Ty's 2026 NBA Finals Preview
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The NBA Finals are set. The Spurs slayed the Thunder, and the Knicks easily dispatched of the Cavs. Lets preview the finals.
The Spurs-Thunder game seven was pretty great. I will fully admit, I was very wrong about the Thunder. They looked unbeatable to me. They were rolling when they got to the West Finals. SGA won his second straight MVP. The sidekick players were hitting their shots. They were winning without free throws and their defense looked ferocious. And the Spurs paid no mind to any of that. I loved how free and loose they played. The Thunder could not get anything in the paint when Wemby was in the game. He neutralized Isaiah Hartenstein and, to an even bigger extent, Chet Holmgren. The Spurs played better defense. They got more steals and blocks. They got the loose balls. Julian Champangnie was hitting his threes. Stephon Castle played fearless and free. Dylan Harper announced himself as a future superstar. De'Aaron Fox, when he came back from injury, ran the offense to perfection. The Spurs played a better series than the Thunder and they got the coveted game seven win on the road. I thought that they were maybe a year or two away from this type of contention. They proved me very, very wrong, and I love it. This Spurs team is young and fun. They fly up and down the floor and play exquisite defense. And Wemby is the most unique basketball player I have ever had the joy to watch play. He is from another planet. He does things at his size that shouldn't be possible. He makes the games fun and he seems to really care. This kid is amazing.
The Knicks, after a minor threat in the first round, have been on an absolute roll. They have won 11 straight playoff games. And it's not like the games are all that close. The Knicks are blowing teams out. I know in game one of the East Finals the Cavs took them to overtime, but the Knicks overcame a 14 point deficit in the second half, and I think they won that game by 9 points. They have been playing some of the best basketball in the entire playoffs. They are making threes at an outrageous rate. Landry Shamet has been on absolute fire since being reinserted into the rotation. Jalen Brunson is doing what he does, quietly I might add, and I think he has somehow become underrated for what he brings to this team. OG Anunoby, coming off his own injury, has been remarkable on defense, which is to be expected, but he has been equally as good on offense. That is such a plus for this team. Mitchell Robinson, who does have a broken pinky, has been a beast on the boards and is rim running with the best of them right now. Karl; Anthony-Towns has gone to a whole other level. He is still scoring like he usually does, but he is also passing at a high level and he is playing the best defense he has ever played in the NBA. Mikal Bridges got out of his slump on offense and is now the two way threat he was when he was on the Suns. Miles McBride is playing crucial minutes, Jordan Clarkson has bought in on defense and Mike Brown was the right choice to coach this team. I may have been a little critical of it when he was hired, I was wrong. He was the missing piece the Knicks needed to be where they are right now.
Ever since game seven of the West Finals ended I have been sitting and trying to figure out who I think is going to win. The backcourts are so different. Brunson and Bridges are a unique blend. Bridges is long and tall. Brunson is short and stocky and can get anywhere on the floor on the offensive end. Fox, Castle and Harper are a wonderful trio in the backcourt. Fox is the level headed veteran here. He is also lightning quick and he seems to be fully healthy. Castle is wildly athletic and can get to the rim with ease. Harper is a similar build to Brunson, but he is younger and a little more reckless in a good way. The front court battle should be interesting. The Knicks have a two headed monster here. Mitchell Robinson will be able to beat up the Spurs big men. But he may not be healthy. He is going to be very important in this series. The Knicks need him out there. Karl Anthony-Towns should make the Spurs big men work a ton. He can score from anywhere on the floor and he is playing, as previously stated, the best defense of his career. Josh Hart is more of a guard, but the way he crashes the boards and attacks the rim makes me see him more as a frontcourt guy in this series. He needs to make shots, but Josh Hart could be another decisive player for the Knicks.
The Spurs have Wemby. Wemby is amazing. He can do it all and he can do it all at a very high level. There was a moment in game 7 of the West Finals where he caused a deflection that turned into a steal, got a pass about three feet behind the three point line, pulled up and splashed it. I audibly guffawed when this happened. He is incredible. Luke Kornet is playing solid basketball right now. Julian Champengie, as said before, can stretch any defender, and he plays good defense. And Harrison Barnes is going to be needed in the Finals if the Spurs want to win it all this year.
I'm still struggling with who to pick. I genuinely like both of these teams. RD is a Knicks fan and my dad roots for the Spurs when the Bucks are out or no good. I like a bunch of players in this series. I like both coaches and both coaching staffs. I'm so pumped to watch the Finals this year. And we will have a new NBA champ for the 8th straight year. That rules and shows that the NBA has true parity.
As for my pick, give me the Spurs in seven with Wemby bringing home Finals MVP. They slayed the biggest dragon on the road, they're young, they seem to have the it factor right now and they have Wemby. Sorry RD, but this feels like the Spurs ring this year.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.