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For a brief moment on Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks practiced on a court featuring the NBA Finals logo at center court. Interviews were conducted with the logo in the background, and references to the Finals were visible everywhere. Yet, this scene was anything but ordinary.
The NBA Finals stage is unfamiliar territory for nearly every player on both the Spurs and Knicks rosters. Few can truly grasp how it will feel when the 80th championship series in league history tips off Wednesday night in San Antonio.
Both teams share a common bond: this moment is new to them, and it took a long time to get here.
“Falling in love with basketball happened really early on in my life,” said Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. “I mean, I have pictures of myself with a basketball at an age where I was not even old enough to have memories.”
More memories are certain to come in the next four to seven games. San Antonio aims for its sixth title and first since 2014, while New York seeks its third championship and first since 1973.
This matchup could have been crafted in a boardroom: New York, a global capital, with the iconic Knicks; the Spurs, an established championship franchise; and leading them is a 7-foot-4 French star with a massive worldwide following.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle called Wembanyama “the best player in the world.”
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, was equally impressed. “Watching him as a player, it’s pretty unbelievable,” Brunson said. “The things he’s able to do on both sides of the ball, people have never really seen before from a person of his size. So, it’s incredible to watch… He’s pretty incredible.”
San Antonio reached the Finals after a 62-win regular season, then defeating Portland in the first round, Minnesota in the second, and edging Oklahoma City in a thrilling seven-game series that ended the Thunder’s reign as champions.
The Knicks advanced on the back of an 11-game playoff winning streak — finishing off Atlanta in three games, then sweeping Philadelphia and Cleveland. Their winning margin in this stretch is unmatched in any similar stretch in the NBA’s 80-year history.
“It’s a great team,” Wembanyama said of the Knicks. “It’s a great team of experienced guys who are not here by chance, but by relentless effort over the years. Very different career paths for all of them. They’re right where they’re supposed to be, in my opinion.”
Only two players entering the Finals have started games at this level before: Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, who played for Golden State, and Knicks guard Mikal Bridges, formerly of Phoenix. Barnes usually doesn’t start for San Antonio, while Bridges regularly starts for New York. This means nine of the ten starters in Game 1 face unfamiliar territory.
“When you can prepare the right way, when you do your routines, you treat it like a normal game, it allows you to be as normal as possible,” Brunson said.
There are also familial connections to past Finals. Spurs guard Dylan Harper’s father, Ron Harper, won five NBA championships during his career. Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson, a Knicks assistant, played for New York in the 1999 Finals. Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson grew up in San Antonio and experienced Spurs’ championship energy firsthand, thanks to his stepmother working at a hotel along the parade route.
“Being able to take pictures and run up on players for autographs, I was definitely that kid,” Clarkson said, whose father once detailed cars owned by Spurs players. “Seeing this energy and seeing how alive the city comes when the Spurs are in the finals and winning championships, it’s a great experience.”
When the Finals conclude, a new champion will be crowned. This team will become the NBA’s eighth different champion in the past eight years, continuing an unprecedented streak.
The Spurs enter as favorites, but the Knicks embrace the underdog status.
“We’re here now, so there’s nothing more for us to say or talk about or to think,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing and that’s been successful for us.”
