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The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to have every intention of bringing back James Harden and Donovan Mitchell this summer.

Harden, who has a player option that he’s expected to exercise this offseason, has already said he ‘100%’ plans on returning to Cleveland.

Meanwhile, Mitchell’s player option isn’t until next season. The Cavs can extend Mitchell long-term this summer and run no risk of losing him unless he demands a trade. President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman suggested that no such trade request is on the horizon.

“All I can tell you is Donovan has been steadfast in how much he loves it here,” said Altman. “There hasn’t been any question of will he be here or does he want to be here; I think the bigger question, is the one that’s been answered, is does he want to be here and does he want to be here long term, and I think he’s answered that.”

Mitchel has led the Cavs to the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and has been on multiple All-NBA teams since arriving in Cleveland. There are valid concerns about his viability as a No. 1 option on a title team — but Altman isn’t openly sharing any of them.

“Yes,” Altman replied when asked if Mitchell can be the best player on a championship team. “And we’re going to keep pouring into that.”

Altman also reinforced his belief in Harden, stating that the Cavs didn’t trade for ‘MVP Harden’ but rather a complementary player who can stabilize them moving forward.

“He helped regalvanize the group; we were kinda shaky there… when he came on board, he gave us a real belief and swagger,” said Koby Altman. “We traded for him and shot out of the gate 5-0, with some real inspiring confidence; we’re not in the Conference Finals without James.”

The plan, for now, appears to be having both guards back with a full offseason and training camp together to figure things out. That might frustrate some fans, but it falls in line with the patient approach that Altman has taken in previous years.

While there is still five months until the 2026-27 college basketball season tips off, we are less than one month away from the 2026 NBA Draft!

There are two former Mountain West guards — Grand Canyon’s Jaden Henley and Utah State’s MJ Collins — hoping to hear their name called on draft night, which begins June 23. Both guards competed in the NBA’s G-League combine earlier this month, but neither were invited to the Draft Combine.

This year’s class is one of the most anticipated in recent memory, although there were fewer early entrants — players departing college early — than in year’s past. Neither Collins nor Henley — who both exhausted all of their college eligibility — fit into that bucket. But the number of players who withdrew their name ahead of Thursday’s deadline could help these two as late June nears.

Why recent withdrawals could help Collins, Henley:

Heading into the 2026 cycle, there were 71 Early Entrants, 106 fewer than the amount heading into the 2025 class. However, over half — including former San Jose State guard Colby Garland, who’s transferring to Georgia Tech with one season of eligibility remaining — returned to college.

A few of them who did include Rueben Chinyelu (Florida), Milan Momcilovic (Iowa State; in transfer portal), Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt) and Tounde Yessoufou (St. John’s; Baylor transfer). Those aren’t MW players, but ones with legitimate talent that will have an automatic ripple effect on both Collins and Henley.

There’s a higher likelihood that at least one — if not both names — could be called on draft night. I still think Henley, who’s currently No. 75 on Rookie Scale’s consensus big board, would still be the first name. But weirder stuff has happened on draft night.

Nevertheless, the chances that both players are able to find pathways to crack an NBA roster increase, albeit marginally. Each organization is allotted three two-way spots, which is expected to be north of $600K in 2026-27. Those two-way players can be active for 50 games per season. It will be an uphill climb, but both are intriguing in their own way.

Collins is an athletic multi-level scorer who averaged 17.5 points on 48.7/36.1/81.0 shooting splits last season. Henley is a hyper athletic defensive-minded big guard who’s a straight line-drive slasher. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists on 46.6 percent shooting and 56.2 percent true shooting last season.

So far, Henley has either planned to, or completed a work out for the 13 teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings, according to HoopsHype’s workout tracker. Collins has worked out for three: The Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Do you think either have a chance of hearing their name called in the top-60? Let us know in the comments!

There is plenty of mystery regarding Mitchell Robinson’s broken right pinky. 

