decision of management when it came to the final cut. If it were strictly about numbers, one would figure Bubba Chandler would be the one getting sent to the bullpen after a shaky start to the 2026 season. However, the experience that Mlodzinski has as a reliever and the struggles the bullpen has had makes him the clear best choice to help the team win.
Carmen Mlodzinski is back off the restricted list and says he’s ready to take on the bullpen role, even if his long-term goal is still to start.
We know Carmen can be a high-leverage bulk option who can cover multiple innings, protect the bullpen, and potentially close out games… pic.twitter.com/CoYR5YAjTl
Mlodzinski has spent the majority of his MLB career as a relief pitcher and the current bullpen needs plenty of help. With that being said it sounds like Mlodzinski will be used at extended periods in games, with Jason Mackey reporting that manager Don Kelly said he would serve as a “high-leverage bulk reliever”, likely pitching multiple innings behind the starters. The bullpen has struggled mightily in the middle innings of games this year, but Mlodzinski slides into that role as someone who could pitch multiple innings and even close out a game with his improved pitch mix.
The Pirates will take on the Houston Astros in Houston in a three-game series and Mlodzinski figures to be ready to rock if called upon.
“If they called on me Tuesday, if they need me to do that, I would be willing to do whatever they’re asking,” Mlodzinski said. “That kind of sums it up for me, honestly.”
Saints head coach issues apology in club video message
Dragan Solak wants to ‘close the chapter and look ahead’
Tonda Eckert has apologised for orchestrating the Spygate scandal that culminated in Southampton being kicked out of the Championship playoff final. Southampton, who observed training sessions of three opponents last season, were denied the chance to win promotion after an independent disciplinary commission found the club “seriously violated” the integrity of the competition.
Eckert, publicly addressing the six charges made by the English Football League for the first time in a video message released by the club, said he accepted “full responsibility”, adding: “I apologise to all of the clubs that have been involved and mostly I apologise to our supporters.” In a similar address, the Southampton owner, Dragan Solak, said he wants the German head coach who is under investigation from the Football Association, to lead the club into the Premier League next season.
May 29, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Charles McAdoo (26) celebrates after hitting his first career hit/home run during the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
In this column, I normally focus on guys who, you know, haven’t actually taken wing yet. But I missed Charles McAdoo after saying I’d feature him, and he really has had an interesting season, so I figured that in spite of 8 PA and a home run with the big club he’d still be an appropriate topic.
McAdoo was a 13th round pick by the Pirates out of San Jose State in 2023. He smashed the low minors and looked good in a brief AA stint before being traded to the Jays at the 2024 deadline in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He scuffled down the stretch last year, and had an ugly first couple of months repeating the level in 2025 before finding his footing and slashing .274/.343/.475 over the final 80 games of the season.
This season, he was bumped up to AAA. Although his 112 wRC+ isn’t really an improvement over last season’s overall result, he’s getting there a different way. McAdoo has sliced way down on his swing and miss, making contact 80.7% of the time compared to 71% at a lower level last year. It’s the best rate of his pro career, and a sharp reversal from his previous trend of increasing whiffs as he climbed the ladder. He’s also become more selective, swinging 42% of the time as a Bison compared to almost 48% as a Fisher Cat. As a result, he’s gone from walking 9% of the time and striking out nearly 28% to walking 14% of the time and striking out just 20%. Both are his best marks since A ball by a significant margin. That’s come with a lower BABIP and a bit less power production than he manage before being traded or after June 1st last year.
It’s not obvious what’s allowed him to make that improvement. His swing looks about the same, starting with a closed stance in a low crouch with the bat flat behind his head and using a small toe tap to shift him into a more neutral position before he unloads. If anything’s changed, it looks like he’s somewhat quieted the bat waggle that in past years has sometimes looked like it lead him to start his swing from a different hand angle than he’d like. He may have also reduced his bat wrap a bit, very slightly shortening his swing. It’s a minor tweak if it’s anything.
