Sports
How Jrue Holiday found his voice as a leader with help from his soccer star wife
When Jrue Holiday was a teenager, he needed to make some extra money.
He had a knack for bagging groceries, arranging cans of soup alongside bags of grapes to maximum efficiency. So, he went to his mother, Toya, the athletic director at his school, Campbell Hall in Los Angeles, and asked if he could apply for a job at his local grocer Vons.
“I wanted to go to the movies and get something to eat and not look lame. I had to have a little extra chicken on me,” Holiday said. “So, I tried. But my mom was like, ‘No, school is your job.’ So I ended up not having a job.”
But, when the women’s tennis team was looking for a manager, Toya volunteered her son. At the time, Holiday couldn’t tell a drop shot from a kick serve.
Holiday was one of the best basketball players in the country, but this was a new experience. He was no longer a star player. His job was to grab sandwiches and pack bags. He learned to sacrifice and do the things no one else wanted to do for the betterment of the team.
“We got out of school early, we’d go to Santa Barbara all the time, and I’m around a bunch of women, so I’m not mad,” Holiday said. “I got a state ring out of it. It was fun.”
As tennis manager, Holiday wasn’t on the court, so he had to find ways to build bonds away from it. By the time he got to the NBA years later, it was natural.
Giannis Antetokounmpo remembers one night in Abu Dhabi when they sat on the team bus until the crack of dawn, watching the desert sun begin to rise.
“We were just talking about life,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic. “He was really open in how they were dealing with some things and how they can help us not deal with that stuff. They had such good advice for me and my career and my life moving forward.”
That night, “they” meant Jrue and his wife, Lauren, former star of the U.S. national soccer team. Through their experiences in sports and life, the Holidays have gained a unique perspective and take time to share it.
“I’m just learning that basketball isn’t everything,” Holiday said. “I’m learning that sometimes people are going through things and you might not know because of how strong they are. Like Giannis is one of those types. Not just Giannis, but I feel like men in general, it’s hard for us to kind of open up and do all that. Building the chemistry and getting to know people and their life story, I feel like that opens up a gateway of sharing things that they might be going through at the time.”
Holiday’s Milwaukee Bucks teammates called him the missing piece of their championship run three years ago. It wasn’t just for how he defended. It was how he kept the locker room together and helped his teammates grow on and off the court.
After years of coming up short, the Boston Celtics brought him in to do the same thing.
But he doesn’t do it alone. When you trade for Holiday, you trade for Lauren too. He and Lauren welcomed teammates into their family, hosting dinners and doing community service. They sought to intertwine their lives away from the game.
“It’s almost synonymous. I don’t think of Jrue without thinking of Lauren,” former Bucks assistant coach Chad Forcier said. “Just two of my favorite people I’ve ever encountered, like, as humans. Whoever encounters Jrue and Lauren, you just come away feeling better about life, about humanity.”
What Holiday brought to Milwaukee was a sense of community. He helped build chemistry with his teammates.
“I don’t just look at him as a basketball player, man, he was a true friend of mine,” Khris Middleton said. “Off the court, he was able to make everybody around here comfortable by being able to talk to him, being able to hang out, being able to throw anything on him.”
For Holiday, he believes that trust is the foundation for any team sport — it’s difficult to win without it.
“For me, just knowing the person next to me, I trust them and they trust me just as much as I trust them,” he said. “Again, it just makes not only life, but it makes basketball, so much more fun to play.”
Jrue Holiday with Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks. (Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)
Holiday understood empathy would be a crucial tool for success as he found his way in the NBA, but it wasn’t until he watched his wife’s career arc as a soccer star that it fully clicked. Lauren and Jrue Holiday met when they were both athletes at UCLA. She had seen a fan mistake him for his Bruins teammate Darren Collison and wanted to say something encouraging.
“He was like, ‘Dang, I really look like Darren Collison?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, don’t worry, you’re cuter than Darren,’” Lauren said.
