Going into the 2025-26 season, Ron Harper Jr.’s NBA career was seemingly stuck in mud. After going undrafted in 2021 out of Rutgers, he began his career with the Toronto Raptors for the first two seasons of his career where he played a total of 10 NBA games. He started last season with Boston in training camp but was waived and spent most of the season 2024-25 season with the Maine Celtics where he played a total of 14 games before signing a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons.

Harper Jr. played the last 23 games of the G League regular season with the Motor City Cruise before getting the chance to play one game with Pistons on the last game of the season, but that would be his last game with Detroit. The Pistons would waive Harper Jr. on July 24th, 2025 after averaging 16.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, and 39% shooting from 3-point range in the G League.

He would reunite with Boston a month later on August 16th, 2025, signing an Exhibit-10 Deal to attend training camp. This is where the story of Ron Harper Jr.’s incredible 2026 season begins. Through grinding in Maine to slowly creeping his way up the Celtics depth chart to finally ending his season starting in the biggest game of his career, you couldn’t write a better redemption story if you were trying to pitch it to Disney.

Preseason and Maine Celtics

Preseason was an import time for Ron Harper Jr. because was fighting for a two-way contract against a lot of stiff competition. He played well in the three games, averaging 4.3 points in 10.6 minutes per game while shooting 40% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range. He was awarded the final roster spot on the Celtics, signing a two-way contract on October 16th, 2025.

He made it a point to comment on his familiarity with the Celtics system that helped him feel more comfortable this time around. He said, “Being here last year, I feel like it helped me gain a grasp of the system a little better, a little faster…so, I feel like I was a step ahead in that aspect.”

Harper Jr. spent most of the first half tearing up the G League, averaging 26.9 points on 49.7% shooting from the field and 39.8% shooting from three in eight games for the Maine Celtics in their Tip-Off Tournament. He continued his stellar play into the regular season, including Player of the Week honors for games played from November 17th-23rd where he averaged 36.0 points, 7.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds in a 2-0 run.

His best game during this stretch came on November 21st, 2025 where he dropped 46 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds on the Delaware Blue Coats while shooting 16-26 from the field and 7-14 from three including a game winning layup with 1.1 seconds left to give Maine the victory.

During this time, he was seeing spot minutes with Boston but mostly at the end of blowouts. In only seven games from October to January, Harper Jr. averaged 1.9 points on 31.3% shooting from the field and 25% shooting from three in 5.0 minutes per game. This drop in performance was a stark contrast to his play in Maine and although the numbers didn’t jump off the page, Ron Harper Jr. was about to get his shot.

Becoming a star in his role paid off

Ron Harper Jr. got his first real minutes on February 2nd, 2026 when the Celtics were on the second half of a back-to-back with Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser out. Harper Jr. would be thrust into the starting lineup for the first time in his NBA career and be matched up with Kevin Durant for most of the game. He thrived, finishing with a (at the time) career-high 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists on 4-8 shooting from the field and 3-7 shooting from three in the Celtics under-manned 114-93 win over the Rockets. Not only did his offense come up big, he also played lock down defense on Durant, holding him to 2 points on 1-5 shooting and one turnover in 4:41 minutes matched up with KD.

He had a busy All-Star Weekend following his career game, being chosen to be on the G League team of NBA Rising Stars Challenge and competed with his father, 5x NBA Champion Ron Harper and brother, San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper in the Skills Challenge.

Coming out of the All-Star break, Harper Jr. continued to find more minutes as the dog days of the season started to come around. In February, he averaged 4.5 points in 16.3 minutes per game, but really started to impress on the defensive end. Harper Jr. surpassed his career high in points scored for the second time on March 10th, 2026 against the San Antonio Spurs. With Jaylen Brown ejected early in the game, Harper Jr. stepped up to score 22 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and 6-9 shooting from three in a close 125-116 loss.

His play on a two-way contract caught the attention of Brad Stevens in the front office and after everything he went through this season, on April 4th, 2026, Ron Harper Jr. signed an official two-year standard contract with a club option for the 2026-27 season. From starting the season not even guaranteed a roster spot to signing an official contract six months later is an incredible story and everyone across Celtics Nation was so happy that he finally made it. Harper Jr. would reward the front office’s trust in him with his best performance on the final game of the season.

