In my life as a god-fearing, basketball-watching, Spurs-loving human being, I’m not sure I’ve ever hated a shot more than that three Victor took from the logo.

As soon as he pulled up I shouted NO. It felt like time stopped. I could sense my life flashing before my eyes. Everything good in the world was crashing down around me. The walls were crumbling. The water was rushing in. The air was sucked out of the room.

I was just so mad, you know? Like. The game was so good. I know the urge to throw around phrases like “instant classic” or “best ever” is strong in these situations. We want to contextualize something in real time against whatever has come before. Stack it up against our memories and definitively state that we were there. We witnessed it live. We knew right away. We saw the light and it was good.

I’m always trying to resist this temptation, to avoid the trap. To sidestep looking like a fool who got carried away in the moment. But, man, you could just feel it. This was different. This was another level of basketball. It was something that was perilously tiptoeing along the edge of becoming overhyped and still managing to meet, even exceed, expectations. It was just a basketball game, sure, but it was a basketball game that was taking our brains, cracking them against the counter, and scrambling them on a hot pan for almost four hours.

And he was about to ruin it.

The audacity of this manchild. He’d taken only one three all game and bricked it. He was so gassed. Legs gone. Brain gone. Sense of right and wrong, gone. Why would he do this to me? To us? The game wasn’t over but airballing a prayer of a three from Steph Curry range was going to, without a doubt, kill it. The blue shirts in the crowd would crescendo into a wall of sound that would swallow us completely. They took our best punch and it wasn’t enough. How would we come back from that? We probably wouldn’t.

It would be a shame, too, because the boys played beautifully, didn’t they? They gave almost everything you could possibly ask for. A measured but aggressive approach on the offensive end. Scoring spread across the roster. Attacking the rim. Timely jumpers. Feeding Wembanyama in the paint in all the right ways, gobbling up boards.

And defensively? Oh, it was a masterclass. You’re not going to stop a team as good as the Thunder, but the Spurs effectively neutralized them for most of the game. Shai was out of sorts. Chet was in purgatory. No one outside of Alex Caruso could conjure anything close to the magic we’re used to seeing from them. It was all going according to plan. We were going to bask in the glow of this performance for years. I could taste it.

It was slipping away, though. Little by little, the Thunder were getting off the mat. The score was closer. Then the score was tied. We suffered the indignity of Chet blocking Wemby at the buzzer. Now we had to keep playing and, sure enough, Shai was starting to find it. He was working his angles. He was finding space. He charged baseline and finished over Steph. He sliced through our defense and dunked in Wemby’s face. Everything tasted sour all of a sudden.

The ball was made of grease. We couldn’t buy a basket. Champagnie missed a three. The Thunder were off and running. Everyone looked so tired. Just absolutely spent. They had given everything they had to try and pull off this miracle and it wasn’t going to be enough. We were about to be down two possessions with under a minute. The dream was over. We hadn’t survived.

Now, I don’t know why Jalen Williams decided to give us life by taking an ill-advised contested mid-range, but it didn’t matter, because of this colossal doofus. This 7-foot-4 buffoon. This immature, foolish, arrogant boy was about to throw that gift in the trash by pulling up from a million miles out and launching a desperate prayer. What a joke. What a disaster. What an absolute tragedy.

I don’t believe in magic. I don’t believe in miracles. I don’t think there’s some kind of divine presence intervening in the trials and tribulations of sport. I won’t sit here and pretend something happened out there on the court in Oklahoma that means anything beyond the three points that went on the board after that ball fell through the hoop.

All I can report is that I felt different afterwards. The chemistry inside my body changed. Like the Ship of Theseus, I came out the other end functionally the same but radically altered on a fundamental level.

I’ve never hated a shot more than I did when Victor pulled up from the logo.

I don’t think I’ve ever loved a shot more than when Victor pulled up from the logo.