By the time she left UCLA, she was already a starter on the national team and had become one of the top American players at the 2011 World Cup. When she sprained her ankle in the final and had to be subbed off at halftime as Japan went on to win on penalties, it became a defining moment in both of their careers.
“My wife is the winner in our family, which I’m not sure people know,” Jrue Holiday said. “I got to experience one of the best teams, one of the best players get to the top and not reach the goal they wanted. Just how she reacted, it made her even hungrier. (In) 2012, she won the Olympic gold medal and then she went on to win the 2015 World Cup and she retired. Seeing that competitive nature out of her, seeing how she bounced back, people don’t really know she’s that type of beast, and I think having that in my household, seeing it firsthand, helped a lot.”
“It’s funny because I feel like when I was going through the peaks and valleys, he was always my sounding board,” Lauren said. “So for him to say that he’s learned from me is interesting, because I feel like I was constantly learning from him.”
Lauren retired in 2015 to start a family, just as Holiday was trying to get healthy and bring his career on track with the New Orleans Pelicans. They became fixtures in the New Orleans community, founding the JLH Fund as Holiday donated $5 million to initiatives supporting minority communities.
As he entered his prime and started making All-Defensive teams, the Bucks came calling. While the spotlight shone brighter, Lauren was there to keep his ego and life in check.
“She was always there to keep me humble and just to know that in our household, I’m not the best,” Holiday said. “Then through the hard times, she was always there to steer me in the right direction. Helping me in stressful situations, ‘What do I do about basketball?’ She’s just always my support system.”
Holiday’s perspective on life shifted when Lauren faced her biggest challenge. In 2016, a few months before the due date of their first child, doctors discovered Lauren had a brain tumor that would require surgery.
Holiday asked himself, “What do I do about basketball?” The answer was to pause, staying home for the first three weeks of the season to take care of Lauren and their newborn daughter, Jrue Tyler.
“I think Jrue just followed his heart. He was like, ‘I’m absolutely taking time off, and I’m going to be with you,’” Lauren said. “Watching him navigate that, I think he grew tremendously in that time and being able to be like a rock for so many people, I feel like it’s just the epitome of what Jrue is.”
When Holiday joined the Bucks, Donte DiVincenzo was in his third season and coming into his own as a full-time starter. He was the first player Holiday took under his wing in Milwaukee.
“That’s my big brother,” DiVincenzo said. “The second I got to Milwaukee, he embraced me and helped me grow off the court. It’s helped shape who I am now. …Everything escalated so quickly with our friendship.”
As the Bucks’ backcourt partners formed their bond, Lauren was part of the package. When DiVincenzo, who had played on several teams, had to decide his next stop in free agency he reached out to Stephen Curry and Holiday. Both players had become mentors, but it was Lauren who provided good counsel.
“Everybody made a big deal of Steph, but Lauren was a huge voice,” DiVincenzo said. “She is very well respected (by) his closest friends because she’s an athlete, she understands everything and she’s done it herself.”
As DiVincenzo laid out his options to Holiday, the Celtics guard was listening and analyzing every potential outcome.
“Donte called Jrue at midnight and we were in bed. I just said, ‘He has to take the contract,’” Lauren said. “Jrue was like, ‘My wife has spoken.’”
According to Lauren, Holiday is more laid back, while she is more vocal. It’s no surprise then that she took to Instagram to voice her frustration when Holiday was suddenly traded by the Bucks to the Blazers last offseason before landing in Boston.
“What made the decision for me to speak out about it was seeing my daughter cry,” Lauren said.
“I saw how crushed she was. I knew that she would be OK, but I saw the guilt in Jrue’s eyes, that it was almost his fault that she was so devastated.”
Holiday knew the trade was out of his hands. They wanted more of a heads-up from the Bucks, but that’s not how business in the NBA usually works. Seeing his daughter and realizing the toll the trade was taking on his family was hard.
“When you have kids and they’re the most important thing to you, you want to protect them at all costs,” he said. “Sometimes when you feel like the reason somebody is hurting is because of you, especially my daughter, I was heartbroken.”
