The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs enter this year’s NBA Finals on a collision course of experience vs. exuberance. The Knicks return to the Finals for the first time since 1999 with a group of veterans in their prime with shared playoff experience. The Spurs’ latest iteration to make the Finals comes during their first playoff run behind French phenom Victor Wembanyama. They’re entering the series just three days after wrapping up a grueling seven games against the Thunder, while the Knicks have had an extra week to rest up and tinker in the lab. 

To the extent that regular season matchups may resemble the Finals product, the Knicks hold the upper hand – winning two of three, including the NBA Cup championship game and a 25-point blowout in March. But both teams responded to playoff adversity by evolving into new forms. FanDuel’s odds on the NBA Finals champion are a window into the complex matchups and adjustments that will go into determining the champion, and the Knicks now find themselves as the betting underdogs. 

KNICKS (+168)

The Knicks have been playing incredible basketball. They’ve won 11 consecutive playoff games, all by double digits. Their 19.4 point differential during the 14-game playoff run is nearly five points better than the next best differential in playoff history. They’ve been grabbing nearly 60% of rebound chances, and outscored the Cavs in both second-chance and transition points in their closeout game. 

Jalen Brunson has been the tip of the spear, averaging 26.9 points and 6.6 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns unlocked a new skill pack on offense, averaging a career-high 5.9 assists and more than 10 boards per game. His ability to pull Wemby out of the lane was key in their regular season success. 

Beyond the stars, the Knicks’ entire playoff rotation has been excellent. OG Anunoby has stuffed the stat sheets, averaging 19.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and knocking down 48% from deep. Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart have scored in double digits and contribute to a swarming defense that averaged over 10 steals per game in the ECF. Landry Shamet probably won’t keep shooting 91% from three, but Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson, and Jordan Clarkson are solid options at key matchups.

SPURS (-200)

The Spurs leap-frogged to the front of the Western Conference ahead of schedule. Conventional wisdom (and historical precedent) says that championship teams need multiple rounds of live playoff experience to fortify their layers of adjustments. But that experience also exposes the risks of injuries and salary cap management, whereas youth can supply a reservoir of energy to burst through growing pains. As each series went longer, the Spurs got better. 

Wemby’s 41 points and 24 rebounds in game 1 against OKC was emblematic of his ability to control entire games with nearly unlimited offensive and defensive arsenals. He can completely close off the paint or lock down on the perimeter, and he posted 48.1/40.0/89.5 shooting splits against OKC’s elite defense. He’s averaging a 23-point double-double with 3.5 blocks in the playoffs. 

The league now revolves around Wembenyama, but the emergence of the Spurs’ young role players and reserves has been the story of their resilience. Stephon Castle took on the top defensive matchups while averaging 19.2 points and 6.7 assists over the playoffs. Dylan Harper looks like a potential future MVP with advanced feel on both ends. Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell both played tough defense and shot well on more than six 3PAs per game in the WCF. With De’Aaron Fox back from an ankle injury, the Spurs’ offense is deep with dynamic playmakers. 

The sportsbooks have the Spurs as a 2-1 favorite in the series at -200. Our expert Ricky O’Donnell picked San Antonio in 7. This is going to be a great NBA Finals.

The winds of change are blowing for the Dallas Mavericks. The magnitude of those winds is yet to be determined, but the likelihood of them being gale-force appears higher than not at this point. Already, the Mavs have hired a new President in Masai Ujiri, a new GM in Mike Schmitz and they will soon find a new coach to replace Jason Kidd.

ESPN’s Zach Kram recently suggested six different trade ideas for the upcoming NBA offseason, two of which featured the Mavericks. Specifically, one trade centered on Kyrie Irving with another revolving around Daniel Gafford, as previously covered here at Mavs Moneyball. Each of the trade proposals held a logical basis for both sides and made for some intriguing discussions, but can the Mavs actually “win” either trade, much less the aggregate of both, as proposed?

The Gafford proposal

In this proposal, the Mavs ship Gafford out to the Los Angeles Lakers for a return of Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht and pick 25 in this year’s Draft.

