For the first time in 53 years, New York rules the NBA. Jalen Brunson (6'1''-G-1996, college: Villanova) poured in 45 points, including 13 straight for the Knicks in the fourth quarter, as New York rallied past the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to capture the franchise's first championship since 1973.
The Knicks took the series 4-1 in fitting fashion by coming from behind. New York erased double-digit deficits in all four of its wins, and Saturday's 16-point climb felt almost routine after the largest comeback in Finals history three nights earlier, a 29-point rally to win Game 4 on O.G. Anunoby (6'7''-F-1997, college: Indiana)'s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left. "Whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it," said Brunson, who was named Finals MVP.
Brunson closed it out with a flourish, his 45 points setting a Knicks record for a Finals game, surpassing the 38 Willis Reed scored against the Lakers in 1970. Fellow "Nova Knicks" Mikal Bridges (6'6''-G/F-1996, college: Villanova) (14) and Josh Hart (6'5''-G-1995, college: Villanova) (13) combined for 27, completing a Villanova-forged trio's quest to win it all together in New York.
The decider followed the series' familiar script. San Antonio jumped to a double-digit first-quarter lead becoming the first team in the play-by-play era to lead five Finals games by 10-plus in the opening quarter and stretched it to 16 in a grim offensive half. The Knicks missed 16 of their first 18 shots, and at one point Victor Wembanyama (7'3''-C/F-2004) had more blocks (five) than New York had made baskets (four). But a 22-9 second-quarter surge dragged the Knicks back within three, and they eventually seized control. Dylan Harper (6'6''-G-2006, college: Rutgers) led the Spurs with 25, while Wembanyama posted 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in defeat.
For Brunson, the title carried a personal symmetry: he won two NCAA championships with Villanova in Texas Houston in 2016 and San Antonio in 2018 and now adds an NBA crown in the same state, the sweetest of the three.

Damian Lillard (6'3''-PG-1990, college: Weber St.) hasn't played in a game this season for the Portland Trail Blazers as he recovers from an Achilles tear, but when he stepped on the court for Saturday's All-Star 3-point shootout, it was Dame Time once again. Lillard won the competition with a final-round score of 29, edging Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (6'6''-SG-1996, college: Kentucky) and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel (6'7''-G/F-2005, college: Duke) to win for the third time in the past four years. Lillard's performance helped make the 3-point contest the featured attraction of All-Star Saturday night, outshining the dunk contest that featured a field of relatively unknown participants. "I came in confident, I'm fresh," Lillard said after the win. "I don't have to go out there and play 40 minutes, 35 minutes. I think just having this year to be away, my mind and body [are] just fresh. So, I came out there excited to do it." Lillard joined Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only other three-time winners of the event, which started in 1986. Lillard, 35, suffered a torn left Achilles in Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks ' first-round series against the Indiana Pacers in April and underwent successful surgery in May. Milwaukee waived him via the stretch provision in July, and he signed a three-year, $42 million contract to return to Portland, the franchise that drafted him and where he played his first 11 seasons. He is the second player to take part in the competition while rehabbing a torn Achilles. Denver Nuggets guard Voshon Lenard won the 3-point competition in 2004 and then participated in the event in Denver in 2005 to defend his crown while he was recovering from an Achilles tear he sustained on opening night with the Nuggets. Lillard said coming off the injured list to enter the competition for the sixth time in his career began as a joke. Lillard and Michael Levine, the NBA's senior vice president of entertainment and player marketing, were discussing their plans for All-Star vacations when the nine-time All-Star and member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary team offered to put his trip on hold to join the event. "I was like, 'If y'all need somebody to shoot, I'm available to do it,'" Lillard said. "We laughed about it, and he was like, 'It's full right now, but if something opens up, I'll let you know.'" Sure enough, a spot opened, and Levine reached out. "He was like, 'Were you serious about that?' And I was like, 'You know that I'm always serious. If there's a spot, sign me up,'" Lillard said. He faced a serious challenge from the other finalists. Booker led the eight-man group with a score of 30 in the first round, while Lillard and Knueppel advanced with a score of 27. In the final round, Knueppel scored 17, Lillard scored 29 and Booker, who won the 3-point shootout in L.A. in 2018, was the last to shoot. Booker had 27 points with his final three shots remaining in his "money ball" rack worth two points apiece and missed all three. "That'll sting me for some time," Booker said. Lillard was one of several high-profile players including Indiana's Tyrese Haliburtonand Boston's Jayson Tatum to suffer a torn Achilles in the playoffs last spring. Lillard's win Saturday was a tangible example of his rapid recovery from the injury, as was the news last week that Tatum had returned to full-contact practice with the Celtics' G League affiliate. "It's not the injury that it used to be, and I know that from my personal experience and how I feel now," Lillard said. "It's something you can come back and have another prime from, especially if you're a hard worker. I've been talking to [Tatum], and it's all he cares about is, 'I've got to get healthy, and I've got to be me.'"
The 3-point contest was followed by the Shooting Stars competition, which was won by the New York Knicks team that featured All-Star Jalen Brunson (6'1''-G-1996, college: Villanova); his father and Knicks assistant coach, Rick Brunson; New York big man Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-C/F-1995, college: Kentucky); and Knicks alumnus Allan Houston (6'6''-G-1971, college: Tennessee).

