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In some alternate NBA timeline, Victor Wembanyama was suspended for his katana-like elbow on Naz Reid. In that dimension, the Western Conference semifinals look very different.

But in our universe, the league isn't holding out one of its biggest superstars for Game 5 between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves. San Antonio remains a massive favorite at home tonight with the inside track to the conference finals.

Wembanyama will be on the floor tonight, impacting the game as only he can, and these are my best NBA picks surrounding Victor Wembanyama props for May 12. Be sure to also read our Timberwolves vs. Spurs predictions.

Victor Wembanyama prop pick

Victor Wembanyama best bet: Victor Wembanyama Under 27.5 points (-112 at bet365)

Prior to his Game 4 ejection, Victor Wembanyama was coming off a 39-point explosion in Game 3.

That boosted his scoring total to 26.5 O/U heading into Game 4 and has tonight’s points prop trending up to 27.5 O/U. 

Wembanyama’s absence after getting the hook on Sunday was definitely felt on the defensive end, but the San Antonio Spurs managed well without him on offense.

Guards De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper picked up the scoring slack, and that takes pressure off Wemby to shoulder the load as he returns to the lineup.

If there wasn’t already a target on the 7-footer, there’s a glowing red laser dot on him in Game 5. The Minnesota Timberwolves are pissed the NBA didn’t suspend him for an obviously calculated elbow to the neck of beloved forward Naz Reid. 

Just how Minnesota treats Wembanyama tonight remains to be seen, but it won’t pull any punches. If this were the NHL playoffs, we’d see the gloves come off the instant the puck dropped.

Wembanyama started Game 4 shooting 2-for-5 from the field, scoring off the dribble and on an alley-oop toss. Outside of Game 3, the T-Wolves have done a solid job on Wembanyama. 

Taking out that 13-for-18 outing, he’s shooting just 37.8% in the other four showings, with outputs of 11 and 19 points in the first two games of the series.

Player projections for Game 5 range from 25.1 to 29.2 points from the lanky Frenchman, but most models come in shy of his current scoring total of 27.5 points. My number flirts with 26 points, giving the nod to the Under.

Another thing to consider: Given the sizable spread, San Antonio may pull away in the second half. If the score gets out of hand, it could get chippy.

If I’m Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, I’m not playing my franchise player any more than I have to and protecting him from garbage time shenanigans.

Victor Wembanyama same-game parlay

San Antonio returns to Texas as 10.5-point home chalk. The Spurs are 12-3 straight up as double-digit home faves this season, as well as 18-5 SU when coming off a loss.

The T-Wolves aren’t going to play nice with Wembanyama after his elbow on Reid, and you can expect the veteran team to needle the youngster in an effort to frustrate and throw him off his game. The bulk of scoring projections come in short of 27.5 points

Wemby will still battle on the boards and with his interior presence pushing Minnesota to the outside — where it’s shot poorly — there will be plenty of rebounding chances for the 7-footer to snap up.

He grabbed 15 boards in each of the first three games and is forecasted for as many as 15+ rebounds tonight.

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Day one of the NBA Draft Combine is in the books, and the measuring tape doesn’t lie,  but apparently, college sports information departments do. Seventy-three prospects were invited to  Chicago to put their bodies under the microscope. By the end of the measurement session, a handful of guys walked out with their stock firmly on the rise, while others are quietly hoping teams don’t look too hard at the numbers. Here’s who won the day, and who didn’t.

Biggest Winners

Morez Johnson – Michigan, PF 

The measurements didn’t break the internet, but they didn’t need to. Johnson checked in right at his listed 6’9″, 250 lbs, and backed it up with a 6.5-inch wingspan advantage and a 39-inch vertical. Then he went out and posted the group’s best Pro Lane Agility time. Johnson is already a highly-regarded prospect, and these numbers give teams every reason to keep moving him up their boards over the next six weeks. Don’t be surprised if he sneaks into the top 10 by draft night.

Darius Acuff – Arkansas, PG

This was the best-case outcome for Acuff.  The knock on him all season has been size and well… defense. Coming in at 6’2 with a 5-inch-plus wingspan goes a long way toward answering the size question. Acuff’s combination of elite playmaking and now-verified length makes a legitimate case for him going as high as fifth overall. The question is whether he can use these tools to be a net natural defender at the next level. 

