The 2026 NBA Finals are set: the San Antonio Spurs hosting the New York Knicks for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. It's a rematch of the 1999 Finals, which the Spurs won to capture the first of what would become five championships over the following decade.
The Knicks are in the Finals for the first time in 27 years, carrying an 11-game postseason winning streak into the series. The y've played just four games since May 11 and haven't taken the floor since last Monday. The Spurs, meanwhile, are back in the Finals for the first time since 2014 after dispatching the reigning champion Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night.
The scoreboard made the point with less ceremony than everyone around it.
With Victor Wembanyama anchoring the interior and home-court advantage in San Antonio, the Spurs opened as favorites at -205 at FanDuel. That's a clear edge, but the Experts disagree on how this finishes.
Expert picks
Botkin: Spurs in 7. The Knicks have the defensive pieces to bother Wembanyama—OG Anunoby's length and strength at the perimeter, Mitchell Robinson's physicality inside—but even that may not be enough. Wemby shuts down paint scoring almost entirely, and that's where the Knicks have done the ir damage all postseason. It'll be a war.
Gonzalez: Spurs in 6. The Knicks haven't faced a team like this. Rolling through Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland is different from confronting Wemby and San Antonio's athleticism on both ends. Adam Silver has to like the ratings, but the Spurs take it.
Maloney: Spurs in 7. The Knicks have been remarkable—plus-19.8 net rating, four 30-point wins, 11 victories by double digits. But the y haven't seen a defense like San Antonio's, which ranked third during the regular season and second in the postseason. Wembanyama alone changes how opponents approach offense.
Quinn: Knicks in 7. Here's the problem for San Antonio: the Knicks might have the best two defenders in the league for facing Wemby in Anunoby and Robinson. The Spurs are coming off a seven-game series with Oklahoma City; the Knicks will be rested. The longer this goes, the better for New York.