Houston Rockets Expect Even More Physical Game for Game Seven
The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors series has had many altercations between players and coaches. The game 6 win was nothing different as there were again technical and flagrant fouls. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka loves playing physically as he feels like that type of style fits the Rockets.
"It was a mantra going into the series: Play through everything," Udoka said. "It's going to be a physical game. Don't ask for anything. We want to be physical. So if the refs allow it or that's how the style of game is played, that favors us more often than not."
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The Rockets-Warriors series will be remembered as a war of attrition, where bodies hit the floor nightly and every possession mattered. Game 7 will be very pivotal going into the offseason for the Rockets as there have been many rumors that they may be interested in breaking up the roster to have a better chance at winning a championship.
The benches will play a huge role, especially in such a physical matchup. Tari Eason's energy and rebounding from the forward position could swing games in Houston's favor. It will also be vital to get Fred VanVleet going early and often. Vanvleet ability to attack mismatches and create offense will be critical.
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CNBC
2 hours ago
- CNBC
CNBC Sport: Behind the scenes with Stephen Curry
A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Sport newsletter with Alex Sherman, which brings you the biggest news and exclusive interviews from the worlds of sports business and media. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. Thank you to all who watched last night's premiere of "Curry Inc.: The Business of Stephen Curry," our first longform CNBC Sport TV production. If you missed it, the full-length special is available on demand through your cable provider and on CNBC+. You can also catch a re-airing of the special on CNBC today (Thursday) at 7 p.m. ET or Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Or, if you're heading out to the club Saturday night, what better way to wind down upon your return home than catching a re-airing on Sunday at 3 a.m. ET. The phrase "time slot gold" gets thrown around a lot these days, but in this case … I'm dedicating this week's newsletter to a behind-the-scenes look at how we put the production together. I spoke with Curry, the Golden State Warriors superstar, on a boat going from Oakland to San Francisco during this year's All-Star weekend. It was a cool way to get an extended one-on-one with him – heading from practice at the old Oracle Arena to the Chase Center in San Francisco. Fun fact No. 1: It was Curry's first time back at the old Oracle — where he revolutionized basketball and led Golden State to three of his four career titles — since the Warriors left Oakland in 2019. Fun fact No. 2: The initial plan was to follow Curry at Chase as he prepared for the three-point contest, but he ended up not competing when a potential showcase with WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu and Curry's former Warriors teammate Klay Thompson fell apart. The meat of our feature is on Curry's Thirty Ink, the mini house-of-brands conglomerate he's built over the years consisting of his media company (Unanimous Media), bourbon brand (Gentleman's Cut), marketing consultancy (7k), golf and basketball leagues for kids (Underrated Basketball and Underrated Golf), and philanthropic foundation ( Curry is the CEO of Thirty Ink. The company says all of Curry's businesses are profitable – a message his its leaders were eager to share with me, given the history of athlete-led businesses that go belly up. Thirty Ink is also in business with Under Armour through Curry Brand, which dramatically helps both the top and bottom line. Thirty Ink incurs annual expenses for delivering on Curry's name, image and likeness to earn revenue through that relationship, and those sales aren't impacted by traditional operational costs. The end result is some gaudy revenue and EBITDA numbers: $174.5 million in revenue and $144 million in EBITDA for 2024. The first half of the special mostly focuses on Thirty Ink, while the second half features longer clips from my interview with Curry. While I was eager to spend some time with Curry, the journalist in me wanted to dig up some dirt on the "real" guy. His reputation is about as clean as any athlete in history. Sportico reported earlier this year he made $100 million in sponsorship and off-court deals in 2024, more than any other NBA player. "I think Steph Curry might be the only guy to ever go through this league that never receives hate," ex-teammate DeMarcus Cousins said earlier this year . "He's the golden child." I was determined to get his longtime head coach Steve Kerr to give me the real deal. What's Curry like when the cameras aren't all on? "He makes every day comfortable for the group," Kerr said. "When he's in the building, there's a sense of joy, there's a sense of calm, there's a sense of attention to the work that needs to be done. And it's kind of a wonderful compilation of all that, where there's just a really healthy vibe in the building when he's there leading. He doesn't have to say much. He just has to be himself, and the rest of the guys follow him." I tried another former teammate, Andre Iguodala . Give me something, man! "With Steph, it's about, 'how can you be a generational figure?' He's done it on the court, and now he's