The Orlando Magic came into the game playing all of their starters for a chance at better seeding in the Eastern Conference while the Celtics played their bench guys. It looked like the Magic weren’t taking this game serious at all after building a lead but the Celtics stormed back behind Ron Harper Jr. igniting for his now career high 27 points along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals on 10-20 shooting from the field and 5-12 shooting from three. Boston would win the game 113-108 and Harper Jr. would finish his season with career highs across the board. In 29 games played he averaged 4.2 points, on 41.8% shooting from the field and 35% shooting from three.

The playoffs saw Harper Jr. go back to his role as a reserve player for most of the series where he hyped up his teammates and played at the end of a few blowouts — that was until Game 7 when Jayson Tatum was ruled out. After showing a ton of fight at the end of the Celtics Game 6 loss with the rest of the stay ready group, Joe Mazzulla put Ron Harper Jr. in the starting lineup for Game 7 for his first career playoff start. Harper Jr. only played 4:02 minutes and shot 0-1 in the first quarter before sitting the rest of the game, but he did make a couple really nice defensive plays with two steals.

Future for RHJ in Boston?

What impressed me the most with Ron Harper Jr. this season was the defense he was able to play against other high level wings. He is a ball hawk when it comes to forcing steals and can hold his own against bigger offensive players. On offense, he can be a microwave scorer when given the chance, but he also did a great job of playing his role as a catch-and-shoot three-point shooter from the corners.

I think Ron Harper Jr. has been able to secure his spot on this Celtics team going into next season. I think his role moving forward will be similar to what it was this season: a solid third option at the wing that can play in case of an emergency and can hold his own on both sides of the ball.

Harper Jr. is just a guy who is so easy to root for. His story alone but he was also able to show off his personality as the season went. He was a big member of the Celtics players who would play Catan on team flights, he was always celebrating his teammates on the bench, and he was able to ingratiate himself within the Celtics community, going to multiple autograph signings around the city.

His brother Dylan Harper might be the one in the spotlight right now with his playoff run in San Antonio, but Ron showed this season that he is a legitimate NBA player and he has the potential to carve out a solid career for himself.

You asked for it…

…and you got it.

Here’s the latest from Tarrytown and elsewhere as we keep patiently/anxiously waiting.

Mike Brown

On preparing for either potential Finals opponent:

“If we expect to be who we think we are, then at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. If we play San Antonio, it’ll save me some money because my family lives in San Antonio. I don’t have to buy airline tickets. But at the end of the day, both teams are great and both teams will be a challenge for us.”

On staying intentional amid any Finals distractions:

“Yeah, the biggest thing is you have to enjoy it because this doesn’t happen. Some guys never make it here, you know. And this is what most people play for, is to have a chance to, at the end of the year, say you won your last game, so you can walk around in the summertime with your chest out and all that other stuff amongst your peers. Having said that, you know, there are a lot more distractions that you got to navigate, so you have to be — I was talking to Allan Houston, he used the right word when I was talking to him about it, but you have to be real intentional about what you’re doing because you’re going to get pulled in so many different directions. And everybody’s human, and it’s natural to get pulled here, get pulled a little here, get pulled a little there, and think that you’re OK. But at the end of the day, after doing the media and practicing and getting pulled three or four different directions — because you’re going to have your family around you, you’re going to have friends around you, you’re going to have people wanting tickets, you’re going to have people wanting to go on this show and that show. At the end of the day, you may not realize it, but it can be fatiguing for you to do all of that stuff while trying to focus on some of the biggest games in your life. So again, going off of what word Allan Houston used, trying to be intentional about everything that we do during this time while keeping an edge is going to be huge.”

On managing scrimmage intensity before the Finals:

“Well, I mean, you can only have so many scrimmages because there’s only so many days, and you got to make sure – knock on wood — that you give them time to recover from the scrimmages. So it can’t be about much more increased contact, you know? But just the biggest thing is reminding them what happened in Game 1 of our last series, and let them know that when you’re watching these teams, it can’t happen this time around.”

On the difficulty of manufacturing Game 1 energy in practices during the break:

“It’s hard to manufacture the competitive environment that you’re going to be in in Game 1. So to continue to just find different ways to keep that competitive spirit or to keep that edge as high as you can is something that I’ll ask different players. I’ll ask my staff. I’ll get input from a few different people, and may roll with this, may roll with that. But the biggest thing that I think should help us is knowing that as a group, the last time we went through this, we started off a little slow in that game, and we can’t afford to do that again. Our guys, they’re a veteran group. They’ve been really resilient, and they’ve done a good job of growing quickly anytime they’ve hit adversity.”