The Irving proposal

In this proposal, the Mavs move Irving to the Detroit Pistons and get Isaiah Stewart, Caris LeVert, Ron Holland and pick 21 in this year’s Draft.

If both deals were made, that means Dallas goes into draft night with first round picks 9, 21, 25 and 30. Not bad for a team that is currently all but devoid of draft capital until 2030, but also not the whole story. These deals would also add four wing players (Vanderbilt, Knecht, LeVert and Holland) to a roster that currently includes Cooper Flagg, Max Christie, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Khris Middleton and Caleb Martin.

Of course, roster size and general logic dictate that further moves would have to be made before the final roster was settled upon, but there are concerning ramifications of these deals regardless.

Taking on contracts for too-few picks

The incoming players in these proposals cause more harm than good. Not necessarily because the players are bad or have bad contracts per se, but because none of those players necessarily move the dial more than what Dallas already has. The Mavs would be giving themselves unnecessary work trying to figure out who and how to move players like Washington, Marshall, Christie, Middleton, Vanderbilt, Knecht and/or LeVert. They simply can’t all fit. Dallas instead should use their resources to acquire players that fit a more pressing need, rather than stack more wings on a wing-heavy team.

Too many 2026 draft picks; too few picks overall

Consider this – it’s quite difficult to draft four players in the same draft, then actually implement all four toward a positive impact going forward. Yes, Dallas needs to restock the cupboard in a major way, but they aren’t necessarily achieving that efficiently with these moves. Getting two late-first round picks in the 2026 draft looks good on paper, but it does not solve the problem of having little control over future drafts through 2030. If Dallas is going to trade their starting point guard and former NBA Champion along with their (sometimes) starting center, they simply need to get many more picks, across many more years, than they would be getting in these moves as proposed.

If the Mavs selected four players in June, the presumption is that all four would be part of the youth movement rebuild around Flagg. It’s not a stretch to think at the very least two of those players would be starters (especially with the departure of two vets), maybe more. Sounds like a fun young team, but it also sounds like a college squad playing in the NBA. Further, all of said players would then be coming up for rookie extensions at the same time, so you had better hit and hit big on the selections, then be ready to pay everyone at the same time. It’s just hard to believe this is practical in any real sense. I understand the message from Ujiri is that all moves will  be made for the future, but that doesn’t mean all moves need to be made right now.

If Dallas elects to move Gafford or Irving (especially the latter), they need to be targeting a better cross-section of picks over a wider range of future years. If they can manage to pick up a few current NBA players that fit a need, all the better.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

It’s been interesting to watch Jared McCain through the playoffs, as he radically exceeded most people’s expectations. It’s also been fun to watch the reactions of Philadelphia fans and Sixers writers as they realized that Philly really blew the McCain trade.

In Oklahoma City, McCain emerged as a major force. Like we saw at Duke, he played with immense confidence and enthusiasm, and he was a real thorn in the side of the San Antonio Spurs.

Now that the season is over, McCain has had a chance to reflect a bit on how things worked out. Here’s part of what he had to say:

“I never had expectations for myself coming in,” he said. “Once I knew that I can provide some help for this team, it was almost like, let me. I want to do anything I can to help this team win.

“If you told me four months ago that I would start in some Western Conference Finals games and play the role that I was able to play, not that I thought you were crazy, but I would look at you a little weird.”

What’s also striking is what his teammates have said about him. Take Isaiah Hartenstein:

“I think he’s a special human being. I mean, I think just in general, no one will change the way he is. I think I’ve never seen someone so happy every single day and I think it just gives something to a locker room that… I can’t be mad looking at him, if that makes sense.” 

And Jaylin Williams said this:

“He’s just a good dude… he’s confident in himself, he’s confident in his ability, he’s confident in his own skin… he’s happy, he makes a good time, regardless of what it is… he always brightens whatever room that he’s in.” 

Philly made a mistake in letting McCain go. After what we’ve seen, it’s hard to imagine the Thunder repeating it.

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Zohran Mamdani’s relentless quest to corner the youth vote has continued with the news that New York’s mayor has repealed bedtime for the city’s children during the hometown Knicks’ NBA finals run.