trying to do it off the court, and in his philanthropic ways that he's doing it, and then at the same time, the businesses that he's building – you look at some of the greatest athletes, you know, talk about Michael Jordan ," Iguodala told me. "You can put Greg Norman in there, in golf, his apparel line. And Steph is able to do it on the tech side of things, as well." Curry's Thirty Ink coworkers, including Chief Operating Officer Tiffany Williams , Secretary-Chairman Suresh Singh , Unanimous Media co-CEO Erick Peyton , and 7k Managing Partner Ariel Johnson Lin , were also no help. He's really the same down-to-earth guy when you're working with him? "That's probably the most asked question that I get," Williams said. "And he is definitely still that guy, that really extremely nice guy – when he's working with you on something that is his focus right then and there, and providing that attention and insight and making sure that he helps you and supports you with whatever it is that you need." Striking out repeatedly with his inner circle, I asked Curry directly: Do you have any flaws? "I appreciate the fact that people have good reports on when they have an interaction with me," said Curry. "But outside of that, we all like to be a better husband, a better father, more present at times just 'cause we're pulled, I'm pulled, in a lot of different areas and balancing all of that is a daily struggle, or challenge I should say. But yeah, I'm human like everybody. You have doubts about yourself." I asked him if the weight of being a walking brand – and now the CEO of a company with 65 people working for him – can at times be overwhelming. "I'm pretty authentic in how I approach every role in my life, whether it's on camera or not, whether I got the jersey on or not, or whether I'm at home or not," Curry said. "I try to be the same person kind of through. But the idea that you do know you're on stage, you have a spotlight on you – there's a lot at stake in terms of the opportunities that are created around my world, and how many people are relying on that. I appreciate the responsibility, even though I might be the one that carries that weight. And that weight becomes heavier and heavier, but I have great people around me. I have ways that I can have my own kind of release and in personal time where I can fill up my cup too." My takeaway is: I couldn't find a dark side to Curry because I don't think there is one. "His authenticity, his joy, his perspective, his humility, his audacity – the combination of all that is so unique," said Kerr. "I've never seen anybody like him." I followed Curry around for a few days for the project, going from place to place as he attended various sponsorship obligations and charitable events. Granted, it was All-Star weekend in his hometown, so I imagine his agenda was busier than normal, but it was eye-opening to see how comfortable Curry is around crowds and fans. He gravitates toward large groups of people – even cameras – rather than shy away. "Especially All-Star weekend, the fan interactions and energy that you get from people that just want a second to say hi or an autograph – I don't ever take those interactions or moments for granted," Curry told me. "If I'm talking about a packed schedule of meet and greets and fun stuff and activation and celebrating basketball, then life is good." One more moment that didn't make the final piece but was a fun story for my kids – CNBC Sport producer Jess Golden and I wound up as audience members in a Mr. Beast video. You can see us for a couple of seconds dopily trying to take a picture for our children at the 4:50 mark of this video , before the producers forced everyone to put away their phones. By the way, the notion of parents impressing their kids by hanging out with Mr. Beast doesn't just apply to us – Curry, himself, immediately called his own kids to show off he was standing next to him. Best NBA shooters of all time: they're just like us! Curry participated in the Mr. Beast stunt at a local Oakland high school, where he tried to make more three-pointers in 30 seconds than a student could in 60 seconds. Fun fact No. 3: **Spoiler alert**... In the video, just before you see us, the high schooler says he's more of a LeBron James fan than a Curry guy. I can confirm that Curry debated going easy on him until he heard that – "and then the drive kicked in," just as it did during his four Finals clashes with James. Curry won three of those. Refusing to let a local kid win $100,000 in front of his classmates – does that count as a dark side? That's as much as I've got. On the record With Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr ... We at CNBC Sport wanted to give you the full interviews from both Kerr and Curry, because there's a lot that didn't make the special. As it turns out, for legal reasons, we can't include any audio that actually aired in the CNBC piece. So, we're giving you the full interviews minus anything that made our production. I asked Curry if he thinks he's ruined NBA gameplay by shooting so many three-pointers so accurately. He has shot more than nine threes per game for his career, more than any player in league history, and has hit a remarkable 42% of those shots. From 1979 to 2009, the year Curry joined the NBA, teams averaged 10.7 three-pointers per game, according to data from research firm SportRadar. From 2009 to the present, NBA teams have shot 27.6 threes a game. While the league's focus on analytics that emphasize the value of three-point shots has helped to fuel that shift, Curry's success has