Thunder Not Expected To Pursue Giannis, Interested In Mobley?
The Spurs not only caught up to the Thunder sooner than expected but surpassed them by eliminating the defending champions in Oklahoma City on Saturday night, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. The big question now facing the Thunder is how the team can solve the unprecedented challenge that Victor Wembanyama presents.
While a major roster overhaul would be shocking considering the Thunder were 71-14 against every other team in the league in 2025/26, they went just 4-8 against San Antonio in what could be the beginning of a long rivalry.
League sources have told Amick throughout the season that Oklahoma City is not expected to pursue Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, though speculation will undoubtedly pick up on that front in the wake of the Thunder being eliminated. Amick has also heard “chatter” for some time about the Thunder being interested in Evan Mobley, whom Cavaliers president of basketball operations (Koby Altman) recently called “part of our future.”
As Dan Woike of The Athletic writes, one key player who really struggled under the bright lights of Game 7 was big man Chet Holmgren, who was named to the All-NBA Third Team and finished runner-up to Wembanyama in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Holmgren finished with just four points (on 1-of-2 shooting), four rebounds, two steals, two blocks and two turnovers in 33 minutes.
“They’re a unique team in terms of personnel, what their personnel does,” Holmgren said softly after the game. “I don’t think there’s another team that has the same kind of play style.”
Holmgren’s struggles against Wembanyama and the Spurs aren’t a new development, as he was largely ineffective during the 12 combined times the two teams faced off in 2025/26. The 24-year-old center/forward averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 and 1.1 blocks in 29.9 minutes per game with a shooting line of .510/.273/.769 during the Western Conference finals, a far cry from the numbers he posted during the first two rounds of the playoffs (18.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.4 SPG on .600/.387/.885 shooting).
“That’s not all on him,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I actually thought he played his minutes pretty well. You know, I thought that run at the end of the second quarter that got us back going and cut into the (lead), I mean, he was a huge part of that in ways that may not be in the box score visibly.”
While Daigneault certainly wasn’t wrong in that assessment of that stretch, Woike points out that Holmgren was unable to sustain that level of play throughout the game. Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman (subscriber link), graded Holmgren’s Game 7 performance as an “F,” while her colleague Joe Mussatto gave Cason Wallace an A+.
“There’s no running from improvement,” Holmgren said, per Woike. “I always look at it as no matter what — good, bad, win, loss, whatever it might be — you have to continue to improve. So, that’s the mindset.”
The Thunder will face some difficult roster decisions this summer, with the five-year, maximum-salary extensions for Holmgren and Jalen Williams set to begin in 2026/27 and sizeable team options on Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort and Kenrich Williams.
Still, Alex Caruso was defiant in his belief that the Spurs aren’t a problem that can’t be solved, Woike adds.
“There’s nothing that needs to be solved,” Alex Caruso said. “We could have won the game (Saturday), and we would have been asking them maybe the same thing. I don’t think there’s this huge narrative of, like, this is a bugaboo. … We should have played better and won the game and been in the NBA Finals.
“They’re a good team, they’re young. We’re a good team, we’re young. Both will probably be around for a while, so we gotta get better and try to win next time.”
Spurs Reach NBA Finals; Victor Wembanyama Named MVP Of WCF
The Spurs won a tough Game 7 at Oklahoma City on Saturday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014. The 111-103 victory sets up a matchup with the Knicks for the NBA championship, with Game 1 tipping off Wednesday night in San Antonio.
Victor Wembanyama was a unanimous choice as Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference Finals (Twitter links). He received the Earvin “Magic” Johnson trophy in a vote by nine media members.
Wembanyama played 42 minutes in Game 7, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and he got plenty of help from his teammates.
De’Aaron Fox contributed 15 points, five assists and three steals and hit several big shots to stave off Thunder rallies. Julian Champagnie added 20 points with six three-pointers, Keldon Johnson sank two crucial threes in the fourth quarter and backup center Luke Kornet may have made the play of the game by blocking Isaiah Hartenstein on a breakaway (Twitter video link).
