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Category: Sixers/NBA

  • Who could the Sixers draft at No. 22? Here’s our take on projected picks, and other players to watch

    Who could the Sixers draft at No. 22? Here’s our take on projected picks, and other players to watch

    The NBA draft is a week away, which also marks the first roster-building benchmark for new 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey.

    The Sixers hold the 22nd overall pick, and no selection in the second round. Gansey ran the draft in his last job as general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and will aim to put his imprint on the Sixers’ process with a short timeline since being formally introduced last week. Gansey also said he will be respectful of the preparation the remaining front office staff has already completed, and that has delivered mostly positive results in recent drafts.

    ESPN reported Monday that the Sixers will hold prospect workouts this week. Gansey said they will select based on a combination of best player available and positional need, a vague-yet-understandable description.

    Who are some possibilities at No. 22? Here is a roundup of the major national mock drafts — often created by analysts whose year-round job is to scout and report on these prospects — along with our thoughts and some other players who could be available in the Sixers’ range.

    The 6-foot-11 Chris Cenac Jr. averaged 9.5 points and 7.9 rebounds as a freshman with Houston.Maria Lysaker

    Bleacher Report and Yahoo!: Chris Cenac Jr., Houston big man

    Yahoo! says: “Finding a center to play behind Joel Embiid needs to be prioritized. Embiid simply cannot be trusted to stay on the floor. Cenac checks every box on paper as a superb athlete who moves like a wing, has the length to alter shots, and shoots from the perimeter. Houston handed him a starting role with national title aspirations and trusted him with heavy minutes. But the Cougars fell short again, in part because Cenac struggled to stay out of foul trouble, couldn’t score efficiently, and was overeager to play on the perimeter despite having the body of a bruiser. He arrived in college with lottery expectations, and he still could become that player in the future. But the NBA team drafting him is taking a project.”

    Three offseason questions for the Sixers after the hiring of Mike Gansey, starting with Elton Brand

    Bleacher Report says: “The Sixers have to pursue frontcourt depth here if the draft board allows it. Joel Embiid is the living embodiment of the questionable designation, and Andre Drummond is headed into free agency. In a perfect world, though, Philly would find someone who could man the middle in Embiid’s absence and manage to stay on the floor in some double-big looks. Cenac offers that kind of flexibility, or rather he would if he could further his development. He can get a little too perimeter-happy, but the tools are there: good length and hops, great mobility, some shooting touch and finishing force.”

    Inquirer says: Focusing on frontcourt help — either at center or power forward, given Paul George’s unpredictable availability — makes obvious sense. That Cenac struggled to stay out of foul trouble might make Sixers supporters wince, given Adem Bona has been in the same predicament throughout his two-year NBA career. But Cenac’s mobility and potential versatility — and he was coached hard by Kelvin Sampson in a high-profile program — are intriguing.

    Texas guard Dailyn Swain averaged 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds last season.Eric Gay

    ESPN: Dailyn Swain, Texas wing

    ESPN says: “Despite the combine not going all that well for him, Swain appears to be firmly in the first round, as the lack of wings with a variety of tools in the middle tier of the draft works in his favor. There are still questions around his shooting, but teams view his ability to get downhill and solid defensive upside as worth the long-term investment. After bringing in the new president of basketball operations, Mike Gansey from Cleveland, to head the front office, the 76ers are still relatively early in their decision-making process and will begin bringing in players for workouts this week. Finding an immediate contributor at this spot would be a win, with much of Philadelphia’s salary structure tied up in Joel Embiid and Paul George, and cultivating depth behind them is likely a priority.”

    Mike Gansey ran the Cavaliers’ draft. Now, he must infuse that expertise with the Sixers.

    Inquirer says: This pick would make sense if the Sixers are worried about losing Kelly Oubre Jr. and/or Quentin Grimes in free agency. That the 6-foot-8 Swain still needs to develop as a shooter is a concern for a Sixers team that struggled from three-point range, but the downhill attacking and defensive playmaking would fit right in with dynamic guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Other mock drafts have Swain as a lottery pick, so this could be a steal at 22.

    Forward Joshua Jefferson averaged 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds at Iowa State last season.Alex Goodlett

    The Ringer: Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State forward

    The Ringer says: “There’s an argument to be made that the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Jefferson is the best passer in the entire class, regardless of position. (Just ask his Iowa State teammate Milan Momcilovic, whose 10 percentage point jump in 3-pointers was partly a byproduct of playing with Jefferson.) To me, a Jefferson-Philly pairing would be a match made in heaven: His long track record of setting up perimeter scorers fits perfectly with the Sixers’ two incendiary scoring guards. While I do think that he’ll compress into a smaller role than the one he enjoyed at Iowa State, Jefferson’s also no slouch as a scorer himself, and his deflection-heavy defensive approach would feed right into their overall speed advantage.”

    Inquirer says: Though Jefferson’s age (22) likely lowers his ultimate ceiling, he feels like a plug-and-play depth guy with an immediately transferable skill as an offensive connector. An interesting tidbit: The Ringer’s draft guide compares Jefferson to current Sixer Trendon Watford, along with Collin Murray-Boyles, the Toronto Raptors’ standout rookie.

    Koa Peat averaged 14.1 points as a freshman at Arizona last season.David Zalubowski

    The Athletic and CBS: Koa Peat, Arizona forward

    The Athletic says: “Sources around the league are still trying to figure out what new head of basketball operations Mike Gansey’s type will be. So this pick might just be me wish-casting a bit, but I can’t imagine a better fit for both Peat and an organization. With Joel Embiid playing more consistently on the perimeter now, Peat could use his athleticism and strength to crash along the baseline and make smart plays while also providing tough defensive energy. The 76ers desperately need a four with some power to his game, and Peat brings that in a big way. I have Peat higher than this on my personal board, but sources across the league are unsure where he slots into the class.”

    The Sixers need to reconnect with the region. Jameer Nelson is their best hope.

