In losing the NBA Finals, the young Spurs learned that being more talented doesn’t make you the better team. Being unflappably confident doesn’t actually fix your crunch-time offense. It won’t make De’Aaron Fox’s shots go down, nor will it give Victor Wembanyama a signature move that can actually guarantee him a bucket. In the end, that’s what did the Spurs in. They didn’t have the one thing that was certain. Their offense was too often a journey without a destination. Their dominance was upended by their ignorance. They did not own the floor in a way that champions do. There’s a difference between being a great player and being a winner. There is a focus and desperation that is just different. Read the full story for free on @TheAthletic below 👇

We began this journey exploring whether synergy—the idea that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts—could be measured & priced. The '25–26 #NBA season is now complete. 153–49 (75.74%) Series Predictions: 13–2 (86.67%) What follows is not a projection, its our record

We do have a player metric for that. Whether it's fatigue or something else isn't obvious because, as shown here, it's not only Wemby who plays worse after Q1 for SA.

Magic Johnson on how special this Knicks team is: Magic: “I don’t wanna hear no talk about Giannis, or no other player coming to this team. This is a great team. I’ve watched a lot of basketball. The way these guys love each other. Play for each other. Pull for one another. You’re not gonna see this anywhere else. The, grit, the toughness that’s how they beat you. Together.” Stephen A: “You’re telling me, this team, as presently constructed, you wouldn’t change—” Magic: “Nope.” Stephen A: “Even if they don’t win the Finals, no changes?” Magic: “You keep em together and make small changes. This team knows how to play so well with each other. And off of Brunson. Everybody is comfortable in their role. KAT could start for another team tomorrow. OG can go to another team and be a star. But he’s good to play his role. Bridges too. And Hart, no 2 guard rebounds like Josh Hart. So you’ve got the pieces, and they’re all happy.” Stephen A: “But—” Magic: “Now, if you trade for Giannis, how many dudes you gotta give up just to get him? It’s a different team now. The whole team changes.” Stephen A: “That’s true.” Magic: “This team. I love this team. I love the Knicks. They play basketball right. Don’t change.”

Tim Bontemps reacts to the overreaction to Wembanyama’s quote: “This is where the internet is a stupid place. He got asked, how is everybody feeling coming off of this loss and how the groups feeling about coming back in the series. And he said: ‘Everybody thinks they’re going to come back and win the series.’ What would everybody like Victor Wembanyama to say? ‘We’re screwed? We’re going to lose tomorrow by 30? The series is over?’ Like what the hell are we talking about.” #GoSpursGo #PorVida

There is a lot of crazy talk after the SA implosion, blaming it on "analytics" when what the Spurs did in the 2nd half was anti-analytics. They shot more mid-range shots and their shot quality was a season worst.