undoubtedly played a massive role. (Another illustration of how the game has changed: Curry's coach Kerr, who is the NBA's all-time three-point percentage leader at 45%, shot about two three-pointers per game for his career from 1988 to 2003). Curry said the problem is nuanced. It's not that teams are shooting too many threes – it's that guys who shouldn't be shooting them are doing it. "Should everybody shoot it? No, because not everybody works at it the way they should. Not everybody is as skilled at it as they should be," Curry said. "That doesn't mean that it's ruining the game. Everything evolves. That's the nature of life. That's the nature of sports. Everything evolves. Every sport – every sport is played differently than it was 10, 20 years ago. So, the question, I guess the fear, is like, where does it go from here? Like, are you gonna see teams shooting 60, 70 threes a game? I don't think so." The overabundance of threes creates a stylistic problem for the NBA, said Curry. Too many game plans revolve around jacking up threes when some teams don't have the proper players to execute the strategy, he said. "The bigger problem is that there is this idea that every team plays a similar style versus maybe 10 years ago where you see the run-and- gun Warriors, and then you see the slow-it-down-and-grind-you Memphis Grizzlies, and the kind of ball movement – the beautiful game – San Antonio Spurs," said Curry. "Everybody played a little bit different. Now, there's kind of a more similar style." Curry also told me the three-point line should "potentially" be moved back to force teams to change strategies if they don't have players who can knock down longer threes with consistency. "It would favor me, so maybe," Curry noted. Watch more of my interview with Curry here . Listen to both extended cut interviews here and make sure to follow the CNBC Sport podcast. This week's audio-only version includes an introduction where my colleague Jess Golden and I talk about our impressions of Curry and putting the production together over the past few months. CNBC Sport highlight reel We put together a few different stories about Curry from all of our interviews: Thirty Ink's financials are impressive – $174 million in revenue and an astounding $144 million in EBITDA for 2024, due to an unusual agreement with Under Armour's Curry Brand. Curry told me he's open to pursuing a broadcasting career when he retires, but he's also thinking about team ownership and even playing on the PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50. One of the more interesting anecdotes from the piece is Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank 's story about using former Golden State Warriors teammate Kent Bazemore to convince Curry to leave Nike and come to UA. We highlighted that tale here. The thing Curry told me that most shocked me? That he still suffers from imposter syndrome at times. The big numbers: Keeping the focus on Curry this week, I've got three Big Numbers for you – all thanks to SportRadar, which collected the data. 4,058 That's how many three pointers Curry has made in his career, by far the most in league history. He's nearly 900 ahead of the next guy – Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden , who has made 3,175. 19.6 feet That's the average shot distance for a Curry jumper since 2020-21 – nearly two feet further than any other player that has averaged 20 or more points in a season in the last five years. An NBA three pointer is 23 feet, 9 inches from top of the key, and 22 feet from the basket at the corners of the floor. .711 That's the Golden State Warriors' win percentage since 2015 with Curry in the lineup. That means the Warriors have won more than 70% of the time when Curry plays in that stretch. Needless to say, no team in the NBA has won more frequently in the last ten years. Quote of the week "It's a deep question, because you think about it all the time. I know I've been blessed with a God-given ability when I stepped foot on the floor when I was five years old. Figuring out a way to put the ball in a basket kind of came naturally. You add that with a work ethic that I know I've…I've poured my heart and soul into perfecting this craft and stretching my imagination on what I could actually do on a basketball court with the skill set of shooting. And even at 36 [now 37] and 16 years in the league, I still get lost in that pursuit of perfection. It's my happy place when I'm out there on the court. I truly enjoy it and have fun every time I'm out there. The job of the NBA and all that hasn't really threatened that at all. So, matching the God-given abilities and the work ethic and just being able to lose myself in the game, I think is a good formula." — Curry, answering my question of why, of every basketball player to ever step on a court, he's the best shooter of them all. Around the league A CNBC Sport exclusive - Sotheby's is auctioning off the jersey Curry wore when he made his first three-pointer in his first NBA season (2009-10). Curry made the shot in his second-ever NBA game. He went on to wear the jersey in 24 more games. To Sotheby's knowledge, the jersey "represents not only the first Stephen Curry rookie jersey ever offered at public auction, but also the most heavily worn Curry jersey—from any point in his career—known to have surfaced." The auction house estimates the jersey will sell for more than $1 million. The item will be offered as part of Sotheby's "Summer Sports Classics" auction, which begins later this month. Curry will once again participate in this summer's American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament, which he won in 2023, in South Lake Tahoe at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. He didn't play last year because he was in Paris winning a gold medal for the U.S. Olympic basketball team. The tournament will air on NBC Sports, Golf Channel and Peacock over the course of three days. He'll compete against other athletes and celebrities including his dad Dell and brother Seth, Tony Romo , Steve Young , Jerry Rice , Aaron Rodgers, Colin Jost and Charles Barkley , though it's debatable if you can say Barkley really competes (he finished in 81st the year Curry won but did improve to a respectable 58th last year). The tournament runs from July 11 to July 13.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Every NBA Finals champion since 2000