League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, with many of them coming on difficult shots over multiple defenders. Cason Wallace added 17, but OKC couldn’t find much additional scoring with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both sidelined by injuries. Chet Holmgren had a particularly forgettable night, finishing with four points on just two shots from the field.
“They’re young, talented, well-coached, play the right way, seems like they like each other,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Spurs (Twitter link from Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic). “They have the make-up. You don’t beat us without the make-up.”
The victory not only gives the Spurs a shot at their first NBA title in 12 years, it may signify the start of a long-term shift in the balance of power. With the deepest roster in the league, the Thunder looked capable of stringing together a potential dynasty after winning 68 and 64 games the past two seasons. But San Antonio took down the defending champs with a younger core built around Wembanyama (22), Stephon Castle (21) and Dylan Harper (20).
This year’s series could also be the start of an extended high-stakes rivalry between the two franchises. The Thunder have the ability to bring back virtually their entire roster next season, but they also have a stockpile of draft picks if they want to chase a veteran star. Regardless of which path they choose, Oklahoma City and San Antonio figure to enter the 2026/27 season as heavy favorites to grab the top two seeds again and return to the Western Conference finals.
Wembanyama was overcome by emotion as the final seconds ticked away, and he spent several minutes hugging teammates and friends before heading to the locker room. Speaking at the post-game press conference, he made it clear that the Spurs’ mission isn’t complete, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
“We want four more,” Wembanyama said. “We’re not done.”
Thunder Notes: Mitchell, J. Williams, McCain, Caruso, Hartenstein, Holmgren
Ajay Mitchell will remain sidelined when the Western Conference Finals resume Thursday night at San Antonio. Mitchell is listed as out on the Thunder’s official injury report with a right soleus (calf) strain, marking the third straight game he will miss since suffering the injury last Friday.
OKC’s offense struggled in Game 4 without Mitchell and Jalen Williams, who are two of the team’s primary ball-handlers. However, the Thunder posted 127 points in Tuesday’s Game 5, repeatedly pushing the tempo to create easier scoring opportunities.
Williams remains questionable due to left hamstring strain injury management, and his official status may not be determined until shortly before tip-off. He was a late scratch in Games 4 and 5.
There’s more on the Thunder:
- Coach Mark Daigneault was looking for an offensive spark when he opted to start Jared McCain instead of Cason Wallace, and the move seemed to shake the team from its malaise, states Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman. Although McCain got off to a slow start, his presence on the floor created more room for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, who combined for 15 first quarter points, Carlson notes. McCain finished with 20 points in 33 minutes in his first career playoff start.
- The Thunder got another dominant effort from their bench in Game 5, and their reserves are now outscoring San Antonio’s by a 257-127 margin for the series, according to Tim Willert of The Associated Press. “We have good players on our bench. They’ve got good players on their bench,” said Alex Caruso, who contributed 22 points and six assists in 28 minutes. “So, we know that’s an area of the game where you can try to find some positive plus-minus time for that group.”
- Daigneault often used smaller defenders against Victor Wembanyama during the regular season, but that task has mostly fallen to Isaiah Hartenstein in the playoffs, notes Ben Golliver of ESPN. Hartenstein’s physicality has bothered the Spurs star, who shot just 4-of-15 from the field on Tuesday.
- Holmgren, who turned in his best game of the series with 16 points and 11 rebounds in nearly 30 minutes, talked to Fred Katz of The Athletic about his approach to basketball and the balance between individual and team success. “Ego has been the downfall of many people’s careers,” Holmgren said. “I feel like ego gets in the way of maximizing the moment and also understanding. Basically, what you’re asking me is, would I trade what we just accomplished last year and the opportunity that we have (this year) and the group that we have? Would I sacrifice that to go be able to shoot 20 shots a game? I don’t think so.”
Victor Wembanyama Skips Media Session After Game 5 Loss
12:28 pm: The NBA has issued a warning to Wembanyama about violating media access rules but won’t fine him, reports Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).
