{"id":802673,"date":"2026-05-17T10:52:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T10:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/802673\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T10:52:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T10:52:06","slug":"starting-5-spurs-thunder-in-wcf-cavs-pistons-game-7-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/802673\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting 5: Spurs &#038; Thunder In WCF, Cavs-Pistons Game 7 Sun."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Castle to Wemby<\/strong>. ROY to ROY.\u00a0From the Lottery to the Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>San Antonio\u2019s future<\/strong> is here now,\u00a0with a date with the defending champs on the way.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2206032\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ezgif.com-optimize.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\"\/><\/p>\n<p>5 STORIES IN TODAY\u2019S EDITION \ud83c\udfc0<\/p>\n<p>May 16, 2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spurs Dominate: <\/strong>Stephon Castle &amp; crew leave no question in advancing to WCF<\/p>\n<p><strong>Back To Detroit:<\/strong> Pistons hand Cavs first home loss of Playoffs to force Game 7<\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 7, Again:<\/strong> Who\u2019s got the edge in this familiar finale for both clubs?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brunson\u2019s Legacy:<\/strong> Reflecting on Captain Clutch\u2019s New York ascent, four Playoff runs in<\/p>\n<p><strong>Draft Combine:<\/strong> Unique backstories and facts for this year\u2019s top Draft prospects<\/p>\n<p>BUT FIRST \u2026 \u23f0<\/p>\n<p>Counting down to Sunday\u2019s Game 7\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015113_890_original.jpg\" alt=\"Scores &amp; Schedule\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>With no games<\/strong> tonight, Sunday brings one last run to decide the East Semis.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Up Next: <\/strong>The Western Conference Finals are set, with the No. 2 Spurs taking on the No. 1 Thunder, beginning Monday (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/playoffs\/2026\/west-final?lid=itrkp0mn9vym\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">8:30 ET, NBC\/Peacock<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kia MVP Award: <\/strong>Punctuating <a href=\"https:\/\/ablink.email.nba.com\/ss\/c\/u001.fU_tQ3ryLfvcyfv2oQYkvoOppb9JGsHRgpOi-PV5LHsQ0acz_d-w04w08J6-l3_LKC0uvGrkYf-lGXPvjQtavw\/4qo\/YDfR6obmTVW4ecAMr7ZQUg\/h19\/h001.uwS0UPPKYdZrTixMDaAJW1cfkEBRn8_-WoNvbmd58O8?lid=niru0xl5m4ki\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">NBA Awards season<\/a>, the winner of the 2025-26 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award will be revealed Sunday during Prime\u2019s pregame coverage (7:30 ET). The finalists are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/strong> (Thunder)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nikola Joki\u0107<\/strong> (Nuggets)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Victor Wembanyama<\/strong> (Spurs)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Social Justice Champion:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/2026-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed?lid=o17s4tpn1c8r\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Finalists have also been announced<\/a> for 2025-26 NBA Social Justice Champion award, including three players active last night: Tobias Harris, Harrison Barnes and Larry Nance Jr. The winner, to be announced during the Conference Finals, will receive the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015113_411_original.jpg\" alt=\"Playoff bracket\"\/><\/p>\n<p>1. CASTLE, SPURS DOMINATE GAME 6 TO FINISH WOLVES, MOVE ON TO OKC<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015114_329_original.jpg\" alt=\"San Antonio Spurs\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>A 20-0 run<\/strong> to open the 2nd quarter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A 28-point<\/strong> lead with just under 4 minutes to go in 3rd.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A congratulatory visit<\/strong> to the Spurs bench from a subbed-out Ant Edwards, with 8:01 left and the lead up to 33.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Signs of San Antonio\u2019s<\/strong> dominance could be found throughout Game 6 in Minnesota. Now, headed to their first WCF since 2017, the Spurs are set for their biggest test yet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spurs 139, Wolves 109:<\/strong> Victor Wembanyama (19 pts, 6 rev, 3 blk) dominated defensively, while Stephon Castle set Playoff career-highs with 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead six double-digit Spurs scorers en route to a 4-2 series victory.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony Edwards\u2019<\/strong> 24 points led the Wolves, who also got an early boost from Naz Reid (18 pts). | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/sas-vs-min-0042500236?lid=yctslalpm4g9\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Recap<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Hot Start:<\/strong> Four of San Antonio\u2019s first five makes were triples, building an 18-8 lead in just over 4 minutes. But Reid answered with two of his own to pull the Wolves back within 5 (25-20)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Power Play:<\/strong> The Spurs then moved to put Minnesota away early, scoring the first 20 points of the 2nd quarter to lead 56-27. Wemby logged 7 of his 19 in that surge<\/li>\n<li><strong>Out Of Reach:<\/strong> After the Wolves again answered to cut the lead to 13 at half, the Spurs controlled the 3rd, 36-23. And when the lead hit 33 early in the 4th, Ant shook hands<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015115_970_original.jpg\" alt=\"Stephon Castle, Anthony Edwards\" width=\"759\" height=\"429\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Berding\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cAt that point<\/strong>, you know you ain\u2019t going back in so you just trying to give them the respect they deserve,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cJust tip my hat to them. It was just a better team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The loss<\/strong> denied Ant\u2019s Wolves a third-straight Western Conference Finals appearance, while San Antonio now eyes its first NBA Finals bid since 2014.