And the night finished with the dunk contest, which was won by Keshad Johnson (6'7''-F-2001, college: Arizona) of the Miami Heat. Johnson, a 6-6, second-year forward, beat San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant (6'8''-F-2005, college: Arizona) in the final round. Bryant scored the only perfect 50 dunk of the night by throwing an alley-oop off the court to himself and finishing the slam by putting the ball through his legs. But he couldn't pull off his final dunk, which involved an alley-oop off the backboard. Johnson clinched the victory by bouncing the ball off the floor and putting it between his legs before finishing a baseline reverse dunk. "Dunking is an art," Johnson said. "Everybody, we done seen crazy dunks. It's kind of hard to come up with new stuff each and every way, but don't nobody really dunk the same. Everybody has their own art that they're putting it onto something that somebody else has probably done before. "So me, I'm just going out there and putting my own flavor into it."
Courtesy of: espn.com

There wasn't champagne popping for the New York Knicks, but there was a sense of accomplishment as they clinched the NBA Cup over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. The Knicks believe how they won the Cup title mattered more than the actual act of winning, as their come-from-behind, 124-113 win could be a harbinger for down the line. "During the course of the year, you try to find situations to put pressure on your group," Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "This is a single-elimination tournament when you get to a certain point. Every game counts. There's pressure on every game if you expect to be who you think you are." If the Knicks will be the team that stands tallest in the Eastern Conference, they know Jalen Brunson (6'1''-G-1996, college: Villanova) is a constant. The Emirates NBA Cup MVP was slightly off but still scored 25 points with eight assists, and he made a point while accepting the award to point out the contributions of reserves who made the win happen: Tyler Kolek (6'3''-G-2001, college: Marquette), Mitchell Robinson (7'1''-C/F-1998, college: WKU) and Jordan Clarkson (6'3''-G-1992, college: Missouri). Clarkson, who came into the game shooting 28% from 3-point range, hit two such shots in a row to put the Knicks ahead by three, completing a comeback in which they trailed by 10 late in the third quarter. Robinson managed to grab 10 offensive rebounds (15 total) in 18 minutes while occupying Victor Wembanyama (7'3''-C/F-2004) down low. His rebounds often led to many of the Knicks' 15 3-point shots. Kolek, the player most financially incentivized to win the $500,000 prize, had critical assists late as the Knicks held off a Spurs rally in the final three minutes. "A game like this, an environment like this, you don't really see around the NBA too often," Brunson said. "We got to take advantage of the experience that we got here. I mean, those guys will. "Being down 10 in the third and them kind of controlling the game throughout the game. Us just finding a way. Going on the run in the fourth with the help of our bench, it was big-time." It doesn't quite simulate the NBA playoffs, especially as the Knicks beat teams like Charlotte and Milwaukee during group play. But their last three wins came against true playoff competitors: Toronto, Orlando and San Antonio. Brown was somewhat skeptical of the NBA Cup during its inception, but he sees the value in its third year. "That pressure is manufactured without you as a coach having to try to do it all the time," Brown said. "When you're able to have success doing it, it breeds confidence in everybody within the organization. That can propel you come the right time when you're in that environment to be able to handle the pressure because you've already been through it."