    CBS says: “Peat is higher than this on the CBS Big Board, but his glaring lack of shooting is going to require a specific fit. The Sixers lack a long-term solution at the four, can get their floor-spacing from Embiid’s face-up skill set, and could benefit from Peat’s strength, physicality, intangibles, winning pedigree, and ability to get downhill.”

    Inquirer says: Again, the lack of shooting is an eyebrow-raiser if added to a Sixers team that was not good enough from beyond the arc. But Peat’s rugged style at a position of need could be a nice complementary fit.

    Other possibilities

    Allen Graves, Santa Clara forward

    ESPN had Graves mocked to the Sixers before Monday. He is an “analytics darling” who did not even start for his college team but has become a fast-rising prospect. At 6-8 and 225 pounds, Graves is not a supreme athlete. But he boasts a terrific feel for the game that shows up in his passing, rebounding and defensive playmaking, along with underrated qualities such as great hands and screening ability.

    Tarris Reed Jr., a 6-11 forward, averaged 14.7 points and 9.0 rebounds at UConn last season.Abbie Parr

    Tarris Reed, Connecticut big man

    Another big man option, CBS had Reed mocked to the Sixers before Monday. He is a more traditional center in stature and as a rebounder, rim protector and inside finisher. He also performed well on the biggest stage during UConn’s March Madness run to the national title game.

    Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky big man

    The 6-9, 255-pound big man had lottery potential before knee surgery limited him to four games at Kentucky after transferring from Arizona State. When healthy, Quaintance was a dominant shot blocker and mobile defender, but still had a long way to go on the offensive end. Can the Sixers risk drafting another big man with health concerns? Or is that a gamble worth taking at this point in the draft, especially on a player who has not yet turned 19?

    Hannes Steinbach, Washington forward

    The Sixers should perhaps consider Steinbach for one reason alone: He led Division I basketball in rebounding last season. At 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, Steinbach also has potential to become a floor-spacing big man.

    The Mike Gansey era has begun. Where do the Sixers go from here?

    Henri Veesaar, North Carolina big man

    Notice a trend here? Veesaar boasts skills and versatility as a long-range shooter and pick-and-roll player, but needs a lot of work as a defensive presence. The lanky 7-foot, 225-pounder trained overseas before coming to the States, and began his college career at Arizona.

    Morez Johnson, Michigan forward

    Johnson was the high-motor, do-the-little-things spark of Michigan’s national title team. Though he is not a polished offensive player, he tested excellently at last month’s combine and is a physical and versatile defender.

  • You can trace Jalen Brunson’s greatness and the Knicks’ NBA title right to Villanova

    You can trace Jalen Brunson’s greatness and the Knicks’ NBA title right to Villanova

    In a Rock Hill, S.C., restaurant last Wednesday night, during a recruiting road trip to the Nike 100 Camp, Ashley Howard locked his eyes on a television above the bar, enthralled by the most dramatic comeback in NBA Finals history, his mind recalling a more modest rally from nine years earlier.

    Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and the New York Knicks kept chopping into that 29-point San Antonio Spurs lead. Madison Square Garden kept getting louder. And as Game 4 slowly shifted from a series-tying rout to the surest sign that three former Villanova stars would soon bring about the end of a 53-year championship drought, Howard remembered a college basketball game from January 2017, from the season between ’Nova’s ‘16 and ‘18 national championships.

    An assistant under Jay Wright then, an assistant under Kevin Willard now, Howard reminisced with the friend sitting next to him — former Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune, now an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets — about a 61-59 Wildcats victory over Virginia. Villanova had trailed that day by 12 points with less than 10 minutes to go, an imposing deficit given how Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers teams could slow a game to a crawl. But Hart and Brunson had pulled ‘Nova back from the brink, and Donte DiVincenzo had tipped in an off-target Hart layup at the buzzer, and Howard saw the residue of that win in OG Anunoby’s soaring-eagle tip-in and the Knicks’ 107-106 stunner in Game 4. In Brunson’s 45-point masterpiece Saturday night in the clinching Game 5. In the title run of a team that was smarter, tougher, and tighter than every other in the NBA playoffs.

    Jalen Brunson pours in 45 points as Knicks close out Spurs for first NBA title since 1973

    “After winning the first national championship, every game these guys played together in ‘17 was the biggest game for whoever they played,” Howard said in a phone interview. “They have everything to lose, and their opponent doesn’t. There’s a different type of mental toughness and mental fortitude you have to have to not only play under that pressure but answer the call in those moments.

    “Now they’re all back together, and it’s almost like déjà vu where that Villanova connection is back. The other pieces are different. The coaches are different. But when you look at that Knicks team, you say, ‘Yo, those dudes are playing Villanova basketball.’ It’s really all about how they play hard. They compete for the entire game. They never, never quit. They play unselfishly, and you can tell that they love each other. That just makes my chest stick out as wide as all outside.”

    Josh Hart (right) won the 2016 national title with the Wildcats.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer

    Howard was at the nexus of the origin of the ‘Nova Knicks, and the irony of his role in that story is that he, with such deep Philadelphia hoops roots, had left town when he made his first connections with Brunson, Hart, and Bridges. A standout guard at Monsignor Bonner and Drexel, he was climbing the college coaching ladder — first four years at La Salle, then four back at Drexel — when in 2013 he accepted the chance to assist Chris Mack at Xavier. It was a more highly regarded mid-major, a better shot to jump to a bigger program, and in that one year he spent in Cincinnati, Howard recruited that trio before reuniting with them again at Villanova.

    In Hart, Howard saw a relentless and tenacious guard who pulled down as many as 25 rebounds in games at Sidwell Friends in Washington and for his AAU club, Team Takeover. He also met a low-maintenance kid who, when Howard coaxed him to Xavier for an on-campus, didn’t need a fancy dinner at an exclusive restaurant. No, when Howard offered to buy him lunch, Hart instead was desperate for a sack of double-cheese sliders from White Castle. “Shows what a freak of nature he is,” Howard said.

