The 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs were the most-watched championship series since 1998, averaging 20 million viewers across the first five games on ABC and ESPN—a massive 116% increase over the previous year.

The historic series, which culminated in the Knicks securing their first championship since 1973, dominated both television and digital media. Game 4 drew an average of 20.9 million viewers (peaking at 23.2 million), making it the most-watched Game 4 since Michael Jordan’s last dance with the Chicago Bulls in 1998.

The 2026 NBA Finals smashed digital records, generating a whopping 15 billion views across social media platforms. Game 4 alone, which saw the Knicks overcome a 29-point lead, generated over 4 billion views.

The boost in fan interest was driven by three major factors: 1) a new partnership with NBC and Amazon Prime expanded the league’s audience reach; 2) a massive New York market that couldn’t get enough of its beloved Knicks; 3) global intrigue surrounding 22-year-old French superstar Victor Wembanyama.

Because of the 7-foot-5 Wembanyama, the Spurs consistently fueled global engagement, and it kept growing as they advanced in the playoffs. The Western Conference finals between San Antonio and Oklahoma City finished as the most-watched conference finals in 24 years with an average of 10.8 million viewers per game on NBC/Peacock. San Antonio’s victory over OKC in Game 7 averaged 15.9 million viewers, peaking with 17.7 million viewers.

The Wemby era in the NBA is clearly underway. Business is booming thanks to Wemby and four other franchise players.

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Each year, OneManFastBreak.net ranks the five best players in the NBA. The OMFB Furious Five pays homage to the five styles of Chinese martial arts: snake, crane, monkey, praying mantis, and tiger.

The ranking system is based on one man’s opinion and does not follow or conform to any standard format, with more emphasis placed on how each player and their respective teams performed in the postseason. Stars are born during the regular season, but legends are made in the playoffs.

In 2025, OMFB Furious Five featured Jalen Brunson (5), Giannis Antetokounmpo (4), Tyrese Haliburton (3), Nikola Jokic (2), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1).

Without further ado, here are the five best basketball players in the world.

5-CADE CUNNINGHAM
Detroit Pistons, guard

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the best part about Cade Cunningham is his team-first mentality. Bickerstaff said Cunningham’s stardom never came at the expense of anyone else on the Detroit roster.

“He’s a guy who can continue to get better and do more, and never have to invade your space as his teammate. He doesn’t have to take the food off of your plate in order for him to get full. As good as he is as a basketball player, he’s an even better person,” Bickerstaff said about his unselfish 24-year-old superstar.

Cunningham is the biggest reason why the Pistons are relevant again. He controls the pace with his remarkable dexterity at 6-6 and maturity. The man they call Motorcade established himself as one of the premier point guards in the league. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick made first-team All-NBA and earned All-Star honors.

Cunningham had a better season offensively in 2025 (26.1 points per game) than in 2026 (23.9 PPG) but he became a much better overall player in his fifth year. He also increased his assists per game from 9.1 to 9.9 (second in the league).

Behind their dynamic playmaker, the Pistons put together a conference-best 60-22 record — the franchise’s first 60-win season since the 2005-06 season. However, the season ended in disappointment as the Pistons were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals, losing in Game 7 at home.

4-NIKOLA JOKIC
Denver Nuggets, center

Nikola Jokic has been so consistently good the past five years that we’ve grown accustomed to his basketball brilliance. The Serbian big man is just one of nine players in NBA history to win at least three MVPs, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five), Wilt Chamberlain (four), LeBron James (four), Larry Bird (three), Magic Johnson (three) and Moses Malone (three).

Jokic pieced together another triple-double season, averaging 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists. He became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounds and assists. But the postseason was a completely different story for Jokic and the Nuggets. Denver, which entered the playoffs with championship aspirations, ran into a roadblock in the form of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves stunned the Nuggets and eliminated them in six games.

Jokic did all he could to push the Nuggets forward, but he simply ran out of gas and got worn down by Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, who played a brilliant series defensively and made the Joker work for every basket. Jokic shot an abysmal 19.4% from behind the 3-point line and made just 44% of his field goals.

It has been three years since the Joker won an NBA title, and he doesn’t seem to be getting closer on winning a second. Time will tell where Jokic will land on the all-time list of great centers. For Jokic to have a seat at the table with the likes of Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Moses, Hakeem, Shaq, and Duncan, he’ll need to win one more championship.

3-SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
Oklahoma City Thunder, guard

SGA brags that he has all the answers to the test. He just needs the questions. SGA was partially correct. He did have the answers to almost every team in the league. There was one team that befuddled the reigning MVP — the Spurs. Shai and the Thunder played the San Antonio Spurs 12 times. Five times during the regular season and seven times in the playoffs. OKC went 1-4 against San Antonio in the season, and lost to the Spurs in an epic seven-game series in the Western Conference finals.

Despite authoring an amazing MVP campaign, averaging 31.1 points per game, SGA felt the season was a failure because he couldn’t lead his team back to the NBA Finals.

“It was a failure. I failed at my goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve. But through those experiences, I learned the most about myself and made the greatest amount of increases in my career when I fail.”

SGA embodies the qualities of a throwback player who understands the importance of consistency. Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder finished with the best record in the NBA (64-18) and boasted the league’s best defense. If the Spurs didn’t exist the Thunder might be celebrating another championship.

SGA’s reputation took a hit during the 2026 playoffs. Opposing teams and their fans, as well as many basketball fans who follow the NBA on social media, were annoyed by Gilgeous-Alexander’s proclivity for foul baiting. In other words, SGA was flopping around like a fish to sell calls. Journalist Tom Haberstroh, best known for his data-driven analysis, analyzed SGA’s shot attempts and found that he fell to the ground 51% of the time when contacted by a defender, far and away the highest percentage among the top scorers in the league. In addition, SGA fell to the ground 10.7% of his field-goal attempts where no foul was called. He easily outpaced James Harden (8.7%) and Jalen Brunson (7.9%).

Being viewed as a flopper isn’t the moniker a two-time MVP would want to have, and the level of mockery reached a fever pitch on social media. One of the AI-generated videos posted on social media showed Gilgeous-Alexander rolling on the locker room floor practicing his flops.

During the conference finals, fans in San Antonio chanted “Flopper! Flopper!” whenever SGA had the ball.

Gilgeous-Alexander is too good of a player to be foul baiting. It sends a terrible impression that he’s seeking the help of referees to boost his scoring stats. If he doesn’t change his ways, the “flopper” tag might follow SGA for the rest of his career.

2-VICTOR WEMBANYAMA
San Antonio Spurs, Center

If there was one image that captured Victor Wembanyama’s dominance in the 2026 NBA playoffs, it was when he blocked Jalen Williams’ shot to cap off a historic game in his conference finals debut. He stood in front of the San Antonio Spurs bench for a few seconds to soak in the moment. He knew his moment had arrived. It was his world now, and his teammates reacted as if he was some mythical superhero who came to Earth to save us from an alien invasion.

Wemby certainly looked like a superhero in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against defending NBA champion Oklahoma City. On a night when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second consecutive regular-season MVP award, Wembanyama dropped 41 points, grabbed 24 rebounds, and had three blocks to lead the Spurs to a thrilling double-overtime road victory. His 40-20 effort at this stage of the postseason with so much on the line put him in elite company, joining Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Shaquille O’Neal.

“I still got a lot to learn, and I feel like I want to get that trophy many times in my career,” Wembanyama told reporters after the game.

