The NBA Finals Shift Back to New York | HOOPS, 6/8/26
The Knicks look to go up 3-0 in the series tonight.
R.I.P. Stacey King (1967 - 2026)
We had another tremendous loss in the world of the NBA as 3-time NBA champion and longtime Bulls’ announcer Stacey King passed away suddenly on Sunday at the age of 59.
King won three titles in his career as part of the Bulls’ three-peat team from 1991-1993 and played for eight seasons before transitioning into a role as a Bulls’ broadcaster. King has been one of the Bulls’ key commentators for more than 20 years, endearing himself to new generations with his iconic calls and incredible enthusiasm for the game.
Sending love out to all of King’s family, friends, loved ones, and Bulls fans.
Chicago games won’t sound quite the same ever again.
Can the Spurs Get Back into the Series in Game 3?
The NBA Finals is headed to the Garden as the Knicks will look to take a 3-0 series lead in the first Finals game at MSG since 1999.
So far this series, the Knicks have been able to weather just about everything the Spurs have thrown at them, keeping the games close and then using late, clutch playmaking to get two wins in San Antonio.
Victor Wembanyama has been putting up good numbers on paper but watching the games, it’s impossible to ignore just how well Karl-Anthony Towns has done against Wemby both defensively and attacking him on offense. How Wemby, who is still just 22 years old, responds is going to be what makes or breaks the rest of this series.
Against OKC, Wembanyama had a disappointing Game 5, scoring 20pts but going just 4-15 from the field as the Spurs dropped to a 3-2 deficit. He responded in Games 6 & 7 with the type of dominant performances we’ve come to expect from the young superstar.1
The atmosphere in the Garden for Game 3 is going to be nothing short of a circus for more than a few reasons. I’m fascinated at the thought of all the players on both teams having to try and block out the noise and if the emotion of the Knicks’ fans will be too much for the Spurs to come back from. They were able to silence the crowd in OKC but with the Knicks now up to 13-straight post season wins, this feels like an entirely different mountain for them to climb.
Will the Outside Distractions Impact the Knicks?
The “Keep Politics Out of Sports Crowd” has been suspiciously quiet as reports have confirmed that President Trump will be attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden at the invitation of owner James Dolan. As a result, fans have been told the heightened security measures put in place means they should arrive hours early for a “secret service level” security check.2
On top of that, it also means that all watch parties outside and around the arena have been cancelled. Yes, that means if the Knicks win there’s a very real chance we won’t get a new Sidetalk as a result. I'm just as disappointed as you are.
A few players have been asked about the situation and have given a variety of responses when asked about the polarizing president attending the game.
Karl Anthony Towns
“I mean, we’ve got to be desperate for these fans. The fans have earned the right, deserve the right to see Finals basketball be played here at Madison Square Garden. For this to be the first game in a long time that they’ve seen Finals basketball, it’s up to bring it. Give them something to cheer for, give them something to get loud for, and also to give them something to believe in.”“We’ve talked about the word hope. Hope has been brought back to the city. We’ve revitalized that word. But the word success hasn’t been seen in this city in a long time. So, we have to continue to fight to bring that word back to fruition.”
Josh Hart
"The environment, the atmosphere is gonna be electric, obviously, and we're happy that we're at home and we have them at our back. I kind of wish the ticket prices weren't as crazy as they are. A lot of people who have been waiting for this moment for a very long time, unfortunately, aren't able to get into the building. The cheapest ticket, $7-8,000, that's ridiculous."3
There’s a cruel reflection of the country’s status at large on display here considering thousands of Knicks fans who are priced out of attending the game will also then be driven away from watch parties and social gatherings to celebrate their favorite team all so a billionaire can attend despite having been a very vocal critic of the league for years.
It’s anyone’s guess how this PR stunt is going to actually go. Will the Knicks fans boo if he’s shown on the jumbotron? Will he be gone before halftime? If the Knicks lose the game, will fans blame this shift in vibes? I feel like we’ve hit a point where literally anything can happen and it’s a shame that in an NBA Finals that has been marked by tremendous on-court performances, it’s something like this that threatens to overshadow and derail the entire thing.
At the Buzzer
- 76ers’ promote Jameer Nelson to Executive VP of Basketball Operations, Elton Brand will not return as GM but is expected to find new role with the team
- NBA finally interviews Kawhi Leonard regarding Aspiration investigation
- NBA Finals Game 1 averaged 17M+ viewers, most in eight years4
- Minnesota Timberwolves unveil new uniforms, logos, and courts
This Week’s NBA Finals Schedule
Tonight: Game 3 - Spurs at Knicks (Knicks lead 2-0, 8:30pm est/5:30pm pst on ABC)
Wednesday: Game 4 - Spurs at Knicks (8:30pm est/5:30pm pst on ABC)
Saturday: Game 5 (if necessary) - Knicks at Spurs (8:30pm est/5:30pm pst on ABC)
Thank you so much for reading, I hope everyone reading this had a great weekend and is doing well so far to start the new week off. This week’s schedule will be slowing down a bit more so I’ll be back Tuesday to recap Game 3 and then again on Thursday to break down Game 4 and what may be the end of the series. Please consider subscribing for free to make sure you don’t miss any posts but if not, that’s okay too. Most important: thank you for taking a little bit of time out of your day to check these out. Take care.
Game 6 Wemby had 28pts/12r/3blk and Game 7 he had 22pts/7r/1stl/1blk.
I don’t know what makes it a secret service level security check, especially when you consider there’s been multiple assassination attempts on Trump in the last few months, all of which have felt like pretty big secret service oopsies.
While this is a different issue entirely, the Game 3 get-in price (lowest ticket available) is up to $6,477 which is the most expensive in Finals history.
The last matchup between Steph Curry and LeBron in the 2018 Finals