👋 Good Morning Stump Nation!

Happy Sunday! Sorry to all of our New York Rangers fans… there’s always next year (maybe?). Today, we preview the Celtics roster ahead of their Finals matchup with the Mavs. Oh and by the way, we have a pod!

You LOVE Podcasts? Perfect. We got just the one for you.

You DON’T like podcasts? Perfect. We have the ONLY one for you.

Links below ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 

LETS. GET. INTO. IT.  

THE DAILY STUMPED🔮

The Rangers are heading home (sorry NY). Here’s a little pump-up (maybe). How many Stanley Cups have the New York Rangers won?

• A. Zero

• B. One

• C. Two

• D. Three

• E. Four

Answer at the bottom of The Stump!

ON THIS DAY🗓️ 

On this day in 1987…

The Seattle Mariners had the 1st Overall pick in the MLB Draft. With this pick, they selected “The Kid” Ken Griffey Jr.!

Junior went on to become one of the greatest Mariners of all time ending his career with 630 HRs and 1836 RBIs. Not too shabby!

Here are some of his greatest moments: LINK

WHAT’D YOU MISS📰 

⚽️ Real Madrid win Champions League with 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in UCL Finals

🥊 Makhachev submits Poirier in Round 5 to retain UFC Title

🎾 World No. 1 Novak Djokovic avoids upset and wins final two sets to stay away from earliest exit in a Grand Slam since 2017

⚾️ Phillies P Ranger Suarez exits game with hand contusion after being hit by a comebacker

🏀 Caitlin Clark and the Fever survive late surge from the Sky to earn first home win of the year

STUMP STORY OF THE DAY✍️ 

NBA Finals: Boston Celtics - Personnel Check

The Celtics are BACK in the NBA Finals! They’ve got one of the best starting 5s in the NBA. Here’s who they’re rolling out to war with!

Celtics Starting 5

• Derrick White - The 29th Pick of the 2017 Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, White played his college ball at Colorado (pre-Deion). He spent his first 5 seasons with the Spurs, carving out a solid role before being traded to the Celtics in 2021. White is averaging a career high in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals. He is from Parker, Colorado.

• Jrue Holiday - The 17th Pick of the 2009 Draft by the 76ers, Holiday was a UCLA Bruin. He spent his first four seasons with the 76ers, then moved onto the Pelicans for 7 years, the Bucks for 3 years, and now he’s in his first season in Boston. Often underrated, Holiday is finally getting his flowers as his career slowly winds down. Holiday is a consummate pro, highly-respected across the league, and a key piece to this Celtics run. He is from LA.

• Jaylen Brown - With the 3rd pick in the 2016 Draft, the Celtics selected Brown out of California. An extreme athlete with an offensive game that was a work in progress, Brown has become better year after year. He’s now considered a perennial all-star, an elite defender, and the glue of the Celtics team. He is from Marietta, GA.

• Jayson Tatum - Selected the year after Brown in the 3rd slot, Tatum came to the Celtics from Duke. The Celtics superstar has been a force in the regular season, averaging more than 26 points per game over the last four years. Tatum is an all-star every year, and one of the faces of the game moving forward. He has spent his whole career in Boston. He is originally from St. Louis, Missouri.

• Kristaps Porzingis - Selected with the 4th Pick by the New York Knicks in 2015, it felt like many in New York never really got on board with the 7’2” Latvian big man. He spent three years in New York before being traded to the Mavericks in 2019. Porzingis was a good player in Dallas, averaging more than 20 PPG in his time there along with 8.5 RPG. Porzingis was traded halfway through 2021 to the Wizards, where many forgot about him. He put up career highs in points in 2022-23 for the Wizards, despite the team being poor. He joined the Celtics this past offseason and he has been spectacular, he seemed to be the missing piece for this as he spread the court and allowed for Brown and Tatum to attack the rim. Porzingis missed the last two series but looks ready to lace it up for the NBA Finals.

