What to expect from Spurs vs. Knicks 2026 NBA Finals matchup

The Spurs and Knicks are ready to meet and decide an 8th champion in 8 seasons during the 2026 NBA Finals.

• Complete coverage: 2026 NBA Finals

Welcome to the 2026 NBA Finals, a series that ultimately should determine an ending or a beginning — the end of the New York Knicks’ 53-year championship dry spell, or the possible launch of the second San Antonio Spurs dynasty.

There’s obviously much urgency and anxiety in New York, where an entire generation of fans have no idea what it’s like to witness a blue-and-orange ticker-tape parade down Broadway. There’s great anticipation that change is approaching, because the Knicks have won 11 straight postseason games and are peaking at the absolute right time.

There’s much to like and admire about these Knicks. First of all, they play with such precision and good knowledge of one another, they’re tough but not flagrant. Also, they’re easy to embrace; the personalities of the players are infectious and they’re taking this journey in stride.

Their coach, Mike Brown, was fired four times before he took the New York job last summer and is an underdog. Much like his players, Brown doesn’t seem to sweat much.

The Spurs are young and hungry and obviously shattered the timetable given to them in terms of being a title contender. That’s probably wise, because in the NBA, tomorrow can never be taken for granted — even by a team featuring 22-year-old Victor Wembanyama, who is quickly developing into a generational force at both ends.

These teams met last December for the Emirates NBA Cup 2025 championship, won by the Knicks, yet each team will admit that was so long ago. Much has changed, for the better in each case. The Knicks have found their higher gear while the Spurs, fresh off erasing the defending champion Thunder, are bringing swaggy confidence.

One team is led by a 7-foot-4 alien, the other by a 6-foot-2 magician. Quite a contrast, which means the Spurs and Knicks might engage in a heck of a series.

Series schedule

How to watch the Spurs vs. Knicks series:

• Game 1: Wednesday, June 3, (8:30 ET, ABC)
• Game 2: Friday, June 5 (8:30 ET, ABC)
• Game 3: Monday, June 8 (8:30 ET, ABC/ESPN)
• Game 4: Wednesday, June 10 (8:30 ET, ABC)
• Game 5: Saturday, June 13 (8:30 ET, ABC)*
• Game 6: Tuesday, June 16 (8:30 ET, ABC)*
• Game 7: Friday, June 19 (8:30 ET, ABC)*

*If necessary

Top storyline: How the Spurs defend Brunson

The series might come down to this, because that speaks to the degree of impact by Brunson when he has the ball and tries to break down the defense. He’s so skillful and clever that even the best on-ball defenders have trouble.

The Spurs just finished a series where they faced the league’s two-time MVP, a guard known for being tricky with the dribble and getting to his sweet spots in the mid-range. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was rather tame, though, and never really damaged the Spurs in the seven-game conference final.

San Antonio threw Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell at Shai and used trapping techniques to force him to take tough shots or surrender the ball. The trick against Brunson is to make him go to his right (his weaker hand), don’t fall for the fakes and turn him into a passer. Easier said than done — but that’s the assignment and the Spurs must somehow ace it.

Keep your eyes on: Wemby’s intimidation defensively

The reigning Kia Defensive Player of the Year casts a wide shadow in the paint despite being so slim. It’s not just the shot-blocking that sets Wembanyama apart from everyone else in the game right now, it’s the shots that opponents don’t take for fear of getting swatted.

Players will drive toward the rim, see Wembanyama lurking, then make a U-turn or pass to someone else. That situation doesn’t show up in the box score. When this happens, the shot clock winds down and the next player probably takes a tougher shot. Which means it’s a wasted possession by the opposition, all caused by Wembanyama.

His biggest challenge is trying to cover the floor when he must veer outside and respect Karl-Anthony Towns’ shooting range. The Spurs might put a smaller defender on Towns in that situation and let Wemby roam.

1 more thing to watch for each team

For Spurs: Dylan Harper is no longer a rookie. That designation disappeared when the playoffs began because he had a season’s worth of work in the lab by then. And truthfully, he entered the NBA last fall far wiser than his age suggested; that helps when you are taught by a mom (a top youth coach in New York) and father (Ron Harper, former champ with the Bulls) who each brought unique mentorship.

Harper tends to make things happen. He has a superb ability to reach the rim for high-percentage buckets, and will sink 3s when left unguarded. He’s also capable in the clutch. Because of this, coach Mitch Johnson has great trust in Harper and will use him in any situation, even if it calls for him to take a crucial shot with the game on the line.

For Knicks: Their bench is an underrated asset, and if the Knicks get the same production from the backups as they gave in the previous two rounds, New York will be tough to beat.

Of course, that depends on how such players as Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson react to the biggest stage.

Shamet was nearly automatic from deep in the conference finals. McBride was a shifty change of pace guard behind Brunson, and Robinson a solid rebounder. Will Shamet start misfiring? And what about Robinson’s injured pinky, will it hamper his ability to clutch rebounds while competing against Wemby?

The Knicks have a terrific starting five, so there’s no big urgency to get great production from the bench on a nightly basis. But it’s a bonus that might make the difference between winning and losing a title.

1 key number to know

59.2% — Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Knicks have an effective field goal percentage of 59.2%, what would be the highest mark in NBA playoff history. The Knicks are the only team in these playoffs that has scored more efficiently (123.3 points per 100 possessions) than it did in the regular season (118.7 per 100, fourth).

Some of the shooting success has come from beyond the arc; The Knicks lead these playoffs at 40.0% from 3-point range. But they also lead the playoffs with 54.8 points in the paint per 100 possessions, with their 61.8% shooting in the paint being the third-best mark for a team with at least 200 paint attempts in the 30 postseasons for which we have shot-location data (343 total teams).

The Knicks had the second-best offense (125.0 points scored per 100 possessions, including the NBA Cup final) against the Spurs in the regular season, but only 39.9% of the Knicks’ shots over those three games came in the paint. That was their lowest rate vs. any team this season and it was even lower (38.5%) in Victor Wembanyama’s 83 minutes on the floor. If their postseason shooting success is going to continue through the Finals, it will likely have to come more from the outside.

— John Schuhmann

The pick

Usually when teams feel the crushing weight of a burden, their knees and confidence buckles. In this case, where Gotham has turned its desperate eyes to the Knicks, the team seems refreshed by it.

Brunson and Towns and the rest embrace the hopes of the city and it showed throughout the playoffs, where the Knicks played their finest basketball of the season. The Spurs probably won’t be dismissed as breezily as the 76ers and Cavaliers, if at all. San Antonio is a real threat because of Wemby, obviously, and teammates who are getting better with each round. There’s something about these Knicks, though, a sense of destiny if you will. They won’t need another 53 years to finally win a title, because the drought ends now.

The Pick: Knicks in 6

* * *

Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.