Coach Mike Brown said Friday that Robinson did not suffer the injury in a game or in Thursday’s practice.

Thursday was the Knicks’ first practice since Game 4 of the conference finals. 

When asked when or how it happened, the Knicks said they were not getting into specifics. They also did not say when Robinson had surgery on the pinky.

Brown was noncommittal about Robinson’s availability for Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday. 

“For me, I’m always going with whoever is available today,” Brown said Friday. “And he didn’t practice today. So we’re getting whoever we need ready to go. … I don’t want to know, just let me know if he can play and when he can play. Just like we normally would, we’re getting everyone else ready to go.” 

Regardless, the hope is that Robinson, after a “minor procedure,” will be able to play, according to league sources. 

“Mitch is very important to us,” OG Anunoby said Friday. “Amazing player. It’s unfortunate what happened, but I’m sure — just take it day by day now.” 

It’s been a roller-coaster postseason for Robinson. His brutal free-throw shooting — he is 13-for-43 (30.2 percent) from the line in the playoffs — has allowed opponents to utilize Hack-a-Mitch and force the Knicks to take him off the court. 

He is only averaging 14.2 minutes per game in the postseason, down from 19.6 minutes per game in the regular season. He had not made as big an impact this as most expected entering the playoffs. 

Before Game 3 of the conference finals against the Cavaliers, Robinson posted on Snapchat that his “mental health is not the best right now” and that he had a “very upsetting experience,” though he did not detail what happened. That post came a few days after Robinson said he had changed his phone number and planned to delete all of his social media accounts ahead of a “new chapter in my life.” 

“I’m deleting all apps for a little while,” Robinson wrote, “until I can get back to myself.” 

Robinson missed Game 2 of the second round against the 76ers for what was listed on the injury report as an illness. 

He is set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. 

The last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals, New Yorkers were hailing cabs without apps, blasting Lauryn Hill on CD players, and nervously checking their Netscape dial-up connection.

The Twin Towers still dominated the skyline, Rudy Giuliani ran City Hall, and “The Sopranos” had just introduced America to Tony Soprano’s panic attacks.

These days, TikTok is where young people socialize, communicate and shape pop culture, oat milk lattes can run more than $9, and Madison Square Garden itself has undergone a billion-dollar glow-up.

As the Knicks claw their way back to basketball glory in 2026, after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the city they represent barely resembles the one from their last Finals run in 1999.

Led by franchise superstar Jalen Brunson and fueled by a stacked roster featuring Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, the team has reignited orange-and-blue mania across the five boroughs.

From politics to pop culture to the Manhattan skyline itself, here’s how wildly different life in 1999 NYC looks and feels 27 years later.

Gone but not forgotten: Manhattan’s skyline

The Lower Manhattan skyline has been forever transformed since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks tragically brought down the Twin Towers.

In their place now stands One World Trade Center — better known as the Freedom Tower — which rose between 2006 and 2014 as the centerpiece of the rebuilt skyline.

Two eras of City Hall: Giuliani’s Gotham in 1999 vs. Mamdani’s 2026 Big Apple

Back in 1999, tough-on-crime Republican Rudy Giuliani led New York City from City Hall during the height of his mayoral tenure, which began in 1994.

Fast-forward to 2026, and the Big Apple is now run by Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who took office in January of this year. Talk about New York City’s political landscape shifting dramatically over the past 27 years.

MSG makeover: The Knicks’ home base went ultra-modern after 2010s rebuild

Madison Square Garden, home of the Knicks, looks dramatically different today than it did during the team’s 1999 Finals run.

Between 2011 and 2013, the arena underwent a nearly $1 billion renovation, transforming it into a sleek, high-tech sports and entertainment hub.

Today, fans scan mobile tickets on their phones, a far cry from the paper stubs and printed tickets of the late 90s.

