The Same Stage 27 Years Later: Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals Begins Wednesday

One of the most romantic returns in NBA history will begin Wednesday evening in San Antonio. The 2026 NBA Finals will open with Game 1 of the seven-match series between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. The match will start at 19:30 local time, 03:30 Thursday morning Turkey time and will be broadcast on ABC channel. The most striking part of this story is that it is one of the most interesting coincidences in the sports history of the last 27 years: in 1999, these two teams had also met in the finals. At that time, San Antonio had defeated the Knicks 4-1 with Tim Duncan, who was just beginning to become one of the NBA's biggest stars, and taken the first championship in the club's history. 27 years later the same picture, the same two teams, very different actors.

The story on the Knicks side is extraordinary. The yellow-and-blue club had not been able to make any NBA Finals since that final in 1999; a full 27-year drought was experienced. They passed through the Eastern Conference playoffs like a storm this season — they crushed their opponents by an average of 23.8 points in their last 11-match winning streak. Sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Final was the pinnacle of this winning streak. Star player Jalen Brunson competed with Wembanyama in the MVP race; he was placed in the All-NBA First Team. He formed a united star five with Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart. The Knicks' last championship in history was in the 1972-73 season — meaning a 53-year championship drought is in question.

The story is different on the Spurs side but dramatically similar. San Antonio, which had been out of the playoffs for 6 consecutive seasons, sat at the head of the Western Conference's 2nd place with a 62-20 regular season performance. The playoff journey was tight: they overcame Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 in the first round, Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2 in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, they entered a tough 7-match series with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and took Game 7 111-103 on the road. While Wembanyama scored 22 points in Game 7, six of his players reached double figures. The 22-year-old French phenomenon, who won the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year award, became the backbone of the Spurs' this miracle season. Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell are also important names who contribute.

The big story off the court is the Spurs' defensive depth against the Knicks' attacking power. The Knicks caught an incredible flow in the playoffs — an 11-match winning streak, not a coincidence according to most experts, but the result of systemic pressure. Brunson's elite ball handling, Towns's peripheral shots, Anunoby and Bridges's two-way performances turned them into "the Eastern storm." The Spurs draw a completely opposite profile: a roster with Wembanyama making the defence system the backbone, based on passing in attack, focused on balance. Coach Mitch Johnson — successor of Gregg Popovich — raised this roster to the finals level after being out for 6 seasons.

The prediction survey conducted among ESPN's 13 experts revealed an interesting picture: 10 people showed Spurs, 3 people showed Knicks as champions. Most of the predictions in favour of Spurs are based on Wembanyama's both offensive and defensive capacity; the most frequent prediction is "Spurs in 7, Wembanyama MVP". In the Knicks prediction, Brunson's star performance in the playoffs and the combined strength of the attacking stars come to the fore. Historically, the meeting of two teams that did not make the NBA Finals for years after 1999 is a rare situation. The Knicks will face Wembanyama in this final instead of Tim Duncan — Duncan was also a No. 1 pick selected by the Spurs in the 1997 NBA Draft; Wembanyama was also selected in the same way in 2023.

The match schedule provides Spurs with a 2-2-1-1-1 home court advantage. Games 1 and 2 on Wednesday (June 3) and Friday (June 5) in San Antonio; Games 3 and 4 on Monday (June 8) and Wednesday (June 10) at New York Madison Square Garden. If the series extends and is necessary, Game 5 will be played on Saturday (June 13) in San Antonio, Game 6 on Tuesday (June 16) in New York, and Game 7 on Friday (June 19) in San Antonio. Each match will be broadcast after midnight Turkey time (as of 03:30). The matches the Knicks will play at Madison Square Garden will make the atmosphere comparable to the most intense finals the NBA has experienced over the years. "Party Like It's 1999" — the New York Post's headline of May 26 — has become the epigraph of this final.

Image: basketballforever.com