Finals Notes: Wemby, Castle, Brunson, Kornet, More
While their playing styles and physiques bear little resemblance, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is providing the rest of the NBA’s teams with the same sort of unique challenges they faced three decades ago when Shaquille O’Neal emerged as a superstar in Orlando, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Like Wembanyama, O’Neal led his team to the NBA Finals in just his third year in the league.
“He’s Shaq,” one veteran NBA head coach said of Wembanyama, per Windhorst. “He eats clean, worries about how his water is filtered and doesn’t break backboards like Shaq did, but he presents the same problem. None of us know what the hell we’re going to do to stop him.”
“Of course people are going to compare him to Shaq but he’s actually Shaq 2.0,” a rival general manager added. “Because he takes care of his body and plays a modern game, shoots the three and can make free throws. Yeah, he’s our nightmare.”
While O’Neal eventually won four NBA championships, he didn’t earn his first one until 2000, well after he had left Orlando for Los Angeles. In 1995, he and a young Magic team entered the Finals as favorites, but were swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets, who were defending their ’94 title. As Windhorst writes, the Spurs and Wembanyama will also enter the Finals without the edge in playoff experience, but they’re determined to avoid the same fate as O’Neal’s Magic.
“The lack of experience is a strength for us,” Wembanyama told ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “Because we could do impossible stuff … because we don’t know it’s impossible.”
Here’s more on the NBA Finals, which will get underway in a matter of hours:
- Stephon Castle‘s ability to slow down Knicks star Jalen Brunson will be one of the key factors of the Finals, according to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN, who notes that Brunson expressed nothing but respect for Castle at media day on Tuesday. “He’s great. I think his intensity and tenacity is special,” Brunson said. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s had that since I’ve seen him at UConn. The way he’s played over these first couple years of his career, he’s going to be a great player, great defender.” While the sample size is small, Castle has defended Brunson well in the past, holding him to 27.3% shooting (3-of-11), per Goodwill.
- Kurt Helin of NBC Sports passes along some of the notable quotes from Knicks and Spurs players at Tuesday’s media day, while Ben Golliver of ESPN ranks all 30 players involved in the series, from Wembanyama at No. 1 to Bismack Biyombo at No. 30.
- Facing the Knicks in the Finals represents a “full-circle” moment for reserve Spurs center Luke Kornet, as Howie Kussoy of The New York Post relays. Kornet spent the first two years of his NBA career with New York, playing on a two-way contract as a rookie. “I had a great time in my first two years, especially in Westchester,” Kornet said on Tuesday. “I feel like the group that we had, it was some really fun basketball that we played. That’s what I remember the most. We had a lot of talent and young guys and it felt like an extension of college. I felt like I was growing my game a lot at that time. A lot of guys always talk about the G League like you can’t wait to get out of it, but I really enjoyed my time.”
- Whichever team claims this year’s championship, it will be a win for the Philippines, according to Miguel Alfonso Caramoan of ESPN. As Caramoan observes, either Spurs guard Dylan Harper or Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson will become the first Filipino-descended NBA player to win a title.
- In a pair of stories for The New York Post, Andrew Crane digs into how the Knicks and Spurs acquired each of the 15 players on their current standard rosters.
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Game Plan, Clarkson, Robinson
OG Anunoby missed the first NBA Finals run of his career when the Raptors won the title in 2019, as he was sidelined for the playoffs due to an emergency appendectomy. But this upcoming series is exactly why the Knicks traded two homegrown fan favorites for him in 2023, Peter Sblendorio writes for the New York Daily News.
Anunoby has been one of the most impactful players in the 2026 playoffs. While a hamstring injury in the second round represented a temporary setback, it only cost him two games. In the other 12, he has averaged 19.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while hitting 48.3% of his three-pointers in addition to making high-level defensive contributions.
He is also coming off being named to the second All-Defense team of his career, but he has yet to face a matchup like the one the Spurs will present. He says he’s ready for the task, though.
“I was younger back then, so I didn’t realize how hard it is to get back,” Anunoby said of the Toronto run. “Getting back is amazing. It takes a lot, and I’m really excited.”