For the first time in his career, Holiday was not being brought in to reshape the team. In Boston, Holiday’s willingness to adapt would be tested more than at any other point in his career.
In Milwaukee, he was often the Bucks’ primary creator. He guarded the best opposing player almost every night.
But Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had made it clear in preseason that Derrick White would be the Celtics’ point guard. Holiday’s role would be whatever the team needed it to be. He could go from playing shooting guard to power forward to point guard in a single quarter.
“He finds so much joy in seeing other people succeed that, for him, he understands what that balance is like,” Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee said.
That’s something Al Horford has done in Boston for years. He’s the center whose role was to move the ball, taking the shots whenever he’s open. When Holiday arrived and people wondered how he would adjust to being away from the ball, Horford knew it would work.
“He’s like the ultimate team guy. Like, he really is here to win,” Horford said. “There’s no nonsense with him. But he also knows that we’ve had some success here and the way that I perceive it is he doesn’t want to come in and necessarily step on people’s toes. But he will speak his mind.”
Jrue Holiday has become an integral part of the Celtics this season. (Brian Fluharty / Getty Images)
Holiday has found a home on and off the floor in Boston. When his four-year, $135 million extension was agreed to by the Celtics, he received word while was out at dinner with Lauren and DiVincenzo, now with the Knicks.
“Witnessing that gives you motivation and gives you perspective,” DiVincenzo said. “It just shows you during those moments, what is important to him is his family.”
Unlike DiVincenzo, Holiday has never been a free agent. The league has always chosen his next stop, but he and Lauren have always found a way to make it a home. So when it was time to take a pay cut and sign an extension or test the free-agent market, the decision was simple.
“When it came down to it, he was like, ‘I feel like I’m supposed to be here,’” Lauren said. “Even though it’s different and he’s obviously playing a different role, he was like, ‘I’m not a quitter. I want to be here and I want to see how far we go.’”
Lauren said the second he signed the contract, they discussed how they could help the community. She asked her husband where they wanted to plant their roots, “Because I think for Jrue and I, it feels like home when we’re serving others.”
Then as the playoffs began shortly after his extension, Holiday was scoring in the single digits, but Boston was still rolling. It didn’t matter.
“As long as I’ve known Jrue, he couldn’t care less about accolades,” Lauren said. “It holds no weight for him. I think the only thing he cares about is how his teammates feel about him.”
Most of his teammates refer to him as their brother. He’s garnered many fans among his teammates — past and present — in the league.
“His positive energy in the locker room, his talent being able to play both sides of the floor, put us in a position to be successful,” Antetokounmpo said.
“I wish him the best in his journey with Boston. They got a good one.”
The Celtics brought him in to win the title. Playing to win and sacrificing for the team, is what Holiday has built his career on.
“I think championships are going to be important to him, but I think it’s how has he made other people better and seen their success?” Lee said. “There’s no phony to him. That’s the best part. … He’s just so confident in who he is and it’s hard to find.”
So when he eventually retires and moves to the next phase in his life, he could pursue a coaching job or go to TV. When Holiday speaks, people listen.
For the first time in a long time, he’ll get to choose where his fresh start lies. But Lauren insists there’s still one job that has been waiting for him since they met 15 years ago.
“You want to know what his dream job is? He wants to bag groceries at Vons. I’m not kidding you,” Lauren said. “From the time I met him, he told me that he used to beg his mom to get him a job at Vons to bag groceries. Let me tell you, when we go to the grocery store, Jrue is packing our bags.”
Holiday’s mom knew bagging groceries would get him a little extra money to go out, but managing the tennis team would pay off in the long run. He might finally get his wish. But, as always, it won’t just be for him.
Like with Antetokounmpo and so many others he’s guided over the years, he’ll try to show his kids the way. Then they’ll forge their own path.
“Maybe I’ll take my kids with me,” Holiday said. “They need a little hard living. My kids are really spoiled, so maybe they need to go and serve other people more. I do my best to try to get them to, but you know how kids are. They end up doing their own thing. You never know.”