Political power shift: The White House then and now during Knicks championship runs

During the Knicks’ last trip to the NBA Finals in 1999, Democratic President Bill Clinton occupied the White House.

Now, as the team heads back to the Finals in 2026, Republican President Donald Trump is leading the country for the second time.

Grammy glory in 1999 vs. 2026: Lauryn Hill and Bad Bunny define two eras of music

At the Grammy Awards in February 1999, Lauryn Hill won the coveted Album of the Year award for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”

In 2026, Bad Bunny sparked a global reggaeton movement after winning the very same award for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.”

A Shakespearean comedy vs. action thriller: The Oscars’ Best Picture across two different Hollywood eras

At the 1999 Oscars, “Shakespeare in Love” took home the coveted Best Picture award, with a cast including Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes and Judi Dench, and direction by John Madden.

In 2026, the same top honor went to “One Battle After Another,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Billboard Chart Toppers: J.Lo in ’99, Drake in ’26

On June 25, 1999, during the Knicks’ last time in the NBA Finals, Jennifer Lopez topped the Billboard Hot 100 with her groovy pop bop, “If You Had My Love.”

It’s now May 2026, and the No. 1 song in the country is Drake’s catchy rap track, “Janice STFU.”

From 1999’s ‘Rock Style’ to 2026’s ‘Costume Art’: Two different Met Gala themes

The 1999 Met Gala theme was “Rock Style,” tied to the Costume Institute’s exhibition celebrating the influence of rock-and-roll. Guests like Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney leaned into the moment with DIY “Rock Royalty” tees.

This year, the Met Gala embraced the theme “Costume Art,” with the dress code “Fashion Is Art.”

Kim Kardashian turned heads in a bespoke metallic tangerine and bronze fiberglass breastplate and bodysuit, created by Allen Jones and design duo Whitaker Malem.

Furby fever vs. prehistoric dinos: Toy trends across two eras

At the turn of the millennium, Tiger Electronics’ Furbies, interactive, owl-like robotic toys, were the must-have craze of 1999, dominating kids’ wish lists during the Knicks’ late-90s NBA surge.

Now, as the NBA team continues its 2026 postseason run, the hottest toy at the moment is Spin Master’s Primal Hatch T. Rex — a “Jurassic World”–style interactive dinosaur that hatches from an egg and is captivating kids in a very different toy era.

Prestige TV: From 1999 mobsters to 2026 modern medicine

In 1999, HBO’s “The Sopranos” was the defining television event of its time — a critically acclaimed crime drama starring James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco, created by David Chase.

Now in 2026, another HBO Max series is dominating the cultural conversation: “The Pitt,” a buzzy medical drama starring Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa and Taylor Dearden, created by showrunner R. Scott Gemmill.

Twenty-seven years later: So much of NYC has changed — except love for the Knicks

From flip phones to FaceTime, CD wallets to streaming playlists, dial-up modems to instant everything — the Knicks’ return to the NBA Finals is also a reminder of just how much life in NYC has been rewired.

The city that once waited for Web pages to load now refreshes culture in real time, faster than ever. And yet, some things feel familiar. The Garden is still rocking. Die-hard celeb fans are still courtside.

And when the Knicks win, the city still moves as one — louder, prouder, and now infinitely more online.

Twenty-seven years later, the Big Apple’s skyline has changed, the soundtrack has changed, and the technology has changed — but New York’s obsession with the Knicks?

That part hasn’t gone anywhere.

Sixers hiring Mike Gansey as new president of basketball operations originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers have landed on Daryl Morey’s replacement.

Mike Gansey is set to become the team’s new president of basketball operations, a source confirmed Friday to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark.ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the news. 

Gansey had served as the Cavaliers’ GM since 2022, working under Cleveland president of basketball operations Koby Altman. He was in the Cavs’ organization since 2011, including a five-season stint with the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s D-League affiliate at the time. Gansey won the NBA D-League Executive of the Year Award for the 2016-17 season.

