Wemby Does Not Shake Knicks Hands
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Samori Benjamin
Johnson Coaching Criticized ln The Finals
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The San Antonio Spurs made it back to the NBA Finals this year for the first time in twelve seasons. They fell to the New York Knicks in five games in these 2026 NBA Finals. This, after dethroning the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals in seven games. In the NBA Finals, the Spurs lost the first two games at home which put them in a hole that no team has ever come out of. The Spurs were just the third team in NBA history to lose games one and two of the NBA Finals at home. The other two teams, the 1993 Phoenix Suns and the 1995 Orlando Magic lost the series.
This NBA Finals represented a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals in which San Antonio beat the Knicks in five games and clinched on the Knicks home court. 27 years later the Knicks reversed the fortunes and clinched the championship on San Antonio’s court in five games. Despite the loss the Spurs have a young core that looks destined to compete for championships every year in the foreseeable future.
For the series Spurs superstar big man Victor Wembanyama averaged 26 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks. His two young co-stars Dylan Harper and Stephan Castle averaged 18.0 and 14.6 points respectively.
Said Wemby after the loss “it’s sinful but l’m not running away from that. I’m using it to fuel me.”
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, in his first full year after taking over for Greg Popovich, took the blame as the team caved into the Knicks after being up by 29 points in game 4. “To put as much work into the first half as we did, get the lead that we had and not finish the job is disappointing to say the least.”
lt will be a long off season for a team that took out the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder only to lose to team that had not won a NBA title in 53 years.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
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