NBA Finals
(all games at 6:30 p.m. MT;
TV broadcast on ABC; x-if necessary)
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Game 1: New York at San Antonio, Wednesday
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Game 2: New York at San Antonio, Friday
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Game 3: San Antonio at New York, Monday, June 8
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Game 4: San Antonio at New York, Wednesday, June 10
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x-Game 5: New York at San Antonio, Saturday, June 13
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x-Game 6: San Antonio at New York, Tuesday, June 16
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x-Game 7: New York at San Antonio, Friday, June 19
New Mexicans in search of any hint of a rooting interest in this year’s NBA Finals are in luck.
While last year’s NBA Finals featured prominently Indiana Pacers forward, and former New Mexico State Aggie, Pascal Siakam, this year’s finals — which begin Wednesday between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs — feature a man most New Mexicans probably don’t even realize lives in the state.
Knicks coach Mike Brown, who was hired a year ago to get one of the NBA’s marquee franchises back into the finals for the first time since 1999, has made his offseason home in Albuquerque for the past several years now.
Married to NMSU and St. Pius X High School graduate Rochelle Ledesma, Brown lives on the West Side and loved Albuquerque ever since spending time here during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons watching his son, and former Lobo, Elijah Brown play at UNM.
James Borrego, a former colleague of Brown’s as assistants on the Spurs staffs of the early 2000s, can lay claim to being the first New Mexico native (and, like Brown, current New Mexico resident) to be an NBA head coach.
Brown, however, is believed to be the first head coach with any significant ties to New Mexico coaching in the NBA Finals.
Brown, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, is coaching in his second finals. (He also coached the 2007 LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, who happened to lose to Brown’s former team the Spurs.) Brown has also been a part of four NBA championships as an assistant — 2003 with Spurs, and 2017, 2018 and 2022 as the associate head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
The Knicks through the years have also boasted brief stints on the court by former Lobos Luc Longley and JR Giddens. Phil Abney and Toby Roybal, the only player in UNM men’s basketball to have his number retired, are both former Lobos drafted by the Knicks, though neither ever played for them.
For you Spurs fans, while there isn’t a current tie on the court to the state, there are some on the bench and in the past worth noting.
Tim Martin, who played basketball in high school in Rio Rancho and at New Mexico Junior College before an ankle injury ended his playing days, became a basketball trainer and has spent this season as a Spurs assistant coach for player development.
Among the players he trained before they got to the NBA? Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.
Samson Kayode, who spent two seasons (2010-11, 2011-12) as the video coordinator for the NM State under former coach Marvin Menzies, is in his sixth season with Spurs. Kayode worked his way up through the scouting department, and this past year earn the title of associate vice president of scouting.
And then there’s UNM all-time leading scorer Charles “Spider” Smith, who was drafted by the Miami Heat in the first round in 1997, but played 60 games and made 22 starts for the Spurs in the 2001-02 season — while both Brown and Borrego were on staff.
New Mexico Junior College gets to lay claim to some significant ties, too, in having been home to Avery Johnson’s freshman season of college (1984) before later being a Spurs mainstay. Johnson played 644 games for San Antonio, including being on the franchise’s 1999 NBA championship squad.
Who did Johnson and the Spurs beat that year?
The Knicks, in five games, the last time they made the finals.
Some New Mexico ties to the NBA Finals
New York Knicks
Current
• Head coach Mike Brown (lives in Albuquerque, married to an NMSU and a St. Pius grad); Also an assistant with the Spurs from 2000-03
Past
• J.R. Giddens, UNM, played 11 games in 2009-10 season
• Luc Longley, UNM, played 25 games in the 2000-01 season
• Phil Abney, UNM, drafted by the Knicks in 1979 (6th round, No. 115 overall), never played for the Knicks
• Toby Roybal, UNM, drafted by the Knicks in 1956 (13th round, 88th overall), never played for the Knicks
San Antonio Spurs
Current
• Tim Martin, Rio Rancho High School and New Mexico Junior College, is an assistant coach for player development for the Spurs.
• Samson Kayode, NM State, associate vice president of scouting, sixth season with Spurs, was video coordinator at NM State from 2010-12
Past
• James Borrego, lives in Albuquerque, two time NBA champion assistant coach (2005, 2007) on Spurs staff
• Charles Smith, UNM, 60 games (22 starts) in 2001-02 season
• Avery Johnson, NM Junior College (1984), played 10 seasons, 644 games and won won NBA championship (1999) with the Spurs
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.