Well, we’re here. What could be the last game of the 2025-26 NBA season us upon us with the Knicks, of all teams, on the verge of an NBA title. Wild.
Who: New York Knicks (3-1) vs. San Antonio Spurs (1-3)
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
When: 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET
Watch: ABC
Despite the fact that the Knicks could beat the Spurs in 5 games, this has been a pretty interesting NBA Finals? Plenty of heroes, plenty of overachievers, underachievers, off-court nonsense, and storylines. I’ve enjoyed it, anyway.
And as someone who picked the Spurs in this series, I still can’t get over what this Knicks team is doing. And it doesn’t feel like a fluke. Sure, the Spurs could win tonight and force a Game 6. Hell, they might even turn the series around completely and win it all, but the Knicks feel like the better team. The more composed team. The more talented team. The more resilient team. The more clutch team. The better coached team. We’ll see if that trend continues tonight while they try to wrap this thing up.
Despite all of the above, I’ll ride with the Spurs tonight at home.
Prediction: Spurs 112, Knicks 108.
Prediction: Spurs win game 5 so that the league can have the Knicks win at MSG in game 6 and reap the monetary rewards.
A desperate young Spurs team goes all-out and forces a Game 6 where they are drained out and fall flat.
Or they could just let their youthfulness finish them off LOL
The Fox trade is looking better every possession.
You mean the trade that got us Zach Lavine?
Yes indeed , life is so much better without Fox. At least he got out of basketball hell, so thats a win for him.
Choked yet again.
Of course he choked Grant, we’ve all known he not “that guy”.
Id still rather be not “that guy” in a more stable, competent franchise and environment than with the Kings.
Thanks Vivek!
Reddit is brutal. People posting that Fox is the real MVP…for the Knicks. Secretly a sleeper agent for Mike Brown. I choked on my drink seeing the posts.
I read ” Reddit is brutal” and I already understood what you were saying. Some of those people cant be actual real humans.
Fox is getting roasted on nba pods and social media as well. Well deserved for the guy who likely got Coach Brown fired.
Is Castle being roasted? That dude didn’t get a bucket until the final couple minutes.
If you believe that Fox got Brown fired, you believe the organization narrative. Odd that less than three weeks after Brown’s firing, Brown & Fox were seen out dining together in Brooklyn.
Fox did not get Brown fired. It is more likely that Domas got Brown fired, which is why the org. leaked that it was Fox, followed by the org. waiting weeks before grudgingly acknowledging that it wasn’t Fox, followed by the Kings trading Fox after pissing him off.
I think everyone was a bit upset. The addition of DDR just rocked the whole boat. Fox didn’t get his touches and shots, the offense stopped going through Sabonis, Monk wanted to start, Keegan was an afterthought, etc. I don’t know for certain if anyone got Brown fired, but rather feel it was a culmination of events and strategy that began with DDR. That was the first domino, so to speak.
They all seemed to be out for themselves and wanted different roles than the ones that made them have a successful season. Ego got in the way.
Ultimately, all roads lead back to Vivek. We can all quibble about the others involved (players, coaches, FO), but it leads back to Vivek everytime.
This and I’m 100% convinced it was Vivek’s meddling that wanted DDR. That move was the beginning of the end of this teams extremely short run of success.
And nobody wanted to sign DDR at that time besides Vivek. Just like no one wanted to trade for Lavine but Vivek managed to get him.
I don’t think Sabonis gets enough flack for this. He did reap what he sowed though as the last man standing in a pile of poop.
Brown got fired a day after publicly calling out Fox to the media. I’m not saying Fox called for Brown’s firing, but whatever happened behind the scenes between Fox and Vivek/FO after Brown made those comments, led to the firing.
I also have a hard time believing that Brown would have gotten fired had Fox said something to the FO in support of Brown in the wake of Brown’s comments.
At the end of the day there’s no way to know for sure, believe what you want.
Insert: Oh you sweet summer child-gif.
Yes, believe what you want. Based on my intel, I believe that a flaccid and ineffectual ownership/management group fired the best head coach that it ever employed (Mike Malone notwithstanding) and then, through its silence, threw Fox under the bus. After they left Fox twisting in the wind, he wanted out.