Wemby is just barely starting his basketball odyssey, but he has already accomplished a lot in three short years. He won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2024. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2026, making history as both the youngest recipient (at 22 years old) and the first-ever unanimous winner of the award. He made the All-NBA first team for the first time in 2026. He turned the San Antonio Spurs — a team that won 56 games in 2024 and 2025 — into a 60-win juggernaut.

Head coach Mitch Johnson, meanwhile, sang Wembanyama’s praises. “He has a rare desire to step into every moment that’s in front of him,” Johnson told reporters. “I think he’s showed in his three years in a lot of different situations and a lot of different circumstances that he is going to attack those moments.”

Wemby’s historic Game 1 set the tone for the series. For the rest of the series, he reminded the basketball world who the real MVP is, averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, and scoring at least 20 points in every game. He did a little bit of everything — dunks, blocks, playing point guard even — to keep control on the way to leading the Spurs to a Game 7 win in OKC to knock out the defending champs and reach his first NBA Finals.

He was the unanimous pick as conference finals MVP. He carried that trophy into the locker room after the game, screaming in joy at supporters and teammates. “You work all these hours; it’s for these types of emotions,” Wembanyama said. “I want to win so bad. It’s like my life depends on it.”

Wembanyama was the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. In just three short years, he turned the Spurs from a lottery team into a championship contender.

Most pundits have already crowned Wembanyama as the best player in the game, and some suggested that he is now the face of the league. OMFB is not ready to crown him just yet.

Wemby and the Spurs learned a painful lesson when they reached the NBA Finals. They found out there is another level to be reached in order to raise a championship banner. The loss in the NBA Finals is the reason why Wemby is ranked No. 2 on the OMFB list. He can’t be the king of basketball if he doesn’t have a crown. He’ll have to wait his turn.

And now, the No. 1 player in the world. Drum roll please . . .

1-JALEN BRUNSON
New York Knicks, guard

If there was any doubt that Jalen Brunson is the best player, check out his trophy collection. He has the NBA Cup trophy. He has the Larry O’Brien trophy. He won NBA Cup MVP. He won the Larry Bird Eastern Conference finals MVP. He won the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP.

When you’re holding every major trophy in the NBA calendar year, you have a very strong case to be No. 1.

“I put a lot of time and effort into trying to be the best player I can,” said the 29-year-old guard, who averaged 32.6 points per game in the Finals. He saved his best for last, dropping 45 points (including 15 in the fourth quarter) in the series-clinching Game 5 on the road. It was the most points scored in a Finals close-out game since Michael Jordan did it in 1998.

Brunson is a winner. He has won at every level of basketball. Along with this season’s trophies and MVP awards, his resume includes two NCAA tournament titles at Villanova, a National College Player of the Year award and a FIBA U19 World Cup gold medal. Now, he’s an NBA champion.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle — considered one of the game’s elite defenders — guarded Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the playoffs. Castle highlighted the differences between the two guards. He noted that while SGA is a threat when he is driving to the basket, Brunson gets to his spots and makes those angles count.

“I’d say they’re very similar in ways,” Castle said. “Obviously, Jalen’s left-handed, Shai’s right-handed. But I think Shai is more of a threat to get all the way downhill, all the way to the basket. I think Jalen likes to use angles a lot more, uses probably a little bit more pump fakes than Shai. But yeah, most of it is angles and trying to get to his spots and not really trying to draw fouls as much, but trying to get to his mid-range and get to spots the way he likes.”

Brunson’s ability to create near-impossible angles makes him an extremely difficult player to cover. He also left-handed, which adds another layer of challenge for defenders. Despite his lack of superior athleticism and ideal size — he’s listed at 6-2 — Brunson is one of the most gifted scorers in the NBA, averaging at least 26 points per game the past three seasons.

Brunson is the most impactful player to wear a Knicks jersey since Patrick Ewing. He has only been a New York Knick for four years, but winning a championship and ending a 53-year championship drought puts him in a pantheon reserved for names like Ruth, Mantle, Jeter, Namath, Taylor, Reed, and Frazier.

The former Villanova standout was named to the 2026 All-NBA second team and earned the moniker Captain Clutch for his ability to deliver big shots in the biggest moments.

“He’s a gamer, man,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said about his point guard.

“In the biggest moments, he shows up,” Brown continued. “That’s what MVPs are supposed to do. We put the ball in his hands, and we live and die with him.”

The Knicks rode the back of the Brunson bandwagon throughout their championship run in 2026. Brunson accounted for 31% of the Knicks’ offense, and his teammates didn’t seem to mind that he took nearly all the important shots. That belief in their captain is what gave Brunson all the confidence in the world, and he rewarded his team with masterful performances in the NBA Finals. The Spurs held double-digit leads in each of the five games, but lost four of them. Brunson simply refused to let his team lose. His unflappable demeanor down the stretch is what carried the Knicks across the finish line.

The Knicks had four winning seasons in a 21-year span before Brunson arrived. They’ve had four winning seasons since Brunson’s arrival. They’ve now won eight playoff series with Brunson in the lineup. They won seven total from 1998 through 2022.

It’s time to give the man his flowers. Jalen Brunson is the best player in the world.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. He hosts a sports podcast on YouTube @onemanfastbreak1.

Jalen Brunson entered a sports pantheon reserved for legendary figures. Names such as Ruth, Mantle, Jeter, Taylor, Namath, Reed, and Frazier are revered in New York.

Brunson added his name to this exclusive club after leading the New York Knicks to their first NBA title since 1973. Brunson will be worshiped like a conquering hero for the rest of his life. His story will be told thousands of times. There will be a generation of young players who will emulate him. His legend will only grow as time passes.

Because he brought home an NBA championship to New York, Brunson earned a special badge of honor. When you win a basketball chip for New York, you get extra special treatment and recognition. He is arguably the greatest Knickerbocker. Basketball is deeply embedded in the fabric of New York. There are dozens of basketball courts spread across the five boroughs. And outside of a few pockets of Nets fans across Brooklyn, the vast majority of New Yorkers are Knicks fans.

“People don’t understand the weight of that jersey,” Knicks forward Josh Hart, Brunson’s teammate at Villanova, said about being a New York Knick.

Brunson understood the weight of wearing a New York Knicks jersey. He understood the assignment when he signed a team-friendly four-year, $104 million free agent contract in 2022. In four years, Brunson did something other Knicks greats like Patrick Ewing, Bernard King, and Carmelo Anthony couldn’t do. The fan base loved all of them. But none of them completed the job. Brunson was the one who carried the Knicks across the finish line. He won a chip. He ended decades of heartache and misery for a proud franchise.

Brunson has only been a New York Knick for four years, but winning a championship puts him on a whole different level.

“He’s a top-three MVP candidate,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said of his point guard, who received the Bill Russell award for winning MVP of the 2026 NBA Finals.

“People say he’s too small,” Brown said. “People say he’s a 1-B or 2-B or whatever. He is a freaking 1-A. He is an MVP candidate, and I hope — and I’m talking to the media more than the fans — I hope you guys recognize what this man is about because he is an A1 MVP. He is him. He is him.

“Jalen Brunson is him when it comes to New York basketball. He is freaking him, man.”

Brunson, who is listed at 6-2, became the fourth second-round pick to win Finals MVP. The last second-round pick to win Finals MVP was Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in 2023.

Despite winning two NCAA titles at Villanova, Brunson kept hearing the same negative scouting reports. Too short. Too slow. But all he does is win. He keeps proving the doubters wrong. He certainly made a believer out of the San Antonio Spurs.