Courtesy of: espn.com

Anthony Edwards (6'5''-G-2001, college: Georgia) has said it boldly and confidently for years. He intends to be the best basketball player in the world. The Minnesota Timberwolves guard got to beat the World on Sunday, thanks to the NBA All-Star Game’s intriguing new format — and then he also beat a team of his fellow Americans to cap an MVP performance. Edwards led his “Stars” team past a “Stripes” squad featuring LeBron James (6'9''-SF-1984) and Kawhi Leonard (6'7''-F-1991, college: SDSU) 47-21 to win the final in this mini-tournament comprising the entertaining main event of All-Star weekend at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome. The NBA’s fourth All-Star format in four years matched two teams of Americans against a team representing everywhere else, hoping to stoke nationalistic passion from players and fans during an Olympic year. The results were solid, with three exciting mini-games in the round-robin tournament all going down to the buzzer before the blowout finale. “I like this format,” Edwards said. “I think it makes us compete because it’s only 12 minutes, and the three different teams separate the guys. I think it was really good.” Along with the late-game theatrics, the event generally appeared to be played at a higher level of competitiveness than most All-Star Games in recent years, suggesting the league might have finally cracked the code on the long-standing question of how to make this midseason showcase more entertaining. Edwards forced overtime with a clutch 3-pointer before Scottie Barnes hit a game-ending, overtime 3-pointer for his team in the opening mini-game against the World. De'Aaron Fox (6'3''-G-1997, college: Kentucky) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the second game for the slightly older Stripes over the slightly younger Stars. Leonard then thrilled his home crowd with a 31-point barrage for the Stripes in the final round-robin game, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left. The Stripes appeared to be gassed in the finale, but Edwards and his teammates didn’t let up. When asked to identify his most satisfying moment Sunday, Edwards replied: “Probably beating the World team.” Why? “Because they say they’re the best players in the world,” he replied. “So beating them is the best feeling in the world.” Already a four-time All-Star at 24 years old, the six-year NBA veteran has been on the world stage before, winning an Olympic gold medal two years ago in Paris. He has also led the Wolves to the Western Conference finals in two straight seasons. Edwards claimed his first All-Star MVP trophy — an award named for Kobe Bryant — with that tying 3-pointer to cap a 13-point effort in the first game, an 11-point performance in the second, and eight points in the anticlimactic final. The Inglewood crowd included former President Barack Obama, who received a standing ovation pregame — and even motivated Edwards’ performance. “He’s my favorite person in the world,” Edwards said. “We were kicking it (Saturday). Me and him had a great time. I told him I was going to put on a show for him.” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver thanked the All-Stars for playing hard when he presented the championship trophy to the Stars. Victor Wembanyama effectively challenged his fellow All-Stars to take this game seriously, and they largely appeared to do it. Despite going 0-2, Wembanyama led the World team in scoring in both games with 14 points in the opener and 19 in the third game. “It felt good to be out there with greats, new and old, and even international guys, too,” Kevin Durant (6'10''-PF-1988, college: Texas) said. “Hopefully we just build upon this and the weekend becomes more and more competitive.” The World team was loaded with talent, but went 0-2 after NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic (6'7''-G-1999) and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic (7'0''-C-1995) both sat out the second game, likely to preserve the health of two superstars who have struggled with injury in the past month. Giannis Antetokounmpo (6'11''-F-1994, agency: Octagon Europe) also didn’t suit up at all.

