NBA Finals: Knicks-Spurs Game 1 — What to look for
The Spurs' Victor Wembanyama fights for a loose ball with the Knicks' OG Anunoby on Dec. 31, 2025 in San Antonio, TX. Credit: Getty Images/Ronald Cortes
SAN ANTONIO — The wait has spanned 27 years for the Knicks to return to the NBA Finals, which might have made the nine days off since the Knicks finished off a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals seem almost as long as that gap. But now it begins Wednesday night and the Knicks have an opportunity in front of them and a huge — 7-4 huge — obstacle in front of them. Here are some things to look for.
Who guards who?
Looking back at the earlier meetings the Knicks have used OG Anunoby on Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio has put Stephon Castle on Karl-Anthony Towns. Wembanyama has operated as a roaming defender with Josh Hart dared to shoot threes. There are all sorts of cross-matches as the coaching staffs attempt to take advantage of the few chinks in the armor of each roster. The Knicks have lots of options to defend Wembanyama with Anunoby, Towns and (if available) Mitchell Robinson. Conversely, the Spurs have athletic, long guards to try to contain Jalen Brunson. Now, the reality of those plans: Brunson averaged 26.5 points and 7.5 assists in the two regular-season meetings against San Antonio and added 25 points and eight assists in the NBA Cup final. Wemby had 28 points and 13 rebounds per game against the Knicks in just 29 minutes per game — and had 18 and 6 in 25 minutes in the NBA Cup. If you go back to the five meetings they have had against each other in their careers, both players have topped 30 points per game, including a 61-point performance by Brunson. The point? It’s all easier on paper.
“He's pretty unique,” Anunoby said of defending Wembanyama. “ ... Just being aware of where he's at all over the floor. He can do everything. Super talented. Just being aware of him at all times, trying to make it as difficult as possible.”
Ready for the rust
The Knicks had a nine-day rest before starting the Eastern Conference finals and it resulted in the only hiccup in the last month for the team as they fell behind by 22 points before staging a historic comeback to win in overtime. They now find themselves in the same position, but with that experience they believe there will be no rust to shake off when they play the Spurs.
“ When we were in the gym, we were focused," Brunson said. "We were practicing pretty hard, understanding that not knowing who we were playing yet, we had to prepare for both teams. We didn't want to be behind the eight ball. It was really important for us to have those days because we saw how we came out in Game 1 last time when we had the rest days.”
Whatever it takes
There was a time early in the season when Hart was coming off the bench — and a few times not even getting off of the bench in the fourth quarter of games — and his frustration was palpable. But now he’s become, as he was before, a key contributor to the Knicks and for Mike Brown’s game plans. But with the task of likely having to make Wembanyama pay if he leaves him open, he could be pushed to the bench if he’s not hitting from beyond the arc, as he was in Game 1 against Cleveland when Landry Shamet took his minutes. Hart then led the Knicks in scoring in Game 2.
“I definitely didn't see the bigger picture in those moments,” Hart said. “ ... Whenever your minutes go down or you get benched, you have that thought process. But for me, it was, OK, how can I build off of it, how can I improve as a player to not put myself in that situation.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
