for a few hoursthe Spurs of San Antonio and the Knicks from New York they carried out internships Tuesday on a court that had the NBA Finals logo painted in the center circle. They did interviews with the logo as a backdrop. They saw mentions of the Finals practically everywhere.
It might have seemed normal. It wasn’t.
This stage — the NBA Finals — is something new for almost everyone on the Spurs and Knicks rosters, which means very few players on either team can have any real idea of what the moment will feel like on Wednesday night, when it begins in San Antonio. the 80th title series in league history.
They have two important things in common: it’s going to be something new, and it took everyone forever to get here.
“Falling in love with basketball happened very early in my life”commented the San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama. “I mean, I have pictures of me with a basketball at an age when I wasn’t even old enough to have memories.”
No doubt more memories will be made over the next four to seven games. The Spurs are looking for their sixth title and the first since 2014; the Knicks are going for their third title and the first since 1973.
It’s a duel that could have been devised in boardrooms: New York is the capital of the world, the Knicks are an iconic brand; The Spurs are a franchise with proven championships and their best player turns out to be a 2.24 meter Frenchman who already has a huge 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 for Wembanyama, the Western Conference finals MVP.
“Watching him as a player is pretty incredible,” Brunson said Tuesday. “The things he can do on both sides of the court, people have really never seen before from a person his size. So it’s incredible to see. … It’s pretty incredible.”
The Spurs reached the NBA Finals after winning 62 games in the regular season, beating Portland in the first round, Minnesota in the second, and then going to the limit in a seven-game classic that ended Oklahoma City’s reign as NBA champion.
The Knicks landed here fueled by an 11-win streak in the playoffs: the last three games of the first round against Atlanta, and then sweeps of Philadelphia and Cleveland. And the margin of victory in those 11 games is unlike any other in any 11-game stretch in the NBA’s 80-year history.
“It’s a great team,” said Wembanyama. “It’s a great team of experienced players who are not here by chance, but because of tireless effort over the years. Very different career paths for all of them. They are exactly where they are supposed to be, in my opinion.”
The only players in this series who have started in finals games in the past are Harrison Barnes of the Spurs (with Golden State) and Mikal Bridges of the Knicks (with Phoenix). Barnes usually doesn’t start for San Antonio, Bridges usually does for the Knicks, and that means nine of the 10 Game 1 starters will be in uncharted territory.
“When you can prepare the right way, when you do your routines, you treat it like a normal game, that allows you to be as normal as possible,” Brunson explained.
There are links that players have to past endings, even without having played them. Spurs guard 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 had a prime view of old Spurs championship parades. He grew up in San Antonio and his stepmother worked at a hotel that had a great view of the parade route.
“Being able to take pictures and run up to players for autographs, I was definitely that kid,” said Clarkson, whose father used to detail cars that belonged to some Spurs players. “Seeing this energy and seeing the city come to life when the Spurs are in the Finals and winning championships, it’s a great experience.”
When it’s all over, a new champion will be crowned. That team will be the eighth different franchise to win the NBA title in the last eight years, extending a streak like no other in league history. The Spurs are favorites, and the Knicks don’t mind being the underdog.
“We’re here, so there’s nothing more to say or talk about or think about,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing and that’s worked for us.”
