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For a few hours on Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks held practice on the floor where the NBA Finals logo was painted at midcourt. They do interviews with the logo as a background. They saw talk of the finals basically everywhere they looked.
It may seem familiar. It wasn’t like that.
This stage – the NBA Finals – is new to almost everyone on the Spurs and Knicks rosters, which means that very few players on either side can have a real idea of what the moment will look like Wednesday night when the 80th title series in league history continues in San Antonio.
They have two big things in common: It will be new, and it took them forever to get here.
“I fell in love with basketball early in my life,” said San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama. “I mean I have pictures of me playing basketball when I wasn’t old enough to have memories.”
Some memories will be made over the next four to seven games, without a doubt. Spurs are seeking their sixth title and first since 2014; the Knicks are seeking their third title and first since 1973.
It’s a matchup that could be dreamed up in boardrooms: New York is the capital of the world, the Knicks are an iconic brand, the Spurs are a proven championship franchise and their best player happens to be a 7-foot-4 Frenchman who already has a global following.
“The best player in the world,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said of Wembanyama.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson – the Eastern Conference finals MVP – had nothing but the highest praise to offer Wembanyama, the Western Conference finals MVP.
“Watching it as a player, it’s unbelievable,” Brunson said Tuesday. “The things he can do on both sides of the ball, people have never really seen someone his age. So, it’s amazing to watch. … He’s very good.”
Paths to the finals
The Spurs reached the NBA Finals with a 62-game winning streak in the regular season, sweeping Portland in Round 1, Minnesota in Round 2, and going the distance in the classic seven-game sweep that ended Oklahoma City’s reign as NBA champions.
The Knicks came here on the strength of an 11-game playoff streak – the last three in Round 1 against Atlanta, then sweeping Philadelphia and Cleveland. And the margin of victory in those 11 games is the most in any 11 games in the NBA’s 80-year history.
“It’s a great team,” said Wembanyama. “A great group of experienced guys not by luck, but by constant effort over the years. Very different career paths for all of them. They are right where they should be, in my opinion.”
The only players in this series who have started previous Finals games are the Spurs’ Harrison Barnes (Golden State) and the Knicks’ Mikal Bridges (Phoenix). Barnes doesn’t usually start for San Antonio, Bridges usually does for the Knicks, and that means nine of the 10 starters in Game 1 will be in unfamiliar territory.
“When you can prepare the right way, when you do your practices, you treat it like a normal game, it allows you to be as normal as possible,” Brunson said.
Bloodline links to past finals
There are relationships that players must go through in the finals, even if they don’t play in them. Spurs’ Dylan Harper’s father is Ron Harper, a five-time NBA champion as a player. Brunson’s father – Knicks assistant Rick Brunson – played for New York in the 1999 Finals, and Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson got a bird’s-eye view of the Spurs’ past championships. He grew up in San Antonio and his stepmother worked at a hotel with a great view of the parade route.
“Being able to take pictures and running up to players to get autographs, I was that kid,” said Clarkson, whose father used to detail the cars of other Spurs players. “To see this energy and to see how the city comes to life when Spurs play in the finals and win championships, it’s a great thing.”
When all is finished, a new crown will be crowned. That team will be the eighth different NBA franchise in the past eight years — the longest streak in league history. The Spurs are favored, and the Knicks don’t mind the underdog role.
“We’re here now, so there’s nothing else to say or talk about or think about,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “We will continue to do what we are doing and that has been successful for us.”
