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OKLAHOMA CITY — The New York Knicks’ last appearance in the NBA Finals saw them face off against the San Antonio Spurs, a team led by a once-in-a-generation talent who was just stepping into the spotlight of the championship stage.
Fast forward to today, and history seems to be mirroring itself.
In that previous era, the Spurs’ centerpiece was Tim Duncan. This time around, it’s Victor Wembanyama taking the reins for San Antonio. The stage is set once more for a classic showdown: the 2026 NBA Finals will pit the Spurs against the Knicks. San Antonio is eyeing its sixth championship, while New York is desperate to break a 53-year title drought.
Game 1 tips off on Wednesday in San Antonio.
This matchup is compelling for numerous reasons. Firstly, it’s a rematch of this season’s NBA Cup championship game, which the Knicks clinched. The series also brings together the cultural and financial powerhouse of New York with the global allure of San Antonio’s French sensation, Wembanyama. Additionally, it marks another chapter in an era of unprecedented parity in the NBA.
No matter who wins this series, it’ll be the eighth different franchise to win a title in the last eight seasons – extending the longest such stretch in NBA history. Toronto won in 2019, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, then Milwaukee in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Denver in 2023, Boston in 2024, Oklahoma City last year, and now either New York or San Antonio will be added to that list.
The Spurs’ win in Oklahoma City on Saturday night extended another part of the parity puzzle, that being no defending champion has even gotten back to the NBA Finals since Golden State won in 2018 and returned in 2019.
The Knicks are trying to do something not done since the days of Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe and Phil Jackson – that being, win it all. There have been 17 different franchises (18 if the Thunder and Seattle SuperSonics are considered separately, as some fans prefer) that have celebrated championships since the Knicks last won the title, with the Los Angeles Lakers having won 11 crowns in that span, Boston winning seven, Chicago six and Golden State five.
They’re the talk of New York right now, after earning their first finals trip since 1999. The mood was quite different a month ago, when New York trailed Atlanta 2-1 after back-to-back one-point losses in Games 2 and 3 of their first-round series.
New York is 11-0 since, winning almost all those games by blowout. And if the team didn’t hear the negative noise from Round 1, it can’t hear all the effusive praise coming now, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said.
“When there’s negative things being said about you, it’s important to ignore them,” Brunson said. “When there’s positive things about you, it’s easy to be able to read them to make you feel good. But you can’t do one and not the other. Just block it out as best you can.”
The series
Technically, the teams went 1-1 against each other. New York won two of the three meetings, but the NBA Cup final matchup – essentially an 83rd game in an 82-game season – doesn’t count in any league records or statistics.
Both teams won their home game against the other this season. Julian Champagnie made 11 3-pointers and Wembanyama scored 31 points to lead the Spurs to a comeback 134-132 win over New York on Dec. 31. The Knicks pulled away in the fourth to a 114-89 win on March 1 to snap San Antonio’s 11-game winning streak, plus won the Cup final in Las Vegas.
The odds
As would be expected, the Spurs – who have home-court advantage – are the early favorites to win the series. They were listed with odds of -210 on Saturday night, meaning bettors would to wager $210 to win $100.
The Knicks had odds of +170.
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