Takeaways

• Hoo boy, Spurs fans. Are we okay? Do we think we can survive a whole round of this? My mind, body, and soul are, honestly, going to be a game-time decision the rest of the way.
• I’d like to go ahead and get this on the record now: every single instance of someone saying some version of “This is the actual NBA Finals right here” puts me on edge. I don’t care how good the Spurs and Thunder are. I don’t care how good the Knicks and Cavs are. The concept of putting the cart so significantly before the horse drives me insane. Stop doing it! If we somehow manage to survive this series, we have to trundle into Madison Square Garden and topple a team that’s handed us losses repeatedly this year. We’re not allowed to pretend the regular season games against the Thunder matter if we’re going to say the regular season games against the Knicks don’t. The Cavs might also be there. (At press time, Charlie did not have any other thoughts on the Cavs. Uh, stay tuned as this story develops.)
• I think I’m okay with the Alex Caruso of it all. Like, I think we probably run that back, right? He obviously played out of his mind, and we were clearly willing to go with the strategy of “if Alex Caruso beats us then so be it.” If we needed to shut down Alex Caruso, my boy Sean Sweeney could probably dial something up, it would just likely come at the expense of stuffing Shai in a locker all night. We make that trade every time, yea? I’m not going to enjoy him bombing wide open corner threes for the next two weeks, but I’m willing to play the odds.
• The thing where Thunder fans don’t sit until they score their first basket would make me so uncomfortable if I were in that crowd. I just don’t understand the upside. If they score quickly, great, it’s over and you’re just sitting. If they go seven minutes without scoring, everyone is just standing there staring at each other making it awkward. It doesn’t affect me at all, so you know, go with God or whatever. But I do not understand it. Spurs fans are perfect and don’t do anything weird. Case closed.
• I loved the Spurs unleashing Carter Bryant on Shai every once in a while just to go get in his face and cause problems. What a delight. What a fun wrinkle! You could just feel Shai shake his head like “not this guy” every time Bryant stepped on the court. They should give a “Not This Guy” award at the end of the series, like an MVP, for whoever was the most annoying to play against. Make the trophy obnoxious. Adam Silver, you know where to find me. I have dozens of ideas like this.

WWL Post Game Press Conference

Do you have a ranking of shots that you hated?

No, I think I try to forget about the shots I hate as much as possible. I have a pretty distinct memory of hating a lot of Manu’s shots over the years but, you know, I think in his case the ends ended up justifying the means over time.

He was kind of the archetypal “No, no, no, YES” player, right?

For sure. That was like his brand.

What about the Tim Duncan three against the Suns in ’08? I’m sure you weren’t psyched about that.

See, that’s a totally different thing than the Wemby situation here. Wemby pulled up in the middle of transition with a ton of time left on the clock to, I don’t know, do something reasonable. Set up the offense. Run a play. Burn some clock. Normal things, right? I hated Wemby’s shot because it defied the logic my brain was desperately grasping onto in its dying moments. Timmy’s miracle three was born out of something else entirely. There were like four seconds left. He had to take that thing. Now, for the life of me I still have no idea why he, of all people, was standing out beyond the arc while Manu barreled into the lane, but hey. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I thought you said you didn’t believe in a divine presence intervening in the trials and tribulations of sport.

Look, I say a lot of things. I also said my brain was scrambled on a hot pan for four hours last night, so maybe give a guy a break.

What’s the best shot of Stephen Curry’s career? There are plenty of great ones to choose from, but I’ll always be partial to his near halfcourt pull-up to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder during a 2016 regular season game. Curry already had one championship and one MVP to his name at the time, but his game-winner in OKC hinted that NBA fans were watching something truly special. Curry would go on to become the first unanimous NBA MVP in league history that season, and the Warriors would break the all-time record for most wins in a regular season with 73. We all know how it ended: LeBron James led the Cavs to a 3-1 comeback in the NBA Finals, the Warriors responded by signing Kevin Durant in free agency, and the dominos effect of that moment in time is still being felt today.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are facing the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 Western Conference Finals, and to me this is the highest level of basketball the league has seen since those old Cavs-Warriors NBA Finals series before the pandemic. Game 1 was an absolute masterpiece, perhaps the defining game of the 2020s so far in what should be the defining rivalry of the 2020s for the league, if not all of American professional sports. The Spurs beat the Thunder, 122-115, in double-overtime to steal homecourt advantage right off the rip. It was a dizzying game with incredible moments on both sides, but one play stands out more than the rest.

With the Spurs trailing by three in overtime with under 30 seconds left, Victor Wembanyama jacked a transition three from way, way behind the three-point line. He drained it, the Spurs got a stop at the other end to force double OT, where they eventually won the game.

Wembanyama’s shot was eerily similar to the one Curry hit against the Thunder 10 years ago. Watch them both play out here:

Here’s an alternate angle of Wemby’s shot, via the Spurs:

Wembanyama ended the night with 41 points, 24 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, one steal, and only three turnovers. He also played a career-high 49 minutes, and the Spurs needed every second to win the game. The Spurs are now 5-1 against the Thunder this season including the regular season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander better enjoy this second MVP award, because Wembanyama is taking the crown from him as long as he plays enough games going forward.

The Thunder got eight made threes from Alex Caruso after he shot 29 percent from three on the year, and they still couldn’t beat San Antonio. The balance of power in the NBA felt like it shifted during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder will likely respond. Every game of this series is going to be must-see.

