2026 NBA Finals

General

This was the second Finals meeting between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. In their previous Finals meeting, during the lockout-shortened season of 1999, the Spurs defeated the eighth-seeded Knicks in five games to win their first NBA championship.^[9] The teams had met in the championship of the 2025 NBA Cup, which New York won, 124–113. It was the first time both NBA Cup finalists had appeared in the Finals, and the first time the winner had made the NBA Finals.^[10] The two teams split their two regular-season games.^[a]

For the first time since the 2009 NBA Finals, a logo version of the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy was prominently featured on center court; it was painted on instead of being a decal to prevent players from slipping. The NBA Finals wordmarks returned to the court for the first time since 2014.^[11][12][13] The NBA had been criticized for omitting the logos during the previous season's Finals while including those during that season's NBA Cup.^[14][15] The jerseys of the teams had a USA 250 patch in recognition of the United States Semiquincentennial.^[16][17]

President Donald Trump attended game 3 at the invitation of Knicks owner James Dolan, becoming the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game. Fans who attended the games waited in long lines to pass through Transportation Security Administration-style security, and 5 blocks in all directions outside of Madison Square Garden were closed off hours before tip-off.^[18][19] His appearance was widely discussed by the media and panned by Knicks fans, especially after watch parties for game 3 were canceled, reportedly due to his attendance.^[20]

New York Knicks

Since their last Finals appearance in 1999, the Knicks experienced 27 years of dysfunction and frustration, making the playoffs only five times from 2001 to 2022.^[22] Their fortunes started to turn when the team hired former Creative Artists Agency (CAA) agents Leon Rose and William Wesley as executives to run their basketball operation in 2020.^[23][24] Their first major transaction was bringing in their former client and longtime coach Tom Thibodeau as head coach, who was an assistant on the 1999 team, a few weeks later.^[25] They signed point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency in 2022, who broke out in New York as an elite player.^[26] Brunson led the Knicks to the second round in 2023 and 2024, and to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2025, where they lost to the Indiana Pacers. Despite the team's renewed success, the defense-minded Thibodeau was fired after the loss to the Pacers and replaced by Mike Brown, although Brown was not the team's first choice.^[27][28]

Under the first season with head coach Brown, the New York Knicks finished with a 53–29 record, their highest win total since 2012–13.^[29] Their regular season was highlighted by a 124–113 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup Final in Las Vegas on December 16.^[30] They were led by All-Star and Second Team All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson, All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns in his second season after a blockbuster trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Second Team All-NBA Defensive forward OG Anunoby, 3-and-D wing Mikal Bridges and the versatile Josh Hart, the latter two who were Brunson's teammates in college at Villanova.^[31] Under Brown, the Knicks utilized their bench more than under former coach Tom Thibodeau, which featured big man Mitchell Robinson (the longest tenured Knick), guards Miles McBride and Landry Shamet, microwave scorer Jordan Clarkson, and midseason trade acquisition Jose Alvarado.^[32]

Although the Knicks finished with an impressive record and a third-seed, they did not peak as a team until the playoffs. In the first round, the Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks in six games, winning the final three games after being down 2–1. They then swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals to reach the NBA Finals. The Knicks' playoff run has been labeled one of the most dominant in NBA history due to their 13-game postseason winning streak, the second longest in NBA history, and a record playoff victory margin of 19.4 points per game.^[33][34] Noted for their playoff surge was the team's effort to play through Towns midway through the Hawks series, as the team had been previously too reliant on Brunson for offense.^[35][36]

Overall, this was New York's ninth Finals appearance.^[37] The only Knicks players with prior Finals experience are Mikal Bridges, who lost with the Phoenix Suns in 2021, and Jordan Clarkson, who lost with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018; OG Anunoby won a championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 but did not play in the playoffs due to an appendectomy. Mike Brown lost his first Finals appearance in 2007, coincidentally against the San Antonio Spurs, as head coach for the Cavaliers, but has won multiple championships as an assistant with the Spurs and Golden State Warriors.^[38] The Knicks' 53-year championship drought was the fifth longest in the NBA.^[39]

