The Knicks waited an entire week to find out who their opponent in the NBA Finals would be.
The Western Conference Finals concluded with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven grueling games. San Antonio is the second-youngest team in the shot clock era to reach the NBA Finals. New York certainly has its work cut out for it in this matchup against the 22-year-old phenomenon, Victor Wembanyama.
The Knicks are coming off back-to-back sweeps of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers and showing their dominance, winning eleven straight dating back to the first round of the playoffs. Their last playoff loss was at the hands of CJ McCollum and the Hawks in Game 3.
San Antonio is a different animal from these Eastern Conference teams. Their biggest weapon is Wembanyama, but there are various ways the Knicks can expose the Spurs elsewhere.
Spurs Lack Size and Wings
One of the Spurs’ most glaring disadvantages is a lack of size and wings.
You may say to yourself, “The Spurs have Wembanyama”, who is 7-foot-5, but outside of their alien superstar, this is a guard-run team. The size issue did not surface in their matchup against Oklahoma City. The Thunder’s guards/wings were comprised of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Jared McCain, and Ajay Mitchell (when healthy).
This matchup against the Thunder plays perfectly into San Antonio’s defensive strengths. Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren were useless, and they are the Thunder’s only “size advantage”, but they are not good enough to go against Wemby because they are slower big men. The Knicks have fast, athletic wings on their roster: OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.
The Spurs have no one besides slow and old Harrison Barnes to match up with these wings. Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie, Dylan Harper, and De’Aaron Fox are all simply too small. Anunoby and Bridges are primed for huge games, especially with the attention the Spurs will give Jalen Brunson.
Knicks Capitalize on Turnovers
In seven games against Oklahoma City, San Antonio averaged 16 turnovers per game.
One can argue that the Thunder did not capitalize on these turnovers; they shot 42% from the field collectively as a team against the Spurs. They did not knock down most of their threes, shooting only 34% in the series. A Knicks team shooting historic numbers will absolutely punish the Spurs if they turn the ball over the way they did against the Thunder.
The Knicks ran out in transition a lot against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are a slower team, but since San Antonio plays better half-court defense, look for the Knicks to push the ball still. Grabbing these turnovers and pushing down the court is extremely important for New York’s offense.
Experience and Pressure
New York has faced many challenges in its playoff runs with Jalen Brunson dating back to 2023.
NBA Champion, Chris Bosh, has picked the Knicks to win this series based on this fact. He compared the Knicks to the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, who faced an emerging dynasty in the Miami Heat. The Mavericks were an experienced team filled with veterans who had been through all the playoff moments together more than the Heat had at the time.
The Knicks know what it is like to almost get to their goal and fall short. They lost to the Eastern Conference Champions in 2023, the Miami Heat. They dealt with multiple injuries against the Pacers in 2024, and they lost a heartbreaker after heartbreaker again to Indiana in 2025. This team has been through adversity and knows what defeat and pressure feel like.
If the Knicks can last four more games, their first NBA Championship banner will hang since 1973.
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