The Philadelphia 76ers are on the clock. After parting ways with Daryl Morey, the franchise has tasked Bob Myers — President of Sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment — with running basketball operations in the interim while leading the search for a new President of Basketball Operations. Myers has set a (soft) target of having someone in place before the NBA Draft on June 23. Below is a running list of names that have been reported in connection with the job, updated as new information surfaces.

Vince Rozman, VP of Identification & Intelligence, OKC Thunder (First reported by Philly Inquirer, May 16)

Rozman spent 16 years with the Sixers, joining the organization under Sam Hinkie in 2013 and working his way up through various roles in basketball operations. He was heavily involved in draft preparation and was credited by both Hinkie and Morey as a key behind-the-scenes contributor. In 2022 he left Philadelphia to join Sam Presti’s staff in Oklahoma City, where he now oversees the Thunder’s draft evaluation and strategy — one of the most respected draft operations in the league. His deep familiarity with both the Sixers organization and the gold standard of modern front office building makes him one of the more intriguing names in this search.

Elton Brand, GM, Philadelphia 76ers (First reported by Philly Inquirer, May 16)

Brand has been tied to the Sixers organization since his playing days, eventually transitioning into front office work and ascending to GM in 2018. He led the coaching search that landed Doc Rivers before stepping back from lead decision-making duties when Morey arrived. Rather than walking away, Brand stayed on as Morey’s top lieutenant for the entirety of his tenure. He was a candidate for the Hawks’ lead executive role last year before withdrawing from the search, suggesting there is outside interest in his abilities.

Neil Olshey, Sixers Consultant (First reported by Philly Inquirer, May 16)

Olshey has one of the more decorated resumes in this search, having served as GM of the Clippers during their Lob City era before taking over as GM of the Trail Blazers, where he drafted Damian Lillard and built one of the more consistent playoff teams of the last decade. He was fired in 2021 following an investigation into a hostile work environment, which remains a legitimate concern for any organization considering him. He has been a Sixers consultant since 2023 and is considered to have a close relationship with Myers, which is likely what keeps his name in the conversation.

Travis Schlenk, SVP of Player Personnel, Washington Wizards (First reported by Philly Inquirer, May 16)

Schlenk is one of the more experienced names on this list, having spent 13 years with the Warriors where he served as assistant GM to Myers and played a significant role in building their dynasty, including being credited with identifying Draymond Green in the second round of the 2012 draft. He parlayed that into the top job with the Hawks, serving as GM and President of Basketball Operations for five seasons and leading Atlanta to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. He joined the Wizards in 2023 in a player personnel role. Like several others on this list, his Warriors connection to Myers is likely a key reason his name has surfaced here.

Onsi Saleh, GM, Atlanta Hawks (First reported by Marc Stein, May 17-18)

Saleh is widely regarded as one of the brightest young executives in the league. Before becoming the Hawks GM he spent three seasons working directly under Myers with the Warriors, giving him a direct connection to the man running Philadelphia’s search. He finished second in Executive of the Year voting in his first season running Atlanta, a testament to how quickly he has established himself and turned things around for Atlanta. He is considered a longshot given that the Hawks are unlikely to grant permission for an interview, but the fact that Myers wants to explore it speaks to how highly he is regarded.

Update on Onsi Saleh (again by Marc Stein, May 19)

Stein reported Tuesday that the Sixers have conceded Saleh will not be available to them. Barring a significant change, it is safe to consider his name off the board.

Tim Connelly, President of Basketball Operations, Minnesota Timberwolves (First reported by Marc Stein, May 17-18)

Connelly has built two different franchises into contenders, assembling the core of Denver’s 2023 championship team before departing for Minnesota, where he put together back-to-back Western Conference Finals rosters. His contract with the Timberwolves is set to expire soon, which has put his name in play across multiple searches this offseason. Dallas tried and failed to land him earlier this summer, and Minnesota is expected to retain him, making him a longshot. But his track record (and blockbuster deals) speak for itself.

Mike Gansey, GM, Cleveland Cavaliers (First reported by Marc Stein, May 18)

Gansey has spent his entire career climbing the ladder within the Cavaliers organization, starting as a seasonal assistant in 2011 and working his way up to GM in 2022. Along the way he won G League Executive of the Year in 2017 and has been a key part of building a Cleveland team that is currently in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018. His name also surfaced in the Bulls’ search this offseason, underlining the respect he has earned around the league as one of the better young executives in the game.