After being swept out of the playoffs by the Knicks, the Sixers parted ways with Morey on May 12. Bob Myers, president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, led the search for the next front office leader. He wanted a versatile executive.

“I’m a big believer in character and leadership and I’m looking for a person that embodies those things,” Myers said at a May 14 press conference. “But there’s many characteristics under that which I believe qualify in making a modern GM a success.

“There’s front-facing responsibilities. There’s responsibilities in managing star players. There’s responsibilities in managing up to ownership. There’s contract negotiations, there’s the draft process, there’s evaluating analytics, there’s (working with) the medical staff. 

“You go down the line and these jobs have an enormity to them. So I’m looking to find someone that can check as many of these boxes as possible, but also (someone) that can raise their hands and say, ‘Actually, I’m not good in this space. I’m going to need some support.’” 

Sixers assistant general manager Jameer Nelson, Phoenix Mercury GM Nick U’Ren and and Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd were other reported candidatesfor the position.ESPN reported that Gansey and U’Ren “were the finalists for the 76ers’ president job and both had separate final-stage meetings with team ownership this week on the east coast before the decision to hire Gansey was made on Friday.”

Like Myers, Gansey played college basketball — two seasons at St. Bonaventure and two at West Virginia. He was a key part of the Mountaineers’ trips to the Elite Eight in 2005 and Sweet Sixteen in 2006.

Cleveland’s front office has been willing to pull the trigger on major trades in recent years, including deals to add Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. The Cavs ultimately were eliminated a round later than the Sixers this season, falling to the Knicks in an Eastern Conference Finals sweep.

The first major event on Gansey’s calendar with the Sixers will be Round 1 of the NBA draft on June 23. The Sixers hold the 22nd overall pick. 

Decisions on team options, free agents and potential trades will follow as the Sixers enter an interesting offseason. The team currently has a bright young backcourt in Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, plus a pair of veteran stars on very large contracts in Joel Embiid and Paul George.

Regardless of how exactly Gansey proceeds, there’s no question the Sixers will aim to continue to draft well, find bargain role players and develop their in-house youngsters. With Gansey’s background in scouting and as both a D-League and NBA general manager, Myers decided he was the right fit.

One of the biggest question marks headed into the NBA’s offseason looks to have been answered before the Finals are even set.

According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, who is set to be a restricted free agent this summer, is expected to re-sign and stay in Utah.

“The consensus is that Kessler is signing a new deal with the Jazz in the range of $25 million to $30 million a year,” Bontemps wrote.

Bontemps didn’t write any other details about the contract, just the estimated range and that he is expected to re-sign.

Assuming that Kessler does re-sign, the Jazz’s starting front court now seems to be locked in place, with Kessler at the five, Jaren Jackson Jr. at the four and seven-footer Lauri Markkanen at the three. Locking in Kessler helps to offset Jackson’s rebounding abilities — or lack thereof — and they are now one of the best shot blocking duos in the league.

In only five games in the 2025-26 season, Kessler averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. He also shot 70.3 % from the field and shot 6 of 8 from deep — albeit in only a five games, but the 3-point shooting is really enticing if legitimate.

Now that the Kessler contract saga seems to be solved, the next task for the Jazz will be to select a game-changer at the No. 2 draft pick, where most pundits believe that Utah will take Darryn Peterson from Kansas.

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The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are headed to a final Game 7 matchup to determine which team will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. 

Oddsmakers believe that team will be the Thunder. NBA bettors are split.

The Thunder are -3.5 home favorites for Game 7 and are still favored to win the NBA Finals, despite being one game away from elimination.

Key Takeaways

• The Thunder were favored by 4.5 or more points in three prior games as favorites.
  
  
• BetMGM users are showing more support for the Thunder on the spread and more for the Spurs on the moneyline.
  
  
• The Knicks, the only team to qualify for the Finals, still trail the Thunder in Finals odds.