The results look like they come from a different swing, though. He doesn’t seem to be hitting the ball as hard. His hard hit rate in Buffalo was 37% over a large enough sample to mean something. That’s a touch below average. We don’t have that info publicly available for AA, but scouting reports note that he was putting up plus exit velocities. He also hasn’t cracked 110mph on a ball in play yet this year, unusual for a guy universally agreed to possess plus raw power. In a tiny sample, his bat speed at the MLB level has been right on average. He’s also putting the ball on the ground more and pulling it less than he has in his career, especially since he reached AA.
Maybe the changes are subtle and I’m just not picking them up, because statistically he really looks like a guy who’s cut down and flattened his swing to make more contact. If that is what’s happened, it’s not a bad trade. He’s catching up to high fastballs (his home run was on 94 at the top of the zone), and while his power production has dipped he still has nine home runs across 215 PA. If he can post near league average strikeout and walk totals with 20+ home runs, he’ll have plenty of offensive juice to support a big league role.
He’ll have to hit, because he won’t get into games for his glove or his wheels. He’s played mostly third base in the minors, but while he’s got an athletic build he’s stiff and not very rangy there. He spent more than half his time in Buffalo at first or as the DH. In the long term, he looks like a corner utility guy who can give you passable work at third on occasion, but I don’t think he should be an every day option there. He’s a below average runner, although good instincts and aggression allowed him to steal 34 bases in 40 tries in 2025 and 21 in 25 the season before. It’s not that he brings no value outside the bat, but he’s a guy who does enough elsewhere to allow the bat to get into games rather than someone who can deliver value in multiple facets of the game.
It’ll be interesting to see what McAdoo is able to do with his opportunity in Toronto. With Lenyn Sosa ‘injured’ and unplayable when healthy and Davis Schneider appearing to need a significant reset in AAA, he should get at least a couple of weeks’ run with the big league club. If he does continue to make a decent amount of contact and flash his power, he could add a little jolt to the bottom of a lineup that’s sorely needed it.
Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
What can the Sharks learn from the 2026 Stanley Cup finalists, the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes?
This is an especially pressing question for San Jose to ponder on the eve of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, as it just missed making the playoffs this year. The young Sharks look to snap their seven-season playoff drought next year.
Beyond that, general manager Mike Grier wants to build a consistent contender just like Vegas and Carolina. The Golden Knights won the 2023 Stanley Cup and have made at least the conference finals in four of their nine seasons of existence. The Hurricanes have made the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four years, finally breaking through to the championship round this season.
Here are five lessons of success that the Sharks can learn from the 2026 finalists. It’s worth noting that there is no single path to hoisting the Stanley Cup, so San Jose shouldn’t be looking to simply copy Vegas or Carolina.
Ruthless Decision-Making?
Hate it or love it, the Golden Knights are the epitome of putting winning above pretty much anything else in their decision-making.
For example, their “What have you done for me lately?” mentality with head coaches: Vegas has fired three head coaches, Gerard Gallant, Peter DeBoer and Bruce Cassidy, all within three seasons of at least a conference finals appearance.
John Tortorella, who took over for 2023 Stanley Cup winner Cassidy in March, finished the regular season 7-0-1, and has won 12 of 16 playoff games.
This ruthlessness also has extended to general manager Kelly McCrimmon’s roster decisions, like the acrimonious parting with fan favorite goalie Marc-Andre Fleury after his Vezina Trophy-winning season.
What does this mean for Grier?
There are, of course, some decisions that many Sharks fans will be glad that Grier doesn’t follow in McCrimmon’s steps, such as signing goalie Carter Hart after his sexual assault case acquittal or spending a first-round pick on Trevor Connolly and his checkered past.
But in the coming years, Grier will have to make some unpopular decisions to build a winner, and no one has done that with more success than the Golden Knights.
Size Isn’t Everything?
The Hurricanes appear to place less of an emphasis on size than the Golden Knights … and maybe Grier.