San Antonio Spurs

During the 2023 draft lottery, the San Antonio Spurs were awarded the top pick and took French phenom Victor Wembanyama, who was touted as the best draft prospect since LeBron James.^[41][42] They were then awarded the #4 and #2 picks in the 2024 and 2025 lotteries and took Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, respectively.^[43] Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich stepped down early in the season in 2024–25 due to health concerns and his assistant Mitch Johnson took over.^[44] With Johnson at the helm in his first full-season as coach, the Spurs ended their six-year playoff drought with a 62–20 record. In his third season, Wembanyama averaged 25 points per game, 11.5 rebounds per game, and 3.1 blocks per game. In terms of accolades received, he was an All-Star, was named the Defensive Player of the Year (the award's first unanimous and youngest winner), earned First Team nods in All-NBA and All-NBA Defensive, and finished third in the Most Valuable Player voting.^[45] Veteran point guard De'Aaron Fox, who came over at last season's trade deadline from the Sacramento Kings, joined Wembanyama as an All-Star.^[46] Second overall pick Dylan Harper made the NBA's All-Rookie First Team, while Keldon Johnson won the Sixth Man of the Year.^[47][48] The Spurs had a 40-game turnaround from their 22–60 record in 2023–24.^[49]

As the two-seed in the Western Conference playoffs, they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the first round and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals in six games. The Western Conference finals saw them take on the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a highly anticipated match-up between the two best teams record-wise in the NBA. The Spurs prevailed in the hard-fought series, defeating the Thunder on their own homecourt in the decisive seventh game.^[50] The Spurs were the second-youngest team to ever reach the NBA Finals (25.06 years old), trailing only the 1976–77 Trail Blazers (25.03).^[51]

This was San Antonio's seventh NBA Finals appearance. The Spurs were 5–1 in their previous Finals appearances, with their only loss in 2013 to the Miami Heat (a year later, they defeated the Heat, which was their last appearance).^[52] Harrison Barnes, Luke Kornet, and Kelly Olynyk are the only Spurs players with Finals experience. Barnes won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015 and made another appearance in 2016, Kornet won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2024, and Olynyk reached the 2020 Finals with the Miami Heat.^[53]

Road to the Finals

Notes

• z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
• c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
• y – Clinched division title
• pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot (locked into a play-in spot but not able to clinch a playoff spot directly)
• ps – Clinched postseason (at least a play-in spot but can still clinch a playoff spot directly)
• x – Clinched playoff spot
• * – Division leader

Regular season series

The Knicks and Spurs tied the regular season series 1–1, with the home team winning each game.^[a]

While the Knicks also defeated the Spurs 124–113 in the 2025 NBA Cup championship game on December 16, 2025, that game did not count toward the official regular season standings or head-to-head tiebreakers.

Game 1

The Knicks overcame a 14-point deficit to win 105–95, marking the first time the Spurs ever faced a series deficit in the Finals.^[56] Jalen Brunson led them with 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, on relatively inefficient 12 of 31 shooting, the most attempted shots in a Finals debut since Allen Iverson in 2001.^[57][58] Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, OG Anunoby scored 17 points (12 in the fourth quarter), Landry Shamet scored 13 off the bench, and Josh Hart had six assists, four steals and 15 rebounds.^[59] San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama had 12 rebounds and 26 points on poor 6 of 21 shooting. Julian Champagnie scored 16 points and went 5 of 10 on his three-pointers, but the rest of the Spurs shot 6 of 33 (18.2 percent) from the three-point line.^[58] Dylan Harper had 16 points, becoming the youngest player to score 10 or more points in a Finals game.^[60]

The Knicks started the first quarter going up 14–7, but the Spurs responded with a run led by Dylan Harper, who scored 10 points in the quarter, to go up 27–17 with 1:27 left. At that point, the Knicks called a timeout and Brunson was escorted to the locker room after injuring his right knee. The Knicks closed the gap to three points within the second quarter as Brunson returned with around eight minutes left.^[59] Despite another injury to his ankle, Brunson continued to play and scored eight straight points before returning to the bench with the Knicks up 38–37.^[61][59] The lead changed six times during the quarter before the Spurs settled into a 55–48 lead by halftime.^[56]