    Philly’s Mikal Bridges is in his second NBA Finals. His grit comes from his mom, who raised him as a single parent.

    Bridges’ and Brunson’s recruitments were more personal for Howard, starting at Xavier and continuing after he joined Wright’s staff at ’Nova. Howard was friendly with Bridges’ cousin Bernard Tyler, who forwarded him a video of the kid’s highlights from Great Valley High School and Team Final, one clip after another of Bridges cutting to the basket and creating shots within Great Valley’s motion offense, with an enticing text: This is the next one. Make sure you get this dude. And Howard could only chuckle when Mack called him one day after attending a high school holiday tournament in Chicago and asked him, Hey, Ash, do you know Rick Brunson? His kid is really good.

    “Reached out to Rick,” Howard said. “We caught up, and I jumped on Jalen from that point on.”

    There’s a chicken-or-egg aspect to the greatness that Wright’s program achieved during that stretch in the mid-2010s and to the qualities that Brunson, Bridges, and Hart developed there and still carry with them. Would these players, because of their inherent strengths, have thrived in other programs? Or did they need to learn under Wright and his staff and his culture? A dash of both, of course, and the conditions and choices that led to their flourishing at Villanova — and to those two national championships — aren’t likely to be duplicated in college basketball’s current era of status seeking and coin chasing.

    Mikal Bridges was on both the 2016 and 2018 Villanova championship teams.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Bridges went to Wright and Howard and suggested that he redshirt as a freshman, that he sit out an entire season for the sake of his growth as a player and person. Hart started just three games over his freshman and sophomore seasons, could have transferred out of frustration and a search for more playing time, and didn’t. Brunson as a freshman took a secondary role alongside Ryan Arcidiacono, then ran the Wildcats’ show for two years before entering the NBA draft. Good luck being so patient in developing players and building a program now.

    “It was a period of time where you could build off your failure and mistakes and learn from them collectively,” Howard said. “You could develop young people over a course of time and nurture and appreciate the process. … All these guys in their own way trusted us and allowed us to push them to limits. Parts of their experience at Villanova, man, it was tough, but they allowed us to make them uncomfortable.”

    It was the perfect preparation for these playoffs, for these NBA Finals, for a remarkable run capped when Brunson took control of Game 5, when the sub-6-foot guard with the impeccable footwork, with the endless array of head fakes and midrange shots, with the glorious old man’s game was once again the coolest customer on the court.

    “You could see the Spurs getting tight,” Howard said, “and you could see Jalen saying, ‘Yo, get me the ball. I’m gonna make these plays.’ Me being around J, it’s like, ‘Here he comes. It’s on.’ When the stakes get high, that dude is coming.”

    It had been 53 years, long enough for any franchise and its fans to wait for that kind of ride, and all it took was something Ashley Howard and everyone at Villanova had seen a million times before. All it took was Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges doing what they’ve always done.

  • Jalen Brunson pours in 45 points as Knicks close out Spurs for first NBA title since 1973

    SAN ANTONIO — Jalen Brunson and the Comeback Knicks did it again. And now they’re the Champion Knicks.

    For the first time in 53 years, New York rules the NBA. Brunson scored 45 points, including 13 straight for New York in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.

    The Knicks won the series 4-1, rallying from double-digit deficits in all four of those victories. The deficit was 16 on Saturday night. Brunson and the Knicks were never fazed.

    Brunson, fittingly, closed with a flourish. He set a Knicks record for points in a finals game; it had been 38 by Willis Reed against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the 1970 series. It now belongs to the left-handed point guard who changed the franchise’s fortunes when he arrived four years ago.

    Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — the other two parts of the “Nova Knicks” trio that also includes Brunson, three players who were NCAA champions at Villanova and teamed up in New York to try to do the same — combined to score 27 points. Bridges had 14, Hart 13.

    Brunson won NCAA crowns twice with Villanova — both in Texas, the 2016 one in Houston and the 2018 one in San Antonio, just a few miles away from the arena that the Spurs call home.

    A Texas three-step of titles, and this one was surely the sweetest of all.

    Dylan Harper scored 25 for the Spurs, who got 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots from Victor Wembanyama.

    The Knicks improved to 4-0 in closeout opportunities this season, winning them all on the road. It didn’t feel like the road, though — not with thousands of New York faithful having made the trip to Texas to see a moment 53 years in the making.

    New York got to the brink of this title by rallying from 29 points down in Game 4 to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left on Wednesday night. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history and the biggest comeback in any game this season, regular season or playoffs.

    By comparison, then, a 16-point rally in this one seemed easy.

  • Former Sixer James Harden arrested in Houston on misdemeanor charge

    Former Sixer James Harden arrested in Houston on misdemeanor charge

    Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden was arrested on Saturday in Houston on a misdemeanor charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon in a motor vehicle, according to the Harris County District Clerk’s Office.

    Harden was arrested at 3:41 a.m. and booked just before 5 a.m., then posted $100 bond and was released from police custody, according to charging documents, which said he had a handgun in plain view that was not in a holster.

    His arraignment is scheduled for June 22, according to the clerk’s office website. Harden is listed as a Houston resident in court documents.

    “The Cleveland Cavaliers are aware of the arrest of James Harden this morning and are in the process of gathering additional information,” the team said in a statement. “We are in contact with James and his representation and will continue to monitor developments as they become available. At this time, we will have no further comment.”

    A message sent to Harden’s representatives from the Associated Press seeking comment was not immediately returned.

    Harden, 36, just finished his 17th NBA season and has the right to exercise a $42.3 million option to return to the Cavaliers next season. He indicated when Cleveland’s playoff run ended with a loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals that he would like to remain with the team, which would suggest he’s willing to forgo the option in favor of a longer contract with the Cavaliers.