Aday Mara – Michigan, C

Seven-foot-three barefoot. Second-highest standing reach in combine history. That’s it. That’s the tweet. Mara has been one of the fastest-rising names in draft circles all season, and he just gave every front office another reason to love him. A top-ten landing feels less like a projection now and more like a floor.

Chris Cenac – Houston, C

In a draft class starved for legitimate big men, Cenac may have just put himself into the lottery conversation. The size is real, the length is real, and a 41.5-inch vertical is the kind of number that makes scouts forget about everything else on the page. Teams looking for a high-upside center have their answer. Cenac is going to be a name everyone knows by draft night.

Biggest Losers

Kingston Flemings – Houston, PG

It’s been a wild ride for Flemings — from afterthought to can’t-miss top 5 pick, all in one season. The combine didn’t kill his stock, but it put a dent in it. A 6’2 point guard with a 6’3 wingspan gives teams pause, especially the ones that prioritize positional length. He’ll still land in the lottery, but the teams that had him climbing toward the top five are going to take a harder look. One bad measurement session doesn’t erase what he did on the court,  but it complicates the conversation.

Christian Anderson – Texas Tech, PG

Coming in under 6’1″ when you’re listed at 6’3″ is never a good look. Anderson’s physical profile is now a problem, and it’s going to cost him on draft night. The good news: a 6-inch-plus wingspan and a 40.5-inch vertical tell a story that pure height can’t. There’s a team that’s going to fall in love with that athleticism and take a shot on him, but the mid-first-round buzz might be fading.

Amari Allen – Alabama, SF

This is the one that stings. Allen was already slotted comfortably in the mid-to-late first round, and a clean combine week could have pushed him higher. Instead, his official measurements came in well short of Alabama’s listed 6’8″, 205 lbs., the kind of discrepancy that sets off alarm bells in front offices building around specific positional fits. The path forward isn’t obvious. He could go back to school, bet on himself, and enter a 2026 class with far less top-end talent. Or see if a team falls in love with his workout and gets the promise he needs to stay in the draft.

You can feel it in the air.

It’s the rest-and-wait scent.

Here’s the latest from across Knicks nation.

Mike Brown

On closing out series with composure and preparation:

“Closeout games are the hardest games to play, because of the level of desperation from the other team, especially when you’re on the road and you factor in your opponent’s home crowd — so, I give our guys a lot of credit. I give my staff a ton of credit. My staff has been unbelievable from top to bottom. They’ve been really, really, really good in our preparation and making sure guys understand what we need to do so that they can stay focused on the details at hand.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the team’s mentality entering the Eastern Conference Finals:

“I think it’s really great to see our team in this mindset. The feeling that we’ve got a lot more work to do. To see us not really relaxing, looking at these next days as days to realign ourselves and get ready for the next challenge, I think it speaks volumes about this team where we’re at mentally, we understand collectively that the job’s not done and we have to get our bodies freshened up so we can get ready for the next series.”

On how this year’s mood differs from last season’s:

“To beat a great team like Boston last year, obviously we were very excited. This year we just have another year with each other. We — I don’t know. It’s just us being very locked into the moment and understanding there’s a lot more work to do. And as soon as you start relaxing is when you lose in the playoffs. It’s great to see our guys kind of hungry for the next challenge.”

On using the layoff to reset physically and mentally:

“We’ll take these days. We’ll take [Monday] to heal our bodies, heal our minds — especially me, myself, especially the mind part, mentally, and get back to work on us, on our game plan, our offensive execution, our defensive execution. Continue to find ways that we can get better so we start that next series and we’re at our best version of the year.”

Miles McBride

On why reaching the conference finals isn’t enough for this Knicks team:

“That’s what we expect to do. I feel like this group is special. We can’t take it for granted. It’s something special to do. Obviously this fan base has been wanting this, but we have to stay locked in. Getting to the Eastern Conference finals isn’t the final goal.”

On his growth after feeling his fit in the NBA was uncertain earlier in his career:

“I just felt like my back was against the wall. The only way I could get out of it was to fight and just trust myself.”

On admitting the real reason behind his “Golden Child” tattoo:

“Yeah, but a lot of other people have called me that so it worked out. Shoutout to my sister.”

Trey McBride (Deuce’s Brother)

On feeling like Miles got away with things growing up:

“I would do something. I’d get in trouble for it. … Miles does something — he could do the exact same thing, and no one bats an eye. And I was just like, ‘Yo. He’s doing the same thing! I’m calling it out.’ And he would just look at me and kind of chuckle, because he knew he got away with it.”