OG Anunoby

On missing the Raptors’ 2019 postseason run due to injury:

“Of course, I wanted to play. I wish I played, but I also learned a lot.”

On learning from his Raptors championship teammates:

“Jeremy Lin was a great teammate. I had Jodie Meeks, Norm Powell, Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Danny Green. I learned a lot from those guys. I learned so much being out.”

Jalen Brunson

On getting ready for an unknown Finals opponent:

“Obviously, you want to focus on being ready as a team, but you gotta prepare for both [teams]. Just understand the differences between the teams. You have two really good teams going at it right now. We gotta prepare for both.”

On staying locked in during another long break before the Finals:

“Comparing our situation from last time, just being mentally and physically locked in. I think that’s really important for us and that’s what we have to focus on these next couple of days.”

On blocking out social media and outside noise:

“I think it’s different for everybody. I’ve been off social media. I may post one thing and then just go back to deleting it. You just gotta block out the noise. You gotta do whatever you can to make sure you’re locked in. Everyone is different. Every individual has their way of blocking out things. It’s important to not hear some of the things. When there’s negative things being said about you, it’s important to ignore them. When there’s positive things about you, it’s easy to read them and feel good. You can’t do one and not the other. So just block it out as best as you can.”

On being ready from the opening tip in Game 1:

“I think just being more ready to go by the time Game 1 hits. Comparing our situation from last time, just being mentally and physically locked in. I think that’s really important for us and that’s what we have to focus on these next couple of days.”

Mikal Bridges

On focusing on the Knicks’ own identity regardless of who they face in the Finals:

“Just going out there, playing our way no matter what, whoever’s out there, don’t really care. Just go out there and just play our way, and whoever’s out there is out there. We just got to play the right way.”

On starting the Finals on the road:

“I think it helps even just being on the road a little bit, being in a hostile environment. That should just get the mindset right off the jump anyway … Second time going around it, knowing that, ‘OK, we just got to pick it up.’ ”

On handling praise and media attention during the long break:

“Just worry about what we have to do to be better. Not get too into the media and all the stuff. A lot of questions, a lot of talk about how great we are, how great we’ve been. That doesn’t matter, we just gotta worry about being ourselves and stay locked in. And go win.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On Brunson’s MVP-level work ethic:

“What a wild surprise. I think he just puts the work in. We always talk about, that’s what I think makes all of us special because all of us are putting work in, but he also really, really puts the work in. And I know if you know JB’s merch line and everything like that, it’s always about ‘The magic is in the work.’ He’s a testament to that. He believes in that. He showcases that every single day to all of us and drives us all to be better.”

On preparing for the possible Finals rust off a long layoff:

“Obviously, rust will be a thing, just not having shot in an NBA game in a while, but we’ll do a better job this time around of just preparing for that kind of situation to happen. I think that obviously the coaching staff did an amazing job getting us ready for Game 1 [of the Eastern Conference Finals], but obviously we just didn’t go out there and shoot well … We just got to figure out a way to get those game-like reps. I think the coaching staff heard us loud and clear. We want to get back to work to keep the rhythm and also maybe change up the philosophy of how we have those, I guess, scrimmages that we had last time, that we didn’t do last time. So I think we’ll be better prepared, but at the end of the day, it’s all about execution, desperation, energy. We got to bring it in Game 1.”

Josh Hart

On Brunson receiving national recognition once and for all:

“It’s cool. Obviously you always want teammates and friends to get recognition for everything that they’re doing. It’s super dope that’s how he’s being viewed now. Obviously he’s very humble. He’s not going to really make too much of it until he retires. But it’s cool he gets that recognition.”

Chris Childs

On Brunson’s whistle compared to SGA’s:

“I just wish [Brunson] would get the respect and the calls that all these other guys are getting when they’re flopping and falling. I was at the game when they played OKC and Shai was getting calls and Jalen was literally getting hit all the time. But he brushes it off. He was getting a little upset initially and he calms himself down. You got to be like that because if your teammates see you being feisty, they’re going to do the same thing and not stay focused; they’re going to do the same thing on the attention to detail going forward.”

On Brunson’s physical style and toughness:

“Brunson’s small in stature, but he’s a power guard. He’s small but he doesn’t do all the theatrical stuff, falling down like he just got shot by a tranquilizer dart or something. Maybe he needs to take some acting lessons so he gets the calls. But he’s so strong, he’s bouncing off guys so he doesn’t have to fall all the time to get the call.”