    Harden is an 11-time All-Star and an eight-time All-NBA selection who earned MVP honors in the 2017-18 season while playing for the Houston Rockets and is averaging a career 24 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.6 rebounds. After being acquired in the Ben Simmons trade, he played for the Sixers from 2022 to 2023 and averaged 21 points, 10.6 assists, and 6.4 rebounds in 79 games before he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 31, 2023.

  • Three offseason questions for the Sixers after the hiring of Mike Gansey, starting with Elton Brand

    Three offseason questions for the Sixers after the hiring of Mike Gansey, starting with Elton Brand

    The 76ers’ first major offseason task has been completed, after Mike Gansey was introduced Monday as the new president of basketball operations.

    “It’s just one good decision at a time as far as [creating] change,” said president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Bob Myers, who led Gansey’s hiring process.

    Additional obvious offseason checkpoints will be tackled in the coming weeks. The Sixers hold the No. 22 overall pick in the June 23 NBA draft, which was Gansey’s specialty in his previous job as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ general manager. Shortly after that is free agency, which the Sixers are expected to enter with limited financial flexibility with three players on max contracts.

    Yet here are some more subtle questions still lingering following Gansey’s hiring:

    Elton Brand is expected to transition to another role and title with the Sixers.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    What will Elton Brand’s role/title become?

    Brand was not spotted during Gansey’s news conference, evidence of the decision that Brand will not continue as general manager.

    Brand had previously been the front office’s top decision maker, before taking a step back to the No. 2 role when Daryl Morey was hired as president of basketball operations in 2020. Still, Brand was respected inside and outside the organization, and turned down interest from other teams to stay with the Sixers in past years.

    But now Jameer Nelson has been promoted to that No. 2 front office spot, while Brand is expected to transition to another role and title. What exactly will those responsibilities entail? And how visible will he be moving forward?

    Nick Nurse will be back for a fourth season as Sixers coach. Will his coaching staff look any different?Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Any other changes to the front office or coaching staff?

    The most candid comments during Monday’s media availabilities came from Myers, who said the Sixers need an identity.

    They were mediocre on both ends of the floor in 2025-26, ranking 16th in offensive efficiency (114.3 points per 100 possessions) and 17th in defensive efficiency (114.4 points allowed per 100 possessions) during a 45-37 regular season. Rebounding and three-point shooting were particularly glaring issues, especially during the playoffs.

    It is unlikely that the Sixers can make fixes by immediately overhauling the roster, given how Joel Embiid (32) and Paul George’s (36) ages and health struggles make their max contracts difficult to trade. The best short-term outcome might be that those two former perennial All-Stars play more than the 75 combined games they suited up for during this past regular season, allowing the potential this team flashed during its first-round upset of the Boston Celtics to sustain.

    Mike Gansey ran the Cavaliers’ draft. Now, he must infuse that expertise with the Sixers.

    As far as additional nonplayer personnel changes, it is possible that Gansey does not make any prominent new front office hires for his first season.

    In addition to Nelson’s promotion, vice president of player personnel Prosper Karangwa has agreed to a contract extension, The Inquirer confirmed. Assistant general managers Ned Cohen and Fan-Hal Kuong, plus Delaware Blue Coats general manager Ariana Andonian, got shout outs from Gansey during Monday’s news conference.

    On the coaching staff, Nick Nurse obviously will be back for a fourth season. But are there any possible changes in the assistant ranks to address shortcomings on either end of the floor?

    Last year, for example, Coby Karl did not return (neither did Bobby Jackson, who took an assistant job with the Sacramento Kings). And Mike Longabardi was promoted from Blue Coats head coach to the Sixers’ bench, where he took on defensive responsibilities.

    Job movement from the front office and coaching ranks continues throughout the offseason, and can often be triggered by other teams.

    Mike Gansey says he wants to build a positive work environment with the Sixers.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    How will Gansey establish his culture?

    Gansey’s go-to saying Monday was that he wants “fountains, not drains” — aka people who enhance the work environment instead of suck the life out of it. He wants employees to enjoy coming to the facility, to create alignment through communication and collaboration, and to add players who want to be Sixers.

    The most cynical outsider could define those words as workplace culture jargon. And shifting that in a meaningful way is a challenge with this organization, which has a reputation of instability, at best. One could argue that always stems from the top — no matter who is in key basketball leadership roles — and ownership has not changed.

    Still, it will be interesting to monitor how Gansey aims to set his organizational tone in these initial months. Do things feel tangibly different with young players around for much of the summer, then when everybody reconvenes for informal workouts and training camp?

  • Taylor Swift repped the Knicks at the Garden and some Philly fans feel betrayed. But should they?

    If you ask some Philadelphia fans, Taylor Swift’s claim to the city should be revoked.

    On Wednesday, Swift sat on Madison Square Garden’s celebrity row to watch the New York Knicks, who swept the Sixers out of the playoffs last month, claw back from a 29-point deficit against the San Antonio Spurs to take a three-games-to-one series lead in the NBA Finals. Swift, who’s from Reading and spent her childhood summers in Stone Harbor, N.J., cheered on New York despite her strong ties to the Philadelphia area.

    The pop star wore a blue T-shirt with “Stevie Knicks” — a nod to Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks — printed in Knicks orange. She was seated between friends and fellow musicians Este and Alana Haim, who sported “Knickole Kidman” and “Knickelback” shirts, and Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, whose character, Olivia Benson, inspired one of Swift’s cats’ names.

    After Swift was spotted at the Garden, Philadelphia fans took to social media to voice their displeasure with the singer’s apparent New York fandom.

    So, what’s actually going on? Did Swift ever rep the Sixers or has she always been a big Knicks fan?

    In April 2002, a 12-year old Swift performed the national anthem before the Sixers tipped off against the Detroit Pistons at the First Union Center (now Xfinity Mobile Arena). Sixers public address announcer Matt Cord, who retired after this past season, introduced the future global star as “Taylor Swift from Reading, Pa.”