We have more from the Knicks:
- Many have noted how important Anunoby will be when it comes to guarding Victor Wembanyama, but they’ll also need to figure out how to attack the Defensive Player of the Year on the other end. “The Spurs are going to try to keep Wembanyama out of pick-and-rolls,” a Western Conference coach told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “They’re going to try to keep him as the lowest man on the weak side so that he can always be at the rim. The Knicks will try to fight that and counter that. And because they have so many people who can help Brunson as a screener, they need to involve Wembanyama. Get him out of the basket area and get him into the play.” Another coach notes the importance of Jalen Brunson attacking in transition and getting into looks before Wembanyama can get set on defense. On defense, the team will have to trust its own strengths, Sblendorio writes. “I don’t know if you can really prepare for [everything Wembanyama does], because there’s not a situation that’s similar,” Josh Hart said. “For us, I think if we focus on ourselves and focus on the habits that we’re building, we’ll put ourselves in good situations to be successful.”
- Jordan Clarkson is a San Antonio native who grew up watching the Tim Duncan-led Spurs win championships. He’s looking forward to coming back home and preventing the Wembanyama-led Spurs from doing the same, writes Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “Definitely feels amazing, kind of unreal, honestly, just growing up in this city, having a teammate (second-year forward Kevin McCullar Jr.) that went to the same high school as me,” Clarkson said. “Playing the state championship games, just a lot of growth fan here as a kid. So this definitely feels great and seeing my family members, them being able to come to a finals game. It’s just amazing.”
- In case you missed it, Mitchell Robinson has been designated as questionable for Wednesday’s Game 1 after going through practice on Tuesday. He remains a game-time decision. His presence, or lack thereof, will be a key aspect of the Knicks’ approach to the series, both on defense and on the offensive glass.
Knicks Notes: Sochan, Brown, Anunoby, Robinson
Jeremy Sochan hasn’t played much since signing with the Knicks, but his inside knowledge of the Spurs should be valuable heading into the NBA Finals, Jared Schwartz of The New York Post writes in a subscriber-only piece. Sochan was drafted by San Antonio in 2022 and remained with the team until he was waived in mid-February. New York scooped him up two days later and is now in position to take advantage of his familiarity with Victor Wembanyama and the rest of his former teammates.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen, and he works on it all the time, but he gets tired,” Sochan said of Wembanyama. “It’s natural, being that tall, he gets tired. With the team we have, I think it’s important to give him different looks and, not beat him up, but be very physical with him and make him run. And he’s gonna get tired and he’s gonna have to take some plays off, in my opinion.”
Sochan was a lottery pick coming out of college and was a starter for most of his first three years in the league, but he fell out of the Spurs’ rotation this season and eventually became expendable. He saw limited action in 16 games with the Knicks during the regular season and has made five brief appearances in the playoffs. His main role in the Finals figures to be as an advisor.
“Whether I’m playing or not, it’s important to feed all the information I have,” Sochan said. “And I think I know quite a lot. I’m watching their games now, I’m seeing the old plays we [ran], when they go up to certain people and at what times, it’s pretty obvious to see. It’s gonna be interesting.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Head coach Mike Brown also has ties to San Antonio, having worked three years as an assistant to Gregg Popovich early in his career, notes Howie Kusoy of The New York Post. That connection hasn’t done anything to dull Brown’s competitiveness heading into the series. “They definitely want to beat me and I want to kick their ass,” Brown said. “You love ’em and you can always love ’em before and after … I got ties to San Antonio and you appreciate the people, you appreciate the journey and all that other stuff. But at the end of the day, just like they want to beat you, you definitely want to beat them.”
- OG Anunoby may be the Knicks’ best option to slow down Wembanyama, Kusoy adds in a separate story. Anunoby has allowed the fewest points per possession among anyone who has been the primary defender on the Spurs’ big man for at least 100 possessions, Kusoy states. “OG is an extremely versatile guard, and you know, the luxury of having a guy like that is he’s long enough, athletic enough, strong enough to guard quick, smaller guys, he’s obviously got the size and athleticism to guard big wings, and then he’s got the strength and the length and the intelligence to guard bigger guys,” Brown said. “So having a guy like that gives us a ton of versatility to be able to move him around, knowing that he can adapt, slash, adjust, or whatever you want to call it, on the fly.”
