The New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night to win the NBA Finals in five games and clinch the franchise’s first championship since 1973. Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP and will be part of a Knicks squad next season that will be among the top title contenders.
The losing Spurs were not supposed to be in this position going into the season, when their title odds were +6600, tied for No. 15 in the NBA, per BetMGM—the Knicks were tied for second-best at +750 behind the favorites, the Oklahoma City Thunder at +250. But the Spurs, behind NBA Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama, finished with the NBA’s second-best record at 62-20 and knocked out the Thunder in the Western Conference finals.
The Spurs best days might be ahead of them on and off the court.
San Antonio had the second-youngest Finals roster in NBA history, based on postseason minutes played. The only younger one was the Bill Walton-led 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, with the 2025 Thunder ranked third. De’Aaron Fox, 28, is the oldest player seeing regular time, and Wemby (22) is the eldest in the young-star trio of Stephon Castle (21) and Dylan Harper (20).
Wembanyama, Castle and Harper are all under contract next year for a combined $40 million, while the Spurs have a $3 million club option for 24-year-old small forward Julian Champagnie. The club will ultimately need to pay these young stars within the NBA’s apron system that impacts roster construction, but the Spurs have made moves off the court to make sure the team doesn’t have to cut any financial corners.
