Barring a trade involving the selection, the Boston Celtics are currently slated to hold the 27th overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. 

This will mark just the second time in franchise history that the team has selected from this exact draft position. The first instance came in 2018, when Boston accomplished precisely what it hopes to replicate this year. With the pick, the Celtics selected Robert Williams out of Texas A&M, a raw but immensely talented big man who eventually developed into one of the NBA’s premier defensive anchors. Williams not only became a cornerstone of Boston’s defense but also served as a key asset in the trade that brought Jrue Holiday to the organization. 

There are a ton of trade rumors circulating around this time every year so in this world (article) where trades are turned off, let’s look at some potential big man options that could be there at pick 27.  

Tarris Reed Jr. | 6’10’’ – 263 | UConn | 22 

15 pts | 9 rebs | 2 asts | 2 blks | 1stl | 60/0/62 | 61 TS% 

Tarris Reed Jr. may not be one of the flashier prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft class, but he has quietly established himself as one of the most dependable and NBA-ready big men projected to be available in the late first round. 

After transferring from Michigan to UConn, Reed put together a breakout campaign that showcased many of the traits NBA teams covet in a modern role-playing center. Reed possesses the size, strength, and physicality necessary to compete against professional frontcourts from day one. 

Reed’s greatest strength is his work in the paint, particularly as a rebounder and rim protector. His 24.5 defensive rebound percentage and 14.2 offensive rebound percentage, both ranked in the 82^nd percentile illustrating how he can consistently impact games by controlling the glass on both ends of the floor. Reed uses his strength and positioning to carve out space and secure possessions. His motor rarely wavers, and he embraces the physical battles that come with playing center. 

Defensively, Reed is an effective shot blocker who relies more on timing and positioning than pure athleticism. Reed does an excellent job protecting the rim, relying on both strong positioning and verticality while also possessing the ability to elevate and make plays as a weak-side help defender. Although drop coverage projects as his ideal defensive scheme at the next level, he has shown impressive fluidity on the perimeter for a player weighing 265 pounds. Several of his steals this season came from jumping passing lanes near the top of the key and turning those opportunities into transition dunks. His average of three stocks per game (two blocks and one steal) highlights the quick hands, instincts, and reaction time that should translate well to the NBA. 

Offensively, Reed thrives in the role of a traditional center. He is a powerful screen setter who creates space for ball handlers and excels as a roll man in pick-and-roll situations. He shot 69% at the rim last season and has also shown an array of different finishes around the paint area. One of the more encouraging developments in his game has been his growth as a passer. Reed has shown an improved ability to read defenses from the high post and make quick decisions, a skill that should help him fit seamlessly into NBA offenses that value ball movement and decision-making from every position. He posted a career high 17.8 assist percentage last season which ranked in the 95^th percentile for his position. He should be ready to go day one as a handoff passer.  

The primary concerns surrounding Reed revolve around his perceived potential as an older prospect and limited offensive game. For a team like Boston, however, Reed’s strengths should outweigh those things. It would be astronomically good for Reed’s career if he was to develop a reliable three ball, but I just don’t think he needs it.  

The Celtics have consistently valued intelligent, physical players who understand their role and contribute to winning without requiring touches. Reed checks each of those boxes. If he can do the hustle/dirty work big man things and make smart passes for a playoff team he will be just fine.  

Henri Veesaar | 6’11 – 227 | North Carolina | 22 

17 pts | 9 rebs | 2 asts | 1 blk | 60/43/61 | 66.4 TS% 

Originally from Tallinn, Estonia, and developed through the prestigious Real Madrid system before coming to the United States, Henri Veesaar emerged as one of the more intriguing international big men in college basketball.  

Offensively is where Veesaar will make his mark, and his greatest strength is his versatility. He is a legitimate shot maker at the big spot who can knock down three-pointers, particularly in pick-and-pop situations (1.24ppp), while also possessing touch around the rim and in the mid-range. The accuracy at which Veesaar converted his attempts as a player that shot an array of shots from every distance was really impressive. His 67.7 2-pt percentage, Relative True Shooting percentage (9.9), and Effective field goal percentage (66.7%), all ranked in the 98^th percentile or higher last season.  

Any way you want Veesaar to score, he has the skills to do so. Unlike many shooting bigs, he is comfortable putting the ball on the floor for a few dribbles, attacking closeouts, and making the extra pass when defenses rotate. He also flashed the potential to be more than just a handoff passing big. He does a good job of connecting the team and getting the ball to guards quickly to keep the action going, but he has some rip and run reads that are super fun.  