First game
Barnes’ 3-pointer in overtime pushed the Stars past the World 37-36. Edwards forced OT on a 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds left in regulation, and he hit a 14-footer to begin the first-to-five-points overtime period. Wembanyama made a 3-pointer, but Raptors star Barnes ended it by draining his only shot of the game.

Second game
Donovan Mitchell (6'3''-G-1996, college: Louisville) took a pass under the net from James and kicked it out to Fox on the perimeter for the winner. Jaylen Brown led the Stripes with 11 points, and James scored eight to begin his record 21st All-Star appearance. A few hours beforehand, James said the game’s presence in the Los Angeles area meant “nothing, because this is not our building. This is a road game.” Indeed, the Clippers fans in Intuit Dome booed James and Doncic whenever they touched the ball.

Third game

Leonard utterly dominated even before his clutch 3-pointer to cap the Stripes’ 48-45 victory. Leonard thrilled his home crowd with a dynamic effort, going 11 of 13 and 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. The seven-time All-Star made his first seven shots with five 3-pointers amid raucous cheers from the extra-steep supporters’ section called The Wall behind one basket at this futuristic 18-month-old arena. James put the Stripes ahead with 31 seconds left on a putback dunk, but Wembanyama hit two free throws to tie it before Leonard called game. Jokic and Doncic didn’t play, leaving the World with just seven players.
Courtesy of: apnews.com

MVP: Anthony Edwards (6'5''-G-2001) of Minnesota T.

nba all-star USA Stars 2026

Cunningham

Maxey

Booker

Edwards

Duren

USA Stars [Winner]
Cade Cunningham (6'6''-G-2001) of Detroit P.
Tyrese Maxey (6'4''-PG-2000) of Philadelphia 76
Devin Booker (6'6''-SG-1996) of Phoenix S.
Anthony Edwards (6'5''-G-2001) of Minnesota T.
Jalen Duren (6'10''-F/C-2003) of Detroit P.
Scottie Barnes (6'7''-F-2001) of Toronto R.
Chet Holmgren (7'1''-F/C-2002) of OKC Thunder
Jalen Johnson (6'8''-F-2001) of Atlanta H.

Head Coach: John-Blair Bickerstaff of Detroit Pistons

nba all-star USA stripes 2026

Brown

Brunson

James

Leonard

Durant

USA Stripes [Finalist]
Jaylen Brown (6'6''-G/F-1996) of Boston C.
Jalen Brunson (6'1''-G-1996) of NY Knicks
LeBron James (6'9''-SF-1984) of LA Lakers
Kawhi Leonard (6'7''-F-1991) of LA Clippers
Kevin Durant (6'10''-PF-1988) of Houston R.
Brandon Ingram (6'9''-SF-1997) of Toronto R.
Donovan Mitchell (6'3''-G-1996) of Cleveland C.
De'Aaron Fox (6'3''-G-1997) of San Antonio S.

Head Coach: Mitch Johnson of San Antonio Spurs

nba all-star team world 2026

Doncic

Jokic

Wembanyama

Avdija

Murray

Team World [Third Place]
Luka Doncic (6'7''-G-1999) of LA Lakers
Nikola Jokic (7'0''-C-1995) of Denver N.
Victor Wembanyama (7'3''-C/F-2004) of San Antonio S.
Deni Avdija (6'9''-F-2001) of Portland TB
Jamal Murray (6'4''-SG-1997) of Denver N.
Alperen Sengun (6'11''-C-2002) of Houston R.
Pascal Siakam (6'9''-F-1994) of Indiana P.
Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-C/F-1995) of NY Knicks
Norman Powell (6'4''-SG-1993) of Miami H

Head Coach: Darko Rajakovic of Toronto Raptors

Team Vince (Winner)
Carter Bryant (6'8''-F-2005) of San Antonio S.
Matas Buzelis (6'10''-F-2004) of Chicago B.
Egor Demin (6'9''-G-2006) of Brooklyn N.
VJ Edgecombe (6'5''-G-2005) of Philadelphia 76
Kyshawn George (6'7''-SF-2003) of Washington W.
Derik Queen (6'10''-C-2004) of N.Orleans P.
Jaylen Wells (6'7''-F-2003) of Memphis G.