On Brunson’s focus despite missed foul calls:

“I sat there — I’m not being biased — I sat there and for one quarter [Brunson] drove the ball, and I saw at least six fouls that weren’t called. And he literally was grabbed and pushed and knocked off balance. But that tells you the focus he has that he’s not going to let that take away from the goal at hand. ‘Okay, I’m not getting the calls but I’m going to make them make these calls.’ And we’ll see in the Finals if it’ll hold true that, ‘If you’re going to let us play, let us play.’ If you’re going to make the calls, make them fair on both sides.”

Monica McNutt

On Becky Hammon’s infamous take about small guards:

“Honestly, historically, she was not wrong. Isaiah Thomas. Steph Curry. The list is very short, right? But I remember her saying, and I was like, ‘Oh, saying that to the wrong fanbase, my girl.’ And I, too, adore Becky Hammon. She’s a Hall of Famer.”

On the reaction to Hammon and being a woman in sports media:

“She picked the wrong fanbase, and I will add, as a woman in this space, I think it’s easy to pile on women in this space. Not everybody rolls off her credentials the way you did, Adam. … But I get it, I’ve said some crazy things as an analyst too. I think I said the Warriors were cooked a year they went on to win the championship.”

On Brunson’s mentality and growth over time:

“I’ll never forget this as long as I cover him, Adam. We are looking at these moves, and I’m like, ‘What are you seeing?’ He’s like, ‘I’ve never been the fastest. I’ve never been the strongest. I’ve never out athleticisized. But I’ve always had to figure out how to beat my opponent. So, I just play to my strengths.’ And he has been meticulous about finding his strength. … At every stop, he has been one that has been doubted — and for whatever reason — but all he has done is won. There are some people among us that just have that winning gene and I would describe Jalen Brunson as one of those guys.”

Ernie Grunfeld

On how this Knicks team resembles the champions of the 1970s:

“I grew up in Queens with the championship Knicks teams of the ’70s, and this team plays the same way. They share the basketball and the ball just pops around. They play defense, they are deep, and they have so many people you can rely on. You never know who can hurt you. Leon has done a tremendous job, and he’s done it his own way. His team sacrifices for one another just like those ’70s teams. Josh Hart was one of his great moves because he’s the glue of that team, just like Dave DeBusschere. They’re peaking at the right time and doing things that have never been done in the NBA playoffs.”

On Leon Rose’s quiet approach as Knicks president:

“It’s working for him, and that’s what counts. The whole media situation has changed from the ’90s, with social media and everything else. Mike Brown has done a great job, the Knicks are winning, and when you have too many voices out there, it’s not beneficial anyway.”

Howard Tapscott

On Rick Brunson and Jalen Brunson’s rise:

“Rick existed only on one-year contracts. And it was always the joke from Patrick [Ewing] to me all the time — every year we would bring Rick into training camp, and Patrick would go, ‘Hey, you brought your nephew back.’ I guess he thought we looked alike. So, as a result, whenever I see Rick, I refer to him as nephew. He was in on the joke, and I say, ‘My nephew is really doing well.’ (Laughs). I don’t know Jalen, really. I only met him through the draft process and all that. But he’s become an extraordinarily good player and an extraordinarily clutch player.”

On rest vs. rust entering the Finals:

“Let me dispose of the rest vs. rust concept. When you’ve already played 90 games, everything on your body is sore. I don’t know a player in the league who wouldn’t want the rest. Because it allows your body to go back to some feeling of normalcy. … We played a grueling hand-to-hand combat series against Miami. And then we flip it over and we play another six-game hand-to-hand combat series with the Pacers. And we were a team that, at that time, was starting to age. So this current team seems to have everybody who is a critical member in their prime. I don’t see anybody who is on the aging side of their career. And they have dispatched other teams pretty quickly so they can get their rest. So they’re on a good cycle. To me, that’s an important ingredient in the calculation as to whether or not they can win this.”

John Thomas

On why most players prefer long postseason breaks:

“That’s key. A lot of people look at rest as a negative but as players we always look at that as a positive. The more rest, the better.”

Reggie Miller

On whether he “hates” the Knicks:

“Hate is a very strong [word]. I love the players. I love the organization. It’s the fanbase at times that makes me scratch my head. … Those guys, the way they play, the way they carry themselves, it’s all about business.”