Everyone knows the two best words in sports: Game Seven. 

The Thunder and Spurs’ instant-classic series will see them head to Oklahoma City for one final time. BetMGM lists the Thunder as 3.5-point favorites and -165 (62.3% implied chance) on the moneyline, while the Spurs are +135 (42.6% chance).

Home teams were favored in every game in this series, although the Thunder’s 3.5-point advantage is the smallest of their four home games in the series. 

• Game 1: Thunder -6.5
• Game 2: Thunder -6.5
• Game 5: Thunder -4.5
• Game 7: Thunder -3.5

BetMGM users can’t seem to agree on which team they’re backing in Saturday’s series finale. Currently, 59% of bets and 70% of the handle in the spread market are on Thunder -3.5, but 70% of tickets and 65% of the money in the moneyline market are on the Spurs, according to insights shared with Covers.

Neither the spread nor moneyline values have shifted since odds were first published after Game 6. The projected points total has increased one point from 211.5 to 212.5, with 69% of wagers and 72% of the pot favoring the over.

Who are bettors supporting in Spurs-Thunder?

While the Thunder are favored to win the Western Conference championship-decider, the Spurs can claim they have been the superior team in the series. They are +18 in aggregate score (678-660) and recorded wins of 27 and 21 points, while the Thunder’s largest win came by 15 points.

Betting trends have been nearly identical thus far. Both teams are 2-1 against the spread and on the moneyline at home and as favorites, and 1-2 on the road and as underdogs. 

Series odds fluctuated dramatically based on the outcome of each game. The Spurs’ statement double-overtime victory on the road in Game 1 caused their price to shorten from +225 at opening to -105 heading into Game 2, although they have only lengthened since then. Their current +135 series value is as close as they’ve been.

The Thunder, -275 opening favorites, were only -115 after Game 1. They ballooned to -450 before Games 4 and 6 and sit at -160 entering the final matchup.

Although a dominant 74% of series bets are for the Spurs to win, an even larger 76% of the money is on the Thunder to advance.

The five most bet player props at BetMGM throughout the series, based on tickets, are:

• Luguentz Dort under 5.5 points 
• Julian Champagnie under 5.5 rebounds
• De’Aaron Fox under 4.5 rebounds
• Jared McCain under 2.5 three-pointers
• Chet Holmgren under 14.5 points 

NBA Finals odds update

BetMGM’s NBA Finals odds have the Thunder ahead at +125 (44.4% chance). The Knicks — the only team that has reached the championship round — are second at +200 (33.3% chance). The Spurs round out the bottom at +240 (29.4% chance).

BetMGM has not published look-ahead lines for potential series matchups between the Knicks and Thunder and the Knicks and Spurs. DraftKings, however, had the Thunder (-265) and Spurs (-225) both favored in hypothetical Finals matchups. 

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had yet another season of showing up consistently when the Sixers’ competitiveness was often all over the place.

In 31.5 minutes per game through the regular season, he averaged 14.1 points on a career-high 58 true shooting percentage, 5.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals. Oubre’s well and truly proven his strengths over his tenure with the Sixers now. The athleticism — paired with his consistent energy — has been such a welcome addition. He can effectively defend forwards and a range of guards with his size, lateral quickness and physicality, being able to take on pretty tough assignments at either position.

And despite not always taking the best shots himself, he did improve his shot diet with a higher frequency of threes this season (up from 32.7 percent of his total field goal attempts in 2024-25 to 43.9 percent this year). He provides quality cutting, finishing, transition play, and enough downhill scoring as a driver to complement the team’s stars in a variety of ways. He just had his best three-point shooting year yet, making a career-high 36 percent of his 4.8 attempts per game. That increased three-point volume did mean his attempts at the rim dropped somewhat, yet he still made a highly accurate 68.9 percent of his attempts within three feet. With his confidence, explosiveness, size and finishing, Oubre is still a threat attacking downhill.