The Knicks only scored two points five minutes into the third quarter, as the Spurs built a 14-point lead by the midway point. Wembanyama was then benched, resulting in Towns leading the Knicks back to within three points with two minutes left, ending it tied at 76–76. Both teams went back-and-forth to start the fourth quarter^[61] before Anunoby made two three-pointers to give the Knicks an 86–81 lead by 8:50. The Spurs later evened it, followed by Brunson scoring eight straight points for a 94–86 Knicks lead with 6:34 left, and then San Antonio scoring nine straight for a 95–94 lead with 2:16 left. The Knicks ended the game with an 11–0 run: Brunson made a three-pointer, Bridges scored two free throws,^[59] and then Brunson made an off-balance shot with 37.8 seconds left to put his team up by six.^[57]

The Knicks were just the third team in NBA history to have a 12-game winning streak in a single-postseason, joining the 1998–99 Spurs, whose streak of wins was coincidentally halted at 12 by the Knicks in game 3 of the 1999 NBA Finals, and the 2016–17 Warriors, who finished with a record 15 consecutive wins. Additionally, with a 10-point win, the Knicks had won 11 of those 12 games by double-digits.^[62]

Game 2

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Victor Wembanyama's crucial turnover, foul, and missed shot in the final seconds of game 2 was the difference in the Knicks' 105–104 win.^[63] The Knicks became the third team in NBA Finals history to win the first two games on the road, after the 1993 Chicago Bulls and the 1995 Houston Rockets.^[64] This was also their 13th straight playoff game win, now the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.^[65]

Karl-Anthony Towns, despite playing in foul trouble for much of the second half, had 21 points on 8–12 shooting and 13 rebounds. Wembanyama was outplayed by Towns in the first half with just 7 points, but got more involved in the second half. He finished with 29 points on 11–21 shooting and grabbed 9 rebounds, but had 4 turnovers, including the game-losing giveaway with the game tied with 9.5 seconds left. Mikal Bridges also had a big game for the Knicks scoring 20 points on 8–13 shooting, while Jalen Brunson added 20 on 25 shots and had 5 steals. OG Anunoby scored 15 points and Landry Shamet provided 13 points off the bench. For San Antonio, De'Aaron Fox rebounded from a rough game 1 with 20 points on 8–12 shooting, but also had four turnovers. Dylan Harper led the team in +/-, scoring 15 points in 32 minutes off the bench.^[66]

The Spurs led 34–25 at the end of the first quarter. In the quarter, they were led by Fox, who scored 9 points. Julian Champagnie hit two early threes, and Devin Vassell and Wembanyama chipped in with five points each. The Knicks roared back with a 31–18 second quarter and led 56–52 at halftime. New York then opened the third quarter on a 8–2 run before a quick Spurs timeout. Brunson knocked down a three over Wembanyama to push the Knicks lead to 10, 64–54. Midway through the third quarter, Towns was called for a questionable foul when he got into a battle for positioning on the low block with Stephon Castle.^[67] It was his fourth foul, which took him out of the game until the fourth quarter. Castle and Wembanyama's first three-pointer of the night trimmed the deficit down to four points, but the Knicks responded and re-established a nine-point lead with a pair of Mikal Bridges' baskets to close out the third. The Knicks were 4-for-7 from three in the quarter.^[68]

Down by as many as 14 points, the Spurs took their first lead since the second quarter via a Dylan Harper pass to Wembanyama for an and-1 on a fast break in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter. Brunson quickly tied things back up on a fadeaway seconds later, knotting the score at 104 with 39.2 seconds left.^[69]

After forcing a miss by Brunson on what could have been the Knicks' final possession, Wembanyama collected the rebound and tried to pass it up the floor to Stephon Castle. However, Castle was streaking up the court with his back turned. As Brunson collected the turnover, he was instantly fouled by Wembanyama.^[70] The Knicks were in the penalty, which put Brunson at the line, who made the first free-throw but missed the second. On the Spurs' last possession, Wembanyama missed the potential game-winner on a jumpshot on the right side of the key.^[71][72] This was the first time the Knicks had been up 2–0 in an NBA Finals.^[73]

