The Best NBA Finals Moment You May Not Have Seen: TRAINA THOUGHTS

After losing the NBA Finals, Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams did something you never see in sports: congratulating the Milwaukee Bucks in their locker room.

1. It was Giannis’s night. It was Giannis’s show. It was Giannis’s NBA Finals.

But late Tuesday night, someone managed to steal the show from Giannis for just a few seconds.

In a time when class and grace is at an all-time low in society, Suns coach Monty Williams showed what kind of person he is by going into the Bucks’ locker room to congratulate Milwaukee on winning the NBA title.

With his arm around Giannis, Williams said, "I just wanted to come and congratulate you guys as a man and a coach because you guys deserve it. I'm thankful for the experience. You guys made me a better coach and you made us a better team. Congratulations."

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I can’t remember ever seeing a losing coach go into the winning team’s locker room to offer a heartfelt congratulations.

What makes Williams’s gesture even more remarkable is that just a few minutes before addressing the Bucks, he became emotional during his postgame press conference.

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Let’s hope Monty Williams gets that NBA title one day.

2. And this is how Giannis ended his historic evening.

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3. EXCLUSIVE! The nice folks at Apple TV+ have provided Traina Thoughts with this clip from the first episode of Season 2 of Ted Lasso, which comes out Friday.

4. Former NFL offensive lineman George Foster got a real LOL, not a fake internet LOL, out of me Tuesday when he referred to Bills wideout Cole Beasley as "Less Welker."

5. A guy at Tuesday night's Phillies-Yankees game decided to run on the field during the sixth inning. He quickly learned Yankee Stadium security was just not having it.

6. Let's check in to see how right-wing media is handling Tom Brady's performance while visiting the White House on Tuesday.

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7. The latest episode of the SI Media Podcast features an interview with New York Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand.

It's been a wild couple of weeks in sports media and we covered it all. Marchand updates us on where Maria Taylor stands with ESPN, breaking down the entire Taylor–Rachel Nichols saga and ESPN's responsibility in creating the mess.

We also discussed Stephen A. Smith's offensive comments about Shohei Ohtani and why they happened. Marchand also weighed in on the future of NFL Sunday Ticket, broadcasters not traveling for road games and more.

Topics covered in the Traina Thoughts segment of the podcast with WFAN's Sal Licata include MLB's possibly banning the shift, Giannis's NBA Finals performance and the story about NBC wanting James Gandolfini to replace Steve Carell on The Office.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on AppleSpotify or Stitcher.

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

8RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: How can you not be happy this guy won an NBA title in dominating fashion?

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on AppleSpotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.


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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.