The Knicks are in the finals for the first time since 1999, and the series against the San Antonio Spurs starts on Wednesday.

Related: The human in excelsis: why Victor Wembanyama is unlike anyone basketball has ever seen

Mamdani signed an executive order on Monday titled “repealing kids’ bedtimes for Knicks Finals run.”

In words that will strike terror into the hearts of parents hoping to get their kids up for school for the next few weeks, section one of Mamdani’s order reads: “I hereby direct that bedtimes in the City of New York are repealed during the NBA Finals so that kids of all ages can root for their New York Knicks.”

The Knicks are looking to win their first title since 1973. “As Mayor, you’re forced to make many difficult decisions,” Mamdani wrote on social media. “This was not one of them.”

Mamdani is enjoying a good run as a sports fan. His beloved Arsenal won the Premier League last week, he celebrated the Knicks’ sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals and he announced a $50 World Cup ticket lottery for New York City residents in May. However, there have been some hiccups: he was blamed for the New York Mets’ losing streak earlier this season after a visit to their stadium coincided with a collapse in the MLB team’s form.

The Spurs did it. After starting the season with relatively low expectations, they made the NBA Finals, taking down the reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the process. The odds were against them, but with talent, preparation, and some luck, they will now battle the New York Knicks, hoping to win their sixth title.

San Antonio is favored almost two-to-one in FanDuel to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy, but before we get into the Finals matchup, it’s time to take a look at the huge win in the Conference Finals. To do that, J.R. Wilco and Jeje Gomez discuss what the series against the Thunder meant and highlight some of the biggest and most memorable plays that got the Spurs back to the biggest stage.

J.R. Wilco: The Finals, my friend. The Finals! I’m on vacation in Colorado at the moment, sitting out on a porch and looking out at one of my favorite views in the world: some of the foothills at the edge of the San Juan Mountains, not too far from Castle Rock (one of the most significant archaeoastronomical sites in North America, but that’s a topic for another time).

About six hours after the Spurs punched their ticket to the Finals, we woke up to get in the car to come up here from Austin. Being here in one of my favorite places on the planet resonates with San Antonio’s achievement of getting past OKC by climbing past the lack of experience with a first year coach and a 22 year old team leader, taking on the reigning champs (complete with MVP) in a seventh game on the road and getting ready to play the Knicks just like a 22 year old Tim Duncan did 27 years ago. 

What a trip it was to get there, since about eight months ago Victor Wembanyama created a headline by stating his expectation that San Antonio would skip the play-in and snag the 6th seed in the west. High expectations for a team that hadn’t seen the postseason since 2019, but you could honestly get vertigo from peeking down at the 6 seed from the lookout point the Spurs have reached on their climb prior to their last ascent to the peak of the Larry O!

You and I have had so many conversations this year around the topic of our discontent with San Antonio’s offense, but I could argue that it was the adjustments that the coaching staff implemented, not only on defense but on offense, that weren’t just impressive in keeping the Thunder off balance but allowed them to find the cracks through which they could score. 

Just consider the Game 6 approach of having Wemby drag iHart out to the three-point line and putting him in actions that neutralized his physicality. Then compare that to the Game 7 design, which went back to so many plays from mid-season (that OKC had forced the Spurs offense away from since early in the series) with Victor using his gravity in hard rolling to rim to set up deep shooting and secondary offense to take advantage of a Thunder defense in rotation. 

5. Wemby draws all the attention, and KJ benefits

It’s the kind of sophisticated approach that I wasn’t sure the team could develop, and when I consider the youth of the squad that executed it, I feel myself going beyond mere acknowledgement into full-on celebration. How about you: what stood out from the last seven games — particularly the last two they won while facing elimination?

Jesus Gomez: I remember back in the day when your vacations used to routinely overlap with some deep playoff runs. That wasn’t an issue in the last few years, but it’s great to see the return of a tradition that will likely continue for a decade, at least. 

I did think back to our discussions about the offense during Game 6 and Game 7, and I think this series, in general, showcased that sometimes, you don’t need overly complex sets when you have incredible talent. You mentioned the adjustments and the shifting strategies, and Mitch Johnson does deserve credit for that. But the best thing he might have done was put the game in the hands of the players. 