Nick U’Ren, GM, Phoenix Mercury (First reported by Marc Stein, May 18)

U’Ren spent nearly a decade with the Warriors, working under Myers as a special assistant and advanced scout before departing in 2023 to become GM of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. In his first two seasons he turned an aging roster into a WNBA Finals contender, showcasing the kind of roster-building instincts that made him a name to watch. His direct connection to Myers is clear, and the question surrounding him is simply whether he is ready to make the leap to the top job at the NBA level after such a successful turnaround in the WNBA.

Trent Redden, GM, Los Angeles Clippers (First reported by Kevin O’Connor, May 19)

Redden spent 12 years with the Cavaliers, rising from a scout to assistant GM and VP of basketball operations, before joining the Clippers as assistant GM in 2017. He was promoted to GM in 2023 following Michael Winger’s departure to Washington and has quickly earned a reputation as one of the sharper talent evaluators in the league. He has no direct Warriors connection to Myers, making him a bit of an outlier on this list compared to several other candidates.

Matt Lloyd, GM, Minnesota Timberwolves (First reported by Marc Stein, May 19)

Lloyd got his start in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls back in 1994, beginning as a game-day employee before rising to director of college scouting under the late Jerry Krause. He later spent a decade with the Orlando Magic before joining Tim Connelly’s staff in Minnesota, where he was promoted to GM in 2024. He was a finalist for the Bulls’ lead executive job this offseason before Chicago hired Bryson Graham, and he has been viewed around the league as a top-of-the-line GM candidate for some time. His connection to Connelly makes him an interesting name given Connelly’s own ties to this search.

Honorable Mention — Jameer Nelson, Assistant GM, Philadelphia 76ers (First reported by Marc Stein, May 17-18)

Nelson is not considered a candidate for the top job itself, but Stein noted there has been chatter all season about an expanded role for him regardless of who is hired. Nelson is held in high regard within the organization and has been described as a rising candidate to run his own team someday.

Most important day of the Knicks season is here, fellas.

As will be the case again on Thursday, Saturday, and all the way every other day through mid-June.

Feels good.

Mike Brown

On the Cavaliers’ four All-Stars:

“Back in the day, when I was with (Gregg Popovich), he said, ‘You need three All-Stars to win a championship.’ Well, they’ve got four, James being the fourth one has added a dimension to their team that not many teams have. Not many teams can say, ‘Hey, we got four All-Stars on our roster.’ And that fourth guy in James is a playmaker and a scorer, so he presents a problem when you have that, and Donovan Mitchell and everybody else, and then they have the shooting.

“It’s a different team, and [Harden] makes it different because of the experience that he has, especially in the playoffs and in big moments. And being a Hall of Fame-caliber player.”

On the need for setting the tone early in Game 1:

“You always want to hit first, second, third and obviously last. Trying to do that is gonna be big. We’ve talked about it before with the starts of our games. Our guys have done a better job in the playoffs.”

On managing rest vs. rust heading into the series:

“You worry about all those things. But at the end of the day, we’ve had a chance to rest, too; and they’ve had to play 14 games in 29, 30 days. So it could go either way. You just hope that when we step out there, our competitive spirit is at an extremely high level and you don’t ease into the game at all, because they’re a dangerous offensive team. They’re very potent with their shooters and playmakers. And they have size and toughness and all that. So there’s a lot of things to worry about. But that’s why it’s good that you’ve got to go play the games.”

On making Cleveland’s stars work defensively:

“We have to put pressure on them in all phases: starting with transition and ending with the ability to offensive rebound. You want to make all of their guys, especially guys who play-make and do a lot for them — you want to make them work as much as you can, but that’s not gonna be our focal point. The focal point is to take the best possible shot that we can get because it’s hard to score in the playoffs. But we do want to make those guys work, starting with transition. So we have to be conscious of trying to play the right way against this group.”

On facing Kenny Atkinson in the conference finals:

“We know each other well from our time in Golden State together. He’s a great person and obviously a really good coach.

“We probably gained more knowledge of how we’re coaching our teams based on the times we played against each other this year more than in the past.

“Kenny’s done a phenomenal job. He’s got those guys playing at a high level. To sit back and watch those guys take both their series to seven games and find the resiliency to win just shows how experienced that team is when it comes to the playoffs. There’s no panic in them, starting with Kenny on down.

Josh Hart

On New York City’s choices:

“Did they put street signs up this year?”

On internal expectations entering the series:

“For us, in that locker room, we’re just locked-in on being there every single game, making sure we’re continuing to get better and we’re a finished product at the end. So I don’t know anything about the bar being raised or expectations or anything like that. The expectations that we have for ourselves as a team or individual are always high. But we always want the fans to have some fun, man.”

