Sports
Mike Brown Is One Win Away From the Ultimate NBA Redemption Story
After firing Tom Thibodeau following New York’s Eastern Conference Finals loss last year, many people turned their nose up when the Knicks replaced him with Mike Brown.
The Knicks had a lengthy search that was stonewalled when New York was rejected permission to interview Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.
The result landed on Brown, who was fired mid-season by the Sacramento Kings in 2024.
Brown’s firing in Sacramento came one day after he blasted De’Aaron Fox for a boneheaded play. Fox’s error in Game 4 cost the San Antonio Spurs an opportunity to even the series at two games a piece – and proved Brown’s point from many seasons ago.
But his win against Fox isn’t the only thing that would be vindicated if the Knicks can win the championship this season. Brown has won four championships as an assistant coach, but doesn’t have a ring of his own as a head coach.
His journey began with a young LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005. Brown lost the 2007 NBA Finals, where the Cavs were overmatched by a better Spurs team. Now, more than two decades later, Brown is one win away from beating that same franchise to win his first championship as a head coach.
After being fired by the Cavs in 2010 as owner Dan Gilbert tried to lure LeBron James back to Cleveland, Brown spent two seasons as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers as Phil Jackson’s successor. He dealt with a shortened season due to the lockout and then had to deal with the headache of trying to make washed up Steve Nash and Dwight Howard work alongside Kobe Bryant.
Naturally, that gig didn’t last long.
Gilbert admitted firing Brown the first time was a “mistake” and the Cavs hired him again in 2013. But that season was the first time in Brown’s career that he posted a losing record, and reported infighting in the locker room caused Gilbert to fire him again. Brown already conquered revenge on Cleveland by sweeping the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brown spent two seasons away from the NBA before joining Steve Kerr’s staff with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach from 2016-2022. That was one of the most dominant stretches in NBA history and led Brown to getting hired by the Kings, which resulted in Sacramento’s first postseason appearance since 2006.
Brown has won everywhere he’s gone. But over the course of two decades, it’s never come all the way together for the 56-year-old head coach. Now, he needs to coach his way to one more win in New York’s next three attempts to deliver the Knicks their first championship in 53 years.
Sports
2027 NBA Championship Odds, Picks, and Sleepers
May 28, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) goes in for a shot against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the first half during game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images The New York Knicks are the 2026 NBA Champions, which means it’s already time to peek ahead to 2027.
Of course, a lot will happen in the NBA between now and next summer. But locking in NBA championship futures ahead of time could provide the best value. For instance, one year ago, the Knicks had +900 odds to win the championship following their Eastern Conference Finals defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
Let’s take a look at next year’s championship markets on Kalshi, which allows users to trade outcomes of real world events, like the 2027 NBA Finals. Remember, these markets fluctuate, so check them consistently.
Oklahoma City Thunder (27% chance, 27¢ yes)
The Thunder are favored to win next year’s championship despite losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
Thunder GM Sam Presti has a big arsenal of draft picks and Oklahoma City could decide that this offseason is the time to make a major move. Even if the Thunder don’t make a splash, their entire championship core headlined by two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be healthy in 2026-27.
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San Antonio Spurs (26% chance, 26¢ yes)
Much will be made about Victor Wembanyama’s first NBA Finals appearance. But at 22 years old, it’s pretty damn cool that he made it that far.
The Spurs are super young. They were too young to beat the Knicks. Another year together will help this group. There’s no substitute for experience in the NBA Playoffs, and this young group already has plenty of it from their deep run in 2026.
New York Knicks (15% chance, 15¢ yes)
Can the Knicks defend their championship?
Next year’s Eastern Conference will be much improved. The Boston Celtics will be healthy, if they decide to bring back Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Pacers will have Tyrese Haliburton healthy, and the Cleveland Cavaliers could potentially have LeBron James.
New York’s title run was something to behold, and Jalen Brunson proved he should never be counted out.
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Don’t sleep on these teams next year:
Pacers
From worst to first?
The Pacers will be much better with Haliburton and Ivica Zubac. Even though Indiana doesn’t have a draft pick, this team should be really good.
Pistons
J.B. Bickerstaff’s Pistons fell just short of beating the Cavs in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. Cade Cunningham will be an MVP frontrunner next season and has the playoff experience required to make a serious run.
Timberwolves
It feels like it’s only a matter of time before the breakthrough happens for Anthony Edwards. All of these other young, up and coming stars are getting NBA Finals reps. Edwards could be positioned to do the same in 2027.
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Sports
Injunction clears Clemson WR Tristan Smith to play
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney with wide receiver Tristan Smith (3) before kickoff with Furman University at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC, Saturday, November 22, 2025. Clemson wide receiver Tristan Smith is on track to play this season after receiving a temporary injunction against the NCAA on Friday.
The 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior sued the NCAA in January after it declined his waiver for a fifth season of eligibility.
Judge Jessica A. Salvini of South Carolina’s 13th Judicial Circuit noted in her ruling that other former junior college players had been granted an additional year by the NCAA.
She pointed to wide receiver Malik Benson, who played two seasons of JUCO ball and received a fifth season for 2025 at Oregon.
“The only material distinction the Court can identify between Mr. Benson’s case, and the instant matter is that Mr. Smith’s final Division I season falls in 2025-26 rather than 2024-25,” Salvini wrote.
The NCAA had granted former JUCO players in the 2024-25 class a blanket extra year of eligibility after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a lawsuit against the NCAA.
“Big win for our client,” Smith’s attorney, Darren Heitner, posted on X after Friday’s ruling. “… The NCAA’s arbitrary application of its Five-Year Rule didn’t hold up. Justice for Tristan!”
“The Marathon continues. I’m Back,” Smith posted on Instagram.
Smith played two seasons at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College in 2022 and 2023 and one season at FCS program Southeast Missouri State in 2024 before joining Clemson in 2025. He caught 24 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown in 13 games last season for the Tigers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Court OKs this weekend's UFC event at White House
Jun 11, 2026; Washington, D.C., USA; The UFC octagon ”The Claw” on the White House South Lawn during a press tour for the UFC Freedom 250 at White House. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-Imagn Images This weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House will proceed as planned after a federal judge denied a legal challenge to the festivities on Friday.
Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., denied an emergency injunction application filed last weekend by the Public Integrity Project, which argued that the Trump administration had unlawfully organized a private sporting event on public property in violation of National Park Service rules.
Mehta’s ruling said the plaintiffs failed to establish that they would suffer any irreparable harm or aesthetic injury if the defendants — the Department of Interior and National Park Service — allowed the UFC fights to happen.
Mehta noted that the UFC event had been public knowledge for nearly a year, but the plaintiffs did not file “until June 7, 2026 — more than two weeks after visible preparations commenced at the White House — to seek emergency relief.” The late filing “undercuts their claims of irreparable harm,” the judge wrote.
Mehta said the large claw-shaped stadium set up on the South Lawn is a temporary structure and “the risk of any significant environmental damage is doubtful.”
The weekend’s schedule includes a press conference Friday at the Lincoln Memorial, weigh-ins on Saturday at The Ellipse, and the fight card on the South Lawn on Sunday, which is also President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
The card is headlined by lightweight champion Ilia Topuria taking on interim champion Justin Gaethje in a belt unification fight. An interim heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira is billed as the co-main event.
–Field Level Media
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