The fetishisation of Xs and Os, of which I’m definitely guilty, often overshadows how fun it is to see a player just get a bucket and how sometimes the best coaching consists of simply putting that player in a good position to do so. While we were bemoaning the lack of set plays that offered multiple options, the staff was probably thinking that their guys would be fine with just a simple cross-screen or pindown, and they were proven right. I disagree with you on it being a sophisticated approach, but sometimes you don’t need sophistication, and insisting upon it is foolish. Make sure to remind me of that when I inevitably start complaining again during the Finals.

Enough about strategy. What impressed me the most about the last two games, in particular, was the aggressiveness the team showed. It’s not that I was expecting them to shy away from the moment, but it was a long series against a physical opponent. The bench had been bad. I kept fearing we’d run into a moment in which they just couldn’t keep up with the energy level, but it never happened. I guess that’s the good thing about young teams. 

And speaking of youth, how impressed were you with the young guards? Castle bounced back from two high-turnover games like a veteran, and maybe I’m still riding the high from Game 7, but Dylan Harper looked Manuesque in the way he made the play the team needed. I’m not saying we have a Shabazz Muhammad situation in our hands, but they don’t act like we normally expect guys their age to act to me.

J.R.: You can count on me to remind you of this conversation the moment you start griping again, and we can agree to disagree (won’t be the first time) about the strategy piece. 

The team showed elite aggression, and I agree that it was extremely impressive. When I see an aggressive team, I think about the confidence that’s required to maintain that kind of approach. That this team is as sure of themselves as they are is a credit to the whole organization; that they’re this confident while being so young is the product of … genetics? The foolhardiness of youth? That their aggressive confidence hasn’t written checks their talent and preparation couldn’t cash is either a function of the team’s cohesiveness or of dumb luck the degree to which this league has never seen. Or it could just mean that they have the NBA’s only alien playing for them. 

And I’m beyond impressed with the young guards. Castle is an untamed bronco that’s never seen a creek bed he couldn’t jump across. While his toughness and his will are unquestionable, it’s his decision-making that’s easy to sometimes second-guess. But as his ability to read defenses catches up to his grit, he’s displayed a level of calm under pressure that’s sustaining him in the midst of his education. I’m stunned that he’s able to play at such a high level while undergoing on-the-job training in an environment as intense as the WCF. I can’t say enough good things about him.

But when it comes to Harper, I’m concerned about my ability to capture it all in words. It’s like, how can any rookie be so good?! He plays at his own pace, which is great, but he also sometimes enforces his pace on the action. As a rookie. He drives with the assurance of a 10-year veteran, and he took Lu Dort all the way to the basket, shrugging him off like he was Trae Young before simply laying the ball in the hoop. As a rookie! He’s got the best post moves of any Spur since Boris Diaw’s Cream Shake, you know the one where Boris would start with his back to the basket 18 feet from the rim and make four or five post moves and somehow end up 3 feet from the rim? Dylan does that too, as (say it with me) a rookie! And I haven’t even discussed his remarkable defense that has one of the best analysts on YouTube in awe.

But the biggest thing for me is the way he has been able to do something that no one but Manu Ginóbili did as regularly for the Spurs: repeatedly be in the right place at the right time to make the right play to turn a game from defeat to victory. During the game, I was texting with Gary Quan, who almost has as big a crush on Manu as you and I do. During the third quarter, we were remarking about how well Dylan was playing and how far beyond his years his game looked. I told him I was reminded of an early postseason series in 2003 and a rebound that Ginóbili made on the baseline that saved the game for the Spurs. Not 15 minutes later, Harper made not one but two separate baseline rebounds and put one of them back in for two points. He’s a gem beyond value right now and he’s only going to get better. 

4. Dylan Harper’s huge offensive rebound

What’s your main takeaway from a WCF that seems prepped to be a recurring matchup for years to come?

Jeje: Now I’m officially concerned because too many of us see some Manu in Harper. Are we setting him up to fail, because few players have ever been as good as Manu? Wait, this is a time for celebration. There will be years to worry about that, so I’ll leave it alone for now. 