8:56 am: After playing his worst game of the 2026 postseason, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama exited Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on Tuesday night without speaking to the reporters who were waiting to hear from him, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
As Amick writes, it was a surprising move from a young star who was voted the most media-friendly player in the NBA this year by the Professional Basketball Writers Association. Wembanyama’s decision to duck his post-game media duties will force the league office to decide whether to issue him a fine, since those media sessions are mandated by league rules.
It was a frustrating night for Wembanyama and the Spurs, who were defeated by a score of 127-114 and now trail the Thunder 3-2 in the series. The 22-year-old made just 4-of-15 shots from the floor, including 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. His 20 points represented his lowest mark of the series and his six rebounds were well below his playoff average.
San Antonio was outscored by eight points when Wembanyama was on the floor, marking the first time in the Western Conference finals and just the third time in the playoffs that the Defensive Player of the Year had a negative net rating. The only other two postseason contests in which the Spurs were outscored during Wembanyama’s minutes were the ones he exited early due to an injury (in round one) or ejection (in round two).
Head coach Mitch Johnson acknowledged during his own post-game media session that the team will need a bigger game from its superstar in San Antonio on Thursday in order to avoid elimination and force a Game 7, as Michael C. Wright of ESPN relays.
“He’s got to take more than 15 shots,” Johnson said. “Even with the (12) free throws, he’s going to have to score more than 20 points for sure.”
Asked whether Wembanyama’s off night was a result of a lack of aggression or if it was a game plan issue, Johnson suggested it was a combination of both factors, Wright notes.
“OKC did a good job. We’ve got to do a better job,” Johnson said. “That’s probably the easiest in terms of when you (look at) surface-level stuff that he’ll definitely need to take more shots. But there’s a lot of things all over the place. Even when we had advantages, we just didn’t make simple plays and take advantage of the opportunity, that possession. In this type of game, you’ve got to be sure of everything you’re doing in a very secure, mature way.”
“I think they send so many bodies towards him, it’s hard at times,” teammate Stephon Castle added. “I think he just wants to make the right play and wants to win. So, it’s tough. But yeah, he’s our best player. We need him to be aggressive. I feel like him being aggressive opens up shots for other guys.”
Spurs Notes: Vassell, Wembanyama, Popovich, Fox
The Spurs evened up the Western Conference finals on Sunday night with a smothering defensive effort, holding Oklahoma City to its lowest point total since December of 2021 in a 103-82 victory, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes in a subscriber-only story. San Antonio was aggressive from the start, forcing 17 Thunder turnovers and harassing them into shooting just 33% for the game.
Stephon Castle was the primary defender on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while several other players also helped to hold the two-time MVP to 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting. The Spurs altered their strategy by using single coverage on SGA and staying close to the Thunder’s outside shooters, who only hit one three-pointer in the first half and wound up at 18.2% from beyond the arc for the game.
“That’s what we hang our hat on, the defensive end,” Devin Vassell said. “We felt like those two games they won we just weren’t ourselves. We weren’t playing to a level we could. We were leaving them open way too much. So (tonight) we were in a lot of great rotations, guarding the ball and that helped us make them miss and get us out in transition.”
The play of Vassell, who tallied 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 33 minutes, has been especially gratifying for head coach Mitch Johnson, Orsborn adds. Johnson was Vassell’s developmental coach when San Antonio drafted him in 2020 and has pushed him to expand his game throughout his six seasons in the league.
“It’s been personally for me really fun to observe him because when we first drafted him, he was kind of a, not to be lazy, but a three-and-D generalization is kind of the bucket he was in, and he’s developed into a heck of a scorer in this league,” Johnson said. “And at times when you are a young player it’s hard to increase your offensive load and still continue to put that same energy into defense. He probably went away from it a little bit, and now to see him have the two-way impact he has is very impactful for our team and very rewarding for someone who has been with him from his rookie year.”
There’s more on the Spurs:
- Victor Wembanyama continues to set records during his first trip to the playoffs, notes Michael C. Wright of ESPN. After posting 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks on Sunday, Wembanyama joined Bill Walton as the only players with at least 300 points, 150 rebounds and 50 blocks in their first postseason since blocks became an official statistic in 1974. Wembanyama now has 324 playoff points, breaking Stepen Jackson‘s franchise record for a player in his first postseason.
