1. There were a slew of celebrities in attendance at Madison Square Garden Monday night to watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Spurs and Knicks.
Readers of this column will not be surprised to know that the celebrity who piqued my interest the most was Larry David. It’s always fascinating to see how Larry, who was once called a “social assassin” on Curb Your Enthusiasm behaves and acts in such a public setting.
The funny thing is Larry always behaves exactly how you would expect Larry to behave, as you can see here with his reaction to the Spurs making a shot.
Larry David's response here (top left) is so Larry David. pic.twitter.com/ZIStIiU9w3
— Jeff Edelstein (@jeffedelstein) June 9, 2026
The other fun thing about Larry attending a massive sporting event is that Curb fans envision scenarios that could play out.
Here are some of the best one that I saw on social media.
Larry on line at security makes a joke "do you really need to search me, you think I'm gonna be the one who does it?" And ends up in Secret Service custody for the entirety of the game, asking each interrogator as they come into the room for an update on the score of the game https://t.co/xA3tnHxXzP
— Nick (@NickZararis) June 9, 2026
While on Jumbotron Larry is seen politely declining to trade seats with a Make A Wish kid. “Seats are assigned for a reason!” he exclaims https://t.co/Li6C79T8gH
— Grace (@gracecamille_) June 9, 2026
Larry sees someone courtside tipping the server on one of the machines. He insists on tipping w/ cash since he heard those machines don’t give the full tip amount to the server. It’s a huge inconvenience to everyone and the server eventually spills a drink which KAT slips on. https://t.co/qmqPx4MOSw
— #TheJAKE (@JakerBrahney) June 9, 2026
He interacts with Mikal Bridges before the game:
— Live from deez (@LyricsProfessor) June 9, 2026
“so you never miss a game, huh?”
“That’s right”
“Don’t you ever worry you might get hurt in like a freak accident?”
“No I’ve never really thought about it”
Proceeds to go down with career-ending injury. https://t.co/UmysIfIxgA
He has to go to the bathroom and kicks over Timothee Chalamet's cup that he sat on the court by his chair. Jalen Brunson slips and is injured. He blames Chalamet and all of New York gets mad at him. Leon asks Larry if he can hook him up with Kylie Jenner. https://t.co/4sdZaDjl3N
— Blinkin (@blinkinriley) June 9, 2026
Game about to be delayed because Larry gets into it with Wemby over the awkwardness of the french language https://t.co/enWIXYOgdm
— Sonny Side Up 🍳 (@NewSonnyHopkins) June 9, 2026
2. Charles Barkley had an all-time moment during halftime of Game 3 when he offered commentary on Cardi B’s performance at MSG.
“I don’t know if those B’s. Those might be Cardi D’s”
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 9, 2026
We have lost Charles Barkley tonight folks https://t.co/ZzStZF5VRL
3. I don’t believe sports are rigged. And while the NBA and ESPN would do almost anything to get a seven-game NBA Finals, I don’t believe that things are “fixed.”
However, if you are unlike me and you do believe in conspiracy theories, this no-call would be a strong piece of evidence for your case because this is as bad as it gets.
This is insane 😭 pic.twitter.com/auJUOqtMAb
— Showtime Luka (@showtimeluka) June 9, 2026
And I still have no idea what happened here.
THE REFS ARE TROLLING
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) June 9, 2026
They hand the ball to the Knicks to inbound it, then stop the game mid play to let the Spurs make a sub 🤔 pic.twitter.com/X3KAB4NEEE
4. The visual of ESPN’s Lisa Salters interviewing 7'4" Victor Wembanyama after the game was pretty funny.
Lisa Salters interviewing Victor Wembanyama: pic.twitter.com/UwdivD6Gjw
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 9, 2026
Here's Lisa Salters' arm interviewing Victor Wembanyama postgame pic.twitter.com/xgCpHl6NMh
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) June 9, 2026
Lisa Salters paying tribute to the Statue of Liberty in New York. 🗽 pic.twitter.com/ITq63abdcd
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) June 9, 2026
The way Lisa Salters just completely disappears 😂 https://t.co/iTxCjyzYxw
— John Matrix (@Im_PlayingDead) June 9, 2026
5. Presented without comment.
Truth Social at 2am
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) June 9, 2026
“I was beautifully cheered by the New York crowd at tonight’s Knicks game. New Yorkers love Trump. Thank you for your attention to this matter. .”
"It was, I think, mostly cheers."
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 9, 2026
President Trump on his appearance at MSG for Game 3. pic.twitter.com/ndiTIWq95L
6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with Sports Business Journal media reporter Austin Karp.
Karp talks about the NBA and ABC being set up for big ratings with the Spurs and Knicks in the Finals, the trio of Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler calling their first NBA Finals together and the Inside the NBA crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal working the NBA Finals pregame, halftime and postgame studio shows for the first time.
In addition, Karp discusses Pat McAfee being ESPN’s top star, the buzz surrounding the World Cup, a big problem with college football’s playoff schedule, whether Fox could lose the World Series and/or the NFL, the current debacle at 60 Minutes and much more.
Following Karp, Sal Licata from SNY TV and The Sal Licata Show joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include: the NBA Finals, my recent interview with Marv Albert, Sal getting a message from a Howard Stern Show wack packer, a fun rankings game, Sal’s lack of Bon Jovi knowledge and more.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 65th birthday to Michael J. Fox.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