On clarifying his comment that the Knicks could be favored in the Finals:

“They won’t be the betting favorite. Obviously, that will be the Spurs or the Thunder. They will be the betting favorite, either one of those teams, but the sentimental people, I think, are pulling for the Knicks because it’s been a bazillion years since they’ve gotten to the Finals. All of New York is on board. That’s what I was trying to say last night. And the way they’ve been playing right now, 11 in a row, they are so connected at both ends of the floor, that’s why I think they would be favored, not in the betting aspect of, but in terms of winning a series because of how well they’re connected.”

Draymond Green

On giving Towns kudos for his defense:

“I’ve never seen Karl-Anthony Towns defend and be as engaged as he is on the defensive end. What we’ve seen for years, and this year some, is him get these dumb fouls. He’s not even doing that anymore.”

Kenny Smith

On what makes New York City basketball unique:

“You’ve got great players coming out of Chicago, great players coming out of L.A., but in those cities only the ones who want to be great play [at the next level]. In New York, the guys who play don’t want to be great, they just want to play in the day. Now, everyone who’s playing AAU, everyone who’s playing streetball, everyone who’s playing travel ball, everyone playing in high school in those cities has delusions of grandeur to be in the NBA. Everyone in New York [back then], they just want to play, they don’t think they’re going to be in the NBA, so you have everyone playing. We had a guy in our neighborhood, Fat Ike. I had Fat Ike on my team because he knew how to set a hell of a pick. He ain’t trying to make the NBA, he ain’t thinking about it. Those guys don’t exist in other cities.”

Becky Hammon

On standing by her previous Jalen Brunson comments:

“I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago, I stand by it. There’s no air to be cleared. I said what I said. He proves me wrong. He proves me wrong. Good for him, but I do think the two best teams are in the West. I’m up for being proven wrong. That’s the other thing. I think Jalen Brunson is a hell of a player.”

Isaiah Thomas

On Becky Hammond and other Brunson haters:

“I remember when Coach Becky Hammond went on national TV saying you can’t win with a SMALL guard… Man I don’t like those type of statements smh. Keep doing ya thang Brunson… Us ‘small’ guards all rooting 4 ya.”

Stephen A. Smith

On criticizing ESPN colleagues for considering the Knicks’ Finals run enough:

“So sick of the blasphemy I’m hearing in [Get Up] from [Kendrick Perkins], [Monica McNutt], [Vince Goodwill], [Mike Greenberg], and, of course the diabolical [Michael Wilbon]. Already wanting to tell [Knicks] fans the season is a success. They are NOT the ones who’ve suffered since 1973. They don’t get it. But they will, especially on [First Take] this morning. They’d better!!!”

Adam Silver

On how franchises will approach team-building in the new lottery era:

“You want the greatest incentive to be successful. So those teams still have very good chances to get a top draft pick, but I’ll just also add that’s not the only way to build a team. It may put more of an emphasis on scouting. We’re now at a point where 30 percent of our players are from outside the United States. So you have a much larger pool of players. Rosters are much deeper than where they used to be.”

On the distinction between embellishment and deception in officiating:

“Even as I sit in the stands at games, players may be falling down, players may be reacting to a call. But to me, if they’re not fooling the referees, it’s OK. Players are taught to sell calls these days.”

On the NBA starting to use AI for automating certain calls:

“We’re going to move to a system like that where that whole category of calls will be automatic. It’s going to be Laker ball, Knick ball, whatever it is. Those calls will be done by an AI, automated system with cameras lined around the court. It will take all those so-called objective calls out of the hands of the referees. You won’t have to deal with challenges on those calls.”

On why referees will remain essential for judgment calls:

“There’s often contact on every play, but that doesn’t mean there’s a foul on every play. That’s something that can’t just be done on camera.”

Travis Kelce

On taking Taylor Swift to the Cavaliers-Knicks game:

“This wasn’t me trying to persuade Taylor into being a Cleveland sports fan with me. This was me just having a fun date night knowing that I love going to basketball games. We actually tried to go to a game in New York, but I was stuck in Kansas City. I love bringing her into the sports world that I appreciate. That’s why you’ve seen us at the U.S. Open tennis matches, other baseball games, and the (Guardians) vs. the (Yankees) two years ago. I just enjoy bringing her to experience a lot of the fun that I’ve always known to have.”

On Swift’s New York ties and wearing Knicks gear for the Melo-Amar’e pic:

“Not a lot of teams have been able to get Taylor to wear a jersey, and the Knicks did. Tay’s got a lot of New York ties. When it came down to going to the Cavs game, she was like, ‘Oh nice, they’re playing the Knicks, sweet! I’ve seen them play before.’ It was fun.”