Game 3

The Knicks 13-game postseason win streak was ended by a 115–111 Spurs victory in game 3.^[3] The Spurs opened scoring seven straight points,^[75] and established a double-digit lead four and a half minutes into the game. They converted on nine of their first 11 field goal attempts and led 33–22 at the end of the quarter.^[76] The Knicks responded in the second quarter with an 11–2 run to narrow the lead to 40–38. They scored 14 points on their final six possessions to end the half as the Spurs faltered offensively, outscoring them 42–24 during the quarter and taking a 64–57 lead.^[77][76]

Entering the third quarter, Julian Champagnie scored six straight points,^[78] and the Spurs produced several turnovers to score 15 points on their first eight possessions and reclaim the lead.^[77] After delivering an assist to Keldon Johnson to tie the game at 76,^[75] Victor Wembanyama scored a three-pointer at 5:02 to reclaim the lead for San Antonio, which they maintained for the rest of the game.^[3] Dylan Harper, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, led the Spurs to the end of the quarter with a 92–91 lead.^[79][77]

For the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter the Spurs maintained at least a two-possession lead against the Knicks,^[3] taking advantage of their bonus situation from 9:18 onwards.^[79] With 1:53 remaining, Stephon Castle scored a desperation three-pointer, his team's only make of the quarter, to put the Spurs up 111–104.^[80][78][76] Later on the other end, OG Anunoby made a free throw and Brunson a three-pointer to narrow the lead, but De'Aaron Fox scored a jump shot with 12.2 seconds left bring it to 113–108.^[81] Anunoby followed with a three-pointer with 9.4 seconds remaining,^[80] but Castle was then fouled after a timeout with 6.8 seconds left and made two free throws to make it a two-possession game.^[76][3] Mikal Bridges and Anunoby missed their final three-point attempts to seal the Spurs victory.^[79]

In what was considered his best game of the series, Wembanyama led the Spurs on both ends with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.^[80] Castle followed with 23 points, 18 in the first half and 5 in the second.^[3] For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson had 32 points but 5 turnovers, and shot 11-for-25 from the field. Anunoby had 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting, while Karl-Anthony Towns was limited to 11 points and 8 rebounds.^[80] The Spurs capitalized off New York's 13 turnovers to convert for 21 points,^[79] while also defending effectively and sharing the ball on offense.^[80][77] The Spurs shot 20-for-24 for free throws in the second half compared to 6-for-8 for the Knicks, the discrepancy in attempts drawing scrutiny from Knicks head coach Mike Brown.^[3]

Game 4

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OG Anunoby's game-winning putback layup with 1.2 seconds left sealed the Knicks' 29-point comeback win, moving them within one win away from their first title since 1973.^[82] The Knicks' 29-point comeback was the largest comeback in Finals history, surpassing game 4 of the 2008 series between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, where Boston erased a 24-point deficit.^[83] New York broke their own franchise record for the largest postseason comeback and tying the 2025 champion Oklahoma City Thunder for the second-largest comeback in playoff history.^[83]

Karl-Anthony Towns picked up two fouls in the game's first 90 seconds, becoming the fastest player to pick up that many fouls that early in an NBA Finals game since 1998.^[84] The Spurs took an early lead in the first quarter. Wembanyama received a flagrant foul on an elbow to the face from Mitchell Robinson after Wembanyama had taunted Robinson on the play before.^[85] San Antonio's 19-point, 41–22 lead, was the largest first quarter lead by a road team in NBA Finals history.^[86] Forward Devin Vassell had his best quarter of the series, scoring 12 points on perfect 4-for-4 field goal attempts. Wembanyama led the way with 13 points, and the Spurs as shot 65.2 percent from the field and 6-for-10 from three. Meanwhile, after Towns picked up his early fouls, they shot just 29 percent.^[87]