Bench Studs

• Al Horford - Selected with the 3rd 2007 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Al was part of the back-to-back National Championships at Florida. He spent 9 years in Atlanta where the team saw some extreme success and Al was a pivotal piece of that. Averaging north of 15 points and 8 rebounds through his time there. From Atlanta he spent 3 years in Boston, then two odd years in Philly and OKC. In 2021, he returned to the Celtics, he is a fan favorite and a key veteran providing strong minutes off the bench. He is from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

• Sam Hauser - Undrafted in 2021 out of Virginia, he has spent his whole NBA playing career in Boston (other than G-League stints with the T’Wolves and Heat). Hauser has carved a role off the bench as a 3-point threat with size. He has played in at least 79 games two years in a row for the Celtics. He shoots north of 40% from three and averages 9 PPG for the Celtics this year. A key bench player, he is from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

• Payton Pritchard - The 20th pick in the 2020 draft by the Celtics, Pritchard was an electric factory at Oregon. He led a deep NCAA run and was an elite shooter. His whole career has been spent in Boston, where he has seen a strong role off the bench. He is averaging a career high in minutes, points, rebounds, and assists this year. He is a crafty guard with experience leading the offense. He is originally from Tualatin, Oregon.

STUMP SCOREBOARD💯 

NBA🏀: Finals loading…

SOCCER⚽️: Champions League Final: Real Madrid def. Borussia Dortmund, 2-0 to win UCL

WNBA🏀: Fever def. Sky, 71-70

MLB⚾️: Red Sox def. Tigers, 6-3 ; Phillies def. Cardinals, 4-2 ; FULL RESULTS

NHL🏒 : Panthers def. Rangers, 2-1, win series 4-2 and advance to Stanley Cup Finals

GOLF⛳️: Canadian Open - Robert MacIntyre in the lead at -14! 4 shot lead over Ryan Fox and Mackenzie Hughes

JUICE STATION🧃 

Quote of the Day

Song of the Day

Glue Guy of the Day

Defined: Glue Guy (Noun, Verb, Adj., etc.) - a person, thing, idea, or thought that holds together the larger group. Not the star, not the main character, but a hard hat and lunch pale type who knows its role. The GLUE of the group.

THE CORE FOUR 4️⃣

Safe to say not everybody loves Caitlin! 🏀 

Panthers advance but respect comes first 🏒 

SUZUKI SLAMM! ⚾️ 

Aaaaaand another for Judge! ⚾️ 

STUMP STARS🌟

THE DAILY STUMPSET🤯 

Athletics get W in Atlanta!

The Oakland A’s won a high scoring affair on the road against the Braves, 11-9. Highlighted by a 4 RBI performance from both Miguel Andujar and Brent Rooker

USA friendly fire at the French Open

(22) Emma Navarro defeated (14) Madison Keys in two tiebreaking sets 7(7)-6(5) , 7(7)-6(3) to advance to the Round of 16

WHAT TO WATCH📺️ 

NBA🏀: Only 1 series left so no ball today! NHL🏒: Stars @ Oilers (8:00 PM ET on ABC) ; SOCCER⚽️: MLS - Atlanta United FC @ Charlotte FC (4:45 PM ET), Serie A - Atalanta @ Fiorentina (12:00 PM ET), International Friendlies - Indonesia vs Tanzania (5:00 AM ET) MLB⚾️: Tigers @ Red Sox (1:35 PM ET), Yankees @ Giants (4:05 PM ET), Diamondbacks @ Mets (1:40 PM ET); WNBA🏀: CON Sun @ ATL Dream (3:00 PM ET), IND Fever @ NY Liberty (7:00 PM ET), DAL Wings @ MIN Lynx (7:00 PM ET) ; GOLF⛳️: RBC Canadian Open (All Day on ESPN+), US Women’s Open TENNIS🎾: Action continues at the French Open

MLB Full Schedule: LINK

Soccer Full Schedule: LINK