Aaron Glenn

On the Knicks’ leadership and influence in the Jets:

“That’s a gritty, gritty team, and it’s hard to be a gritty team without gritty players. And it all starts with the point guard. I mean, you could tell that the leadership, the fight, everybody follows that. And it’s easy to follow that. … I continue to say this, that leadership really comes down to one word and that’s ‘influence,’ and you really see the influence that he has. And it’s not always verbal — it’s a lot of just what he does and how he operates. Man, pulling for those guys. I really am because they play their ass off and it’s fun to watch and it’s good to see.”

No. 47

On planning to attend a Knicks NBA Finals game:

“I was invited to. I was going to go on Wednesday [Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals], but they closed it out very quickly. They’re great, and Jim Dolan’s a great guy — he’s as you know, owns and in charge of Madison Square Garden. He’s having a good year. Boy, what a team! They win all their games. They really have some great players. I think I’ll be going to one of the games, yeah. I was invited by numerous people, and Jim, and I think it’s great. Great to see it. The Knicks have really, they’ve really suffered for years and they’re doing right now very well.”

Victor Wembanyama produced an inspired performance as the San Antonio Spurs beat defending NBA champions the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 to set up a decisive game seven in the Western Conference Finals.

San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson had called on Wembanyama to score more than 20 points after a disappointing showing in game five, and the 22-year-old duly delivered.

Wembanyama finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks as the Spurs dominated after taking an early lead to level the series at 3-3.

The Frenchman came out of the game with almost eight minutes remaining in the third quarter and midway through the Spurs scoring 20 consecutive points.

Johnson praised Wembanyama's "passion and desire" and taking "responsibility" after his dominant display.

Stephon Castle finished with 17 points, nine assists and one turnover, while Dylan Harper added 18 points off the bench.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could not replicate his 32-point outing in game five as he finished with 15 points and four assists after making only six of 18 shots.

It was Gilgeous-Alexander's lowest scoring output since he scored 14 in game three of the 2025 Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The two-time NBA MVP is shooting just 37.9% from the floor in the series after making 51.4% of his field-goal attempts during the first two rounds of this year's post-season.

"I'm not sure, to be honest," Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked why he is struggling.

"A lot of the shots that I'm shooting, I shot plenty of times before. They feel good, and it's not good.

"They [San Antonio] were the aggressors from start to finish. They played harder than us, hit more shots, were more aggressive, were in attack mode. We were on our heels."

Whoever wins game seven in Oklahoma City on Saturday, 30 May (Sunday 01:00 BST), will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.

After drafting 11th in this year’s NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors would really like to stay out of the lottery for the next few seasons. If they do end up there, they’ll be subject to some temporary anti-tanking reforms.

Shams really writes like a poet, doesn’t he? The “relegation zone” also feels like an idea that would have existed had comics legend Jim Kirby consulted with David Stern on the original draft lottery proposal.

Here’s the gist of the changes. The new format of the draft involves what’s being called a “3-2-1 lottery,” which sounds like it was suggested by a consultant named Big Bird.

The name refers to the number of ping-pong balls each lottery team will receive. The teams with the 4th- through 10th-worst records get three balls. The three worst teams get two balls, as do the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds, which certainly creates a disincentive to win play-in games! The loser of the 7-8 game in each conference gets one ping pong ball.

What’s the big takeaway? It’s no longer worth it to be terrible! The odds of getting the top pick when you’re one of the NBA’s three worst teams dropped from 14.1% to 5.4%. This year, the Warriors’ odds would have improved from 2% to all the way to 5.4%. They also can’t protect picks landing between 12 and 15, which is extremely important when the Warriors front office leaks their trade offer for a superstar, two days after he lands with a different team.

Tanking hasn’t really been an issue for the Warriors since 2012. That was the year the Warriors owed a top-7 protected pick to the Utah Jazz, thanks to a complicated series of transactions. The Dubs gave the then-New Jersey Nets a protected first-round pick to add point guard/laptop thief Marcus Williams, who played 54 minutes for Golden State. Not games — minutes.

The Warriors panicked at the possibility of losing a lottery pick for a guy who barely played, so they sent the Nets two second-rounders to push the pick back to 2012, where it remained protected for picks 1-7. It made sense at the time — the team was bad. They were tied for the NBA’s third-worst record with one game to play and the draft featured future stars like John Wall, Boogie Cousins, Gordon Hayward, and Paul George.