Carolina has five regular skaters listed under 6-foot-0, 5-foot-8 Logan Stankoven, 5-foot-10 Seth Jarvis, and 5-foot-11 Jackson Blake, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Sean Walker. In contrast, Vegas doesn’t have any skater listed under 6-foot-0.
It’s also worth noting that two of these smaller Canes, Gostisbehere and Walker, are defensemen, whereas 6-foot-1 Rasmus Andersson is the Knights’ smallest.
Since the beginning of his regime, Grier has stressed adding size throughout the organization.
Of course, size isn’t an either-or thing — Grier has drafted a handful of smaller prospects in the last four years, for example — but the Hurricanes are a reminder that not everybody in the NHL is thinking bigger.
Don’t Need a No. 1 Defenseman?
When it comes to the Sharks’ next step, most of the chatter is about improving their defense.
Carolina and Vegas are examples of teams winning without a Norris Trophy-caliber defenseman; case in point, their most decorated rearguards. Jaccob Slavin, the Canes’ go-to shutdown blueliner, finished fifth for the Norris in 2019, but more often than not, is outside the top 10. Shea Theodore, playing 1D minutes in the playoffs for the first time in his career, has two sixth-place Norris finishes on his resume, in 2020 and 2021, but otherwise hasn’t been in that conversation.
Both teams, however, are loaded up with excellent defensemen up and down their line-ups, especially Olympians Slavin, Theodore, Andersson, and Noah Hanifin.
Everyone, of course, wants a true-blue No. 1 a la Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, but there are only a handful of defensemen like that in the league. As the Sharks navigate their return to prominence, Carolina, Vegas and two-time defending champion Florida Panthers are proof positive that you can win without a kingpin blueliner.
Price of Goaltending?
The Hurricanes, in particular, are winning without expensive goaltending.
Between Frederik Andersen and Brandon Bussi, Carolina is spending $4.25 million AAV, just 4.5 percent of the cap, which is at the lower end of the NHL. Between Hart and Adin Hill, Vegas is spending $8.25 million AAV, 8.6 percent of the cap, which is about average.
You don’t need a Norris Trophy winner to win a Stanley Cup — and you don’t need a pricey goalie either.
The Sharks are spending just $5 million AAV between Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic right now, but it’s a reminder that when it comes time for Grier to pay the piper between the pipes … he might not have to?
“F–k Them Picks”
That’s a Los Angeles Rams meme from 2022, so widespread that general manager Les Snead wore a T-shirt with that slogan at his Super Bowl victory parade.
Snead is still living up to that slogan, with Monday’s earth-shattering trade for superstar defensive end Myles Garrett, sending 2024 first-rounder Jared Verse and three future picks, including a 2027 first-rounder, to the Cleveland Browns.
The Golden Knights are the NHL’s equivalent of the Rams: They’ve traded nine of their short-lived franchise’s 11 first-round picks, and their 2026 and 2027 firsts, for stars like Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Hanifin, Tomas Hertl and Andersson. Five of those six players are on this Vegas squad.
The rebuilding Sharks, as they should, have guarded their first-round picks like Fort Knox over the last half-decade, but hopefully for the franchise, that time is coming to an end soon. In the future, maybe the Sharks won’t trade firsts at the rate of the Golden Knights (or Rams), but it’ll be a sign that they’ve come out of the rebuild and are trying to win a Stanley Cup again.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 31: José Caballero #72 of the New York Yankees is congratulated by Max Schuemann #30 after Caballero scored against the Athletics in the top of the third inning at Sutter Health Park on May 31, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
MLB.com | Theo DeRosa: There are many ways to win a baseball game. Scoring 13 runs in an inning is certainly one of them; I’m surprised the Yankees don’t try it more often. Jokes aside, their 3rd-inning outburst against the A’s on Sunday was one for the ages, and I mean literally – the last time the Yankees scored more runs in an inning, according to this article, was on July 6, 1920 against the Washington Senators, when they hung a 14-spot in the 5th inning. It would be pretty cool if this year’s squad did that too.