He isn’t a great athlete, but he was still able to be really effective as a finisher at the rim. He can be a vertical spacer catching lobs and someone who shows touch down there with hooks and floaters. He also plays with extreme fire and an intensity that I see every time I watch him. Defensively, Veesaar isn’t going to be an explosive shot blocker, but he does have the height and wingspan/standing reach to be solid down there. He played drop most of the time at UNC, and I expect that to be his main coverage in the NBA. I thought he moved solidly enough for a player his size but not well enough to switch onto guards of course and even get out to stretch bigs effectively. He can really benefit from a team at the next level honing in on his closeout technique as I think he can be so much more impactful there.  

Veesaar cleaned the glass well last season, posting a 21.9 defensive rebounding percentage. Even though he was a monster in this aspect for the majority of the season, there were certain matchups that could negate his size on the boards with seals and very physical play. From an NBA perspective, Veesaar projects as the type of center every team is searching for: a floor-spacing big who can pass, move the ball, and fit into modern offensive systems. His combination of size, shooting touch, and feel gives him a relatively high floor, while continued physical development is essential for him growing his game at the next level. The biggest questions revolve around strength, physicality against NBA-caliber centers, and whether his defensive mobility will hold up against the best of the best. 

If Veesaar can show enough of the skill and shot making ability to get him on the floor early on and work through some of the physical and defensive stuff, he can turn into a really good pro.  

Chris Cenac Jr. | 6’10’’ – 240 | Houston | 19  

9 pts | 8 rebs | 24 minutes | 48/33/62 | 54.6 TS% 

In a world of superheroes like Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman, 19-year-old Chris Cenac Jr. is Potential-Man. He arrived at the University of Houston as a five-star recruit after starring at Isidore Newman and Link Academy, where he built a reputation as a high-level finisher, rebounder, and emerging perimeter threat. 

His profile blends rare physical tools, developing skill, and a still-evolving sense of consistency, making him one of the more intriguing big men in the 2026 NBA Draft class. Offensively, Cenac is best described as a face-up big with the upside to have real shot making versatility. He is comfortable operating from the elbows and perimeter, where he can attack closeouts, take straight-line drives, or rise into mid-range jumpers after relocating to open space. His shooting mechanics are generally considered clean and projectable, and he has shown enough perimeter confidence, spot-up threes and occasional pull-ups, to suggest real long-term floor-spacing potential if his efficiency stabilizes.  

However, he is not yet a consistent self-creator, and much of his scoring comes from transition runs, cuts, putbacks, and finishing plays as a roll man or lob threat which can give a team a reason to play him early while he develops. His athleticism and motor on the glass strike me as the most translatable skills for Cenac off the jump. His 26.1 defensive rebound percentage illustrates his glass cleaning ability.  
 
Defensively, Cenac offers more upside than polish, but I cannot express how special his movement skills look on some possessions.  

His length, agility, and vertical pop allow him to protect the rim in spurts, rebound outside his area, and switch onto smaller players. He also has some impressive plays in two on one situations, shutting down multiple options as he moves. At Houston, he was often deployed in a physical, defense-first system that highlighted his activity level and rebounding instincts more than pure shot-blocking dominance. He does not yet anchor a defense consistently, but he shows the tools to develop into a multi-positional defender who can play both drop coverage and switch-heavy schemes depending on matchups. The main concerns are strength and discipline; he can get pushed off his spots by more powerful bigs and can drift into foul trouble or over-aggression on closeouts.  

Because of the range of outcomes his potential brings, evaluators generally view him as a first-round talent with real long-term upside, but also a player who will need patience and development before fully translating his tools into reliable NBA impact which may cause him to slide on draft night. Boston is looking for contributors right now, but at some point, the value and intrigue might align.  

There was no tournament program with his name, no first name even among the starters at the scorer’s table.

More than a decade later, Tom Crean still blends shock and awe at the first impression of OG Anunoby, then an unknown, lightly recruited three-star prospect, per 247Sports, not inside the nation’s top 200 in the 2015 class.

“We saw him for the first time in Atlanta, at an Under Armour tournament,” Crean told USA TODAY Sports. “We didn’t know his name; wasn’t even in the program.

“We go see the book, it just says ‘Anunoby.’”

Major sports events present an "enormous platform to do stupid things", says NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

A spectator ran on to the court during game one of the NBA Finals in San Antonio on Wednesday, with a young man filming himself on his phone as he approached Victor Wembanyama.

He stopped in front of the San Antonio Spurs star, without appearing to make contact with the 22-year-old Frenchman, before two security guards swiftly bundled him away.