(Photo illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic; photo: Christopher Polk, David L. Nemec / Getty Images)
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We’re approaching the biggest sporting event North America has ever hosted.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place across the USA, Canada and Mexico in 13 days.
Bettors and fans already have their sights set on the global spectacle, which will kick off on June 11. The World Cup final will be held at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026.
After the World Cup groups were announced in December, Spain opened as the favorite at +450, followed by England (+550) and France (+750).
Now, with less than two weeks to go, Spain has slightly drifted to +475, with both France and England making up ground on the oddsboard.
Let’s dive into the odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 29.
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2026 World Cup winner odds
Spain: +475 (bet $10 to win $57.5 total)
France: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
England: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Brazil: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Argentina: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Portugal: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Germany: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Netherlands: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Norway: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Belgium: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Colombia: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Morocco: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Uruguay: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
United States: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Switzerland: +6500 (bet $10 to win $660 total)
Japan: +6500 (bet $10 to win $660 total)
Mexico: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Croatia: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Ecuador: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Senegal: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Sweden: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
HOST NATIONS
United States
The United States is led by Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Chris Richards, with several players competing in Europe’s top leagues. The U.S. has appeared in 11 previous World Cups, with its best finish coming in 1930 when the team reached the semifinals.
Canada
Canada’s key players include Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, giving the squad top-tier pace and goal-scoring ability. Canada has made two previous World Cup appearances, and is still looking for its first win ever in the tournament.
Mexico
Mexico’s top contributors include Raul Giménez and Edson Álvarez, forming a strong mix of attacking talent and midfield stability. Mexico has played in 17 previous World Cups and reached the quarterfinals twice, in 1970 and 1986.
UEFA TEAMS TO KNOW
Spain
Spain’s top talents include Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Rodri, forming a core that blends elite playmaking with scoring depth. Spain has appeared in 16 previous World Cups and won the tournament once, lifting the trophy in 2010. The team also won the 2024 Euros.
France
France enters with Kylian Mbappé as the star player, with the 26-year-old just five goals shy of passing Miroslav Klose (16) for the most career goals at the World Cup. France has made 16 previous World Cup appearances and won the title twice, in 1998 and 2018.
England
England’s key players include Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, forming one of the nation’s strongest generations in decades. England has reached 16 previous World Cups and won the trophy once, in 1966.
Germany
Germany features Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich as central figures in a talented squad. Germany has participated in 20 previous World Cups and won four titles, most recently in 2014.
Portugal
Portugal’s top group includes Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, with Cristiano Ronaldo still involved as the team’s all-time leading scorer and cap leader. Portugal has competed in eight previous World Cups and recorded its best finish in 2006, reaching the semifinals.
Netherlands
The Netherlands features top players such as Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Denzel Dumfries, forming a core built around elite defending and midfield control. Memphis Depay should also be on the team, the country’s all-time leading goalscorer. The Netherlands has appeared in 11 previous World Cups and finished as runner-up three times, in 1974, 1978 and 2010.
CONMEBOL TEAMS TO KNOW
Argentina
Argentina is anchored by Lionel Messi, with Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez— headlining one of the most talented rosters in the tournament. Argentina has played in 18 previous World Cups and won three, including the most recent tournament in 2022.
Brazil
Brazil’s roster is led by Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha and Marquinhos, giving the team elite attacking and defensive quality. Brazil has appeared in every World Cup and holds a record five titles, with its most recent one coming in 2002.
Uruguay
Uruguay’s leading players include Federico Valverde, Darwin Núñez and Ronald Araújo, forming a core with elite midfield range and speed. Uruguay has appeared in 14 previous World Cups and won the tournament twice, in 1930 and 1950.
Colombia
Colombia is headlined by Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez, with the former playing for Bayern Munich and the latter having a decorated World Cup résumé. Colombia has made six previous World Cupsand recorded its best finish in 2014, reaching the quarterfinals.