Shooting slumps in a small sample can obviously happen any time, and unfortunately for Oubre it struck in this year’s playoffs. Oubre had space to fire from three but only hit 25.6 percent (10-of-39) of his attempts in the postseason. That’ll always be the swing factor that turns Oubre from being a starter-level piece of this team to someone who’d you’d maybe rather play 25-30 minutes off the bench.

Now, as Oubre gets into another summer of training, he wants to continue building on the shooting work he did last offseason. The plan is to take what he believes led him to some improvement and go a step further. He wants to introduce even more game-like situations in training to polish his shooting as much as possible, and continue working on his IQ, making reads, and seeing how plays can develop before they happen.

“Every year that I’ve come into this league, I’ve learned something, and I’ve grown in some areas,” Oubre summarised when speaking to reporters after the season ended. “So I want to continue that trend.”

Beyond his training focuses, the future is uncertain right now for Oubre. He’s set to hit free agency now that his great value two-year, $16.3 million contract is up. Keeping him for something close to that would be ideal for the Sixers’ wing depth.

When speaking at the end of the season, there was plenty for Oubre to reflect on. He certainly sounded interested in staying, but he’s unsure what to expect from free agency.

“I haven’t really been able to decompress, but I would say we took a step forward from the efforts that we put out last year,” Oubre said when looking back at how the season ended. “I think that we were able to build some form of camaraderie, some form of brotherhood throughout our trials and tribulations this year. And that’s all you can kind of ask for.

“And I would say I can’t really give it a grade, but I had fun. I enjoyed all my teammates. Everybody’s an amazing human being and a brother to me. And it just stings to go out like this, but at the end of the day, man, we made sure that we kept tight huddles throughout it all, because we’re all in this together.”

“I love my guys,” Oubre said to cap off his reflection of the team.

He also expressed how much he feels he learned this season.

“The game of basketball has reinvented itself to me through different lenses and different eyes throughout my tenure here. And I’m forever appreciative for the opportunity to play for the city. And obviously I don’t like how I ended. So I always say, I like to finish what I start. And this is a bit sour for me, but at the end of the day, man, it’s already written. God already has it written up upstairs, and it’s just gonna follow through. So I hope I did myself a good service by being more efficient, slowing down, and just playing better overall basketball. And just continue to grow as a human being and as a player.”

Given Oubre’s been in the league 11 years, played on five different teams, and has already earned over $80 million in that time, it’s only fair that Oubre is thinking a lot about his family in all this as well. When asked about what he’s hoping for in a free agency situation and what his priority is, he made it clear how much his family and stability will factor into his decision.

“Somewhere where I’m loved, just somewhere where my family can be comfortable,” he said when describing what he’s after. “I have a family now. So it’s not like I’m thinking for myself and being able to do spontaneous stuff, right? So I just want my kids to have some somewhere that they can call home. I’m gonna go out there, I’m gonna grind with my hard hat on and go to work. But what I do is for my family, and I just want them to be stable somewhere and to not have to worry about anything when it comes to their lives, being uprooted and figuring out things on the fly.”

Staying in Philadelphia would certainly tick the stability box for Oubre and his family. It would give him stability from a career standpoint as well. To continue in a role where he’s finding increased success as an important factor on the team.

Even if the Sixers want to try saving a little on Oubre’s annual salary, perhaps offering him a longer term contract — let’s say three years — is the way to give him the stability he seeks and keep the team’s salary cap and possible apron issues in check.

Oubre may not be able to repeat the increased three-point success he had in 2025-26, but he has improved his composure on offense. That plus his drive game, versatile defense, work on the glass, and athletic energy all around makes him a player worth keeping. If the Sixers can sell Oubre on the value of stability, staying with a team he loves, and (potentially) a contract with more years in free agency over a shorter more expensive deal elsewhere, perhaps this partnership can continue working for both sides.