MLB.com | Ed Eagle: Rejoice, everybody: Ben Rice has won his first ever Player of the Week award! I guess hitting .462 with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBI in 26 at bats will do that for you. To be honest, Rice has been so good this year that I’m surprised that this was his first time winning this award – I could’ve sworn he had some blazing weeks earlier in the year. Congratulations, Ben, and here’s hoping this is the first of many to come.
Sports Illustrated | Mark Rosenstein: The Yankees need bullpen help, and they could be getting some from an old friend. Tommy Kahnle has had two stints in the Bronx, the second one ending in 2024. This March, he signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox, and he’s been pitching for their AAA affiliate. There’s a quirk to his contract, as if he’s not on the major league roster by June 1 – that is, today – he can opt out, becoming a free agent. Might there be a reunion in the works? If Kahnle is willing to accept another minor league deal, fine, I guess, but color me skeptical about the chances of him actually helping the team. The Yankees need high-caliber options, and a guy who walked 31 batters in 63 innings last year is not my idea of one.
ESPN | Kiley McDaniel: Prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel has released updated top 10 rankings for each MLB team, and right-handed pitcher Sean Paul Liñan receives a shoutout as a “riser to watch”. Acquired from the Dodgers’ system in the Jorbit Vivas trade, Liñan has struck out 51 batters in just 35 innings for the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades this year. If he can continue to post these kinds of numbers going forward, expect Sean Paul to get busy moving up the ranks.
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 25: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks on the court during game against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game Four of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals on May 25, 2026 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Just one more sleep, and the lights will shine bright.
Just one more day for the Knicks to finally grace the NBA Finals stage once again.
We’ve been waiting for 27 years. We can make it there.
Mike Brown was asked what the Knicks can do to contain Victor Wembanyama defensively:
"You just hope a guy like that, you can find ways to make him work. You pray. I had some buddies that are monks, I can't go to them because he's got that part of the religion all wrapped up" 😂 pic.twitter.com/F8w58V2k1a
“You have to have some sort of fight in you. It doesn’t matter where you are. There’s pressure when you’re sitting in the seat. And it’s warranted because of what we get paid.”
On his prior Finals experience making it easier for him to navigate:
“Just the magnitude of it, being through it. This is my seventh time now being in the Finals. It won’t be overwhelming.”
On Mitchell Robinson’s status before Game 1:
“I’m just waiting on the medical staff. He just did individual work today. I’m waiting on the medical staff to let me know what the next step is.”
On getting ready for a hostile road environment in Game 1 at San Antonio:
“[We need to be] aware that we’re going into an environment where the opposing team is going to generate a lot of energy. Our crowd is one of the best, if not the best in the league, and the energy that we get from playing here at Madison Square Garden is unbelievable. There are probably other buildings where, in their players’ minds, they give them that same energy. So, knowing that it’s going to be hostile, we don’t have the energy of the crowd to help us get over the hump. So we have to come out, not coming out jumping on them, but we have to come out with a purpose, not just physically but mentally as well, so that we don’t fall behind big, because the crowd will really feed into that.”
On defending Wembanyama’s size and skill:
“You just hope [with] a guy like that, you can find ways to make him work. You pray. I have some buddies that are monks — I can’t go to them because he’s got that part of the religion all wrapped up.”
On keeping Wembanyama guessing offensively:
“At his size and his talent and his ability, you’ve got to hope he misses some, but you’ve got to keep mixing things up so you can keep him trying to guess. He’s got a great feel, so it’s going to be hard, but you keep him trying to guess and try to make him work.”
On not expecting Wemby to defend Karl-Anthony Towns in the Finals:
“I imagine Wemby won’t guard him as much. They put a small on KAT quite a bit. Either way, whether Wemby is on him or a small is on him, we always wanna try to move KAT around. Hopefully we’ll be able to do that against San Antonio.”
On Josh Hart’s subtle impact on everything:
“He does so many little things that if you’re not careful, you won’t appreciate them. I got to give him probably more leash than anybody else. I got to let him go be him and get out of his way.”