Vassell remained perfect from the field midway through the second quarter, making all four of his three-point attempts. Overall in the quarter, the Spurs built a 27-point halftime lead, the largest in Finals history by a road team.^[88] In addition, their 14 threes were the most in a half in the NBA Finals in the play-by-play era (since 1997).^[89] To prevent the Knicks from building any momentum, the Spurs employed a Hack-a-Mitch in the quarter against Mitchell Robinson, who missed all four of his foul shots before being taken out of the game in favor of seldom used big man Ariel Hukporti.^[90] New York rap group the Wu-Tang Clan performed during the halftime show.^[91]

Entering the third quarter, with the Spurs holding a 29-point lead, 81–52, with 9:27 remaining, Wembanyama picked a flagrant foul after an elbow to the chin to Towns.^[92] He already had three flagrant foul points in the postseason; if he received a fourth, that would mean an automatic one-game suspension.^[93] That was when the Knicks responded with a 13–0 run, aided by consecutive three-pointers from Jalen Brunson, Anunoby, and Jose Alvarado, to cut into the Spurs' lead. They held the Spurs to 14 points on 4-of-20 shooting in the quarter. At the end of the third, the Knicks had cut the deficit down to 15, 90–75, outscoring San Antonio 26–14 and ending the quarter on a 19–5 run.^[94]

Early in the fourth quarter, the Spurs pushed their lead back up to 20, but a three-point field goal from Alvarado, a layup from Bridges, and a contested three-pointer from Towns late in the shot clock brought it back to 12. With 6:34 left, Towns drove baseline for a floater over Wembanyama to cut the deficit down to nine points for the first time since early in the first quarter. Moments later at 4:32, Anunoby scored a three-pointer, his seventh of the contest, to cut the Spurs lead to four, 99–95. On the next possession, De'Aaron Fox then made a three to push their lead back to 102–95. They traded baskets on their next possessions until an Alvarado three brought the Knicks back to four points, 104–100, with 3:07 left. Another Knicks three from Brunson over Wembanyama made it a one-point game at 2:21. After a Fox turnover and steal, Josh Hart had a breakaway that would have given the Knicks the lead but missed the layup attempt. Wembanyama was fouled on the next possession but missed both free throws. Brunson then drove inside for a floater to put the Knicks in front for the first time in the game. At this point, the Spurs were 8-of-37 from the field (21.6%) in the second half. The Spurs committed another turnover when Stephon Castle threw the ball out of bounds with 1:02 left in the game. Brunson and Fox missed both their shots on the two team's next possession, but Castle rebounded Fox's miss and was fouled by Hart on the putback attempt at 30.2 seconds, who then made both free throws to give the Spurs the one-point lead, 106–105.^[95]

The Spurs had a runout after Brunson missed a runner, but instead of looking to run out the clock, Fox attempted a layup and was blocked by the trailing Anunoby. Fox's decision to attempt the layup was immediately called one of the biggest Finals blunders in NBA history on social media.^[96][97][98] Mike Brown called a timeout, as the Knicks had the ball now with 5.7 seconds remaining. Anunoby inbounded the ball to Brunson, who attempted a three over Wembanyama, but it bounced off the rim. Anunoby ran to the rim from the three-point line and completed the right-handed tip-in to give the Knicks a one-point lead with 1.2 seconds left on the clock.^[82]

The Spurs, with the ball advanced to halfcourt after a timeout, got the inbounds pass tipped by Towns and were not able to complete the lob to the open Castle, securing the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. The Knicks led for just 53.8 seconds, the second-least amount of time leading in a Finals win since the 1976–77 merger.^[99]

Brunson scored 36 points, playing all 24 minutes in the second half, and Anunoby finished with 33 on 10 of 15 shooting. During their historic comeback, Anunoby and Alvarado combined to shoot 10-for-13 for 27 points in the second half, while Wembanyama and Fox were 5-for-22 for 13 points. The Spurs shot just 3-for-17 from three-point range in the second half and scored only 30 points after halftime, compared to 76 in the first half.^[100] Anunoby's putback was the third-latest game-winner in Finals history in the play-by-play era (since 1997), behind Michael Jordan's game-winner in 1997 and Tyrese Haliburton's in 2025.^[101] After the game, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns called Anunoby's tip-in the "Right hand from God".^[102] Several outlets considered game 4 one of the greatest NBA games of all time.^[103][104]

