NBA Basketball Wiretap

Mitchell Robinson addressed the hand injury he suffered before the NBA Finals on a Facebook post on Sunday, saying it was related to his reaction after hearing that his younger brother was in a car accident.

"I received an unexpected phone call, and my family members contacted me, informing me that my youngest brother had been involved in a car accident. I did not see the messages until I arrived home late that night. As the eldest sibling, I felt a deep sense of concern, and I immediately went into panic mode.

"I began returning calls and texts, and when I FaceTimed my brother, I thought he was deceased. He was wearing a neck brace, unresponsive, and not speaking. I broke down in tears, feeling like a failure for not being able to protect my siblings. Being 910 miles away, I felt helpless. In a moment of frustration, I banged my hand on my truck," wrote Robinson in his post.

Robinson averaged 4.8 points and 5.5 rebounds over 18 playoff games.

Robinson most recently signed a three-year, $47.4 million deal with the Celtics. 

The 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 20.6 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, setting an all-time audience record for the network and marking the most-watched Finals since Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz in 1998, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

Game 5 on ABC drew an average of 24.5 million viewers and peaked at 33 million during the closing moments of New York's championship-clinching victory. It was the most-watched NBA Finals Game 5 since 1998.

The five-game series doubled viewership from last year's seven-game NBA Finals, representing a 100 percent increase year over year when the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in a highly entertaining seven-game series.

ABC and ESPN's Finals broadcasts topped all of television each night, leading every major male and adult demographic category.

Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP after leading the Knicks to the series victory in Game 5, delivering New York its first NBA championship in more than five decades.

The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 to win the 2026 NBA championship. Victor Wembanyama addressed reporters afterward, calling the series a defining moment in his career.

"I think that compared to anything before, this is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment," said Wembanyama. "I can't tell you exactly what the lesson is, but we're learning from that, for sure. I'm learning more than any other time in my life before."

Wembanyama pointed to the Spurs' inconsistency as the deciding factor in the series.

"I learned one of many things, the margin of error is very thin," said Wembanyama. "Our domination stints are absolute. We absolutely dominated for most of the series. But our errors, our mistakes, are punished so hard that we can't have ups and downs like this.

"The ups are okay. The downs is the reason we lost."

He acknowledged the difficulty of accepting that championships often require years of development as reporters cited the paths of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Jerry West.

"Extremely. It's painful. It's painful," said Wembanyama. "But I'm not running away from that. I'm using to fuel me. I'm sure all these guys you named, they're not satisfied with being eliminated in earlier rounds or not making the Playoffs.

"I'm not satisfied with not winning. But as I said, this is the biggest lesson of my life. As a team, there's no better experience than what we just lived."

Wembanyama also expressed frustration over the wait until the Spurs can compete for a championship again.

"What I'm pissed about is that there's probably a hundred games before we can be back in Finals," said Wembanyama. "I don't know how to say it in English, but I'm going to have to hold that inside of me and slow down and wait and execute for a hundred games."

Jalen Brunson has been named Most Valuable Player of the 2026 NBA Finals in a unanimous vote of 11 media members.

Brunson becomes the ninth unique Finals MVP over the past nine seasons dating back to Kevin Durant in 2018. Brunson joins Nikola Jokic as the only second round picks in the modern era to win Finals MVPs. Since 2021, the average draft position of Finals MVP is 20.5 .

Brunson had 45 points on 14-for-27 shooting from the floor and 13-for-15 at the line. The rest of the Knicks combined for just 49 points in Game 5.

Brunson previously won a pair of national championships in college with Villanova.

The New York Knicks have won the 2026 NBA championship, beating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5. The Knicks hadn't won a championship since 1973.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 45 points in the closeout game as he went 14-for-27 from the floor and 13-for-15 from the line. Brunson battled to keep the Spurs' lead close despite foul trouble from both Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby. Brunson immediately embraced his father, Rick Brunson, after the final buzzer.

Dylan Harper scored 25 points to lead the Spurs as Stephon Castle and De'Aaron Fox combined to to 4-for-25 from the field.

The Spurs rebounded from a heartbreaking Game 4 loss in which they blew a 29-point lead to give a valiant effort in Game 5, but their offense completely slowed down in the fourth quarter as they were outscored 29-18 by the Knicks.

"I have no words," said Brunson to Lisa Salters. "Everything I've ever dreamed of. I'm in awe."

The Knicks become the NBA's eighth different champion over the past eight seasons.

New York replaced Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown as head coach last offseason despite reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. During the first round after going down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks began a 13-game win streak that was only broken in Game 3 of the Finals as they played the best basketball of this era of the team.