He was arrested on charges of intentionally interfering with a lawful gathering, and criminal trespass for entering the court area despite having notice that such entry was prohibited.

An NBA spokesperson confirmed that the court invader and a second individual will receive a lifetime ban from all NBA arenas. The league did not disclose what role the second individual played.

"I've never been in that situation, I didn't know how to act," said Wembanyama, the NBA's defensive player of the year.

"It really surprised me, almost as much as that time where a bat crossed the court," added the France international, referring to an incident during a Spurs game in January 2024.

Commissioner Silver said: "I even hesitate to describe that person as a fan. They seemed to have an ulterior motive for doing so.

"It's unfortunately part of all sports," he added.

"I think the other side of the coin of global attention is that somebody realises that there's this enormous platform to do stupid things. The consequences are dramatic if you do this."

Silver also said extra security will be required at New York's Madison Square Garden if US President Donald Trump attends a game later in the NBA Finals.

Trump said he will take up an invite from New York Knicks owner James Dolan and "maybe do both" game three on Monday and game four on Wednesday.

• White House wants DHS to reopen for World Cup

The NBA incident comes a week before the start of football's World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Pitch invaders have been increasingly common in football, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo having been targeted for selfies on multiple occasions.

Several fans invaded the pitch during an Inter Miami friendly in Puerto Rico in February, with one hauling Argentina captain Messi to the ground.

There have been at least three further incidents during Miami games in the US and Canada this season.

Messi and Portugal rival Ronaldo are set to play in their sixth World Cup, with their group games being played in the US.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said it was "a concern" that five people made it on to the pitch during their win over Turkey at Euro 2024 in Dortmund.

"Today the intentions of the fans were good," said Martinez. "But you [must] understand there's a difficult moment if their intentions are wrong."

A pitch invader also made contact with Ronaldo as he was warming up for a Nations League game against Germany last June.

• Messi v Ronaldo: A rivalry that changed football
• What is happening with World Cup ticket prices?

Sixers draft profile: Christian Anderson has big-time offensive talent  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

A scouting report on NBA draft prospect Christian Anderson: 

• Position: Point guard 
• Height: 6-foot-1 (without shoes)
• Weight: 180 pounds
• College: Texas Tech  

Strengths

Anderson was a serious workhorse for the Red Raiders. His 38.4 minutes per game as a sophomore ranked second in the country behind only Delaware’s Christian Bliss, who averaged a whopping 39.8. Anderson tallied 18.5 points, 7.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. 

The 20-year-old has also shined in FIBA play for Germany. (Anderson’s father, Christian Anderson Sr., is a German former professional player who still works closely with his son.) At last year’s FIBA Under-19 World Cup, Anderson earned a silver medal and averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds. He was named to the tournament’s All-Star 5 along with fellow draft prospects AJ Dybantsa, Mikel Brown Jr. and Hannes Steinbach. 

Anderson has a pure jumper with beautiful balance and fluidity. He shot it at a stellar percentage in college, too. On 7.9 three-point attempts per game last season, Anderson was at 41.5 percent. He can burn defenses with puil-ups, step-backs and just about any sort of jumper he can find. 

“I’ve been an elite shooter my whole life,” Anderson told reporters at the NBA draft combine. “I was shooting 90 out of 100 threes when I was in, like, eighth grade. I’ve been an elite shooter forever.”

Anderson’s pick-and-roll craft and passing skill should be handy in the NBA. He’s happy to hit open teammates, appears to see the entire floor, and possesses a good grasp for how to beat whatever defenses throw at him. 

Weaknesses 

Anderson is on the small side for a professional guard and the NBA can be a cruel place for such players.

It’s notable that Anderson grew later than most. He was 5-foot-8, 120 pounds at 15 years old and added significant muscle before his sophomore season of college. Compared to the average prospect, Anderson may very well be due for a bit more physical maturation over the next couple of years. And it doesn’t hurt that he posted a 40.5-inch maximum vertical leap and a decent wingspan of 6-6.25 at the combine.

Anderson’s size bleeds into typical questions for smaller prospects on both ends of the ball. How much will facing long, physical NBA defenders bother him and dent his efficiency? Can he play through contact and score in the paint at the next level? Will he manage to play adequate NBA defense by leaning on anticipation and effort? 

While he doesn’t need perfect answers across the board, Anderson clearly has multiple major obstacles in front of him. 

Fit 

The Sixers shouldn’t be picky about position with the 22nd selection in the draft. 

Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are locked in as the team’s heavy-minute backcourt duo, but more young talent at guard would not hurt at all. Each team will have its own evaluations on the guards widely projected to go around this area of the draft, including Bennett Stirtz and Ebuka Okorie.

Payton Pritchard is a recent example of a late first-round pick with some similarities to Anderson in size and skill set that contributed early in his career and grew into an valuable piece for title-contending Celtics teams largely through offensive excellence. 

SAN ANTONIO — Stephon Castle took a page out of James Harden’s playbook Thursday.

While, yes, the Knicks won Game 1 of the NBA Finals despite not being at their best, the Spurs’ young guard remained just as confident in his team.

“I think [Victor Wembanyama] said it best: I don’t think we have anything to be too worried about,” Castle said. “Obviously, we feel like we’re the better team. We didn’t play well, still had a chance to win.”

It was somewhat reminiscent of Harden saying he felt the Cavaliers were better than the Knicks after getting swept in the Eastern Conference finals. This is, of course, just one game.

But the Spurs had a 14-point lead in the third quarter and were at home, yet the Knicks outscored them by 17 points in the second half and won their franchise-record 12th consecutive playoff game.

They held Wembanyama in check, holding him to 6-of-21 shooting and forcing six turnovers. Wembanyama, who finished with 26 points, placed the blame on himself both after the loss and again Thursday.

He didn’t necessarily discredit the Knicks defense against him, but the 7-foot-4 Frenchman didn’t seem overly impressed by how they guarded him, either.

“It’s almost like I [don’t] have anything to figure out. It’s almost like I have to play normal, not even good,” he said. “It’s just like doing the right things is enough. When we play bad, when I play bad, is when we shoot ourselves in the foot. This is why I’m not worried. We’re going to be so much better. I’m going to be so much better.”

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had a similar take on the series opener.

He felt San Antonio was uncharacteristically isolation-heavy on offense, relying on their talent instead of what has gotten them here. It led to only 16 assists and 43 3-point attempts, with the Spurs making just 11 of them.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

“I think the way we played offensively in terms of a team and our brand, we didn’t play with the pass enough, we didn’t put enough pressure [on them], force the [ball] in the paint,” he said. “It led to a lot of making or missing shots, us trying to play with talent offensively instead of playing together and finding opportunities to take advantage of. New York gets a lot of credit for that. I think we have a lot of room for improvement on that moving forward.”

The Spurs, it should be noted, have been here before. They trailed the Thunder in the Western Conference finals and the Timberwolves in the series before that.

“We just need to play our game. We just need to be normal,” Wembanyama said. “We don’t need to do anything incredible.”

It’s nearly half past eight on Wednesday evening and approximately 30 men in tan uniforms drift into the common area of a housing unit deep inside the George R Vierno Center, an 850-bed jail and one of eight active facilities on New York’s Rikers Island. Some hover around a folding table piled to the edges with snacks. Others make their way into the smaller rooms on the perimeter of the two-floor communal space and drag plastic chairs closer to the flat-screen televisions mounted inside. The excited chatter and nervous energy bubbles as a familiar refrain cuts through the din.

Knicks in four.

The New York Knicks are moments away from playing in the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years, the last remaining hurdle in their bid to end a title drought that reaches back to 1973. On this balmy June evening, separated by less than 10 miles of water, concrete and razor wire from a Manhattan skyline bathed in orange and blue, the men gathered here are watching the same game that is commanding the attention of millions more in bars, restaurants, living rooms and outdoor gatherings across the five boroughs.

• Pictured above: An exterior view of the Rikers Island jail complex on 3 June 2026. Pictured below: The bridge connecting Rikers Island to Queens crosses a sprawling employee parking lot before reaching the jail complex, which houses the vast majority of people held in New York City’s custody. All photographs by Lauren Caulk.

For a few hours, one of America’s most notorious jail complexes and least visible institutions is tapping into a civic ritual that has brought New Yorkers together like few public events in decades. The underdog Knicks’ long-awaited return to basketball’s biggest stage has given people in custody at Rikers a rare opportunity to participate in a shared New York moment that will see them arguing over the same calls, second-guessing the same decisions and dreaming the same dream that is consuming the city outside.

“You don’t have a team full of superstar players in the Knicks,” says Luis Guzman, a 43-year-old from the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx who has been held at Rikers since September on a burglary case that remains pending. “It’s the chemistry and the teamwork that makes them great. This is the year they finally might get it done. If we take one in San Antonio, it’s over for San Antonio. We will not lose at home. All we got to do is take one down here.”

