San Antonio begins its hunt for a sixth championship on Wednesday. Here are the latest updates out of Game 1.
SAN ANTONIO — A dash of blue and orange has arrived in San Antonio, but the intensity of Silver & Black fandom is still reaching levels not seen since 2014.
Or, perhaps, since one night in the summer of 2023, when the Spurs won the rights to draft their 7-foot-5 future, imported from France with an iron will and combination of talents the NBA hasn’t seen before.
The Spurs’ journey from rebuilding franchise back to the NBA mountaintop continues with a final climb in the 2026 NBA Finals, tipping off Wednesday night against the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks—a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals that saw Tim Duncan, David Robinson and company secured the franchise’s first title.
San Antonio, led by Western Conference Finals MVP Victor Wembanyama, comes in having triumphed over the defending champion Thunder in a series that went the distance. The Knicks, featuring All-NBA Second Team selectin Jalen Brunson, have steamrolled their competition, sweeping the second and third rounds en route to a 12-2 mark entering the NBA Finals.
It’ll be a best-of-seven series, with the Spurs hold home-court advantage as they compete for their sixth championship. The Knicks, on the other hand, are hungry for their first title since 1973.
What will Wembanyama accomplish in his NBA Finals debut? How loud will Frost Bank Center and watch parties across the city be rocking? Will the Spurs or Knicks capture an early series edge?
Follow along for Game 1 updates.
1Q, 2:33 remaining: Spurs 22, Knicks 17
A pair of Dylan Harper free throws gave San Antoni its first lead of the game; the 20-year-old rookie promptly followed it up with a 3-pointer. Twenty-four seconds later, Julian Champagnie also hit from downtown to put the lead to five.
1Q, 7:28 remaining: Spurs 7, Knicks 12
San Antonio may need some time to get settled in, as this is the first Finals game for four of their five starters. The Spurs started out 3-of-11 from the field while New York is shooting at a 50% clip in the early going.
But Victor Wembanyama already has a strong block as the Defensive Player of the Year asserts himself, as well as five of the team’s first seven points.
Pregame
Understanding the challenge
Speaking with reporters before tipoff, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson made clear that, even after a seven-game series that exhausted San Antonio, he hasn’t needed to do anything special to get them focused and ready for the NBA Finals.
“I haven’t used any extra motivation,” Johnson said. “I don’t think they need any.”
Johnson was a finalist for NBA Coach of the Year after leading the team to 62 regular-season wins and the No. 2 seed int he West. This is his first full year as Spurs head coach, having been handed the reins when Gregg Popovich retired in the spring of 2025, following a mild stroke suffered early in the 2024-2025 season.
Sochan’s return
It remains to be seen whether the Knicks might be able to use any “insider knowledge” Jeremy Sochan might bring, but the former Spurs first-round pick was seen greeting members of the San Antonio staff before the game.
He was waived by the Spurs during the regular season and picked up by the Knicks as a free agent, largely serving in a bench role since then.
A bold prediction
The eyes of the NBA world are once again on San Antonio, where celebrities, national media and – yes – Knicks fans have descended this week.
ESPN personality (and native New Yorker) Stephen A. Smith predicted a six-game win for his hometown Knicks, but acknowledged even that bet doesn’t make much basketball sense.
“Everybody needs to get used to San Antonio being in the Finals. I think they’re gonna win about four championships in the next seven years,” Smith said. “Just not this one.”