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stephon\u2019s Turn:<\/strong> Castle (21y, 197d) became the youngest player in NBA history to record 30+ points, 10+ boards, 5+ assists and 5+ 3s in a single postseason game, besting Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s (22y, 83d) mark<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spurs First:<\/strong> He\u2019s also the first player in Spurs history to reach those numbers for points, rebounds and 3s in a single postseason game<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cOur energy and our attention<\/strong> to detail was probably the best it\u2019s been all series,\u201d said Castle, who got started with 14 of his 32 points in the 1st quarter<\/li>\n<li><strong>Texas Rain: <\/strong>San Antonio knocked down a franchise Playoff record 18 3s in this win, with nine coming from Castle, De\u2019Aaron Fox (21 pts, 3 3s) and Dylan Harper (15 pts)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2206032\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ezgif.com-optimize.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>So how did<\/strong> the Spurs\u2019 young core, in their first postseason, carry the team into the West Finals?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Two-Way Dominance: <\/strong>San Antonio outscored Minnesota cumulatively by 97 points in their series, the largest win margin of the Second Round. The Spurs\u2019 largest deficit in the series was 9 points (Game 4)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lightning Rod:<\/strong> Wembanyama led the Spurs in scoring for the West Semis with 20.3 ppg, while also posting one of the team\u2019s top-3 defensive ratings (96.8)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Historic First 10: <\/strong>Wemby joined David Robinson as the only players since 1973-74 to average 20+ points, 10+ boards and 4+ blocks over their first 10 postseason games<\/li>\n<li><strong>All-Time Rim Protection:<\/strong> Wemby and Robinson (1990) stand with Dikembe Mutombo (1994) as the only players since 1973-74 to average 4+ blocks through their first 10 career postseason games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015116_528_original.jpg\" alt=\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama\" width=\"742\" height=\"356\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joshua Gateley\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p><strong>The 8-0 Thunder<\/strong> now await the Spurs in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2\u00a0matchup between rivals to decide the West.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rich Rivalry:<\/strong> San Antonio posted a league-best 4-1 record against the defending champs this regular season, averaging 114.4 ppg, 2nd-most for any team that played OKC at least three times<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cWe\u2019re not even thinking about that right now<\/strong>,\u201d Castle said. \u201cThe games ahead are totally different games. They\u2019re rolling right now.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cWe know it\u2019s gonna be a whole different series,\u201d<\/strong> Wemby said. \u201c[OKC] know their stuff\u2026 We\u2019re gonna rewatch all the games and do the scouting and try to execute.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Spurs surpassed OKC<\/strong> as the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/advanced?Season=2025-26&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING&amp;lid=z95c87vapuu2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> the No. 1 defense<\/a> (102.2 DefRtg) in these Playoffs, after the Thunder boasted the top-rated D for the last two regular seasons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe know it\u2019s gonna be tough<\/strong> to knock them off, but we\u2019re pretty confident we could do it,\u201d said Castle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Western Conference Finals<\/strong> get underway Monday with Game 1 from OKC (8:30 ET, NBC &amp; Peacock).<\/p>\n<p>2. BACK TO DETROIT: PISTONS FORCE GAME 7 WITH CAVS\u2019 FIRST HOME LOSS<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2206034\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CCV1-ezgif.com-optimize.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Six games<\/strong> were not enough for either the Pistons or the Cavaliers in the First Round.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The former <\/strong>roared back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Magic, while the latter outlasted the Raptors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now,<\/strong> <strong>another deciding <\/strong>contest looms for both teams. This time around, there\u2019s an East Finals berth on the line.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Game 7<\/strong> is in store \u2014again (Sunday, 8 ET, Prime).