Game 5

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On the back of a 45-point performance from guard Jalen Brunson, the Knicks ended their 53-year title drought with a 94–90 triumph in game 5. Brunson joined Michael Jordan as the only guards to score 45 points, both on the road, in a championship-clinching game. The game followed a similar trend to most of the other four games. The Spurs got off to a quick start, though it was not due to their offense like game 4. Their defense held the Knicks to just 13 points in the first quarter, which included a stretch where they held New York to just 10 points on 3 of 20 shooting in the first ten minutes of the game. Victor Wembanyama led the way with three blocks and continued to get Karl-Anthony Towns into foul trouble. On offense, Dylan Harper was a perfect 3 for 3 shooting with 7 points off the bench. Early in the second quarter, Wembanyama picked up two more blocks, giving him 5 in the game thus far. After the Spurs reached a 16-point lead, the Knicks slowly got themselves back in the game. A flurry of buckets from Brunson got the Knicks to within six late in the second quarter. At halftime, the Spurs led 42–37, which was the lowest score at a half in the Finals since 2010.^[105]

On the first possession out of the half, Towns picked up his fourth foul. Despite this and getting nothing from the bench (they did not score a basket well into the fourth by Landry Shamet), the Knicks were still in the game, thanks in large part to Brunson. Midway through the third quarter, Brunson had a game-high of 22 points on 9 of 17 shooting, while his teammates combined for 28 points on 10 of 38 from the field.^[106] At 5:28 in the quarter, Brunson made a three-pointer, but came down on Wembanyama's foot, which was in Brunson's landing space. The play caused controversy, as a potential flagrant foul was not called, which would have led to a Wembanyama suspension for the next game.^[107]

The Spurs regained control in the latter half of the third quarter and led 72–65 entering the fourth. A big moment came at 5:30 left in the game when the Spurs challenged a foul call on Wembanyama, which would have given him four fouls. Instead, replay showed Towns pushed Wembanyama before barreling into Brunson, which the referees overturned and thus gave Towns his fifth foul. At 3:40, Devin Vassell fouled Brunson at the three-point line. Brunson hit all three free-throws, giving him 43 points, and the Knicks lead for the first time since the eight-minute mark of the first quarter at 86–85. Spurs' rookie Dylan Harper had a chance to tie the score at 90 with 27 seconds left and on a fastbreak layup attempt, but missed. After miss, De'Aaron Fox chose to foul instead of playing out the clock in hopes for a rebound and last second shot. After Josh Hart split his free throws, the Knicks fouled up three instead of allowing the Spurs to get a three-point shot attempt. Harper missed the first free throw and the second on purpose. OG Anunoby rebounded the ball, was fouled by Harper, and split the resulting free throws to go up four with 7.7 seconds left. Wembanyama missed a three-pointer, giving New York the championship.^[108] Despite only going five games, the Finals were decided by an average of four points. The Knicks also led in the series for just 23.6 percent.^[109] ABC play-by-play announcer and longtime Knicks' TV announcer Mike Breen noted that the Knicks won the title on June 13, which is coincidentally the same number as Red Holzman's 613 wins as the Knicks head coach. Holzman was the head coach for the Knicks first two championships in 1970 and 1973.

During the postgame, with many Knicks fans in attendance in San Antonio, Jalen Brunson was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.^[110] Many former Knicks greats, such as Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Walt Frazier, and Allan Houston, as well as notable fan Spike Lee, joined the team as they were awarded the Larry O'Brien Trophy by commissioner Adam Silver.^[111]

New York Knicks

San Antonio Spurs

Viewership

The 2026 NBA Finals were the most-watched NBA finals since the 1998 Finals, with an average of 20.6 million viewers per a game.^[8] The game viewership ranged from 16.93 million viewers to 24.54 million viewers.^[8]

Game 1 was the most-watched NBA Finals game 1 since the 1998 Finals, with a total of 16.93 million viewers, peaking at 19.63 million at 11 p.m. ET. It marked a 90% viewership increase compared to 2025's game 1 and became the most watched NBA Finals game since Game 6 of the 2019 Finals.^[119]

Game 2 averaged 16.43 million viewers and viewership was up 88% compared to 2025's game 2.^[120]

Game 3 was the most-watched NBA Finals game 3 since the 1998 Finals, with a total of 23.79 million viewers.^[121] Viewership increased by 159% from 2025's game 3 and became the most watched NBA Finals game since game 5 of the 2017 Finals.^[122]

Game 4 was the most-watched NBA Finals game 4 since the 1998 Finals, averaging 20.94 million viewers.