- Former head coach Gregg Popovich inspired the team with a fiery speech after the Game 3 loss, Wright adds. De’Aaron Fox said it’s the first time this season that Popovich has come to the locker room to address the players. “Every team gets blown out, but just mentality wise, I think that was one of the worst games we had probably of the season,” Fox said. “Then, Pop came in after the game. He saw it, we all saw it. We all felt it. Coming into this game, we wanted to make sure that mentality was out the door. Even if we lost this game, as long as we came in with the right mentality and played the right way, we could be OK with losing the game. The way that we lost [Game 3] I think hurt more than losing the game, and that was pretty much for everybody in the locker room.”
- Fox continues to feel the effects of a high right ankle sprain that forced him to miss the first two games of the series, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Fox was noticeably limping afterward, but he was still the game’s leading rebounder with 10 boards. “I don’t know how many of them I actually jumped for,” he said. “But I mean, that’s half the battle – instinct.”
NBA Announces 2025/26 All-NBA Teams
The league has officially announced its three All-NBA teams, recognizing the top performers for the 2025/26 season (all Twitter links).
A total of 100 media members voted on the All-NBA teams, with First Team votes counting for five points, Second Team votes counting for three points, and Third Team votes counting for one point.
This year’s All-NBA teams are as follows (each player’s point total is noted in parentheses):
First Team
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (500 points)- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (500)
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (498)
- Luka Doncic, Lakers (482)
- Cade Cunningham, Pistons (414)
Second Team
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics (384)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (277)
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers (276)
- Kevin Durant, Rockets (241)
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks (197)
Third Team
- Tyrese Maxey, Sixers (168)
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets (149)
- Jalen Johnson, Hawks (125)
- Jalen Duren, Pistons (121)
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder (87)
Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic, this season’s Most Valuable Player and runner-up, respectively, were the only unanimous first-teamers, with Wembanyama coming a single vote away — he had one Second Team vote to go along with 99 First Team votes.
Doncic and Cunningham each technically fell short of meeting the 65-game minimum required to be eligible for All-NBA and other major awards, but they appealed that ruling and were deemed award-eligible by the league. Doncic would have met the criteria if he hadn’t missed time due to the birth of a child, while Cunningham fell short after suffering a collapsed lung, so both players were granted “extraordinary circumstances” exceptions.
Notably, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who played 61 games, also applied for an extraordinary circumstances exception. However, his request was denied, so his name didn’t show up on award ballots even though he likely would’ve been voted onto an All-NBA team if voters could’ve selected him. Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and LeBron James – who had made 21 consecutive All-NBA teams – were among the other superstars who didn’t meet the 65-game criteria.
Outside of the 15 players who made All-NBA teams, another dozen players showed up on at least one ballot, starting with Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who had 26 voting points (Twitter link).
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (14 points), Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (9), Cavaliers guard James Harden (6), Rockets center Alperen Sengun (6), Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (5), Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5), Heat big man Bam Adebayo (4), and Celtics guard Derrick White (3) all earned multiple votes, while Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, Raptors forward Brandon Ingram, and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley earned one Third Team vote apiece.
As usual, there are also financial implications worth noting related to the All-NBA teams. First and foremost, Duren will now be eligible to sign a contract with the Pistons that starts at up to 30% of the 2026/27 salary cap as a restricted free agent this summer. That means he could earn up to a projected $287.1MM over five years.
If he hadn’t made All-NBA, Duren’s maximum five-year contract with Detroit would’ve been worth a projected $239.3MM. Either way, the most a rival team can offer him is four years and $177.4MM.
Maxey and Cunningham are on their way to meeting the super-max (ie. Designated Veteran) criteria but would need to earn All-NBA honors again in 2027 to become eligible for maximum-salary extensions worth up to 35% of the cap instead of 30%.
Wembanyama is in a similar boat — despite making the All-NBA First Team and being named Defensive Player of the Year, he would need to achieve one of those feats again in 2027 in order to increase the maximum value of his next contract from 25% to the cap to 30% via the Rose rule. Wembanyama will be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension this offseason and is a lock to do so.
Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams had Rose rule language in their maximum-salary rookie scale extensions, which were signed last offseason and will go into effect this July. They could’ve increased their respective starting salaries beyond 25% of the cap if they’d made an All-NBA team, but neither player did.
Interestingly, the maximum-salary rookie scale extension that the Thunder negotiated with Holmgren in 2025 did not include a Rose rule escalator, so the projected value of the big man’s contract (five years, $239.3MM) remains unchanged even though he earned a spot on the Third Team. It’ll go into effect this year and will be identical to Williams’ deal.
Finally, Edwards would have become eligible to sign a super-max extension with the Timberwolves during the 2027 offseason if he had been named to an All-NBA team this season. Because he didn’t qualify, he’ll need to make All-NBA next season in order to meet the performance criteria for a Designated Veteran extension.
Spurs Notes: Barnes, Wembanyama, Fox, Backcourt
While most of the Spurs‘ key players have never played this deep into the postseason, veteran forward Harrison Barnes has appeared in 85 playoff games and found himself in a situation during Golden State’s 2015 championship run that’s similar to the one San Antonio is currently facing.
The Warriors trailed LeBron James and the Cavaliers 2-1 in the 2015 NBA Finals and came back to win the series, with their young star Stephen Curry leading the way. Can Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, down 2-1 against the defending champion Thunder, pull off a similar feat in this year’s Western Conference finals?
“It’s a matter of saying, ‘Look, however many games the series goes, are we going to play to our standard when we look back at those games?'” Barnes told Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “The last few games, can we have said that? No. And so going into this next game, what is it going to take for us to do that?”
Here’s more on the Spurs ahead of a critical Game 4:
- Wembanyama averaged just over 29 minutes per game during the regular season and just shy of 33 minutes per game in the first two rounds of the playoffs (not counting the two games he left early due to an injury or suspension). Through the first three games of the third round vs. Oklahoma City, he has played 41.7 MPG and the Spurs have outscored the Thunder by 21 points during his time on the floor. Although San Antonio has been outscored by 38 points when Wemby hasn’t been on the court, further increasing the big man’s playing time isn’t a viable strategy, according to head coach Mitch Johnson. “The idea is there,” Johnson said with a smile, per Raul Dominguez of The Associated Press. “But, yeah, I think as we’ve seen it, him fresh or somewhat fresh is still the best. … We don’t want to sacrifice our style of play and the identity that we’ve been building since October.”
- In an interesting story for ESPN, Baxter Holmes explores how difficult it is to quantify the fear that Wembanyama’s interior presence instills in opponents and how many plays he prevents from ever happening. “Everyone likes pointing out the videos where guys drive into the paint and then just dribble it out,” an Eastern Conference analytics staffer said. “I think it’s even more than that. I think it’s whether they drive in the first place. They’ve got a menu in their head of, ‘This is what I can do in this possession,’ and driving to the rim is just not on the menu.”
- While De’Aaron Fox will be active for Game 4 on Sunday, it’s obvious he’ll be playing through pain, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I’m the same as I was before the series started, but I’m able to play,” said the Spurs guard, who missed the first two games of the Western finals due to a high ankle sprain. “… I don’t feel great, but I’m able to play.”
- While there are questions outside the organization about Fox’s long-term fit in San Antonio due to his maximum-salary contract and the presence of rising stars Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, neither the Spurs nor Fox’s camp appear concerned about the issue, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick points out, this is the same organization that managed Manu Ginobili coming off the bench for a significant portion of his Hall-of-Fame career.
Spurs Notes: Guard Health, Wembanyama, Fouls, Game 4
The Spurs are attempting the difficult feat of beating the reigning champions while their primary and secondary point guards are battling through leg injuries. The good news is that both Fox and Harper are expected to be available to play in Game 4 on Sunday, per head coach Mitch Johnson (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim McMahon).