    Swift, who also performed the anthem before Game 3 of the 2008 World Series at Citizens Bank Park, recently reflected on singing at her hometown NBA team’s arena during a December appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but she did not mention where her NBA fandom lies. She instead focused on the American flag-themed attire she wore.

    “You know, when you’re like 11 and you’ve got that one outfit that you just know goes so hard,” Swift said. “You just know that when you put this on, you’re like, ‘I’m sorry, I’m unstoppable today.’”

    In 2014, Swift told Time magazine that she began to root for New York earlier that year when she moved to the Big Apple. That year, the “Process Sixers” went 19-63, but the Knicks were not worldbeaters either, finishing 37-45. Her reason for embracing the Knicks evidently was not because of how the team was playing. Instead, it was because of a friendship she formed with New York big man Amar’e Stoudemire.

    “So you run into a bunch of different, interesting types of people at the Met Ball,” Swift told Time. “I’ve gone the last four years. And the most normal people at that event, every single time, are Amar’e Stoudemire and his wife Alexis. I talk with them and hang with them every time I’m there. So I’ve always had this sort of love of the Knicks, just because Amar’e is so cool.”

    It also seems the Sixers did not claim a special place in Swift’s heart because they invited her to sing, either. In fact, as she told Time, she also performed at Madison Square Garden as a child. The Mecca seemed to leave a greater impression on her than the Sixers’ South Philly arena.

    “And also I performed at the Knicks’ — at Madison Square Garden’s kids talent competition at halftime when I was 12 or 13,” Swift said. “And ever since then, I’ve had this kind of sparkly, magical opinion of Madison Square Garden and the Knicks, since they let me sing when I was a little kid.”

    As some on social media have pointed out, Swift also attended Game 3 of the Knicks’ Eastern Conference finals matchup at the Cleveland Cavaliers. At that game, seated next to her fiancé and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, she appeared to root for the Cavaliers — not the Knicks. Kelce and his brother, retired Eagles great Jason Kelce, are from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and have been public in their support for the Cavs.

    Swift’s relationship with the Eagles does not leave many clues to where her loyalty lies, either. Despite previously performing in Eagles jerseys and mentioning the team in her 2020 song “gold rush,” Swift seemingly ditched the Birds after she began to date Kelce. Since then, she has supported Kansas City.

    It seems that Swift will have to correct the record on her favorite teams. Until then, a small sect of Philadelphia Swifties will likely hold out hope. The rest? They seem to have given up.

  • Mike Gansey ran the Cavaliers’ draft. Now, he must infuse that expertise with the Sixers.

    Mike Gansey ran the Cavaliers’ draft. Now, he must infuse that expertise with the Sixers.

    When asked about his strengths as a leader, new 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey mostly provided generic examples during Monday’s introductory news conference.

    He called himself a “connector” who can build relationships with players, agents, and staffers at all levels of the organization. He said he managed the Cleveland Cavaliers’ day-to-day front office operations as the general manager under that team’s president of basketball operations, Koby Altman. Gansey added that he believed in creating “alignment” throughout the whole Sixers’ facility, along with a positive work environment.

    Perhaps the one tangible responsibility Gansey revealed about his time in Cleveland?

    “I ran the draft,” he said.

    Jameer Nelson wants to be ‘part of the solution’ for the Sixers. His promotion provides an opportunity to do that ‘at home.’

    Consider it fortuitous timing that this is Gansey’s first roster-building checkpoint with the Sixers. They have the 22nd overall pick on June 23, which was acquired in the controversial Jared McCain trade executed by former lead executive Daryl Morey. Now, Gansey will aim to blend in with a group of front-office executives who have already done significant prospect evaluation — and “drafted really, really well” in past years, he said — while infusing his own expertise.

    “I’m excited to learn from them,” Gansey said, “and, obviously, put my vision and put my imprint on the draft. … We’re going to dive into that the next two weeks, and try to get the best person and player for the Sixers.”

    This year’s draft is not as high-profile as when the Sixers selected VJ Edgecombe, who instantly became a standout rookie, third overall last summer. Still, there is a sense of urgency less than two weeks before this selection.

    Gansey’s first task, according to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment president Bob Myers, is getting his bearings with a Sixers front office that still features continuity even with former general manager Elton Brand expected to transition into a new role and title. Jameer Nelson was elevated to executive vice president of basketball operations, while vice president of player personnel Prosper Karangwa agreed to a contract extension, The Inquirer confirmed. Gansey also mentioned assistant general managers Ned Cohen and Fan-Hal Kuong and Blue Coats general manager Ariana Andonian by name during his introductory news conference.

    Mike Gansey made his first appearance as Sixers president of basketball operations during a news conference on Monday.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Myers said Gansey must learn nuances such as how much the Sixers lean on analytics in prospect evaluation in comparison to his 15 years working his way up with the Cavaliers, or how much input scouts and coach Nick Nurse will have. And though Myers added that the Sixers will explore possible trades for the pick, “usually you end up drafting, [that’s] the truth,” he said.

    “It’s really getting an understanding,” Myers said of Gansey’s approach, “of, ‘OK, we did it this way in Cleveland. How do you guys do it?’ And working together to this group.”

    The Sixers’ draft picks in recent years include McCain at 16th overall and Adem Bona in the second round in 2024. Recently anointed All-NBA third-teamer Tyrese Maxey went 21st in a bizarre, COVID-impacted 2020 draft, a pick Nelson on Monday acknowledged that, “We got lucky with the person. We got lucky with the player.” When the Sixers had the 23rd pick in 2022, they traded it for DeAnthony Melton, a successful two-way role player when healthy for two seasons.

    “At 22, you want to get a combination of best player available and fit with our roster,” Gansey said when asked about his overall draft philosophy.

    The Mike Gansey era has begun. Where do the Sixers go from here?