Guzman has taken a front-row seat for Wednesday’s game inside the Beacon Center, a common area that includes classrooms, a recording studio, a barbershop and other workforce-training programs. He is part of what correction officials describe as an “honors house”, a housing unit reserved for incarcerated people who have gone at least 120 days without violence or disciplinary incidents and have demonstrated a sustained commitment to programming and rehabilitation, qualifying them to receive snacks and to remain out past the normal 9pm lock-in. Many of the men here to watch the game have gone six months or longer without an infraction.

• Pictured above: A group of men in the common area of a housing unit in the George R Vierno Center watch as the Knicks play their first NBA finals game since 1999. Pictured below: Most of Wednesday’s attendees have gone six months or longer without an infraction, qualifying them to receive snacks and to remain out past the normal 9pm lock-in.

The Guardian was granted access to Rikers Island by the New York City department of correction and was accompanied during its visit by the agency’s deputy commissioner for public information.

The reward for good behavior on Wednesday night looks more like a Super Bowl spread than standard jailhouse fare: bags of chips and cookies, platters of fruit and cheese, bottled soft drinks and a large sheet cake frosted with three words that, for a night at least, unite nearly everyone in attendance: Let’s Go Knicks! Some of the items are similar to what people in custody could buy through commissary, though one DOC staffer notes that the name brands represent an upgrade from what’s offered during a typical movie night. A tinsel curtain frames the entrance while the remnants of an unfinished balloon arch lie scattered across the sealed concrete floor.

The Game 1 watch parties on Rikers extend far beyond this one. Correction officials say incarcerated people in roughly 44 housing units across the complex are taking part in some form of gathering for the game, reaching almost 2,000 people in all. Some facilities host viewings in dedicated program spaces like the Peace Center in the basement of the Robert N Davoren Complex, a similar hub for incarcerated males aged 21 and under. Over in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center, another male detention unit located a half mile down the road, people are watching in a chapel.

• Pictured above: A large sheet cake frosted with three words that, for one night at least, unite nearly everyone in the room. Pictured below: Remnants of an unfinished balloon arch lay scattered across the floor of the Beacon Center, which stands for Building Education, Advancing and Creating Opportunities for Networking.

There are roughly 6,000 people in custody on Rikers Island, a 413-acre patch of land in the East River tucked between Queens and the Bronx just north of LaGuardia Airport. Most have not been convicted of a crime and are awaiting trial, while some are serving shorter sentences. For generations, the name Rikers has been shorthand for New York City’s vast and troubled jail system, a collection of aging facilities that has been ordered to be closed and replaced by four jails across the city by August 2027, though it is unlikely to meet that deadline.

But on Wednesday night, for roughly a third of the people incarcerated here, basketball briefly collapses the distance between the island and the city beyond the bridge.

***

‘This is what the Knicks do!’

The snappy conversation ricochets around the room during the tense opening quarter, sounding much like it would in a Bronx barbershop, a Queens bodega or a crowded Staten Island living room. The hollers ring out from the doorways in Beacon Center with mounting intensity as the Knicks sprint out to a 14-7 lead, but the mood shifts when they abruptly fall behind 27-17 and the broadcast cuts away to star playmaker Jalen Brunson limping off the floor and into the locker room with an injury.

“This is what the Knicks do!” groans John Shakespeare, a 44-year-old from Brooklyn who has been detained here since February while awaiting trial. “This game is over. This is why I roll with the Liberty. I like the little elephant they got.”

“They actually brought a trophy home,” Guzman says of New York’s WNBA team.

Most New Yorkers know Rikers only as a forbidding silhouette in the East River, a cluster of low-slung buildings visible from highways on the drive into LaGuardia but largely disconnected from daily life. In reality, it functions almost as a self-contained municipality, with its own power plant, industrial kitchen that produces roughly 7m meals annually and other infrastructure needed to sustain thousands of people every day.

Nearly everybody in the Beacon Center watch party is a lifelong Knicks fan hanging on every possession. Not Richard Weems, a 44-year-old Harlem native who has been held here since October while awaiting court proceedings. He took a liking to the Spurs back in the 1990s because of Tim Duncan and quietly observes the game from the front row with a stoic intensity similar to the longtime San Antonio star, acknowledging every Victor Wembanyama highlight with a subtle fist pump and a knowing nod.

Thomas Gregory, 59, arrived at Rikers on a charge of attempted criminal possession of a weapon nearly 15 months ago and is still waiting for his case to move forward. A longtime Knicks supporter going back the Walt Frazier days, he says he was supposed to go to trial in December but has instead watched hearing after hearing come and go. With another court date looming next week, he speaks about his future with a mix of frustration and resignation.