Game 5 was the most-watched NBA Finals Game 5 since 1998, averaging 24.54 million viewers and peaking at 33 million at 11:15 p.m. ET.^[8]

Viral chants

One four-line chant, popularized by 23-year-old Knicks fan Ahnaf Hossain, went viral ahead of the Finals:

My mayor Muslim
My bagel's Jewish
My Christian Dior^[c]
Knicks in four

The chant was further propelled in a marketing video by Kalshi, though Ahnaf says he approached Kalshi's team voluntarily attracted to their green microphone.^[151] Variants such as "The Pope's on our side^[d] / Knicks in five", "My Pope hates AI / Knicks in five", and "My cream cheese chive / Knicks in five" emerged after the Spurs defeated the Knicks in game 3.^[151][155] Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the chant as interviewed on MS NOW saying: "there are a lot of people who have been running up to me over the last few weeks just shouting at me, ‘My mayor’s Muslim!' [...] It’s true, I am."^[156]

Head coach Mike Brown celebrated the win by chanting the chorus to "Who Let the Dogs Out" by the Baha Men during the trophy presentation.^[157]

Celebration events

A day after their championship win, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Clarkson were celebrated at the city's Puerto Rican Day Parade. Alvarado, a Brooklyn native, played for the Puerto Rican men's national team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.^[158]

New York City held a ticker-tape parade for the Knicks on Thursday, June 18, at the Canyon of Heroes, followed by a ceremony at City Hall.^[159] This was the team's first ticker-tape parade, as then-Mayor John Lindsay opted to host an informal ceremony for the team at Gracie Mansion due to political and social concerns of the time in 1970 and 1973.^[160] Many fans were turned away hours before the procession began, as lower Manhattan had reached capacity.^[161] Mayor Zohran Mamdani awarded the team a key to the city.^[162]

Fan violence

Some celebrations were marred by several incidents of fan violence. According to the New York City Police Department, 17 people were arrested after game 2, 20 after game 3, and 56 after game 4, with reports of a taxi driver being pulled from his car and sustaining injuries, a police officer being punched, and multiple assaults in Bryant Park, including a Spurs fan who was beaten by a mob and had his jersey ripped off and fans attacking a Five Guys employee/Spurs fan.^[163][164] After game 5, in a radio interview, Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated: "We've said time and time again, there's no tolerance for attacking individuals on the street, for violence."^[165] Citing concerns over possible fan violence, a watch party outside Madison Square Garden was capped to 1,000 fans by the City of New York and later cancelled prior to game 4.^[166]

After game 4, outside of Madison Square Garden, a 17-year-old was beaten by a group of people and briefly went into a coma. He was taken to a local hospital and was expected to survive.^[166] After the Knicks won the series in game 5, there were sporadic reports of violence in Manhattan. The New York Police Department said in a statement that the crowds became "increasingly destructive" throughout the night with many incidents of "incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior" occurring.^[167] Later in the night, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the foot by a stray bullet.^[167] There were also reports of five school buses (previously used to shuttle fans to a World Cup match between Brazil and Morocco earlier in the day) being set alight and destroyed by baseball bats by fans who later climbed on top of the destroyed buses.^[167] Other fan violence after game 5 included four stabbings, police officers being struck by bottles or punched in the face, police cars being damaged, and private vehicles and property being damaged. There were 10 police officers injured and 63 people arrested after game 5.^[167][165]

Hours after the team's celebratory parade, a shooting occurred near 42nd Street and Broadway; no one was injured and the suspect was quickly arrested.^[168]