On finding stability through adversity:
“You find stuff that you can hold onto to help lift you up through some tough times. At the end of the day, yes, we get paid a lot of money and yes, this is a big business, and you respect everybody has to have an opinion, because we’re in the public eye, and you respect that there’s going to be change and you just embrace it.”
On Landry Shamet’s playoff surge:
“When you see a guy like him, getting here the hard way, all the work he’s put in, it makes you giddy inside.”
On lessons from the NBA Cup championship against the Spurs:
“There’s a lot. We’re the same but different team, and same with them. We played different guys during that Cup run. They played different guys during that Cup run. You can tell that they’ve matured as a group. You can tell we’ve matured as a group. So just going through that experience and having that type of pressure, where it’s the only game being played, was something that you can always kind of carry over to try to understand that, you know what, there’s a lot going on around you. We still have a job to do. We have to be very intentional with everything we do, because you’re going to be pulled at in a ton of different directions. But at the end of the day, it’s all about going out and playing that game and getting a win.”
On believing the Knicks were built for the NBA Finals:
“I truly felt that this team was an NBA Finals team. I thought we had a true opportunity. Because some jobs you take, you’re like, ‘OK, we can get better. We have a chance to make the playoffs right now.’ But this one, I felt we legitimately had a chance if we could help them figure it out, and the players could stay together during the process, especially when we hit adversity.”
On when he sensed the team peaking late in the regular season:
“Down the stretch of the regular season, like, with, I don’t know, six, seven games to go, after Landry got back, I think I started to see us play some good basketball and do some things, do more things that were selfless, or more sacrificing from the group. So, maybe then. Right where we need to be at the right time of the year.”
"The greatest currency you can earn in New York City is not money, but it's respect. To have the respect of the fans in the city, we are rich beyond belief here in the city."
“I feel like the word hope has been gone from the New York Knicks for a long time. And for me and OG to be part of this team that revives the word hope in the city, it’s something special. It’s something really, really special, and it’s an honor.”
On earning respect from Knicks fans:
“I can remember draft day a while ago. The Knicks were not good, and people didn’t seem to care as much about [them]. It’s been an honor to be part of this team, be part of this organization, like bring the word ‘hope’ back to the city. To have the Knicks be where we’re at right now and to be so respected in the city. I’ve always said the best currency you could earn in New York City is not money, it’s respect. And to have the respect of the fans in the city, we’re rich beyond belief here in the city.”
On maximizing this Finals opportunity:
“I don’t think anybody who’s made the finals would say they don’t feel like a winner. And I also think that when you get an opportunity like this, you have to maximize it. You never know if you get another chance, you never know what life has in store for all of us. And these opportunities are very far and few between, and you gotta make the most of them.”
On finding the 1999 Finals shirt right before his Knicks debut:
“I didn’t know that was gonna come back to be a photo that we all remember. I grew up a Knicks fan, and to be my first game as a Knick, officially, after a wild training camp that I didn’t get to have [because he had to wait a few days for the trade to become official], and really meeting my teammates for the first time at Charlotte for that preseason game… it was a special moment for me and my family. I remember my father was there, my wife was there, and it was one of those moments. I found that shirt in my first days of actually being on the team. I found it in Charleston (S.C.), funny enough. While they were practicing, I was out vintage shopping in the city and I found the shirt and funny enough, I wore that shirt for the first game and here we are. Looking back at that shirt as an omen.”
On not reading too much into previous Spurs matchups:
“The Finals are won by a team, and I think both of our teams are different than what you saw at the [NBA] Cup. Even though we were blessed to be able to win it, we’re not the same team that we were at the Cup, nor are they the same team that they were at the Cup.”
On the need for attacking Wembanyama as a team:
“It’s not even a personal thing for me. It’s about our team doing what we’ve been doing, which is play high-level defense, and utilizing those turnovers in the defense to get our offense going. So as long as our team plays with that kind of energy and discipline and game plan execution, we have a chance.”
