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Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, center, looks on during the Euroleague final basketball match between Olympiacos and Real Madrid in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
Thanassis Stavrakis\/AP Photo\/Thanassis Stavrakis<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, blocks a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren during the first half in Game 5 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n
Gerald Leong\/AP Photo\/Gerald Leong<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) scores a basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kenrich Williams during the second half of Game 4 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series in San Antonio, Sunday, May 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
Eric Gay\/AP Photo\/Eric Gay<\/p>\n
New York Knicks guard Miles McBride reacts during the second half of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland, Monday, May 25, 2026.<\/p>\n
Sue Ogrocki\/AP Photo\/Sue Ogrocki<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) reacts to a basket against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half of Game 5 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n
Julio Cortez\/AP Photo\/Julio Cortez<\/p>\n
And just like that, it’s next season in the NBA.<\/p>\n
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The New York Knicks will be feted with a championship parade through the streets of Manhattan on Thursday after a postseason in which they successfully rallied from six double-digit deficits to win games in the playoffs, including all four of their victories in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
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It continued the unprecedented run of NBA parity, with eight different franchises winning championships in the last eight seasons \u2014 Toronto in 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023, Boston in 2024, Oklahoma City last year and now New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, it just really speaks to the state of NBA basketball and the state of the future of the game,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “And now with this draft class coming in this year \u2014 again, not just the first pick, but a draft that\u2019s considered the deepest in many years \u2014 there’s so much talent everywhere. … So, it\u2019s a really bright future ahead for the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is, but every team is now chasing the Knicks. They had all the answers.<\/p>\n
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For 29 other franchises, at least on some levels, there seems to only be questions.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Will Milwaukee really trade Giannis Antetokounmpo after 13 seasons, 10 All-Star selections, two Most Valuable Player awards and an NBA championship in 2021?<\/p>\n
\u2014 Will LeBron James come back to the NBA for a 24th season? If so, will it be with the Los Angeles Lakers for a ninth year or will he look for a presumably final chapter elsewhere?<\/p>\n
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\u2014 What will Washington do with the No. 1 pick in the draft later this month?<\/p>\n
\u2014 And who will coach in Chicago, Dallas and Portland?<\/p>\n
Those are just some of the major issues facing teams around the league as summer gets underway. It’s going to be hard for the Knicks to repeat, because it’s hard for any team to repeat \u2014 as the Thunder found out this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe history of the NBA is littered with teams that were not able to find ultimate success again,\u201d Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. “I think there have only been three teams that have repeated since we\u2019ve been in Oklahoma City, and the reasons for that are many, probably too many to list. But the fact is that it helps illustrate how rare and how special it is when you do have a chance to win at the highest level in this league or in professional sports in general.<\/p>\n
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“However, NBA history is also built on the backs of those teams that saw their losses as a continued quest for improvement and progress. Most importantly, they saw it as what competition boils down to, what it\u2019s all about at any level of sports.”<\/p>\n
The Giannis question<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo, the biggest star in Milwaukee, will be eligible this fall for an extension that could be worth up to $275 million.<\/p>\n
But the Bucks don’t have a roster that’s a championship contender. If they trade Antetokounmpo, they can essentially start over with what would be a slew of players and draft picks. If they keep him, there’s no guarantee he’ll be happy \u2014 because it seems like he’s primarily interested now in trying to win more titles.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI just think before the draft is a natural time, right, because if Giannis does play somewhere else we’re going to get a lot of assets. … You’ve got to get it right,\u201d Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said in May, when the team introduced new coach Taylor Jenkins \u2014 who was told that Antetokounmpo may or may not be with the franchise when next season starts.<\/p>\n
The draft is next week. And logic would suggest that the Bucks \u2014 if they are going to trade Antetokounmpo \u2014 may do so at least a few days before the draft, so they have some specific idea of who to target with the capital that they’ll get as part of whatever deal might go down.<\/p>\n
Miami has been mentioned in the Giannis sweepstakes for months, and the Heat are involved in talks with the Bucks again.<\/p>\n
LeBron watch<\/p>\n
James has never gone into a summer with this much freedom.<\/p>\n
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