All articles tagged with #nba finals 2026
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points to lift the Knicks to a 105-95 Game 1 win over the Spurs in San Antonio, overcoming a 14-point third-quarter deficit and injuries, then appeared to exchange words with a fan behind the scorer’s table after the buzzer. Knicks coach Mike Brown praised Brunson for delivering down the stretch, while Spurs star Victor Wembanyama called him elite.
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, who fractured his right hand and underwent surgery, is expected to play in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals against the Spurs after participating fully in Tuesday's practice and wearing a sleeve; the Knicks had a nine‑day break before the series opener in San Antonio.
The Ringer’s Finals preview assembles a panel to forecast a Spurs-Knicks showdown led by a 22-year-old Victor Wembanyama. The predictions are split: Spurs’ ultra-young core and elite defense versus the Knicks’ size and experience, with Towns, Hart, Anunoby, and Fox poised to swing games. The panel’s picks range from Spurs in five or six to Knicks in six (or seven in some cases), making this a landmark Finals that could define Wembanyama’s era and end a historic Knicks drought.
Julian Champagnie, who went undrafted in 2022 and was briefly waived by the 76ers, found his footing with the Spurs and erupted for 20 points, including six 3-pointers, in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to lift San Antonio past Oklahoma City and seal a trip to the 2026 NBA Finals against his hometown Knicks.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will face the New York Knicks in the 2026 NBA Finals, a rematch of the 1999 matchup, with Game 1 in San Antonio. The Knicks chase their first title in 53 years while San Antonio seeks its sixth crown, in a season that has produced eight different champions in eight years—the longest such stretch in NBA history. The matchup highlights global appeal and ongoing parity across the league, amplified by Brunson’s leadership for New York and Wembanyama’s emergence for the Spurs.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs outlasted the Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 to win the Western Conference and reach the 2026 NBA Finals against the Knicks. A late 4th-quarter surge powered by seven Spurs scorers sealed the win and earned Wembanyama West Finals MVP as San Antonio’s young core showed maturity. The Finals tip off in three days in San Antonio, marking the Spurs’ first title bid since 2014, while the Knicks ride an 11-game playoff streak into the series.
New York’s Knicks reach their first NBA Finals since 1999 to face the San Antonio Spurs, who finished the regular season with 62 wins for the league’s second-best record and are chasing a fifth title this century, with rookie Victor Wembanyama as the central matchup in a potential rematch of December’s NBA Cup final.
Leon Rose began steering the Knicks from rock bottom on March 2, 2020 with a blunt, long-term plan; 2,284 days later, New York is in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, a testament to patient leadership and steady front-office work.
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, who underwent surgery on a broken right pinky, plans to play in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals. Coach Mike Brown said the injury wasn’t sustained in a game or practice, and Robinson remains a key rim protector as New York advanced by sweeping the Cavaliers. He had 8 points and 10 rebounds in Game 4 to clinch the spot, and Game 1 is set for Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.