NBA Finals: Matchups to watch between the Knicks and Spurs
The Spurs' Victor Wembanyama goes up for a reverse dunk against the Knicks in the second quarter of the championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup on Dec. 16, 2025 in Las Vegas. Credit: Getty Images/Ethan Miller
It might have seemed hard to imagine on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas that the NBA Cup matchup would be a preview of the NBA Finals. It was a time when the Knicks were still finding themselves and the Spurs seemed like a work in progress, a team that had plenty of young talent around Victor Wembanyama but still was a year away (at least) before being ready to contend.
While the Knicks' 11-game streak of demolition in the Eastern Conference playoffs was impressive, so was the growth of the Spurs, particularly the duo of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
It's now a rerun of the Knicks' last trip to the NBA Finals in 1999, when the Spurs were a powerhouse and a banged-up Knicks squad was no match. Here are a series of matchups and storylines to look for when the series begins Wednesday night in San Antonio.
Wemby versus everyone
The Knicks' hopes rest on jumping over the biggest speed bump in the NBA — the 7-4 Wembanyama. They certainly will utilize multiple defenders against him, sometimes at the same time. But OG Anunoby has been an effective matchup for the rising superstar, able to use muscle and smarts, which makes sense given that no one in the NBA is long enough and athletic enough to match up with him. Still, the Knicks used Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson more than Anunoby, trying a little bit of everything. The other issue is if you have to help on Wembanyama, that leads to ball movement, and former St. John's standout Julian Champagnie has been deadly from three-point range.
Wembanyama has to contend with the Knicks on the other end of the floor, too. If the Spurs use him against Towns, the Knicks can draw him away from the rim and open the lanes for Jalen Brunson. Wembanyama neutralized OKC’s Chet Holmgren in the last round.
Old guard, meet the new guard
After sitting with a high ankle sprain, De’Aaron Fox returned for Game 3 but didn’t find his form until Game 7, when he had 15 points and five assists in 36 minutes, providing veteran leadership and calm focus on the floor. It is an interesting matchup of the former star point guard for Mike Brown during his time in Sacramento against the point guard who currently carries his team in Brunson. Brunson was the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and has found a way to excel on and off the ball. There is no better example of that than the 38 points he put up in Game 1 against Cleveland and the postseason career-high 14 assists in Game 2. While the Knicks may not have been tested in the conference playoffs, they did show the ability to play different ways against different opponents.
Experience versus youth
The Knicks have been here. This roster is almost a complete runback of last season's squad that went to the conference finals. So how does that translate to the first-time Spurs? It’s not just the 22-year-old Wembanyama; second-year player Castle and rookie Harper who have provided a youthful burst. Castle had 20 turnovers in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals but seemed to stabilize after that with six in the next four games despite playing so aggressively. He did commit six in Game 7 and made the final minutes an adventure, but he was such a factor with his athleticism and ability to attack. Harper, like Brunson, looks like someone who grew up in the game. His father, Ron Harper, was a five-time NBA champion.
Rest versus rust: Part 2
After sweeping the 76ers in the conference semifinals and then waiting for Cleveland to finish off a seven-game series, the Knicks started sluggishly in Game 1 of the conference finals, trailing by 22 points in the fourth quarter before Brunson took over and spearheaded an overtime win. Now they have the same time on the side while the Spurs had to battle through a seven-game war against OKC.
The Spurs are young and might recover quickly, but Wembanyama saw his minutes upped significantly in that series, and OKC seemed intent on bumping and hitting him on every screen and every move toward the rim.
“Whatever the picture ends up being, us having those trials and tribulations for the last two years where things weren't looking good --- just like at the end of December with the 2-9, 11-game stretch. It shows that we have resilience and we'll go out there and we trust everyone in this locker room,” Towns said. “And if this playoff run has shown anything, I feel, to the fans and the media, one through 15 can go out there, put a Knicks jersey on and get the job done. And we truly believe in that. So this is a situation that we've garnered enough experience and enough trust in each other that whatever the picture ends up being when we step on that court Wednesday, we feel comfortable.”
Pinkie swear
The Knicks' coaching staff and executives — along with players — might be the ones swearing about a pinkie, the broken right pinkie of Mitchell Robinson. He's an important factor in what the Knicks do defensively and with his rebounding ability. Every indication seems to be that Robinson will try to play and can brace and pad the surgically repaired hand, but there are no assurances of what they can get from him if he has trouble gripping the ball or if he reinjures the hand. If he’s limited, expect the Knicks to utilize a small-ball lineup with Anunoby at center when Towns is out. On the other side, Spurs backup center Luke Kornet was a thorn in the Knicks' side in the postseason last year when he was with Boston. He also came up with a huge hustle play late in Game 7, blocking a breakaway dunk attempt by Isaiah Hartenstein.
Prediction
The attention — hard to avoid — will be on Victor Wembanyama and the already-arrived next big thing in the NBA. But the Knicks have experience, having been through the grind together for two years now, and the rest after sweeping their way through 11 straight wins while San Antonio had to drain every last drop of gas in the tank to get here. And the Knicks actually match up better than maybe any other team with weapons to combat Wembanyama on both sides of the floor. Throw in a mature and motivated Jalen Brunson and the Knicks are hard to imagine as an underdog — the one final bit of bulletin board material to serve as motivation. KNICKS in 6.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