Ace Bailey (6'10''-SF-2006) of Utah Jazz
Stephon Castle (6'6''-G-2004) of San Antonio S.
Donovan Clingan (7'2''-C-2004) of Portland TB
Jeremiah Fears (6'2''-G-2006) of N.Orleans P.
Dylan Harper (6'6''-G-2006) of San Antonio S.
Collin Murray-Boyles (6'7''-F-2005) of Toronto R.
Reed Sheppard (6'3''-G-2004) of Houston R.

Honorary Coach: Carmelo Anthony

Team Austin (Semifinals)
Sean East II (6'3''-G-1999) of SLC Stars
Hansen Yang (7'1''-C-2005) of Portland TB
Ron Harper Jr. (6'6''-F-2000) of Boston C.
Alijah Martin (6'2''-G-2001) of Toronto R.
Tristen Newton (6'5''-G-2001) of Houston R.
Yanic Niederhauser (7'1''-F-2003) of LA Clippers
Jahmir Young (6'1''-G-2000) of Miami H.

Carlton Carrington (6'4''-G-2005) of Washington W.
Tre Johnson (6'6''-G-2006) of Washington W.
Kon Knueppel (6'7''-G/F-2005) of Charlotte H.
Zaccharie Risacher (6'10''-F-2005) of Atlanta H.
Cam Spencer (6'4''-G-2000) of Memphis G.
Jaylon Tyson (6'7''-G-2002) of Cleveland C.
Kel'el Ware (7'0''-C-2004) of Miami H.

Damian Lillard (6'3''-PG-1990) of Portland TB (Winner)
Devin Booker (6'6''-SG-1996) of Phoenix S. (Finalist)
Kon Knueppel (6'7''-G/F-2005) of Charlotte H. (Finalist)
Donovan Mitchell (6'3''-G-1996) of Cleveland C.
Norman Powell (6'4''-SG-1993) of Miami H.
Jamal Murray (6'4''-SG-1997) of Denver N.
Tyrese Maxey (6'4''-PG-2000) of Philadelphia 76

Bobby Portis (6'10''-PF-1995) of Milwaukee B.

Team Knicks (Winner)
Jalen Brunson (6'1''-G-1996) of NY Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-C/F-1995) of NY Knicks
Allan Houston (6'6''-G-1971) of NY Knicks

Team Cameron (Finalist)
Kon Knueppel (6'7''-G/F-2005) of Charlotte H.
Jalen Johnson (6'8''-F-2001) of Atlanta H.
Corey Maggette (6'6''-G-1979) of Charlotte B.

Team Harper (Semifinals)
Dylan Harper (6'6''-G-2006) of San Antonio S.
Ron Harper Jr. (6'6''-F-2000) of Boston C.
Ron Harper (198-SG-1964) of LA Lakers

Team All-Star (Semifinals)
Scottie Barnes (6'7''-F-2001) of Toronto R.
Chet Holmgren (7'1''-F/C-2002) of OKC Thunder
Richard Hamilton (6'7''-G-1978) of Chicago B.

Keshad Johnson (6'7''-F-2001) of Miami H. (Winner)
Carter Bryant (6'8''-F-2005) of San Antonio S. (Finalist)
Jaxson Hayes (7'0''-C/F-2000) of LA Lakers
Jase Richardson (6'3''-G-2005) of Orlando M.