On Josh Hart’s impact on winning:
“He just impacts the game. He impacts winning. The perfect example for any basketball player who wants to learn how to truly impact the winning of the team.”
“I think I started to learn to play the game and give myself more grace and not to try to be perfect and I’m happy with that.”
On whether the NBA Cup final offers lessons for the Finals:
“No, that was December. Obviously, there was good energy around that, but I don’t think that’s really going to be any equivalent to what the atmosphere or the energy is going to be like at their place, obviously at the Garden. Technically, that game didn’t happen, so I don’t think there’s anything we can learn from.”
On the team’s selfless identity during the playoff run:
“This team was a selfless group. At the end of the day we know we’re willing to sacrifice our own individual performance or stats or accolades for the betterment of the team. When you have not just one, two or three, but a whole team of those kinds of guys, that kind of character, it puts you in a position to be successful.”
On admitting overconfidence after going up 2-0 in the 2021 Finals:
“I remember going up 2-0 [and] I thought we was good. We ’bout to win the chip, especially in the West, especially then, the West all had tough teams. East, we were like, whatever … We go see Milwaukee, we’re over here like, ‘Pfft.’ I’m like, ‘It’s light. It’s the East. It’s Milwaukee. I know they got Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and obviously they got hoopers, but the West is tougher than the East.’ We’re like, ‘We good.’ Go up 2-0, we’re looking like, ‘Exactly. This is what we’ve been talking about. It’s the East, bruh. We’re about to win this.’ And then they went on to win four straight. I just couldn’t believe it.”
On learning from 2021 and staying focused during the current Finals run:
“[There are] a lot of questions, a lot of talk about how great we are, how great we’ve been. It doesn’t matter. We just got to worry about being ourselves and stay locked in. It’s great to get there, but that’s not our main goal.”
“Yeah, honestly, I think it was a great opportunity for us to play a high-stakes game. Obviously, I didn’t play, but I played in Cup games. So I feel like we treated it close to a playoff game. We haven’t been to the Finals. They haven’t been to the Finals. So it’s going to be totally different and a lot has happened since then, so just excited for this.”
On how to keep Victor Wembanyama out of the paint:
“Obviously, you have to figure out how to get him out of the paint, how to run him, those little things. I feel like OKC did a decent job of that. But he’s a special player. Honestly, what I think they do a great job … their guards put a lot of pressure on the ball handler, which is forcing him into Wemby. If you’re playing off the ball, not setting screens and allowing him to roam freely without being touched, it’s different if somebody is screening you and then you’re getting over things. So I feel like just being physical and bringing a presence to him and to their team.”
"Walking my dog, I'm getting stopped left and right. It's pretty cool."
Landry Shamet talks about his interactions with Knicks fans during their playoff run: pic.twitter.com/NzACjrevvE
On Karl-Anthony Towns’ shooting changing defensive plans from opponents:
“Every team is going to play the game, mess with matchups and whatnot. Obviously, Karl’s shooting is something that anybody has to honor, and that changes the game plan entirely. You have to prepare for that, [as well] the pick-and-roll with Jalen and KAT, with a versatile shooting big who can also roll and make plays in the pocket. As well as he’s been passing the ball and facilitating, I could go on and on about what KAT brings to us. … However they decide to match up with it, there’s going to be pros to that; there’s also going to be cons to that, and areas that we’re going to try to exploit.”
On not dwelling on past series momentum:
“All that [Cleveland] stuff’s behind us. And the reality is our job at hand right now is making sure our bodies are right; making sure our minds are right; making sure we’re paying attention to details. We’ve been incredibly sharp and locked-in, and taking care of [what we can] control was just really all you can do. And then when the ball is tipped up here in a couple of days, it’ll be right back into the swing of things of a series.”
