The 2026 NBA Finals are here, with fresh faces, impossibly long limbs, and a never-ending list of genuinely fascinating story lines.
For the eighth time in eight years, the NBA will be crowning a new champion about two weeks from now. Will Adam Silver be handing over the Larry O’Brien Trophy (via step ladder) to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs? Or will he be congratulating the New York Knicks and their beleaguered fans for finally breaking their 53-year title drought?
To preview this year’s surprise Finals matchup, The Ringer assembled its panel of NBA experts to examine the most pressing questions of the series. Below, we touch on favorite story lines, the most important player not named Wemby or Jalen Brunson, legacy implications, series predictions, and more. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
What’s your favorite Spurs-Knicks story line?
Howard Beck: That the Spurs are here at all. Do you know how insanely hard, and how insanely rare, it is to make the Finals without ever having won a single playoff series in a prior season? With a core group of dudes in their early 20s? Wemby is just 22, Stephon Castle 21, and Dylan Harper 20. Six of their top seven rotation players are 26 or younger. They were reasonably projected as a play-in team this season, and at best a low playoff seed. But the Finals? This doesn’t happen. This is happening.
Michael Pina: Watching Victor Wembanyama on a stage like this will be special. I don’t know if there’s anything or anyone more compelling than he is on a basketball court. Who guards him? How? Who will he guard? How can the Knicks score when he’s on the court? Do the Spurs have a chance when he’s on the bench? Almost everything that matters about these Finals, in one way or another, is connected to the most intimidating defender in NBA history.
Justin Verrier: Watching the Spurs’ young players take off in real time. Wemby grabbing hold of the league by force is one thing; but Dylan Harper, a rookie who just turned 20 three months ago, has had several star-in-the-making stretches, including shaking off a three-game malaise to drop 18 points in San Antonio’s critical Game 6 win in the West finals. So while the Knicks were one of just two teams to hand the Spurs a loss over the last three months of the regular season and seemingly have some key matchup advantages, San Antonio’s young core is growing so rapidly that it feels like a different team than it was three weeks ago.
Danny Chau: OG Anunoby technically has been to the Finals and won a championship before, but this is his first opportunity to actually affect the outcome. Anunoby had an emergency appendectomy two days before the start of the 2019 playoffs, which took him out of the Raptors’ entire championship run. His versatility, temperament, and ineffable Anunobility can swing the series. If a Wemby stopper could ever exist, I’d imagine Anunoby coming quite close. That’s certainly how he’ll be portrayed, and I couldn’t be happier to see the spotlight put on one of the best defenders of this generation.
Tyler Parker: This isn’t a story line but I’m excited to watch everyone reference/show clips of the Spurs playing Starcraft against each other during the 1999 NBA Finals. These clips go viral in NBA internet circles once every couple of years, something you probably already know if you’re reading this. Get ready for shots of David Robinson wearing jean shorts and Malik Rose referencing The Odd Couple.
Logan Murdock: The return of New York propaganda. All my life, Knicks fans have been akin to the Dallas Cowboys fans of the NBA, eager to puff out their chest despite a lack of success. The city is back and it’ll be great to see this fan base take center stage, even if disappointment may be on the horizon.
Isaac Levy-Rubinett: As a Spurs homer, I'm biased, but it's been incredible to watch this team bypass every typical obstacle en route to becoming one of the youngest Finals squads ever. Every time I expect their youth or inexperience to catch up to them, the Spurs hit some higher gear. They are fearless—totally unafraid of the moment and of their competition. The OKC series was the peak of the season so far, but the Finals stage is even greater. I can't wait to see how Wemby, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper attack the moment.
Matt Dollinger: Wemby at the Garden. Call me old fashioned, but I’m not sure we could have dreamed of a more interesting outcome to this season than Wembanyama playing at Madison Square Garden with the Finals on the line. Holy hell. I’m getting genuine chills thinking about the “DE-FENSE” chants and the organ playing as Wemby tries to isolate on a crucial fourth-quarter possession. I’ll move to San Antonio if he does the Reggie choke to Chalamet.
Bigger deal: Knicks breaking the drought or Wemby breaking the dam?
Verrier: The Knicks. Wemby getting his first ring in his third season—a.k.a., half the amount of time as Jordan and a third of the time LeBron needed—could matter more in the future, when we’re combing through the fine details of his legacy. But eradicating five decades of suffering for one of the most batshit (complimentary) fan bases in all of sports would matter more now—even if the owner responsible for most of the pain will be the one hoisting the trophy.
Parker: The Knicks. Wemby is the best player in the league. He is the tallest player. He is the longest player. He is the all-time winner of the genetic lottery. He is also highly skilled. Starting next season, he should win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year for the next decade if he’s healthy. A player like that will win a ring. For that reason, the Knicks breaking the drought feels bigger.
Beck: The Knicks. Granted, I’m a little biased, having lived in New York for two decades, and having witnessed firsthand just how dreadful and depressing this franchise has been for most of the 21st century. What the Spurs have accomplished, with such a young core, is absolutely incredible. But the Knicks making the Finals for the first time in 27 years, with a chance to win their first title in over a half-century, is a pretty damn big deal.