The Knicks captain averaged 32.6 points per game in the five-game series against the Spurs. He didn’t shoot particularly well (42.1% from the field), but he was magical when it mattered most. He scored 15 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5. It was the most points scored in a road close-out game of the NBA Finals since Michael Jordan did it in 1998.

Game 5 played out the same as the previous four Finals games. The Spurs jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter. The Knicks slowly chipped away. The Spurs struggled to close out the game. Once the game got tight, it was Brunson — dubbed Captain Clutch for making big shots in the weighty moments — who seized the moment and put the Knicks on his back.

Brunson made a driving layup with 4:38 left in the fourth to tie the game at 83, capping off a 10-0 Knicks run. Then with 3:40 remaining, he drew a foul on Devin Vassell while shooting a 3-point shot. He knocked down all three free throws to give the Knicks the lead at 86-85.

Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his fifth foul with 1:53 left while defending 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs pushed the lead to 88-86 after Wemby made one of two free throws.

After Spurs rookie Dylan Harper tied the game at 88 with a short turnaround jumper in the paint, Brunson delivered a quick and decisive response on the next possession as he dribbled past Stephon Castle, who made him work for every shot in the series, with a floater from inside the dotted lines to give the Knicks the lead at 90-88 with 1:06 remaining in the game.

The Knicks never relinquished the lead. Brunson finished Game 5 making 14 of 27 shots from the field and four of seven 3-pointers. It was his fourth game with 30-plus points. No other Knick scored more than 14 points in Game 5, and only four tallied double figures.

“He is generationally great offensively,” Knicks guard Landry Shamet said of Brunson, the NBA’s clutch player of the year in 2025.

“There’s not a whole lot to say,” Shamet added. “We all saw it. He carried us in many different ways. What he does is not really a surprise to us anymore.”

When a reporter asked Brunson if he felt any added pressure to deliver a title to New York, he said there was “no pressure whatsoever.”

“I’ve described pressure in the past, my dad being on eight or nine unguaranteed contracts for his career,” Brunson said. “Not knowing whether he’ll get cut, when a team needs to move on from you while your family is on the East Coast or wherever you are in the country, that’s pressure.”

Jalen Brunson witnessed his dad, Rick, work out three times a day in the summertime and watched him push himself just to get a training camp call-up. He said that was real pressure.

“I’m very fortunate to be in the position I am, and I’d like to think I’ve worked pretty hard,” the 29-year-old Brunson said. “So when an opportunity presents itself like it did [in Game 5], I just trust my work. I’m never afraid to fail.”

Brunson has skyrocketed into the national consciousness this postseason after barely being a blip on the radar. The NBA is seeing historic viewership thanks to Brunson’s Knicks and Wemby’s Spurs. The Knicks-Spurs series averaged nearly 20 million viewers, the highest viewership in 28 years. The basketball world is now seeing what New York has known.

Euphoric New Yorkers flooded the streets to celebrate the Knicks’ historic moment, many of them chanting Brunson’s name. One New York superfan captured what many Knicks fans feel about their newest idol.

“Jalen Brunson is my doctor. He’s my engineer. He’s my mechanic. He’s my subway driver. He’s my pilot. He’s my dad,” the fan said.

“Everything I did was for Jalen Brunson.”

The Knicks had four winning seasons in a 21-year span before Brunson arrived. They’ve had four winning seasons since Brunson’s arrival. They’ve now won eight playoff series with Brunson in the lineup; they won seven series, total, from 1998 through 2022. With Brunson leading the way, the Knicks have been to two conference semifinals, two conference finals, and one NBA Finals.

After completing a season in which he led the Knicks to an NBA Cup title and the franchise’s first NBA title in five decades, it’s safe to say that Jalen Brunson has earned the title of KNY — King of New York.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. He hosts a sports podcast on YouTube @onemanfastbreak1.

The last 39 seconds of Game 2 in the 2026 NBA Finals wasn’t Victor Wembanyama’s finest moment.

The San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-5 all-world center came up small in the most crucial time. He missed two shots that could have given the Spurs the lead. He committed a crucial turnover that led to a Jalen Brunson free throw, giving the New York Knicks a 105-104 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

“I threw that one away. I messed up,” Wembanyama told reporters after the game. “We didn’t play great as a team. We needed to win that game. That game was ours. But at this point, it’s done.”

The late-game gaffe was so unexpected given how Wembanyama had been playing throughout his first playoff run.

With the game tied at 104, the Spurs called on Wemby’s number to break the tie. He took a tough, contested 18-foot pullup jumper from the left wing against Mitchell Robinson and missed. OG Anunoby grabbed the rebound and the Knicks called timeout.

Jalen Brunson, who was spectacular in closing the show in Game 1, missed a 16-footer with 13.5 seconds left. The Spurs regained possession after Wembanyama grabbed the rebound. For a brief moment, the Spurs had a great opportunity to take the lead and tie the series at 1-1. It was three seconds Wembanyama would love to have back. All the work the Spurs put forth in erasing a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter came crashing down in three forgettable seconds.

The play started with a Wemby rebound after he forced Brunson into a tough shot. As Wemby turned up the court, he took one dribble and inexplicably tossed the ball off Stephon Castle’s back, who clearly wasn’t expecting a pass as he ran up the court. Castle said once he saw Wembanyama secure the rebound he wanted to give Wemby “some space” to dribble up the court, so he was anticipating Wemby would bring the ball up himself, especially with time winding down.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson could have called timeout to set up a play, but it’s difficult to blame the coach for not calling timeout because his best player already had the ball in his hands with a full head of steam. It was Wembanyama’s game to win or lose.

“I need to have more poise, more control over the game,” Wembanyama said. “That’s the most frustrating thing, to throw it away after putting in all this work.”

Brunson grabbed the loose ball and a frustrated Wembanyama compounded the mistake by fouling Brunson near the sideline. Brunson made one of two free throws to give the Knicks a one-point lead with 9.5 seconds left.

Wembanyama had one last opportunity to redeem himself. On the final possession, a two-man action between Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox freed up Wembanyama for a clean look from about 20 feet on the right wing with 2.0 seconds left. The shot clanked off the rim and the Knicks were able to hang on for the win.

Wembanyama was asked after the game if he liked the look he got on the final shot.

“I like the shot. But I feel like at this moment you need to shoot to score,” said Wembanyama, who finished with a game-high 29 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had four blocked shots. None of those statistics matter to him because he didn’t get the job done when his team needed it most.

“In moments like this, results matter more than process,” he said. “We just need to score. I need to score.”

As the leader of the youngest team to reach the NBA Finals in 49 years, the 22-year-old Wembanyama is doing the right thing by owning his mistakes and not pointing fingers. And the Spurs wouldn’t be in this position without Wembanyama. He is the biggest reason why the Spurs are ahead of schedule. He will learn from this “blurry” moment as he called it. The game got blurry down the stretch because the action was moving too fast for the young Frenchman.

“Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me? Yes, absolutely,” said a humbled Wembanyama.

There is no manual for winning championships. You have to experience it for yourself to gain championship knowledge. And sometimes you have to be humbled in order to be great.

Michael Jordan got humbled by the Detroit Pistons before he won six championships. Before he became the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant shot three air balls in a humbling playoff loss to the Utah Jazz. LeBron James got swept by Tim Duncan’s Spurs the first time he reached the NBA Finals.

Every great player goes through growing pains. Wembanyama is going through it as well.

