Getting to the NBA Finals required some big signings, big trades and some shrewd drafting for the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. But beyond blockbuster trades and draft lottery luck, there were a number of smaller events that set up these two teams for their big playoff runs.
Here are four under-the-radar moments that led to the 2026 Finals.
Chicago Bulls trade for DeMar DeRozan, August 2021
The Spurs were mired in mediocrity three years after trading Kawhi Leonard for DeMar DeRozan in 2018. So San Antonio agreed to sign-and-trade DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls when he became a free agent in 2021, getting three picks for their troubles. DeRozan made two All-Star teams in three seasons with the Bulls.
In 2024, DeRozan and the Bulls were ready to move on, so Chicago signed-and-traded him to the Sacramento Kings. The Kings needed to clear salary to make the deal work, so they sent a 2031 pick swap to the Spurs for taking on the salary of Harrison Barnes.
Now Barnes is back in the Finals for the first time in a decade, while the Spurs used picks from the two DeRozan deals to add De’Aaron Fox in February 2025, in another three-way trade with the Kings and Bulls.
Mark Cuban low-balls Jalen Brunson, September 2021
In the 2020-21 season, Jalen Brunson averaged 12.6 points, shot 40.5 percent from three-point range and finished fourth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. He was eligible to sign a four-year extension for up to $55.5M, but only asked the Dallas Mavericks for $50M over four years. Owner Mark Cuban wasn’t interested.
Brunson started 61 games and averaged 16.3 points in 2021-22. When the Mavericks offered Brunson the $55.5M extension in February, he declined, then put up 21.6 PPG in the playoffs. Brunson signed with the Knicks for four years and $104M that summer. Cuban refused to match.
Mac McClung wins Slam Dunk Contest, February 2023
Mac McClung hadn’t yet played a game in the NBA when he won his first of three straight dunk contests in 2023. But he did wear a Philadelphia 76ers jersey during All-Star Saturday, after the Sixers signed him to a two-way contract four days before the contest. McClung only played in the season’s last two games
To make room for their dunk star, the Sixers released two-way player Julian Champagnie. Two days later, Champagnie signed with the Spurs. He’s now a starter for the Spurs team chasing a title. The Sixers will have to settle for a dunk title.
Sacramento Kings fire Mike Brown, December 2024
When things went wrong in Sacramento, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive doesn’t hesitate to fire his head coach. He’s dismissed eight coaches since taking over the team in 2013. Despite Mike Brown winning Coach of the Year and ending the Kings’ 16-year playoff drought a year earlier, Ranadive canned him after a 13-18 start.
Not only did that make Brown available for the Knicks job, but Ranadive alienated his best player by botching the firing. No one in the organization would talk in public and explain the firing, so Fox had to face questions and allegations he’d gotten Brown fired. It’s no surprise that Fox requested a trade and ended up a Spur a month later.
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