New York Knicks host Spurs Game 1

The San Antonio Spurs host the New York Knicks on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The matchup brings the Knicks back to the Finals for the first time since 1999 and puts Victor Wembanyama on the league’s biggest stage in San Antonio. The NBA said the series opens June 3 with the Spurs at home, and ABC7 New York’s live coverage said New York is chasing its first championship in 53 years. Sportsbooks, meanwhile, opened the Spurs as clear series favorites. ### Why is this opener getting so much attention before the ball even goes up? The Knicks are in the Finals for the first time since 1999, a return that has driven much of the pregame focus around New York. ABC7 New York said the Knicks reached the Finals after storming through the Eastern Conference and are seeking their first title in 53 years. ESPN’s preview framed the series as one that combines the league’s biggest market with a long title drought. (nba.com) San Antonio is back in the Finals for the first time since 2014. NBA.com said the Spurs returned after eliminating Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, setting up a series that guarantees the NBA an eighth different champion in eight seasons, according to ESPN. (abc7ny.com) ### What do the odds say about the matchup? Yahoo Sports reported the Spurs were a 2-1 favorite in the series at -200. A separate Yahoo betting report said San Antonio opened around -210, with New York at +170, underscoring that bookmakers saw the Spurs as the stronger side entering Game 1. Those prices do not settle the basketball questions, but they set the baseline for how the series is being viewed outside team circles. (espn.com) ESPN’s expert picks package said the Finals begin Wednesday with the Spurs favored behind Wembanyama, while New York arrives after being favored in each of its earlier playoff rounds, according to Yahoo Sports. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Which players are at the center of the Game 1 conversation? Victor Wembanyama is the central Spurs figure in nearly every preview. ESPN and Yahoo both highlighted San Antonio’s edge at the top of the roster, with Wembanyama’s first Finals appearance treated as a defining factor in the series. ABC7 New York also cast the matchup as another Spurs-Knicks Finals meeting, this time with Wembanyama in the role once occupied by Tim Duncan. (espn.com) Karl-Anthony Towns has emerged as a central Knicks counterweight. Yahoo Sports described Towns’ emergence as a major reason New York reached “the grandest stage,” and broader preview coverage has repeatedly pointed to the Towns-Wembanyama frontcourt dynamic as one of the series’ key matchups. ### Why does the 1999 history keep coming up? (espn.com) The Knicks and Spurs last met in the Finals in 1999. ESPN noted that rematch in its storylines preview and pointed out how different the league looks now from that lockout-shortened season, when the average Finals score was Spurs 85, Knicks 80. (sports.yahoo.com) That history gives the series an easy frame, but the current teams arrive with different stars and different timelines. The Knicks are led into this series by a roster built to win now, while the Spurs are trying to turn Wembanyama’s rise into another title run, as ABC7 New York put it. ### When and where can viewers follow the rest of the series? (espn.com) Game 1 is Wednesday, June 3, in San Antonio, and NBA.com said all Finals games are scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The league’s published schedule lists San Antonio as the home team for the opener, with the series then continuing under the standard best-of-seven format. ABC’s coverage begins with Game 1 on Wednesday night, and NBA.com said the network is the exclusive broadcaster for the 2026 Finals. (abc7ny.com) The next immediate milestone is Game 2, also in San Antonio, before the series shifts to New York later in the schedule. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)