Basketball Intelligence For 6/4/25
The day's best news and reporting
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins goes from 2-way player to NBA Finals
Marc J. Spears, Andscape
THIBS FIRING
BREAKING: Tom Thibodeau Out as Knicks HC
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School
Knicks Fire Tom Thibodeau
Tommy Beer, What’s On Tap With Tommy Beer
The latest, rather suddenly, on the Knicks' coaching search
Marc Stein, The Stein Line
Knicks better know what they're doing by firing Tom Thibodeau
Barbara Barker, Newsday
Knicks brass may have felt Tom Thibodeau left money on the table in the playoffs, but firing him is a major gamble
Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports
In firing Tom Thibodeau, Knicks might get reminder that the grass isn’t always greener
James L. Edwards III, The Athletic
The Knicks Ran Out of Gas—So They Lit the Car on Fire
Michael Pina, The Ringer
But the reactionary nature of this move is reminiscent of everything that came before Leon Rose was hired as Knicks president in 2020. When Rose was brought in, his first move was to tab Thibs as head coach, which then led to the most successful Knicks era in multiple generations. Thibodeau just led the Knicks to back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since the ’90s. But now we’re seeing a pinch of impatience. A dash of dysfunction. A sprinkle of self-sabotage. Thibodeau has his flaws, but he was also the essential stabilizing force this organization hadn’t had since the 1990s, when Jeff Van Gundy—and Pat Riley before him—walked up and down Madison Square Garden’s sideline.
Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau: What's next for New York's open job?
NBA Insiders, ESPN
NBA Finals 2025: How Paul George blockbusters built Thunder and Pacers
Kevin Pelton, ESPN
2025 NBA Finals picks: Experts predict the Indiana-Oklahoma City series
NBA Insiders, ESPN
THE FINALS
The Definitive Pacers vs Thunder NBA Finals Preview
Caitlin Cooper, Basketball, She Wrote
Why The Indiana Pacers Run To The NBA Finals Is Unlike Any Other
Mat Issa, Forbes
2025 NBA Finals: Thunder and Pacers are the modern blueprint of what winning looks like
Kevin O’Connor, Yahoo! Sports
2025 NBA Finals preview
Kelly Dwyer, Kelly Dwyer On Hoops
PODCAST: Poetry IN YOUR FACE (and/or ears!)
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
The CHRIS Finals Preview
Chris Gunther, Charting Hoops
NBA Finals: Biggest storylines, predictions for Thunder vs. Pacers
Rohan Nadkarni/Andrew Greif, NBC News
The 2025 NBA Finals Mega-Preview
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
The Big Batch of Thunder-Pacers Questions
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball
How ESPN messed up its NBA Finals TV trio, now weighs future of Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson
Andrew Marchand, The Athletic
This new team puts Breen in the middle of trying to find the magic that he had with Van Gundy and Jackson. Breen is one of the best NBA play-by-players ever and has called the most Finals on TV, but there has been a hole in his game for two seasons.
He has not made his analysts better, seemingly trying to carry more of the load, while failing to lift up his partners. While he still sounds good, he can come across like a star player wanting to run his usual half-court offense with players built to run. Breen is dominating the ball more compared to the Van Gundy and Jackson prime. It’s a team game, and Breen, Burke and Jefferson lack flow.
NBA Finals preview: Five Celtics-related thoughts on Pacers-Thunder
Zack Cox, The Boston Herald
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