Baylor's Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua.
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
After winning the national championship in 2021, the Baylor men’s basketball squad is looking to add another banner to the rafters this year. One the key players who could help the Bears do that is forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua.
A soccer player by nature growing up in Cameroon, he didn’t start playing basketball until the age of 16, doing so with a soccer ball and a makeshift basketball goal. He was later invited to a Basketball Without Borders Camp in Angola and was awarded a scholarship to the NBA Global Academy.
He moved to Australia in his later teen years to pursue a basketball career, which he parlayed into a college scholarship in the United States. He began his college career at UNLV, but after a coaching change he found his way to play for Scott Drew at Baylor, where he helped deliver Baylor’s first national championship.
In 2022, Tchatchoua was named the Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year. But also in 2022, he suffered a serious leg injury in a game against Texas that has shaped much of who he is as a player and a person.
“It really taught me how life is really just a cumulation of ups and downs when we really focus on the earthly things,” he said on this week’s episode of the “Get in the Game” podcast. “I had to realize that my identity wasn’t tied to basketball.”
In this episode, Tchatchoua shares his story of moving around to different countries during his upbringing, how his faith in God was formed, and how it’s at the center of who he is as a man and a basketball player.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
The much-anticipated Western Conference Finals between what many consider the NBA’s two best teams tipped off on Monday, and it lived up to all the hype and more.
The No. 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama, outlasted league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-115, in two overtimes in Game 1 to notch a road victory and seize early control of the seven-game series.
San Antonio battled to a seven-point halftime lead, but a fourth-quarter surge from the Thunder sent the contest to OT tied at 101. The Spurs finally pulled away in the second overtime to cap the instant classic.
The Last 15 Minutes of Game 1: Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs 🍿🎬 PURE CINEMA pic.twitter.com/1XsgZkXswV
— Not Locked On Fantasy Basketball (@MaarkyBoy) May 19, 2026
Game 1 marked the first real adversity the Thunder have faced in this year’s playoffs. After winning the NBA Finals a season ago for the first time since the franchise has been in Oklahoma City, the Thunder cruised to two four-game sweeps in the first two rounds of these playoffs. OKC dispatched the Phoenix Suns in the first round and the Los Angeles Lakers in the second. Only two of those eight wins came by less than 10 points.
An unexpected star for the Thunder during the team’s dominant run has been 23-year-old second-year guard Ajay Mitchell. The 2024 second-round pick started the last two games of the series with the Suns and each of the four games against the Lakers, and the crafty lefty has performed admirably. He’s averaged 17.1 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds so far in these playoffs while shooting 35.1% and providing stout defense in more than 30 minutes per game. Each of those totals is an improvement on his season averages.
After that Game 3, Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about what the former UC Santa Barbara standout brings to the team.
“He’s a gamer,” SGA said of Mitchell. “Works super hard, never shaken by the moment. He’s just ready for his opportunity and he takes full advantage of it. It might be a shock to the world, but it’s no shock to us. We knew who Ajay Mitchell was the day he stepped foot in the building, and he’s just showing it to the world.”
Mitchell was born and raised in Belgium until he moved to France at age 17 to advance his basketball career. In France, he played briefly with Wembanyama, who now provides the opposition on Mitchell’s path to a second straight title.
During his postgame press conference after Game 3 against the Lakers, Mitchell was asked to reflect on where basketball has taken him in life.
“It’s been more of just being grateful,” he said. “I think looking back to where I was, looking back to myself as a little kid in Belgium just dreaming of playing in the NBA, and then God putting me in those positions, I just truly feel grateful for those opportunities. I feel like I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder, and every time I step out on the court I just want to prove myself and be a winning player and help my team win.”
Mitchell writes “All glory to God” in his Instagram bio, and he’s been known to post about faith on the social media platform. In January, he opened up about his journey with His Huddle.
“Faith plays an important role in my basketball career,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure and stress from basketball, and being able to pray and talk to God about it really helped me throughout the years. Praying and talking to God helps me remind myself of what I’m grateful for.”