Now, based on the history and results of the Ranadive era, one where we have been subjected to a revolving door of front office personnel, coaching staffs and players, which version seems more plausible, yours or mine? I agree that yours sounds more plausible for any reasonably run professional sports team. Mine sounds more plausible for your Sacramento Kangz.
If we are speculating, I would not be surprised if Doug Christie was whispering in Domas’ and Monk’s ears, hoping to get a clear path to the HC job.
Yes, as DC was placed on the staff pretty much to serve as Vivek’s mole, that is not without legs.
Matina and Vivek – the Throne of Disorder is shared. (see GM Vlade, asst Peja, Bobby Jackson, and would it surpsise anyone here if after Doug Christie is demoted (not fired, never that) that Sac St. coach Mike Bibby is brought in?)
Clown Show. Not a serious franchise.
As for De’Aaron Fox – he had a brutal Finals series, but say what you want – he was an All-Star this season and helped bring his team (along with their coach, Mitch Johnson) to the NBA Finals in the Western Conference- and past last year’s Champs, the OKC Thunder, who swept their first two rounds.
I am disappointed mostly by San Antonio’s vaporing in the 4th Quarters (except rookie sensation Derek Harper) by their touted point guards (both Castle and Fox) but also their wings (Vessel, Champagnie, Keldon) and of course, Wemby who ran out of gas time and again (they have him running down every shot from every angle – that’s exhausting) and that not one of these young Spurs, nor Fox, stayed and shook hands to congratulate their opponent for a match well played. Bad move. Terrible. And then there’s the officiating…)
KAT playing kinda stupid. Wemby is schooling him.
Now the refs getting involvd
Congrats to the Knicks! They peaked at the right time!
Hey Vivek, maybe we can hire their head coach to replace Doug…waitaminute…
Those Fox bricks towards the end. It’s like I’ve seen this movie/story before….
And you know when he’s scared when he makes the extra pass and passes up the long 2.
Please, for the love of basketball god, draft a pg who can shoot and hang up the phone if the Spurs call asking about a “return policy”.
He’s lucky that extension is already signed.
That contract is going to be one of the worst in the league, along with Chet’s.
A lot of teams would trade for Holmgren but not many for Fox . Spurs would trade Fox and his contract for Lavine and his today .
Yup. Chet between Sabonis and Keegan would be great. Fox back on the Kings…not so much.
Congrats to the Knicks for getting their first championship in over 50 years. And a big congrats to Mike Brown for getting his ring as a head coach. (great job Vivek with that firing, sigh). Peaked at the right time and made an insane 3 comebacks in this series.
That Spurs team with Wemby though is gonna be scary for the next decade.
I’m sure a lot of Kings related dialogue will be about Fox in the days, months, and maybe years to come when it comes to the Spurs, but I think Coach Brown should be in the forefront right now. He went from COY on the Kings to leading a different team to a Finals win in 36 months. He was coaching our Kings just 18 months ago. The guy is legit, as evidenced by the very impressive Knicks run.
Now couple that with Mike Malone achieving his heights after the Kings, and It’s clear as day who the blame is for this franchise.
Sell the team.
I don’t think the Knicks win the title this year if Thibs is still the HC. A lot of the credit should indeed go to Coach Brown.
Dolan didn’t sell the team. Maybe Vivek can be the “Dolan of the West”? Maybe we’re just a decade away from a championship lol?
A good GM would have to convince Vivek not to meddle & then that GM would need to build a title-winning team.
I never thought the day would come where we would say the Kangz need to follow the blueprint the Knicks laid lol. But it’s true at this point.
The more things change, the more Vivek stays the same.
Just wait until the Spurs fans start blaming the Kangz for denying them their championship because Vivek fired Mike Brown and traded Fox to them. It is…inevitable.
This is pretty wild.
Kind of feel for DDV.
SOOO happy for NYC. Can’t believe the Knicks won all 3 games in San Antonio. Didn’t think they had much of a chance at all before the series started.
…and 1 – the Knicks may be the present but hard to believe that the Spurs aren’t the future.
