Wednesday June 3, 2026 – 8:30 PM
Frost Bank Center – San Antonio, TX
ABC
I inherited the Mets from my dad, but he wasn’t a basketball fan. Albert, a friend in fifth grade, showed me his basketball card collection and was stunned at my ignorance. “You don’t know who Magic Johnson is?!”
Albert was a Lakers fan and I probably would have went along with that except when I got home I couldn’t watch them on TV. So I watched Bernard King, Rory Sparrow and Louis Orr. I also got into college basketball and my 10-year-old eyes were confident Patrick Ewing was a monster who would lead whatever lucky team got him to a dozen or so championships.
I remember watching the draft lotto where the Knicks won the right to select Ewing first overall. And I remember all of the highs and lows that followed. The Knicks beat the Hornets in the second round of the 1993 playoffs. I was home from college, watching the series clincher with a friend, Sam, and the broadcaster said tickets to the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals would go on sale at Madison Square Garden the next morning.
Sam and I knew what we had to do. So did a few thousand others. When we got to the front of the line after an overnight outside MSG, the East finals were sold out, but we got tickets to every potential NBA Finals home game. They were $40 apiece. The Knicks lost in the East finals to the Bulls that year. We got a refund.
Sometimes, in the era between Ewing’s departure and Carmelo Anthony’s arrival, I’d be watching a Knick game and ask myself why? (Maybe you’ve had that thought watching the Mets at times over the years?) Did I think there’d be a quiz at a Knicks parade some day if they ever win a championship? (Hey, name a forward from 2008 or go home you fake fan!)
Well, I just watched because I love the Knicks. And I hope there’s a parade later this month. I’m ready to be quizzed.
Knicks Lineup
PG Jalen Brunson
SG Josh Hart
SF Mikal Bridges
PF OG Anunoby
C Karl-Anthony Towns
Brunson is averaging 26.9 points per game in the playoffs, third best in the league. Bridges is shooting 58.6 percent from the field in the playoffs to lead the Knicks starters. The Knicks are 12-2 in the postseason, riding an 11-game winning streak. When they were up 20 in the clincher vs. the Cavs my 16-year-old daughter said she’d never seen me so happy. And that actually made me sad. I’d like to think I looked happier watching her at a piano recital or a gymnastics competition. Way to spoil the moment, kid.
PHoto Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Spurs Lineup
PG De’Aaron Fox
SG Stephon Castle
SF Devin Vassell
PF Julian Champagnie
C Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama is the best defensive player in the league by a wide margin. He is averaging 3.5 blocks per game in the playoffs. (Second is Ausar Thompson of Detroit at 1.8 blocks per game.) But more than the blocks, his presence deters players from driving to the hoop. It’s sort of like an outfielder or a catcher with a great arm who no one wants to run on. He is averaging 23.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game as well.
Game Notes
The teams have played seven times in the Wemby era, with the Knicks winning four. Neither team has won on the other’s court. The Knicks haven’t been to the finals since 1999, when they lost to the Spurs in five games. They are seeking their first title since 1973 and third overall.
The Spurs’ last trip to the finals was in 2014 when they beat LeBron James’ Heat. They are seeking their sixth title and it would be their first without Tim Duncan.
Check out our roundtable picks for the final’s winner.
Three Things to Watch For
1. Who does Wemby guard? If the Spurs put him on Towns, a threat from the 3-point line, that opens up driving lanes for Brunson and others. I think the Spurs will mix up their defenses and try to put Wemby on Hart at times so he can patrol the paint. Hart is the worst 3-point shooter in the Knicks starting lineup, but left alone he can knock down shots.
2. Mitchell Robinson’s right pinkie. The Knicks are not being forthcoming about how their backup center hurt his pinkie (or maybe it was his hand) at some point in the last 10 days. They said it didn’t happen in a game or at practice. There are rumors it happened at home and speculation the injury is the type that occurs when someone punches something hard. He was seen practicing Tuesday with a protective guard.
3. The benches. For the Knicks, Landry Shamet was a major factor in the Game 1 win vs. Cleveland. He went a ridiculous 11-f0r-12 from 3-point range in the series. Deuce McBride, who hit seven three-pointers in Game 4 vs. the Sixers, can heat up, too. For San Antonio, Dylan Harper (alum of Rutgers, son of NBA guard Ron Harper) averaged 12 points per game on 46 percent shooting in the Western Conference Finals. Keldon Johnson can light it up, too.
Go NY G0!
