BBNBA Playoffs: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and De'Aaron Fox helps their teams win big

The first round of the NBA playoffs is the hardest on my non-sports-loving wife. She saw a game on and asked, “Is this for the championship?” No, dear, it is just the first round. “So, whoever wins goes to the championship?” No, honey. There are four rounds before we get to champ–er–the Finals. And, this is just Game 1 of a seven-game series. “They have to play each other seven times?!” Maybe, unless someone wins four games first. I didn’t have the heart to remind her that these go on for two months, though it is an exercise we go through every year. Our little family tradition. Anyway, eight members of the BBNBA saw the floor in Game 1 of their respective series, so let’s recap.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are really, really good

It is easy to forget that the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder went through much of this year dealing with injuries, yet still finished with the best record in the league. Now fully healthy, they dominated the scrappy but undersized Suns from the opening tip on Sunday, despite the soon-to-be back-to-back MVP not shooting the ball great from the field.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points, but did most of his damage from the charity stripe, going 15-17 from the line. Meanwhile, fellow Kentucky alum Cason Wallace put the clamps down on defense while throwing down an incredible lob. His specialties.

On the wrong side of the blowout Game 1, Devin Booker did what he could, but it just wasn’t enough. He finished with a team-high 23 points, but the Suns ran into a buzz saw on Sunday. The Thunder showed why they are the favorites to win it all…again.

The Celtics squashed the 76ers, despite Tyrese Maxey’s best effort

When the 76ers won their play-in game, fans chanted “We want Boston!” throughout the arena. So, in the closing minutes of Game 1 with their team up 30, Celtics fans were quick to get loud with one of the best troll chants of all time by simply repeating, “We want Boston!” Wicked clever, guys. Wicked.

Philadelphia was once again without Joel Embiid, who can’t seem to stay healthy. Tyrese Maxey is a superstar and all, but he can’t do it himself. He finished with 21 points and eight assists on Sunday afternoon, but the likes of Boston were too much to overcome. With the 1-seed Pistons looking vulnerable by falling to the 8-seed Magic in Game 1, Boston could very well be the favorite to come out of the East.

Justin Edwards chipped in seven points off the bench, but ultimately, he was spitting into the ocean. Or maybe the wind. Either way, Philly got trounced in Game 1. Unfortunately, Amari Williams did not get to see any mop-up time minutes.

De’Aaron Fox and the Spurs take care of business

One of these days, you are going to tell your grandkids that you got to watch Victor Wembanyama play basketball. Maybe you already do. But there may never be another player like Wemby ever. He’s a true phenom, going for 35 points in Game 1 while shooting 5-6 from 3 as a 7-foot-4 center.

Oh, and his Kentucky teammates aren’t too bad either. De’Aaron Fox might have to play second fiddle in San Antonio, but he’s a pretty darn good fiddler. He scored 17 points and dished out eight assists in Game 1 as the Spurs took care of business over Portland. Fox and Gilgeous-Alexander both did not have a turnover, giving them a combined assist-to-turnover ratio of 15-0 in comfortable wins. Impressive.

6th Man of the Year frontrunner, Keldon Johnson, once again came in off the bench and had just three points on the night. Thankfully for the Spurs, they didn’t need major point production from him on Sunday.

4/19/2026 Statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	119-84 W vs. PHX	25	5-18 (0-4)	4	7	0	2	0	+24	29
Devin Booker (PHX)	84-119 L vs. OKC	23	8-17 (2-5)	6	2	0	0	3	-25	33
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	91-123 L vs. BOS	21	8-20 (1-4)	1	8	0	0	2	-29	37
De’Aaron Fox (SAS)	111-98 W vs. POR	17	7-15 (2-5)	5	8	1	0	0	+12	34
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	98-111 L vs. SAS	10	4-14 (0-4)	1	2	1	0	0	+9	22
Justin Edwards (PHI)	91-123 L vs. BOS	7	3-9 (1-3)	6	0	0	0	0	-21	17
Cason Wallace (OKC)	119-84 W vs. PHX	6	3-5 (0-2)	4	2	2	0	0	+23	21
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	111-98 W vs. POR	3	1-4 (1-2)	7	1	1	0	2	+2	20
Amari Williams (BOS)	123-91 W vs. PHI	DNP-CD

Tonight in the BBNBA Playoffs

TIME/TV	MATCHUP	SERIES
7:00 p.m. ET | Peacock/NBCSN	(5) Raptors (Quickley) @ (4) Cavaliers	East Round 1: CLE leads 1-0
8:00 p.m. ET | Peacock/NBC	(6) Hawks @ (3) Knicks (Towns)	East Round 1: NYK leads 1-0
10:30 p.m. ET | Peacock/NBC	(6) Timberwolves (Randle) @ (3) Nuggets (Murray)	West Round 1: DEN leads 1-0

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