The 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are averaging 19.6 million viewers through four games, making it the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998 and the most-watched ever on ABC and ESPN combined, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. The 1998 Finals featured the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz in a rematch of the previous year's Finals and the last one with Michael Jordan.

Game 4 on Wednesday averaged 20.9 million viewers, the largest NBA Finals Game 4 audience since 1998 and the most-watched Game 4 in ABC history. Viewership peaked at 23.2 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET as the Knicks completed their 29-point comeback over the Spurs.

Game 4 viewership rose 123% from the comparable game last year, while the four-game average is up 116% from last year's championship series.

Game 3 drew 23.8 million viewers and peaked at 26.3 million viewers at 11:15 p.m. ET.

Wednesday's broadcast was also the most-watched program of the day across all of television and led all key male and adult demographic categories for June 10.

During Friday's media availability, Jalen Brunson was asked whether it feels any different for him going into Game 5 now that the New York Knicks are one win away from the NBA championship.

"Zero-zero," replied Brunson with the implication that the next game is the only one that matters rather than looking it as the Knicks being up 3-1.

Brunson was also asked how he's been preparing for Game 5 after the Knicks' improbable Game 4 comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs.

"I think whenever you win or lose a game, that night, I mean, you're going to think about it, think about the things you've done well or what you did wrong," said Brunson.

"I've always told myself when you wake up the next day, it's time to turn the page. Yes, we won, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have a lot to learn. We didn't play our best basketball. We still have a lot to revisit to make sure that we don't really put ourselves in that position again."

Victor Wembanyama says both he and the San Antonio Spurs still have confidence that they will win the 2026 NBA championship despite their 3-1 deficit to the New York Knicks. The Spurs blew a 29-point lead in Game 4 and also had multiple clear opportunities to win both Games 1 and 2 at home. The Knicks are only +8 in the series despite a 3-1 series lead.

Sam Amick of The Athletic was asked about the mindset of the Spurs entering Game 5 and whether they think they're capable of a comeback in the series.

"Absolutely," said Wembanyama. "Everybody thinks, everybody knows, we're going to do it.

I don't know if I agree with you. I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time.

I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games. It's one game at a time.

Following the Spurs' Game 4 loss, Wembanyama was asked what was going through his mind.

"I think it's going to go one of two ways," said Wembanyama. "One of two ways. A bad one and a good one.

"The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we're going to do."

After blowing a Finals-record 29-point lead in Game 4, the San Antonio Spurs face a must-win Game 5 at home. League insiders closely watching the series are calling for a larger role for rookie guard Dylan Harper against the New York Knicks.

Multiple observers from opposing teams told ESPN that Harper should be a bigger part of San Antonio's game plan going forward, with one Western Conference executive advocating for Harper to enter the starting lineup for just the seventh time in his professional career.

"He's their second-best player," said the executive. "It's incredible how good he's become so quickly."

Harper has come off the bench throughout the Finals, posting averages of 16.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in the series. He scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting across 32 minutes in Game 4 but was largely kept out of late-game situations as De'Aaron Fox controlled the ball down the stretch.

"This is going to be a real test of the Spurs' resolve," said a Western Conference scout. "They've shown they've got resilience, and they have a lot of emotional maturity ... they've shown they can get off the mat. But was that game the final straw?"

Several sources expect San Antonio to win Game 5 and push the series back to Madison Square Garden. Victor Wembanyama's stamina will also be closely watched after he logged 44 minutes in Game 4 and showed visible fatigue late. The two-day rest before Game 5 may prove critical to his recovery.

OG Anunoby ranks first in the 2026 NBA Finals in Player Efficiency Rating at 25.7 after his performance in the New York Knicks' comeback win in Game 4. Anunoby entered the game ranked second behind Victor Wembanyama with a mark of 23.8. Wembanyama dropped from 26.5 to 24.0 with his Game 4 performance.

Jalen Brunson played his game of the series in Game 4 and jumped up from 13.9 to 17.9 as he strengthens his analytical argument for Finals MVP should the Knicks close out the series. 

2026 NBA Finals PER (Through Game 4):
1. OG Anunoby: 25.7
2. Victor Wembanyama: 24.0
3. Karl-Anthony Towns: 21.0
4. Jalen Brunson: 17.9
5. Dylan Harper 16.2
6. Mitchell Robinson: 15.6
7. Josh Hart: 15.2
8. Stephon Castle: 15.1
9. Devin Vassell: 14.7
10. Carter Bryant: 14.7
11. Jose Alvarado: 13.4
12. Julian Champagnie: 13.4
13.  Luke Korent: 12.9
14. Mikal Bridges: 11.5
15. De'Aaron Fox: 10.9
16. Landry Shamet: 6.1
17. Keldon Johnson: 3.9
18. Miles McBride: -0.4