Mitchell spent his youth attending church in Belgium, but it wasn’t until his time in college with the Gauchos that a true relationship with God blossomed. Now as a rising NBA star, he wants to use his platform to tell others about all that Christ has done.
“The impact I would like to have is just to be able to share God’s Word,” he told His Huddle. “Understanding that God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins really changed my perspective. It helped me to seek forgiveness from God, and also forgive others.”
Mitchell wasn’t in the starting lineup for Game 1 against the Spurs on Monday and registered a quiet four points on 2-of-5 shooting with five assists, four rebounds and two steals. He did lead the Thunder bench with 34 minutes played and was +7 on the night.
The Thunder hope he can return to the kind of production he exhibited in the first two rounds of the playoffs as they seek to bounce back in Game 2 in Oklahoma City on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Victoria Arlen in 2025. (Photo by Allen Kee/ESPN Images)
THIS IS THE GET IN THE GAME PODCAST
WITH SCOTT LINEBRINK
Our guest today is Victoria Arlen, an ESPN broadcaster, speaker, author and Paralympic gold medalist. Her new book, “The View is Worth It,” released May 5.
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Last year at this time, New York erupted as the Knicks advanced to the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a quarter of a century. The city didn’t have to wait quite as long for its return trip. With a dominant 144-114 win on Sunday in Philadelphia, No. 3-seeded New York capped a convincing four-game sweep of the No. 7-seeded 76ers to become the first team to earn a spot in this year’s conference finals.
The Knicks won the four games by an average of 22.25 points per game, and their 144 points on Sunday were the most in Knicks playoff history (besting the 140 they scored in Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks last week in the opening round). Including its three wins to close out Atlanta, New York has now won a franchise-record seven straight playoff games.
In Game 4 against the 76ers, New York held a 43-24 advantage after the opening quarter and never looked back as the home crowd inside Philly’s Xfinity Mobile Arena ceded to Knicks faithful.
Much of New York’s advantage was thanks to a record-setting 3-point barrage (25-of-44 for the game, 57%) — 25 tied the NBA postseason record for most threes in a game, 18 tied the postseason record for most threes in a half (first half), and 11 tied the postseason record for most threes in a quarter (first quarter).
A Knick who made four of those 25 was starting guard Josh Hart.
Overall, Hart scored 17 points, grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds, and tied for the team lead with 29 minutes played. His 17 points were the most he’d scored so far this postseason.
“No relief, no jubilation,” Hart said after the game via ESPN. “Just another step in the process. … Here, it’s business as normal, and we got to make sure we’re locked in and focused.”
The 31-year-old has been in the playoffs each of his four seasons in New York, and he’s hoping that this year he’ll finally walk off the court in celebration rather than defeat. In order to do that, he knows the Knicks can’t be satisfied with simply a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. They faltered in the conference finals last season.
And as many of his younger teammates follow his veteran leadership on their quest for an NBA championship, Hart himself seeks to follow his Lord and Savior. He declares himself a “Follower of Christ” in his Instagram bio, and he often expresses his faith in Jesus on social media platforms.
He seeks to submit all he does to Christ, including his exploits on the basketball court. Two seasons ago, when he managed to play back-to-back complete games in the playoffs, he was asked in the locker room afterward how he did it. He revealed that he relied on Scripture.
“My Lord works in mysterious ways,” he said. “… Today, I felt like I didn’t have it at all. The whole game I was reciting Isaiah 40:29. The weak, He renews strength. That was the biggest thing. He allows you to walk and not faint.”
Hart also prays before games. As the eyes of thousands of fans are on him and his team, he seeks to keep his eyes on his Heavenly Father.
With the sweep of the 76ers, Hart and the red-hot Knicks are now headed into an extended break as they await their conference finals opponent. The No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons lead the No. 4-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-1, in the other Eastern Conference semifinal series. Game 4 is Monday.
The 37-year-old made the announcement on Tuesday and closes out her career with 8,396 career regular-season points to go along with 4,262 rebounds.
“It was all a dream, that’s the thought that keeps finding me,” she wrote in a statement posted on social media announcing her decision. “That, and deep gratitude. God has covered my life in ways I can’t fully put into words, and by His grace and mercy, I’ve been able to live out something bigger than I ever imagined.”