The Knicks are now just the third team to win the first two games of a finals on the road, joining Jordan and the 1993 Chicago Bulls, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the 1995 Houston Rockets. Both of those teams won championships. The Bulls needed six games to oust the Phoenix Suns, the Rockets going home after winning those first two games in Orlando and sweeping Shaquille O’Neal and the Magic.

Love it or hate, the NBA Cup is here to stay. And years from now, we’re going to look at it differently.

The New York Knicks became the latest team win the NBA Cup, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It’s the first time in 52 years that the Knicks have ever won anything in the NBA. The last time New Yorkers celebrated a professional basketball title, Knicks superfan Spike Lee was only 16 years old.

Lee, now 68, witnessed his beloved Knicks beat Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs in Las Vegas. Wembanyama, 21, wasn’t even born yet the last time the Knicks reached a championship game. It was 1999 and the grit-and-grind Knicks were coached by Jeff Van Gundy and spearheaded by Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, John Starks, and Anthony Mason.

Now, the Knicks can finally hang a banner at Madison Square Garden next to NBA titles won in 1970 and 1973 thanks to a new group of gritty guys, headed by Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

“This is on the road to an NBA championship,” Lee said on “NBA Nightcap” on Amazon Prime. It’s a great day. It’s not done yet. It’s a tough league. It’s gonna be a fight.”

Brunson put on an MVP performance in Vegas, scoring 40 points in the semifinal win over the Orlando Magic and 25 points in the championship game against the Spurs.

The former Villanova standout is playing at an elite level. New York Knicks coach Mike Brown hammered home a specific point he’s been making in recent weeks — that Brunson, even this early in the season, belongs in the regular-season MVP conversation.

“He makes the game easier for everybody,” Brown said. “That’s what MVPs are supposed to do, and he definitely did that tonight. … At the end of the day, he carries you home. It’s beautiful to be able to see him do what he’s more than capable of doing on a national stage like this, in an environment like this. Hopefully you guys as media and the fans out there can continue talking about him as an MVP of this league because that’s exactly what he is.”

If Brunson keeps playing this way, the MVP case is going to get even more compelling.

He was the NBA’s clutch player of the year last season, so it’s not like he’s been ignored by voters. Brown just wants him to be in the hunt for a bigger trophy.

“You see a lot of other great candidates that are well-deserving but I don’t ever hear Jalen’s name,” Brown said. “When you’re first or second in either conference, and you’re putting up the numbers that he’s putting up, his name’s got to be one of the first names coming out of somebody’s mouth.”

For the past three years since its inception, the NBA Cup has seen its share of detractors. One of the loudest critics is The Athletic’s John Hollinger, who suggested that the in-season tournament forced players to play more games leading to potential injuries.

Critics also say the whole thing is a gimmick, from the outrageously loud and colorful courts to the somewhat confusing group tiebreakers.

Say what you want about the NBA Cup, at least the NBA is making an effort to make waves in the fall season and put a small dent on the NFL’s stranglehold on viewership.

It appears to be working. The NBA has seen a surge in fan interest in the early portion of the 2025-26 season, with a 92% bump in viewership for nationally televised games. Thanks to new broadcast partners NBC and Amazon Prime, joining ABC/ESPN, the league is enjoying its best viewership numbers in 15 years.

But the biggest win so far is the fact that the players are embracing the NBA Cup. They competed hard each and every night the Cup games were held, injecting a playoff-type atmosphere that has resulted in some fantastic games.

“This is not a typical regular-season game,” Wembanyama said after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals. “We knew if that if we lose, we’re out. And you know, some people are built for these moments. Some aren’t. But we definitely are.”

The NBA Cup games in Las Vegas have replaced the league’s Christmas Day lineup as the Association’s marquee event of the fall. It hasn’t overtaken the NFL yet, but in three short years it has generated a lot of buzz and made the early portion of the season far more interesting.

The NBA Cup final didn’t count in the standings, and the stats won’t be added to any official totals. A trophy was at stake and $533,000 cash bonus for the winning team.

It was the third different finals matchup in the NBA Cup — which was initially referred to as the In-Season Tournament. During its inception, the L.A. Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers. In the second year, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to a convincing victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Add the New York Knicks to the champions list.

“The Cup is special. I think you saw tonight, here in Vegas the semifinals and finals, it brought out the best in all the teams,” Knicks center Towns said while proudly wearing a championship T-shirt.

“For us to be in a position to say that we won and we’re the champions, and to have this dope-ass shirt on with the Knicks saying as champions is humbling and an honor.”

Tom Thibodeau did something no New York Knicks head coach hadn’t been able to do in 25 years. Make the Knicks relevant again.

In his fifth season, Thibodeau led New York to a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the playoff run ended in disappointment, as the Knicks fell to Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals.

Just as Thibs seemed poised to lead the Knicks back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, the rug was pulled from under him. In a major shift, the Knicks fired the defensive-minded Thibodeau and replaced him with Mike Brown, a coach known for favoring a faster tempo. Brown, a disciple of Steve Kerr’s pace-and-space methodology that powered the Golden State Warriors to four NBA championships in eight years, brings a new approach.

Brown takes over a Knicks squad led by reigning Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson.

Brunson, who averaged 26.0 points and 7.3 assists per game last season, is the unquestioned leader of the Knicks and arguably the franchise’s best star player since Patrick Ewing. Brunson, along with Knicks teammates Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, played college ball at Villanova.

In Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks have one of the best guard-center combos in the league, and Brown will lean on both to help him establish a more diversified offensive attack.

Towns fit in seamlessly with the Knicks and earned a fifth All-Star selection. OG Anunoby, Bridges, and Hart formed a sturdy perimeter wall, locking down opposing wings and bringing toughness on both ends of the floor. The Knicks, with their core under contract for the next few years, are well-positioned to contend for a championship. The last time the Knicks won an NBA title, “The French Connection” won Best Picture at the Oscars. That was 54 years ago.

OneManFastBreak projects the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference.

1-New York Knicks — Devastating Achilles’ injuries to Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton open the door for the Knicks to climb into the top spot and become beast of the East. The addition of free agents Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele should bolster the Knicks bench.

2-Cleveland Cavaliers — The Cavs won 64 regular-season games a season ago but got bounced early in the postseason. The pressure is on All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to help the Cavs rebound from last season’s disappointing finish.

3-Detroit Pistons — Cade Cunningham took his game to a new level under J.B. Bickerstaff. Motor Cade got a taste of the postseason last season, and another year under his belt will only increase his stock. Jaden Ivey returns to the lineup after missing 52 games due to a knee injury.

4-Milwaukee Bucks — Giannis Antetokounmpo is coming off a superb summer, leading his Greek national team to a bronze medal at EuroBasket. As long as the Greek Freak is healthy and happy, the Bucks will always be a threat.

5-Orlando Magic — The addition of shooting guard Desmond Bane should make life a little easier for Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. Wagner is coming off a sensational summer after helping Germany win a gold medal at EuroBasket.

6-Atlanta Hawks — The Hawks opted not to offer point guard Trae Young a max extension. Trae will be highly motivated to show the Hawks that he’s worth the $229 million investment.

7-Miami Heat — Heat Culture took a hit last season, winning only 37 games and finishing 12th in the conference. Erik Spoelstra won’t let it happen again, and he’ll have a new spark plug in Norman Powell to fire up the offense.