Agreed. The 3 young Spurs just got a life lesson and now I fear the rest of the league will feel their wrath for a long while
I’m getting Jordan’s Bulls vibes after losing to the Pistons for two straight years in the ECF in 89′ and 90′. They then went on to own the NBA in the 1990’s
It’s scary how good their young trio is, all 22 or under.
I honestly don’t think I’ve seen a rookie as poised and ready for ascension in the NBA finals like we just saw in Dylan Harper.
Seriously, how many NBA finals teams have a contributing all-rookie player on their roster? That’s just nuts.
1980 Magic Johnson went to the finals but got beat by Erving, i think.
No, Lakers in 6 with Magic replacing an injured Kareem in the post, going for 42 and 17
This was a great series and a terrific narrative like this series of NY vs SA was.
In the pivotal game 5 of a tough series tied 2-2, Kareem sprained his ankle in the middle of a tight 3rd quarter. Kareem, who had been mugged by Chocolate Thunder himself Daryl Dawkins and early-model-Gobert Caldwell Jones for five games, was the best player in the series averaging 31.8 pts, 13.5 reb, 3.8 ast, and 4.8 blocks in the first four games, went back to the locker room.
Magic and Jamaal “Smooth as Silk” Wilkes held off the Sixers for the rest of the quarter. Kareem came back, obviously hobbled, and dropped 14 in the fourth, draining sky hook after sky hook from areas that would be considered middie’s today. His trademark stoicism displaced by emotion and pain as he posted 40pts, 15 reb, and 4 blocks in the Lakers win.
Perfect set up the almost impossible to believe 6’9″ rookie point guard taking the jump ball to start game six, then steam rolling the Sixers with his 42-15-7 game as the origin story to one of the NBA’s true legends and one of the most competitive players ever.
Often overlooked in that game was the performance of Jamal Wilkes, who put up 37pts & 10reb as Stormin’ Norman Nixon had an off game going 1-10. I have been hoping and dreaming that the Kings would get a roster sorted properly for Keegan to have a clear role, as I still think Wilkes is what Keegan could be at his peak, a strong rebounding SF/PF who could guard 1-4, with strong outside shooting and excelled at filling the break. Sort of a forgotten good-to-great player, with a ROY award and three AS appearances, who averaged 18-6 for his career and an excellent defender. He would work well in today’s game, sort of a nē plus ultrā Mikael Bridges.
Given my love for player comps, a skill Adamsite is very good at, that Laker team had OG’s of a couple of King’s legends as well. Jimmy Chones was an early prototype of one of my All Time Top Ten Kings, Mr. Jason Thompson, and Mark Landsberger the obvious OG for a curious and lasting casting type, and fan favorite, Mr. Jon Brockman.
NBA pedigree goes a long way, not all the time but sometimes .
Rick and Jalen. Dell Curry and Dell Curry Jr. Just to name a few.
I figured that if the Spurs were ever going to overtake the Thunder as the best in the west, it wasn’t going to be until a few years later when Wemby had more experience and maturity, and when the Spurs found another major piece. It appears Wemby already has all the experience and maturity he needs, and they found that other piece in Harper.
Iron sharpens Iron type of vibe. He doesn’t even look fazed about anything. Just lock in.
Thank you geek boy!
Looks like he’s yelling “thank GOD I’m not in basketball hell anymore!!!”.
Presser highlight champ this NBA Finals has been Mike Brown.
His discussion that HE has to adapt to his talent and that he has to adapt even greater the greater the talent was Comment Gold for me.
Nice to see a franchise that hasn’t won in half a century take the title.
The Spurs have won plenty the last half century and their over/under on titles over the next 15 years has to be at least 3 me thinks.
The Knicks players and coaching staff definitely deserve the ring.
The NY fanbase however I strongly disagree.They deserve nothing.
The most disgusting creatures I’ve ever seen or heard of.
When those poor turtles and that rat got exposed to that toxic goo in the sewers many years ago in the 80’sThat place has never been the same since.
Once the series switched to NYC in game 3 and I saw all those annoying “celebrities” along the sidelines, I kind of started rooting for the Spurs. I don’t want to get political, so I won’t mention anything beyond that.