    Gansey’s Cleveland draft successes include using the No. 20 pick in 2024 on Jaylon Tyson, who started 42 games this past season and was a tenacious defender against Maxey. The Cavaliers used a second-round pick last year on Tyrese Proctor, a veteran guard on the Cooper Flagg-Kon Knueppel Duke team who then played in 50 games as a rookie for Cleveland. The Cavaliers also signed Dean Wade as an undrafted free agent in 2019, then developed him into a rotation player.

    Since Gansey was preparing to select 29th with the Cavaliers prior to landing the Sixers job, Myers assured that, “It’s not like he’s sitting there going, ‘I don’t know who any of these guys are.’” The new-look front office’s decision that night will then lead into how it approaches free agency, which opens June 30.

    So it was understandable why Gansey was ready to move past the hubbub of Monday’s formal introduction in Philly.

    Because his roster-building specialty awaits.

    “I’m ready to kind of get today over with and go for the draft,” Gansey said, “because we’re two weeks away.”

  • Jalen Brunson and ‘Nova Knicks overcome NBA Finals record 29-point deficit to take 3-1 lead over Spurs

    NEW YORK — The legend of Jalen Brunson grows.

    The ‘Nova Knicks, all heart and grit and chilling composure, completed the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, erasing a 29-point second-quarter deficit to take a one-point lead on a floater by — who else — indomitable point guard Brunson with 1 minute, 22 seconds left to play. With 1.2 seconds remaining, trailing by one, OG Anunoby tipped in Brunson’s missed three-pointer.

    It was Brunson’s 36th point. It was Anunoby’s 33rd.

    It was a 107-106 win over the Spurs, forever enshrined as the NBA’s biggest chokers. The Knicks know all about that.

    However, they now stand 48 minutes away from ending a 53-year drought. Only one NBA team has blown a 3-1 lead in the Finals, and those 2016 Golden State Warriors faced prime Kyrie Irving and LeBron James in his prodigal return to Cleveland.

    Trump attends ’Nova Knicks game and they end a 13-game playoff winning streak. Coincidence?

    This was a momentum win. A historic win. A fairy tale win that carved the hearts out of a team with far better players but with far less backbone.

    It was a last-second, never-say-die win in the Mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden, accomplished in front of stars ranging from Jerry Seinfeld to Jay-Z to Taylor Swift to Timothée Chalamet.

    A win delivered by divine intervention, perhaps; after all, a nun blessed the Garden with holy water after the Game 3 loss, and Villanova is a Catholic university, after all.

    OK, it might not have been miraculous, or even sacral, but it’s probably the best win in the history of the franchise. The kind of win that 19,812 attended but 1.9 million will claim to have witnessed in the flesh.

    It was that epic.

    It was the sort of statement game that gets a number retired, hung from the rafters in the Garden alongside Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley and Patrick Ewing and Willis Reed. A number like the No. 11 that Brunson wears. He carried the Knicks all season, all playoffs, and all night.

    He was drafted 33rd in 2018 having won two NCAA titles at Villanova, both with Knicks teammate Mikal Bridges, one with Knicks teammate Josh Hart. Asked recently what the NBA teams missed that draft, Brunson replied:

    “Everything.” He looked down. “Humph.”

    Bridges was largely absent Wednesday, and Hart actually missed a dunk and failed to box out on a play that gave the Spurs their last lead, but that’s hoop. They just hoop.

    All three have overachieved, but no one has overachieved in the NBA like Brunson in decades.

    Maybe ever.

    He’s 6-foot-1-ish. He can’t jump. He’s not super fast.

    But he is everything that New York loves about itself, and everything Villanova was in the Jay Wright era.

    The Coach was there, by the way. Brunson, towel over his shoulders, found him on the court after the game. They hugged.

    As they were in Finneran Pavilion and what’s now called Xfinity Mobile Arena and all those NCAA tourney sites, the ‘Nova Knicks were indefatigable. Relentless. Resilient.

    The opposite of San Antonio.

    The Spurs were probably the most talented team in the NBA this season, and for 24 minutes, the played like it. They also are the second-youngest team in NBA Finals history, and, for the final 24 minutes of Game 4, they played like it.

    What was the game like? It was like the Patriots, nine years ago, in Super Bowl LI, when Tom Brady erased a 25-point deficit. That’s the only thing that comes close.

    Jalen Brunson.

    Tom Brady.

    Seriously.

    If Brady had done it in Foxborough, Mass., in front of a home crowd that hadn’t won a title since Richard Nixon was president.

    Just before his game-winning putback, Anunoby blocked a layup that, with 11 seconds to play and a one-point lead, De’Aaron Fox inexplicably and inexcusably took, so he will get more shone today. Fine. Let him have his moment.

    This is Brunson’s team. These are the ‘Nova Knicks.

    The ‘Nova Knicks lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1.

    It feels like 5-1.

    “One word that captures that all is just ‘believe,’” Brunson told ESPN afterward. “Just believing in each other. Believing in the process.”

    It felt impossible early, especially considering the officiating in the series, and the signature play so far, which, of course, involved Brunson.

    The play happened in the first quarter of Game 3 on Monday, which the Knicks lost by four points, and it was seismic at the time and it is seismic today. It was a no-call on Victor Wembanyama that the NBA reviewed to determine if it was flagrant. It was not.

    Had the foul been deemed a Flagrant 2, it would have been Wembanyama’s second of the playoffs. Flagrant 2 fouls carry two flagrant points. Four total flagrant points carry an automatic one-game suspension.

    The NBA simply could not have that. Wemby’s just too important.

    Why does that matter now, several days later?

    Because in Game 4 on Wednesday, Wembanyama was assessed a Flagrant 1 when he cracked Karl-Anthony Towns in the jaw with an elbow.

    That gave him three flagrant points. Which means had the foul Monday been deemed a Flagrant 1, Wembanyama would have been disqualified for Game 5 on Saturday.

    Again: He’s too important.

    Towns? Not so much.

    Within the first 62 seconds on Wednesday, KAT, who carried the Knicks in Games 1 and 2, was on the bench with two questionable fouls. Less than two minutes later, the Knicks trailed, 12-2.