8-Boston Celtics — Tatum’s Achilles’ tear drastically alters the Celtics’ plans for this season, but it doesn’t mean they are going to tank. Finals MVP Jaylen Brown is still on the roster, and expect expanded roles for Payton Pritchard and Derrick White.

Play-In teams: Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put a stamp on his remarkable 2024-25 season after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the city’s first NBA championship.

SGA joined a very short list of players who won an NBA title, regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP while leading the league in scoring. The list includes Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and SGA. Before SGA’s amazing season, Shaq was the last scoring leader to win a championship and MVPs in the same season. Jordan is the only player to pull off the rare feat more than once (1991, 1992, 1996, 1998). Jordan and Shai, who averaged a league-leading 32.7 points per game, are the only guards to win a scoring title and championship in the same season.

“It’s hard to believe I’m even part of that group,” Gilgeous-Alexander said during his postgame media session with the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy sitting on the table. “It’s hard the fathom that I’m that type of basketball player. As a kid, you dream. Every kid dreams. But you don’t really know if it’s gonna come true. I’m just glad my dreams were able to come true.”

Shai also became the first player since Stephen Curry in 2015 to win MVP and a championship in the same season, and first player since LeBron James in 2013 to win regular season MVP and Finals MVP honors in the same season.

Where does Shai rank on OneManFastBreak’s annual top-five list? Take a look at this year’s OMFB Furious Five.

***

Each year OneManFastBreak.net ranks the five best players in the NBA. The OMFB Furious Five pays homage to the five styles of Chinese martial arts: snake, crane, monkey, praying mantis, and tiger.

The ranking system is based on one man’s opinion and does not follow or conform to any standard format, with more emphasis placed on how each player and their respective teams performed in the postseason. Stars are born during the regular season, but legends are made in the playoffs.

In 2024, OMFB Furious Five featured Jaylen Brown (5), Giannis Antetokounmpo (4), Luka Doncic (3), Jayson Tatum (2), Nikola Jokic (1).

Without further ado, here are the five best basketball players in the world.

5-JALEN BRUNSON
New York Knicks, Guard

Jalen Brunson’s arrival in New York may be one of the league’s most transformative acquisitions of the past decade. The two-time NCAA champion from Villanova has blossomed into one of the NBA’s best players after spending four seasons riding the pine in Dallas.

Jalen is arguably the most impactful player to wear a Knicks jersey since Patrick Ewing, and he’s giving New York its best shot at ending a five-decade title drought. Brunson was named to the 2025 All-NBA second team and received the Clutch Player of the Year for his uncanny ability to deliver big shots in the big moments for the Knicks.

During the regular season, he averaged 26.0 points and 7.3 assists across 35.4 minutes per game in 65 games. He amped it up in the postseason, averaging 29.4 points and leading the Knicks to their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years. He hit the 30-point mark in four of the six games in the conference finals against the Pacers, but it wasn’t enough as the Knicks fell in six games.

A week after being eliminated, the Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. Knicks brass felt the team — with Brunson as the leader — is close to winning a championship, and it was time for a new voice and a coach who can help Brunson and the Knicks get over the hump. Brunson’s decision to sign a four-year, $156.5 million extension shows he’s prioritizing bringing a championship to New York above all else. He could have signed a five-year, $269.1 million max deal, but by giving the Knicks the hometown discount and allowing the franchise salary cap flexibility.

4-GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
Milwaukee Bucks, Forward

A calf strain forced Giannis Antetokounmpo to watch his Bucks get eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. This year, Giannis and Bucks watched Damian Lillard rupture his Achilles tendon in the first round and the Pacers eliminated the Bucks for a second straight season.

Giannis put together another outstanding season, averaging 30.4 points (second in NBA), 11.9 rebounds (sixth in NBA), a career-high-tying 6.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 60.1% from the field (sixth in NBA). Giannis led the Bucks to the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup championship and named the Emirates NBA Cup MVP.

As long as Giannis is healthy and playing, the Bucks remain one of the top teams in the East. But for how long will he keep playing for the Bucks? Only Giannis knows the answer.

“I feel like there’s a lot of time that life has made me said or, like, frustrated since I was a kid – I never gave up,” Antetokounmpo said following the Bucks’ season-ending loss to the Indiana Pacers. “I always try to find solutions in my life, which I think it translates to the basketball court. I always try to, even though things might not happen the way I want it to happen, I always have class and I have this optimistic mentality of coming back, keep on working and there’s going to be a day that’s gonna be your turn. It cannot always go your way.”

3-TYRESE HALIBURTON
Indiana Pacers, Guard

Tyrese Haliburton redefined what it meant to be “clutch” in the 2025 NBA postseason. Since the NBA’s play-by-play era began in the 1996-97 season, LeBron James has the most postseason shots to either tie or take the lead in the final three seconds of regulation or overtime with eight. Before the 2025 postseason, no one else had more than four in nearly the past 30 years. Haliburton delivered four game-tying or game-winning shots in one postseason run — one clutch shot in each round.

The 25-year-old Pacers point guard played like a man possessed. You could tell Hali was bothered by being labeled “overrated” by an anonymous panel of his peers, which was published by The Athletic. Haliburton wore that “overrated” label like a badge of honor. He used the disrespect as motivation in authoring the greatest playoff run by a single player. He took it out on his peers, sending them home in the playoffs one by one.

Haliburton sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks home in the first round and he sent Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers home in the conference semifinals. Both series ended in five games, with Haliburton playing a key role in slamming the door. Haliburton gave us one of the most iconic moments in sports with his game-tying shot at Madison Square Garden, making him public enemy No. 1 in New York City.

The Pacers came back from a nine-point deficit in 52.5 seconds in Game 1, with Haliburton sinking a dagger jump shot that bounced five feet in the air before swishing through the net. The dagger shot and the choke sign celebration — an ode to Reggie Miller’s pose in front of Spike Lee — will linger in the memories of Knicks fans for a long time. The “Hali Clutch Tour” rolled into Oklahoma City in the Game 1 of the NBA Finals and didn’t disappoint. Haliburton’s 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds left gave Indiana its first and only lead of the game as the Pacers struck down the Thunder 111-110. “Man, basketball’s fun. Winning is fun,” Haliburton said after his game winner.

An Achilles injury was the only thing that derailed the Haliburton train. He seemingly was well on his way to a big Game 7 in the NBA Finals when his Achilles tendon snapped seven minutes into the first quarter. When Hali fell to the ground he pounded the floor, not just from the pain he was feeling on his foot but from the emotional pain. His body failed him at the worst possible time.

2-NIKOLA JOKIC
Denver Nuggets, Center

Nikola Jokic has been so consistently good the past five years that we’ve grown accustomed to his basketball brilliance.

The Joker is one of nine players to win at least three MVPs, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5), Bill Russell (5), Wilt Chamberlain (4), LeBron James (4), Larry Bird (3), Magic Johnson (3) and Moses Malone (3).

Jokic had the best season of his career in 2024-25, which is absurd considering Joker is a three-time MVP and 2023 NBA champion. This past season, he averaged a career-high 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, a career-high 10.2 assists and a career-high 1.8 steals while shooting 57.6% from the field and a career-high 41.7% from three in 36.7 minutes per game. He became just the third player in NBA history to average a triple double for a single season, joining Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson. Westbrook and Robertson are guards and primary ball handlers, which makes Jokic’s triple-double season even more impressive considering he’s a center.

The big man from Serbia was named to his fifth All-NBA first-team selection for the fifth consecutive year and finished second in the MVP voting. He led the Denver Nuggets to the second round before losing to Oklahoma City in seven games. Jokic’s size and skill gave OKC all kinds of problems, and if the Nuggets had better production from their bench they might have knocked off OKC.