I don’t know if I have a main takeaway involving OKC, because it’s hard to say much about a team missing their second-best player for six games, but I have a few about the league. The first one is that title windows are not as long as people think in today’s NBA, and “who can stop this team?” takes should be used more sparingly. A Thunder repeat seemed inevitable at one point and the ascension of the Spurs and some bad injury luck stopped that in its tracks. So, as I watch a San Antonio core that should keep the franchise as the best in the West or, at worst, the second-best team in the conference for the foreseeable future, I still remain cautious and in the moment. As far as I’m concerned, this is their title chance. You will not hear any “playing with house money” comments from me. 

Second, I’ll go back to the season preview and reiterate how much fun it is to have great expectations. Back then, a playoff berth was all most of us thought the Spurs should get, but as the season progressed and it was clear they were much better than I estimated, the more invested I became in their success. I don’t begrudge the “ahead of schedule” crowd for trying to lower the stakes for a young team with an inexperienced coach and a front office that didn’t go all in, but I personally would rather get my heart broken by a team I overrate than be pleasantly surprised by overachievement. And while I picked the Thunder to win, I have believed for a while that this team was a true contender. 

Finally, we have to address the giraffe in the room. It’s surprising we’ve gotten this far without gushing about Wembanyama, and particularly his defense. He faced Rudy Gobert and Chet Holmgren, widely considered the two best defenders behind Wemby, and their impact didn’t come close to matching The Alien’s. What we’ve seen so far feels special. Overloading the side SGA operated in was smart, as was trapping him, at least for a while, but Wembanyama is the reason the Thunder couldn’t score like they normally do.

The fact that he appears to be a fantastic leader and a burgeoning elite offensive player on top of it seems almost unfair. How can a 7’5 center start Game 7 as the point guard and make it work? I didn’t think he could do anything that would surprise me anymore, but the moment Wemby faced help defense on a drive and found the open man did the trick.

3. Point Wemby finds the open man

But how about you? Did you have any major takeaways about the matchup in particular? And is there anything we haven’t discussed that you think deserves at least a mention?

J.R.:I guess my first takeaway is to echo what I heard Zach Lowe say: the way this series will be remembered years from now is going to be due to the phenomenal Game 1 and the excellent Game 7. People will be looking at the box scores for games two through six and shrugging their shoulders. I mean, the ground is largely prepped for a takedown of the series in 15 years by some 20-year-old YouTuber who’s right how jist happy to have graduated from kindergarten. He’ll be ranting about how you can’t call the 2026 Western Conference finals one of the great series in NBA history because five of the seven games were practically blowouts. And that’s fine. I have zero problems with anyone who thinks this series shouldn’t mean as much as people say it did because if they haven’t lived through it. They won’t realize how deadly the Thunder were for the last three years and how everyone assumed that they would be “the team that everyone’s aiming for“ and how big a deal it was that anyone was able to upset them.

My second takeaway is an odd one, but I have to go on record to say I really feel for Chet Holmgren. We are basketball fans, sure, but we are people first and it’s good to realize that Chet is a person. Falling short in the public eye to the extent he did is not something I would wish on anyone. It’s so human, though, and you’ve got to feel for him. First, he didn’t ask to be in Wemby’s sights. It’s not his fault he was given the trophy all those years ago when Wemby wasn’t.

Second, we’ve all been there. Failure is more common than success. In fact, Chet is way more relatable than Victor because most of us aren’t the best in the world at something that happens publicly. And it’s way more frequent that you want to accomplish something and get sat down in the middle of it. Third, I’ve suspected for a while that Wemby was in his head, but I wasn’t sure until the end of the third quarter of Game 6. That’s the play where Vic blocked Holmgren’s buzzer-beating attempt on Thursday.

2. Wemby demoralizes Chet

Chet just sat on the floor afterwards like “yup, that’s what happens to me” instead of popping up as most athletes do. I feel for the guy, and as long as it doesn’t cost the Spurs a title in the future, I’d like for him to regain his mojo. 