Put me in the “I don’t care about celebrities” and what they do. They are so insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
“OH look, it’s Ben Stiller in the front row…” Big freaking deal.
It was so annoying to watch in real time, and so on -brand with New York.
This finals is a good case study on how to build a championship-caliber team: the Spurs did it with the draft (Wemby, Castle, Harper, Champ, Vassell, Johnson) and the Knicks did it with trades. The highest draft pick by the Knicks currently in their roster? Pacome Dadiet who was drafted #24 in the 2024 draft and don’t forget Mitchell Robinson who they drafted at 36 in 2018.
So which path should the Kings follow? Neither. Because Kangz.
NY is always a free agent destination and that vibe will likely increase with a new championship. Don’t forget Brunson came via UFA and signed for a bargain deal (Knicks were also punished for speaking to him early in free agency) and hiring his dad first was savvy.
Randle and DDV also signed via free agency and they were flipped for KAT.
True, they made some good trades, but they also overpaid for Bridges. In the end, they made some smart moves and assembled a solid team where everyone understands their role. They didn’t just put together a bunch of random dudes who may average 20+ PPG, like the Kangz.
As to your question, currently the only way for the Kings to get good is through the draft, IMO.
Chris Jent was a Kings assistant coach and was let go the day after the Kings fired Michel Malone in 2014.
Brunson is to Brown what Jokic was to Malone.
The point is that coaches tend to look better with better players. When you see the distance between Cousins and Jokic, and right now everyone sees the distance between Fox and Brunson, the Kings can’t be treating and paying non-franchise players like they are franchise players.
Artest, Evans, Cousins, Fox…when the draft comes around, I hope the Kings can find somebody who isn’t a foul and turnover machine, who isn’t a blackhole, somebody who can get off the ground, somebody with a reliable jumper…
We had the Finals winning HC. So by your arguement, we never had a star player (joker, Brunson) while Brown was HC, and I 100 percent agree with that. But you wouldn’t know that by how much the Kangz were and are paying Domas and Fox.
And now the Spurs will be stuck with that contract.
Funny enough, I kind of think Domas makes a lot of sense for the Spurs. They need an ideal playmaking 4 next to Wemby and Wemby in turn would mask Domas’ deficiencies.
Spurs: Domas, DC.
Kings: Fox, FRP, Pick swap back.
This would be comical but actually kind of makes a lot of sense for both teams.
Kings are getting assets for taking on Fox’ contract. Kangz need a PG.
LOL, I’d put money on Fox not coming back to Sac. I really believe one of the many reasons he wanted out was the Kings made it clear they weren’t going to give him the max extension he got in San Antonio. The Spurs were one of the few teams that could offer that kind of contract, hence his desire to be traded there.
Sabonis earned his extension after being the catalyst for the Kings only playoff appearance in a generation. After things started to tailspin with the addition of DDR, it became clear the team wasn’t about to go all in with Fox as well.
The Kings made their bed when they gave Sabonis his extension and they weren’t about to pay $90+ million for multiple years to two middling stars.
As to Fox’s future, I think he ends up in Utah or Minny. Miami could be a dark horse candidate as well, depending on where Giannis ends up.
I think you are spot on when you mark the addition of DD as a crucial pivot point.
I love DD, he is one of my Top Ten players of all time (KAJ, Sidney Moncrief, Bobby Jones, Magic, Detleff Schrempf, Dan Roundfield, Larry Nance, Peja, & Michael Cooper). But things went off the rails with MB not figuring out how to integrate him, which might have been an impossible ask.
Sabonis had expressed that he really wanted to be the hub of the offense, Fox had worked well in that system, there were some defined roles for Monk and Keegan and Red Velvet, and the Beam Team had an identity and the mark of Brown’s personality. Once DD came in, none of that really worked, as he took the ball out of the hands of Domas, and without him as a hub, then the roles of Fox, Monk, Keegan, et all, no longer made sense, and that is when all of the grumbling started happening, with the fall out obvious.