- Mitchell Robinson, whose status for Game 1 remains uncertain as he deals with a broken pinky finger, posted a message for his fans Saturday on Instagram, relays Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “I can’t thank you guys enough for the love and support most of you bring especially at a time like this in my life,” Robinson wrote. “It makes everything in fighting for 100x easier to deal with.”
Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Kornet, Champagnie, K. Johnson
Victor Wembanyama was overcome with emotion when the Spurs defeated the defending champions on Saturday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN.
“Winning the Larry O’Brien, it’s a childhood dream,” Wembanyama said. “Having a real shot at it, having a chance, tangible chance at winning it, realizing a dream. … The day we win it, speaking for myself, it’s going to be an amazing day of a realization of a dream. It’s hard to put into words. It’s almost like the meaning of my life.”
Former NBA guard and current NBC analyst Jamal Crawford told Jared Weiss of The Athletic he knew Wembanyama had a special ability to handle pressure and quickly learn new skills when he worked with him in the 2024 offseason. The French big man said learning how to channel his emotions has been one of the keys to his success, even if it’s an ongoing work in progress.
“This game is so hard, this team (Oklahoma City) is so good, that you gotta use every single emotion you got in you in order to win,” Wembanyama said on NBC’s post-game show. “Like, sometimes, these emotions (are) passion. It’s love for the game. Sometimes it’s anger. Sometimes it might even be jealousy, but I don’t wanna weigh myself down with any of these energies. I use them on the court.”
According to Weiss, Wembanyama has leaned on his teammates, coaches, franchise legends and his camp and family as he navigates his first postseason. The French big man “hugged every member of the Spurs organization he could find” after the final buzzer, and after he was awarded the Magic Johnson trophy for winning Western Conference finals MVP, he brought it over to Spurs fans to let them touch it and show his appreciation.
“I would say what I learned is I can go through hurdles that I didn’t know those hurdles could get so high,” Wembanyama said. “It’s just pushing through. I found resources inside of me, relentlessness. I already knew that, but doing it at this level, this is the best basketball on the planet that’s being played right now.
“The crazy thing is, maybe I’m crazy for that, but I want to do that 15, 20 more times,” Wembanyama said. “Let’s hope it doesn’t become an addiction. Maybe it is already.”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- Wembanyama received plenty of help in Saturday’s Game 7 victory in Oklahoma City. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson all delivered in key moments, but the Spurs say the biggest play of the game may have belonged to backup big man Luke Kornet, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscriber link). With the Spurs up by six and about six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Kornet had an epic chase-down block on Isaiah Hartenstein, who was going for a breakaway dunk after stealing Castle’s entry pass. “I’ve never seen Luke run that fast,” Champagnie said. “He was hauling, man, hauling.” As Orsborn notes, Castle made a pull-up jumper to put the Spurs up eight after the block then Champagnie hit a three-pointer to push the lead back up to 11. “That’s a momentum play. If they get that dunk, the crowd gets into it, guys start to feel good, and you never know what happens,” Champagnie continued. “Guys make some shots and instead of it being a six-point game it’s a two-point game, a whole different ball game. So shout out to Luke. I think that was the biggest play of the game. It took all the life out of the building. That play right there gave us the step we needed to keep the lead and keep pushing.”
- As Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports details, Champagnie struggled in the first four games against the Thunder but he delivered again with San Antonio’s season on the line, pouring in 20 points while making 6-of-10 from long distance, grabbing six rebounds and playing high-level defense. He was a game-high plus-16 in 38 minutes. “Julian is amazing,” Wembanyama said. “He deserves everything that he gets. And he’s the type of guy that makes you wanna die for him on the court because he gives so much effort. And he’s got such an amazing story — he got cut in the NBA a few years back. He’s had tough moments, but he keeps pushing and now he’s taken his team to the NBA Finals.”
- Johnson, the longest-tenured member of the team, has had a relatively quiet postseason after being named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year. However, after scoring eight points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, the 26-year-old said his confidence never wavered. “My teammates and my coaches continued to believe in me,” he said, per Orsborn (subscription required). “I continued to believe in myself. I knew the tide would turn eventually. I didn’t know when. I didn’t know how. But I knew that as long as I just stayed engaged, stayed locked in, it would pay off. I couldn’t write it any other way than how it went today. It’s been a hard playoffs for me. There’s no denying that, but it makes it all worth it when you have big moments like this in Game 7.”
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.