In that final game, the Warriors went to Portland with six healthy players. They had only five players after Chris Hunter hurts his knee in the 1st quarter. Somehow, he was the team’s starting center. Devean George fouled out, but stayed in the game because by rule, the team can’t play with four. Steph Curry and Monta Ellis played 48 minutes each and combined for 76 points, while Reggie Williams and Anthony Tolliver never came out of the game.

The result? Golden State 122, Portland 116. The victory leap-frogged the Warriors ahead of the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards, so they were only the 5th-worst team in basketball. Subsequently the Wizards won the draft lottery and drafted Wall, while the Dubs took Ekpe Udoh at No. 6.

In 2012, the Lacob administration wasn’t risking anything. The team closed the season on a 3-22 run. Coach Mark Jackson delivered a master class in losing down the stretch. David Lee, Andrew Bogut, and Steph Curry all had surgeries the same week. Mikki Moore played 91 minutes in the Warriors’ final four games and never played in the NBA again. Mickell Gladness played 68 minutes in the final two games and never played in the NBA again.

Someone named Chris Wright almost ruined everything by scoring 25 points in 46 minutes in a close loss in the season finale. He would not play in the NBA the next season, and only eight more NBA games in his career. Mama, there goes that man — straight to the lottery.

It all worked out when the team stayed at No. 7 and landed The Black Falcon, also known as Harrison Barnes, who is now one game away from his third NBA Finals appearance after a 10-year absence. You could say the Warriors tanked during the 2019-20 season, but it’s more accurate to say they just sucked after everyone got hurt.

The new draft rules only last until 2029, when either management or the players can opt out of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. That means the Warriors may well be facing a new set of rules entirely for the post-Steph Curry era.

Our guess? Like Commissioner Adam Silver’s tinkering with the All-Star Game format, the new rules will end up being even more confusing and arcane in terms of restrictions on trades and pick protections, and probably include tradable draft credits, incentives for beating DraftKings over/under totals after the All-Star Break, and an artificial intelligence model for randomizing draft order that goes rogue and moves the New Orleans Pelicans to the site of a data center in rural Montana.

Eventually, the draft order will be determined by a combination of NIL money, TikTok follower counts of the draftees, and the declamations of a blind, nude oracle in a subterranean temple below the Intuit Dome. And upon that oracle’s death, or bribery by a tree planting charity deeply in debt to Steve Ballmer, they’ll go back to comically-large envelopes in a large glass ball.

After a disappointing performance Tuesday night in OKC, the Spurs bounced back with a dominant 27-point, wire-to-wire victory to stave off elimination and force a game 7.

The good guys came out with their hair on fire. San Antonio made a trio of threes, forcing the Thunder to call an early timeout. Wemby, specifically, played with the needed aggression that was missing in game 5. He drilled two triples and took Hartenstein into the paint before making a pretty turnaround jumper while deterring shots on the other end. The defense as a whole was sharp, with every player rotating and not giving up open looks for OKC. The Spurs played at a breakneck pace, getting into their actions early and running at every opportunity. Their momentum fuelled a scorching shooting start, as San Antonio made eight threes in the first quarter alone to build a double-digit lead.

Still, the Thunder kept their composure. Even with Shai on the bench, OKC played methodically to keep the game competitive. The Spurs maintained their defensive intensity, with the roof of Frost Bank Center almost coming off after Vassell blocked Chet at the rim. San Antonio continued getting good looks on offense, with Dylan Harper hitting multiple threes and penetrating the paint with ease. Some late-quarter blunders, however, led to two quick buckets from the Thunder that cut the lead down to single digits, and the good guys headed into the break up 60-53.

The Spurs’ resilience was on display to start the second half. OKC made it a two-possession game right off the bat, yet San Antonio kept answering with punches of their own. They managed to build on the lead during the non-Wemby minutes, even with Shai playing. The good guys neutralized the MVP, picking his pockets multiple times and forcing him into attempts from near-impossible angles while taking away open looks from the Thunder’s shooters. As a result, the Spurs went on a 13-0 run to build a 20-point lead without Wemby, and the dominance continued when he checked back in. OKC was noticeably frazzled, failing to generate good looks and chucking up long 3s so that they didn’t have to deal with San Antonio’s swarming defense. The Thunder went almost eight minutes without a single bucket, and the Spurs outscored them 32-13 in the third alone.