With respect to Domas, I would rather see the Kings go back to using him as a hub next season and just letting DD go whether by trade or release. It does not even matter what you get back, almost anything will fit better even if the player is much worse. Same with Lavine. Whatever comes back is better than what he is to this team. When Domas is engaged he lifts the floor of the team considerably, and he is selfishly unselfish, wanting to be the hub so he can set up other players. I think Keegan would be better utilized, Monk could have his role back (I think his personality is important to the team), whatever rookie PG they end up picking could have an easier season with less pressure to be a playmaker, and as Jerry said, I think there is a way to have Maxime & Domas play together, and Maxime have the 10-14 minutes per game at Center when Tomas sits. It would likely increase Maxime’s verstatility, and Domas only has two years left on his contract and will be easier and easier to trade, especially if his value is built back up by average 18-13-7 again.
Fox to Minny in exchange for Randle makes sense for both teams; although I’m not a Randle fan.
What about Zion for Fox? I actually like the Zion fit next to Wemby and the Spurs and Heat are probably the two franchises that could get the most out of him, especially physically and keeping him in shape and healthy.
Giannis is the lynch pin for offseason trades.
Or at least that is the line we will be fed until something happens
If I had to guess, Giannis gets moved at the draft.
Wanna get crazy? Giannis for Chet, filler, and picks.
This is what I thought when Chet struggled with Wemby. OKC has all the picks in the world, and they need to offload some players before megadeals start to kick in.
Agreed. I think they don’t want their two picks this year as it’s just more guaranteed salary. I see them kicking those assets down the road or going big on a trade to gun for the title next season.
This is what I thought when Chet struggled with Wemby. OKC has all the picks in the world, talent they can’t even play, and they need to offload some future big salaries before megadeals for their young players start to kick in.
Yeah, I think Minny has to shake things up and they really need a PG to share the backcourt with ANT. We all know Fox shouldn’t be the alpha, and in Minny he wouldn’t be.
Fox for Randle and DDV is what works.
I’m not sure why N.O. would want Fox.
As to Miami a Fox for Wiggins and Jovic also works.
Funny that the kings should’ve made the fox for Randle trade 3+ years ago and kept Hali :/
Rich Paul would never play that card with Fox to Sacramento. No (NFW) way.
Spurs won’t sell Fox stock for at least another season, is my guess. Just like OKC is keeping Chet. Dumping a guy for a bad series after their All-Star regular season is a good way to a bad relationship and sends a worse message. I see it more in the NFL, but The Association doesn’t tend to operate that way (Vivek’s Kings notwithstanding)
Possibly Brooklyn, with some picks. I am convinced at how good Wemby is, but I think he’s going to follow Yao Ming health-wise, so Spurs picks in 5-7 years start to become a lot more valuable.
The huge contract Fox has, 200 million + was signed by the Spurs not Kings
Congrats to Coach Brown! Pretty wild to think 2 of the last 4 head coaches to win it all were Sacramento Kings coaches. Well maybe not wild.
Spurs have a ton of young talent that will compete for years to come, but man that Fox contract is not our’s and that feels pretty good. I’m not even a hater, but I’m glad we didn’t have to give him that deal.
I’m also blown away by the blown leads. It felt like the New York was constantly having to battle back from deficits, but maintained poise and composure.
Now on to the 7th pick and hopefully a good free agency.
Jalen Brunson just raised the stock of Darius Acuff, Jr IMHO.
Aday Mara also got a boost from the NBA Finals.
Players can now be traded. The season is over. Let the Off season begin!
In the really doesn’t matter today department:
I pick the OKC Thunder to win the Larry O’Brien next season.
Do you think that Fox might have lowered Flemings stock?
For all the comparisons, I feel that Flemings is a better( more efficient) shooter and a better defender and playmaker than Fox was at the same age. I been a big Flemings guy and it would be unfortunate for him if he was viewed in the same Fox type of archetype because I think that he’ll be a better player.
No, Fox is being questioned because of his decision making, not his size, nor lack of.
I think this does not effect Kingston Flemings in the least.
Another possible effect is making the 6’6″ Keaton Wagler and the 6’5″ Mikel Brown, Jr. more attractive due to the size of Derek Harper and Stephon Castle.
Im not one of those people that’s worried about Flemings size, that doesn’t bother me at all. Neither does his his IQ. I just dont want people thinking/comparing him to Fox because that’ll be a disservice to him.
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