Time will tell where Jokic will ultimately land on the list of all-time great centers. Jokic’s resume speaks for itself. But in order for Joker to match or surpass Kareem, Russell, Wilt, Moses, Hakeem, Shaq, and Duncan, he needs to win more than just one NBA championship.

And now, the No. 1 player in the world. Drum roll please . . .

1-SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER
Oklahoma City Thunder, guard

Lou Williams had a front row seat to Shai’s early development having been his teammate during SGA’s rookie season with the Clippers. He observed how Shai dedicated himself to improving at just 20 and is now seeing him emerge as one of the best basketball players in the world at age 26.

Lou Will said this about Shai on the “Run It Back” podcast on FanDuel TV: “He was always a responsible player who carried himself like a mature professional. He had big aspirations and was clear about his endgame. He knew his abilities.”

SGA embodies the qualities of a throwback player who understands the importance of consistency and patience in achieving the ultimate goal of winning a championship.

Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder (68-14) finished atop the NBA and tied for the sixth-best single-season record in league history. Oklahoma City outscored opponents by an NBA-record 12.9 points per game.

Gilgeous-Alexander joined Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 32.0 points and 6.0 assists per game and shoot 50.0% or better from the field in a season. Jordan accomplished the feat twice (1989 and 1990).

Shai had his Jordan moment in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers. He came up big in a must-win game for the Thunder. A loss would have meant a 3-1 hole. A win meant the series tied 2-2.

The Pacers had an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series after taking a four-point lead with four minutes left in the game. That’s when SGA put on his Batman cape and took over.

“I just tried to be aggressive. I knew what it would look like if we had lost [Game 4], and I didn’t want to go out not swinging,” SGA said about taking over in the last three minutes.

“I didn’t want to go out not doing everything in my power to try to win the game,” he added. “The guys deserve that much from me, the coaching staff deserves that much from me. I just tried to be aggressive, but also let the game come to me and not to force anything and not do anything crazy. I guess it paid off.”

Shai absolutely sensed the moment, scoring 13 of his team’s final 14 points including a contested step-back baseline jumper over Aaron Nesmith where he nearly fell to the floor but somehow regained his balance and buried a clutch shot to give OKC the lead for good.

He finished the game with a game-high 35 points on 12-for-24 shooting from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in leading OKC to a 111-104 victory to tie the series. The Thunder went on to beat the Pacers in seven games to win the championship.

“That’s what it is all about. Winning, especially at this time of the season, it comes down to the moments, it’s gonna come down to end of game … it’s gonna come down to the moments where who makes winning plays,” Shai said. “I relish those moments. Love the moments, good or bad. When I was a kid shooting on my driveway, I’ve count down the clock for those moments and I now get to live it. It’s fun. I relish it.”

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastbreak.net. Follow and subscribe to his YouTube channel at @onemanfastbreak1.

Photo credits: Associated Press and Getty Images

In order to achieve the ultimate prize of winning a championship, star players must go through some growing pains. Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards both starred in the 2024 playoffs, but both ultimately fell short of accomplishing the main objective of hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ dynamic wing player, said last season that he wouldn’t view himself as a bonafide NBA superstar until he gets the job done in the playoffs. Edwards was 21 years old when he made those remarks. A year later, the 22-year-old Edwards is not only becoming a bonafide NBA star but he’s entering a realm occupied by legendary wing players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

“Whenever you compare him [Edwards] to Jordan, you have to frame it with the age. Jordan didn’t win a playoff series until he was age 25,” ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said during an episode of “Get Up.”

“We’re not talking about 1991 Michael Jordan,” he continued. “Ant Edwards is like 1988 Michael Jordan, when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and the Pistons were still dominating the league. That’s why we’re excited about him. We’re not just excited about him now, we’re excited about where he can be in two or three years. He is on that process and on that timeline. And he’s doing it very quickly at age 22. It is all of those things.”

Edwards has a variation of Jordan’s powerful finishing skills at the rim with sprinkles of Kobe’s Mamba Mentality. Put them together and we may be watching the game’s next great two-way wing player.

“He’s the face of the league,” Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns said about his teammate Edwards, who was the No. overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft. “He hates when I say it, but it’s true,” Towns continued. “Like I said, ‘Future so bright, got to put the sunglasses on.'”

Edwards led the third-seeded Timberwolves to a 4-0 sweep over Kevin Durant’s sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. It’s the first series win for the T-Wolves since the Kevin Garnett era. In the second round, the Timberwolves knocked out the defending champion Denver Nuggets in a grueling series, winning on the road in Game 7.

After his Suns were vanquished from the playoffs, Durant had nothing but praise for the young and hungry Wolves and their young leader.

“So impressed with Ant [Edwards]. My favorite player to watch,” Durant told reporters. “Just grown so much since he came into the league. His love for the game shines so bright. That’s one of the reasons I like him the most. He just loves basketball. He’s grateful to be in this position. He’s taken advantage of every opportunity that he’s gotten. Love everything about Ant … everything. I’ll be watching going forward. I was really impressed with him. It’s going to be somebody I’m following the rest of his career.”

The seven-game battle against the Nuggets took a heavy toll on the T-wolves as they’re struggling to summon the same energy against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the conference finals. After averaging close to 30 points per game in the first two rounds, Edwards’ scoring output dipped to 24.6 points per game in the conference finals. Edwards and the T-wolves ran out of gas against the Mavs, losing in convincing fashion as Dallas won the series 4-1.

The other young stud with a bright future in the NBA is Brunson.

When the New York Knicks signed the 27-year-old Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract in 2022, they probably had no idea they were bringing in the much-needed leader that franchise has been missing since Patrick Ewing left town.

Brunson has more than lived up to his free agent contract as he has comfortably filled in the starring role in the Big Apple. For the past two decades, fans packed Madison Square Garden to watch the opposing team’s headliners. Now, the Garden is Jalen’s house. Knicks fans are paying big-time money to watch him perform.

A host of Knicks fans are even willing to travel to a different state — like they did in the first round of the 2024 playoffs when they invaded Philadelphia’s home arena for Game 4. They were treated to a spectacular one-man Broadway show as he authored a 47-point performance, breaking the Knick single-game playoff scoring mark held by Bernard King.

Brunson’s spectacular playoff run came to a crashing halt in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He fractured his shooting hand in Game 7 and the Knicks, which suffered a multitude of injuries during the season, were blown out by the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden.

It was a disappointing finish on what looked like a promising postseason run for the Knicks. But Knick fans should feel good about the future because they now have a steady leader who is determined to get to the top of the mountain and capture the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1973.

“I think the most important thing that I need to do is to continue just to strive for perfection, strive for perfection,” Brunson told reporters. “And, knowing that I’m never going to get there, it’s just my mind says I just need to be better every single day. I don’t care what I’ve done as a player. It means nothing. I need to be better and I’m going to go into the summer training to be better and I’ll come back ready next year.”

Brunson and Edwards were teammates on the U.S. senior men’s national team that competed at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in the Philippines. “Big shout out to USA [Basketball]. They got me prepared for this season,” said Edwards, who was invited to play for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Brunson, however, was inexplicably left off the team.

Of the 12 players that USA Basketball director Grant Hill invited to play for Team USA in Paris, only Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Haliburton made it through the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. The other eight — LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, Kawhi Leonard — were eliminated in the first round.