Pina: The Knicks. Being that Wembanyama will almost definitely return to the Finals before his career is over, it has to be the Knicks. Their last championship came in 1973! A gap that long is meaningful on its own, but actually bridging it would be an especially miraculous achievement. New York has spent decades as a laughingstock, and was on a short list of professional sports organizations that felt irredeemably jinxed. A title would be pseudo-psychedelic, difficult to process, and beyond satisfying for millions of basketball fans.
Dollinger: The Spurs. We always talk about how “the NBA is better when the Knicks are good” and a title would cement that idea. But we can put a firm end to the silly “face of the NBA” brouhaha if Wemby wins the title this year. No more questions, no more wondering. It’ll be Wemby’s world.
Levy-Rubinett: The Knicks. A Wemby championship in just his third season would put him on a GOAT trajectory ... but are we sure he's not on one already? Win or lose, he has announced his arrival in these playoffs in the loudest way possible, and figures to be heard from well after this season.
Chau: The Knicks. Breaking a drought that’s lasted for more than a fifth of the nation’s history would be a legendary achievement—especially for a city and team as culturally significant to the sport as they are, especially against a team that’s been painted as a sort of existential threat to competitive balance. As much as Wemby winning it all in Year 3 would send a spine-chilling message to the world, we’ve seen just how hard it is to repeat, let alone build an actual dynasty.
Murdock: The Spurs. Wemby beating the reigning champion Thunder felt like a coronation, validating every out-of-pocket expectation we bestowed on him upon his arrival. The Game 7 win was an arrival of sorts and the beginning of a new era for the NBA. When Wemby lost the gold-medal game to Team USA in the Olympics, the basketball world trembled at the thought of what he would look like in the future. The same feeling could arrive in about two weeks, when he hoists the Larry O’Brien Trophy in front of the world. This is officially Wemby’s decade. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Which player will have the biggest impact that isn’t Wemby or Brunson?
Pina: This entire postseason has felt like destiny for Karl-Anthony Towns. As a former first overall pick and multiple-time All-Star who’s lifted bad offenses his entire career, he’s now shining as the second option on a juggernaut. Can he guard Victor Wembanyama without committing unnecessary fouls? Can he punish whoever San Antonio sticks on him until the Spurs are forced to make Wemby his primary defender? Can he take care of the ball and continue to see a blip into the future when serving as the half-court hub of New York’s attack? If Towns is highly efficient, aggressive, and under control, the Knicks will be champions of the world.
Levy-Rubinett: KAT has unlocked the best version of himself, and in the process unlocked Mikal Bridges and the Knicks’ entire starting lineup, which has sliced through the playoffs like a paring knife. Now he faces perhaps the hardest matchup in the NBA. The Knicks’ chances depend on his ability to hold his own on defense and pull Wembanyama away from the rim so Brunson and the rest of the Knicks can get to the basket.
Murdock: Dylan Harper will make every big shot that Wemby doesn’t take. Twenty-year-olds aren’t supposed to be this poised in this big of a moment. Go down the list—of all the greats at this stage, only Magic Johnson was trusted to do this much this early. That’s a great omen for a team who’ll need every bit of his potential to bloom in order to maintain a dynastic run around Wemby.
Verrier: KAT’s postseason record is lined with frustrating fouls and mistakes, but he was nails in the Knicks’ speedrun through the Eastern bracket. Towns has not only been dialed in, he’s added a new dimension to New York’s offense with his playmaking, helping it to a blistering 123.3 offensive rating (by far the best among playoff teams) and 11 straight wins heading into the Finals. Either he keeps pace and forces the Spurs to rethink their coverage (which typically involves sticking Wemby on Josh Hart to allow him to roam), or he crashes out and cedes a critical advantage—either way, his presence in this series will be felt.
Chau: Towns is on a completely different offensive level than any big man the Spurs have encountered in the postseason thus far, and in a series that projects to feature a number of cross-matches, it’ll be interesting to see how aggressive Towns is in exploiting advantages both down low and as a gigantic playmaker on the perimeter. For a player who has long been maligned for what he isn’t, the Finals could be a showcase of everything he’s become.
Parker: Josh Hart. There are multiple players for both teams capable of swinging games. What makes Hart particularly special, though, is that he can do anything, will try everything, and is endowed with the spirit of 10-15 full-grown bears. No other player in the series comes close. Stephon Castle leads the Spurs in the category, but even he is only endowed with the spirit of 4-9 full-grown bears. Hart is the kind of grinder whose highlight mixtapes give your middle school basketball coach goosebumps. He has elevated hustling to a fine art. He will give up, just as soon as it’s snowing in Hell.
Beck: OG Anunoby seems like a good bet, since he’ll probably guard everyone from Castle to Wemby, and will easily be the Knicks’ most important defender in the series. They also need him to stay hot from the arc (48 percent in these playoffs).