Every NBA Finals champion since 2000 We're set to crown a new basketball world champion as the NBA Finals begin on Thursday night, and it's a bit of an unorthodox matchup in the championship series. The No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder out of the Western Conference return to the finals for the first time since 2012 seeking their second NBA title and first since relocating from Seattle in 2008, and they draw the No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers out of the East. The Pacers are in search of their first title as they make their second trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history after falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in 2000. As we prepare for another champion in 2025, here is every team that has won the NBA since 2000, beginning with that Lakers team led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. 2000: Los Angeles Lakers over Indiana Pacers Series Record: 4-2 2001: Los Angeles Lakers over Philadelphia 76ers Series Record: 4-1 2002: Los Angeles Lakers over New Jersey Nets Series Record: 4-0 2003: San Antonio Spurs over New Jersey Nets Series Record: 4-2 2004: Detroit Pistons over Los Angeles Lakers Series Record: 4-1 2005: San Antonio Spurs over Detroit Pistons Series Record: 4-3 2006: Miami Heat over Dallas Mavericks Series Record: 4-2 2007: San Antonio Spurs over Cleveland Cavaliers Series Record: 4-0 2008: Boston Celtics over Los Angeles Lakers Series Record: 4-2 2009: Los Angeles Lakers over Orlando Magic Series Record: 4-2 2010: Los Angeles Lakers over Boston Celtics Series Record: 4-3 2011: Dallas Mavericks over Miami Heat Series Record: 4-2 2012: Miami Heat over Oklahoma City Thunder Series Record: 4-1 2013: Miami Heat over San Antonio Spurs Series Record: 4-3 2014: San Antonio Spurs over Miami Heat Series Record: 4-1 2015: Golden State Warriors over Cleveland Cavaliers Series Record: 4-2 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers over Golden State Warriors Series Record: 4-3 2017: Golden State Warriors over Cleveland Cavaliers Series Record: 4-1 2018: Golden State Warriors over Cleveland Cavaliers Series Record: 4-0 2019: Toronto Raptors over Golden State Warriors Series Record: 4-2 2020: Los Angeles Lakers over Miami Heat Series Record: 4-2 2021: Milwaukee Bucks over Phoenix Suns Series Record: 4-2 2022: Golden State Warriors over Boston Celtics Series Record: 4-2 2023: Denver Nuggets over Miami Heat Series Record: 4-1 2024: Boston Celtics over Dallas Mavericks Series Record: 4-1
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Rockets have ‘no interest' in letting Ime Udoka go to Knicks
Ime Udoka can likely be scratched off the shortlist of Knicks coaching candidates. The head coach of the Rockets is under contract until 2027, meaning Houston would have to grant permission just for the Knicks to interview him. And the Knicks would then have to negotiate compensation to the Rockets to pry their coach away from them. The Rockets have 'no interest in entertaining that,' according to The Athletic. The Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau after they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games by the Pacers. Thibodeau had been in charge for five years, leading the Knicks to the postseason in four of those seasons. 3 Getty Images 'Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,' Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. 'This pursuit has led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction. We can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach. He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories. 'Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.' Udoka, despite off-court controversies, is considered one of the best coaches in the NBA. 3 The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after five seasons with the team. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post He led the Celtics to an NBA Finals appearance in his first season in Boston before losing to the Warriors in six games. But his Celtics tenure lasted just one year, as he was suspended and subsequently fired for an alleged improper relationship with a female staffer. He has served as the Rockets' head coach for the past two seasons, leading a stunning turnaround for the franchise. 3 Leon Rose looks on prior to the Knicks-Pistons playoff game on April 21, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images They recorded a 52-30 record this year, finishing second in the Western Conference before losing to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. The Rockets went 41-41 in his first year with the team. In the four seasons prior to Udoka taking over, the Rockets did not win more than 22 games.