    It changed the complexion of the game, the series … everything.

    Philly’s Mikal Bridges is in his second NBA Finals. His grit comes from his mom, who raised him as a single parent.

    The series is pulling crazy ratings thanks in part to the Big Apple’s Big Three, but Brunson, Hart, and Bridges operate on a thin margin for error. To beat a team like the Spurs, who won nine more regular-season games than the Knicks, they need Towns on the court and on his game.

    He picked up his third foul less than five minutes into the second quarter, another phantom infraction considering the physicality of these Finals.

    The Wemby Show, the NBA’s most wholesome narrative since Steph Curry, continues, even though he missed two late throws.

    Wembanyama finished third in MVP voting in his just his third season. An elegant Frenchman of Congolese descent with the comportment and habits of a Renaissance man — he plays competitive chess and sketches in the park — Wembanyama is the NBA’s best vehicle for basketball globalization since Joel Embiid. That one hasn’t really worked out.

    At the time of Wemby-Gate, the Knicks led the series, 2-0. A bit later, at halftime of Game 3, the Knicks led the game by seven.

    And then … the Spurs were awarded 16 more free throws than were the Knicks in the second half of Game 3. Afterward, when asked about the altercation, Brunson replied, “Whatever you saw is what you saw.”

    The refs saw nothing in real time. The NBA saw a catastrophe if Wembanyama missed Game 4. He’d scored 32 in Game 3, and even with all that free-throw help, the Spurs still barely won.

    He missed two free throws late Wednesday. Karma.

    Then, that horrid first half for the home team. If it seemed like everything was going against the Knicks, well, it was.

    And, then, it wasn’t.

  • The Sixers need to reconnect with the region. Jameer Nelson is their best hope.

    The Sixers need to reconnect with the region. Jameer Nelson is their best hope.

    Jameer Nelson took care to draw a distinction that was important to him and should be important to the franchise that has promoted him.

    “Growing up in this area — everybody keeps saying Philly — I’m a Chester native,” he said Monday. “Philly adopted me.”

    There’s a difference between the two, as anyone who has lived and followed basketball in the Philadelphia area long enough can tell you. Chester is a small, forever struggling city with its own glorious hoops history, with a high school program that has won eight PIAA boys basketball championships, with its own heroes and legends, the 76ers’ executive vice president of basketball operations among them.

    Jameer Nelson wants to be ‘part of the solution’ for the Sixers. His promotion provides an opportunity to do that ‘at home.’

    When Nelson mentioned his favorite players as a kid, he name-dropped Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson. Any Chester aficionado would have chided him for leaving John Linehan and Zain Shaw off his list, and he laughed in acknowledgment of the omission.

    That contrast might not seem to mean much. But it said everything about Nelson’s potential value to the Sixers, to his ability to provide at least some of the institutional memory and understanding of the market that the organization has lacked for so long. “No one more capable,” Phil Martelli, Nelson’s coach at St. Joseph’s, said in a text message Monday.

    He knows Philadelphia and Chester and knows they aren’t quite the same. He knows what it was like here in 2001, when Iverson led the Sixers to the NBA Finals, and he knows what it was like in early 2004, when Nelson himself led the Hawks in that magical unbeaten regular season and that run to the Elite Eight.

    Jameer Nelson Sr. was a 2,000-point scorer for St. Josephs. He ignited the Hawks to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2004.George Reynolds / Staff Photographer

    He knows what will play here and what won’t, who can play here and who can’t.

    “Understanding the landscape and understanding what this team means to the city, I can bring that,” said Nelson, who had a 14-year playing career in the NBA. “I can help everybody in the building understand that because I understand it. Growing up, I was one of the people who are doing what people are doing now.”

    Too few people among the Sixers’ previous power players have had that background, and no member of the current leadership has it. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment president Bob Myers lives in California. Mike Gansey, the Sixers’ new president of basketball operations, reminded people at the team’s headquarters in Camden that he “just got here” after growing up in the Cleveland area and working for the Cavaliers for 15 years. And managing partner Josh Harris splits his time between Miami and his $28 million mansion in the Georgetown section of Washington, parachuting into town for home games and the latest hiring/firing news conference.

    Nelson still is third in the pecking order at best within the Sixers’ basketball hierarchy, behind Myers and Gansey. But at least his new title might afford him a louder, stronger voice when it comes time to draft, sign, or trade for players the Sixers hope to have here for a while. Myers said aloud Monday what anyone who has followed this team already knew to be true: “We’ve got to find an identity. We just don’t have one.” That assertion goes beyond the Sixers’ style of play.

    It gets to the character and attitude of the players, the coaches, everyone in the organization. It gets to the Sixers’ giving themselves a better chance of making better decisions. For every time they’ve recognized that Tyrese Maxey or VJ Edgecombe had the mental and emotional makeup to cut it here, they’ve failed to see that Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz didn’t, that James Harden and Paul George and mercenaries like them, stars who require a softer setting, were unlikely to thrive or to be embraced.

    “Anytime you can put somebody in a leadership role who understands and embraces it and is reared here, it’s an advantage,” Myers said. “I don’t know to say it was a negative last year or in years past, but I do think most people would agree this is a uniquely spirited community, and having someone who knows that and grows up and feels that — and the responsibility that comes with it — I love that Jameer is in the place he’s in.”

    The Mike Gansey era has begun. Where do the Sixers go from here? | David Murphy

    The Sixers under Harris need Nelson’s instincts and experience and all the additional help they can get in that regard. A longtime NBA executive noted recently that in professional sports, you often can trace a franchise’s excellence or stability to the geographical proximity and familiarity of its owner. Does the person in charge live where the team is based? Did they grow up there? Do they truly understand the city and its fan base?