“They keep putting it off, putting it off,” says Gregory, who spends his typical Wednesday nights in the housing unit playing chess or dominoes. “I feel like they’re not going to do nothing.”

But Gregory snaps right back into the action when a San Antonio player appears to get away with traveling during a chaotic possession: “He’s taking the A train! How many steps is he gonna take?”

• Pictured above: The George R Vierno Center, opened in 1991 as an 850-bed facility for detainees, is one of eight active facilities on Rikers Island.

Sport may seem like a frivolity in a jail long criticized for violence, neglect, dysfunction, corruption and inhumane conditions. The average detainee remains at Rikers for nearly four months, roughly four times the national average. Four people have died in custody so far this year, including two in a 24-hour span last month, after more than a dozen deaths in 2025, nearly all from medical problems. An independent commission once described the jail as “a crumbling, inordinately expensive incubator of misery”, which qualifies as a understatement in the broader context of its bleak history. Though city leaders intend to replace Rikers with four smaller borough-based jails under a City Council mandate, the current administration has admitted the scheduled 2027 closure date is “practically impossible to fulfill”.

But for now those grim realities fade into the background and the conversation belongs to basketball.

The repartee during commercial breaks strays far beyond the game. An advertisement for the new iPhone sparks a debate over the merits of smartphones v dumbphones and the shredded attention spans of today’s youth. A trailer for Disclosure Day prompts an animated discussion of Steven Spielberg’s body of work. A mention of the reports that Donald Trump will be attending Game 3 at Madison Square Garden is met with a mixture of laughter and groans.

“Oh, now he wants to come?” Shakespeare says. “Now he’s from here?”

The banter comes quick and fast and everybody is fair game. When Mikal Bridges buries a mid-range jumper to put the Knicks ahead 40-39, the television cameras find celebrity superfan Timothée Chalamet celebrating from near courtside.

Guzman shakes his head.

“You see that guy?” he says, pointing at the screen. “He’s cheering now, but watch when they go down. He stays quiet.”

***

‘We’re not the judge or jury’

Few people in the room understand the weight of these moments better than Stanley Richards, who in January was tapped by New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani to become the first formerly incarcerated person to oversee the city’s jails. Three decades earlier, Richards spent time in a 10-by-7-foot cell on Rikers following a robbery conviction. He has gone on to build a career helping others navigate re-entry before returning to the system as a reform-minded leader.

Richards says events such as the Knicks watch party are designed to remind people in custody that they remain connected to the city beyond the jail’s walls.

“Nights like this communicate to the people in our care that we’re not the judge or jury,” Richards tells the Guardian at half-time with the Spurs nursing a seven-point lead. “We don’t determine who comes in or when people go out, but we can determine how we treat people when they come into our care.”

• Pictured above: Stanley Richards was appointed commissioner of the New York City’s department of correction in February, becoming the first formerly incarcerated person to oversee the city’s jails. Pictured below: Richards takes in the second half of Game 1 at the George R Vierno Center.

His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Rikers. The jail complex has been under federal oversight for a decade, while last year a federal judge ordered the appointment of an independent remediation manager with sweeping powers after finding the city had failed to make sufficient progress in curbing violence and improving conditions.

The unusual arrangement means Richards must lead the nation’s second-largest jail system while sharing authority with a court-appointed third party, known as a federal receiver, charged with accelerating reforms. At the same time, he is helping steer New York City’s long-delayed effort to close Rikers altogether and replace it piecemeal. That has included the April opening of a jail unit within the city’s Bellevue hospital that will house more than 100 people with acute medical conditions and serious mental illness who are currently held at Rikers.

Standing inside one of the viewing rooms in the Beacon Center as correction officers hand out cake and drinks during the third quarter, Richards says those small acts matter more than people realize.

“Part of our job is to see the best in people before they can see it in themselves,” Richards says. “We hold that image of who they can be until they begin to believe it too. That means not judging someone by the worst thing they’ve ever done. It means refusing to give people a scarlet letter for life. It means treating people the way we’d want our own family members treated.”

***

‘The whole of New York is stressed right now’

Even as San Antonio stretch their lead to 14 midway through the third quarter and a collective anxiety begins to creep in, the noise level in the unit barely dips. But as Richards watches the game from alongside the men of the George R Vierno Center while giving his running commentary, the Knicks storm back with a 22-9 run to close the period and send the game into the fourth tied at 76 apiece.

With every New York basket from there, a full throttle of sound reverberates through the cinder-block walls from all directions as “Let’s go Knicks!” chants ring through the corridors. Gleeful correction officers and staffers move in and out of the different viewing rooms with pace, pumping their fists and hollering as if they were in the Garden itself.