On his reaction to the “Golden Child” tattoo:

“I swear to you, he got this as a middle finger to me.”

On Miles’ refusal to admit the real reason for the tattoo:

“He would never admit he was doing it to piss me off. He would say he’s doing it because my grandma calls me this or my brother gave me that nickname. Like, ‘It just feels right.’ Some Miles bull—- answer.”

On believing there was some truth behind the rivalry:

“It’s probably a little true, to be honest with you. Like, he probably does like the nickname that I gave to him, because things have gone pretty well for him. But I swear to you, there is a small piece of him that is like, ‘Yeah, Trey, take that. I’m the golden child.’”

Josh Hart

On how this postseason run feels compared to last year’s:

“I think the way we beat Boston last year, the comebacks and all that, it was very — I don’t want to say celebratory, but it was — it hit a little bit different than here. It’s just, we’re approaching the business as normal and we gotta make sure we’re locked in and focused on the next team.”

On the team’s current flow and continued hunger:

“It just didn’t happen overnight. It was a process of trial and error and figuring things out, figuring out where everyone wants the ball, new system, new coaches, stuff like that. So I think we’re in a good little flow state right now, but we’ve got to make sure we continue to get better and not be complacent.”

On using the extended break to recover:

“It’s good. I think we’re all a little banged up, so you know — get some treatment, some rest and recovery. Watch the other games and be ready.”

Mikal Bridges

On playing with urgency even while holding a 3-0 series lead:

“Being able to play desperate even being up 3-0. Shoutouts to everybody: Shoutouts to the coaches and everybody who played tonight.”

On staying afloat while OG Anunoby recovers:

“We’re gonna hold it down for OG and do whatever it takes and hopefully give him some more time to heal up, but next man up. We’ve got a lot of talent on this team, a lot of smart IQ guys and we’re gonna hold it down for OG and anybody else who gets hurt.”

Landry Shamet

On the impact of shooting coach Peter Patton on the Knicks’ performances:

“He’s the man. There’s some guys that get it, understand the nuances of shooting. The reality is it’s very nuanced. It’s not as cookie cutter as a lot of people might think like, ‘Have your elbow in a certain position’ and ‘You need more arch,’ and those kind of cliché things that you hear a lot. But Peter is very good at picking up on subtleties and nuances from person to person. My stuff is different from Mikal [Bridges’], and his stuff is different from Jose [Alvarado’s]. He understands that. And he’s good at not being overbearing and doing too much. Just finding ways to give you a couple things to hang onto to think about, to pay attention to. Cause the reality is a lot of guys in here were really good shooters. How can you marginally kind of move the needle? And he’s been really helpful. He’s been great.”

Kenny Smith

On the level of difficulty increasing in the Eastern Conference Finals:

“It gets real again in the next round for the Knicks. Cleveland and the Pistons have caused problems for the Knicks this year.”

Charles Barkley

On how he views the Knicks’ path to the conference finals:

“Whoever they play next is a very difficult series.”

Shaquille O’Neal

On whether anyone in the East can slow the Knicks right now:

“They’ve shown me they are ready. And I have to disagree with both guys, I think they’ll breeze through whoever the next opponent is if they play like this.”

On his ultimate prediction for New York:

“Knicks going to the finals.”

Stephen A. Smith

On his belief that the Knicks can finish the job:

“Philadelphia 76ers, my condolences. We’ll talk about them later. New York Knicks going to the finals. I think they can win the championship. Yes, I do.”

Jay Williams

On the Knicks’ chances if they reach the NBA Finals:

“1,000 percent. I’ll say, once you get to the finals, anything can happen. I still think OKC would be favoured. But still, they could put up a fighter’s chance. By the way, I know that we’ll talk about this later, but you have Cleveland, then you have Detroit. If I’m the Knicks, I want Detroit. I’ll say it.”

On wanting a shot at the Pistons and Cade Cunningham:

“I know because Cade Cunningham is a Knicks killer. And J.B. Bickerstaff, we want all the smoke with that team all the time. You haven’t seen this version of us. OK, I want that back. I want a chance to redeem myself. I’ll take Cleveland or Detroit, doesn’t really matter.”

