SAN ANTONIO, TX -JUNE 2: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs address the media at the 2026 NBA Finals – Media Day at Frost Bank Center on June 2, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
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The Knicks and Spurs go head-to-head in San Antonio tonight to open the NBA Finals.
For the Knicks, they are chasing their third championship and their first in 53 years. Even with a blistering 12-2 playoffs record to this point (including an 11-0 run), the betting ecosystem has pinned the Spurs as favourites which makes sense after they toppled the reigning NBA champions last week.
Most of us assumed the Thunder would finish the job: cruise past the Knicks to secure back-to-back titles alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s second straight MVP. But sports are brutally unforgiving. The game doesn’t care about expectations, and no amount of regular-season dominance guarantees a ring in June.
The Spurs head into Game 1 on their home turf feeling fearless and confident. They are hunting their first title since 2014; their sixth NBA Championship. The two teams are 1-1 for head-to-head battles during the regular season. On Dec. 31, the Spurs beat the Knicks by two points; and on Mar. 1, the Knicks torched the Spurs by 25. The only time these two franchises have met previously in an NBA Final was in 1999 where the Spurs beat the Knicks 4-1 for their first title in Tim Duncan’s sophomore year.
Who will lift the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy when this is all over? Let’s dive into 10 thoughts on the Spurs-Knicks NBA Finals that will help answer that.
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The Knicks Are Playing the Best Basketball Out of Anyone, Anywhere.
It’s hard to ignore the 11-0 run and two series sweeps against the Cavaliers and 76ers. Their last defeat was Apr. 23. It was a one-point loss to the Hawks. Going further back – if you must – since Mar.1, New York is 27-9. This is not a team that has just caught fire. They have been rock solid for 12 weeks and are coming into this Final series locked in.
The Spurs Are Delivering When It Matters Most.
After breaking down Portland easily 4-1 and dismantling Minnesota 4-2, they have to deliver an ultimate punch against the champions. And they did it 4-3, winning on the road in Game 7. When they look back it could be the series that defines the Wembanyama era. Like the Knicks this is no fluke. The Spurs are 30-4 since Feb.1 which included two 11-0 runs. This is not a team riding luck. This is a team that has been tested and has answered every challenge.
The Three-Point Numbers Tell A Fascinating Story.
Julian Champagnie leads all playoff scorers with 46 threes in total at 39.3 percent. I bet you didn’t have that name on your NBA Playoffs bingo card? He’s had a career year for threes shooting 195. His teammate Devin Vassell is third among playoff scorers with 42. The Spurs are not a team that lives and dies by the three, but they have the capabilities to punish weak defense that collapses on Wembanyama. For the Knicks, Brunson has 31, OG Anunoby 28, and McBride 27. This series will be decided, in part, by who can force the other team to choose between guarding the paint and guarding the arc.
Victor Wembanyama Is Doing Things That Don’t Have A Category Yet.
It’s obscene what Wembanyama has been doing in the playoffs. He’s scored 394 points with 183 rebounds (the most of any player in these playoffs) and 60 blocks – double the next best, Evan Mobley’s 32. He’s shooting at 51 percent from the field, dropping threes from the logo and using his 7-foot-4 frame to intimidate anyone who comes into the paint. Did we mention he’s still only 22?
Defensively, The Knicks Have The Edge.
The statistics tell us New York has their noses in front but it’s much closer than it appears. The Knicks’ defensive rating in these playoffs of 104.4 leads the Spurs’ 106.1. But what’s more interesting is when Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns go head-to-head. They both possess an identical defensive rating of 98.6 –the absolute peak of these playoffs. Josh Hart is at 100.8 and OG is defending at 101.8 which anchors the Knicks’ perimeter defense. Both teams can guard. Which team holds up under pressure? What is sustainable?
For One Of These Teams, The Drought Ends.
The Knicks haven’t won a championship since 1973 and the Spurs won their last title in 2014. Knicks fans have had to endure more and New York City will go into meltdown mode if they can bring home the Championship after almost five-and-a-half decades of not winning.
Jalen Brunson Is The Knicks’ Heartbeat.
There’s no question Jalen Brunson will reach king status if he can help deliver the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the people of Manhattan. He’s been a rock for the Knicks scoring 376 points shooting at 48 percent from the field. Like he did during the regular season, when the Knicks need a bucket, he ducks his head and drives hard to the rim, or steps back and drops a triple. Brunson has been the man. I can’t see that stopping now.
Stephon Castle Is Flying Under-The-Radar.
He’s the x-factor in this series. He’s going to have his hands full guarding Brunson. But he’s up for it. So far he dropped 345 points – sixth best among all playoff scorers – and leads the entire postseason in assists with 120, ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cade Cunningham. The 20-year-old point guard is running a Finals offense and the Knicks need to find a solution for him.
Karl-Anthony Towns Is The Swing Player Nobody Is Talking About.
Towns has re-shaped his personal game to fit playoff ball and you only need to look at some of his numbers to see the shift: 237 points, 22 triples, 148 rebounds (second only to Wembanyama in the post-season) and a defensive rating of 98.6 which is genuinely elite (equal with Wembanyama). After years of being called soft and a one-way shooter, Towns is playing the best basketball of his career at exactly the right time when the Knicks need him the most. If the Knicks win this Final series, his name will be in the conversation.
If Spurs Can Win This, It Will Be Something Special.
The Spurs won more games than the Knicks in the regular season going 62-20. They had a harder run in the playoffs with a strong set of teams vying for the Western Conference playoffs. And while the Knicks’ defence is slightly better, the Spurs advantage is what they can do with the ball with Wembanyama at the helm; it is far superior and they look almost unstoppable. It seems wrong to go against the Knicks’ current form but when the Spurs beat the Thunder, that gave them an edge the Knicks can’t replicate.
The Knicks have played 14 bruise-free post-season games. San Antonio was dragged through a seven-game war against last year’s champion. That kind of mental leverage is something that sheer momentum can’t buy.