CAF TEAMS TO KNOW
Morocco
Morocco’s key contributors include Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazaroui and Brahm Díaz, each with major European club experience. Morocco has appeared in six previous World Cups and achieved its historic best finish in 2022, reaching the semifinals.
Senegal
Senegal’s top players include Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gueye, forming one of Africa’s most experienced cores. Senegal has appeared in three World Cups and reached its best finish in 2002, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Ghana
Ghana is led by Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo and Inaki Williams, giving the squad strong playmaking and midfield presence. Ghana has competed in four previous World Cups and reached its best result in 2010, making the quarterfinals.
AFC TEAMS TO KNOW
South Korea
South Korea is headlined by Son Heung-min, supported by key players such as Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in. South Korea has played in 11 previous World Cups and reached its best finish in 2002, advancing to the semifinals as co-host.
Japan
Japan features Takefusa Kubo and Kaoru Mitoma as its leading players, blending top European experience with emerging talent. Japan has appeared in seven previous World Cups and reached the Round of 16 four times, its best result to date.
Australia
Australia’s top players include Jackson Irvine and keeper Mathew Ryan as its most experienced members. Australia has competed in six previous World Cups and reached the round of 16 twice, in 2006 and 2022.
OFC TEAMS TO KNOW
New Zealand
New Zealand is led by all-time leading scorer Chris Wood, with 45 international goals to his name. New Zealand has appeared in two previous World Cups (1982, 2010), and did not advance from the group stage in either appearance.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander apparently isn’t amused by a new board game that pokes fun at the Oklahoma City Thunder star’s reputation for garnering foul calls at the hint of contact by an opposing player.
Last week, a lawyer representing the two-time reigning NBA MVP sent a cease-and-desist letter to sports prediction market and fantasy sports company Underdog that includes a demand for the destruction of all copies of the cheeky and extremely limited-edition game Unethical Hoops.
Done in the style of the children’s classic Operation, Unethical Hoops requires players to use tweezers to pull objects from tiny holes, with the slightest touch of a metal border setting off a buzzer indicating failure.
Instead of pretending to be doctors attempting to remove body parts from a patient, however, Unethical Hoops players act as members of an opposing basketball team trying to take the ball from a cartoon character who very much resembles Gilgeous-Alexander.
In this game, the buzzer represents the whistle of a foul-calling referee.
“Shai has made hoops all about foul baiting and now you’re stuck guarding him in Underdog’s new board game,” a description reads on the game’s website. “Don’t get baited. Steal the ball without getting whistled.”
In a letter dated May 22, attorney Eric Fishman of ArentFox Schiff LLP demanded that Underdog “immediately and permanently cease and desist from any and all use of Mr. Gilgeous-Alexander’s NIL in any and all media, including but not limited to your website (including the Unethical Hoops Website)… and any physical goods including but not limited to the board game advertised on the Unethical Hoops Website.”
The notice also calls for Underdog to “immediately destroy all physical goods or advertisements that use Mr. Gilgeous-Alexander’s NIL, including but not limited to the board game advertised on the Unethical Hoops Website,” as well as a promise never to use the star player’s name, image or likeness without his permission.
Fishman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Times.
According to the Unethical Hoops website, which remains active more than a week after the date on the cease-and-desist order, only 100 copies of the game were made, to be given away to Underdog users. The giveaway ended as scheduled on Friday.
Underdog declined to comment on the matter other than to point out that the company has pulled comical stunts at the expense of members of the sports world.
“We’ve poked fun at Knicks and Lakers fans, the Red Sox owners, the Mets and more,” a spokesperson said via email. “We like to have some fun with whatever is in the sports fan zeitgeist.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is a four-time All-Star who led the league in scoring last season (2,484 points) and was second in scoring this season (2,117). He led the Thunder to their first NBA title last year and has them back in the Western Conference finals this year (the decisive Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs is Saturday in Oklahoma City).
