{"id":2509,"date":"2026-06-02T20:38:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2509"},"modified":"2026-06-02T20:38:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:38:33","slug":"the-nba-finals-which-start-wednesday-will-be-a-whole-new-world-for-many-knicks-and-spurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2509","title":{"rendered":"The NBA Finals, which start Wednesday, will be a whole new world for many Knicks and Spurs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama shoots free throws during a workout prior to the start of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo\/Eric Gay)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 For a few hours on Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks held practices on a floor that had the NBA Finals logo painted at midcourt. They did interviews with the logo as a backdrop. They saw finals mentions basically everywhere they looked.<\/p>

Read more Nathan Ellis shines as Australia beats Pakistan by 41 runs to level ODI series<\/a><\/p>\n

It might have seemed normal. It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

This stage \u2014 the NBA Finals \u2014 is new to just about everyone on the Spurs and Knicks rosters, meaning very few players on either side can have any real idea of how the moment will seem on Wednesday night when the 80th title series in league history gets underway in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

They have two big things in common: It\u2019s going to be new, and it took them all forever to get here.<\/p>\n

\u201cFalling in love with basketball happened really early on in my life,\u201d San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama said. \u201cI mean, I have pictures of myself with a basketball at an age where I was not even old enough to have memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

More memories will be made over the next four to seven games, without question. The Spurs are seeking their sixth title and first since 2014; the Knicks are seeking their third title and first since 1973.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a matchup that could have been dreamed up in board rooms: New York is the capital of the world, the Knicks are an iconic brand, the Spurs are a proven championship franchise and their best player happens to be a 7-foot-4 Frenchman who already has an enormous global following.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best player in the world,\u201d Spurs guard Stephon Castle said of Wembanyama.<\/p>\n

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson \u2014 the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals \u2014 had nothing but the highest of praise to offer to Wembanyama, the MVP of the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching him as a player, it\u2019s pretty unbelievable,\u201d Brunson said Tuesday. \u201cThe things he\u2019s able to do on both sides of the ball, people have never really seen before from a person of his size. So, it\u2019s incredible to watch. … He\u2019s pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spurs got to the NBA Finals by winning 62 games in the regular season, getting past Portland in Round 1, Minnesota in Round 2, then going the distance in a seven-game classic that ended the reign of Oklahoma City as NBA champions.<\/p>

Read more Eagles ready to move on without catches, cryptic posts from elite and enigmatic receiver A.J. Brown<\/a><\/p>\n

The Knicks got here on the strength of an 11-game playoff winning streak \u2014 the last three of Round 1 against Atlanta, then sweeping Philadelphia and Cleveland. And the winning margin over those 11 games is like none other in any 11-game stretch in the NBA\u2019s 80-year history.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great team,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019re right where they\u2019re supposed to be, in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only players in this series who have started finals games in the past are the Spurs\u2019 Harrison Barnes (for Golden State) and the Knicks\u2019 Mikal Bridges (for Phoenix). Barnes typically doesn\u2019t start for San Antonio, Bridges typically does for the Knicks, and that means nine of the 10 starters in Game 1 will be in unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Brunson said.<\/p>\n

There are ties that players have to Finals past, even without playing in them. Spurs guard Dylan Harper\u2019s dad is Ron Harper, a five-time NBA champion as a player. Brunson\u2019s father \u2014 Knicks assistant Rick Brunson \u2014 played for New York in the 1999 finals, and Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson got birds-eye view of past Spurs championship parades. He grew up in San Antonio and his stepmother worked at a hotel that had a prime view of the parade route.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to take pictures and run up on players for autographs, I was definitely that kid,\u201d said Clarkson, whose father used to detail cars owned by some Spurs players. \u201cSeeing this energy and seeing how alive the city comes when the Spurs are in the finals and winning championships, it\u2019s a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s all over, a new champ will be crowned. That team will be the NBA\u2019s eighth different winning franchise in the last eight years \u2014 continuing a run like none other in league history. The Spurs are favored, and the Knicks don\u2019t mind the underdog role.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here now, so there\u2019s nothing more for us to say or talk about or to think,\u201d Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. \u201cWe\u2019re just going to keep doing what we\u2019re doing and that\u2019s been successful for us.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women\u2019s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For a few hours on Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks held practices on a floor that had the NBA Finals logo painted at midcourt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe NBA Finals, which start Wednesday, will be a whole new world for many Knicks and Spurs - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2509\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The NBA Finals, which start Wednesday, will be a whole new world for many Knicks and Spurs - 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