Dollinger: Scott Fo—no, I’m not going to do it. If the Knicks (rightfully) prioritize containing Wemby, it’ll be on the rest of the Spurs to make them regret it. Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox could easily step up and be the best player in any game this series, but I’m imagining an endless cascade of Devin Vassell 3s breaking the Knicks’ spirit and defensive strategy. He shot nearly 40 percent from deep against OKC and could be a difference-maker again in this series.
Give us one prediction that will sound genius or idiotic in two weeks.
Chau: One can only assume that the Spurs have forced Carter Bryant to watch Ausar Thompson tape, Clockwork Orange–style as soon as they got on to the team bus after Game 7 in Oklahoma City. Bryant has the exact frame and tenacity that has bothered Brunson in the past. By the end of the series, Bryant could very well be on par with Stephon Castle as the Spurs’ second most impactful defender.
Parker: Josh Hart will be the 2026 NBA Finals MVP, and I feel that’s wild enough. I have done my duty and can move on to the next question.
Pina: De’Aaron Fox will win Finals MVP. There is no sturdy case for a take like this. If the Spurs win and Wembanyama is not seen as the series’ most valuable player, either every voter has decided to ignore defense or something else went very wrong. But as one of four All-Stars in this series, Fox shouldn’t be overlooked. He was impressive in Game 7 and quietly dangerous in the first two rounds, before a high ankle sprain made him look like a Ferrari that had a boot on its back wheel. If the Knicks are too focused on slowing down Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and San Antonio’s 3-point threats, Fox could shine brighter than most people expect.
Dollinger: James Dolan will become the first NBA owner to be booed while accepting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. There’s no other way.
Verrier: Landry Shamet will swing a game. If Hart continues to struggle from deep this postseason (despite shooting the cover off the ball in the regular season), the Knicks will need to unearth Wemby from the paint, and Shamet has been on fire, canning all but one of his 12 3s in the East finals. So mark it down: The journeyman who originally came to New York via the G League draft will matter in this matchup.
Beck: Mike Breen, though the consummate professional, will giddily unleash his first-ever triple-bang when Brunson hits a game-clinching 3.
Levy-Rubinett: Jalen Brunson will be more efficient against the Spurs than SGA was. He’s less dependent on getting all the way to the rim, he’s a better pull-up 3-point shooter, and he has more dependable shooting around him. I predict his herky-jerky style will be harder for the Spurs to contain, and that he will be able to take advantage of San Antonio’s defense in ways even the two-time MVP couldn’t.
Murdock: This is the beginning of the Spurs dynasty. It’s just a fact.
Who will win the Finals, and in how many games?
Verrier: Spurs in six. The Knicks’ size and physicality, particularly on the wings, makes them an even tougher matchup for San Antonio than the Thunder, but Wemby has a way of erasing all presumptions. Hail to the Victor.
Pina: [Flips coin] Spurs in seven. I just have a hard time picking against Victor Wembanyama after seeing him withstand three rounds of physical punishment and emotional turbulence. The playoffs are a grind and, in his first go-around at 22 years old, he’s been far and away the best player. That is ridiculous. Wemby creates unprecedented problems on defense, walling off the paint, forcing shooters to rush, and instilling boundless confidence in his teammates. We’ve never seen anyone like him before; until Wembanyama fails, it sometimes feels like he never will.
Levy-Rubinett: Knicks in six. Knocking off OKC was a massive lift, and the past few days have felt like a premature coronation for the Spurs. The Knicks are big and physical—both they and San Antonio have changed a lot since their NBA Cup matchup, but the Spurs trend small from the 1 through 4 spots, and the Knicks have more size at those positions than OKC. The Spurs have disproved the maxim that you can’t win without playoff experience, but there’s still time to take a lump on their way to the top.
Beck: Spurs in six. As dominant as the Knicks have been (and “dominant” feels like an understatement), they haven’t faced a defense anywhere close to San Antonio’s, or a backcourt as physical and explosive as San Antonio’s or, well, an alien center with an 8-foot wingspan. If the Spurs could throttle Shai Gilgeous-Alexander so effectively through most of the conference finals, imagine what they might do to a much shorter, less athletic Brunson.
Murdock: Spurs in five. What’s the logic behind this pick? One team has Wemby, and the other doesn’t.
Chau: Spurs in six. I’m choosing to doubt Brunson at my own peril, but his impact could be mitigated by the waves upon waves of defenders the Spurs have for him.
Dollinger: Knicks in six. As breathtaking as Wemby can be, the Knicks are the deeper and more experienced team. Dethroning the Thunder validated the Spurs, but OKC was banged-up, and New York is coming off a week of rest. We may be overlooking this Knicks team because of the conference it’s coming out of. God, their fans will be insufferable if they do this. I can’t wait.
Parker: Right up until Texas Senator Ted Cruz reached out to New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to place a wager on the series, I expected the Spurs to win in seven. But after seeing the bet, knowing what we know about Cruz—that he is a loser who picks losers—I have to go Knicks in six.
