Spurs Host Knicks in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 3

The San Antonio Spurs host the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 3, a rematch of the 1999 series, with Wembanyama coming off a Western Conference Finals MVP run.

Spurs Host Knicks in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 3

Key Points

  • San Antonio (62-20) holds home court over New York (53-29); Game 1 tips June 3 on ABC.
  • Victor Wembanyama was named Western Conference Finals MVP after a Game 7 win over Oklahoma City.
  • The Spurs reach the Finals for the first time since their 2014 championship.
  • The Knicks make their first Finals appearance since 1999, when these same Spurs beat them.

The matchup is set, and it carries a 27-year echo. The San Antonio Spurs host the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC — a rematch, a generation later, of the 1999 Finals the Spurs won 4-1. Only this time the Spurs are the young team and the Knicks are the ones who assembled a veteran core to get here.

San Antonio earned home court with a 62-20 regular season, well clear of the Knicks at 53-29. That gives the Spurs Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home; New York hosts Games 3, 4 and 6 at Madison Square Garden. The series runs June 3 through a potential Game 7 on June 19, with every game at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

The story is Victor Wembanyama. The 22-year-old was named Western Conference Finals MVP after closing out the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a 111-103 Game 7, posting 22 points and 7 rebounds. Across the seven-game series he averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 blocks — the rare big man who anchors a defense and leads the offense in the same breath.

New York arrives behind Jalen Brunson and a roster built to win now, reaching its first Finals since that 1999 loss. The open question is health: center Mitchell Robinson broke his right pinky late in the conference run, and his availability shapes how the Knicks match up with Wembanyama's length inside.

The stakes are franchise-defining on both ends. San Antonio is chasing its first title since 2014 and its sixth overall; New York has not won since 1973. One side closes a rebuild; the other closes a 53-year drought.

Source: CBS Sports, NBA.com

Comments

Tomorrow's games. In your inbox tonight.

Daily roundup of what mattered.

Link copied