On staying present during the playoff run:
“This has been a special run. I’m trying to not take any of it for granted or miss out on any of it. But the main thing is, stay focused on one minute at a time, one game at a time. I’ll give myself the time to reflect on all that when it’s all said and done. The love from New York has been undeniable and that’s one thing I’ll happily acknowledge and it’s right back to you guys. Now my focus is trying to go win Game 1.”
On Knicks fans waiting decades for a trip to the Finals:
“I can’t tell you how many fans over the past couple of weeks, when you see them on the street or anywhere, they say, ‘Oh, I’ve waited my whole life for this.’ Now, some of them might be 17 years old and haven’t been around for that long, but there are a lot of people, even my age, who don’t really remember the championship years. For them to experience this is special.”
On the Knicks’ resilience during the season:
“They had stretches of uneven play, stretches where you see they were still a work in progress. That, to me, is [what is] most impressive — even in the ups and downs, the ebb and flow of a regular season, they stuck together, they kept working, and it just all clicked in the playoffs to the point where this is one of the great playoff runs in NBA history.”
The '99 Knicks-Spurs parallels are wild, but Chris Childs tells me this era of NY basketball is built different.
From trading Oak to how Jalen Brunson needs to attack Wembanyama’s length—we broke down the blueprint to secure the parade.
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) May 31, 2026
Chris Childs
On similarities between the 1999 run and this Knicks team:
“Yeah, it’s really similar. The only difference is that we swept one series during our run and this current team swept two. It’s like déjà vu all over again. But honestly, I don’t think the results are going to be the same this time around. Being in this current atmosphere and stratosphere, it’s just their time. It’s been so long since New York has been here, and I think these guys have a real taste to get the job done—even though it’s going to be tough. Facing San Antonio is no joke. Whatever that dude is over there—Victor Wembanyama looks like Kevin Durant and Bill Russell had a baby. It’s going to be a battle, but I think our guys are ready.”
On his X-factor and Finals prediction:
“I think this series is going to go six games. As for the X-factor, this championship grind is going to come down to Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride shooting the ball well and giving us that crucial spark off the bench. We also need solid production out of Landry Shamet. If those guys can consistently step up and give the Knicks 10 points or more a game off the pine, the Knicks are beating the Spurs in six.”
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 2, 2026
Jamal Crawford
On the Knicks’ connection with their fanbase:
“This is crazy, I have not played here in almost 20 years at that point, and they still show that kind of love. Once A Knick, Always A Knick, and they truly make you feel that.”
On the Knicks’ belief during this run:
“They’re playing with a certain belief, like no matter the situation, no matter the outcome, they feel like they can win the game, like no matter how they start, if they get down during the course of a game, they play with a different belief. And the belief is like the strength in numbers. They’re believing that somebody will step up, somebody will provide a spark — obviously Jalen and KAT and OG and Mikal and Josh — but then you’ll have Deuce come in, Mitchell Robinson to come in and get some offensive rebounds. They have so many different weapons, and they’re all pulling in the same direction, they have a different type belief in each other. It’s really a championship-contending type belief.”
On whether size determines whether a player can become a champion after Becky Hammon’s take:
“No, I think anybody can be a champion. I think sometimes heart goes over height. I also think thinking quick on your toes and having supreme basketball IQ can negate even the biggest people.”
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 1, 2026
Marcus Camby
On his message to the Knicks entering the Finals:
“I would tell the Knicks right now to enjoy the moment, play for your brothers, and leave everything out there on the basketball court because it’s not promised that we will get to this position again.”
On why he believes the Knicks can win:
“I just think they’re playing their best basketball right now. They’ve been scoring at a high clip, shooting the ball at a high percentage, everything just seems to be clicking right now. … I think if guys can stay healthy during this Finals run, I think we’ll have a real good shot at bringing the title home to New York.”
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order Monday morning repealing bedtime for the duration of the Knicks finals run so the city's children can stay up late and watch.
Watch the Knicks in the NBA Finals on ABC 7! Game 1 tips off on Wednesday, June 3, at 8:30 p.m. More:… pic.twitter.com/LgMnlQ3tsH
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