The Paris Olympics will likely be the last time LeBron (39), Curry (36), and Durant (35) will wear the Team USA colors. They are on the last legs of their basketball journey and it’s time to pass the baton to the next generation of big-time hoopers.

Brunson and Edwards are more than ready to take the baton.

Christmas Day for basketball fans is the unofficial start of the “real season,” when contenders begin to separate themselves from the pretenders.

Seven of the top 10 teams and seven of the 10 best players in the NBA are playing on Christmas Day. There’s no shortage of star power when ABC starts its live marathon live coverage at noon ET.

But this year there’s major competition.

The NFL has a three-game slate on Dec. 25. Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers take on the Miami Dolphins at 1 p.m. ET followed by the Denver Broncos-L.A. Rams at 4:30 p.m. ET. The prime-time game at 8:20 p.m. ET features Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Arizona Cardinals.

Football is king when it comes to TV ratings, so the NBA will have to compete for viewers on a day when it usually owns the viewing audience. To help solve this viewing dilemma, OneManFastBreak.net has tagged three must-see NBA games. The other two games, well, let’s just say you’re fee to switch channel to the NFL games.

Must-see games
Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks (noon ET, ABC/ESPN) — The Knicks enter Christmas Day as one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve won eight in a row and now currently sit among the top six teams in the Eastern Conference. The offseason acquisition of point guard Jalen Brunson has solidified New York’s once shaky backcourt. Brunson is the perfect tough-as-nails leader head coach Tom Thibodeau has been seeking since his days with the Chicago Bulls. Brunson takes the pressure of forward Julius Randle and knows how to win close ballgames, which was a big problem last season. The Sixers have been coasting so far, but they still have MVP candidate Joel Embiid. When Embiid decides to take over a game, there are few people on planet Earth who can slow him down. Madison Square Garden will be rocking for this sexy matchup.

Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks (5 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — This could very well be a preview of the East finals. Both teams enter the colossal showdown with their full compliment of players. Khris Middleton, who missed last year’s playoff series with a knee injury, is starting to get back into shape. Middleton is the Robin to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Batman. The Celtics welcome back center Robert Williams, who was vital to their run to the NBA Finals last season. Jayson Tatum is enjoying an MVP season and his running mate, Jaylen Brown, is making a strong case to make the All-NBA squad. Celtics had owned the league’s best record until a rocky West Coast trip tripped them up and allowed the Bucks to gain ground in the standings. The Bucks’ game in Milwaukee starts at 5 p.m. ET, well after the kickoff for Packers-Dolphins game. Wisconsin fans will be able to watch their Packers and their Bucks on Christmas Day.

Phoenix Suns vs. Denver Nuggets (10:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — The Suns-Nuggets game is the last NBA game on the Christmas Day schedule. The first quarter of Suns-Nuggets might be a skip since most of us will be watching the end of the Buccaneers-Cardinals game when Brady leads the Bucs to victory over a depleted Cards squad. Once the NFL prime-time game is over, you can tune in to Suns-Nuggets. Both teams don’t like each other. During the 2021 playoffs, the Suns swept the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic was ejected in the clincher for a hard foul on Cameron Payne. Jokic and Devin Booker had to be separated after a heated exchange. Jokic’s brothers got involved in the bruhaha when they yelled at Booker from the stands. We could see fireworks again.

Skip these games
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — A once promising matchup turned into a sour showdown after reigning Finals MVP Steph Curry injured his left shoulder and will be sidelined for a few weeks. Without Curry, the Warriors are a shell of themselves. There’s some bad blood between the Grizzlies and Warriors, so this could have been spicy. The Dubs-Griz game will be going head-to-head with Bucs-Cards, and we all know America will always choose football over basketball. It’s OK. This game could get ugly, anyways.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) — Not even LeBron James and Luka Doncic can save this awful matchup. The Lakers won’t have All-Star Anthony Davis and the Mavericks are struggling to find four other guys to play with Doncic. If LeBron was playing Luka one-on-one, then this game actually be interesting. But as currently constructed, it’s a battle of two teams closer to the bottom of the conference.

Andrea Bargnani was wide open on the wing, but Melo ignores him and takes a contested shot. Bargs has been a much better shooter (50.9% to 42.4%) than Melo this year, and there’s a wide open lane for him to either drive or make an entry pass if he doesn’t want to shoot. Just an awful play by Melo.

Amare Stoudamire, never known for his defense, inexplicably made one of the worst defensive plays you’ll ever see. Pistons guard Peyton Siva got the ball about 8-9 feet from Amare, near the 3-point line. Amare looked at him but then turned his back to look at the hoop, assuming Siva was going to shoot. Siva puts the ball on the floor and drives right by Stoudemire, but N.Y. was bailed out on the play when the rookie point guard was called for travelling. Watch the play:

New York is now 3-8 for the season, losing to Detroit, 92-86, on Tuesday and falling to Indiana in overtime, 103-96, Wednesday. Anthony scored 30 points against the Pacers, but needed 28 shots to do it. Anthony has made just 18 of his 48 shots in his last two games.

The Wizards came into their game against Minnesota desperate for a win, and squeaked out a tight come-from-behind victory, 104-100, after trailing by 12 at halftime. They were playing well over .500 ball with Wall in the lineup last year before ending the season on a six-game losing streak. The team traded for center Marcin Gortat before this season started, eying a possible No. 6 or 7 seed in the playoffs. But poor shooting (43.3%, 20th in league) and awful defense (104.1, 26th in league) has plagued them so far.

Wall (14 points, 16 assists) kept up his top-notch distributing, now second in the league at 9.8 assists. Nene had 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and was 7-for-12 from the field. Bradley Beal poured in 25 points to lead Washington in scoring. Kevin Love had 25 points, 11 boards and four assists for the T-Wolves.

The Rockets destroyed the Celtics, 109-85, behind newly emerging stud power forward Terrence Jones (24 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and 10-for-12 shooting). In his last five games, Jones is at 12.2/10.0/2.4 blocks, 53.2% as the Twin Towers lineup of Dwight and Omer Asik has quickly been discarded — Asik now seeking a trade. The ragtag Celtics shot 32.3%, as their starting backcourt of Avery Bradley and Jordan Crawford combined to go 6-for-30 (20%).

Sacramento got by Phoenix, 107-104, at home as DeMarcus Cousins (more below) was montrous inside and Ben McLemore (19 points, five rebounds) and Isaiah Thomas (19 points) chipped in as well. A shin bruise kept Eric Bledsoe out for the Suns, but Gerald Green (23 points, four assists, two blocks) had a fine effort in his place.

In a rather forgettable game, the Heat beat the Hawks, 104-88, even though Dwyane Wade rested. Atlanta had 24 turnovers in the game, and the only performance worth noting for either team was 15 points and 10 rebounds from Hawks backup PF Mike Scott — no relation to the Houston Astros star pitcher from the mid 1980s who shares the same name.

The Michael Jordan Award  — DeMarcus Cousins —  27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 9 FTM, 4 steal, 2 block, 0 treys, and 9-for-18 shooting…While the consistency isn’t quite there yet – three of his first 10 games this year have been sub 12 points and sub 8 rebounds – Cousins (21.8/9.7 this year) is slowly becoming a regular 20/10 guy who can sprinkle in a few dimes, thefts, and fly swats. I’ve seen him make very nice passes before, but this year he’s only averaging 1.5 assists per game after coming in at 2.7 last season. But regarding steals (1.9) and blocks (1.5), he’s been splendid so far. He’s also shooting 47.8%, a career-high. As for his team, they’re now starting rookie SG Ben McLemore and ex-UCLA defensive specialist Luc Richard Mbah a Moute at SF, after trying guys like Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Marcus Thornton in the starting lineup alongside Cousins and Vasquez, the only Kings to start all year.