De’Aaron Fox returned from his high ankle sprain for Game 3 but clearly wasn’t moving as well as usual, writes Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. Dylan Harper, who injured his adductor in the third quarter of Game 2, seemed similarly limited, finishing Game 3 with just six points on seven shots, far less than the 15.5 PPG he’d been averaging in his previous 11 outings.
To make matters worse, Fox came up hobbling in the third quarter after Luguentz Dort fell onto his ankle while diving for a loose ball. He was able to finish the game despite the scare.
“Once the pain subsides for a little bit, I felt like I was fine,” he said. “I was able to move a little bit, so I wanted to still be out there.”
We have more notes from the Spurs:
- Victor Wembanyama is challenging conventional wisdom about how experience trumps young talent in the postseason, writes ESPN’s Ben Golliver. At just 22 years old, Wembanyama has been perhaps the best all-around player in the 2026 playoffs. However, he knows there’s more he can do to get the Spurs back on track after losing back-to-back games to the Thunder, their first consecutive losses since January. He says it starts with him being a better team player, Michael C. Wright writes for ESPN. “I feel like I’m having trouble making my teammates better right now,” Wembanyama said. “My shooting splits aren’t terrible. I need to be more of a team player, facilitate better, rebound the ball better, push their defense a little bit further and see how much they need to help with my teammates and [then] feed them.“
- One area of the game that Johnson is focused on improving is keeping the Thunder off the free throw line, which hurt San Antonio in Game 3, Orsborn writes. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge with 12 free throw attempts, and Johnson was unhappy with how many of those were self-inflicted. “I think probably half of them were from us being undisciplined first off the floor,” the Spurs coach said. “He got us out of position and took advantage of it. I can’t remember how he got all 12 free throws, but I know a few of them were pretty good defense it felt like up until that point.“
- Wembanyama believes Game 4 will be a good measuring stick game, both for himself and the team, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The Defensive Player of the Year noted that this series is a new experience for most of the players on the roster and that everyone can be better. “It was the first playoffs for many of us,” he said. “Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It is to be expected. But now, we’re going to see what we’re made of.” Johnson noted that the team has to adjust its offensive approach, since it spent the season having Harper, Fox, and Stephon Castle attack the advantages drawn by Wembanyama’s presence, a playing style that’s difficult to maintain with two of the three guards banged up, per Jeff McDonald of the Express-News (via Twitter).
NBA Announces 2025/26 All-Defensive Teams
The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2025/26 season (Twitter links).
The teams are determined by a panel of 100 media members, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.
Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama was this season’s lone unanimous First Team pick, earning the maximum allowable 200 points after being named to the First Team by all 100 voters. DPOY runner-up Chet Holmgren fell short of being a unanimous pick, earning 93 First Team votes and four Second Team votes.
The honorees are as follows, along with their point totals (Twitter link):
First Team
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (200 points)
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder (190)
- Ausar Thompson, Pistons (166)
- Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (151)
- Derrick White, Celtics (146)
Second Team
- Scottie Barnes, Raptors (130)
- Cason Wallace, Thunder (94)
- Bam Adebayo, Heat (71)
- OG Anunoby, Knicks (67)
- Dyson Daniels, Hawks (50)
The All-Defensive teams have been positionless for the last three years. Previously, each team was required to have two guards, two forwards, and a center, but that’s no longer the case. This season’s First Team leans more heavily toward rim protectors, while the Second Team features a wider variety of guards and wings alongside forward/center Adebayo.
This year’s All-Defensive squads feature a number of first-time honorees. Holmgren, Thompson, Barnes, and Wallace had never previously been named to an All-Defensive team. Wembanyama (2024) and Daniels (2025) had earned First Team honors once apiece prior to this year, while Anunoby made a Second Team in 2023.
Gobert is the most accomplished of these defenders — the four-time Defensive Player of the Year has now made nine total All-Defensive teams and is an eight-time member of the First Team. Adebayo is also no stranger to All-Defensive recognition either, having now made two First Teams and four Second Teams. White, meanwhile, got a First Team nod for the first time after previously making the Second Team twice.
There are four players across the league who would’ve earned bonuses if they’d made an All-Defensive team, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), but none of them made the cut. That group includes Thunder wing Luguentz Dort, whose $500K bonus for All-Defense had been considered “likely” because he made the First Team in 2025.
