Good morning, everyone! SI’s Brigid Kennedy here, back with a primer on another wild—and I mean wild—weekend in the world of sports. Congratulations are in order for the New York Knickerbockers, your newest NBA champions and cover stars of the latest Sports Illustrated commemorative issue.
If you didn’t understand my subject line today, click this link to listen to the song of the summer (fair warning, though: the tune will be stuck in your head all day). Forward this to a friend who can really relate to those lyrics.
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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
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ORANGE AND BLUE SKIES: Was this the best NBA Finals of the last 10 years? After 53 years of waiting, the 2025-26 Knicks finally brought a championship home to New York by vanquishing the Victor Wembanyama-led San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 on Saturday night. As was the case for all four of the team’s victories in this series, the Knicks rallied from behind to pull off the Larry O’Brien-clinching win, and on Texas turf, at that. MVP Jalen Brunson yet again played the hero when he tied the game in the fourth, and soon after gave his team the lead with a trio of free throws. The Spurs kept up as best they could—the game was decided by only four points, after all—but that’s more than was needed to make a champion. At long last, New York pulled it off, and, nearly 2,000 miles away, the Big Apple erupted in joy. … Although the game was in San Antonio, there were still plenty of celebrities in attendance, including superfans Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller (who apparently plans to do something serious with all that footage he’s been shooting), as well as lots of traveling Knicks fans, who packed Frost Bank Center for Game 5. … Had New York lost, we’d probably be hearing a lot more about this no-call on Wembanyama. … But it didn’t, so we can focus on what players like Josh Hart and OG Anunoby said when they hoisted the trophy in the air. … As for what players like Wemby talked about postgame, “the Alien” was understandably sad during his presser, when he revealed the element of this series that really “pissed” him off. … Later, De’Aaron Fox did his best to explain what led to his poor shooting on Saturday, though even he had to chalk it all up to a bad night. … So what do the Spurs do now? We’ve got the offseason preview locked and loaded for ya here. … And on a lighter note, we’ve got the Knicks championship parade details for you here. Frank Sinatra is about to have his biggest streaming day ever.
THREE TO KNOW: Outside of the NBA Finals, there are three other big storylines to know from the weekend. The first: The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup Final in a 4–2 series win vs. the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday evening. It marks Carolina’s first Stanley Cup win in 20 years. Huge. … The second: Caitlin Clark got into some trouble with the refs during the Fever’s win vs. the Sun on Saturday, when she earned a technical foul and a controversial delay of game. She spoke candidly about the calls after the fact. … And the third: Former NFL defensive end Aldon Smith has died at the age of 36. Our thoughts are with all those who loved him.
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More Knicks content to make you smile ...
CLIPS FROM THE CHIP: As expected, there were lots of postgame team moments worth highlighting in the aftermath of the Knicks’ win on Saturday. So, rather than link to them all individually, our lovely Liam McKeone included them all in an article. Everyone, say, “Thank you, Liam!”
DUN DUN: There isn’t much I can add to this clip of Jalen Brunson other than to say he has some pretty hilarious goals now that he’s made good on the whole “NBA champion” thing. Surely his bestie Mariska Hargitay can pull some strings. (Click the link to see what I’m talking about.)
THEE MOMENT: And finally, if anyone needs me today, I’ll be rewatching this slo-mo video of Game 5’s final seconds all day long. Well, this, and probably some of those amazing Knicks TikTok edits to Hamilton songs, because I do have a brand to uphold.
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📺 What we’re watching tonight ... |
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WNBA:
Aces @ Wings—8 p.m. ET; USA Network
Sparks @ Valkyries—10 p.m. ET; Peacock, NBC Sports
The reigning WNBA champions will travel to Dallas to take on the Wings, currently two wins back in the standings, on Monday night. Dallas has already upset Vegas once this season; can they do it again? Later, the 7–6 Sparks will duke it out with the 8–5 Valkyries; notably, this is the teams’ first meeting since Los Angeles signed guard Kate Martin after she was waived by Golden State.
MLB:
Rays @ Dodgers—10 p.m. ET; ESPN
Tampa Bay and Los Angeles hold two of the best five records in baseball right now, and tonight marks the start of a three-game stretch between the two. It couldn’t come at a better time, either, with Shohei Ohtani back in the L.A. lineup.
Happy Monday, everyone. Bing Bong to you and yours, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.
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