This past weekend on the hardwood was defined by the New York Knicks' five-game 2026 NBA Finals series victory over the San Antonio Spurs, which wrapped up at the Frost Bank Center in Central Texas on Saturday night. The series ended up being largely defined by two former Kentucky Wildcats who were recruited and developed into lottery picks by Lexington legend and current Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari.
After the 5-star addition of wing Ryan Hampton last week for Mark Pope's program, a Kentucky alum in the NBA was able to keep the good times rolling for BBN by hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time. The other became one of the most-hated players in the league by his own fanbase.
There was also big news that will affect the 2026-27 college basketball season. The Mississippi State Bulldogs got a retention recruiting victory after one of their pivots opted to remove his name from the transfer portal and return to Starkville.
These are the latest hoops headlines from the SEC world:
Mississippi State returns Gai Chol from the transfer portal
Mississippi State brought back junior Gai Chol to the roster on Sunday. Chol took a medical redshirt during the 2025-26 season while recovering from knee surgery. He suffered an injury last summer and never made it back to the Bulldogs this past winter.
The seven-footer is a raw prospect who hasn't contributed much over three years in East Central Mississippi, but he may have been given a promise of more minutes by Chris Jans for the 2026-27 season.
Kentucky hires new AD, 7'3 ex-Texas A&M target commits
John Calipari-era Kentucky stars defined the 2026 NBA Finals
While Jalen Brunson's MVP performance, not to mention clutch moments on both ends of the floor from OG Anunoby in Game 4, will be the memories Knicks fans hold onto forever from this title run, it was two former Kentucky stars who also helped define the 2026 NBA Finals, for better or for worse.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who had a +258 plus-minus across all playoff minutes, the best plus-minus in a single postseason for any player in the last 30 years, became a hometown hero and solidified himself as one of the greatest New York big men in the franchise's history. Acquiring Towns in October 2024 from the Minnesota Timberwolves was one of the final touches for Leon Rose on a legendary Knicks roster. While Towns was great in Minnesota, his No. 1 overall selection in 2015 put pressure on him that he never was able to shake. In New York, he has been able to be the perfect co-star to Brunson. Having helped bring one of the singular most important titles to any franchise ever, Towns has put any questions about his ability to win the big one to rest. Remember, the Wildcats were 38-1 but lost in the Final Four to the Wisconsin Badgers during Towns' one year at Kentucky. Now, Towns is validated in basketball history as a winner on the biggest stage.
As for the losing side, De'Aaron Fox has become an NBA meme for having perhaps the worst contract in the NBA and shrinking with the lights on brightest. Fox's 34.2% conversion rate from the field and 25% mark from the three-point line in the series, and Game 4 mental mishap of not dribbling out the clock up 1 in the closing seconds, but instead attempting a shot he had blocked by Anunoby, before Anunoby turned around and hit the game-winning tip-in, directly cost the Spurs needed momentum. Mitch Johnson could've and should've benched him for a Stephon Castle-Dylan Harper backcourt but was too stubborn for San Antonio's own good. Now, Fox is owed $229 million over the next four seasons, and Spurs fans want him shipped out to disassociate with his losing contributions. While Victor Wembanyama also failed to meet the moment, Fox's efforts were the costliest in the series.
It was a bittersweet series for Calipari to watch.
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