Down 26, Mark Daigneault got funky and threw a 2-3 zone at the good guys. It flummoxed them momentarily before the points started coming again, and Wemby comfortably checked out of the game with nine minutes remaining. Similar to game 4, Shai didn’t even touch the floor in the fourth, with both teams turning their focus to game 7 long before the contest was over. In the end, the Spurs came away with a dominant 118-91 victory on home soil.

Game notes

• Wemby had a great game, finishing with 28 and 10 on 10-21 from the field and 4-9 from three. Yet, I didn’t like his process, as he only had two lob finishes/attempts total, which was also why he only shot four free throws. Almost all of his points came from hot shooting from deep and the mid-range, along with iso drives against OKC’s bigs. If he had a cold shooting game, the Spurs might be on their way to Cancun, and the team will need to get him touches closer to the rim if they hope to win game 7.
• Harper looks like he’s back, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time. The rookie had 18/6/4 on 6-9 shooting and seemed to regain his explosiveness, effortlessly knifing his way to the rim multiple times for impressive finishes or kickouts to open shooters.
• On the other hand, Fox had a horrendous game. The All-Star shot 1-9 and had just five points, although he also poured in seven assists. Fox didn’t have any of his usual burst and was largely invisible, but his presence is still a positive since it gives the Spurs another reliable ballhandler, while also forcing OKC to respect him from the perimeter.
• Jalen Williams was active and came off the bench, although it remains puzzling as to why OKC brought him back. He was one of the worst players both from the eye test and on the scoreboard. JDub played just 10 minutes and had a single point while taking just one shot. He wasn’t involved in the Thunder’s offense at all and was attacked relentlessly on defense, unable to contain anyone on the Spurs. I was expecting OKC to hold him out until a potential game 7 to avoid re-injury, though perhaps they wanted to see how he looked so that they could gameplan moving forward? Well, they have their answer.

Play of the game

How about this dunk from the rook??

Next game: @ OKC on Saturday

The Spurs will return to OKC to play the biggest game of the entire season Saturday night, with tip-off set for 7pm central time. Let’s punch our ticket to the finals and prove Corgi right!! Go Spurs go!

The Phoenix Suns have been eliminated for over a month now, but one Phoenix Sun continues to stay in the public eye.

He’s not going to a get technical for it, but after Dillon Brooks’ partnership with Underdog Sports, where the Suns forward was promoting a game similar to Operation making fun of NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the point guard and his management team sent a cease and desist letter to Underdog Sports, according to the Athletic.

It doesn’t look like Underdog Sports is going to be stopping their promotion they did with Brooks. After SGA’s team filed for a cease and desist, according to Front Office Sports.

If you’ve been on the internet or been following NBA discourse the last few months, you’ve probably seen the constant criticism and mockery of the 2-time NBA MVP and Finals MVP receives for his play style. One of the main vocalists has been Brooks.

During the team’s matchup in the first round, the two made subtle jabs at each other after the game.

Brooks had some words for the refs after the Suns lost in Game 2 of the series that were pointed at SGA’s play.

Gilgeous-Alexander had some pointed words for Brooks after the Thunder swept the Suns back in April. SGA had the last laugh.

Both Brooks and Gilgeous-Alexander are from Canada and play on the team’s Olympic squad together, so it may have been all fun and games between the two off the court to get in each other’s heads, but what remains true is that Brooks has kept himself in the NBA eye since the Suns were eliminated. Brooks showed up front row to see LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who he’s had history with, be eliminated by the Thunder in the second round.

For the good or the bad, Brooks is keeping the Phoenix Suns in the NBA conversation, even if it’s not about their play.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was held to a season-low 15 points in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday, May 28. The San Antonio Spurs handled the defending NBA champions 118-91 to force Game 7.

The MVP played 28 minutes but went just 6-of-18 on field goals and 0-for-5 on 3-point shots. He also only had 4 assists and 1 rebound.

Jalen Williams returned despite struggling with a hamstring strain. Ajay Mitchell did not play as he deals with a calf strain.

The Spurs went on a 20-4 run in the third quarter to run away with the win.

NBA playoff takeaways: Victor Wembanyama makes his case as real MVP as Spurs force Game 7

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault spoke to the media after the loss about Gilgeous-Alexander's performance. The guard scored 32 points the game prior.

"I was pretty encouraged last game at the cracks we were able to get him," Daigneault said. "And obviously, I don't think we were able to do that as well tonight. I'd never discredit the defense and the opponent. There's always that. There are things I think we can do better."