That $500K will come off Dort’s cap hit this season and will reduce his 2026/27 team option by $500K to roughly $17.7MM, since the bonus is considered “unlikely” going forward. If Dort’s team option is exercised, his $500K bonus would continue to count for apron purposes next season despite not counting toward his cap hit, and he could still earn it if he makes an All-Defensive team next season.
Besides the 10 players who made All-Defense, 15 other players showed up on at least one ballot. That group was led by Spurs guard Stephon Castle (46 points), Rockets guard Amen Thompson (46), Warriors forward Draymond Green (40), and Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (28), each of whom was named to the First Team on between four and eight ballots.
Clippers guard Kris Dunn, who had 14 points, would have rounded out a hypothetical “third team.” Notably, his $5.7MM salary for 2026/27 would have become fully guaranteed if he had made an All-Defensive team. Still, it’s a pretty safe bet that Dunn will be retained through June 30, at which time his full salary will become guaranteed anyway.
The rest of the players who received All-Defensive votes, including Dort and former Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, can be viewed here (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Wemby’s Impact, FAs, World Cup Qualifiers, Okobo
Rival teams are watching what Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are doing in this postseason with interest and trepidation, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick details, front offices around the NBA – recognizing that Wembanyama will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come – are thinking hard about ways to combat him.
“Teams will definitely have to start figuring out, ‘How do we get through this guy?'” an Eastern Conference executive said. “So you look at it, and it’s like, ‘What do we need? How do we build our team to get better to compete against (Wembanyama and the Spurs)?’ Trust me, it’s on everybody’s mind. Teams will try to find ways that they can build a roster out to beat the Spurs, just like they are to beat OKC.”
That executive pointed to Utah’s mid-season acquisition of Jaren Jackson Jr. as a move that may have been made with Wembanyama in mind, since the Jazz now have three athletic frontcourt players – Jackson, Walker Kessler, and Lauri Markkanen – to throw at the Spurs star. That same exec also suggested that a prospect like 7’3″ Michigan center Aday Mara could see his draft stock rise as teams seek players capable of slowing down Wembanyama.
Wembanyama’s impact could even have a ripple effect on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s trade value this offseason, as one Western Conference executive told Amick: “Giannis is a matchup solution for Wemby, so I could definitely see teams factoring that in when they’re discussing trading for him.”
Still, there’s no obvious answer for stopping this sort of unique player who looks capable of becoming one of the league’s all-time greats.
“He’s a problem from inside the half court, and there’s just no one like that,” an exec said to Amick with a laugh. “At least Shaq was human in the sense that you needed three centers to bang with him. You’ve got 18 fouls (to work with). Maybe one was skilled, and the other two could hold him up while the other guys get rest. But there’s no archetype like (Wembanyama) — no player ever. It’s a problem, and it’s going to be a problem for 15 years.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks takes a closer look at 20 of this summer’s top free agents, breaking down what sort of contract he’d offer each player. Marks’ hypothetical offers include five years and $180MM for Pistons center Jalen Duren, four years and $155MM for Lakers guard Austin Reaves, three years and $130MM for Wizards guard Trae Young, and two years and $40MM for Warriors forward Draymond Green.
- Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, Wizards big man Alex Sarr, and Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher are among the players included on France’s preliminary roster for this July’s FIBA World Cup qualifying games (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Serbian head coach Dusan Alimpijevic told Mozzart Sport that Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is expected to suit up for the Serbian national team during both World Cup qualifying windows this offseason, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays.
- Former NBA guard Elie Okobo has been named the Most Valuable Player of France’s top basketball league (LNB Elite), Askounis writes for Eurohoops. Okobo, who appeared in 108 regular season games for Phoenix from 2018-20, averaged 16.7 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game with an outstanding .621/.506/.883 shooting line in 24 domestic league games for AS Monaco in 2025/26.
- Kevin Sweeney of SI.com explores how new eligibility requirement guidance distributed by the NCAA could impact international players looking to play college basketball going forward.