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pistons 115, Cavaliers 94: <\/strong>Cade Cunningham (21 pts, 8 ast) led the way as five teammates scored in double figures to ensure Detroit staved off elimination in Game 6. After trailing by just 3 points at halftime, Cleveland was outscored 61-43 in the 2nd half. | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/det-vs-cle-0042500206?lid=r485cvda0lds\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Recap<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The outcome? <\/strong>For just the fourth time in league history, two teams who played in a Game 7 to advance from their previous round will meet in another Game 7.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Momentum Shift: <\/strong>Detroit was behind for most of the 1st Friday, but executed a 10-2 closeout to the quarter to secure a 27-25 lead it would not relinquish<\/li>\n<li><strong>MotorCade Arrives: <\/strong>Cunningham racked up 16 points in the first half, and in the process, drained a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBA\/status\/2055443098574926046?s=20&amp;lid=kckr1qs0ns64\" target=\"_self\" data-mce-attributes-count=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow\">quartet of 3-pointers<\/a> to help the Pistons power ahead<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>And it wasn\u2019t<\/strong> only the All-Star guard who met the moment. The bench was plenty busy.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>No Small Difference: <\/strong>Detroit got 48 points off the bench\u00a0 \u2014 more than double Cleveland\u2019s 19 in that department<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reed Rolls: <\/strong>6th-year center Paul Reed posted a Playoff career high of 17 points on an efficient 7-for-9 shooting, complementing his six rebounds \u2013 all off the bench<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2206033\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PRA1V2-ezgif.com-optimize.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>James Harden <\/strong>did a little bit of everything for Cleveland with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, but the Cavaliers shot 39% from the field, compared to the Pistons\u2019 52.4%.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Triumphant Trey: <\/strong>When Harden drained a 3 with 7:40 remaining in the first quarter, he passed Stephen Curry for 10th place on the Association\u2019s all-time Playoff points list<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Now,<\/strong> it\u2019s onto Game 7. The best two words in sports.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Clutch When It Counts: <\/strong>Donovan Mitchell has averaged 27.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in do-or-die situations throughout his career<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revved Up: <\/strong>Cunningham, meanwhile, is off to a hot start in elimination games in his career, at 29.5 points and 7.3 assists per contest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Game 7<\/strong> tips Sunday (8 ET, Prime) from Detroit. Read on to Section 3 for a full preview. \u2b07\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>3. GAME 7, AGAIN: BOTH CAVS &amp; PISTONS FAMILIAR WITH THIS FINALE\u00a0<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015123_684_original.jpg\" alt=\"Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell\" width=\"693\" height=\"492\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chris Schwegler\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p><strong>It all <\/strong>comes down to this, again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cavs. Pistons.<\/strong> Each going the distance in a second straight series.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That tracks<\/strong>\u00a0for two teams who split their regular-season series and are now an even 5-5 against each other since the season started.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The East-leaders<\/strong> lean once more on their home court advantage, as Motor City prepares to host its second Game 7 this month on Sunday (8 ET, Prime).<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s the fifth<\/strong> elimination game in these Playoffs for the Pistons \u2013\u00a0a scenario they\u2019ve learned to thrive in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Under Pressure: <\/strong>After handing Cleveland its first home loss since Mar. 25, Detroit is now 4-0 when facing elimination this postseason<\/li>\n<li><strong>Double 30s: <\/strong>In Game 7 against Orlando, Tobias Harris (30 pts) joined Cade Cunningham (32 pts) as the first Detroit teammates to each score 30+ in a Playoff game since 1977\u2019s Bob Lanier (33) and Howard Porter (30)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Duren\u2019s Dubs: <\/strong>Jalen Duren had his first double-double of the Playoffs in that Game 7 (15\/15), and he added another Friday (15\/11). Detroit is 33-10 this season when Duren logs double-digit points and boards<\/li>\n<li><strong>Big Boosts: <\/strong>Jarrett Allen tied his Playoff career-high of 22 pts (19 reb) in Cleveland\u2019s prior Game 7 against Toronto, with Donovan Mitchell matching (22 pts) and 18 from James Harden<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key Runs: <\/strong>Both Game 7 survivors went up big with runs spanning parts of the 2nd and 3rd quarters: Detroit\u2019s was a 20-4 spurt, while Cleveland launched a 49-21 takeover<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015124_986_original.jpg\" alt=\"James Harden\" width=\"730\" height=\"390\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brian Sevald\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p><strong>But in a series<\/strong> that\u2019s seen the road team win back to back games, Cleveland now looks to recreate the feat it pulled off in Game 5.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>What did it take?