[Aubin] Wemby on people calling him “too emotional” and “gay” for crying on the court: I think it’s first and foremost a fear of judgment. Like this feeling that you have to act a certain way, social codes, I guess. Personally, I refuse to carry the burden of having to hide my emotions.”
Jeremy Lin: How are the 8th seeded Magic up 3-1 on the 60 win Pistons
LeBron admits that people criticizing his Finals record used to bother him: “I am pissed off that I didn’t have a better winning percentage individually in the Finals, but for people to try to turn it into a negative, it doesn’t bother me like it did when I was younger.”
Michael Wilbon says Jordan attempted to ‘soften’ media criticism of LeBron James
Anthony Davis on his goals before retiring: “I haven’t got MVP. I haven’t got DPOY. I want the parade for a championship, so I want to be able to do that again… it’s still things I want to try to get. I want to get 20,000 points. I want to play 20 years.”
Rudy Gobert on Jaden McDaniels as a trash talker: “Jaden is a quiet shit talker, it took me a couple years to realize it. He will score a basket and you can’t read his lips but he’ll say ‘Bitch!’, and I’m like who said that? Jaden will almost whisper”
[Highlight] Avdija drives to the basket, and Wemby spikes it out of the building
Kevin Garnett’s Shai impression
THE PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM 2026 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION
Shaq “Wemby is the first perfect big man that’s ever created”
[Highlight] Victor Wembanyama “steals Camara’s soul”
[Post Game Thread] The Philadelphia 76ers (2-3) storm back to beat the Boston Celtics (3-2), 113-97, behind 33 points and 8 assists from Joel Embiid in his second game back after removing his appendix.
22yo phenom Victor Wembanyama’s averages in his first ever playoff series: 21.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 4.0 blocks on 58/54/91 splits (72 TS%)
The Spurs fans remind Deni Avdija of the tooth incident with De’Aaron Fox during his free throw, in a creative way.
[Fischer] The Lakers, Bulls and Nets are all potential suitors that will likely present Peyton Watson with an offer sheet that may cause “angst” in the Denver front office.
[Highlight] Teammates fail to restrain Avdija, who picks up a tech and taunts the crowd after foul on De’Aaron Fox
[Highlights] Jeremy Sochan full highlights vs. Atlanta Hawks last night (126-97 W) - Game 5 - First round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs:
10 Points on 4⁄4 FG, 1⁄1 from 3, 1⁄2 FT, 1 Rebound, and a +/- of +2 in 3:28 minutes played.
[Charania] The NBA has disclosed to its 30 GMs a singular new anti-tanking reform that expands the draft lottery to 16 teams, flattens odds, and have a relegation zone where the bottom 3 teams are penalized with fewer lottery balls for the No. 1 pick.
Victor Wembanyama across his First Career Playoff Series (Excluding His Concussion Game): 26.3 PTS | 60% FG% | 58% 3PT% | 95% FT% | 10.3 REBS | 5 BLKS | 74% TS%
Joel Embiid checks out in a gutsy win: 33/4/8 on 12⁄23 shooting.
[Post Game Thread] The San Antonio Spurs (4-1) defeat the Portland Trail Blazers (1-4), 114-95.
Hawks Sophomore #1 Overall Draft Pick Zaccharie Risacher in a 29-point blowout loss in Madison Square Garden: DNP-CD
Spurs are 32-3 in their last 35 games Wemby has played in
Jalen Brunson checks out in the win: 39/3/8 on 15⁄23 FG
Derrick White through 5 playoff games: 8.8 PPG/3.8 RPG/3.5 APG with 2 turnovers on .308/.241/.800 and a .425 TS%. Can Boston continue to win games if Derrick White doesn’t improve?
The knicks are +54 in a series they are up 3-2
[Post Game Thread] The New York Knicks (3-2) take care of business at home against the Atlanta Hawks (2-3), cruising to a 126-97 victory
[Charania] The expectation is, if the Lakers are able to beat Houston and advance, Luka Dončić will be out for the next series [against the Oklahoma City Thunder].
[All NBA Podcast] The Celtics ran 23 Isos in Game 5, getting just 0.39 points per direct action. It was the 4th-least efficient iso game for a team that ran that many actions in a playoff game in the entire tracking era
[Henderson] League sources including Doris Burke are saying the Portland Trailblazers treatment of Tiago Splitter is “the most vicious and disrespectful thing they’ve encountered in 30+ years” as they’re likely looking for the cheapest coach available
[Stein] NBA teams with the three worst records will have a 5.4% chance at the No. 1 overall pick. The teams that finish with 4th-worst through 10th-worst records will have a 8.1% chance at the No. 1 overall pick. The losers of the play-in games will receive 2.7% chance at the No. 1 overall pick.
[Highlight] Spurs open up a 26 point lead in the first 18 minutes with 3 by Wemby
Riley on gambling scandal: “It’s probably the most stupid thing that a player could do… But when you get in bed with gambling sites as a league and they advertise on your network, it seems like everything’s okay. To me that’s a contradiction of what we’re trying to do from a purity standpoint.”
FYI: Charania deleted the tweet about Luka not being available for the potential second round OKC series.
[All-Access] On the court in San Antonio with the Spurs as they celebrate their first round series victory. They head back to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2017.
[Charania] Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens has been named the 2025-26 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year. Stevens also won the award in 2023-24.
Jabari Smith Jr on the Lakers: “We’re obviously the better team.”
[Highlight] Jonathan Kuminga ELEVATES for the lob throw down in Madison Square Garden
[Highlight] The Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Boston Celtics 113-97 in Game 5 and will return to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Thursday. They outscored Boston 28-11 in the 4th quarter.
Victor Wembanyama in the win tonight: 17/14/3 with 6 blocks on 88.2% TS
[Shaq] “Wemby is the first perfect big man that’s ever created… in a long time he’s a joy to watch.”
[Highlight] Jalen Brunson cooks Dyson Daniels with the dribble move and scores the And-1 floater over Nickeil Alexander-Walker to give him a 30-piece (with replays).
Carmelo Anthony is excited with popcorn in his mouth.
[Amin] On cheap owners, the former Suns owner wanted to cut the roster to only the 7-8 guys Dantoni played, asked why coaches couldn’t fill in for 5 on 5 practice. Refused $100k to upgrade from Best Buy hard drives to an enterprise server. Thinks it was a factor in why Aldridge chose the Spurs in FA
[Highlights] Joel Embiid full highlights vs. Boston Celtics last night (113-97) - Game 5 - First Round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs:
33 Points on 12⁄23 FG (52.2%), 0/5 from 3, 9⁄10 FT, 4 Rebounds (1 Off. Reb), 8 Assists (3 TOV), 1 Block, 4 PF, and a +/- of +13 in 38:55 minutes played.
[Spencer Jones via LinkedIn] Opportunity is usually disguised as adversity.
[Meridian Sport Serbia] Pistons convince Isaac Bonga to come back to the NBA, he’s expected to sign for them after the conclusion of the Summer league in Las Vegas
[Highlight] Devin Vassell gets up to block Donovan Clingan at the rim
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Instagram: “Cancun on 3” on Dillon Brook’s jersey