    Spurs managing partner Peter Holt has deep familial ties to San Antonio. The Heat’s Micky Arison has lived most of his life in Miami. Joe Lacob was a Warriors season ticket-holder for nearly 10 years before he bought the team in 2010. Jeffrey Lurie relocated from Boston and took the time to learn what Philadelphia was all about. Ed Snider and John Middleton were already here to know.

    New Sixers executive vice president of basketball operations Jameer Nelson (left) talks with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO Tad Brown (right) after Mike Gansey’s introduction press conference on Monday.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    James Dolan is a surveillance-happy nepo-Boomer who, after a quarter-century of mismanaging the Knicks, finally stumbled into ecstasy thanks to Leon Rose, William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley, and Jalen Brunson. But Dolan’s also a native Long Islander who felt the heat in New York — the city where rebuilding isn’t allowed — every time one of his cockamamie attempts to quick-fix his franchise went awry.

    The NBA thinks it solved its tanking problem. But some La Salle researchers might have a better fix.

    Too often since Harris took control of them in 2011, the Sixers have acted as if they’re content to be interesting, to settle for the sugar rush of another roster shake-up and a sold-out arena instead of putting in the demanding, patient work that leads to genuine and lasting success. “You can’t buy championships,” said Myers, who won four of them as the Warriors’ general manager. “You have to go through it to get them.”

    Whether it’s the pain of Sam Hinkie’s Process or the cost of exceeding the league’s luxury-tax threshold, Harris’ Sixers have shown a reluctance to make such sacrifices, and their status in the city and their performance come the second round of each year’s playoffs have sunk because of it. If nothing else, in Jameer Nelson, out of Chester and adopted by Philadelphia, they have someone who can remind them that the hard way is what this region prizes and rewards, the only way that works.

  • Jameer Nelson wants to be ‘part of the solution’ for the Sixers. His promotion provides an opportunity to do that ‘at home.’

    Jameer Nelson wants to be ‘part of the solution’ for the Sixers. His promotion provides an opportunity to do that ‘at home.’

    During early conversations with Josh Harris and Bob Myers, new 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey asked a version of this question multiple times:

    Can we keep Jameer?

    Can we elevate Jameer?

    News popped Sunday that those inquiries had become reality. Jameer Nelson was promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations, the No. 2 front-office position under Gansey. It continues Nelson’s rise through his hometown NBA organization following a terrific playing career, which on Monday the Chester native and former St. Joseph’s star called “actually a surreal moment.”

    “Six years ago, when I started [with the Sixers], I had no idea where this journey would take me,” Nelson said following Gansey’s introductory news conference at the Sixers’ facility. “Credit to the organization for believing in me … To do it for the home team gives me goosebumps, to be honest with you.

    “I think it’s one of the things that people take for granted: when you can actually help out an organization but, more importantly, do it at home.”

    Mike Gansey plans to build around Sixers’ current core while growing the team’s culture: ‘I want fountains, not drains’

    Nelson was reportedly the primary internal candidate for the top job that went to Gansey, following a search spearheaded by Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and former lead executive during the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty. When asked about the process that ultimately resulted in Nelson’s promotion from assistant general manager, he said, “It was fun, and it’s always good to be wanted.”

    Vice president of player personnel Prosper Karangwa also attended Monday’s news conference, after The Inquirer confirmed Sunday that he had agreed to a multi-year contract extension. Fellow assistant general manager Ned Cohen and Delaware Blue Coats general manager Ariana Andonian also were present. Not spotted: Elton Brand, who is expected to transition to a new role and title after stints as the Sixers’ top front office decision-maker and as general manager under former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who was fired May 12.

    That all makes Nelson the prime example of front office continuity — he fielded questions about Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid on Monday — and deep local roots. Nelson considers himself “Philadelphia adopted,” idolizing Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant before his own successful career.

    Nelson’s understanding of the current roster, city’s passionate fan base, and media scrutiny also was valuable to Myers.

    “He has that equity with our players and the community,” Myers said.

    Jameer Nelson talks with guard VJ Edgecombe before Game 2 of the second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on May 6.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    The Sixers went 45-37 during the 2025-26 regular season, came back from a three-games-to-one deficit to upset the Boston Celtics in the playoffs’ first round, then were swept by the Finals-bound New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They also face an immediately challenging roster setup, with Maxey and Edgecombe forming a dynamic young backcourt, but Embiid and fellow injury-plagued veteran Paul George still on max contracts for multiple seasons.

    As Nelson’s 14-year NBA playing career wound down, he initially thought he would become a coach. Instead, Brand hired Nelson as a Sixers scout, before being elevated to general manager of the G League-affiliate Blue Coats. Collaborating with players and coaches in that role “[quenched] my thirst for coaching,” Nelson said, while he learned how to lead all aspects of a professional organization.

    He was promoted to Sixers assistant general manager last year. Myers noticed that Morey empowered Nelson in that position, and regularly sent him on road trips to interact with returning coach Nick Nurse. Nelson added that an unnamed “former co-worker ‘above me’ in title” challenged that, if Nelson did not make that superior better, he had “failed.”

    Mike Gansey’s career started in Cleveland. Here’s how that experience will inform his role as Sixers president of basketball operations.

    “My voice was bigger,” Nelson said of his role this past season. “Ultimately, I always had the confidence to know who I am. But it just gave me more confidence when I had a project, and I was able to accomplish the goal. …

    “You don’t have to be ‘ready.’ You have to be prepared. I’ll look at it like that: Just be prepared for everything to figure things out, and help the group make the right decision.”

    Nelson acknowledged Monday that, in past years, he has received job interest from other teams. But he wants to be “part of the solution here” and feels “responsibility to help this organization move forward.”

    Gansey understands that connection to the Sixers and Philly because of past college battles, when Gansey’s St. Bonaventure teams went 0-2 against Nelson’s St. Joseph’s squads. That is a reason why, when Gansey landed his new gig, it was “kind of a sticking point” that Nelson also received this promotion.

    “I think I got the win now,” Gansey said. “Got him on my side.”