<\/strong> A furious 9-point comeback with under 3:00 to play (just the fourth such rally in the last 11 postseasons) and a Spida (7 pts) takeover in OT<\/li>\n<li><strong>Serious Splits:<\/strong> Mitchell is experiencing a 7.0-ppg drop in scoring from home (32.0) to road (25.0) in this series, while Cade gains nearly the same difference at home (29.0)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Steadying Force<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong> Harden (21.3 ppg) has been a consistent force for the Cavs\u2019 offense, with just a -1.3 ppg road effect for the vet in these East Semis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>4. BRUNSON IS THE HERO KNICKS FANS DESERVE, BUT NOT ONE THEY EXPECTED<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015125_438_original.jpg\" alt=\"Jalen Brunson\" width=\"855\" height=\"580\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nathaniel S. Butler\/NBAE via Getty Images\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Knicks<\/strong> are taking advantage of six-plus days off while awaiting an opponent for their return to the Eastern Conference Finals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>One of the biggest<\/strong> reasons they\u2019re in this position? Captain Clutch, Jalen Brunson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Athletic\u2019s<\/strong> James L. Edwards III notes that, while Brunson may not have been on Knicks fans\u2019 radar in 2022, he\u2019s writing quite the legacy in New York just four years later:<\/p>\n<p><strong>He was but<\/strong> Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s backup when he arrived in Manhattan\u2026 The former NCAA champion was projected to be a core part of the foundation, but not the cornerstone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brunson<\/strong>, though, has proven to be every bit the star the Knicks wanted<\/p>\n<p><strong>An undersized<\/strong>, second-round pick from New Jersey has become the King of New York, a surprising hero for one of the NBA\u2019s glory franchises. He\u2019s carried the Knicks back to the Eastern Conference finals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Since Brunson<\/strong> came to New York, the Knicks have won at least 45 games every season, including 50-plus wins the last three campaigns\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>New York<\/strong> has reached the second round of the playoffs every year since Brunson donned the blue-and-orange. | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/jalen-brunson-knicks-legacy-postseason-conference-finals?lid=rng0ipj3xcuu\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n<p>5. GET TO KNOW 2026\u2019S TOP DRAFT PROSPECTS<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779015126_398_original.jpg\" alt=\"AJ Dybantsa\" width=\"589\" height=\"792\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Melissa Tamez\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p><strong>Measurements<\/strong>, stats and projections are flying around faster than Kingston Flemings\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NBADraft\/status\/2054325788460101675?s=20&amp;lid=hh5qlmxnp81d\" rel=\"nofollow\">shuttle run time<\/a> at this week\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/combine.nba.com\/?lid=l96r0jq0faae\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AWS NBA Draft Combine<\/a> in Chicago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Behind the numbers<\/strong>, NBA.com\u2019s Krysten Peek tracked down some of the background stories and facts that make this year\u2019s draft class one-of-a-kind:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cameron Boozer \u2026 On Ice?<\/strong><strong><br \/><\/strong>\u201cWhen I was younger (around 7 or 8 years old), my dad played for the Bulls and me and my brothers went to a Blackhawks game and we just really enjoyed that experience and we wanted to try it so we played for about a year or two\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCayden hated it the most, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dybantsa, Flagg Were Nearly (AAU) Teammates<\/strong><strong><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Maine didn\u2019t touch Massachusetts, so Cooper played for Maine United and I played for Expressions,\u201d said BYU star AJ Dybantsa. \u201cBut yeah, we were supposed to play on the same team because I was going to play up that year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 I always think of what it would\u2019ve been like to be teammates that summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Going Pro in Peterson Family<\/strong><strong><br \/><\/strong>This year, Kansas standout Darryn Peterson and his older brother, Darryl, will enter the NBA and NFL in the same year. Darryl Peterson III, a former linebacker at Wisconsin, signed with the LA Rams shortly after the NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe grew up working and having the same dream, different sport and it\u2019s just super cool to see him achieve his and me, hopefully next month, achieve mine,\u201d said Darryn. | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/hockey-days-custom-shirts-and-more-stories-behind-2026-nba-draft-prospects?lid=i3q97gygdfm7\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Castle to Wemby. ROY to ROY.\u00a0From the Lottery to the Western Conference Finals. San Antonio\u2019s future is here&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":802674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[12086,315283,1260,183174,326786,62,326785,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-802673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-12086","tag-may-16","tag-nba","tag-nba-starting-5-newsletter","tag-pistons-force-game-7","tag-sports","tag-spurs-advance-to-western-conference-finals","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116589544992299315","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}