San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks

San Antonio reached the NBA Finals on May 30 by beating the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. The win sent the Spurs to their first Finals since 2014 and set up a series against the New York Knicks, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. Victor Wembanyama led a balanced Spurs attack in Oklahoma City and then delivered an emotional postgame scene that became part of the night’s immediate aftermath. The matchup revives a 1999 Finals pairing, when San Antonio beat New York for the title. ### How did San Antonio finish off Oklahoma City in Game 7? San Antonio got 22 points and seven rebounds from Wembanyama, according to NBA.com’s game recap. The Spurs also put seven players in double figures, a sign of the depth that helped them survive repeated Oklahoma City runs in the second half. Oklahoma City got 35 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the loss, NBA.com said. The Thunder entered the series as defending champions and the West’s No. 1 seed, but San Antonio forced a Game 7 with a 118-91 win in Game 6 before closing the series on the road. ### Why was Wembanyama the center of the postgame reaction? Wembanyama was named the Western Conference finals MVP after the Game 7 win, NBA.com reported. He received the Magic Johnson Trophy and said of his teammates, “They don’t even know how much I love them,” before adding, “We want four more.” (nba.com) The Athletic, in a separate account cited in the briefing material, described Wembanyama’s postgame reaction as emotional after what it called the biggest hurdle of his career so far. The on-court production and the reaction afterward made him the focal point of San Antonio’s advance out of the West. (nba.com) ### What do the Knicks bring into this series? New York reached the Finals by sweeping Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals, according to NBA.com and ESPN. Jalen Brunson was named Eastern Conference finals MVP after leading the Knicks through the series, while Karl-Anthony Towns gives New York a second star in the frontcourt. ESPN’s Finals preview said the series will turn in part on the matchup between Wembanyama and New York’s Brunson-Towns core. (nba.com) The same preview said San Antonio entered the Finals as the favorite, while ESPN’s betting page listed the Spurs at minus-205 and the Knicks at plus-170 as of May 30. (nba.com) ### Why are people calling this a 1999 rematch? The 2026 Finals bring together the same franchises that met in the 1999 championship series. ESPN said the teams will tip off a rematch Wednesday night, and noted that the winner would become the league’s eighth different champion in the past eight seasons. (espn.com) NBA.com also noted that the Finals pairing runs back this season’s Emirates NBA Cup final. That gives the series a recent layer in addition to the older Spurs-Knicks history. ### When does the series start, and what comes next? Wednesday’s Game 1 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN reported. (espn.com) The series opens with New York trying to win its first title since 1973 and San Antonio seeking its first championship since 2014, according to ESPN’s playoff schedule and Finals preview. (nba.com) The next step is straightforward: Knicks-Spurs begins Wednesday night, with Brunson and Towns leading New York against Wembanyama and San Antonio’s deep rotation. ABC is set to carry the opener of the 2026 NBA Finals. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2)