On lessons from last year’s playoff collapse:

“Obviously in the playoffs you never want to give away games that you should win. You can never relax. Especially the style that the NBA is played now; you see 10-, 15-, 20-point leads dwindle in four, five minutes. So it’s just that mentality of, it’s never over. Play until there are zeros on the clock. You can’t give the games away.”

On the nine-day break before the conference finals:

“Obviously would rather not have a nine-day break. You’re in a good rhythm and then obviously you’ve got to sit there and wait and those kind of things. Ideally, a three- or four-day break, that’d be nice. It’s good points and bad points.”

On Madison Square Garden’s atmosphere:

“They always come out and show love. Definitely the best atmosphere in the league.”

On guarding Donovan Mitchell again after doing so in 2023:

“I don’t think I learned anything about myself. I’m a good player. I’m a good defender. And as a competitor, you want to have tough matchups like that to compete against the best. He’s an extremely talented offensive player. He takes tough shots, but he has the talent and the ability to make those tough shots.”

Jalen Brunson

On learning from last year’s Eastern Conference Finals loss:

“I mean, I’ve thought about it. But like every journey, every year is different. You’ve got to kind of restart and reset. Yes, you learn from it. You’re very disappointed in the result. But you move forward.

“I think it happened this year as well when we played Atlanta. We let our foot off the gas; even in Game 1, we won, but also in Game 2, we lost. So, it’s something that we need to continue to get better at. And I think we have. But we can’t be satisfied.”

On respecting Donovan Mitchell before the series:

“I have the utmost respect for him. Got to know him really since my first year, we had mutual friends. The dude works really hard, loves the game. I think he approaches it the right way, so I have a lot of respect for him.”

On Cleveland’s challenge in the conference finals:

“That’s a tough team, very well coached, a lot of guys over there with playoff experience. They’re going to be a tough out.”

On James Harden’s impact on Cleveland’s offense:

“He’s able to create a lot of offense for them. It’s like a pressure release for Donovan, as well. Donovan does so much for the team and then you have James in there and you have a whole other person you have to worry about, so they have so many different weapons, so many different options and ways they can beat you. They’re really dynamic.”

Kenny Atkinson (Cavs Head Coach)

On returning to Madison Square Garden for the conference finals:

“I’m a New Yorker. Going back to the Garden, I worked for the Knicks and I know everybody there. I have a ton of family, my whole family is there, basically. It’s special.”

On facing the Knicks in the conference finals:

“They’re rested and they’re a juggernaut right now. It’s hard to blow out teams in the playoffs like they’ve been blowing out teams. Point differential means something in this league.

“They’re playing great basketball, but we’ve got to try to go in there and steal Game 1 somehow.”

Carmelo Anthony

On believing the Knicks are the most complete team in the East:

“The Knicks is the most complete team in the East. All the s*** that people was talking about, and I kept telling y’all fans. Chill out. Relax. Stay Melo.”

On predicting a Finals appearance:

“I like the Knicks in the finals. This is the year that I think the Knicks get to the finals.”

Zohran Mamdani

On the rising ticket prices during the Knicks’ playoff run:

“We have seen sports become more and more of a luxury commodity, and that is not what it always used to be. I am still confident and hopeful of a championship this year. I do wish, however, that all of these tickets were far more affordably priced.”

“I think that there are many New Yorkers for whom the game is something that is celebrated across the entire city. When the Knicks do well, you feel it across this whole city. And it’s not just for those who can afford to go to the game.”

Alan Hahn

On the Knicks’ current level of play:

“I think this is the best I’ve ever seen them. I’ve been covering them for over 20 years in various ways. I’ve never seen them play an offense like this consistently. What they’ve done in the playoffs in this transformation with how they played, it’s remarkable. Of course, you need to see more proof of it as a series gets deeper. As you go deeper, it gets harder, right? But when in the playoffs do you see teams consistently blowing out their opponents in the first two rounds and not say that’s a championship-level team?”

On the Cleveland matchup compared to Detroit:

“That’s the one thing. It’s hard not to look at their struggles against Detroit and Detroit seems to just have a different kind of level against the Knicks. They really didn’t get over losing to the Knicks in the first round and you could see that in every game they played this year. They just had a different type of intensity, almost to a point where even the Knicks were like, ‘Whoa, whoa, it’s January. What are you guys doing?’ I would never say that Cleveland’s easier. But I think matchup-wise, it’s way more intriguing because it’s two really good offensive teams. So how do you solve them defensively is going to be the biggest story in this series.”