Charles was selected No. 1 overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2010 WNBA Draft and quickly delivered on the hype, earning Rookie of the Year honors before being named league MVP in 2012. Ahead of the 2014 season, she was traded to her hometown team, the New York Liberty, where she spent six seasons and made five All-Star appearances.
Over the course of her career, she also had stints with the Washington Mystics, Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream, before returning to Connecticut for her final season in 2025. Charles was named to the All-WNBA first team five times and the All-Defensive first team once, while also leading the league in rebounding four times and in scoring twice. She helped the U.S. win three Olympic gold medals, and in 2021 she was selected to the WNBA 25th Anniversary Team.
Before turning pro, Charles starred at UConn, leading the Huskies to national championships in 2009 and 2010. As a senior, she swept nearly every major national honor, including AP Player of the Year, John Wooden Player of the Year, USBWA National Player of the Year, and Big East Player of the Year.
“Fifteen years at the professional level and a lifetime of love for this game,” Charles wrote in her post. “I’ve experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows, and I’m thankful for all of it. Through it all, I learned how to show up. When doubt got loud and narratives were written about me, I kept showing up. That’s the New Yorker in me, where resilience is built, not talked about.”
Her bio on X references her faith in God: “His time. His way. His glory.” She’s also been public about her faith in interviews. She told The Ballers Magazine in August 2025 that she accepted Christ through Athletes In Action, and that faith helped her grow in how she was able to handle the mental and physical transition from the college game to the pros.
“My faith is everything for me,” she told the magazine. “Athletes in Action was on our campus and Maya Moore was a part of it. I had another teammate, Kaili McLaren (as well). I went to the camp and I was really able to learn how to make Jesus my motivation for my sport, so just giving thanks to Him for the blessings that I have. Once I accepted Christ — that was in 2009 — every time I took the floor my junior and senior year that’s when I started to turn the corner. I just kept saying to myself: ‘I’m playing for Him. I’m playing for an audience of One.’
“That was my motivation out there. That was the reason why I was going hard. That was the reason why my effort was what it was. That’s why I wanted to get in the gym because it was just my way of glorifying God when I was out there playing. That’s when things started turning for me my last two years at UConn.”
In August 2024, after becoming the WNBA’s second-leading scorer, she gave glory to God in her press conference comments.
“Just a whole bunch of gratitude,” Charles said. “I know this moment is big, but I have to give glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I’m just so much in awe at just how faithful He is … it’s unimaginable, and God just really gets the glory.”
She sat out the 2023 season and thought she was done playing. Not in a great space emotionally or mentally, she wasn’t sure if she still had a place in the league.
“So for me to be here right now, this is really special,” she said in the press conference.
She posted on Instagram at the end of 2023 reflecting on what had been a trying year for her and gave praise to God through it. She also referenced Hebrews 12:11, which says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
“Trials are apart (sic) of life, but God always provides what we need in order to endure,” Charles wrote. “He sifts & refines us & closes doors to position & put us in our right place. Through the disappointments & losses, God’s purpose in all His choices for us is His glory. His goal is not to inflict pain unnecessarily but to let Christ’s life shine through us in hardship, to stabilize our confidence in God’s goodness, and to strengthen our trust in His loving sovereignty.
“His grace is always sufficient. Remember, it’s not the trial that develops or destroys us, but rather our response to that hardship.”
Then, in September 2024, after becoming the WNBA’s all-time rebounding and double-double leader, she gave glory to God in her postgame locker room speech after thanking her coaches and teammates.
“I have to give glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” she said. “Last year, my faith is what carried me. My faith is what allowed me to be standing here right now.”
Charles now retires as one of the most decorated players in college and pro basketball history. Perhaps the only thing missing was playing in the WNBA Finals.
“This game gave me everything, and I’ll miss it deeply,” Charles said in her statement. “But my mom always taught me, don’t stop at what you’ve done, keep going toward what you still see. And I still see so much. There are still dreams in my heart waiting to be lived, and I can’t wait to share that journey with you all.”