The Nikoloz Tskitishvili Award —  Markieff Morris —  3 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 3 FTM, 0 steal, 0 block, 0 treys, and 0-0 shooting in 11 minutes…He also accumulated five fouls in those 11 minutes. The inconsistency of the lesser players in the NBA is fascinating. Remember a week or so ago and I was talking about how impressive this guy was over his last four games (22/8, 69% shooting). Now, in his last three games, he’s grabbed just 10 total rebounds while making only four of 17 shots. His twin brother Marcus (they’re both Suns) was quite nice for Phoenix last night, though. He poured in 19 points in only 24 minutes, though it was rather hollow – 3 rebounds, 0 dimes, steals, and blocks.

The Allan Houston Hollow Man Award — J.R. Smith — 18 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 FTM, 1 steal, 0 block, 2 treys, and 7-for-15 shooting in 34 minutes…J.R. has only played five games so far this year after sitting out the first few games while still recovering from left knee surgery. The early returns are ugly, like most of this season for N.Y. He’s shooting 27.9% on 68 total shots, with just 11 dimes.

Todd Robinson is the publisher of Speedburner on Sports. Click here to read more of his articles.

Carmelo Anthony’s Knicks will be challenged by Deron Williams’ Nets for top spot in the Atlantic Division. (GETTY IMAGES)

Before Mikhail Prokhorov bought the Nets, New York was all about the Knicks.

The Knicks play in the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden, while for years the Nets played their home games at the Izod Center. Even the name sounds cheap. Who buys Izod?

The Knicks have a rich hoops history, going back to the days of Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Willis Reed, and Earl Monroe. The Nets, on the other hand, had Michael Ray Richardson and Jayson Williams. Richardson battled drug addiction for much of his life, while Williams spent a year and a half in prison following the manslaughter charges that were levied against him following the accidental shooting of a limousine driver on his property in 2002.

Celebrities such as Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Ben and Jerry Stiller, and Whoopi Goldberg are season-ticket holders and die-hard Knicks fans. Kim Kardashian was spotted sitting courtside at a Nets game in 2010, but her stint as a “Nets fan” was shorter than her marriage to Kris Humphries.

Since taking over as the majority owner, Prokhorov moved the Nets to Brooklyn, built a state-of-the-art arena, spent millions bringing in high-priced free agents such as Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce, and hired Jason Kidd as head coach.

Entering the 2013-14 season, the Nets are the only NBA team well over the salary cap threshold, topping the list with a whopping estimated team salary of $101 million. The Knicks, once perennial salary cap kings, are now fifth in the league at $80 million.

The Nets still have a ways to go before New York fans completely embrace them, but Prokhorov has such deep pockets he can actually buy fans.

OneManFastBreak.net examines the teams in the Atlantic Division and where they’ll finish:

1-NEW YORK KNICKS

The Nets may be armed with more firepower and star power with the addition of Garnett and Pierce, but the Knicks still own the best player in the division, Carmelo Anthony. Melo enjoyed the best season of his 10-year career in 2012-13, leading the league in scoring (28.7),  and received one first-place vote in the MVP selection process to prevent LeBron James from being a unanimous choice. Getting Melo shots wasn’t the problem last year. Getting Amare Stoudemire shots was a big problem. Anthony prefers isolation plays, while Stoudemire prefers high screen-and-rolls. Stoudemire’s scoring average has dipped in each of the last two years because of injuries and circumstance. And his role will take an even greater hit this season with the acquisition of forwards Andrea Bargnani and Ron Artest. Head coach Mike Woodson likes to employ small ball, which means Anthony at power forward, Tyson Chandler at center, Iman Shumpert at small forward, Raymond Felton at point, and J.R. Smith at shooting guard. That doesn’t leave a lot of minutes for Stoudemire, who is scheduled to make $21 million this season.

2-BROOKLYN NETS

Jason Kidd was hired for two things: 1) provide a respected voice in the locker room, and 2) be a mentor to Deron Williams. Kidd may not have any coaching experience but he knows the point guard position better than most NBA coaches. Prokhorov and general manager Billy King received some heat for hiring Kidd. But you don’t need to go through the gamut to be a successful coach. Mark Jackson proved you can go from broadcaster to coach without much practice. Kidd could be a sounding board for Williams, who has been somewhat of a disappointment since signing with the Nets in 2010. Coaching is all about managing egos and maximizing a player’s potential. Kidd should be able to do both well. Garnett has yet to play a single game wearing Nets colors but he has already embedded himself as the voice of the team. Kidd suggested that Garnett should take a few nights off, especially on the back end of a back-to-back. But didn’t sit well with KG. The 37-year-old Garnett told USA Today that he has “earned the right to have an opinion on something,” and from a chemistry standpoint he thinks it’s important for him “to be out there with everybody.” Sounds like Kidd will be taking orders from KG.

3-TORONTO RAPTORS

The Raptors made a huge splash by luring NBA Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri away from the Denver Nuggets. Ujiri was the mastermind behind the rebuilding of the Nuggets after the Carmelo Anthony trade. The Raptors have some very talented pieces in the fold: Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan, and Kyle Lowry. Gay is a borderline All-Star who is a capable 20-point scorer. He and DeRozan combined to average 36 points per game in 2012-13 and seemed to work well together. After releasing longtime point man Jose Calderon, Lowry becomes the fulltime point guard for head coach Dwane Casey. The Raptors are absolutely giddy about the progress of 21-year-old Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas. The 7-footer dominated the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging nearly 19 points and 10 rebounds a game en route to being named the tournament MVP.

4-BOSTON CELTICS

It’s say to Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen, and Doc Rivers are not walking through the TD Garden doors anytime soon. Allen won a championship in Miami, Rivers takes over a young Clippers squad led by Chris Paul, and KG and Pierce are now in Brooklyn. Rajon Rondo is the lone holdover from the 2008 championship team, but he’s coming off a devastating ACL injury. This could be a long year for first-year coach Brad Stevens, who inherits a roster full of unproven commodities. Stevens squeezed every once of talent from his teams at Butler University, but college coaches historically have done poorly transitioning to the NBA. Celtics boss Danny Ainge may not admit it but the franchise is in full tank mode to try to pick up enough ping-pong balls in the 2014 draft. Rookie Kelly Olynyk showed off a nice face-up game and outside shooting touch during the Orlando summer league.

5-PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

The Sixers are another team in full rebuild mode. Philly waited until August before hiring Brett Brown. The 52-year-old coach was part of three NBA title teams with San Antonio as an assistant and won another with the Spurs when he served in the basketball operations department in 1999. Brown has the unenviable task of fixing a team gutted by defections. The Andrew Bynum gamble was a complete disaster, and it could take a couple of years before the Sixers could recover from that mistake. New general manager Eddie Hinkie wanted to wash his hands of the Bynum debacle by starting fresh. Philly traded young star Jrue Holiday on draft night and picked up two young athletes in Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. Noel is coming off ACL surgery, but claims his knee is progressing well and hopes to return by December. Carter-Williams is a 6-6 point guard who showed flashes of brilliance in the Orlando Summer League, but his jump shot needs some tweaking.

Joel Huerto is editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.