As we all turn the page to the offseason, Sixers fans are now in wait-and-see mode as reports swirl about the uncertain futures of president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse. What we all know is that the team is stuck in a bit of a holding pattern. As we saw in the playoffs, the Sixers lacked adequate depth to not only compete with the Knicks but to keep their starters fresh for what would have been six more weeks of basketball had they been able to advance all the way to the NBA Finals. The problem is, that depth might not be able to be acquired overnight.

There might be some renewed hope that Philadelphia can get out of the final two years of Paul George’s contract after George’s production improved after his 25-game suspension. If so, a trade of George could inject some much-needed depth to the Sixers’ roster by itself. Then there’s expiring contracts to Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre and Andre Drummond, really the only three role players that saw meaningful minutes this past postseason. Perhaps there’s a world in which Morey can replace some or all of those players in that trio with better role players for 2026-27.

But Morey’s history in Philadelphia is spotty at best in free agency and on the trade market. It’s his draft history that could ultimately give him some more time as the man in charge of basketball operations. Since taking over in 2020, Morey has drafted four players in the first round that have gone on to play games for the Sixers. Those picks were Tyrese Maxey, Jaden Springer, Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe. Springer was clearly the only miss amongst that group. Of course he traded McCain this past February, but drafting McCain was a wise decision. Maxey and McCain were both picked outside of the lottery which is where the Sixers find themselves drafting this summer with the 22^nd overall pick via Houston acquired from Oklahoma City.

While second-round picks can be a crapshoot, Morey has also drafted Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed towards the end of the second round and both players are NBA rotation players for contending teams six years after being drafted. Adem Bona wasn’t a meaningful part of the Sixers’ playoff rotation this past season, but one could argue he has exceeded expectations of most 41^st overall picks, the spot Bona was taken at in 2024.

I get it. You’ve already said, “What’s the point of making good draft picks if the players aren’t going to be retained?” I’m not here to give a ringing endorsement of Morey. But I am trying to get Sixers fans to understand something they might not want to understand at the moment given Morey’s unpopularity within the fanbase. The easiest way for the franchise to build the depth they didn’t have against New York is by continuing to draft good players.

Obviously, they’ll need to keep these players unlike some of Morey’s good draft picks who aren’t with the organization anymore. But the draft represents a chance for every team in the NBA to add young talent and the teams that can best identify said young talent each year are going to be well-positioned to contend.

Morey is under contract with the Sixers for two more seasons as his contract expires after the 2027-28 season. That would mean that Morey has two more drafts with the Sixers, if he’s given those two years in their entirety to remain in his current role. Between this summer and next summer’s drafts, the Sixers have a total of five picks. They also own what could be a very nice draft asset in 2028 as the holders of the Clippers’ unprotected first-rounder and they have first-round swap rights with Los Angeles in 2029.

With the first-round debt to Oklahoma City set to be paid off next month, the Sixers control all of their own first-rounders in the near future save for 2028. They owe Brooklyn their 2028 first-round pick to complete the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade, but that pick is top-eight protected. If it were to fall in the 2028 top eight, the Sixers would only owe the Nets a second-round pick to finalize the trade.

While Morey might not get a new contract to preside over the 2028 and 2029 drafts, we find those draft assets relevant to this discussion because the summer of 2029 is when the Sixers will be done with the three-year max contract for Joel Embiid that is set to kick in next season. Regardless of who is running the Sixers by then, if the franchise can string together some more good drafts for the rest of the decade, they’ll have a good core around Maxey and Edgecombe by then, even if they don’t hit on their free agent signings or strike gold in a few trades.

That’s been the chief problem for the Sixers this decade as they’ve unsuccessfully tried to build around Embiid. The franchise was missing too frequently in trades and free agency, and it’s what led to them being stuck now. Despite some good drafting from Morey, they were also trading away draft picks in an attempt to contend, but the returns in those trades were never helping them get over the hump. We’ve now reached the point where it doesn’t make sense for the franchise to be trading away draft picks as they must act as if Embiid does not exist and supplement their star guards in the backcourt with more young talent.

I don’t think anyone is talking themselves into Morey flipping George for a couple of good roster players or replacing Grimes, Drummond or Oubre with improvements. Those are ways that the Sixers could immediately improve for next season but no one is expecting the team to be significantly improved next year anyway. If the whole idea is having a better and younger core in place for Maxey and Edgecombe, that’s going to require a few more years of good drafting, and of course, retaining the good draft picks once they’re on the roster. Like it or not, Morey’s strong track record in the draft might be enough for him to get a chance to stick around and turn things over.