Third Takeaway: Isn’t it ridiculous that it’s practically impossible to quantify just how quickly the Spurs have learned? As much as it’s been a talking point in San Antonio that experience isn’t necessary, that’s just a reaction to the fact that people were using the lack of experience to disqualify the Spurs from being able to go all the way. Well, here they are as the champs of the West. There’s no disputing that. So we don’t need to pretend that experience doesn’t matter, because it absolutely does. It’s just that this team, as it’s constructed with its coaching staff and players, can learn on the fly (i.e. accumulate experience) faster than any other team I’ve ever rooted for. This is the kind of thing I’ve never seen before, which I guess makes sense because the last time a younger team made it to the finals was 1977!

Takeaway number four is the play that I will always call the Kornet Contest. That moniker is no longer in my mind as something that he does to throw off three-point shooters. It’s the chase-down block that turned away Hartenstein, preserved the lead, and probably the game.

1. Luke Kornet blocks Hartenstein

It’s such an impressive play that he got there in time, but also because he didn’t try to block the dunk. He just contested and let Isaiah push the ball right into his hand. Such an amazing play! I’ve loved Kornet ever since he came to San Antonio, and I can’t be more excited that the play of the game that practically clinched the series was made by the guy so many were ragging on for essentially not being Victor Wembanyama. By my account, that’s the second game this season he’s saved with a block, and I might as well add that he blocked the Atlanta Hawks from making a bad decision with that promotion they were going to do until he wrote a blog post. Keep up the good work, Luke. You’re all right in my book.

Final takeaway: Would anyone object to giving a Co-MVP award to the Corgi?

Jeje: Not me!

The Sixers sure did corner the market on mid-first-rounders from the 2022 draft. While the team’s biggest addition of the 2026 trade deadline may have been converting Dominick Barlow from a two-way to a standard NBA contract, it at least gave them more flyers to take for the rest of the season.

After Barlow was converted, the team signed Dalen Terry, who had been traded and waived after spending the first three and a half seasons of his NBA career with the Bulls. Terry was sent from Chicago to the New York as a part of deal that helped the Knicks salary dump Guerschon Yabusele. New York rerouted Terry along with some second-round picks to New Orleans in exchanger for Jose Alvarado. Terry was able to sign with the Sixers after being waived by the Pelicans.

Terry arrived in Philadelphia as a player with intriguing tools, but still trying to put them together to become a regular rotation member. The 13.5 minutes per game he averaged were the most in a season with Chicago. He’s a great athlete who has shown ability to defend at an NBA level, but has yet to develop any consistency on the other end to be dependable.

After signing a two-way with Philly, Terry played in 14 games. Like MarJon Beauchamp, most of those appearances came in a stretch during March where Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George, and even Kelly Oubre Jr. were all on the bench.

He averaged 4.1 points as well 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists playing 12 minutes a game as a Sixer. As someone who’s always been a low-volume shooter, he made 25% of his threes in Philadelphia after shooting 41% in his time last season with the Bulls.

His high-point was helping a shorthanded group escape with a win over a tanking Memphis Grizzlies team in March. Terry provided crucial point-of-attack defense on Ty Jerome. He was also able to show off how his athleticism helps him in transition as he was a +23 in a 10-point win.

That blend made Terry the most intriguing of the three two-ways the Sixers rostered for the latter half of the season. His defense was the most ready-made skill of the bunch, and was also the most physically equipped to keep developing. Every now and then he would have a flash like this to affirm that belief.

As his three-point percentage in Philly would indicate, those flashes were few and far between. He saw even less playing time than Beauchamp as the top of the roster shuffled back in the lineup. He would only appear again for four minutes in the regular season finale.

Potentially entering his fifth year in the league, Terry will run into the same two-way eligibility problems Beauchamp will as well. He’s an even more intriguing flyer to have on a two-way spot, but he’s yet to show he’s worth one of the full 15 roster spots for a team that is at least trying to be serious enough to make the playoffs.

Should the Sixers be able to fill out the rest of their bench with better shooting than last season, he could be an interesting gadget player to bring on for the league minimum. That’s still a big “if” though, and the Sixers certainly have bigger battles to tackle this offseason.