The tension only climbs in the fourth quarter as the Spurs rattle off eight unanswered points during a four-minute stretch where the suddenly frigid Knicks miss seven shots in a row, lifting San Antonio to a 95-94 lead with just over two minutes to go.

“This is stressing me out right now,” Guzman says. “The whole of New York is stressed out right now.”

• Pictured above: An interior view of the George R Vierno Center. Pictured below: The bridge to Rikers Island is less than a mile long, but for many New Yorkers it marks a far greater divide between life inside the city’s jail system and the world beyond.

That’s when Brunson, the Knicks’ undersized talisman, deposits a corner three that puts New York ahead once and for all, detonating celebrations throughout the unit. The home team closes the game on a decisive 11-0 run, the roars growing in volume as the margin widens, setting off scenes of pure elation throughout Beacon Center and sending nearly all of the crowd off to lock-up with spirits high. Final score: Knicks 105, Spurs 95. One down, three to go.

“Last time I watched the Knicks in the finals I was a senior in high school,” Guzman says. “It was back in 1999 when they lost to the Spurs, the year after Michael Jordan retired. I grew up on 149 and Third Avenue in the Bronx, but I ended up moving out to a better neighborhood. Third Avenue is like a third-world country nowadays. But I love the Bronx and I love our city.”

In an 0-1 scenario for the second time this postseason, the San Antonio Spurs didn’t sound like they were hitting the panic button after their Game 1 loss to kick off the 2026 NBA Finals. Nor should they: Even near the end of what was a rough 2nd half where they were outscored 57-40, the Spurs still held a 2-point lead with less than two minutes to go and with the game looking primed for a photo finish before an 11-0 Knicks run sent fans heading to the exits. Still though, games this deep into the postseason hinge almost entirely in the margins. In other words, who’s doing the little things that can help a team pick up wins when shots aren’t falling? In Game 1 it was the Knicks coming up with all those hustle plays and loose balls. If the Spurs want to avoid heading to the Mecca in an 0-2 hole, they’ll need to flip that script on its head tonight in Game 2.

San Antonio Spurs (0-1) vs New York Knicks (1-0)
June 5 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Watch: ABC | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Line: San Antonio -6.5

Spurs Injuries: None

Knicks Injuries: Mitchell Robinson, finger (probable)

What to watch for

• As has been the case since he was drafted, everything the Spurs do on offense and defense revolves around Victor Wembanyama. He’s had an eventful postseason in his first playoff run, with moments ranging from the historical (NBA record 12 blocks in Game 1 against Minnesota) to the flat-out ridiculous (40/20 Game 1 against OKC, picking up his first Game 7 victory on the road). Along the way though, there’s been a few headscratchers, the sort of games that have all the talking heads and social media boo-birds getting on their soapbox in between games about what he needs to do to overcome his current shortcomings. The aftermath of his 6/21 shooting performance in Game 1 has been no different, but the best thing about this postseason, maybe even more than this Finals appearance itself, has been watching him respond with exactly what San Antonio needs from him to come away with wins. The Knicks’ defense will have a say, but expect Wembanyama to come out with something to prove tonight, just as he’s done time and time again this season, especially when the moment demands it.
• Jalen Brunson went just 12/31 from the field overall, but he was 5/9 in the 4th quarter, scoring 13 of his 30 points when it mattered most for the Knicks. The Spurs did a good job at contesting on a lot of those looks, but the fact that he was able to get 31 shots off against what has been an excellent San Antonio defense all season is a testament to the type of offensive player he is and also the sort of trust the Knicks have in him. Knowing what they’re going to get on the offensive end in the waning moments of a close game by putting the ball in Brunson’s hands is an advantage New York has over the Spurs in this series, but at least the Spurs know that he’s gonna be the one coming.
• Dylan Harper added another caveat to what has been an impressive rookie season, becoming the youngest player to score at least 10 points in an NBA Finals game in just his first 6 minutes of play. He scored just 6 more the rest of the way, finishing with 16 points, but the talk afterwards was about Mitch Johnson’s decision to play Harper just 3:35 in the 4th quarter, especially considering De’Aaron Fox’s troubles putting the ball in the hole (3-13, 7 points) the entire night. There’s certainly a case to be made that Harper should have been in at least for the final 90 seconds of the game, but Mitch Johnson opted to roll with the group that ultimately overcame an 8-point deficit and had even taken a 1 point lead before the Knicks went on that 11-0 run that ended the game. In light of all this, it will be interesting to see what his minutes look like at the end of Game 2 tonight.