While one of the NBA’s biggest stars, Gilgeous-Alexander is often criticized for the number of favorable foul calls he receives — he has ranked second or third in the league for number of free throw attempts per game in each of the last four seasons and is currently second among all players in the 2026 playoffs with 9.8 a game — and the lengths he appears to go to in order to receive them.
After Game 2 against the Spurs, one NBA fan account on X wrote, “Shai flopped on every single shot attempt” and posted a video that showed seven such examples (Gilgeous-Alexander actually attempted 24 shots that night). The post has been viewed 22.7 million times.
Earlier this week, prior to Game 6 of the conference finals, another fan account on X posted a video “ranking all 44 times SGA fell on the floor while shooting during the 2026 playoffs from least to most egregious.” That post has been viewed 1.3 million times.
As the cartoon likeness of Gilgeous-Alexander states in the Unethical Hoops ad, “so much as breathe on me, I’m getting the call.”
The real-life SGA was asked during a TV interview after Game 3 in San Antonio about the “flopper!” chants that rained down on him at Frost Bank Center.
“It’s part of the game,” he said. “It’s nothing. I’ve been dealing with it for a long time. I don’t really hear it. I’m focused on what’s going on on the court.”
Sports
Spurs blow out Thunder, force Game 7 as Victor Wembanyama leads the way with 28-point double-double
Trump says he thinks he’ll attend NBA Finals game
President Donald Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that he believes he will attend an NBA Finals game next week, as the New York Knicks make their first Finals appearance in nearly 30 years.
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The Western Conference Finals will come down to a Game 7 after the San Antonio Spurs routed the Oklahoma City Thunder, 118-91, in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Game 7 heads back to Oklahoma City, where the winner will face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals after New York swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
With their backs against the wall, the Spurs did what was necessary on their home court and then some. And it was their phenom, Victor Wembanyama, leading the way.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on May 28, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The 7-foot-4 big man led the Spurs with 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including four three-pointers made, while notching a double-double with 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks.
This was the performance head coach Mitch Johnson and the rest of the team needed from Wembanyama, and he was up for the challenge as the Thunder were looking to make it back-to-back NBA Finals appearances.
Instead, the Thunder’s three-point shooting woes returned in San Antonio, much like they did in Game 4 of this series. They took a whopping 40 threes, but only cashed in 10 of them, finishing 25% from beyond the arc on the night.
SPURS SNAP THUNDER’S PLAYOFF WIN STREAK BEHIND VICTORY WEMBANYAMA’S INCREDIBLE GAME 1 PERFORMANCE
As a team, the Thunder shot just 37%, and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among the culprits for the poor shooting night. He had just 15 points, going 6-of-18 from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point land. Lu Dort was also ice cold from three, going just 1-of-9 and 2-of-11 for the game.
Meanwhile, San Antonio was getting more than just “Wemby” contributions, especially from rookie Dylan Harper, who played a vital role in the blowout off the bench.
Dylan Harper of the San Antonio Spurs looks on during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on May 28, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Harper was quite efficient when he had the ball in his hands, going 6-of-9 from the field for 18 points, while tallying six rebounds and four assists in his pivotal 22 minutes off the pine.
And in the starting five, Stephon Castle was getting to the rim like he’s supposed to, scoring 17 points while dishing out nine assists for the Spurs. Devin Vassell also hit four of his seven three-point shots for 12 points, while Julian Champagnie poured in 10 more with six rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks on the other end of the hardwood.
The Spurs saw 12 different players contribute on the scoreboard in this contest, some of whom made their way into the game when the Thunder conceded and already started to focus on Game 7. And that swing came in the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Thunder, 32-13, and started to run away with this must-win game for their franchise.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama shoots against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first half of Game 6 in the Western Conference finals NBA playoffs in San Antonio on May 28, 2026. (David J. Phillip/AP)
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Now, folks, it all comes down to the ever-suspenseful Game 7, where the Thunder will hope one last home game will give them the juice to push their way into the Finals.
But the Spurs are hoping to recreate 1999 by earning a matchup with the Knicks in the NBA Finals.
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