If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!

This upcoming NBA Draft is looking like one of the all-time great drafts at the top. AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer are looking like an elite top-3 to choose from. What’s different about the optimism with this draft is that it seems warranted for these players. Let’s look at the best and worst case scenarios for each player.

Darryn Peterson

Worst Case Scenarios

DeMar DeRozan 6’6”

Zach LaVine 6’5”

Arron Afflalo 6’5”

Kevin Martin 6’7”

Jordan Clarkson 6’4”

Michael Redd 6’6”

Eric Gordon 6’4”

Tyreke Evans 6’6”

Jamal Murray 6’4”

Gilbert Arenas 6’4”

Best Case Scenarios

Anthony Edwards 6’4”

Dwyane Wade 6’4”

Kobe Bryant 6’6”

Devin Booker 6’5”

SGA 6’6”

Vince Carter 6’6”

Brandon Roy 6’6”

Michael Jordan 6’6”

This is a list of notable players between 6’4 and 6’6” that averaged 20 or more points per game from 1990 and on. It seems reasonable that Peterson would average that amount once he gets into the league with his elite shooting

The first thing you notice is that averaging 20+ points per game is not an easy thing to do in the league. To do it efficiently makes you an incredible player in the league. There’s an obvious variation of style and athleticism with each player, but the correlating factor is their ability to score. What makes me excited about Peterson is that he’s been shown to have an incredible ability to score efficiently both on and off the ball. If that scoring carries over, he could be a potent cornerstone of a great offense.

AJ Dybantsa

Worst Case Scenarios

Brandon Ingram 6’8”

Ricky Davis 6’7”

Antawn Jamison 6’9”

David West 6’9”

Luol Deng 6’9”

Rashard Lewis 6’10”

Michael Beasley 6’10”

Rudy Gay 6’8”

Shareef Abdur-Rahim 6’9”

Best Case Scenarios

LeBron James 6’9”

Kevin Durant 6’11”

Dominique Wilkins 6’8”

Jayson Tatum 6’8”

Paul George 6’8”

Tracy McGrady 6’10”

Kawhi Leonard 6’7”-6’8”

Carmelo Anthony 6’8”

Once again, this is a pretty amazing list of players who are comparable in height to Dybantsa and have scored 20+ points per game. There have been a lot of players in the league whom teams have invested in with characteristics similar to Dybantsa’s. But a lot of them have not panned out. Just like with the players in Peterson’s range, if Dybantsa can meet his potential, he’s a championship-caliber player that could be the cornerstone of a dominant offense.

What’s also interesting to consider is whether a certain archetype is better to have lead your team than another. Is a big wing like Dybantsa more effective than a big shooting guard like Peterson? Looking at this rudimentary study, it isn’t clear which is more important. What does appear important is that the player you want leading you to a championship is the one that has the ball in their hands, a characteristic that Dybantsa and Peterson share. It’s probably as simple as this: are you better than the team you’re playing against? Both Dybantsa and Peterson have a chance to be among the best players in the league with the ball in their hands a lot, leading an offense.

Cam Boozer

Worst Case Scenarios

Shareef Abdur-Rahim 6’9”

Carlos Boozer 6’9”

Kevin Love 6’10”

Derrick Coleman 6’10”

Jermaine O’Neal 6’11”

Zach Randolph 6’9”

Best Case Scenarios

Karl Malone 6’9”

Tim Duncan 6’11”

Nikola Jokic 6’11”

Chris Webber 6’9”

Karl Anthony-Towns 7’0”

What’s interesting about Cam Boozer is what seems like a much wider range of possibilities. I looked for players in this group who were comparable in height to Boozer (some of these players are taller but have comparable skill sets) and averaged 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game. With so many bigs in the history of the league, you can imagine him fitting into a lot of these molds.

What appears to be the thing that Boozer will need to overcome is the height. Boozer will likely be somewhere between 6’9” and 6’10” in shoes. He’s not a rim protector, so he’ll need to be elite offensively, which a lot of draft experts predict. If he can be good defensively, he can put himself into the mold of a player like Karl Malone. Malone wasn’t a rim protector, but he was a tough, physical defender, an all-defense-level defender. Boozer also has to show that he can handle the ball and be the focal point of everything a team does, not just a player dependent on guards and wings to get him the ball in his spots.

On FanDuel, the odds are continuing to adjust every day. Right now, Dybantsa is the top possibility at -450 to be the first pick, Peterson is at +380, and Boozer is at +1700.

What do you think? Who do you think are the comps for each of these players?